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Population parameters and harvest risks for polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of Kane Basin, Canada and Greenland

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Abstract

We estimated demographic parameters and current harvest risks for a population of polar bears (Ursus maritimus Phipps) inhabiting northern Smith Sound and Kane Basin, Canada and Greenland. Our demographic analysis included a detailed assessment of age- and sex-specific survival and recruitment from 141 marked polar bears, using information contained within the standing age distribution of captures and mark-recapture analysis. Total survival rates \( (\ifmmode\expandafter\bar\else\expandafter\=\fi{x} \pm 1\;{\text{SE}}) \) for females were: 0.374 ± 0.180 (cubs), 0.686 ± 0.157 (ages 1–4), and 0.967 ± 0.043 (ages 5+). Mean litter size was 1.67 ± 0.08 cubs. Females did not reproduce until at least age 6, which is late compared to other populations of polar bears. The model-averaged, mark–recapture estimate of mean abundance (±1 SE) for years 1994–1997 was 164 ± 35 bears. We incorporated demographic parameters and their variances into a harvest risk analysis (i.e., a stochastic, harvested population viability analysis, PVA). Results suggest that polar bears in the region were severely over-harvested during the mark–recapture interval (1992–1997). The current status of the population is unknown.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Government of Nunavut, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, the Polar Continental Shelf Project, the University of Saskatchewan, and the U.S. National Marine Mammal Laboratory. Hunters and trappers of Grise Fiord contributed their knowledge of polar bears in the Kane Basin area. M. Kuc was the primary programmer for RISKMAN and contributed to the development of its algorithms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of the Environment, Government of Nunavut, P.O. Box 209, Igloolik, NU, X0A 0L0, Canada

    Mitchell K. Taylor

  2. National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

    Jeff Laake

  3. Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada

    Philip D. McLoughlin & François Messier

  4. Department of Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2P9, Canada

    H. Dean Cluff

  5. Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 570, 3900, Nuuk, Greenland

    Erik W. Born & Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid

Authors
  1. Mitchell K. Taylor
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  2. Jeff Laake
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  3. Philip D. McLoughlin
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  4. H. Dean Cluff
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  5. Erik W. Born
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  6. Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid
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  7. François Messier
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Correspondence to Philip D. McLoughlin.

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Taylor, M.K., Laake, J., McLoughlin, P.D. et al. Population parameters and harvest risks for polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of Kane Basin, Canada and Greenland. Polar Biol 31, 491–499 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0375-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0375-y

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