Scientists from several countries agreed with that conclusion after reviewing evidence collected during the International Polar Year, which ended in 2008.

Writing in the journal Science, the researchers say that climate change threatens such species as polar bears, the arctic fox and caribou with loss of habitat or even extinction.

“It seems no matter where you look -- on the ground, in the air, or in the water -- we’re seeing signs of rapid change,” said biologist Eric Post of Penn State University.

The report says that a warming of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 150 years has already caused dramatic consequences.

It cautions that further changes resulting from the projected six-degree warming over the next century will be difficult to predict.

Ivory gulls, ringed seals, polar bears and narwhals are examples of species with a small distribution and specialized habitats, leaving them vulnerable to being the first species to suffer from climate change.

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