Polar bear population dynamics in the southern Beaufort Sea during a period of sea ice decline
In the southern Beaufort Sea of the United States and Canada, prior investigations have linked declines in summer sea ice to reduced physical condition, growth, and survival of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ). Combined with projections of population decline due to continued climate warming and the e...
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ftdatacite:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3296759.v1 2023-05-15T15:40:15+02:00 Polar bear population dynamics in the southern Beaufort Sea during a period of sea ice decline Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. McDonald, Trent L. Stirling, Ian Derocher, Andrew E. Richardson, Evan S. Regehr, Eric V. Douglas, David C. Durner, George M. Atwood, Todd Amstrup, Steven C. 2016 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3296759.v1 https://figshare.com/collections/Polar_bear_population_dynamics_in_the_southern_Beaufort_Sea_during_a_period_of_sea_ice_decline/3296759/1 unknown Figshare https://dx.doi.org/10.1890/14-1129.1 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3296759 CC-BY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us CC-BY Environmental Science Ecology FOS Biological sciences Collection article 2016 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3296759.v1 https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1129.1 https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3296759 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z In the southern Beaufort Sea of the United States and Canada, prior investigations have linked declines in summer sea ice to reduced physical condition, growth, and survival of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ). Combined with projections of population decline due to continued climate warming and the ensuing loss of sea ice habitat, those findings contributed to the 2008 decision to list the species as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Here, we used mark–recapture models to investigate the population dynamics of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea from 2001 to 2010, years during which the spatial and temporal extent of summer sea ice generally declined. Low survival from 2004 through 2006 led to a 25–50% decline in abundance. We hypothesize that low survival during this period resulted from (1) unfavorable ice conditions that limited access to prey during multiple seasons; and possibly, (2) low prey abundance. For reasons that are not clear, survival of adults and cubs began to improve in 2007 and abundance was comparatively stable from 2008 to 2010, with ~900 bears in 2010 (90% CI 606–1212). However, survival of subadult bears declined throughout the entire period. Reduced spatial and temporal availability of sea ice is expected to increasingly force population dynamics of polar bears as the climate continues to warm. However, in the short term, our findings suggest that factors other than sea ice can influence survival. A refined understanding of the ecological mechanisms underlying polar bear population dynamics is necessary to improve projections of their future status and facilitate development of management strategies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beaufort Sea Sea ice Ursus maritimus DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) Canada |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
op_collection_id |
ftdatacite |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Environmental Science Ecology FOS Biological sciences |
spellingShingle |
Environmental Science Ecology FOS Biological sciences Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. McDonald, Trent L. Stirling, Ian Derocher, Andrew E. Richardson, Evan S. Regehr, Eric V. Douglas, David C. Durner, George M. Atwood, Todd Amstrup, Steven C. Polar bear population dynamics in the southern Beaufort Sea during a period of sea ice decline |
topic_facet |
Environmental Science Ecology FOS Biological sciences |
description |
In the southern Beaufort Sea of the United States and Canada, prior investigations have linked declines in summer sea ice to reduced physical condition, growth, and survival of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ). Combined with projections of population decline due to continued climate warming and the ensuing loss of sea ice habitat, those findings contributed to the 2008 decision to list the species as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Here, we used mark–recapture models to investigate the population dynamics of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea from 2001 to 2010, years during which the spatial and temporal extent of summer sea ice generally declined. Low survival from 2004 through 2006 led to a 25–50% decline in abundance. We hypothesize that low survival during this period resulted from (1) unfavorable ice conditions that limited access to prey during multiple seasons; and possibly, (2) low prey abundance. For reasons that are not clear, survival of adults and cubs began to improve in 2007 and abundance was comparatively stable from 2008 to 2010, with ~900 bears in 2010 (90% CI 606–1212). However, survival of subadult bears declined throughout the entire period. Reduced spatial and temporal availability of sea ice is expected to increasingly force population dynamics of polar bears as the climate continues to warm. However, in the short term, our findings suggest that factors other than sea ice can influence survival. A refined understanding of the ecological mechanisms underlying polar bear population dynamics is necessary to improve projections of their future status and facilitate development of management strategies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. McDonald, Trent L. Stirling, Ian Derocher, Andrew E. Richardson, Evan S. Regehr, Eric V. Douglas, David C. Durner, George M. Atwood, Todd Amstrup, Steven C. |
author_facet |
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. McDonald, Trent L. Stirling, Ian Derocher, Andrew E. Richardson, Evan S. Regehr, Eric V. Douglas, David C. Durner, George M. Atwood, Todd Amstrup, Steven C. |
author_sort |
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. |
title |
Polar bear population dynamics in the southern Beaufort Sea during a period of sea ice decline |
title_short |
Polar bear population dynamics in the southern Beaufort Sea during a period of sea ice decline |
title_full |
Polar bear population dynamics in the southern Beaufort Sea during a period of sea ice decline |
title_fullStr |
Polar bear population dynamics in the southern Beaufort Sea during a period of sea ice decline |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polar bear population dynamics in the southern Beaufort Sea during a period of sea ice decline |
title_sort |
polar bear population dynamics in the southern beaufort sea during a period of sea ice decline |
publisher |
Figshare |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3296759.v1 https://figshare.com/collections/Polar_bear_population_dynamics_in_the_southern_Beaufort_Sea_during_a_period_of_sea_ice_decline/3296759/1 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Beaufort Sea Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Beaufort Sea Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.1890/14-1129.1 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3296759 |
op_rights |
CC-BY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3296759.v1 https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1129.1 https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3296759 |
_version_ |
1766372432107536384 |