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Concept
Pagophily
Summary
Pagophily or pagophilia is the preference or dependence on water ice for some or all activities and functions. The term Pagophila is derived from the Ancient Greek pagos meaning "sea-ice", and philos meaning "-loving".
Pagophilic animals, plants, etc. prefer to live in ice or perform certain activities in the ice. For example, a number of ice seals are described as pagophilic as they have adapted to breed and feed in association with their ice habitat. The preference for a frozen habitat has been observed in several mammalian, avian and invertebrate species.
The dependence and preference for ice and snow is believed to have an evolutionary basis dating back to the last ice age, approximately 2.6 million years ago. In a period where the earth was covered in ice pans, the ancestors of pagophilic mammals developed the ability to hunt on and around ice out of necessity. Some researchers have argued that life originated in icy habitats, in the form of microorganisms that can survive in harsh conditions. Furthermore, the study of pagophilic organisms on earth has contributed to the belief that life is present on other extremely cold planets. Survival in extreme habitats such as ice habitats is possible due to behavioural and/ or physiological adaptations. These adaptations may include; hibernation, insulation in the form of fat or blubber, increase hair or feather growth, or the presence of an anti-freeze-like enzyme.
Phagophily is beneficial for survival, and often critical. Pagophilic mammals can use ice as a platform to get closer to prey, or to get farther away from predators. Sea ice can also be used for breeding, nurturing young and other behaviours if there is less risk for predation on the ice than on land. For many animals their primary food supply may live near the ice as well or in the water under the ice.
The family Phocidae is a family of pinnipeds, known as "true seals". A study by Stirling (1983) indicated that the formation of large amounts of ice on coastlines approximately 15 million to 5 million years ago forced many early phocine seals to adapt their breeding and feeding behaviour due to their ice habitats.
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