Interpretations of Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Tracks by Inuit Hunters: Inter-rater Reliability and Inferences Concerning Accuracy

• Main Authors: Wong, P. B. Y., de Groot, P. van Coeverden, Fekken, C., Smith, H., Pages, Marie, Boag, P. T.
• Other Authors: Queen's University Kingston, Canada, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, Dept Psychol, Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Nunavut Wildlife Management Board; Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.; Sigma Xi; Northern Scientific Training Program; FRS-FNRS (Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - Fonds national de la Recherche Scientifique) (chargee de recherches) in Belgium
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2011
• Subjects: Polar Bear; tracking; traditional knowledge; interviews; non-invasive population monitoring; TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE; COEFFICIENT-ALPHA; CONSERVATION GENETICS; SEX DETERMINATION; COUNTS; SPOOR; INTERVIEW; DENSITY; CLIMATE; Ursus maritimus; population characteristics; Nunavut; POPULATION; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; inuit
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02645323

International audience Due to their tracking experience in pursuing Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus), Inuit hunters could provide non-invasive estimates of Polar Bear characteristics from tracks, and Polar Bear monitoring programs could benefit from Inuit input. We determined i) inter-rater reliability of estimates of the sex, age, and size of Polar Bears, and estimates of the age of tracks made by a group of nine Inuit hunters who interpreted 78 tracks; ii) we made preliminary comparisons of sex and size estimates with conventional (scientific) estimates; iii) we catalogued the Polar Bear hunting experience and track interpretation techniques of nine Inuit hunters; and iv) we explored relationships between hunting experience and the ability to interpret tracks. The group of Inuit hunters made reliable and consistent estimates of Polar Bear sex, age, and size, as well as estimates of age of track (after data from one participant was excluded). Although our comparisons are based on small samples, our findings suggest that Inuit hunters may be accurate in estimating the sex of Polar Bears (74.42% agreement with genetic determinations) and the size of Polar Bears from their tracks. Our data indicate shared tracking techniques used by hunters may explain high agreement in making specific estimates, while individual hunting experience and particular methods used to interpret tracks may lead to inter-rater reliability and accuracy in interpreting tracks.