Post-Den Emergence Behavior and Den Detection of Polar Bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in Northern Alaska and the Southern Beaufort Sea
Pregnant polar bears (Ursus maritimus) construct maternal dens out of snow in the autumn where they give birth to and raise altricial young. In recent years, there has been a decrease in polar sea ice extent and thickness, which has led to changes in denning behavior. One such change in the southern...
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ftbrighamyoung:oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-5402 2023-07-23T04:18:34+02:00 Post-Den Emergence Behavior and Den Detection of Polar Bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in Northern Alaska and the Southern Beaufort Sea Robinson, Rusty Wade 2014-03-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4403 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/context/etd/article/5402/viewcontent/etd6892.pdf unknown BYU ScholarsArchive https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4403 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/context/etd/article/5402/viewcontent/etd6892.pdf http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ Theses and Dissertations Alaska Beaufort Sea climate change cub mortality FLIR maternity den North Slope polar bear Ursus maritimus Animal Sciences text 2014 ftbrighamyoung 2023-07-03T22:22:52Z Pregnant polar bears (Ursus maritimus) construct maternal dens out of snow in the autumn where they give birth to and raise altricial young. In recent years, there has been a decrease in polar sea ice extent and thickness, which has led to changes in denning behavior. One such change in the southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) is that polar bears are selecting maternal den sites on land, rather than on unstable sea ice. This change, coupled with expanding petroleum exploration along Alaska's North Slope, heightens the likelihood of bear-human interactions at maternal den sites. The purpose of this research was to 1) describe polar bears' post-den emergence behavior, establishing a benchmark for comparison to identify behavioral changes associated with climate change and disturbance, and 2) explore factors influencing the efficacy of a currently used den detection method, forward-looking infrared (FLIR). Maternal den sites were observed along Alaska's North Slope from March to April of 2009 and 2010. The mean length of stay at den sites post-emergence was 11.3 ± 7.5 d. The mean date of den emergence was 14 March; abandonment 26 March. Adult females were generally inactive (58.4% out-of-den time) with standing being the most prevalent activity (49.9%). Cubs were generally active (76.7%), playing more than any other activity (45.3%). Bears spent the majority of their time in the den (97.3% for adult females and 99% for cubs) with short bouts of intermittent activity (× = 7 min 42 s). We documented the death of one member of a triplet polar bear litter at its den site. All three cubs showed low activity levels relative to other cubs observed, and one died within one week of den emergence. Necropsy confirmed that the dead cub had a low body weight and was malnourished. Capture later confirmed that the two surviving cubs were also undersized. Triplet litters are often smaller and suffer higher mortality rates than singletons and twins. This cub was not only a triplet but also born following 2 y of record minimum sea ice ... Text Beaufort Sea north slope polar bear Sea ice Ursus maritimus Alaska Brigham Young University (BYU): ScholarsArchive |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Brigham Young University (BYU): ScholarsArchive |
op_collection_id |
ftbrighamyoung |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Alaska Beaufort Sea climate change cub mortality FLIR maternity den North Slope polar bear Ursus maritimus Animal Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Alaska Beaufort Sea climate change cub mortality FLIR maternity den North Slope polar bear Ursus maritimus Animal Sciences Robinson, Rusty Wade Post-Den Emergence Behavior and Den Detection of Polar Bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in Northern Alaska and the Southern Beaufort Sea |
topic_facet |
Alaska Beaufort Sea climate change cub mortality FLIR maternity den North Slope polar bear Ursus maritimus Animal Sciences |
description |
Pregnant polar bears (Ursus maritimus) construct maternal dens out of snow in the autumn where they give birth to and raise altricial young. In recent years, there has been a decrease in polar sea ice extent and thickness, which has led to changes in denning behavior. One such change in the southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) is that polar bears are selecting maternal den sites on land, rather than on unstable sea ice. This change, coupled with expanding petroleum exploration along Alaska's North Slope, heightens the likelihood of bear-human interactions at maternal den sites. The purpose of this research was to 1) describe polar bears' post-den emergence behavior, establishing a benchmark for comparison to identify behavioral changes associated with climate change and disturbance, and 2) explore factors influencing the efficacy of a currently used den detection method, forward-looking infrared (FLIR). Maternal den sites were observed along Alaska's North Slope from March to April of 2009 and 2010. The mean length of stay at den sites post-emergence was 11.3 ± 7.5 d. The mean date of den emergence was 14 March; abandonment 26 March. Adult females were generally inactive (58.4% out-of-den time) with standing being the most prevalent activity (49.9%). Cubs were generally active (76.7%), playing more than any other activity (45.3%). Bears spent the majority of their time in the den (97.3% for adult females and 99% for cubs) with short bouts of intermittent activity (× = 7 min 42 s). We documented the death of one member of a triplet polar bear litter at its den site. All three cubs showed low activity levels relative to other cubs observed, and one died within one week of den emergence. Necropsy confirmed that the dead cub had a low body weight and was malnourished. Capture later confirmed that the two surviving cubs were also undersized. Triplet litters are often smaller and suffer higher mortality rates than singletons and twins. This cub was not only a triplet but also born following 2 y of record minimum sea ice ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Robinson, Rusty Wade |
author_facet |
Robinson, Rusty Wade |
author_sort |
Robinson, Rusty Wade |
title |
Post-Den Emergence Behavior and Den Detection of Polar Bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in Northern Alaska and the Southern Beaufort Sea |
title_short |
Post-Den Emergence Behavior and Den Detection of Polar Bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in Northern Alaska and the Southern Beaufort Sea |
title_full |
Post-Den Emergence Behavior and Den Detection of Polar Bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in Northern Alaska and the Southern Beaufort Sea |
title_fullStr |
Post-Den Emergence Behavior and Den Detection of Polar Bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in Northern Alaska and the Southern Beaufort Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Post-Den Emergence Behavior and Den Detection of Polar Bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in Northern Alaska and the Southern Beaufort Sea |
title_sort |
post-den emergence behavior and den detection of polar bears ( ursus maritimus ) in northern alaska and the southern beaufort sea |
publisher |
BYU ScholarsArchive |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4403 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/context/etd/article/5402/viewcontent/etd6892.pdf |
genre |
Beaufort Sea north slope polar bear Sea ice Ursus maritimus Alaska |
genre_facet |
Beaufort Sea north slope polar bear Sea ice Ursus maritimus Alaska |
op_source |
Theses and Dissertations |
op_relation |
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4403 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/context/etd/article/5402/viewcontent/etd6892.pdf |
op_rights |
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
_version_ |
1772180967283228672 |