Polar Bears In Depth
Research Needs
Page 2 of 5
There is no satisfactory method of long-term attachment of transmitters to males, and information on movements or activities of male bears is minimal. A limited number of satellite radiotelemetry observations from seven male polar bears suggested that movement rates, distances moved, and areas occupied do not differ greatly between males and females (Amstrup et al. 2001). Those observations corroborated the tag and recovery findings of Lentfer (1983), Schweinsburg et al. (1981) and Stirling et al. (1980, 1984) as well as the correlations between genetic and telemetric population groupings (Paetkau et al. 1999). Clearly, as management needs intensify, better knowledge of the movements of all components of the population will be necessary. Nonetheless, an understanding of the movements of males comparable to that now available for females remains a challenge.
Typically, radiotelemetry data provide retrospective views of the movements of wild animals. With these data, we can outline areas occupied by instrumented animals during specified times. We can measure the rates of movement, total distances moved, and net movements for a period of time. We often lack, however, an understanding of why animals select particular locales or habitats. Visits to land in the Beaufort Sea region, for example, appear to be increasing. Time on land and near shore exposes bears to anthropogenic risk factors and increases the probability of humans being injured by bears. Direct interactions between people and bears have increased markedly in recent years, and that trend can be expected to continue. If those interactions are to be handled properly, managers must know why bears are in areas frequented by people, which bears they are, and how to minimize prospects of bears and people ending up at the same places at the same time.
Research also is needed to understand how to predict probabilities of polar bear occurrence at various locations. When trying to understand the potential of a harvest or other human perturbation on highly mobile species that occur in overlapping management units, we need a way to convert retrospective telemetry data into predictions of the probability of occurrence at locales of interest. As the need for intensive management grows with increasing human presence in the Arctic, predicting where bears will be at particular times and understanding why they are there will be essential.
Typically, radiotelemetry data provide retrospective views of the movements of wild animals. With these data, we can outline areas occupied by instrumented animals during specified times. We can measure the rates of movement, total distances moved, and net movements for a period of time. We often lack, however, an understanding of why animals select particular locales or habitats. Visits to land in the Beaufort Sea region, for example, appear to be increasing. Time on land and near shore exposes bears to anthropogenic risk factors and increases the probability of humans being injured by bears. Direct interactions between people and bears have increased markedly in recent years, and that trend can be expected to continue. If those interactions are to be handled properly, managers must know why bears are in areas frequented by people, which bears they are, and how to minimize prospects of bears and people ending up at the same places at the same time.
Research also is needed to understand how to predict probabilities of polar bear occurrence at various locations. When trying to understand the potential of a harvest or other human perturbation on highly mobile species that occur in overlapping management units, we need a way to convert retrospective telemetry data into predictions of the probability of occurrence at locales of interest. As the need for intensive management grows with increasing human presence in the Arctic, predicting where bears will be at particular times and understanding why they are there will be essential.