Data from: Dietary habits of polar bears in Foxe Basin, Canada: possible evidence of a trophic regime shift mediated by a new top predator
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulations in several areas with seasonal sea ice regimes have shown declines in body condition, reproductive rates, or abundance as a result of declining sea ice habitat. In the Foxe Basin region of Nunavut, Canada, the size of the polar bear subpopulation has remai...
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2017
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6618 |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:50|dedup_wf_001::79296e65aad621295709a89c04fe37eb 2023-05-15T15:36:01+02:00 Data from: Dietary habits of polar bears in Foxe Basin, Canada: possible evidence of a trophic regime shift mediated by a new top predator Galicia, Melissa P. Thiemann, Gregory W. Dyck, Markus G. Ferguson, Steven H. Higdon, Jeff W. 2017-01-01 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6618 undefined unknown Dryad Digital Repository https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6618 http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6618 lic_creative-commons 10.5061/dryad.k6618 oai:services.nod.dans.knaw.nl:Products/dans:oai:easy.dans.knaw.nl:easy-dataset:94256 oai:easy.dans.knaw.nl:easy-dataset:94256 10|openaire____::081b82f96300b6a6e3d282bad31cb6e2 re3data_____::r3d100000044 10|openaire____::9e3be59865b2c1c335d32dae2fe7b254 10|re3data_____::94816e6421eeb072e7742ce6a9decc5f 10|eurocrisdris::fe4903425d9040f680d8610d9079ea14 10|re3data_____::84e123776089ce3c7a33db98d9cd15a8 10|opendoar____::8b6dd7db9af49e67306feb59a8bdc52c Foxe Basin polar bear Marine mammals Fatty acid Life sciences medicine and health care envir geo Dataset https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_ddb1/ 2017 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6618 2023-01-22T16:53:39Z Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulations in several areas with seasonal sea ice regimes have shown declines in body condition, reproductive rates, or abundance as a result of declining sea ice habitat. In the Foxe Basin region of Nunavut, Canada, the size of the polar bear subpopulation has remained largely stable over the past 20 years, despite concurrent declines in sea ice habitat. We used fatty acid analysis to examine polar bear feeding habits in Foxe Basin and thus potentially identify ecological factors contributing to population stability. Adipose tissue samples were collected from 103 polar bears harvested during 2010–2012. Polar bear diet composition varied spatially within the region with ringed seal (Pusa hispida) comprising the primary prey in northern and southern Foxe Basin, whereas polar bears in Hudson Strait consumed equal proportions of ringed seal and harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus). Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) consumption was highest in northern Foxe Basin, a trend driven by the ability of adult male bears to capture large-bodied prey. Importantly, bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) contributed to polar bear diets in all areas and all age and sex classes. Bowhead carcasses resulting from killer whale (Orcinus orca) predation and subsistence harvest potentially provide an important supplementary food source for polar bears during the ice-free period. Our results suggest that the increasing abundance of killer whales and bowhead whales in the region could be indirectly contributing to improved polar bear foraging success despite declining sea ice habitat. However, this indirect interaction between top predators may be temporary if continued sea ice declines eventually severely limit on-ice feeding opportunities for polar bears. Galicia et al polar bear and prey fatty acid dataGalicia et al supplemental fatty acid data.xlsx Dataset Balaena mysticetus bowhead whale Foxe Basin Harp Seal Hudson Strait Killer Whale Nunavut Odobenus rosmarus Orca Orcinus orca Pagophilus groenlandicus Pusa hispida ringed seal Sea ice Ursus maritimus Killer whale walrus* Unknown Nunavut Canada Hudson Hudson Strait ENVELOPE(-70.000,-70.000,62.000,62.000) Foxe Basin ENVELOPE(-77.918,-77.918,65.931,65.931) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Foxe Basin polar bear Marine mammals Fatty acid Life sciences medicine and health care envir geo |
spellingShingle |
Foxe Basin polar bear Marine mammals Fatty acid Life sciences medicine and health care envir geo Galicia, Melissa P. Thiemann, Gregory W. Dyck, Markus G. Ferguson, Steven H. Higdon, Jeff W. Data from: Dietary habits of polar bears in Foxe Basin, Canada: possible evidence of a trophic regime shift mediated by a new top predator |
topic_facet |
Foxe Basin polar bear Marine mammals Fatty acid Life sciences medicine and health care envir geo |
description |
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulations in several areas with seasonal sea ice regimes have shown declines in body condition, reproductive rates, or abundance as a result of declining sea ice habitat. In the Foxe Basin region of Nunavut, Canada, the size of the polar bear subpopulation has remained largely stable over the past 20 years, despite concurrent declines in sea ice habitat. We used fatty acid analysis to examine polar bear feeding habits in Foxe Basin and thus potentially identify ecological factors contributing to population stability. Adipose tissue samples were collected from 103 polar bears harvested during 2010–2012. Polar bear diet composition varied spatially within the region with ringed seal (Pusa hispida) comprising the primary prey in northern and southern Foxe Basin, whereas polar bears in Hudson Strait consumed equal proportions of ringed seal and harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus). Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) consumption was highest in northern Foxe Basin, a trend driven by the ability of adult male bears to capture large-bodied prey. Importantly, bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) contributed to polar bear diets in all areas and all age and sex classes. Bowhead carcasses resulting from killer whale (Orcinus orca) predation and subsistence harvest potentially provide an important supplementary food source for polar bears during the ice-free period. Our results suggest that the increasing abundance of killer whales and bowhead whales in the region could be indirectly contributing to improved polar bear foraging success despite declining sea ice habitat. However, this indirect interaction between top predators may be temporary if continued sea ice declines eventually severely limit on-ice feeding opportunities for polar bears. Galicia et al polar bear and prey fatty acid dataGalicia et al supplemental fatty acid data.xlsx |
format |
Dataset |
author |
Galicia, Melissa P. Thiemann, Gregory W. Dyck, Markus G. Ferguson, Steven H. Higdon, Jeff W. |
author_facet |
Galicia, Melissa P. Thiemann, Gregory W. Dyck, Markus G. Ferguson, Steven H. Higdon, Jeff W. |
author_sort |
Galicia, Melissa P. |
title |
Data from: Dietary habits of polar bears in Foxe Basin, Canada: possible evidence of a trophic regime shift mediated by a new top predator |
title_short |
Data from: Dietary habits of polar bears in Foxe Basin, Canada: possible evidence of a trophic regime shift mediated by a new top predator |
title_full |
Data from: Dietary habits of polar bears in Foxe Basin, Canada: possible evidence of a trophic regime shift mediated by a new top predator |
title_fullStr |
Data from: Dietary habits of polar bears in Foxe Basin, Canada: possible evidence of a trophic regime shift mediated by a new top predator |
title_full_unstemmed |
Data from: Dietary habits of polar bears in Foxe Basin, Canada: possible evidence of a trophic regime shift mediated by a new top predator |
title_sort |
data from: dietary habits of polar bears in foxe basin, canada: possible evidence of a trophic regime shift mediated by a new top predator |
publisher |
Dryad Digital Repository |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6618 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-70.000,-70.000,62.000,62.000) ENVELOPE(-77.918,-77.918,65.931,65.931) |
geographic |
Nunavut Canada Hudson Hudson Strait Foxe Basin |
geographic_facet |
Nunavut Canada Hudson Hudson Strait Foxe Basin |
genre |
Balaena mysticetus bowhead whale Foxe Basin Harp Seal Hudson Strait Killer Whale Nunavut Odobenus rosmarus Orca Orcinus orca Pagophilus groenlandicus Pusa hispida ringed seal Sea ice Ursus maritimus Killer whale walrus* |
genre_facet |
Balaena mysticetus bowhead whale Foxe Basin Harp Seal Hudson Strait Killer Whale Nunavut Odobenus rosmarus Orca Orcinus orca Pagophilus groenlandicus Pusa hispida ringed seal Sea ice Ursus maritimus Killer whale walrus* |
op_source |
10.5061/dryad.k6618 oai:services.nod.dans.knaw.nl:Products/dans:oai:easy.dans.knaw.nl:easy-dataset:94256 oai:easy.dans.knaw.nl:easy-dataset:94256 10|openaire____::081b82f96300b6a6e3d282bad31cb6e2 re3data_____::r3d100000044 10|openaire____::9e3be59865b2c1c335d32dae2fe7b254 10|re3data_____::94816e6421eeb072e7742ce6a9decc5f 10|eurocrisdris::fe4903425d9040f680d8610d9079ea14 10|re3data_____::84e123776089ce3c7a33db98d9cd15a8 10|opendoar____::8b6dd7db9af49e67306feb59a8bdc52c |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6618 http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6618 |
op_rights |
lic_creative-commons |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6618 |
_version_ |
1766366355681968128 |