Population Dynamics

Wildlife managers need information on the status and trends of populations, and the USGS has focused its polar bear research program on population dynamics of the southern Beaufort Sea population. To estimate both the population size and vital rates of the population, we have used mark-recapture studies relying on physical capture of bears, primarily during the spring. We are currently moving towards using genetic identifications from tissues retrieved from remote biopsy darts and hair retrieved from barbed wire snares at bowhead whale carcasses. Results of past studies have also allowed us to delineate boundaries between populations and provide information needed to allocate harvests among stocks.

• Polar bear population status in the northern Beaufort Sea
• Polar bear population status in the southern Beaufort Sea
• Survival and population size of polar bears in western Hudson Bay in relation to earlier sea ice breakup
• Using radiotelemetry to allocate harvests among polar bear stocks occupying the Beaufort Sea Region
• Observations of intraspecific predation by polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea