Post-Den Emergence Behavior of Polar Bears (&lt;i&gt;Ursus maritimus&lt;/i&gt;) in Northern Alaska

Smith, Tom S.; Partridge, Steven T.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Schliebe, Scott

doi:10.14430/arctic243

Cited by 12 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Activity data for dens studied in 2002 -03 (n = 8, Smith et al, 2007), and dens observed in this study (n = 11) is presented in Figure 3. For all 19 dens, the mean breakout date was 15 March (range of 1 -26 March, SD ± 7.4 d, n = 19), and the mean abandonment date was 21 March (range of 2 -31 March, SD ± 7.8 d, n = 19).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…To locate dens for observation, we therefore used four methods: 1) radio-telemetry, 2) aircraft-based, forward-looking infrared imagery (FLIR) (FLIR Systems, Inc., Portland, Oregon), 3) hand-held FLIR, and 4) trained dogs. These methods are presented in detail in Smith et al (2007).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To better understand the post-emergent ecology of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea, we initiated research in 2002 that documented den breakout times, length of post-emergence stay at den sites, activity budgets of postemergent bears, and the frequency and intensity of bearhuman interactions (Smith et al, 2007). We continued this work in 2005 -08, but we used video camera systems rather than human observers to improve data quantity and quality while reducing bear-human interactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Improved Method of Documenting Activity Patterns of Post-Emergence Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in Northern Alaska

Smith¹,

Miller²,

Layton³

2013

ARCTIC

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Throughout their circumpolar range, pregnant female polar bears (Ursus maritimus) create snow dens in which they give birth to altricial cubs. Because polar bear neonates are born in such an undeveloped state, their survival requires a long, undisturbed period of in-den development. To mitigate human impacts on denning bears, it is necessary to understand the chronology of denning, the behaviors of denning bears, and their sensitivity to human activities. Since 2002, we have studied the den emergence behaviors of polar bears in northern Alaska; however, we moved from using on-site observers (2002-03) to using autonomous video systems (2005-08). Here we compare the duration, activity budgets, and behaviors of polar bears to see whether observation methods affected their activities. Camera systems recorded nearly 10 times the data per den recorded by human observers (526 h/den and 57 h/den respectively). We found no difference between the two study periods in emergence dates, duration at den sites, abandonment dates, or activity budgets for polar bears. We observed a 16-fold reduction in the number of bear-human interactions when using cameras instead of human observers. There was, however, a marked increase in the intensity of response when using cameras (125 m) as compared to observers in blinds (400 m). An understanding of these activity patterns can be used to manage human activities near dens so as to minimize disturbance.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An Improved Method of Documenting Activity Patterns of Post-Emergence Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in Northern Alaska

Smith¹,

Miller²,

Layton³

2013

ARCTIC

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“…Thus, we considered only those dens that had not emerged before seismic activity occurred within 1.6 km to be potentially disturbed. Although bears can remain at dens for up to 2 weeks after emergence (Smith et al 2007), no studies have documented a negative demographic effect of disturbance post-emergence (although this does not mean that they do not exist), so we did not consider bears at dens postemergence to be disturbed as part of our denning analysis. For each iteration of the model, we also measured the distance between dens and the closest seismic activity that occurred to them.…”

Section: Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seismic Survey Design and Effects on Maternal Polar Bear Dens

Wilson

Durner

2019

J Wildl Manag

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Large‐scale industrial activities can have negative effects on wildlife populations. Some of these effects, however, could be reduced with effective planning prior to development. The Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in northeastern Alaska, USA, is an important maternal denning area for polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Recent legislation has opened the area for potential oil and gas development. As a result, there is interest in conducting winter seismic surveys across the area that could disturb denning female polar bears and lead to decreased cub survival. We sought to demonstrate how different seismic survey designs, with and without aerial den detection surveys, could affect the level of potential effect on denning polar bears during spring (Feb–Apr). We developed 5 hypothetical seismic survey designs for a portion of the Coastal Plain ranging from no spatial or temporal restrictions on activities to explicit consideration of when and where operations can occur. We evaluated how many dens might be disturbed by seismic surveys and the average distance activity came within simulated polar bear dens. Survey design had a large effect on the estimated number of dens that could be disturbed; the scenario with the highest spatial and temporal specificity reduced the number of dens disturbed by >90% compared to the scenario with no restrictions on when and where activity could occur. The use of an aerial den detection survey prior to seismic activity further reduced the number of dens disturbed by 68% across all scenarios. The scenario with the highest spatial and temporal specificity always had the lowest level of disturbance for all scenarios with and without the aerial survey included. Our study suggests that large reductions in the probability of disturbance can occur through careful planning on the timing and distribution of proposed activities even when surveys are planned in areas with a high density of polar bear dens. Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society.

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“…Although energetic costs are likely negligible if behavioral responses do not involve movement (Watts et al, 1991), Dyck and Baydack (2004) suggested that prolonged head lifting motion and maintaining the head at shoulder level could increase energy expenditure. However, polar bears appear to habituate to the presence of human activities over time (e.g., Dyck and Baydack, 2004;Smith et al, 2007). Our results indicate that polar bears most often reacted with vigilance, and though these reactions were brief and occasional and sometimes the same bear reacted multiple times, the reactions waned over time.…”

Section: Bear Reactions To the Icebreaker: No Reaction No Obvious Chamentioning

confidence: 68%

Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Behavior near Icebreaker Operations in the Chukchi Sea, 1991

Smultea¹,

Brueggeman²,

Robertson³

et al. 2016

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. Increasing interactions of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) with human activity, combined with impacts of climate change, are of critical concern for the conservation of the species. Our study quantifies and describes initial reactions and behaviors of polar bears observed from an icebreaker during summer 1991 at two exploratory drilling sites (near sites drilled in 2015) located in the Chukchi Sea 175 km and 312 km west of Barrow, Alaska. Polar bear behavior was described using continuous sampling of six predetermined focal group behavior states (walking, running, swimming, resting, feeding or foraging, unknown) and six behavioral reaction events (no reaction, walking away, running away, approaching, vigilance [i.e., watching], unknown). Forty-six bears in 34 groups were monitored from the Robert LeMeur (an Arctic Class 3 icebreaker) for periods of five minutes to 16.1 hours. Significantly more bear groups reacted to icebreaker presence (79%) than not (21%), but no relationship was found between their reactions and distance to or activity of the icebreaker. Reactions were generally brief; vigilance was the most commonly observed reaction, followed by walking or running away for short (< 5 minutes) periods and distances (< 500 m). Eleven percent of bear groups approached the vessel. No significant difference was found between reactions when cubs were present and those when cubs were absent. Despite the limited sample sizes, these findings are relevant to assessing potential impacts of resource development and shipping activities on polar bears, especially given the sparsity of such information in the face of growing human activity in the Arctic offshore areas. Overall, climate change is leading to longer and more extensive open-water seasons in the Arctic and therefore to increasing marine traffic-more vessels (including icebreakers) for a longer time each year over a wider area.

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Post-Den Emergence Behavior of Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) in Northern Alaska

Cited by 12 publications

References 19 publications

An Improved Method of Documenting Activity Patterns of Post-Emergence Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) in Northern Alaska

An Improved Method of Documenting Activity Patterns of Post-Emergence Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) in Northern Alaska

Seismic Survey Design and Effects on Maternal Polar Bear Dens

Polar Bear (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) Behavior near Icebreaker Operations in the Chukchi Sea, 1991

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