Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss
Climate change is expected to result in range shifts and habitat fragmentation for many species. In the Arctic, loss of sea ice will reduce barriers to dispersal or eliminate movement corridors, resulting in increased connectivity or geographic isolation with sweeping implications for conservation....
Published in: | Ecology and Evolution |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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Language: | English |
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2018
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Online Access: | https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/6b1f7c07-19cd-4e25-8a0c-d3c95d5e4f18 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3809 https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/122291209/Laidre_et_al_2018_Ecology_and_Evolution.pdf |
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ftuniaarhuspubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/6b1f7c07-19cd-4e25-8a0c-d3c95d5e4f18 2024-02-11T10:01:15+01:00 Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss Laidre, Kristin L. Born, Erik W. Atkinson, Stephen N. Wiig, Oystein Andersen, Liselotte W. Lunn, Nicholas J. Dyck, Markus Regehr, Eric V. McGovern, Richard Heagerty, Patrick 2018-02 application/pdf https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/6b1f7c07-19cd-4e25-8a0c-d3c95d5e4f18 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3809 https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/122291209/Laidre_et_al_2018_Ecology_and_Evolution.pdf eng eng https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/6b1f7c07-19cd-4e25-8a0c-d3c95d5e4f18 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Laidre , K L , Born , E W , Atkinson , S N , Wiig , O , Andersen , L W , Lunn , N J , Dyck , M , Regehr , E V , McGovern , R & Heagerty , P 2018 , ' Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss ' , Ecology and Evolution , vol. 8 , no. 4 , pp. 2062-2075 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3809 animal movements Arctic contraction isolation polar bear range sea ice URSUS-MARITIMUS POPULATION-STRUCTURE CLIMATE-CHANGE BEAUFORT SEA HOME-RANGE HUDSON-BAY SPACE-USE HABITAT MOVEMENTS GREENLAND article 2018 ftuniaarhuspubl https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3809 2024-01-24T23:59:24Z Climate change is expected to result in range shifts and habitat fragmentation for many species. In the Arctic, loss of sea ice will reduce barriers to dispersal or eliminate movement corridors, resulting in increased connectivity or geographic isolation with sweeping implications for conservation. We used satellite telemetry, data from individually marked animals (research and harvest), and microsatellite genetic data to examine changes in geographic range, emigration, and interpopulation connectivity of the Baffin Bay (BB) polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulation over a 25-year period of sea-ice loss. Satellite telemetry collected from n = 43 (1991-1995) and 38 (2009-2015) adult females revealed a significant contraction in subpopulation range size (95% bivariate normal kernel range) in most months and seasons, with the most marked reduction being a 70% decline in summer from 716,000 km(2) (SE 58,000) to 211,000 km(2) (SE 23,000) (p <.001). Between the 1990s and 2000s, there was a significant shift northward during the on-ice seasons (2.6 degrees shift in winter median latitude, 1.1 degrees shift in spring median latitude) and a significant range contraction in the ice-free summers. Bears in the 2000s were less likely to leave BB, with significant reductions in the numbers of bears moving into Davis Strait (DS) in winter and Lancaster Sound (LS) in summer. Harvest recoveries suggested both short and long-term fidelity to BB remained high over both periods (83-99% of marked bears remained in BB). Genetic analyses using eight polymorphic microsatellites confirmed a previously documented differentiation between BB, DS, and LS; yet weakly differentiated BB from Kane Basin (KB) for the first time. Our results provide the first multiple lines of evidence for an increasingly geographically and functionally isolated subpopulation of polar bears in the context of long-term sea-ice loss. This may be indicative of future patterns for other polar bear subpopulations under climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Beaufort Sea Climate change Davis Strait Greenland Hudson Bay Kane Basin Lancaster Sound polar bear Sea ice Ursus maritimus Aarhus University: Research Arctic Baffin Bay Greenland Hudson Hudson Bay Kane ENVELOPE(-63.038,-63.038,-73.952,-73.952) Lancaster Sound ENVELOPE(-83.999,-83.999,74.218,74.218) Ecology and Evolution 8 4 2062 2075 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Aarhus University: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftuniaarhuspubl |
language |
English |
topic |
animal movements Arctic contraction isolation polar bear range sea ice URSUS-MARITIMUS POPULATION-STRUCTURE CLIMATE-CHANGE BEAUFORT SEA HOME-RANGE HUDSON-BAY SPACE-USE HABITAT MOVEMENTS GREENLAND |
spellingShingle |
animal movements Arctic contraction isolation polar bear range sea ice URSUS-MARITIMUS POPULATION-STRUCTURE CLIMATE-CHANGE BEAUFORT SEA HOME-RANGE HUDSON-BAY SPACE-USE HABITAT MOVEMENTS GREENLAND Laidre, Kristin L. Born, Erik W. Atkinson, Stephen N. Wiig, Oystein Andersen, Liselotte W. Lunn, Nicholas J. Dyck, Markus Regehr, Eric V. McGovern, Richard Heagerty, Patrick Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss |
topic_facet |
animal movements Arctic contraction isolation polar bear range sea ice URSUS-MARITIMUS POPULATION-STRUCTURE CLIMATE-CHANGE BEAUFORT SEA HOME-RANGE HUDSON-BAY SPACE-USE HABITAT MOVEMENTS GREENLAND |
description |
Climate change is expected to result in range shifts and habitat fragmentation for many species. In the Arctic, loss of sea ice will reduce barriers to dispersal or eliminate movement corridors, resulting in increased connectivity or geographic isolation with sweeping implications for conservation. We used satellite telemetry, data from individually marked animals (research and harvest), and microsatellite genetic data to examine changes in geographic range, emigration, and interpopulation connectivity of the Baffin Bay (BB) polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulation over a 25-year period of sea-ice loss. Satellite telemetry collected from n = 43 (1991-1995) and 38 (2009-2015) adult females revealed a significant contraction in subpopulation range size (95% bivariate normal kernel range) in most months and seasons, with the most marked reduction being a 70% decline in summer from 716,000 km(2) (SE 58,000) to 211,000 km(2) (SE 23,000) (p <.001). Between the 1990s and 2000s, there was a significant shift northward during the on-ice seasons (2.6 degrees shift in winter median latitude, 1.1 degrees shift in spring median latitude) and a significant range contraction in the ice-free summers. Bears in the 2000s were less likely to leave BB, with significant reductions in the numbers of bears moving into Davis Strait (DS) in winter and Lancaster Sound (LS) in summer. Harvest recoveries suggested both short and long-term fidelity to BB remained high over both periods (83-99% of marked bears remained in BB). Genetic analyses using eight polymorphic microsatellites confirmed a previously documented differentiation between BB, DS, and LS; yet weakly differentiated BB from Kane Basin (KB) for the first time. Our results provide the first multiple lines of evidence for an increasingly geographically and functionally isolated subpopulation of polar bears in the context of long-term sea-ice loss. This may be indicative of future patterns for other polar bear subpopulations under climate change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Laidre, Kristin L. Born, Erik W. Atkinson, Stephen N. Wiig, Oystein Andersen, Liselotte W. Lunn, Nicholas J. Dyck, Markus Regehr, Eric V. McGovern, Richard Heagerty, Patrick |
author_facet |
Laidre, Kristin L. Born, Erik W. Atkinson, Stephen N. Wiig, Oystein Andersen, Liselotte W. Lunn, Nicholas J. Dyck, Markus Regehr, Eric V. McGovern, Richard Heagerty, Patrick |
author_sort |
Laidre, Kristin L. |
title |
Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss |
title_short |
Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss |
title_full |
Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss |
title_fullStr |
Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss |
title_full_unstemmed |
Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss |
title_sort |
range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/6b1f7c07-19cd-4e25-8a0c-d3c95d5e4f18 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3809 https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/122291209/Laidre_et_al_2018_Ecology_and_Evolution.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.038,-63.038,-73.952,-73.952) ENVELOPE(-83.999,-83.999,74.218,74.218) |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay Greenland Hudson Hudson Bay Kane Lancaster Sound |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Greenland Hudson Hudson Bay Kane Lancaster Sound |
genre |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Beaufort Sea Climate change Davis Strait Greenland Hudson Bay Kane Basin Lancaster Sound polar bear Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Beaufort Sea Climate change Davis Strait Greenland Hudson Bay Kane Basin Lancaster Sound polar bear Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Laidre , K L , Born , E W , Atkinson , S N , Wiig , O , Andersen , L W , Lunn , N J , Dyck , M , Regehr , E V , McGovern , R & Heagerty , P 2018 , ' Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea-ice loss ' , Ecology and Evolution , vol. 8 , no. 4 , pp. 2062-2075 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3809 |
op_relation |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/6b1f7c07-19cd-4e25-8a0c-d3c95d5e4f18 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3809 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
2062 |
op_container_end_page |
2075 |
_version_ |
1790597036548030464 |