Effects of sea ice extent and food availability on spatial and temporal distribution of polar bears during the fall open-water period in the Southern Beaufort Sea

Schliebe, Scott; Rode, Karyn D.; Gleason, Jeffrey S.; Wilder, James M.; Proffitt, Kelly M.; Evans, Thomas J.; Miller, SB

doi:10.1007/s00300-008-0439-7

Cited by 129 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…With such losses projected now to occur at substantially lower temperatures (ca 1.5-2.0°C), the extinction risk for this iconic species appears to be very high within the next half century. Detailed population-based observations (Schliebe et al 2008;Stirling et al 2008;Regehr et al 2010;Rode et al 2010) and projections (Durner et al 2009;Hunter et al 2010) confirm this inference.…”

Section: Food Productionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Climate hotspots: key vulnerable regions, climate change and limits to warming

et al. 2011

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Defining and operationalizing Article 2 of the UNFCCC remains a challenge. The question of what is dangerous climate change is not a purely scientific one, as danger necessarily has a subjective dimension and its definition requires judgment and precaution. The papers in this special issue of Regional Environmental Change attempt to navigate this problem, by offering an overview of the latest scientific findings in the context of risks and uncertainties, and assess some key vulnerabilities that might lead to dangerous climate change. This synthesis provides an overview of the papers in this issue and looks at four areas of possible dangerous climate changeadverse declines in regional food and water security, loss of arctic sea ice with projected extinction of species, largescale sea-level rise and loss of coral reef systems. These issues affect a number of different regions including Africa, South Asia, and Small Island Developing States. Significant risks to vulnerable regions and systems at warming levels of 1.5-2°C above pre-industrial are identified. The direct effects of CO 2 concentration increases in terms of ocean acidification are identified as relevant to Article 2 because of the risks posed to coral reefs. Ultimate CO 2 stabilization levels that allow for the long-term viability of coral reefs likely are below 350 ppm. The paper concludes by arguing that the emission reduction pledges made by countries under the Copenhagen Accord will not suffice to prevent dangerous climate change.

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Section: Food Productionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Climate hotspots: key vulnerable regions, climate change and limits to warming

et al. 2011

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“…Polar bear denning locations have shifted in some regions in response to changing ice conditions, with fewer dens in MYI and more on shore (e.g., Fischbach et al 2007). The tendency for bears to spend more time on land (e.g., Schliebe et al 2008) increases the potential for human-bear interactions (e.g., Towns et al 2009) and may give false impressions of regional densities (Stirling and Parkinson 2006). In more southerly areas such as Western and Southern Hudson Bay, it also puts bears at risk to new threats such as forest fires (Richardson et al 2007).…”

Section: Arctic Marine Mammals and Their Association With Sea Icementioning

confidence: 97%

Impacts of changing sea-ice conditions on Arctic marine mammals

et al. 2010

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Arctic sea ice has changed dramatically, especially during the last decade and continued declines in extent and thickness are expected for the decades to come. Some ice-associated marine mammals are already showing distribution shifts, compromised body condition and declines in production/abundance in response to sea-ice declines. In contrast, temperate marine mammal species are showing northward expansions of their ranges, which are likely to cause competitive pressure on some endemic Arctic species, as well as putting them at greater risk of predation, disease and parasite infections. The negative impacts observed to date within Arctic marine mammal populations are expected to continue and perhaps escalate over the coming decade, with continued declines in seasonal coverage of sea ice. This situation presents a significant risk to marine biodiversity among endemic Arctic marine mammals.

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“…Also, the sea-ice cover in the arctic region during summer has decreased (Singarayer et al, 2006) and is expected to continue decreasing in the years to come (Zhang and Walsh, 2006). This has caused an increase, and will probably continue influencing an increase in the amount of time individual polar bears spend on land (Derocher et al, 2004;Schliebe et al, 2008;Gleason and Rode, 2009). As a result, polar bears and reindeer are together for longer periods, a situation in which interactions between them could occur more frequently (Derocher et al, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%