Yes, they can: polar bears Ursus maritimus successfully hunt Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus
Abstract The polar bear Ursus maritimus is one of the species most endangered by the rapidly declining sea–ice cover in the Arctic, which they use as a platform to hunt fatty, high-energy seals. In recent decades, more polar bears have been forced to remain longer on land, so their access to seals i...
Published in: | Polar Biology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w/fulltext.html |
id |
crspringernat:10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crspringernat:10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w 2023-05-15T15:10:16+02:00 Yes, they can: polar bears Ursus maritimus successfully hunt Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Stempniewicz, Lech Kulaszewicz, Izabela Aars, Jon 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w/fulltext.html en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Polar Biology volume 44, issue 11, page 2199-2206 ISSN 0722-4060 1432-2056 General Agricultural and Biological Sciences journal-article 2021 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w 2022-01-04T15:38:58Z Abstract The polar bear Ursus maritimus is one of the species most endangered by the rapidly declining sea–ice cover in the Arctic, which they use as a platform to hunt fatty, high-energy seals. In recent decades, more polar bears have been forced to remain longer on land, so their access to seals is limited. The importance of terrestrial food to polar bears is disputable, and more data are needed. Terrestrial ungulates could be an attractive substitute prey for them. Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus are prevalent and their distribution is completely within the range of polar bears. They constitute an attractive potential prey offering a significant energy return. Pre-2000 sources state that polar bears do not attack Svalbard reindeer. This report is the first description and documentation of the complete course of a polar bear hunt for adult reindeer in Hornsund, SW Spitsbergen, and also of the bear’s hunting behaviour and the reindeer’s response. Further, we report several other recent instances of bear–reindeer interactions in Svalbard, suggesting that polar bears now hunt reindeer more frequently than they used to. This increase in hunting is probably linked to the reduced ice cover, with bears spending more time on land, and a growing reindeer population. This study adds to earlier papers on how polar bears in Svalbard have increasingly shifted to a more terrestrial diet, and indicates that they may have an enhanced role as an apex predator in the terrestrial ecosystem. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Hornsund Polar Biology Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Sea ice Svalbard svalbard reindeer Ursus maritimus Spitsbergen Springer Nature (via Crossref) Arctic Hornsund ENVELOPE(15.865,15.865,76.979,76.979) Svalbard Polar Biology 44 11 2199 2206 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crspringernat |
language |
English |
topic |
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences |
spellingShingle |
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Stempniewicz, Lech Kulaszewicz, Izabela Aars, Jon Yes, they can: polar bears Ursus maritimus successfully hunt Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus |
topic_facet |
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences |
description |
Abstract The polar bear Ursus maritimus is one of the species most endangered by the rapidly declining sea–ice cover in the Arctic, which they use as a platform to hunt fatty, high-energy seals. In recent decades, more polar bears have been forced to remain longer on land, so their access to seals is limited. The importance of terrestrial food to polar bears is disputable, and more data are needed. Terrestrial ungulates could be an attractive substitute prey for them. Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus are prevalent and their distribution is completely within the range of polar bears. They constitute an attractive potential prey offering a significant energy return. Pre-2000 sources state that polar bears do not attack Svalbard reindeer. This report is the first description and documentation of the complete course of a polar bear hunt for adult reindeer in Hornsund, SW Spitsbergen, and also of the bear’s hunting behaviour and the reindeer’s response. Further, we report several other recent instances of bear–reindeer interactions in Svalbard, suggesting that polar bears now hunt reindeer more frequently than they used to. This increase in hunting is probably linked to the reduced ice cover, with bears spending more time on land, and a growing reindeer population. This study adds to earlier papers on how polar bears in Svalbard have increasingly shifted to a more terrestrial diet, and indicates that they may have an enhanced role as an apex predator in the terrestrial ecosystem. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stempniewicz, Lech Kulaszewicz, Izabela Aars, Jon |
author_facet |
Stempniewicz, Lech Kulaszewicz, Izabela Aars, Jon |
author_sort |
Stempniewicz, Lech |
title |
Yes, they can: polar bears Ursus maritimus successfully hunt Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus |
title_short |
Yes, they can: polar bears Ursus maritimus successfully hunt Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus |
title_full |
Yes, they can: polar bears Ursus maritimus successfully hunt Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus |
title_fullStr |
Yes, they can: polar bears Ursus maritimus successfully hunt Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Yes, they can: polar bears Ursus maritimus successfully hunt Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus |
title_sort |
yes, they can: polar bears ursus maritimus successfully hunt svalbard reindeer rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w/fulltext.html |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(15.865,15.865,76.979,76.979) |
geographic |
Arctic Hornsund Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Hornsund Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Hornsund Polar Biology Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Sea ice Svalbard svalbard reindeer Ursus maritimus Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic Hornsund Polar Biology Rangifer tarandus Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Sea ice Svalbard svalbard reindeer Ursus maritimus Spitsbergen |
op_source |
Polar Biology volume 44, issue 11, page 2199-2206 ISSN 0722-4060 1432-2056 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02954-w |
container_title |
Polar Biology |
container_volume |
44 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
2199 |
op_container_end_page |
2206 |
_version_ |
1766341323071160320 |