Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns
Abstract Background The spatial ecology of individuals often varies within a population or species. Identifying how individuals in different classes interact with their environment can lead to a better understanding of population responses to human activities and environmental change and improve pop...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0e3c426113dc4cd5ac5d683365844cd8 2023-05-15T15:54:34+02:00 Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns Ryan R. Wilson Michelle St. Martin Eric V. Regehr Karyn D. Rode 2022-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00326-5 https://doaj.org/article/0e3c426113dc4cd5ac5d683365844cd8 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00326-5 https://doaj.org/toc/2051-3933 doi:10.1186/s40462-022-00326-5 2051-3933 https://doaj.org/article/0e3c426113dc4cd5ac5d683365844cd8 Movement Ecology, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2022) Age class Chukchi Sea subpopulation Movement Polar bear Spatial ecology Sex Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00326-5 2022-12-31T03:02:37Z Abstract Background The spatial ecology of individuals often varies within a population or species. Identifying how individuals in different classes interact with their environment can lead to a better understanding of population responses to human activities and environmental change and improve population estimates. Most inferences about polar bear (Ursus maritimus) spatial ecology are based on data from adult females due to morphological constraints on applying satellite radio collars to other classes of bears. Recent studies, however, have provided limited movement data for adult males and sub-adults of both sexes using ear-mounted and glue-on tags. We evaluated class-specific movements and step selection patterns for polar bears in the Chukchi Sea subpopulation during spring. Methods We developed hierarchical Bayesian models to evaluate polar bear movement (i.e., step length and directional persistence) and step selection at the scale of 4-day step lengths. We assessed differences in movement and step selection parameters among the three classes of polar bears (i.e., adult males, sub-adults, and adult females without cubs-of-the-year). Results Adult males had larger step lengths and less directed movements than adult females. Sub-adult movement parameters did not differ from the other classes but point estimates were most similar to adult females. We did not detect differences among polar bear classes in step selection parameters and parameter estimates were consistent with previous studies. Conclusions Our findings support the use of estimated step selection patterns from adult females as a proxy for other classes of polar bears during spring. Conversely, movement analyses indicated that using data from adult females as a proxy for the movements of adult males is likely inappropriate. We recommend that researchers consider whether it is valid to extend inference derived from adult female movements to other classes, based on the questions being asked and the spatial and temporal scope of the data. Because ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Chukchi Chukchi Sea Ursus maritimus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Chukchi Sea Movement Ecology 10 1 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Age class Chukchi Sea subpopulation Movement Polar bear Spatial ecology Sex Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
Age class Chukchi Sea subpopulation Movement Polar bear Spatial ecology Sex Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ryan R. Wilson Michelle St. Martin Eric V. Regehr Karyn D. Rode Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns |
topic_facet |
Age class Chukchi Sea subpopulation Movement Polar bear Spatial ecology Sex Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
Abstract Background The spatial ecology of individuals often varies within a population or species. Identifying how individuals in different classes interact with their environment can lead to a better understanding of population responses to human activities and environmental change and improve population estimates. Most inferences about polar bear (Ursus maritimus) spatial ecology are based on data from adult females due to morphological constraints on applying satellite radio collars to other classes of bears. Recent studies, however, have provided limited movement data for adult males and sub-adults of both sexes using ear-mounted and glue-on tags. We evaluated class-specific movements and step selection patterns for polar bears in the Chukchi Sea subpopulation during spring. Methods We developed hierarchical Bayesian models to evaluate polar bear movement (i.e., step length and directional persistence) and step selection at the scale of 4-day step lengths. We assessed differences in movement and step selection parameters among the three classes of polar bears (i.e., adult males, sub-adults, and adult females without cubs-of-the-year). Results Adult males had larger step lengths and less directed movements than adult females. Sub-adult movement parameters did not differ from the other classes but point estimates were most similar to adult females. We did not detect differences among polar bear classes in step selection parameters and parameter estimates were consistent with previous studies. Conclusions Our findings support the use of estimated step selection patterns from adult females as a proxy for other classes of polar bears during spring. Conversely, movement analyses indicated that using data from adult females as a proxy for the movements of adult males is likely inappropriate. We recommend that researchers consider whether it is valid to extend inference derived from adult female movements to other classes, based on the questions being asked and the spatial and temporal scope of the data. Because ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ryan R. Wilson Michelle St. Martin Eric V. Regehr Karyn D. Rode |
author_facet |
Ryan R. Wilson Michelle St. Martin Eric V. Regehr Karyn D. Rode |
author_sort |
Ryan R. Wilson |
title |
Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns |
title_short |
Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns |
title_full |
Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns |
title_fullStr |
Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns |
title_full_unstemmed |
Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns |
title_sort |
intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00326-5 https://doaj.org/article/0e3c426113dc4cd5ac5d683365844cd8 |
geographic |
Chukchi Sea |
geographic_facet |
Chukchi Sea |
genre |
Chukchi Chukchi Sea Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Chukchi Chukchi Sea Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Movement Ecology, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00326-5 https://doaj.org/toc/2051-3933 doi:10.1186/s40462-022-00326-5 2051-3933 https://doaj.org/article/0e3c426113dc4cd5ac5d683365844cd8 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00326-5 |
container_title |
Movement Ecology |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766389809451892736 |