Final answer:
Biotic disturbances in the Arctic and Antarctic mainly involve disruptions to species' life cycles and food webs due to climate change, affecting the timing of breeding and increasing predation risks.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks how biotic disturbances differ between the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Biotic disturbances refer to disruptions in ecosystems caused by living organisms, such as predation, disease, or species competition. In the Arctic, one common biotic disturbance is the misalignment of breeding times, such as that between seabirds and their prey, as a result of climate change. For instance, the Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus) is experiencing greater vulnerability to predators due to earlier springs making its white winter camouflage stand out against the snowless terrain. Conversely, the Antarctic has very little native fauna, but climate-driven changes such as reduced sea ice affect specific species like the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) and also seabirds that depend on sea ice to access their food sources. Disturbances in both regions are primarily driven by climate change, impacting the timing of life cycles and food web dynamics.