High contributions of sea ice derived carbon in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) tissue.
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) rely upon Arctic sea ice as a physical habitat. Consequently, conservation assessments of polar bears identify the ongoing reduction in sea ice to represent a significant threat to their survival. However, the additional role of sea ice as a potential, indirect, source...
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Language: | English |
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10749 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191631 |
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ftunivplympearl:oai:pearl.plymouth.ac.uk:10026.1/10749 2023-05-15T14:52:35+02:00 High contributions of sea ice derived carbon in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) tissue. Brown, TA Galicia, MP Thiemann, GW Belt, ST Yurkowski, DJ Dyck, MG 2018-01-23 e0191631 - e0191631 http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10749 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191631 en eng E-ISSN:1932-6203 http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10749 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191631 1932-6203 Not known Journal Article 2018 ftunivplympearl https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191631 2021-03-09T18:35:42Z Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) rely upon Arctic sea ice as a physical habitat. Consequently, conservation assessments of polar bears identify the ongoing reduction in sea ice to represent a significant threat to their survival. However, the additional role of sea ice as a potential, indirect, source of energy to bears has been overlooked. Here we used the highly branched isoprenoid lipid biomarker-based index (H-Print) approach in combination with quantitative fatty acid signature analysis to show that sympagic (sea ice-associated), rather than pelagic, carbon contributions dominated the marine component of polar bear diet (72-100%; 99% CI, n = 55), irrespective of differences in diet composition. The lowest mean estimates of sympagic carbon were found in Baffin Bay bears, which were also exposed to the most rapidly increasing open water season. Therefore, our data illustrate that for future Arctic ecosystems that are likely to be characterised by reduced sea ice cover, polar bears will not only be impacted by a change in their physical habitat, but also potentially in the supply of energy to the ecosystems upon which they depend. This data represents the first quantifiable baseline that is critical for the assessment of likely ongoing changes in energy supply to Arctic predators as we move into an increasingly uncertain future for polar ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Sea ice Ursus maritimus PEARL (Plymouth Electronic Archiv & ResearchLibrary, Plymouth University) Arctic Baffin Bay PLOS ONE 13 1 e0191631 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PEARL (Plymouth Electronic Archiv & ResearchLibrary, Plymouth University) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivplympearl |
language |
English |
description |
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) rely upon Arctic sea ice as a physical habitat. Consequently, conservation assessments of polar bears identify the ongoing reduction in sea ice to represent a significant threat to their survival. However, the additional role of sea ice as a potential, indirect, source of energy to bears has been overlooked. Here we used the highly branched isoprenoid lipid biomarker-based index (H-Print) approach in combination with quantitative fatty acid signature analysis to show that sympagic (sea ice-associated), rather than pelagic, carbon contributions dominated the marine component of polar bear diet (72-100%; 99% CI, n = 55), irrespective of differences in diet composition. The lowest mean estimates of sympagic carbon were found in Baffin Bay bears, which were also exposed to the most rapidly increasing open water season. Therefore, our data illustrate that for future Arctic ecosystems that are likely to be characterised by reduced sea ice cover, polar bears will not only be impacted by a change in their physical habitat, but also potentially in the supply of energy to the ecosystems upon which they depend. This data represents the first quantifiable baseline that is critical for the assessment of likely ongoing changes in energy supply to Arctic predators as we move into an increasingly uncertain future for polar ecosystems. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brown, TA Galicia, MP Thiemann, GW Belt, ST Yurkowski, DJ Dyck, MG |
spellingShingle |
Brown, TA Galicia, MP Thiemann, GW Belt, ST Yurkowski, DJ Dyck, MG High contributions of sea ice derived carbon in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) tissue. |
author_facet |
Brown, TA Galicia, MP Thiemann, GW Belt, ST Yurkowski, DJ Dyck, MG |
author_sort |
Brown, TA |
title |
High contributions of sea ice derived carbon in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) tissue. |
title_short |
High contributions of sea ice derived carbon in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) tissue. |
title_full |
High contributions of sea ice derived carbon in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) tissue. |
title_fullStr |
High contributions of sea ice derived carbon in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) tissue. |
title_full_unstemmed |
High contributions of sea ice derived carbon in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) tissue. |
title_sort |
high contributions of sea ice derived carbon in polar bear (ursus maritimus) tissue. |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10749 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191631 |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay |
genre |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
op_relation |
E-ISSN:1932-6203 http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10749 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191631 1932-6203 |
op_rights |
Not known |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191631 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
e0191631 |
_version_ |
1766323819626102784 |