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Anthropogenic food: an emerging threat to polar bears. ORYX 2022. [DOI: 10.1017/s0030605322000278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Supplemental food from anthropogenic sources is a source of conflict with humans for many wildlife species. Food-seeking behaviours by black bears Ursus americanus and brown bears Ursus arctos can lead to property damage, human injury and mortality of the offending bears. Such conflicts are a well-known conservation management issue wherever people live in bear habitats. In contrast, the use of anthropogenic foods by the polar bear Ursus maritimus is less common historically but is a growing conservation and management issue across the Arctic. Here we present six case studies that illustrate how negative food-related interactions between humans and polar bears can become either chronic or ephemeral and unpredictable. Our examination suggests that attractants are an increasing problem, exacerbated by climate change-driven sea-ice losses that cause increased use of terrestrial habitats by bears. Growing human populations and increased human visitation increase the likelihood of human–polar bear conflict. Efforts to reduce food conditioning in polar bears include attractant management, proactive planning and adequate resources for northern communities to reduce conflicts and improve human safety. Permanent removal of unsecured sources of nutrition, to reduce food conditioning, should begin immediately at the local level as this will help to reduce polar bear mortality.
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Viengkone M, Derocher AE, Richardson ES, Obbard ME, Dyck MG, Lunn NJ, Sahanatien V, Robinson BG, Davis CS. Assessing spatial discreteness of Hudson Bay polar bear populations using telemetry and genetics. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Viengkone
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Alberta; Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Andrew E. Derocher
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Alberta; Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Evan S. Richardson
- Wildlife Research Division, Science and Technology Branch; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Biological Sciences Building; University of Alberta; Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Martyn E. Obbard
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; Trent University; Peterborough Ontario K9J 7B8 Canada
| | - Markus G. Dyck
- Department of Environment; Government of Nunavut; Igloolik Nunavut X0A 0L0 Canada
| | - Nicholas J. Lunn
- Wildlife Research Division, Science and Technology Branch; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Biological Sciences Building; University of Alberta; Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Vicki Sahanatien
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Alberta; Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Barry G. Robinson
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Alberta; Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Corey S. Davis
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Alberta; Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E9 Canada
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Viengkone M, Derocher AE, Richardson ES, Malenfant RM, Miller JM, Obbard ME, Dyck MG, Lunn NJ, Sahanatien V, Davis CS. Assessing polar bear ( Ursus maritimus) population structure in the Hudson Bay region using SNPs. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:8474-8484. [PMID: 28031799 PMCID: PMC5167041 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2015] [Revised: 09/14/2016] [Accepted: 09/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Defining subpopulations using genetics has traditionally used data from microsatellite markers to investigate population structure; however, single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have emerged as a tool for detection of fine‐scale structure. In Hudson Bay, Canada, three polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulations (Foxe Basin (FB), Southern Hudson Bay (SH), and Western Hudson Bay (WH)) have been delineated based on mark–recapture studies, radiotelemetry and satellite telemetry, return of marked animals in the subsistence harvest, and population genetics using microsatellites. We used SNPs to detect fine‐scale population structure in polar bears from the Hudson Bay region and compared our results to the current designations using 414 individuals genotyped at 2,603 SNPs. Analyses based on discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) and STRUCTURE support the presence of four genetic clusters: (i) Western—including individuals sampled in WH, SH (excluding Akimiski Island in James Bay), and southern FB (south of Southampton Island); (ii) Northern—individuals sampled in northern FB (Baffin Island) and Davis Strait (DS) (Labrador coast); (iii) Southeast—individuals from SH (Akimiski Island in James Bay); and (iv) Northeast—individuals from DS (Baffin Island). Population structure differed from microsatellite studies and current management designations demonstrating the value of using SNPs for fine‐scale population delineation in polar bears.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Viengkone
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
| | | | - Evan Shaun Richardson
- Wildlife Research Division Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Canada University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
| | - René Michael Malenfant
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada; Department of Biology University of New Brunswick Fredericton NB Canada
| | - Joshua Moses Miller
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Yale University New Haven CT USA
| | - Martyn E Obbard
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Trent University Peterborough ON Canada
| | - Markus G Dyck
- Department of Environment Government of Nunavut Igloolik NU Canada
| | - Nick J Lunn
- Wildlife Research Division Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Canada University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
| | - Vicki Sahanatien
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
| | - Corey S Davis
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
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Malenfant RM, Davis CS, Cullingham CI, Coltman DW. Circumpolar Genetic Structure and Recent Gene Flow of Polar Bears: A Reanalysis. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0148967. [PMID: 26974333 PMCID: PMC4790856 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, an extensive study of 2,748 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from across their circumpolar range was published in PLOS ONE, which used microsatellites and mitochondrial haplotypes to apparently show altered population structure and a dramatic change in directional gene flow towards the Canadian Archipelago-an area believed to be a future refugium for polar bears as their southernmost habitats decline under climate change. Although this study represents a major international collaborative effort and promised to be a baseline for future genetics work, methodological shortcomings and errors of interpretation undermine some of the study's main conclusions. Here, we present a reanalysis of this data in which we address some of these issues, including: (1) highly unbalanced sample sizes and large amounts of systematically missing data; (2) incorrect calculation of FST and of significance levels; (3) misleading estimates of recent gene flow resulting from non-convergence of the program BayesAss. In contrast to the original findings, in our reanalysis we find six genetic clusters of polar bears worldwide: the Hudson Bay Complex, the Western and Eastern Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Western and Eastern Polar Basin, and-importantly-we reconfirm the presence of a unique and possibly endangered cluster of bears in Norwegian Bay near Canada's expected last sea-ice refugium. Although polar bears' abundance, distribution, and population structure will certainly be negatively affected by ongoing-and increasingly rapid-loss of Arctic sea ice, these genetic data provide no evidence of strong directional gene flow in response to recent climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- René M. Malenfant
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Corey S. Davis
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - David W. Coltman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Sahanatien V, Peacock E, Derocher AE. Population substructure and space use of Foxe Basin polar bears. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:2851-64. [PMID: 26306171 PMCID: PMC4541990 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2014] [Revised: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 05/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change has been identified as a major driver of habitat change, particularly for sea ice-dependent species such as the polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Population structure and space use of polar bears have been challenging to quantify because of their circumpolar distribution and tendency to range over large areas. Knowledge of movement patterns, home range, and habitat is needed for conservation and management. This is the first study to examine the spatial ecology of polar bears in the Foxe Basin management unit of Nunavut, Canada. Foxe Basin is in the mid-Arctic, part of the seasonal sea ice ecoregion and it is being negatively affected by climate change. Our objectives were to examine intrapopulation spatial structure, to determine movement patterns, and to consider how polar bear movements may respond to changing sea ice habitat conditions. Hierarchical and fuzzy cluster analyses were used to assess intrapopulation spatial structure of geographic position system satellite-collared female polar bears. Seasonal and annual movement metrics (home range, movement rates, time on ice) and home-range fidelity (static and dynamic overlap) were compared to examine the influence of regional sea ice on movements. The polar bears were distributed in three spatial clusters, and there were differences in the movement metrics between clusters that may reflect sea ice habitat conditions. Within the clusters, bears moved independently of each other. Annual and seasonal home-range fidelity was observed, and the bears used two movement patterns: on-ice range residency and annual migration. We predict that home-range fidelity may decline as the spatial and temporal predictability of sea ice changes. These new findings also provide baseline information for managing and monitoring this polar bear population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vicki Sahanatien
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of AlbertaEdmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Peacock
- Department of Environment, Government of NunavutIgloolik, Nunavut, X0A 0L0, Canada
| | - Andrew E Derocher
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of AlbertaEdmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada
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Peacock E, Sonsthagen SA, Obbard ME, Boltunov A, Regehr EV, Ovsyanikov N, Aars J, Atkinson SN, Sage GK, Hope AG, Zeyl E, Bachmann L, Ehrich D, Scribner KT, Amstrup SC, Belikov S, Born EW, Derocher AE, Stirling I, Taylor MK, Wiig Ø, Paetkau D, Talbot SL. Implications of the circumpolar genetic structure of polar bears for their conservation in a rapidly warming Arctic. PLoS One 2015; 10:e112021. [PMID: 25562525 PMCID: PMC4285400 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We provide an expansive analysis of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) circumpolar genetic variation during the last two decades of decline in their sea-ice habitat. We sought to evaluate whether their genetic diversity and structure have changed over this period of habitat decline, how their current genetic patterns compare with past patterns, and how genetic demography changed with ancient fluctuations in climate. Characterizing their circumpolar genetic structure using microsatellite data, we defined four clusters that largely correspond to current ecological and oceanographic factors: Eastern Polar Basin, Western Polar Basin, Canadian Archipelago and Southern Canada. We document evidence for recent (ca. last 1–3 generations) directional gene flow from Southern Canada and the Eastern Polar Basin towards the Canadian Archipelago, an area hypothesized to be a future refugium for polar bears as climate-induced habitat decline continues. Our data provide empirical evidence in support of this hypothesis. The direction of current gene flow differs from earlier patterns of gene flow in the Holocene. From analyses of mitochondrial DNA, the Canadian Archipelago cluster and the Barents Sea subpopulation within the Eastern Polar Basin cluster did not show signals of population expansion, suggesting these areas may have served also as past interglacial refugia. Mismatch analyses of mitochondrial DNA data from polar and the paraphyletic brown bear (U. arctos) uncovered offset signals in timing of population expansion between the two species, that are attributed to differential demographic responses to past climate cycling. Mitogenomic structure of polar bears was shallow and developed recently, in contrast to the multiple clades of brown bears. We found no genetic signatures of recent hybridization between the species in our large, circumpolar sample, suggesting that recently observed hybrids represent localized events. Documenting changes in subpopulation connectivity will allow polar nations to proactively adjust conservation actions to continuing decline in sea-ice habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Peacock
- Alaska Science Center, US Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America
- Department of Environment, Government of Nunavut, Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Sarah A. Sonsthagen
- Alaska Science Center, US Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America
| | - Martyn E. Obbard
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrei Boltunov
- All-Russian Research Institute for Nature Protection, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Eric V. Regehr
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America
| | | | - Jon Aars
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - George K. Sage
- Alaska Science Center, US Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America
| | - Andrew G. Hope
- Alaska Science Center, US Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America
| | - Eve Zeyl
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lutz Bachmann
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Kim T. Scribner
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Steven C. Amstrup
- Polar Bears International, Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
| | - Stanislav Belikov
- All-Russian Research Institute for Nature Protection, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Erik W. Born
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Andrew E. Derocher
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ian Stirling
- Science & Technology Branch, Environment Canada, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Mitchell K. Taylor
- Faculty of Science and Environmental Studies, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
| | - Øystein Wiig
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - David Paetkau
- Wildlife Genetics International, Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sandra L. Talbot
- Alaska Science Center, US Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America
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