Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears
Polar bears Ursus maritimus are currently facing rapid environmental changes with loss of sea ice and shifts in their prey distribution. Two distinct ecotypes exist in the Barents Sea, where sea ice is decreasing at the highest rate in the Arctic. Coastal bears remain within the Archipelago of Svalb...
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Inter Research
2020
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/19707 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13290 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/19707 2023-05-15T15:13:00+02:00 Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears Blanchet, Marie-Anne Aars, Jon Andersen, Magnus Routti, Heli 2020-04-02 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/19707 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13290 eng eng Inter Research Marine Ecology Progress Series Blanchet, Aars, Andersen, Routti. Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 2020;639:1-19 FRIDAID 1838153 doi:10.3354/meps13290 0171-8630 1616-1599 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/19707 openAccess Copyright 2020 The Author(s) VDP::Agriculture and fishery disciplines: 900::Fisheries science: 920 VDP::Landbruks- og Fiskerifag: 900::Fiskerifag: 920 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2020 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13290 2021-06-25T17:57:44Z Polar bears Ursus maritimus are currently facing rapid environmental changes with loss of sea ice and shifts in their prey distribution. Two distinct ecotypes exist in the Barents Sea, where sea ice is decreasing at the highest rate in the Arctic. Coastal bears remain within the Archipelago of Svalbard year-round, whereas offshore bears follow the marginal ice zone (MIZ). We explored these 2 ecotypes’ habitat use, activity and energy needs as well as seasonal variation within these parameters. During the period from 2011-2018, adult female polar bears were equipped with GPS collars and activity sensors (n = 84); 46 of these were equipped with conductivity switches to record aquatic behaviour. Offshore bears travelled longer distances at a higher speed on land and at sea away from land and had a higher activity rate compared to coastal bears. This translated into higher overall energy expenditure. Offshore bears also undertook more distant and energetically costly trips from land to the MIZ, swimming in open water. Both ecotypes showed similar seasonal patterns of activity and movement consistent with their life history linked to sea ice phenology. Despite higher energy expenditure, the offshore strategy seemed to be as profitable as the coastal one as females had marginally better spring body condition, likely due to their specialized high caloric diet of seals throughout the year. However, both ecotypes are currently experiencing habitat changes. Future studies should aim to predict how rapidly declining sea ice in the Barents Sea may challenge polar bears energetically during the coming decades. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Barents Sea Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Arctic Barents Sea Svalbard Marine Ecology Progress Series 639 1 19 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Agriculture and fishery disciplines: 900::Fisheries science: 920 VDP::Landbruks- og Fiskerifag: 900::Fiskerifag: 920 |
spellingShingle |
VDP::Agriculture and fishery disciplines: 900::Fisheries science: 920 VDP::Landbruks- og Fiskerifag: 900::Fiskerifag: 920 Blanchet, Marie-Anne Aars, Jon Andersen, Magnus Routti, Heli Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears |
topic_facet |
VDP::Agriculture and fishery disciplines: 900::Fisheries science: 920 VDP::Landbruks- og Fiskerifag: 900::Fiskerifag: 920 |
description |
Polar bears Ursus maritimus are currently facing rapid environmental changes with loss of sea ice and shifts in their prey distribution. Two distinct ecotypes exist in the Barents Sea, where sea ice is decreasing at the highest rate in the Arctic. Coastal bears remain within the Archipelago of Svalbard year-round, whereas offshore bears follow the marginal ice zone (MIZ). We explored these 2 ecotypes’ habitat use, activity and energy needs as well as seasonal variation within these parameters. During the period from 2011-2018, adult female polar bears were equipped with GPS collars and activity sensors (n = 84); 46 of these were equipped with conductivity switches to record aquatic behaviour. Offshore bears travelled longer distances at a higher speed on land and at sea away from land and had a higher activity rate compared to coastal bears. This translated into higher overall energy expenditure. Offshore bears also undertook more distant and energetically costly trips from land to the MIZ, swimming in open water. Both ecotypes showed similar seasonal patterns of activity and movement consistent with their life history linked to sea ice phenology. Despite higher energy expenditure, the offshore strategy seemed to be as profitable as the coastal one as females had marginally better spring body condition, likely due to their specialized high caloric diet of seals throughout the year. However, both ecotypes are currently experiencing habitat changes. Future studies should aim to predict how rapidly declining sea ice in the Barents Sea may challenge polar bears energetically during the coming decades. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Blanchet, Marie-Anne Aars, Jon Andersen, Magnus Routti, Heli |
author_facet |
Blanchet, Marie-Anne Aars, Jon Andersen, Magnus Routti, Heli |
author_sort |
Blanchet, Marie-Anne |
title |
Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears |
title_short |
Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears |
title_full |
Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears |
title_fullStr |
Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears |
title_full_unstemmed |
Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears |
title_sort |
space-use strategy affects energy requirements in barents sea polar bears |
publisher |
Inter Research |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/19707 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13290 |
geographic |
Arctic Barents Sea Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Barents Sea Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
op_relation |
Marine Ecology Progress Series Blanchet, Aars, Andersen, Routti. Space-use strategy affects energy requirements in Barents Sea polar bears. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 2020;639:1-19 FRIDAID 1838153 doi:10.3354/meps13290 0171-8630 1616-1599 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/19707 |
op_rights |
openAccess Copyright 2020 The Author(s) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13290 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
639 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
19 |
_version_ |
1766343604718010368 |