Interrelated ecological impacts of climate change on an apex predator
Climate change has broad ecological implications for species that rely on sensitive habitats. For some top predators, loss of habitat is expected to lead to cascading behavioral, nutritional, and reproductive changes that ultimately accelerate population declines. In the case of the polar bear (Ursu...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:7317597 2023-05-15T15:16:32+02:00 Interrelated ecological impacts of climate change on an apex predator Laidre, Kristin L. Atkinson, Stephen Regehr, Eric V. Stern, Harry L. Born, Erik W. Wiig, Øystein Lunn, Nicholas J. Dyck, Markus 2020-02-04 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7317597/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31925853 https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2071 en eng John Wiley and Sons Inc. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7317597/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31925853 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eap.2071 © 2020 The Authors. Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Ecological Society of America This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. CC-BY Ecol Appl Articles Text 2020 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2071 2020-07-05T00:46:49Z Climate change has broad ecological implications for species that rely on sensitive habitats. For some top predators, loss of habitat is expected to lead to cascading behavioral, nutritional, and reproductive changes that ultimately accelerate population declines. In the case of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), declining Arctic sea ice reduces access to prey and lengthens seasonal fasting periods. We used a novel combination of physical capture, biopsy darting, and visual aerial observation data to project reproductive performance for polar bears by linking sea ice loss to changes in habitat use, body condition (i.e., fatness), and cub production. Satellite telemetry data from 43 (1991–1997) and 38 (2009–2015) adult female polar bears in the Baffin Bay subpopulation showed that bears now spend an additional 30 d on land (90 d in total) in the 2000s compared to the 1990s, a change closely correlated with changes in spring sea ice breakup and fall sea ice formation. Body condition declined for all sex, age, and reproductive classes and was positively correlated with sea ice availability in the current and previous year. Furthermore, cub litter size was positively correlated with maternal condition and spring breakup date (i.e., later breakup leading to larger litters), and negatively correlated with the duration of the ice‐free period (i.e., longer ice‐free periods leading to smaller litters). Based on these relationships, we projected reproductive performance three polar bear generations into the future (approximately 35 yr). Results indicate that two‐cub litters, previously the norm, could largely disappear from Baffin Bay as sea ice loss continues. Our findings demonstrate how concurrent analysis of multiple data types collected over long periods from polar bears can provide a mechanistic understanding of the ecological implications of climate change. This information is needed for long‐term conservation planning, which includes quantitative harvest risk assessments that incorporate estimated or assumed trends ... Text Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Climate change Sea ice Ursus maritimus PubMed Central (PMC) Arctic Baffin Bay Ecological Applications 30 4 |
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Articles Laidre, Kristin L. Atkinson, Stephen Regehr, Eric V. Stern, Harry L. Born, Erik W. Wiig, Øystein Lunn, Nicholas J. Dyck, Markus Interrelated ecological impacts of climate change on an apex predator |
topic_facet |
Articles |
description |
Climate change has broad ecological implications for species that rely on sensitive habitats. For some top predators, loss of habitat is expected to lead to cascading behavioral, nutritional, and reproductive changes that ultimately accelerate population declines. In the case of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), declining Arctic sea ice reduces access to prey and lengthens seasonal fasting periods. We used a novel combination of physical capture, biopsy darting, and visual aerial observation data to project reproductive performance for polar bears by linking sea ice loss to changes in habitat use, body condition (i.e., fatness), and cub production. Satellite telemetry data from 43 (1991–1997) and 38 (2009–2015) adult female polar bears in the Baffin Bay subpopulation showed that bears now spend an additional 30 d on land (90 d in total) in the 2000s compared to the 1990s, a change closely correlated with changes in spring sea ice breakup and fall sea ice formation. Body condition declined for all sex, age, and reproductive classes and was positively correlated with sea ice availability in the current and previous year. Furthermore, cub litter size was positively correlated with maternal condition and spring breakup date (i.e., later breakup leading to larger litters), and negatively correlated with the duration of the ice‐free period (i.e., longer ice‐free periods leading to smaller litters). Based on these relationships, we projected reproductive performance three polar bear generations into the future (approximately 35 yr). Results indicate that two‐cub litters, previously the norm, could largely disappear from Baffin Bay as sea ice loss continues. Our findings demonstrate how concurrent analysis of multiple data types collected over long periods from polar bears can provide a mechanistic understanding of the ecological implications of climate change. This information is needed for long‐term conservation planning, which includes quantitative harvest risk assessments that incorporate estimated or assumed trends ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Laidre, Kristin L. Atkinson, Stephen Regehr, Eric V. Stern, Harry L. Born, Erik W. Wiig, Øystein Lunn, Nicholas J. Dyck, Markus |
author_facet |
Laidre, Kristin L. Atkinson, Stephen Regehr, Eric V. Stern, Harry L. Born, Erik W. Wiig, Øystein Lunn, Nicholas J. Dyck, Markus |
author_sort |
Laidre, Kristin L. |
title |
Interrelated ecological impacts of climate change on an apex predator |
title_short |
Interrelated ecological impacts of climate change on an apex predator |
title_full |
Interrelated ecological impacts of climate change on an apex predator |
title_fullStr |
Interrelated ecological impacts of climate change on an apex predator |
title_full_unstemmed |
Interrelated ecological impacts of climate change on an apex predator |
title_sort |
interrelated ecological impacts of climate change on an apex predator |
publisher |
John Wiley and Sons Inc. |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7317597/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31925853 https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2071 |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay |
genre |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Climate change Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Climate change Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Ecol Appl |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7317597/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31925853 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eap.2071 |
op_rights |
© 2020 The Authors. Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Ecological Society of America This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2071 |
container_title |
Ecological Applications |
container_volume |
30 |
container_issue |
4 |
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1766346827266785280 |