Sea ice reduction drives genetic differentiation among Barents Sea polar bears
Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is predicted to reduce both genetic diversity and gene flow in ice-dependent species, with potentially negative consequences for their long-term viability. Here, we tested for the population-genetic impacts of reduced sea ice cover on the polar bear ( U...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 2024-06-23T07:50:00+00:00 Sea ice reduction drives genetic differentiation among Barents Sea polar bears Maduna, Simo Njabulo Aars, Jon Fløystad, Ida Klütsch, Cornelya F. C. Zeyl Fiskebeck, Eve M. L. Wiig, Øystein Ehrich, Dorothee Andersen, Magnus Bachmann, Lutz Derocher, Andrew E. Nyman, Tommi Eiken, Hans Geir Hagen, Snorre B. Norwegian Polar Institute World Wildlife Fund 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 288, issue 1958, page 20211741 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2021 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 2024-06-04T06:23:09Z Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is predicted to reduce both genetic diversity and gene flow in ice-dependent species, with potentially negative consequences for their long-term viability. Here, we tested for the population-genetic impacts of reduced sea ice cover on the polar bear ( Ursus maritimus ) sampled across two decades (1995–2016) from the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, an area that is affected by rapid sea ice loss in the Arctic Barents Sea. We analysed genetic variation at 22 microsatellite loci for 626 polar bears from four sampling areas within the archipelago. Our results revealed a 3–10% loss of genetic diversity across the study period, accompanied by a near 200% increase in genetic differentiation across regions. These effects may best be explained by a decrease in gene flow caused by habitat fragmentation owing to the loss of sea ice coverage, resulting in increased inbreeding of local polar bears within the focal sampling areas in the Svalbard Archipelago. This study illustrates the importance of genetic monitoring for developing adaptive management strategies for polar bears and other ice-dependent species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Barents Sea Climate change Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus The Royal Society Arctic Barents Sea Norway Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 288 1958 20211741 |
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Open Polar |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is predicted to reduce both genetic diversity and gene flow in ice-dependent species, with potentially negative consequences for their long-term viability. Here, we tested for the population-genetic impacts of reduced sea ice cover on the polar bear ( Ursus maritimus ) sampled across two decades (1995–2016) from the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, an area that is affected by rapid sea ice loss in the Arctic Barents Sea. We analysed genetic variation at 22 microsatellite loci for 626 polar bears from four sampling areas within the archipelago. Our results revealed a 3–10% loss of genetic diversity across the study period, accompanied by a near 200% increase in genetic differentiation across regions. These effects may best be explained by a decrease in gene flow caused by habitat fragmentation owing to the loss of sea ice coverage, resulting in increased inbreeding of local polar bears within the focal sampling areas in the Svalbard Archipelago. This study illustrates the importance of genetic monitoring for developing adaptive management strategies for polar bears and other ice-dependent species. |
author2 |
Norwegian Polar Institute World Wildlife Fund |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Maduna, Simo Njabulo Aars, Jon Fløystad, Ida Klütsch, Cornelya F. C. Zeyl Fiskebeck, Eve M. L. Wiig, Øystein Ehrich, Dorothee Andersen, Magnus Bachmann, Lutz Derocher, Andrew E. Nyman, Tommi Eiken, Hans Geir Hagen, Snorre B. |
spellingShingle |
Maduna, Simo Njabulo Aars, Jon Fløystad, Ida Klütsch, Cornelya F. C. Zeyl Fiskebeck, Eve M. L. Wiig, Øystein Ehrich, Dorothee Andersen, Magnus Bachmann, Lutz Derocher, Andrew E. Nyman, Tommi Eiken, Hans Geir Hagen, Snorre B. Sea ice reduction drives genetic differentiation among Barents Sea polar bears |
author_facet |
Maduna, Simo Njabulo Aars, Jon Fløystad, Ida Klütsch, Cornelya F. C. Zeyl Fiskebeck, Eve M. L. Wiig, Øystein Ehrich, Dorothee Andersen, Magnus Bachmann, Lutz Derocher, Andrew E. Nyman, Tommi Eiken, Hans Geir Hagen, Snorre B. |
author_sort |
Maduna, Simo Njabulo |
title |
Sea ice reduction drives genetic differentiation among Barents Sea polar bears |
title_short |
Sea ice reduction drives genetic differentiation among Barents Sea polar bears |
title_full |
Sea ice reduction drives genetic differentiation among Barents Sea polar bears |
title_fullStr |
Sea ice reduction drives genetic differentiation among Barents Sea polar bears |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sea ice reduction drives genetic differentiation among Barents Sea polar bears |
title_sort |
sea ice reduction drives genetic differentiation among barents sea polar bears |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 |
geographic |
Arctic Barents Sea Norway Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Norway Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
genre |
Arctic Barents Sea Climate change Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Climate change Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 288, issue 1958, page 20211741 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
288 |
container_issue |
1958 |
container_start_page |
20211741 |
_version_ |
1802640733966958592 |