The Clock Keeps Ticking: Circadian Rhythms of Free-Ranging Polar Bears ...
Life in the Arctic presents organisms with multiple challenges, including extreme photic conditions, cold temperatures, and annual loss and daily movement of sea ice. Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) evolved under these unique conditions, where they rely on ice to hunt their main prey, seals. However...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
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SAGE Journals
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.25384/sage.c.4830888 https://sage.figshare.com/collections/The_Clock_Keeps_Ticking_Circadian_Rhythms_of_Free-Ranging_Polar_Bears/4830888 |
| Summary: | Life in the Arctic presents organisms with multiple challenges, including extreme photic conditions, cold temperatures, and annual loss and daily movement of sea ice. Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) evolved under these unique conditions, where they rely on ice to hunt their main prey, seals. However, very little is known about the dynamics of their daily and seasonal activity patterns. For many organisms, activity is synchronized (entrained) to the earth’s day/night cycle, in part via an endogenous (circadian) timekeeping mechanism. The present study used collar-mounted accelerometer and global positioning system data from 122 female polar bears in the Chukchi and Southern Beaufort Seas collected over an 8-year period to characterize activity patterns over the calendar year and to determine if circadian rhythms are expressed under the constant conditions found in the Arctic. We reveal that the majority of polar bears (80%) exhibited rhythmic activity for the duration of their recordings. Collectively within ... |
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