Determinants of Home Range Size for Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus)
The mean home range size of female polar bears (Ursus maritimus; 125 100 km2 ± 11 800; n = 93) is substantially larger than the predicted value (514 km2) for a terrestrial carnivore of similar weight. To understand this difference, we correlated home range size and sea ice characteristics. Home range size was related to […]
Climate change threatens polar bear populations: a stochastic demographic analysis
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) depends on sea ice for feeding, breeding, and movement. Significant reductions in Arctic sea ice are forecast to continue because of climate warming. We evaluated the impacts of climate change on polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea by means of a demographic analysis, combining deterministic, stochastic, environment-dependent matrix population […]
Spatial and temporal patterns of problem polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba
Human–bear interactions near the town of Churchill, Manitoba occur annually because the Western Hudson Bay polar bear population spends 4–5 months on-land each year when the sea ice melts completely. Significant changes have occurred in the Hudson Bay ecosystem and in the bear population as a result of climate warming; however, how these changes may […]