Quantitative Support for a Subjective Fatness Index for Immobilized Polar Bears
ABSTRACT Adequate stores of body fat are essential for survival and reproduction of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ). However, polar bear body fat levels can be difficult to quantify in the field. For >30 years, biologists have subjectively estimated relative fatness of immobilized polar bears by...
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crwiley:10.2193/2007-123 2024-04-28T08:14:26+00:00 Quantitative Support for a Subjective Fatness Index for Immobilized Polar Bears STIRLING, IAN THIEMANN, GREGORY W. RICHARDSON, EVAN 2008 http://dx.doi.org/10.2193/2007-123 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2193%2F2007-123 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor The Journal of Wildlife Management volume 72, issue 2, page 568-574 ISSN 0022-541X 1937-2817 Nature and Landscape Conservation Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2008 crwiley https://doi.org/10.2193/2007-123 2024-04-05T07:40:43Z ABSTRACT Adequate stores of body fat are essential for survival and reproduction of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ). However, polar bear body fat levels can be difficult to quantify in the field. For >30 years, biologists have subjectively estimated relative fatness of immobilized polar bears by assigning individuals a rating from 1 to 5, with 1 being leanest and 5 most obese. Although previous studies suggested this fatness index (FI) rating accurately reflects large‐scale differences in body condition, its relationship to more quantitative measures of condition has not been explored. We compared the FI rating of individual polar bears in western Hudson Bay and the Beaufort Sea to 2 quantitative measures of body condition: the Quetelet Index (ratio of mass to length 2 ) and the relative lipid content of adipose tissue. We found a significant relationship between FI rating and both Quetelet Index values and adipose lipid content. Our data demonstrate that the FI rating accurately reflects overall body condition, regardless of polar bear age, sex, or nutritional phase. We suggest that continued field use of the FI rating could provide valuable information on ecological effects of large‐scale environmental change on polar bear populations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beaufort Sea Hudson Bay Ursus maritimus Wiley Online Library The Journal of Wildlife Management 72 2 568 574 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
topic |
Nature and Landscape Conservation Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Nature and Landscape Conservation Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics STIRLING, IAN THIEMANN, GREGORY W. RICHARDSON, EVAN Quantitative Support for a Subjective Fatness Index for Immobilized Polar Bears |
topic_facet |
Nature and Landscape Conservation Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
ABSTRACT Adequate stores of body fat are essential for survival and reproduction of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ). However, polar bear body fat levels can be difficult to quantify in the field. For >30 years, biologists have subjectively estimated relative fatness of immobilized polar bears by assigning individuals a rating from 1 to 5, with 1 being leanest and 5 most obese. Although previous studies suggested this fatness index (FI) rating accurately reflects large‐scale differences in body condition, its relationship to more quantitative measures of condition has not been explored. We compared the FI rating of individual polar bears in western Hudson Bay and the Beaufort Sea to 2 quantitative measures of body condition: the Quetelet Index (ratio of mass to length 2 ) and the relative lipid content of adipose tissue. We found a significant relationship between FI rating and both Quetelet Index values and adipose lipid content. Our data demonstrate that the FI rating accurately reflects overall body condition, regardless of polar bear age, sex, or nutritional phase. We suggest that continued field use of the FI rating could provide valuable information on ecological effects of large‐scale environmental change on polar bear populations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
STIRLING, IAN THIEMANN, GREGORY W. RICHARDSON, EVAN |
author_facet |
STIRLING, IAN THIEMANN, GREGORY W. RICHARDSON, EVAN |
author_sort |
STIRLING, IAN |
title |
Quantitative Support for a Subjective Fatness Index for Immobilized Polar Bears |
title_short |
Quantitative Support for a Subjective Fatness Index for Immobilized Polar Bears |
title_full |
Quantitative Support for a Subjective Fatness Index for Immobilized Polar Bears |
title_fullStr |
Quantitative Support for a Subjective Fatness Index for Immobilized Polar Bears |
title_full_unstemmed |
Quantitative Support for a Subjective Fatness Index for Immobilized Polar Bears |
title_sort |
quantitative support for a subjective fatness index for immobilized polar bears |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.2193/2007-123 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2193%2F2007-123 |
genre |
Beaufort Sea Hudson Bay Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Beaufort Sea Hudson Bay Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
The Journal of Wildlife Management volume 72, issue 2, page 568-574 ISSN 0022-541X 1937-2817 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2193/2007-123 |
container_title |
The Journal of Wildlife Management |
container_volume |
72 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
568 |
op_container_end_page |
574 |
_version_ |
1797580489685467136 |