Stability of space use in Svalbard coastal female polar bears: intra-individual variability and influence of kinship
Philopatry influences animal distribution and can lead to a kinship-based spatial structure, where proximity and relatedness are tightly linked. In the Barents Sea region, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the coastal ecotype remain year-round within the Svalbard archipelago. This coastal strategy is...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2021
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5e8aa870ff434af18ac64a90e51cad54 2023-05-15T15:38:48+02:00 Stability of space use in Svalbard coastal female polar bears: intra-individual variability and influence of kinship Clément Brun Marie-Anne Blanchet Rolf A. Ims Jon Aars 2021-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.5355 https://doaj.org/article/5e8aa870ff434af18ac64a90e51cad54 EN eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/5355/13574 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v40.5355 https://doaj.org/article/5e8aa870ff434af18ac64a90e51cad54 Polar Research, Vol 40, Pp 1-10 (2021) philopatry site fidelity ursus maritimus habitat use female kin barents sea Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.5355 2022-12-31T14:35:47Z Philopatry influences animal distribution and can lead to a kinship-based spatial structure, where proximity and relatedness are tightly linked. In the Barents Sea region, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the coastal ecotype remain year-round within the Svalbard archipelago. This coastal strategy is thought to be stable across years; however, little is known about the intra-individual variability in site fidelity or the influence of kinship on space use. Using high-resolution GPS telemetry, we looked at multi-year philopatry among 17 coastal female polar bears over eight years (2011–19) and investigated whether it is linked to the females’ degree of kinship. Individuals showed a stable space use in both consecutive and non-consecutive years. Yearly individual home ranges (HRs) overlapped, on average, by 44% (range: 9–96%), and their centroids were, on average, 15 km (range: 2–63 km) apart. The space use of related females revealed a year-round strong female kin structure. Annual HRs of related females overlapped, on average, by 24% (range: 0–66%), and their centroids were, on average, 18 km (range: 2–52 km) apart. In contrast, non-related females had much larger distances between centroids (average: 160 km, range: 59–283 km). Additionally, females showed a great site fidelity in all seasons: individual seasonal HR centroids were, on average, less than 30 km (range: 1.8–172 km) apart. Bears in this region seem to exhibit a stronger site fidelity than those reported from other parts of the species range. These findings also highlight the importance of maternal learning in space use. Article in Journal/Newspaper Barents Sea Polar Research Svalbard Ursus maritimus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Barents Sea Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago Polar Research 40 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
philopatry site fidelity ursus maritimus habitat use female kin barents sea Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
philopatry site fidelity ursus maritimus habitat use female kin barents sea Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 Clément Brun Marie-Anne Blanchet Rolf A. Ims Jon Aars Stability of space use in Svalbard coastal female polar bears: intra-individual variability and influence of kinship |
topic_facet |
philopatry site fidelity ursus maritimus habitat use female kin barents sea Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Philopatry influences animal distribution and can lead to a kinship-based spatial structure, where proximity and relatedness are tightly linked. In the Barents Sea region, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the coastal ecotype remain year-round within the Svalbard archipelago. This coastal strategy is thought to be stable across years; however, little is known about the intra-individual variability in site fidelity or the influence of kinship on space use. Using high-resolution GPS telemetry, we looked at multi-year philopatry among 17 coastal female polar bears over eight years (2011–19) and investigated whether it is linked to the females’ degree of kinship. Individuals showed a stable space use in both consecutive and non-consecutive years. Yearly individual home ranges (HRs) overlapped, on average, by 44% (range: 9–96%), and their centroids were, on average, 15 km (range: 2–63 km) apart. The space use of related females revealed a year-round strong female kin structure. Annual HRs of related females overlapped, on average, by 24% (range: 0–66%), and their centroids were, on average, 18 km (range: 2–52 km) apart. In contrast, non-related females had much larger distances between centroids (average: 160 km, range: 59–283 km). Additionally, females showed a great site fidelity in all seasons: individual seasonal HR centroids were, on average, less than 30 km (range: 1.8–172 km) apart. Bears in this region seem to exhibit a stronger site fidelity than those reported from other parts of the species range. These findings also highlight the importance of maternal learning in space use. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Clément Brun Marie-Anne Blanchet Rolf A. Ims Jon Aars |
author_facet |
Clément Brun Marie-Anne Blanchet Rolf A. Ims Jon Aars |
author_sort |
Clément Brun |
title |
Stability of space use in Svalbard coastal female polar bears: intra-individual variability and influence of kinship |
title_short |
Stability of space use in Svalbard coastal female polar bears: intra-individual variability and influence of kinship |
title_full |
Stability of space use in Svalbard coastal female polar bears: intra-individual variability and influence of kinship |
title_fullStr |
Stability of space use in Svalbard coastal female polar bears: intra-individual variability and influence of kinship |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stability of space use in Svalbard coastal female polar bears: intra-individual variability and influence of kinship |
title_sort |
stability of space use in svalbard coastal female polar bears: intra-individual variability and influence of kinship |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.5355 https://doaj.org/article/5e8aa870ff434af18ac64a90e51cad54 |
geographic |
Barents Sea Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Barents Sea Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
genre |
Barents Sea Polar Research Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Barents Sea Polar Research Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 40, Pp 1-10 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/5355/13574 https://doaj.org/toc/0800-0395 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v40.5355 https://doaj.org/article/5e8aa870ff434af18ac64a90e51cad54 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.5355 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
40 |
_version_ |
1766370141965123584 |