Infographic 7 — The Canadian Arctic: The changing ice season is affecting subsistence species

An infographic shows some examples of how the changing ice season is affecting subsistence species. Three boxes show three areas of impact with various icons and information in them. At top left a community is shown with a human figure driving a snow machine and a sled along the sea ice with many broken pieces of sea ice around them. At bottom left is a box on the Coastal Beaufort Sea with an icon of an Arctic char beside a central simplified map of the Canadian Arctic. The coastal Beaufort Sea is highlighted along the western coast in navy blue. At right is a box about Hudson Bay with an icon of a ringed seal on an ice floe beside a polar bear on the shoreline. Behind the polar bear is a baby polar bear that has disappeared. A beluga icon is shown in the water in the middle of the infographic. A male common eider is shown flying towards a piece of sea ice where a female eider and a baby are nesting. The central map of the Canadian Arctic shows a navy blue area highlighting Hudson Bay.

• Ice clears earlier in the summer and returns later in the fall across the Canadian Arctic
• Across the Canadian Arctic it is more difficult for communities to safely access the sea ice
• Hudson Bay
• Ringed seals may not complete their spring moult on the ice, affecting stress levels and pup survival
• Polar bears in Hudson Bay are declining, spending more time on land without access to seals
• Beluga migrate into Hudson Bay earlier and leave later
• Bears are eating more Common Eider eggs, but
• a longer eider breeding season with less sea ice
• suggests eider populations may remain stable
• Coastal Beaufort Sea
• Some Char migrate earlier to ocean waters
• Feeding longer in ocean water is beneficial