Geographical Area and Life History Traits Influence Diet in an Arctic Marine Predator.
Global changes are thought to affect most Arctic species, yet some populations are more at risk. Today, the Barents Sea ecoregion is suffering the strongest sea ice retreat ever measured; and these changes are suspected to modify food access and thus diet of several species. Biochemical diet tracers...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a54f24a60a6d44b882d11e7dfc3f6751 2023-05-15T15:02:13+02:00 Geographical Area and Life History Traits Influence Diet in an Arctic Marine Predator. Sabrina Tartu Sophie Bourgeon Jon Aars Magnus Andersen Dorothee Ehrich Gregory W Thiemann Jeffrey M Welker Heli Routti 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155980 https://doaj.org/article/a54f24a60a6d44b882d11e7dfc3f6751 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4873193?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155980 https://doaj.org/article/a54f24a60a6d44b882d11e7dfc3f6751 PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 5, p e0155980 (2016) Medicine R Science Q article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155980 2022-12-31T04:07:25Z Global changes are thought to affect most Arctic species, yet some populations are more at risk. Today, the Barents Sea ecoregion is suffering the strongest sea ice retreat ever measured; and these changes are suspected to modify food access and thus diet of several species. Biochemical diet tracers enable investigation of diet in species such as polar bears (Ursus maritimus). We examined individual diet variation of female polar bears in Svalbard, Norway, and related it to year, season (spring and autumn), sampling area and breeding status (solitary, with cubs of the year or yearlings). Sampling areas were split according to their ice cover: North-West (less sea ice cover), South-East (larger amplitude in sea ice extent) and North-East/South-West (NESW) as bears from that zone are more mobile among all regions of Svalbard. We measured fatty acid (FA) composition in adipose tissue and carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes in plasma and red blood cells. Females feeding in the North-West area had lower δ15N values than those from the NESW. In South-East females, δ13C values were lower in autumn compared to spring and females seemed less selective in their diet as depicted by large variances in stable isotope values. Considering the differences in FA composition and stable isotope values, we suggest that females from the North-West and South-East could ingest a higher proportion of avian prey. With regard to breeding status, solitary females had higher δ15N values and smaller variance in their stable isotopic values than females with cubs, suggesting that solitary females were more selective and prey on higher trophic level species (i.e. seals). Overall, our results indicate that prey availability for Svalbard polar bears varies according to geographical area and prey selectivity differs according to breeding status. Our findings suggest that complex changes in sea ice and prey availability will interact to affect Svalbard polar bear feeding patterns and associated nutrition. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Barents Sea Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Barents Sea Norway Svalbard PLOS ONE 11 5 e0155980 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Sabrina Tartu Sophie Bourgeon Jon Aars Magnus Andersen Dorothee Ehrich Gregory W Thiemann Jeffrey M Welker Heli Routti Geographical Area and Life History Traits Influence Diet in an Arctic Marine Predator. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Global changes are thought to affect most Arctic species, yet some populations are more at risk. Today, the Barents Sea ecoregion is suffering the strongest sea ice retreat ever measured; and these changes are suspected to modify food access and thus diet of several species. Biochemical diet tracers enable investigation of diet in species such as polar bears (Ursus maritimus). We examined individual diet variation of female polar bears in Svalbard, Norway, and related it to year, season (spring and autumn), sampling area and breeding status (solitary, with cubs of the year or yearlings). Sampling areas were split according to their ice cover: North-West (less sea ice cover), South-East (larger amplitude in sea ice extent) and North-East/South-West (NESW) as bears from that zone are more mobile among all regions of Svalbard. We measured fatty acid (FA) composition in adipose tissue and carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes in plasma and red blood cells. Females feeding in the North-West area had lower δ15N values than those from the NESW. In South-East females, δ13C values were lower in autumn compared to spring and females seemed less selective in their diet as depicted by large variances in stable isotope values. Considering the differences in FA composition and stable isotope values, we suggest that females from the North-West and South-East could ingest a higher proportion of avian prey. With regard to breeding status, solitary females had higher δ15N values and smaller variance in their stable isotopic values than females with cubs, suggesting that solitary females were more selective and prey on higher trophic level species (i.e. seals). Overall, our results indicate that prey availability for Svalbard polar bears varies according to geographical area and prey selectivity differs according to breeding status. Our findings suggest that complex changes in sea ice and prey availability will interact to affect Svalbard polar bear feeding patterns and associated nutrition. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sabrina Tartu Sophie Bourgeon Jon Aars Magnus Andersen Dorothee Ehrich Gregory W Thiemann Jeffrey M Welker Heli Routti |
author_facet |
Sabrina Tartu Sophie Bourgeon Jon Aars Magnus Andersen Dorothee Ehrich Gregory W Thiemann Jeffrey M Welker Heli Routti |
author_sort |
Sabrina Tartu |
title |
Geographical Area and Life History Traits Influence Diet in an Arctic Marine Predator. |
title_short |
Geographical Area and Life History Traits Influence Diet in an Arctic Marine Predator. |
title_full |
Geographical Area and Life History Traits Influence Diet in an Arctic Marine Predator. |
title_fullStr |
Geographical Area and Life History Traits Influence Diet in an Arctic Marine Predator. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Geographical Area and Life History Traits Influence Diet in an Arctic Marine Predator. |
title_sort |
geographical area and life history traits influence diet in an arctic marine predator. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155980 https://doaj.org/article/a54f24a60a6d44b882d11e7dfc3f6751 |
geographic |
Arctic Barents Sea Norway Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Norway Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Barents Sea Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 5, p e0155980 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4873193?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155980 https://doaj.org/article/a54f24a60a6d44b882d11e7dfc3f6751 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155980 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
e0155980 |
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1766334195516309504 |