scholarly journals Development of on‐shore behavior among polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in the southern Beaufort Sea: inherited or learned?

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (16) ◽  
pp. 7790-7799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate M. Lillie ◽  
Eric M. Gese ◽  
Todd C. Atwood ◽  
Sarah A. Sonsthagen
2020 ◽  
Vol 745 ◽  
pp. 140978
Author(s):  
Jennifer Bourque ◽  
Jean-Pierre Desforges ◽  
Milton Levin ◽  
Todd C. Atwood ◽  
Christian Sonne ◽  
...  

Polar Biology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 753-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodie D. Pongracz ◽  
Andrew E. Derocher

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Atwood ◽  
Elizabeth Peacock ◽  
Kathy Burek-Huntington ◽  
Valerie Shearn-Bochsler ◽  
Barbara Bodenstein ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 655-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Cronin ◽  
S.C. Amstrup ◽  
K.T. Scribner

Radiotelemetry data have shown that polar bears ( Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774 ) occur in separate subpopulations in the Chukchi Sea and the southern Beaufort Sea. However, segregation is not absolute, and there is overlap of ranges of animals in each subpopulation. We used genetic variation at eight microsatellite DNA loci and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to further assess the degree of spatial structure of polar bears from the Chukchi and southern Beaufort seas. Microsatellite allele frequencies and mtDNA haplotype frequencies of bears from the southern Beaufort and Chukchi seas did not differ significantly. Lack of differentiation at both maternally inherited mtDNA and bi-parentally inherited microsatellite loci suggests that gene flow between the two areas is mediated by both sexes. The genetic data indicate that polar bears in the southern Beaufort and Chukchi seas compose one interbreeding population. However, there is considerable fidelity to ranges in each area, particularly by adult females. The combined genetic and movement data suggest that polar bears could be managed as Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea subpopulations of a combined southern Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea population.


2009 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 681-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Cronin ◽  
Steven C. Amstrup ◽  
Sandra L. Talbot ◽  
George K. Sage ◽  
Kristin S. Amstrup

Polar Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 1581-1593
Author(s):  
Nicole P. Boucher ◽  
Andrew E. Derocher ◽  
Evan S. Richardson

2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. Hansen

A total of 1112 Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) at 482 sightings were recorded during aerial surveys in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and northern Bering Seas conducted primarily during September and October from 1979-1999. Of these bears, 784 were observed offshore at 400 sightings. The surveys were conducted by the Naval Ocean Systems Center and Minerals Management Service; they were designed to monitor the fall Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) migration. Over the 20-year period, 1,096,620 kilometers of surveys were flown. The majority of the offshore Polar Bears, 595 bears at 290 sightings, and most of the kill sites and polar bear tracks were recorded in 80-100% ice cover. The number of bears per kilometer increased substantially in >24% ice cover, with the highest number observed in 80-100% ice cover. This habitat use probably is related to the availability of seals, their primary prey. There were 328 bears (83 sightings) recorded on land, and most of them were associated with whale carcasses and bowhead whale subsistence harvest sites along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast.


ARCTIC ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-257
Author(s):  
Karyn D. Rode ◽  
Hannah Voorhees ◽  
Henry P. Huntington ◽  
George M. Durner

Successful wildlife management depends upon coordination and consultation with local communities. However, much of the research used to inform management is often derived solely from data collected directly from wildlife. Indigenous people living in the Arctic have a close connection to their environment, which provides unique opportunities to observe their environment and the ecology of Arctic species. Further, most northern Arctic communities occur within the range of polar bears (nanuq, Ursus maritimus) and have experienced significant climatic changes. Here, we used semi-structured interviews from 2017 to 2019 to document Iñupiaq knowledge of polar bears observed over four decades in four Alaskan communities in the range of the Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear subpopulation: Wainwright, Utqiaġvik, Nuiqsut, and Kaktovik. All but one of 47 participants described directional and notable changes in sea ice, including earlier ice breakup, later ice return, thinner ice, and less multiyear pack ice. These changes corresponded with observations of bears spending more time on land during the late summer and early fall in recent decades—observations consistent with scientific and Indigenous knowledge studies in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Participants noted that polar bear and seal body condition and local abundance either varied geographically or exhibited no patterns. However, participants described a recent phenomenon of bears being exhausted and lethargic when arriving on shore in the summer and fall after extensive swims from the pack ice. Further, several participants suggested that maternal denning is occurring more often on land than sea ice. Participants indicated that village and regional governments are increasingly challenged to obtain resources needed to keep their communities safe as polar bears spend more time on land, an issue that is likely to be exacerbated both in this region and elsewhere as sea ice loss continues. 


Polar Record ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 24 (148) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Stirling

AbstractWildlife observations recorded at several offshore hydrocarbon exploration sites in the Beaufort Sea were examined to evaluate the hypothesis that polar bears Ursus maritimus are attracted to drill rigs, will be judged to represent a threat to humans there, and consequently will have to be deterred or destroyed. When polar bears came south with the pack ice in the autumn, they approached drillships or artificial islands, probably because they became curious or were attracted by unfamiliar smells. However, these bears did not usually remain in the area.In late winter, when most of the natural leads are frozen, the movement of compacted annual ice from east to west past permanent offshore drill rigs creates open cracks on the downstream side. Because of the open water there, seals are more abundant, more accessible, or both, and bears are attracted because of better hunting conditions. In mid to late winter some bears may remain in the area for several days or longer while hunting seals. This positive reinforcement may lead these bears to be attracted to other offshore rigs in the future. In the last five years four bears attracted to offshore rigs have been shot; thus the hypothesis was found to be valid. To date, the population is not under threat, but this could change if the number of offshore drill rigs operating through the winter were to increase.


Author(s):  
Lorin A. Neuman-Lee ◽  
Patricia A. Terletzky ◽  
Todd C. Atwood ◽  
Eric M. Gese ◽  
Geoffrey D. Smith ◽  
...  

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