Dr. Steven C. Amstrup
Dr. Amstrup led the international team of researchers that prepared nine reports that became the basis for the recent decision, by the Secretary of Interior, to list polar bears as a threatened species.
A Research Wildlife Biologist with the United States Geological Survey at the Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK, he is also an adjunct professor at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, and an associate professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Steve earned a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Washington (1972), a M.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of Idaho (1975), and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (1995). He has been conducting research on all aspects of polar bear ecology in the Beaufort Sea since 1980. He is a past chairman of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group and has been an active member of the group for 28 years.
His interests include distribution and movement patterns as well as population dynamics of wildlife, and how information on those topics can be used to assure wise stewardship. He is particularly interested in how science can help to reconcile the ever enlarging human footprint on our environment with the needs of other species for that same environment. Prior work experiences include studies of black bears in central Idaho, and pronghorns and grouse in Wyoming.
Dr. Amstrup has authored or coauthored over 60 peer reviewed articles on movements, distribution and population dynamics of large mammals, and is the senior editor of a recent text on population estimation methods.
- Allocating Harvests among Polar Bear Stocks in the Beaufort Sea (pdf)
- Comparing Movement Patterns of Satellite-Tagged Male and Female Polar Bears (pdf)
- Detecting Denning Polar Bears with Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) Imagery (pdf)
- Dietary Biomagnification of Organochlorine Contaminants in Alaskan Polar Bears (pdf)
- Effects of Earlier Sea Ice Breakup on Survival and Population Size of Polar Bears in Western Hudson Bay (pdf)
- Estimating Potential Effects of Hypothetical Oil Spills on Polar Bears (pdf)
- Estimation of Population Size Using Open Capture-Recapture Models (pdf)
- Habitat Characteristics of Polar Bear Terrestrial Maternal Den Sites in Northern Alaska (pdf)
- Human Disturbances of Denning Polar Bears in Alaska (pdf)
- Improving Size Estimates of Open Animal Populations by Incorporating Information on Age (pdf)
- Interspecific & Intraspecfic Mitrochondrial DNA Variation in North American Bears (pdf)
- Introduction to the Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus: Biology, Management & Conservation (link)
- Leeward and Eastward Shift of Alaskan Polar Bear Denning Associated with Recent Sea Ice Changes (pdf)
- Microsatellite DNA & Mitrochondrial DNA Variation of Polar Bears from the Beaufort & Chukchi Seas, Alaska (pdf)
- Movements and Distribution of Polar Bears in the Beaufort Sea (pdf)
- Past and Present Status of Polar Bears in Alaska (pdf)
- Polar Bear Maternal Den Habitat in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska (pdf)
- Polar Bear Maternity Denning in the Beaufort Sea (pdf)
- Polar Bear Population Status in the Southern Beaufort Sea (pdf)
- Polar Bears in the Beaufort Sea: A 30-Year Mark-Recapture History (pdf)
- Polar Bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea I: Survival and Breeding in Relation to Sea Ice Conditions 2001-2006 (pdf)
- Polar Bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea II: Demography and Population Growth in Relation to Sea Ice Conditions (pdf)
- Polar Bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea III: Stature, Mass and Cub Recruitment in Relationship to Time and Sea Ice Extent Between 1982 and 2006 (pdf)
- Post-Den Emergence Behavior of Polar Bears in Northern Alaska (pdf)
- Predicting Movements of Female Polar Bears Between Summer Sea Ice Foraging Habitats & Terrestrial Denning Habitats of Alaska in the 21st Century: Proposed Methodology & Pilot Assessment (pdf)
- Recent Cannibalism Photos (pdf)
- Recent Observations of Intraspecifc Predation and Cannibalism in the Southern Beaufort Sea (pdf)
- Remote Identification of Polar Bear Maternal Den Habitat in Northern Alaska (pdf)
- Smithsonian Interview: Steve Amstrup, Wildlife Biologist (pdf)
- Survival Rates of Radio-Collared Female Polar Bears and Their Dependent Young (pdf)
- Tag Loss Can Bias Jolly-Seber Capture-Recapture Estimates (pdf)
- Using Discrete Choice Modeling to Generate Resource Selection Functions for Female Polar Bears in the Beaufort Sea (pdf)
- Using Satellite Radio Telemetry Data to Delineate and Manage Wildlife Populations (pdf)
- Variation in Winter Diet of Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears Inferred from Stable Isotope Analysis (pdf)
Dr. Andrew Derocher
Dr. Andrew Derocher (left) chairs the IUCN’s Polar Bear Specialist Group and teaches biology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. He holds a B.S. from the University of British Columbia (1983), a M.S. from the University of Alberta (1987), and a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta (1991). His field research focuses on polar bears in the Canadian Arctic and the polar bears of Hudson Bay. He has also worked with polar bears in Svalbard, Norway, through the Norwegian Polar Institute. Over the course of 20 years of studying polar bears, Dr. Derocher’s research has focused on the limiting and regulating factors of polar bear populations including habitat use, harvest effects, and predator-prey relationships. His current work includes assessment of the effects of climate change and toxic chemicals on polar bears.
- Adaptation of the Hindlimbs for Climbing in Bears (link)
- An Incident of Polar Bear Infanticide and Cannibalism on Phippsøya, Svalbard (link)
- Brominated Flame Retardants in Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) from Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, East Greenland, and Svalbard (link)
- Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Contaminants and Metabolites in Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) from Alaska, Canada, East Greenland, and Svalbard: 1996-2002 (link)
- Circumpolar Study of Perfluoralkyl Contaminants in Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) (link)
- Congener-specific Accumulation and Food Chain Transfer of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Two Arctic Food Chains (link)
- Contaminants in Svalbard Polar Bear Samples Archived Since 1967 and Possible Population Level Effects (link)
- Does High Organochlorine (OC) Exposure Impair the Resistance to infection in polar bears ()? Part II: Possible Effect of OCs on Mitogen- and Antigen-induced Lymphocyte Proliferation (link)
- Does High Organochlorine Exposure Impair the Resistance to Infection in Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus)? Part I: Effect of OCs on the Humoral Immunity (link)
- Does Taurine Deficiency Cause Metabolic Bone Disease and Rickets in Polar Bear Cubs Raised in Captivity? (link)
- Fasting Physiology of Polar Bears in Relation to Environment Change and Breeding Behavior in the Beaufort Sea (link)
- Fatty Acid Composition of the Adipose Tissue of Polar Bears and their Prey: Ringed Seals, Bearded Seals and Harp Seals (link)
- Female Polar Bears, Ursus maritimus, on the Barents Sea Drift Ice: Walking the Treadmill (link)
- Functional Responses in Polar Bear Habitat Selection (link)
- Geographical Distribution of Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs) in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Norwegian and Russian Arctic (link)
- Low Site Fidelity and Home Range Drift in a Wide-ranging, Large Arctic Omnivore (link)
- Melting under Pressure: The Real Scoop on Climate Warming and Polar Bears (link)
- Modelling the Mating System of Polar Bears: A Mechanistic Approach to the Allee Effect (link)
- Movements of Two Svalbard Polar Bears Recorded Using Geographical Positioning System Satellite Transmitters (link)
- Occurrence and Prevalence of Clostridium perfringens in Polar Bears from Svalbard, Norway (link)
- Organochlorines Affect the Major Androgenic Hormone, Testosterone, in Male Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) at Svalbard (link)
- Organochlorines Affect the Steroid Hormone Cortisol in Free-ranging Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) at Svalbard, Norway (link)
- Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Conservation in Canada: An Ecological Basis for Identifying Designatable Units (link)
- Polar Bears in a Warming Climate (link)
- Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Reproductive Hormones in Female Polar Bears at Svalbard (link)
- Population Ecology of Polar Bears at Svalbard, Norway (link)
- Prevalence of Antibodies Against Toxoplasma Gondii in Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard and East Greenland (link)
- Relationships Between PCBs and Thyroid Hormones and Retinol in Female and Male Polar Bears (link)
- Response to Dyck et al. (2007) on Polar Bears and Climate Change in Western Hudson Bay (link)
- Seasonal and Annual Movement Patterns of Polar Bears on the Sea Ice of Hudson Bay (link)
- Serologic Survey for Selected Virus Infections in Polar Bears at Svalbard (link)
- Sexual Dimorphism of Polar Bears (link)
- Space-use Strategy Is an Important Determinant of PBC concentrations in Female Polar Bears in the Barents Sea (link)
- Status of the World´s Land and Marine Mammals: Diversity, Threat and Knowledge (link)
- Unusual Predation Attempts of Polar Bears on Ringed seals in the Southern Beaufort Sea: Possible Significance of Changing Spring Ice Conditions (link)
Dr. Nick Lunn
Dr. Nick Lunn is a research scientist with the Canadian Wildlife Service who specializes in polar bear ecology and Arctic marine ecosystems. He holds a M.S. from the University of Alberta (1985) and a Ph.D. from the British Antarctic Survey and Open University (1993). Lunn began working with polar bears in 1981, when, as a university student, he answered a job posting at the University of Alberta to work in Dr. Ian Stirling's lab analyzing the age of polar bear teeth. He went on to study the behavior of polar bears frequenting Churchill's dump site (now closed). For more than a decade, his research work with the Canadian Wildlife Service has focused on the condition of the Western Hudson Bay population of polar bears in relation to environmental change.
- Distribution and Abundance of Ringed and Bearded Seals in Western Hudson Bay (link)
- Effects of Earlier Sea Ice Breakup on Survival and Population Size of Polar Bears in Western Hudson Bay (link)
- Long-term Trends in the Population Ecology of Polar Bears in Western Hudson Bay (link)
- Polar Bears in a Warming Climate (link)
- Polar Bears: Proceedings of the Thirteenth Working Meeting of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group (link)
- Re-estimating the Size of the Polar Bear Population in Western Hudson Bay in Relation to Climate Change (link)
- Selection of Maternity Dens by Female Polar Bears in Western Hudson Bay, Canada and the Effects of Human Disturbance (link)
Dr. Nikita Ovsyanikov
Dr. Nikita Ovsyanikov has studied the population, condition, and behavior of polar bears on Russia's Wrangel Island for more than 15 years. The remote island is one of the largest polar bear denning sites in the world and has seen significant changes in the sea ice in recent years. In addition to scientific papers, he is the author of "Polar Bears: Living with the White Bears."
- Polar Bear Behavior in Coastal Congregations, Zoological Journal, 2004. (pdf)
- Specifics of Polar Bears Surviving an Ice Free Season on Wrangel Island in 2007, Marine Mammals of the Holarctic, 2008. (pdf)
- Unusual Pacific Walrus Mortality at Wrangel Island, Marine Mammals of the Holarctic, 2007. (pdf)
Evan Richardson
Evan Richardson is a doctoral candidate in wildlife biology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. He holds an undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Manitoba (2000) and an M.S. from the University of Alberta (2004), where he worked with Dr. Ian Stirling, focusing on polar bear maternity den site selection on western Hudson Bay. After completing his M.S. he continued to work on polar bears with Dr. Stirling, this time as a wildlife biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Service conducting polar bear research in the Beaufort Sea and western Hudson Bay. In January of 2007 he also began his doctoral studies at the University of Alberta.
- Effects of Forest Fires on Polar Bear Maternity Denning Habitat in Western Hudson Bay, Polar Biology, 2007. (pdf)
- Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Maternity Denning Habitat in Western Hudson Bay: a Bottom-up Approach to Resource Selection Functions, Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2005. (pdf)
- Wolf Predation (Canis lupus) of a Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Cub on the Sea Ice off Northwestern Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, Arctic, 2006. (pdf)
Scott Schliebe
Scientist Scott Schliebe retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2008 after studying polar bears for more than 20 years. He was the former chair of the IUCN's Polar Bear Specialist Group. His most recent work has focused on the Chukchi population of polar bears, which is shared by the U.S. and Russia. He was also involved with determining whether the polar bear should be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
Dr. Don Moore
Dr. Donald Moore is the Associate Director for Animal Care at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and Founding Vice-Chair and Current Advisor of Animal Welfare for the American Zoo & Aquarium Association (AZA). Moore holds a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He is a zoo and animal-behavior professional, wildlife biologist, and educator. He has worked closely with polar bears in zoos during the course of his career, including his present position with the Smithsonian's National Zoo and his previous work with the Wildlife Conservation Society's zoos in New York City. He helped spearhead a nationwide effort to reduce stereotypic behavior (stress) in polar bears in zoos.
Dr. Moore has published over four dozen papers or manuals on animal husbandry and behavior; serves as a peer-reviewer for several scientific journals; and has received national and local awards for excellence in the interpretation of natural history and behavior of wildlife. He recently wrote the children’s natural history book, Disney’s Wonderful World of Animals (2006), based on questions about animals that kids ask him most frequently.
Dr. Tom S. Smith
Dr. Tom Smith is an associate professor and research wildlife biologist in the Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He holds a B.S. in Zoology from Brigham Young University (1982), a M.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of Alaska – Fairbanks (1987) and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from Brigham Young University (1992). His work over the past 15 years has been mainly focused on North American bear conservation and conflict management. His current studies with polar bears focus on den emergence ecology and response to human activities on the North Slope of Alaska.
- Alaskan Brown Bears, Humans & Habituation (pdf)
- Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska (pdf)
- Post-Den Emergence Behavior of Polar Bears in Northern Alaska (pdf)
- Recent Observations of Intraspecific Predation & Cannabilism among Polar Bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea (pdf)
Dr. Ian Stirling
Dr. Ian Stirling is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. He holds a B.S. and M.S. from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and a Ph.D. from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he studied the population ecology of Weddell seals in Antarctica.
He has studied polar bears throughout the Canadian Arctic for over 37 years with the Canadian Wildlife Service. His long-term studies of polar bears in Western Hudson Bay, one of the world's most southerly populations, confirmed the negative effects of climate warming. The population has dropped 22% since 1987. Dr. Stirling has also studied the bears of the Southern Beaufort Sea and Canadian High Arctic for several decades as well their interrelationships with seals and sea ice. He is the author of three books for the public on bears, including Polar Bears, considered the definitive work on the biology of the polar bear.
- Implications of Warm Temperatures and an Unusual Rain Event for the Survival of Ringed Seals on the Coast of Southeastern Baffin Island (pdf)
- Melting Under Pressure: The Real Scoop on Climate Warming and Polar Bears (pdf)
- Possible Effects of Climate Warming on Select Populations of Polar Bears in the Canadian Arctic (pdf)
- Quantifying the Sensitivity of Arctic Marine Mammals to Climate-Induced Habitat Change (pdf)
- Response to Dyck et. al (2007) on Polar Bears and Climate Change in Western Hudson Bay (pdf)
- Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Diets of Polar Bears across the Canadian Arctic (pdf)
Dr. Ronald R. Swaisgood
Dr. Swaisgood is a scientist with the San Diego Zoo and the associate director of the zoo's Center for Reproductive Studies (CRES). He has worked with a number of species including giant pandas, rhinoceros, and, of course, polar bears. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 scientific papers and has received numerous grants and awards. The major focus of Dr. Swaisgood's current research is on scent communication, which plays a major role in solitary species like polar bears in terms of finding and competing for a mate and other aspects of social and reproductive behavior. He is also studying maternal behavior in several bear species.
Dr. Jane Waterman
Dr. Jane Waterman of the University of Central Florida studies the behavior of the polar bears in the Churchill area and how that behavior may change in light of a progressively shorter hunting season. Her behavior studies have resulted in self-imposed guidelines for the Churchill bear-watching industry. She is also pioneering a whisker pattern identification technique, which is noninvasive, in addition to a way of determining a polar bear's weight through noninvasive digital photos.
Geoff York
Geoff York of Alaska is the leading expert on polar bears with World Wildlife Fund’s Arctic Program (WWF). Prior to that, he did fieldwork in the Arctic for 12 years, most recently as biologist and project manager for the U.S. Geological Survey's Polar Bear Program. York presently focuses on conservation issues including habitat loss, climate change, and human-wildlife conflicts. York recently worked with PBI in developing a Polar Bear Condition Score Card and is part of our Polar Bear Sustainability Alliance. York earned an MS in Biology from University of Alaska – Fairbanks and a BA in English from University of Notre Dame.
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