Variation in habitat use of Beaufort Sea polar bears
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Variation in habitat use of Beaufort Sea polar bears Amy C. Johnson1 · Andrew E. Derocher1 Received: 13 September 2019 / Revised: 5 May 2020 / Accepted: 23 June 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
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. Keywords Polar bear · Habitat selection · Resource selection functions · Southern Beaufort Sea · Climate change · Ursus maritimus
Introduction Habitat loss and fragmentation are key drivers of biodiversity loss (Brook et al. 2008; Mantyka-Pringle et al. 2012) and anthropogenic climate change similarly threatens global biodiversity (Scheffers et al. 2016). Climate change and habitat loss can interact synergistically to negatively affect species (Opdam and Wascher 2004; Brook et al. 2008; Mantyka-Pringle et al. 2012). As changes to habitats are predicted to continue due to climate change (Mantyka-Pringle et al. 2012; IPCC 2014), understanding habitat use and requirements can aid conservation efforts. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02705-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Amy C. Johnson [email protected] 1
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada
Habitat use can vary among age classes in many speci
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