Abstract
Habitat loss and climate change are major processes affecting biodiversity, especially in the Arctic which is experiencing rapid sea ice decline. Loss of sea ice habitat for ice-dependent species such as polar bears (Ursus maritimus) has been associated with declines in body condition, reproductive output, survival, and abundance. Monitoring habitat use can therefore provide insights into population responses to sea ice loss, especially for vulnerable demographic groups such as subadults. Here, we used resource selection functions to examine habitat selection patterns of subadult male and female (n = 21) and adult female (n = 37) polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea population from 2007 to 2011. We found that polar bears displayed broad similarities in seasonal habitat selection by using nearshore areas in winter/spring and ranging farther offshore into the multiyear ice in summer/autumn. However, there were differences in habitat use among age, sex, and reproductive classes. Adult females with cubs-of-the-year differed the most among classes and selected landfast ice in spring, allowing them to hunt for seal birth lairs while reducing risk of intra-specific predation. Adult females with older cubs and solitary adult females used active sea ice, which allowed them to hunt adult seals, while subadult females used a mix of active and landfast ice. Subadult males had similar selection for landfast ice as females with cubs-of-the-year, potentially as a mechanism to reduce intra-specific competition and/or kleptoparasitism. The Arctic faces continued warming and understanding variation in habitat use patterns can assist in identifying which bears are most vulnerable to loss of different sea ice habitats.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Jodie Pongracz and Charlene Nielsen for assistance with data extraction and Nicholas Pilfold for constructive comments on modeling. We also thank Marie Auger-Méthé, Oliver Barker, Seth Cherry, Stephen Hamilton, Alysa McCall, Nicholas Pilfold, Jodie Pongracz, Vicki Sahanatien, and Mike Woodcock for their assistance in the field. We would like to acknowledge financial support from the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Canadian Wildlife Federation, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Hauser Bears, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Polar Bears International, Polar Continental Shelf Project, Quark Expeditions, United States Department of the Interior (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management), and World Wildlife Fund Canada.
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Johnson, A.C., Derocher, A.E. Variation in habitat use of Beaufort Sea polar bears. Polar Biol 43, 1247–1260 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02705-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02705-3