Response of Polar Bear Populations to a Rapidly Diminishing Sea Ice Environment

A long–term research program focused on population dynamics, habitat use, foraging ecology and health of polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation of Alaska and neighboring Canada.

Abstract

The polar bear is recognized worldwide as a vulnerable species due to loss of its required sea ice habitats. USGS science played a central role in informing the decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2008. This science was founded in understanding gained from long-term studies of the southern Beaufort Sea (SB) population, one of 19 worldwide, and one of only two populations with long-term data. In these studies, USGS documented a negative relationship between length of the open water season over the continental shelf and population growth rate. Applying future sea ice conditions to the relationship between sea ice availability and population growth rate allowed us to project a future trajectory of the population. We are monitoring the survival and habitat use of the SB population to determine whether the habitat base for this population changes as projected and whether the population responds to those habitat changes as we projected in 2007. Information about how polar bears in this population respond to sea ice loss will inform projections for the worldwide population.

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Products

Title	Type
Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bear Fatty Acid Data, Spring Samples 2004-2016	Data
Diet Composition of Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears Sampled in Spring from 2004 to 2016 Estimated with Quantitative Fatty Acid Signature Analysis	Data
Metabolic Rate, Body Composition, Diet, Behavior, Blood Chemistry, Tri-axial Accelerometer, and GPS Locations of Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) on Land, Western Hudson Bay, Canada, 2019-2022	Data
Diet Estimates of Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears, 2004-2016	Data
Mercury Concentrations, Diet, and Gut Microbiota Diversity of Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears, 2008-2019	Data
Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bear Blood Based Analyte Data, 1983-2018	Data
Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bear Diet and Gut Microbiota Data, 2015-2019	Data
Polar Bear Hair Mercury Concentrations Southern Beaufort Sea 2004-2011	Data
Polar Bear Distribution and Habitat Resource Selection Data, Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, 1985-2016	Data
Polar bear Continuous Time-Correlated Random Walk (CTCRW) location data derived from satellite location data, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, July-November 1985–2017	Data
Data Used to Assess the Acute Physiological Response of Polar Bears to Helicopter Capture	Data
Polar Bear Fall Coastal Survey Data from the Southern Beaufort Sea of Alaska, 2010-2013	Data
Mapping Data of Polar Bear Maternal Den Habitat, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska	Data
Pathogen and Contaminant Exposure Data from Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears, 2007-2014	Data
Polar Bear Continuous Time-Correlated Random Walk (CTCRW) Location Data Derived from Satellite Location Data, Southern Beaufort Sea, 1986–2016	Data
Innate Immunity and Stress and Reproductive Hormone Metrics for Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears, 2013-2015	Data
Cortisol Concentration Data from Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Hair Collected in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas, Alaska, 1983-1989, 2004-2006, and 2008-2016	Data
Changing Arctic Ecosystems	Project Website
Polar Bear Research	Project Website

Contacts

Atwood, Todd C., 907-786-7061
Durner, George M., 907-786-7082
Rode, Karyn D., 907-786-7106

Status: onGoing
Start Year: 1984
End Year: 2024

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Project Sites

Collaborators

BLM - Fairbanks District Office
CWS - Canadian Wildlife Service - Yukon Territory
FWS - Alaska Region
FWS - Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
North Slope Borough
USGS - National Wildlife Health Center

Location

Barrow
Kaktovik
Prudhoe Bay

USGS Mission Area and Program

Ecosystems → Wildlife Program

Major Initiatives

USGS - Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative