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Peacocketal.–FoxeBasinPolarBears–2009

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FoxeBasinPolarBearProject2009InterimReportNovember29,2009ElizabethPeacockVickiSahanatienSethStapletonAndrewDerocherDavidGarshelisWildlifeResearchSectionDepartmentofEnvironmentGovernmentofNunavutIgloolik,NunavutCanadaX0A‐0L0PROJECTPERSONNELDr. Elizabeth Peacock, Wildlife Research Section, Department of Environment,GovernmentofNunavut1VickiSahanatien,DepartmentofBiologicalSciences,UniversityofAlbertaSethStapleton,DepartmentofFisheries,WildlifeandConservationBiology,UniversityofMinnesotaDr. David L. Garshelis, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology,UniversityofMinnesotaDr.AndrewE.Derocher,DepartmentofBiologicalSciences,UniversityofAlberta

1Currentaffiliation,ResearchWildlifeBiologist,USGS,Anchorage,Alaska,USA.


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EXECUTIVESUMMARY(availableinInuktituttranslation)This report summarizesprogresson theFoxeBasinPolarBearProject fromNovember2008 toNovember2009.Springtime fieldwork was conducted in the Foxe Basin polar bear management zone orsubpopulation(FB)inApril2009.Thepurposeofthisworkwasto1)evaluatetheusefulnessofspringtime aerial surveys for abundance estimation of polar bears; and 2) retrieve droppedsatellitecollars;and3)searchforRFIDtags.Weultimatelyretrievedallcollarsthatdroppedoffbearsonland(11).Ninehaddroppedoffbearsbecauseamanufacturer’smalfunctionand2hadslippedoffbecausetheywerefittooloose.Wedeterminedthataspringtimeaerialsurveyonicewould be much less efficient and provide less‐accurate information compared to an autumnaerial survey in FB. The springtimeworkwasplaguedwithpoor sightingprobability and a lowencounterrate,asthereislowpolarbeardensityacrossalargeexpanseofavailablehabitat;weflew 17,000 km and sighted 16 polar bears. In contrast, during the autumn when the vastmajorityofbearsareonlandinFB,lowtopographylandresultsinhighsightingprobability,andtheconcentrationofpolarbearsonlandincreasesencounterrates.Inspring2009,werelocatedzeroofthe32RFIDtagsavailable(1RFIDtaghadalreadybeenharvested)during31helicopterhours.Themainobjectivesoftheautumn2009fieldseasonwereto1)conductacomprehensiveaerialsurveyforpopulationestimationofpolarbearsinFB;and2)deploy25satellitecollarsonpolarbearsintheFBforresearchonpopulationdelineationandhabitatecology.Initialplansweretoconduct a mark‐recapture study for estimation of population parameters (annual survival,abundanceandstatus);theGNdidnotpermitthisprojectin2008and2009,becauseofconcernsfromsomecommunities regarding the immobilizationofpolarbears.Asa result,estimationofannual survival, population status and a total allowable harvest (TAH), based on formulaedictated in the Polar Bear Research and Management Memoranda of Understanding withNunavutcommunities,arenolongerobjectivesoftheFoxeBasinPolarBearProject.Autumnfieldworkwasconductedfrom13Augustto2October2009ontheHudsonBayshoreofNunavik (northernQuebec), islands inHudsonStrait,northernHudsonStraitwestofKimmirut,theFoxePeninsula,all islands,coastalregions inFoxeBasinproper,southtoChesterfield Inlet.WebasedoutofthecommunitiesofPuvirnituq,Ivujivik,Salluit,Kimmirut,CapeDorset,cabinsatNikkuandBrayislands,Igloolik,RepulseBay,ChesterfieldInletandCoralHarbour.Wedeployedsatellitecollarson24adultfemalesandsatelliteeartagon1adultmale.Biologicalsamplesandmeasurementswerecollectedfromall immobilizedpolarbears.Thedistributionof2009collarscomplementsthe2007and2008distribution,resultinginageographicallyrepresentativesampleofinformationtobeusedforpopulationdelineationandhabitatanalyses.Intheautumnof2009,wealsocompletedacomprehensiveland‐basedaerialsurveythroughoutFB.Weemployedacombinationofcoastal‘contour’andinlandtransects,aswellastotalcountsonasampleofsmallislands.Wecoveredapproximately50%ofthecoastduringourcontourtransects.Becausepolarbearsconcentratealongthecoastduringthelate


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summer,ice‐freeseason,wedividedthe‘inland’studyareaintohighdensity(landwithin5kmofthecoast),lowdensity(land5‐15kmfromthecoast),andverylow‐density(land15–50kmfromthecoast)strata.StratadelineationwasbasedonsatellitetaggingdatacollectedinFoxeBasinduring2008–2009.Weallocatedoursamplingeffortsuchthattransectswereconcentratedinthehighdensity,coastalstratum.Samplingprotocolsenabledustocollectbothdistancesamplinganddoubleobserver(sight‐resight)datafromthehelicopterplatform.Duringthe7‐weeksurveyperiod,weflewmorethan40,000km(includingferries)acrossFB.Werecorded814bears,including616independent(i.e.,adultandsubadult)bears.Analyses,whichwillincludecomparisonamongmultipleanalyticaltechniques,areinprogress.WeanticipateobtainingapopulationestimateforFBinspring2010andwillrecommendtechniquemodificationsforthe2010aerialsurveyinFB.AnoriginalintentoftheFoxeBasinPolarBearProjectwasalsototestanddevelopRadioFrequencyIdentification(RFID)eartags.Thesetagscouldbeusedtoreducetheneedtorecaptureanimalsduringmark‐recapturestudies;theintentwastodevelopresearchtechniquesthataremoreacceptabletotheInuitpublic.Weintendedtodeploy300RFIDtags,asamplesizesufficient,duetotherelativetotheabundanceofpolarbearsinFB,toascertaintheretentionanddetectionofthetags.However,wewereonlyabletodeploy55tagsin2008and2009,becausethemark‐recaptureportionoftheresearchwascancelled.In2009,wehadtheabilitytosearchforthe32tagsdeployedin2008.OurtestsindicatethatRFIDtagsaredetectableat4kmat1,000ftabove‐ground‐altitude(AGL)or1kmat400ftAGL.Werelocated6ofthe31tags.Threetagswerefoundtobefirmlyattachedtoears,withnoinfection(1intheharvest,2during2009surveyactivities);2remainingtagswereshedandlocatedduringautumnfieldeffortin2009.Wedeployedanadditional23RFIDtagsonalladult,subadultandyearlingpolarbearscaptured,in2009.In2008–2009wecontinuedanalysisusingsatellitecollarandeartaglocationinformationtoexplorepolarbearmovementsandmulti‐scalehabitatselection.Atthelandscapescaleweconductedapreliminaryanalysisofhabitatselectionbasedontheseaiceconcentration,ageandfloesizeasdescribedbytheCanadianIceServicemaps.Thiswillbethefirstanalysisofthistypecompletedforpolarbearsthatliveinseasonalseaicepopulations,whereicedoesnotremaininsummermonths.Significantprogresswasmadeindevelopinganewmethodforquantifyingfine‐scalehabitatselectionbyusingSARimageryofseaice;SARimageryisavailableduringdarkmonthsandondayswithcloudcover.ThismethodwillhaveapplicationthroughouttheArcticandwillbeusefulformanyseaicedependentspecies.Wepresentthesepreliminaryanalysesinthisreport.

Wepresentmovementmetricsforbothmaleandfemalepolarbearsfor2008–2009:homerangesize;movementrates;anddistancetravelled.InthissecondyearofstudyweobservedgeographicdifferencesinhomerangesizesofFBbearsusingHudsonBayandFoxeBasin,effectsofsmallislandsonmovementsduringtheopen‐waterseason,andsexdifferencesinmovements.Interestingly,wefoundthatfemaleswithcubstravelledfurtherthanthefouradultmalesthatwetaggedin2008.


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Existingcollections(IgloolikOralHistoryProject,ParksCanadaOralHistoryProject,HudsonBayProgram)of InuitQaujimajaiugangit(IQ)werereviewedin2006and2007butlittleinformationabout polar bear habitat use and distribution was found.We collected new IQ on polar bearhabitat use in 2009 fromelders and hunters across FB in 33 individual interviews and 2 focusgroups.INTRODUCTIONTheDepartmentofEnvironment(DOE)oftheGovernmentofNunavut(GN)isresponsibleforthemanagementandconservationofpolarbear(Ursusmaritimus)populationswithinitsjurisdiction.Thisresponsibility isoutlinedintheNunavutLandClaimsAgreement(NLCA,1993).Further,thefederal government entrusts the Nunavut Territory and other polar bear jurisdictions withinCanadawiththefulfillmentoftheInternationalAgreementoftheProtectionofPolarBearsandtheir Habitat, ratified in 1974. This task traditionally involves periodic population inventories,which are comprised of geographic delineation and estimation of demographic parametersincluding birth and death rates, population size and status. With this information, the GNrecommends the Total Allowable Harvest (TAH) for the population to the Nunavut WildlifeManagementBoard(NWMB).Inaddition,undertheNLCA,theGNisrequiredtomanagewildlifeunder theprinciples of conservation; climate change and its consequences for polar bears hasbeenhighlightedasaconservationconcern,andthereforeasubstantivepartoftheFoxeBasinPolar Bear Project includes research on polar bear habitat ecology. Finally, as indicated in theNLCA (1993), our research and management system must take into consideration uniqueperspectiveandtraditionalknowledgeoftheInuit;ourprojectincorporatessignificanteffortstosystematicallycollectInuitQaujimajaiugangit(IQ)ofpolarbearsinFB.The Foxe Basin polar bear management zone or subpopulation (FB; Figure 1) has receivedrelativelylittlerecentresearchattention(Lunnetal.1987,Tayloretal.1990,Tayloretal.2006b).No population boundary delineation using satellite telemetry (Taylor et al. 2001) has occurredanddemographicrateshavenotbeenestimated.FBiscurrentlydefinedasboundedinthesouthby northern Hudson Bay, western Baffin Island, the Fury and Hecla Straits and the MelvillePeninsula and covers approximately 1.1million km2. Seven communities inNunavut (Kimmirut(10),CapeDorset (10), Igloolik (10),HallBeach (8),RepulseBay (12),Chesterfield Inlet (8) andRepulseBay (12))harvestpolarbears fromFB (TAH inparentheses).Polarbears inFBarealsoharvestedbycommunitiesinNunavik(northernQuebec;Puvirnituq,Akulivik,IvujivikandSalluit)at a combined rangeof 0–7polarbearsper year from1997‐2005. Theharvest inQuebec isneitherregulatednorconsistentlymonitored.ThemeanpopulationsizeforpolarbearsinFBfrom1989to1994wasestimatedtobe2,197±260SE(Tayloretal.2006b).Inrecentyears,localknowledgeinNunavutindicatedanincreaseinpolarbearnumbers,resultinginanincreaseinthe2005NunavutTAHfrom97to106polarbears,whichwasconsideredsustainablewithapopulationestimatedat2,300bears.PopulationDelineationandInventory


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The Foxe Basin Polar Bear Project includes several components to address the managementmandate for polar bears in FB. Science‐based population delineation will assist in therecommendation of distribution of harvest quotas across the Hudson Bay complex. Hitherto,boundarydelineationofpolarbearsubpopulationshasusedsatelliteinformationcollectedfromadult females, because the circumference of necks of adultmales is too large towear collars.Advancements in technology show promise (E. Born, personal communication; Peacock et al.2008)forasatelliteeartag(MikkelVellumJensen,DenmarkandWildlifeComputersInc.,USA)tocollectdataonmalepolarbearmovement.Ourdatafromfivemalepolarbearswillbeusedinadditiontothedataonfemalemovementfordelineationandhabitatanalyses.A second crucial part of population inventory for the establishment of TAH is a populationinventory,which traditionallyencapsulatesestimationofpopulationsize,birthanddeath rates(Peacock2009).With thesedemographic figures,wecan thenusepopulationviabilityanalyses(PVA) to estimate population growth rate, or status (stable, increasing, decreasing) of thepopulation. TAH has historically been set to maximize harvest opportunities for the Inuit ofNunavut, and is set such that the population is managed to be stable. In order to maximizeharvest,themark‐recapturemethodhasbeenusedtoestimateprecise(confident)andaccurate(lowbias)populationparameters(Tayloretal.2002,Tayloretal.2006a,2008,2009).In2008and2009,theDOEdidnotpermitamark‐recapturestudyduetocommunityconcernsregardingthephysicalcaptureofpolarbears.Assuch,wewillnotbeestimatingsurvivalratesinorstatusofFB.WerecommendthattheDOEinvestigatealternativemeasurestoestablishascience‐basedTAH.ThereisbroadsupportwithintheDOE,NWMBandcommunitiesforwildliferesearch,whichdoesnot involve chemical immobilization of wildlife. In deference to Inuit Societal Values, we aredevelopingandhaveimplementedaless‐invasiveaerialsurveymethodforpopulationestimationofpolarbears.In2008weconductedapilotstudytooutlinethemethods(McDonaldetal.1999,Bucklandetal.2001,Peacocketal.2008)neededfortheaerialsurveys.Herewereportonthecomprehensive2009aerialsurvey.Wealso report summaryzoological statisticsofpolarbearscaughtduring theFoxeBasinPolarBearProjectaspartofthepopulationdelineationandhabitatecologyprojects,asitislikelythatnomore capturewill occur in FB for the foreseeable future.We provide summarized data onrecruitmentandbodymetrics,whichcanbeused forcomparisons todifferent timeframesandothersubpopulations,andpossiblyinaPVA.Finally,aproposedobjectiveoftheFoxeBasinpolarbearprojectwas todevelop theuseofRFID technology to reduce theneedto recapturepolarbears in mark‐recapture studies. We had proposed to deploy 300 RFID tags, a sample sizesufficient todetermine retention rates, given the large sizeof thepolarbearpopulation inFB.Herewereporton theprogressofamuch‐reduced initiative, inwhich55RFID tagshavebeendeployed.HabitatEcologyTheGNDOEmustmanagepolarbearsinthecontextanduncertaintyofclimatechange,giventheirmandateundertheNLCA(1993).Theeffectsofclimatechangehavebeenmanifestedin


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decreasedsurvivalandnatality,anddeclinesinbodyconditionofpolarbearsinsouthern(SH)andwesternHudsonBay(WH;Stirlingetal.1999,Derocheretal.2004,Stirlingetal.2004,Obbardetal.2007)andtheBeaufortSea(Regehretal.2006,Rodeetal.inpress).ThechangesindemographicratesinwesternHudsonBayhaveresultedinadecreasefrom1200to935bearsoverthelast20years(Lunnetal.1997,Regehretal.2007).Thedecreaseinpopulationsizeandhealthismostoftenattributedtochangingiceconditions(Stirlingetal.1999,Regehretal.2007).Polarbearsandtheirpreyaredependentontheseaiceandthusarevulnerabletoclimatechange.Thepotentialeffectsofreductionsinseaiceonpolarbearsaremany:survival;reproductivesuccess;increasedenergyexpendituresanddistribution.Usingthefieldeffortassociatedwithpopulationdelineationweproposetoaddressseasonalmovementandicehabitatselectionofpolarbears.Seaiceextent,thicknessanddurationhavebeendecliningthroughouttheCanadianArctic(SerrezeandRigor2006,IPCC2007,ParkinsonandCavalieri2008).Theeffectsofchanginghabitatavailability,increasinghabitatfragmentation,timingoffreeze‐upandbreakup,proportionsofannualandmulti‐yearseaiceonicedependentspeciesareofincreasingconcern(BlumandGradinger2007,Laidreetal.2008,Durneretal.2009).TheseaiceextentofHudsonBayandFoxeBasinandthedurationoficeseasonhavedeclined;thedeclinesareattributedtoclimatechange(Goughetal.2004,GagnonandGough2005,Moore2006,StirlingandParkinson2006).Further,wehavedocumentedachangeinpolarbearicehabitatinFoxeBasinfrom1979to2006(SahanatienandDerocher2007).Futureclimatechangeeffectsonpolarbearhabitat,distributionandpopulationsareprojectedtobemostpronouncedinregionsofseasonalseaice(BaffinBay(BB),DavisStrait(DS),FB,WHandSH;Derocheretal.2004,Amstrupetal.2007).HerewereportonourprogressonourstudiesonchangesinFBseaiceoverthepast25years,sea‐icehabitatmodelingofpolarbearsandmovementstudiesofpolarbearsinFB.InuitQaujimajaiugangitIntheFoxeBasinPolarBearProjectweareusingInuitknowledge,InuitQaujimajaiugangit(IQ),inseveral importantways.Generallyandinformally,weuselocalknowledgeandIQtodesignourstudies,implementfieldworkandinterpretresults.Morespecifically,weareincorporatingIQorTraditionalEcologicalKnowledge(TEK)frominterviewsintoourhabitatmodelingandtostratifyouraerialsurveys.Intermsofourhabitatmodeling,weareaddressingtherelationshipsofpolarbearmovementtoseaiceconditionsusingbothTEKandscience(seesectiononhabitatecology).Sea ice habitat conditions experienced by polar bears will change with climate warming,potentially negatively affecting population status and Inuit harvest levels. A new approach forincorporatingTEK in researchwillbeexploredbyusingTEKto inform,createandcompare3rd‐orderhabitatselectionmodels.FoxeBasinandHudsonBayoralhistorycollectionsandreportsofTEKofpolarbearswere reviewedand little information related tosea icehabitat,habitatuse,andmovementswerefound.Thus,wefounditnecessarytocollectnewIQasapartoftheFoxeBasinPolarBearProject.PROJECTOBJECTIVES


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I. Population Delineation. To geographically delineate the Foxe Basin polar bear population

(2007‐2013).

II. PopulationInventory.(2009–2011).a. estimatepopulationsizeusingphysicalmark‐recaptureandaerialsurvey

WEREPORTONLYONPROGRESSREGARDINGTHEAERIALSURVEY,ASMARK‐RECAPTUREWASNOTPERMITED

b. developaneffectiveaerialsurveymethodforpopulationestimationc. provide quantitative comparative assessment of the two methods for population

estimationASMARK‐RECAPTUREWASNOTPERMITTED,THISOBJECTIVEWILLNOTBEMET

d. estimatesurvivalandrecruitmentASMARK‐RECAPTUREWASNOTPERMITTED,THISOBJECTIVEWILLNOTBEMET

e. estimatepopulationstatus(trend)ASMARK‐RECAPTUREWASNOTPERMITTED,THISOBJECTIVEWILLNOTBEMET

f. determineTotalAllowableHarvest(TAH)AS MARK‐RECAPTURE WAS NOT PERMITTED, THIS OBJECTIVE WILL NOT BE MET UNTIL NEW GUIDELINES ARECREATEDFORDETERMININGTAHWITHOUTSTATUSINFORMATION.

III. HabitatEcology.ToinvestigatemovementandhabitatselectionofFoxeBasinpolarbearsas

relatedtoiceconditions(2007–2013).

IV. InuitQaujimajaiugangit.TocollectandincludeIQinthedevelopmentofthehabitatecologyandaerialsurveystudiesandinterpretationoftheresults(2007–2011).

METHODSANDRESULTSI. POPULATIONDELINEATIONTo geographically delineate FB,wewill use data gathered from2007 – 2012 frompolar bearstaggedwith satellite transmitters from2007–2009. In2007,10GEN IIIARGOS/GPS (Telonics,Inc.) collars were deployed on female polar bears in southern FB. In 2008, we deployed 26satellitecollars(GENIVARGOS/GPS)onadultfemalesand4satelliteeartags(M.VellumSPOT5tagandWildlifeComputers)onadultmalesinnorthernandeasternFB(Peacocketal.2008).Inboth years, satellite collars performed poorly (30 of 36 failed prematurely) due to amanufacturer’sdefectinvolvingspringtensionintheCR2‐Areleasemechanism.Inthespringandautumnof2009,weretrieved11collarstohelpthemanufacturerdeterminethesourceofthemalfunction; the remaining collars likely dropped into ice/water. We received 25 new collars(GEN IV and refurbished GEN III), at no cost, and deployed 24, in addition to one additionalsatellite ear tag, in the autumn of 2009. The satellite collars are all still functioning and areprogrammedtodropoffin2012.In 2009, 67 polar bears (Table 1, Figure 2)were captured and immobilized for deployment ofsatellite collars (24) and an ear tag. However, bears were also immobilized if they were 1)dependentyoungofadultfemales;2)wereincloseproximitytoimmobilizedadultfemalesand


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thereforeposedathreattothefocalbear;or3)wereclosetothefieldcamponBrayIsland.Onecollar slipped off an adult female within 1 week, and this collar was redeployed on anotherfemale.Bearswere immobilizedwithpalmer (adults and subadults) or pneu‐darts (cubs‐of‐theyear (COY) and yearlings) with a pneu‐dart gun from a Bell 206L helicopter using Telozol(tiletamine hydrochloride and zolazepamhydrochloride), at a concentration of 250mg/ml andadministeredatapproximately5mg/kg.Thefollowingdataandsampleswerecollected:axillarygirth; zygomatic breadth; straight‐line length; a vestigal premolar tooth (aging); ear puncture(DNA); hair samples (heavy metals); claw tip (stable isotopes); and a fat sample (fatty acidanalysis). Other information collected included sex, field age, and body condition.Wemarkedcapturedbearswitheartagsandliptattoos.After all data are collected (by 2012) analysis on population delineation of FBwill commence.Delineation using cluster‐analysis (Taylor et al. 2001) will incorporate all satellite data, andsatellite data frompolar bears captured in the neighbouringGulf of Boothia (GB; Taylor et al.2009),SH(providedbyM.Obbard,OntarioMinistryofNaturalResources)andWH(providedbyA.Derocher,UniversityofAlberta).Final resultswillbeavailable in2013. Initialgraphicsof theextentsofhome‐rangesofalladultfemalecollaredtodate(Figures3–5)showthatingeneralpolarbearswanderwithinthecurrentboundariesofFB,althoughdousenorthernHudsonBayduringthewinterandspring.II.POPULATIONINVENTORYPopulationbiologyAllphysicalandgeneticmarks(fromearsamples)placedonpolarbearsfrom2007–2009canbeused in potential mark‐recapture‐recovery modeling in the future to estimate polar bearpopulation sizeand survival inFB. In total, therewere168captureeventsofpolarbears from2007– 2009; 162 individualswerenew captures, and6 recaptures. In 2008, one adult femalepolar bear (with 2 COY) was caught in Hudson Strait near Markham Bay, who was originallycaptured in theDavisStraitmanagementzone (DS), ineasternHudsonStrait. In2009,anotheradultfemale(with2unmarkedyearlings)wascapturedonNottinghamIsland,wasalsooriginallycaughtinDS,ineasternHudsonStrait.In2009,twoadultfemales(including2tagged2‐year‐oldsofoneof the females)were recaptured,havingbeencaughtoriginally inFB in2008.NobearswerecaughtinFBfromWHorSHmanagementzones.Thusthereare162physicalmarksintheFB subpopulation, and approximately 80 additional genetic marks from the 2008 the biopsy‐markingpilot study (genetic sampleshavebeen sent toWildlifeGenetics International; data ishousedat theWildlifeResearchSection in Igloolik,NU).AsofNovember2009,1bearmarkedduringinFBfrom2007–2009hasbeenharvested.In2009,wesearchedapproximately17,000kminthespringand40,000kminthefallwiththereceiver enabled to detect radio‐frequency identification (RFID) tags deployed in 2008. Wedetected4of32availableRFIDtags(i.e., thosedeployed in2008minus1harvested inJanuary2009;thisonewasaffixedtothepolarbearandshowednosignofinfection).TwoRFIDtagswerestillattachedtopolarbearears,andshowednosignsofinfection.ThetwootherRFIDtagswere


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detectedbut nopolar bearwas found;we assume theRFID taghaddropped (oneon easternPrinceCharlesIsland,oneoneasternRowleyIsland).In2009,allbears(exceptforCOY)thatwereimmobilizedwerefittedwithaRFIDtagintherightear(n=23).Appendix1showsthefateof55RFIDtagsdeployedin2008and2009.SummarybodymeasurementsofpolarbearscapturedinFBfrom2007–2009arepresentedinTable2;axillarygirthispresentedonanannualbasisforCOYandencumberedfemales(Table3).MeanCOYlittersizes(Table3)inthesampleofcapturedpolarbearsin2008and2009respectivelywere1.63(0.13,SE)and1.64(0.15).Interestingly,themeanCOYlittersizeofthemuchlargersampleobservedduringtheaerialsurveywassmallerat1.57(0.06).Theselittersizesaremuchlargerthanthoseobservedrecentlyinafall‐timestudyinDavisStrait(DS;Peacock2009),wheremeanCOYlittersizefrom2005–2007was1.49(0.15).Ofnote,wecapturedmotherswith2‐year‐olds(anda3‐year‐oldin2007),andcapturedorobserved4tripletlitters(2COY,2yearlings)inFB;neithertripletlittersnorsignificantoccurrences2‐year‐oldsaccompanyingmotherswerecapturedorobservedinDS(Peacock2009).Mostbearscapturedin2008and2009inFBhadevidenceofmarine‐mammalfeedingonfur.In2009,icefloeswerepresentinFBthroughoutthesummerandfall.In2009,wefoundtwobearsthatwereshotandleftontheland.On23September,onesubadultmale(19.7cmzygomaticbreadth)wasfoundonwesternManselIsland(62.05,‐79.34)nearanarcticcharriver,heavilyusedbypeople.Anadultfemalewasfounddeadon5SeptemberonRowleyIsland(69.06,‐78.63).Bothbearswereingoodconditionandneitherhadbeenscavenged.Approximately2kmfromtheadultfemalewasayearlingbeingconsumedbytwoadultmalepolarbears.ThesebearsshouldcomeofftheFBquotafor2009–2010.AerialsurveydevelopmentandpopulationestimationInautumn2008,weconductedapilotstudyinFBtodeterminesightingprobabilitiesandmethodsappropriateforanaerialsurveyofpolarbearsonland(S.Stapleton,unpublisheddata;Peacocketal.2008).In2009,wecompletedacomprehensiveaerial(helicopter‐based)surveyofFBfromAugust15toSeptember29.Polarbearsconcentrateonlandduringtheice‐freeseasoninFB;weusedacombinationofcoastal‘contour’transects(roughlyparalleltothecoastline)andinlandtransectstosurveymainlandportionsofFBandallverylargeislands(islands>35kminwidthsuchasPrinceCharlesandCoatesislands).Duringcoastaltransects,weflewapproximately200minlandoftheshoreline,andcountedbearsouttoabout500montheinlandsideoftheaircraft,thussamplingaswathofabout700m.Becausepolarbearsgenerallyconcentratealongtheshoreduringthelatesummer,inlandtransectswereorientedperpendiculartothiscoastaldensitygradient(Bucklandetal.2001).Wefurtherdividedthestudyareaintomultiplestratabasedonproximitytothecoastline:ahighdensitystratum,includinglandwithin5kmofthecoast;alowdensitystratum,includingland5–15kmfromthenearestcoastline;andaverylowdensitystratum,includingland15–50kmfromthenearestcoastline.SatellitetelemetrydatacollectedinFoxeBasinduring2008–2009wereusedtodelineatethesestrataanddefinetheinlandextentofthestudyarea(datagatheredfromsatellite‐collaredindividualsindicatedthatFBbearsveryrarelyventuremorethan50kmfrom


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anycoast).Allinlandtransectswerespacedat10kmintervals,andweallocatedsamplingeffortsuchthattransectswereconcentratedalongthecoastandinthehigh‐densitystratum.Wesurveyedapproximately50%ofthecoastlinewithcontourtransects,andmaintainedaratioof4:2:1forinlandtransectsextending5,15,and50kminland,respectively.Forislands<35kmwide(e.g.,Rowley,Bray,andtheSpicerIslands),weextendedtransectsacrossthewidthoftheislandsandpooledtheseregionsintothe‘LargeIsland’stratum.WealsosurveyedasampleofverysmallislandsaswellasicefloesremaininginBowmanBay,nearIgloolik,andintheHeclaandFuryStraits.SurveyswereconductedfromaBell206BLong‐Rangeratanaverageairspeedof150km/hr(93mi/hr)andanabove‐groundlevel(AGL)altitudeofapproximately120m(400ft).Wewilluseacombinationoftwoapproachestoestimatethenumberofbearsthatwerenotseenwithinthesurveyedareas:sight‐resight(e.g.,McDonaldetal.1999)anddistancesampling(Bucklandetal.2001).Forsight‐resight,observersseatedinthefrontandrearoftheaircraftfunctionedasseparate,independentteams;bearscouldbeseenbythefront,back,both,orneitherteam.Comparingdetectionsmadebyoneteamversusbothteamsyieldsindividualdetectionprobabilitiesforeachteam,acombineddetectionprobabilityforbothteams(i.e.,theprobabilitythatatleastoneteamspotsabear),andthereforeanestimateofthebearspresentbutnotseenbyeitherteam.Wenotethatobserversintherearoftheaircrafthaveablindspotdirectlybeneaththehelicopter.Wesimultaneouslycollecteddatatomeasurethedistanceoffthetransectlineofeachsightingtofacilitatedistancesamplinganalyses(Bucklandetal.2001).Toobtainthesemetrics,polarbearlocationswererecordedwithaGPSandperpendiculardistancesmeasuredinaGIS(Marquesetal.2006).Sincesightingdistancesdecreasewithincreasingdistancefromtheaircraft,thenumberofbearsnotobservedatvaryingdistancesfromtheflightpathcanbeestimatedbyfittingacurve(detectionfunction)tothesightingdistances(distancesampling).Weadditionallycollecteddemographicdata,includingsexandage‐classandabodyconditionindex(Stirlingetal.2008),aswellasweatherandtopographicdata,whichmayimpactsightingprobabilities.

Duringthenearly7‐weeksurveyperiod,weflewmorethan40,000kmacrossFB(Figure6).Wesighted816polarbears,including616independent(i.e.,adultandsubadult)bears,anddocumentedameanlittersizeof1.57(0.06,SE)forCOY(Table3).Asanticipated,encounterratesweregreatestalongthecoast,onislands,andinthehighdensitystratum,althoughasubstantialnumberofbearswerealsodetectedinthelowandverylowdensityinlandstrata(Tables5and6;Figures7–9).Weexpectthatthe‘inland’bearsightingswillmakeasignificantcontributiontotheoverallpopulationestimategiventheexpansiveinteriorofFB(Aarsetal.2009).Weadditionallyrecorded100bearsontheverysmall,offshoreislandsand4individualsonicefloes.Thedistributionofpolarbearsightingdistancesfromthetransectlinesuggestthatwewillbeabletoobtainarobustdetectionfunctionforthedistancesamplinganalyses(Figure10).PopulationanalyseswillincludecomparisonamongmultipleanalyticaltechniquessuchasMultipleCovariateDistanceSampling(Aarsetal.2009)andintegrativeproceduressuchasMark‐RecaptureDistanceSampling(Laakeetal.2008).Thesemethods,respectively,facilitate


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theinclusionofvariablesthatmayaffectdetectionprobabilitiesandaccountforsituationsinwhichthedetectionprobabilityofanimalslocatedonthetransectlineis<1.Wewillalsoevaluatetheutilityandprecisionofestimatesderivedsolelyfromperpendicular,inlandtransectsversusestimatesderivedfromacombinationofcoastalcontourtransectsandinlandtransects.WewillobtainapopulationestimateforFBinthespringof2010willrecommendtechniquemodificationsforthe2010aerialsurveyinFB.ThefinalFBestimatewillbecomprisedofseparateestimatesofbearsresidingalongthecoast,furtherinland,onlargeislands,onsmalloffshoreislands,andonicefloes.

AsourpreviouspilotresearchonSouthamptonIslandsuggested(S.Stapleton,unpublisheddata;Peacocketal.2008),thelatesummerdistributionofbearswashighlyclumpedandconcentratedalongthecoastin2009(Figures7–9).WenotethatFBpolarbearsshowsomeevidenceofsex‐andage‐classsegregation,andwehypothesizethatthisbehavior,combinedwiththelatesummermovementoficearoundFB,aresignificantdeterminantsofpolarbeardistributiononland.WewillusepolarbearlocationsinaGIS‐basedanalysistofurtherevaluateparameterspotentiallyimpactingbeardistributionandsegregation,includingseaice(usingremotesensingdataobtainedfromtheCanadianIceService),proximitytothecoastline,proximitytocommunities,andtopography.Thesedatawillhelptospatiallystructurefutureaerialsurveyresearchandalsomayhelpidentifypotentialhotspotsforhuman‐polarbearconflict.AdditionalresearchinFBduring2010willbecriticaltothecontinueddevelopmentandrefinementoftheaerialsurveytechnique,toexaminetheconsistencyofpopulationestimatesderivedfromthismethod,andtofurtherevaluatethefactorsaffectingthedistributionofpolarbearsduringtheice‐freeseason.AlldataandresultsfromtheFBaerialsurveywillbeincorporatedinS.Stapleton’sPh.D.dissertation.II. HabitatEcology

ThissectiondescribesprogressonanalysisoficehabitatchangeinFoxeBasinandnorthernHudsonBay,andpolarbearhabitatecologyandmovementstudiesfromthe2007and2008collaringefforts.Wealsoprovidesomepreliminaryinformationoninitialmovementsofbearscollaredintheautumnof2009.

Throughout,wehavedefinedtheseasonsasfollows:open‐water(August–October),freeze‐up(November–December),winter(January–March),spring(April‐May)andbreak‐up(June‐July).Allseasonsbutspringreflectseaicephenology;springisthemainringedsealpuppingseason.

ChangeinpolarbearhabitatinFoxeBasinWecompletedanalysesofseaiceconcentrationandavailablepolarbearhabitatintheFoxeBasinpolarbearpopulationareaforthetimeperiod1979–2004(SahanatienandDerocher2007).Monthly(October–June)seaiceconcentrationmaps,derivedfromsatelliteimages,werereclassifiedtofourpolarbearhabitatclassesusingArcGIS:seaiceclass1(0–30%oropen


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water),seaiceclass2(30–60%orveryopenice),seaiceclass3(60–85%oropenice)andseaiceclass4(85–100%orclosedice).Theareaofeachseaicehabitatclasswascalculatedbymonthandyear.Overtime,leastsquaresregressionanalysisshowedsignificantdeclinesoverthe26yearsinthetotalareaofavailablehabitatofseaiceclasses3and4inNovember,December,MayandJune.Further,meanmonthlyairtemperaturewassignificantlycorrelatedwithamountofavailableseaicehabitatinOctober,NovemberandDecember.LandscapemetricswerecalculatedusingFRAGSTATS(McGarigaletal.2002)toassessfragmentationofpolarbearseaicehabitat.Duringthestudyperiod,thenumberofpatchesofallseaicehabitatclassesincreasedandthemeanpatchsizeofseaiceclasses3and4decreasedinNovember,December,January,MayandJune.Overall,availablepolarbearhabitat(seaiceclasses3and4)inFoxeBasinduringfallandspringdecreasedandbecameincreasinglyfragmented.Thishabitatfragmentationanalysiswillbeupdatedtoinclude2005–2009seaicedataandpreparedforpublicationin2010.TheseresultswillbeincludedinV.Sahanatien’sPh.D.thesis.HabitatSelectionWeareinvestigatingseasonalhabitatselectionofpolarbearsinFBusingacombinationofsatelliteimagery,seaicemapsandpolarbearlocationinformationtodevelopspatial,predictiveResourceSelectionModels(RSM).Theanalyseswillbuildonpreviousunderstandingandapproachestomodelingpolarbearhabitatselection(Arthuretal.1996b,Fergusonetal.2000,Mauritzenetal.2003,Wiigetal.2003,Durneretal.2009).Polarbearhabitatselectionwillbestudiedusingahierarchicalapproach;landscapescale(coarse)or2nd‐orderandatthefeaturescale(fine)or3rd‐order(Johnson1980,Durneretal.2009).Habitatselectionwillbestudiedusingtheuse‐availabilityapproachandRSMsofindividualbearswillbeestimated(Manleyetal.2000).Habitatselectionoffamilygroupstatus,sex,andage‐classwillbecomparedbyyear,monthandseason.Seasonaldefinitionsaretobedeterminedandwillbebasedonthetimingoftheseaicecycleandringedseal(Phocahispida)lifehistoryinFB.LandscapeScaleHabitatSelectionSecond‐orderhabitatselectionmodeldevelopmentwillusediscretechoiceanalysis,theapproachusedforspeciesthatexperiencechanginghabitatavailability(Arthuretal.1996).Discretechoiceanalysisisappropriatebecausepolarbearseaicehabitatisdynamic,undergoingtheannualcycleoffreeze‐upandbreak‐up,aswellas,beinginfluencedbycurrentsandtides.FBisaparticularlydynamicsystem,withcontinuouslymovingiceoccupyingcentralFoxeBasinandHudsonStrait.Itisnotreasonabletousesingleorevenseasonalseaicehabitatmaps,astheavailablehabitatchangesonafastertemporalscale.WeareusingweeklyseaicechartsproducedbytheCanadaIceService(http://ice‐glaces.ec.gc.ca/app/WsvPageDsp.cfm).Theresolutionofthechartsisapproximately35x35km.


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Polarbearlocationsforeachtimeperiodwillbeintersectedwithseaicechartsandassociatedseaiceattributeinformation.Attributedataincludeinformationoniceconditions:totaliceconcentration;partialiceconcentration;stageofdevelopment(proxyforicethickness);andicefloesize.Wewillalsoincludeseaicehabitattypesasvariables:openwater;icefree;bergywater(icebergs(inHudsonStraitonly)andsmalllow‐densityicefloes);andfastice.Additionalattributevariablesincludedinmodelsare:distancetoland;distancetolandfastice;andoceandepth.Theseattributeswillbeusedasthechoicesetofhabitatvariablesavailabletothepolarbears.Wewillthencomparetheusedhabitatchoicesetswithavailablehabitatchoicesetstodeterminehabitatselection.Theavailablehabitatchoicesetswillbegeneratedbyintersectingrandompointsontheseaicechartswithinaselectedradiusaroundtheactualbearlocation.Herewepresentanexploratoryanalysisofthehabitatusebyfemalepolarbearscollaredin2007.Nostatisticsarepresented,astheseanalysesaremerelyexploratorytofirstunderstandbasicaspectsofhabitatuseofpolarbearsinFB;finalanalyseswillbepresentedwithinthestatisticalframeworkofRSM.Theinformationpresentedhereispooleddatafrom13femalepolarbearswithcubs.Wedefinedavailablehabitatastheseaicehabitattypesandtheirrelativeproportionat10randomlocationswithina25‐kmbufferofeachbearlocation.Wedefinedusedhabitatastheseaicetypeateachbearlocation.Ingeneral,wefoundsomeevidenceofhabitatselection,asused‐habitatinsomecasesexceedsavailable‐habitat.Withsubsequentmoredetailedanalysisdescribedabove,wewilldetermineishabitatselectionoccursorifthebearssimplyuseseaicehabitataccordingtoitsavailability.InOctober,collaredfemalepolarbearsmovedontotheseaiceassoonasitwasavailableandmadeuseoflowerconcentrationsofseaice(50–70%)aswellashigherconcentrations(90–100%).Astimeprogressedthebearsshiftedtheirusetohigherconcentrationsofseaiceuntilwinterwhenallusedlocationswerein100%iceconcentration.Inspring,100%iceconcentrationwasusedmostoften(Figure11).Thereappearstobepreferencefordifferenticethicknessdependingonmonth(Figure12).InNovember,seaiceof10–15cmthicknessisusedingreaterproportionthatavailable,inDecemberandJanuary30–70cmisusedsimilarly.InFebruaryandMarch,thefemalepolarbearsbegantousethickerice(>120cm).Inspring,habitatusefocusedalmostexclusivelytoseaiceof10‐15cminthickness.Earlyinthefallpolarbearsusedsmallfloes(20–500mindiameter),thenshiftedtomedium(0.5–2.0km)andvast(>2km)floesasthesefloesizesbecameavailable(Figure13).Inwinterwhentheseascapewasdominatedbyvastfloestherewassomeuseofmediumfloes,indicatingsomehabitatselection.ThispatternedcontinuedinAprilandMay;inJuneandJulytherewasuseoflandfasticeandsmallfloes,aswellasvastfloes.FeatureFineScaleHabitatSelectionTodevelopbetterunderstandingofclimatechangeeffectsonpolarbearpopulationsitisimportanttoquantifyfinescalehabitatselectionandtherelationshipofpolarbearsmovementstoseaicestructure.Greaterknowledgeoffinescaleseaicehabitatwillguidedevelopmentofregionalscalehabitatmodels.


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Ithasbeenhypothesized(Stirlingetal.1993,Stirling1997)andgenerallyacceptedthatlinearandopenwaterseaicefeatures(polynyas,leads,ridgesandlandfasticeedge)areimportanthabitatforpolarbears.Theactualuseofandsignificanceofthesehabitatfeatureshasnotbeenwellstudiedbecauseoflogisticalandtechnologicalchallenges.Forexample,polynyas,unless>650km²,andleadsarenotdetectableonseaicechartsandconcentrationmaps.Todatetwotypesofbasemapshavebeenusedtostudypolarbearhabitatandmovements:theCanadianIceService(CIS)andNationalIceService(NIC)charts(Fergusonetal.2000,BarberandIacozza2004,Durneretal.2004)andSSM/Iimagery(Mauritzenetal.2003,Wiigetal.2003,Durneretal.2009).Distancemetricstoicefloeedge(landfastorfloating)havebeenusedinsomeofthesestudiesbutmoredetailedinvestigationoficestructurehasnotbeenpossibleduetotheresolutionofthebasemaps.Syntheticapertureradar(SAR)satelliteimageryisanappropriatealternatebasemapforpolarbearhabitatandmovementresearchbecauseitisavailableyearround(includingduringdarkseasonsandincloudyconditions).Itisofparticularutilityinpolarbearmovementandhabitatresearchbecauseitisofhighresolution(8–150m),permittingdetectionoffinescalefeaturessuchaspolynyas,leads,floesize,andseaicetexture(ridging,floes)(Figures14–15).TodatetherehasbeenlittleuseofSARinhabitatstudiesoficedependentspecies,withtheexceptionofringedseals(Nichols1999)buttherebeenstudiesusingSARforwildlifehabitatassessmentofotheranimals(Taftetal.2003,Bergenetal.2007,VanderWaletal.2005)Wecompletedapreliminaryanalysisassessingthecomplexityofseaicehabitatusedbythreeadultfemalepolarbearscollaredintheautumnof2008inFBtoassesstheappropriatenessandapplicabilityofourproposedmethod(Sahanatienetal.2009).WeusedEnviSatASARimageryofHudsonStraitforDecember25,28,and312008;January01,13,16,22,19;February06,13,17,20,23,and26;andMarch02,and08,2009.WeusedENVIimageanalysissoftwaretopreparetheimagesthatwereexportedtoArcGIS.InArcGIStheimageswerereclassifiedtoreflecthabitatcomplexityusingamovingwindowanalyses.Theneighbourhoodwas7x7pixels,whichwasequivalenttoanareaof525x525m.Eachpixelwasassignedacomplexityvalue.Habitatcomplexityisanindexoficesurfacetextureorroughness,whichinturnisaproductoficefloesize,theamountandsizeoficeridgesandtherelativeproportionofopenwater,fastice,newiceandfirstyearice.Themovingwindowresultedineachpixelbeingreclassifiedandbeingassignedacomplexityvalue.Complexityvaluesrangedfrom0to3,500with,3,500beingthemostcomplex.Polarbearlocationswerethenintersectedwiththeappropriateimageandhabitatcomplexityinformationrecordedatthatlocation.Thetestanalysiscompletedshowedthatthesefemalepolarbearsusedlowercomplexityvalues(300–600)ofseaicehabitat(Figures16–18).Thisusepatternwasconsistentovertimeandbetweenbears.First,thisexploratoryanalysisindicatesthatourmethodinvolvingSARimagerycanbesuccessfullyusedtodetectyear‐roundfinescalehabitatuseandselection.Secondly,itappearsthatthethreetestcollaredbearsdidshowsomeleveloffinescalehabitatselection,astheyusedseaicehabitatwithlowercomplexitythanthemajorityofhabitat(complexityvalueofapproximately600).


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Adetailedanalysiswillbecompletedin2010usingtimecoincidentEnviSatASARandRADARSATWideSwathSARimageryandallFBpolarbearlocationdatatoquantifyfinescalehabitatselection.Eachimagewillbereclassifiedtodelineateopenwaterseaicefeatures,aseaicehabitatcomplexityindexandland.WewillthendevelopaRSMusingdistancemetrics,featureshapemetrics,andhabitatcomplexityindex.Thisworkwillresultinanewanalyticaltechniqueforinvestigatingpolarbearseaicehabitatselection.Thehabitatselectionanalysesusingthe2007–2010movementdatawillbecompletedearlyin2010andaprogressreportprepared.The3rd‐orderand2nd‐orderhabitatselectionmethodsandresultswillbepreparedforpublicationin2010.AllresultswillbeincludedinV.Sahanatien’sPh.D.thesis.FoxeBasinPolarBearSeasonalandAnnualMovements(2008–2009)

HerewereportonpolarbearmovementsforthetimeperiodAugust2008toOctober2009,basedonpolarbearscollaredduring2008.The2008collarandeartagdeploymenteffortwasreportedoninthe2008FoxeBasinPolarBearStudyReport(Peacocketal.2008).DuringAugust‐September2008,23TelonicsGenIVsatellitecollarsweredeployedonadultfemalepolarbearsandfourSpot5eartagsweredeployedonadultmalepolarbears.

Thereweretechnicalproblemswiththeautomaticrelease(CR2‐A)mechanismusedontheTelonics4satellitecollars(formoredetailsseeabove,METHODSANDRESUTS:POPULATIONDELINEATION).Of23collarsdeployedin2008,onlyonecollarcontinuestooperateatthistime(CTN618542A).InJanuary2009only7of23collarswereactive,byAprilonly4collarsandbyJuly,one.Thislevelofcollarfailuresignificantlyaffectedthevolumeofinformationthatcouldbecollectedin2008–2009,resultingintheadditionalcollardeploymentin2009.

TheGenIIIandmostGenIVsatellitecollarcollectaGPSlocationeveryfourhours,collectinguptosixlocations/day.FouroftherefurbishedGenIVsatellitecollarscollectaGPSlocationeverythreehours;collectinguptoeightlocations/day.TheGPSlocationdataaretransmittedfromthecollarstotheArgossatelliteonce/day.Thesatellitecollarlocationinformationiscodedasgoodorbadquality.Allbadlocationsareremovedfromthedatasetforeachcollaredbear.Theresultantmovementdatahadfromzerotoeightlocations/day.Thesatelliteeartagcollected3locations/day.Eachlocationisgivenanaccuracyclass(3,2,1,0,A,B),3beingmostaccurateandBleast.Weusedthebestlocationclassandnotlessthan1thatwasavailableforeachday.Onelocation/daywasusedinthemalemovementmetriccalculations.Theeartagtransmittedlocationsdaily.Locationqualitydependsonthecollaroreartagandpolarbear’spositionrelativetotheGPSsatellites.ThecollarandeartagdataisreceivedbyCLSAmerica(http://www.clsamerica.com)andemailedtotheUniversityofAlbertaeverythreedays.DataarealsosenttotheGN,WildlifeResearchSection,periodically.

Furtheranalysesofallmovementdatacollectedfrom2007‐2010willbecompletedin2010.TheseanalyseswillbeincludedinV.Sahanatien’sPh.D.dissertationandapublicationwillbeprepared.


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AdultfemalePolarBearHomeRange

AnnualandseasonalhomerangeswerecalculatedusingtheHawth’sToolminimumconvexpolygonmethodinArcMap9.3©.Annualhomeranges(2008–2009)forcollaredFBadultfemalepolarbearswithatleastfourseasons(open‐water,freeze‐up,winter,spring)ofdata(n=4)rangedfrom19,634–160,126km²(Table7).Thetwobears(CTN618542,618536)thatremainedinFoxeBasin(thewaterbody)hadsmallerhomerangesthanbearsthatusedHudsonBay(CTN618527,617098).In2008,bearswerecollaredthroughoutthenorthernregionofFB(seemapinPeacocketal.2008).The2008–2009homerangesweresmallerthanthatobservedin2007–2008(108,348–339,681km²;Peacocketal.2008).In2007–2008,allcollaredbearsbutoneusedHudsonBayduringtheseaiceperiod;in2007polarbearswerecollaredinWagerBay,RoesWelcomeSoundandSouthamptonIsland.WhilebothHudsonBayandFoxeBasinbearsuselargecentralzonesofmovingice,itispossiblethatbearsusingHudsonBayexperienceastrongerenvironmental(wind,currents,andseaicephenology)forcingaffectsthanthoseinFoxeBasin,and,thisisreflectedinthatthebearscollaredinsouthernFB(2007)hadlargerannualhomerangesizes.Prey(seal)densitiesofHudsonBayandFoxeBasinhavenotbeenquantifiedbutbothregionsareconsideredtobeveryproductive;itmaybepossiblethatpolarbearmovementsreflectrelativepreydensity,anditisknowthatringedsealdensityandavailabilityfluctuatesamongyears(StirlingandOritsland1995,Rosing‐Asvid2006).

During2008–2009,meanhomerangesizesofadultfemaleswerelargestduringfreeze‐upandbreak‐upandsmallestduringtheopen‐waterseason(Tables7and8,Figure19;noteFigures3–5arehomerangesofbearscollaredin2007and2008).Thissamepatternwasobservedin2007–2008.Themeanopen‐waterhomerangesizeofthe2009collaredbearswaslessthanthatof2008–2009,althoughtherangeofvalueswassimilar.Collaringlocationisprobablyanimportantfactorinfluencinghomerangesize,asin2009wecollaredmoreindividualsonsmallerislands(Coates,Mansel,NottinghamandtheSpicers)thatareagreatdistancefromotherislandsorthemainland,possiblyrestrictingthebearsmovements.

MalePolarBearHomeRange

Wecalculatedseasonalhomerangesofadultmalepolarbears,taggedin2008(n=4)and2009(n=1)usingtheHawth’sToolminimumconvexpolygonmethodinArcMap9.3©.Threeof4malepolarbearseasonalhomerangesweresmallerduringtheopen‐waterseasonthanduringfreeze‐up(Table9).Thisfollowsthesamepatternasadultfemalepolarbearhomerangesize,butboththerangeofsizesandmeansizeoffemalehomerangesduringeachseasonfrom2008–2009,aremuchgreaterthanformales(Figure19,Tables7,8and13,14).DespitethegenerallyacceptednotionthatmaleUrsidsrangefurtherthanfemales,thedifferencewefoundheremaybyreflectiveofadultfemaleswithcubsusinglargerareastofindappropriatehabitatpatches(forforagingneedsoravoidance),whichmaybespreadoveralargerarea.Thepurposeofthetaggingadultmaleswithsatelliteeartagswasprimarilytotesttheeffectivenessoftheeartag,nottogatherextensivedataonmalepolarbears.However,theseinterestingpreliminaryresultssuggesttheneedforfurtherresearch,anddemonstratetheeffectivenessofthistagdesign.

FemalePolarBearMovements


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WecalculatedmovementdistancesusingtheHawth’sToolmovementparametersmethodinArcMap9.3©.Movementrateswerecalculatedbydividingthedistance(km)movedbytheinterveningtime(hr)betweenlocations.Themovementsofthepolarbearsin2008–2009and2009bearsweredistinctlydifferentthanthe2007–2008.Longdistanceoverlandmovementsweremadebyfourbearsin2008–2009andfivebearsin2009(Figure20)duringtheopen‐waterseason.In2009,fivebearsswamlongdistances,upto35km,betweenislands(Figure20).Onebear(CTN618536)in2008–2009appearedtobeinatemporarydeninDecemberandJanuary(Table12).The2008–2009monthlydistancesmovedwereextremelyvariable(Table12).ThegreatestmeanmonthlydistancestravelledwereinMay,June,July(breaku‐up)andNovember(freeze‐up),and,theleastinAugustandSeptember(open‐water)(Table12,Figures3–5).Incontrast,thegreatestmonthlyratesoftravelwereinJuly,November,FebruaryandMarch(Tables9and10).Generallyrateoftravelanddistancetravelledarepositivelycorrelated,thecontraryvaluesarelikelyareflectionofthelargevariationofindividualmovementratesanddistances.Theopen‐waterdistancesandmovementratesofthebearscollaredin2009weresimilartothosein2008–2009.

Ontheseasonalbasis,themeanmovementratewaslowestduringopen‐water,withasharpincreaseatfreeze‐up(Tables9and10).Therateincreasedslightlyinwinter,decreasedinspringandthenrosetothemaximumduringbreak‐up.In2007–2008,weobservedasimilarpatternexceptthatthewintermovementratewaslessthanduringfreeze‐up.

Asin2007–2008,weobservedmovementsfromtheFoxeBasinstudyareaintoadjacentpolarbearsubpopulations(managementzones):2bearsmovedintoWH;2bearsmovedintoGBforaperiodoftime;and1bearmovedintoDS.Unfortunately,itisnotpossibletoknowiftwoofthebears(CTN617098,618538)returnedtoFoxeBasinasthecollarsfailed.

Asanexample,CTN617087wascapturedontheFoxeBasinsideofMelvillePeninsula,andwasre‐collared(CTN631694A)inasimilararea2009.Inbothyears,shefollowedaverysimilarpathbetweenFBandGB.

MalePolarBearMovements

WecalculateddistancesmovedusingtheHawth’sToolmovementparametersmethodinArcMap9.3©.Movementrateswerecalculatedbydividingthedistance(km)movedbytheinterveningtime(hr)betweenlocations.MalemeandistancesmovedforSeptember,OctoberandNovemberwerelessthanfemalerates(Tables14–16).Maleseasonalmovementrateforopen‐waterwaslessthanfreeze‐up,followingthesamepatternasthatoffemalerates.Onlyonemalebearswam;hemovedfromtheFoxePeninsulatoMillIslandandthentoSalisburyIsland,distancesofapproximately40kmeach(Figure20).

IV.InuitQuajimajatuqangitHabitatecologyWecompleted33individualinterviewsand5focusgroups(2groupsof5,3groupsof2)werecompletedinfiveFBcommunities(Kimmirut,CapeDorset,Igloolik,HallBeach,RepulseBay,and


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CoralHarbour).ItwasnotpossibletoconductinterviewsinChesterfieldInletduetoablizzardonthefirstattemptandonthesecondtriptotheKivalliqtheHTOwasnotavailable.

Wefollowedthesemi‐directedinterviewmethodinwhichasetofquestionsguidedbutdidnotlimitthediscussions(Grenier1998,Huntington2000).WeusedInuktitut‐Englishtranslatorsinallbutfiveinterviews.Interviewsweredigitallyrecordedinaudioandvideoformats.Englishtranscriptionsofallinterviewshavebeencompleted.Inuktituttranscriptionsareinprogress.CopiesofallaudioandvideorecordingshavebeenmadeandarecurrentlyheldbyV.Sahanatien,UniversityofAlberta.Inuitknowledgewasalsorecordedspatially;importantseasonalhabitatforpolarbearswasmarkedonregionalmaps.Themapswillbedigitizedandhabitatattributeinformationattachedtoeachpointandpolygon.

CopiesofallmaterialswillbedepositedforarchivingattheIgloolikResearchCentre.Copiesofeachperson’sinterviewwillbeprovidedtothatperson.Summariesofeachcommunity’stranscripts,mapsandaselectionofvideotapedinterviewswillbecreatedanddistributedtotheHTO.AsummaryreportwillbecreatedanddistributedtoallFoxeBasincommunities,Inuitwildlifemanagementorganizations,NWMB,ParksCanadaandNunavutDOE.ThesummaryreportwillincludeallhistoricalinformationobtainedfromreviewingexistingInuitoralhistoryreports,otherreportsanddatabasesandpublishedinformationonInuitknowledgeofpolarbearhabitatanddistribution.

WeareusingInvivosoftwaretocompletecontentanalysisoftheinterviews.Contentanalysisisexpectedtobefinishedearlyin2010.Atthistimeitappearsthattherewillbesufficientpolarbearseaicehabitatinformationtocreateaspringhabitatmodel.TheframeworkforusingIQinhabitatmodelingisthatbasedonthepremisethatInuitknowledge(traditionalecologicalknowledge)isexpertknowledge(Berkes1999)thuscanbeusedinmodels.Expertknowledgeandopinionhavebeenusedtocreatemodelsinmedicine,transportation,economicsandrecentlyinecology(e.g.imageanalyses,populationstatus,speciesdistribution).SpecifictothisresearchithasbeendemonstratedthatInuithavesignificantseaiceknowledgeandexpertise(e.g.Oozevaetal.2004,LaidlerandElee2008,Laidleretal.2009).Thehabitatmodelingapproachhasnotbeenselectedatthistimebutthereareseveralapproachestochoosefrom:fuzzylogic(Mackinson2001,Pattersonetal2007,PeloquinandBerkes2009),delphi(GrechandMarch2008,O’Neilletal.2009),habitatsuitabilityindex/resourceselection(JohnsonandGillingham2004),Bayesianinference(Martinetal.2007,Wilsonetal.2009)andfrequentistinference(LeleandAllen2006,Hurleyetal2009).TheseresultswillbepreparedforpublicationandincludedinV.Sahanatien’sPh.D.thesis.AerialsurveyWealsoattemptedtogatherinformationfromtheHTO’sandcommunitymemberstoassistinthedesignoftheFoxeBasinaerialsurveyandtoevaluatetheagreementbetweenlocalknowledgeandscienceregardingsummertimepolarbeardistribution.Inmid‐summer2009,wesentregionalmapstoHTO’sandCO’s,requestingthathuntersandeldersidentifyareasofhighpolarbearconcentrationsduringthelatesummer,aswellasabriefquestionnaireassessinganindividual’sseasonalactivities.Wereceivedcompleteddistributionmapsfrom2of7


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communities(KimmirutHTOandtheIgloolikCO).Anadditionalcommunity(CoralHarbour)indicatedthattheentireregionshouldbesurveyed,andanimpromptudiscussionwithanindividualinChesterfieldInlethelpedtoidentifyregionalpolarbearconcentrations.Weinitiallyplannedtousedistributiondatatostratifytheaerialsurveysamplingeffort;however,becauseanindividual’sinterpretationofhighandlowdensityareaisrelativetotheirparticularcommunityandbecauseoflowparticipationoftheHTO’s,wewereunabletostratifytheaerialsurveyin2009withInuitKnowledge.Assuch,thisapplicationofInuitKnowledgeacrosstheFoxeBasinsubpopulationwillbechallenging.Wewillassessnewwaystointegratelocalknowledgeandscienceintheaerialsurveyandcontinuetopromotelocalparticipationintheaerialsurveyfieldwork.ThecompleteddistributionmapswillbedigitizedandsubmittedtotheIgloolikOralHistoryProjectattheIgloolikResearchCentre(NunavutResearchInstitute)forarchiving.Datawillbeincorporatedintothesummaryreportsforcommunities,managementauthorities,andagenciesasappropriate.ApplicationofResultsTheprimaryresultswillinclude,forthefirsttime,thegeographicdelineationoftheFBpolarbearsubpopulationboundaries; the first subpopulationestimate since1994;developmentof anewnon‐invasivemethodofpopulationestimationofpolarbearsinaseasonal‐icepopulation;forthefirst time explicitly incorporating IQ into habitat selectionmodels (and predictive models) forpolarbears;comprehensivelycollectingIQonpolarbearhabitatuse;developinganewmethodoffinescalehabitatselectionforpolarbears,whichincludesfinerscaleyear‐roundresolutionofsatelliteimagery;anddevelopmentofapolarbearRSMforFB.Scientific results will be published in peer‐reviewed literature, at scientific conferences and ininterimreports.Datacanbeusedtoinformmanagementdecisionsonamountanddistributionofharvestandtopredictchangesinhabitatuse,andtheconsequencesof,asclimatewarms.PosterPresentationsSahanatien,V.,Derocher,A.E.,andPeacock,E.2008.Polarbearmovementsinrelationtoseaicestructure,FoxeBasin,NU.ArcticNet–ArcticChangeConference,QuebecCity.

Sahanatien,V.2006.IncorporatingInuitknowledgeinpolarbearresearch.ArcticNetAnnualScienceMeeting.Victoria.

OralPresentationsSahanatien, V. 2007. Sea icescapes and polar bear habitat, Foxe Basin, Nunavut (1979‐2004).October2007:AssociationofCollegesandUniversitiesNorthernStudies(ACUNS),Saskatoon,SK


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Sahanatien,V.,DerocherA.E.2007. Sea icescapesandpolarbearhabitat, FoxeBasinNunavut(1979‐2004). Sixteenth International Bear Research and Management Conference, Monterrey,MexicoSahanatien,V.2008.Polarbearhabitatfragmentation,seaicescapesandclimatechange.ACUNS–AnnualGeneralMeeting,Ottawa.

Sahanatien,V.,Derocher,A.E.,Peacock,EandHaas,C.2009.SARandPolarBearSeaIceHabitat.MarineMammalSociety18thBiennialConference,QuebecCity.

Sahanatien,V.,Peacock,E.,andDerocher,A.E.2009.Polarbearhabitatinaseasonalseaiceecozone.ACUNS–CommunitiesofChangeConference,Whitehorse.

Sahanatien,V.,Derocher,A.E.andPeacock,E.2009.BeyondMapsandStories:Wildlifehabitatmodelingusingtraditionalecologicalknowledge.9thWorldWildernessCongress,Merida,Mexico.

FutureProfessionalPresentationsAsanalysesarefinalized,E.Peacock,S.StapletonandV.Sahanatienwillpresenttheseresultsatscientific conferences including International Conference on Bear Research and Management,BiennialConferenceoftheSocietyofMarineMammals,WildlifeSociety,ArcticNet,ACUNSandEcologicalSocietyofAmerica.DatawillalsobepresentedatthePolarBearTechnicalCommitteeMeetingsandattheworkingmeetingsofthePolarBearSpecialistGroup.REPORTINGTOCOMMUNITIES/RESOURCEUSERSCommunity consultation effortswere sharedbetween theUniversity of Alberta and theGN in2007.In2008and2009,theGNconductedconsultations.Maps of polar bear movements, the 2007, 2008 and current interim reports and posters (FBAerialsurvey,FBpolarbearproject,FBInuitKnowledgeStudy)havebeensenttoallHTOs.CompletedConsultations

• RepulseBay– HuntersandTrappersOrganization(February2007,February2008,February2009,

April2009)– Grades9‐12

• ChesterfieldInlet– HuntersandTrappersOrganization(February2007,February2008,April2009)

• CoralHarbour


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– HuntersandTrappersOrganization(April2007,July2007,February2007,February2008,April2009)

– Radiocall‐inshow(February2008)– PublicMeeting(April2009)

• RankinInlet– HunterandTrappersOrganization(February2007,February2008)– KivalliqInuitAssociation–Lands(February2007,February2008,February2009)– NunavutTunngavikIncorporated,Wildlife(February2007,February2008)– SilaLodgeCo‐Owners(July2007)– NunavutWildlifeSymposium(allHTOs,RWOs,NWMBandNTIattended),March

2009• Igloolik

– Hunters and Trappers Organizations (May 2007, May 2008, November 2008,January2009)

• HallBeach– HuntersandTrappersOrganizations(May2007,May2009)

• CapeDorset– HuntersandTrappersOrganizations(May2007,March2009,April2009)

• Kimmirut– HuntersandTrappersOrganizations(May2007,January2009,May2009,August

2009)– Publicmeeting(January2009)

• BakerLake– HuntersandTrappersOrganization(emailedandmailedinformationonlyin2006,

2007and2008)• Ukkusiksalik Park Management Committee (December 2006, February 2007, January

2008)• QikiqtalluqWildlifeBoard(November2007,November2008)


22

Table1.PolarbearsimmobilizedandhandledinFoxeBasin,August–October2009.Sex Adult Subadult 2‐YR* Yearling* COY TotalFemale 25 1 3 5 9 43Male 2 4 9 9 24Total 27 1 7 14 18 67*Accompaniedbymother.Notenoteethweretakenfrombearsaccompaniedbymothers,thus2YRandYearlingrepresentfieldages.

Table2.Averageandstandarderrorsofbodymetrics(cm)ofpolarbearscapturedduringtheFoxeBasinPolarBearProject2007–2009.Samplesizesareinparentheses. Adult Subadult 2YR* Yearling* COYStraight‐linebodylength Female 193.54±1.35(66) 170.00±4.00(2) 160.17±7.13(3) 158.26±5.50(10) 120.53±1.19(26)Male 230.18±2.65(11) Nonecaptured 163.40±9.70(6) 159.86±3.67(17) 119.90±2.24(27)Zygomaticbreadth Female 20.80±0.18 17.35±0.65 15.9±0.45 16.29±0.33 13.65±0.12Male 26.15±0.69 Nonecaptured 18±0.38 17.26±0.26 13.89±0.10Axillarygirth Female 126.10±2.38 115.80±4.30 107.87±16.75 94.22±4.41 77.42±1.60Male 179.55±9.05 116.95±3.58 106.16±2.56 82.55±2.07

Table3.Littersizes(SE)ofobservedfamilygroupsduringaerialsurveysorcaughttodeploycollarsin2007–2009.Yearandmethod COY Yearling* 2YR* Numberoflitters2007captured 1.13(0.13) 1.60(0.40)** 132008captured 1.63(0.13) 1.56(0.18)** 252009captured 1.64(0.15) 2.00(0.22) 1.40(0.25) 232009observed 1.57(0.06) 1.66(0.09) 1.44(0.13) 127*fieldages;noteethpulled.**pooled2YRandYearlinglittersbecauseofsmallsamplesize


23

Table4.Meanandstandarderrorsofaxillarygirthincentimeters(samplesize)ofcapturedCOYandencumberedadultfemalepolarbearsinFB,2007–2009.Year COY AdultfemaleswithCOY AdultfemaleswithYRL Adultfemaleswith2YR2007 81.56±6.03(9) 121.25±3.09(8) 122.33±1.45(3) 128.50±9.5(2)2008 81.17±1.44(26) 133.04±3.01(16) 124.86±5.16(7) 117.75±5.25(2)2009 77.06±1.71(18) 114.17±11.39(11) 126.66±2.68(7) 126.44±5.14(5)

Table5.Polarbearobservations,categorizedbysex,age,andsightinglocation,documentedduringtheFoxeBasinaerialsurvey,AugustandSeptember2009.Individualswhichwereseenfrommultipletransects(n=44)areincludedinallrelevantsightinglocationcategories.Bearsobservedoninlandtransectsbetweenpaired5km(n=17)andpaired15km(n=4)inlandtransectsarepresentedintheInland5‐15kmcategory.Note:donotchangefigurestoproportionsofbearsseenindifferenthabitats,ashabitatsweresampledinastratifiedmanner.

Coast Inland<5km Inland5‐15km Inland15‐50km LargeIslandsSmallIslandsandWater

IceFloesFerryand

OffTransect

Total

Males 123 48 5 3 33 45 2 20 279

Females 56 17 7 9 8 13 2 18 130

FamilyGroups* 127(49) 60(23) 50(20) 0 50(20) 34(14) 0 26(9) 347(135)

Subadults 42 19 2 0 13 14 0 10 100

Other** 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4

Total 348 144 64 12 108 106 4 74 860

*Totalbears(Numberoffamilygroups)**Unidentifiedindependentbears


24

Table6.Polarbearencounterrates(encountersper1,000km),categorizedbysex,age‐class,andstratum,documentedduringtheFoxeBasinaerialsurvey,August–September,2009.Individualswhichwereseenfrommultipletransects(n=44)areincludedinallrelevantsightinglocationcategories.Bearsobservedoninlandtransectsbetweenpaired5km(n=17)andpaired15km(n=4)inlandtransects,aswellastherespectivetransectdistances,arepresentedintheInland5–15kmcategory.SeeFigure9forgraphicalrepresentationofthesedata.

Kmflown* Males FemalesFamilygroups(individuals)

Familygroups(groups)

Subadults Other** Total

Coast 7,168 17.2 7.8 17.7 6.8 5.9 0 48.6

Inland<5km 4,936 9.7 3.4 12.1 4.7 3.8 0 29.2

Inland5‐15km 5,748 0.9 1.2 8.7 3.5 0.3 0 11.1

Inland15‐50km 2,415 1.2 3.7 0 0 0 0 5.0

Largeislands 1,280 25.8 6.2 39.1 15.6 10.2 3.1 84.4

Total 21,547* 12.9 6.0 16.1 6.3 4.6 0.2 39.9***

*Excludesallferriesandsmallislandsurveyflights**Unidentifiedindependentbears***Totalencounterrateforindividuals


25

Table7.Area(km2)ofindividualseasonalhomeranges(MCP)ofsatellitecollaredfemalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009.CTN Open‐water Freeze‐up Winter Spring Break‐up Annual618542 1076 44320 37359 27129 21391 113483618527 6251 44831 17101 11936 30452 133443618536 7509 297 5695 2393 19634617098 1157 50544 16388 8286 160126618544 3388 21851 9971 618538 4042 23763 28209 618530 11117 1917 3747 618534 41451 6210 617090 13807 21070 618543 9215 30518 617097 574 9259 617087 9422 980 618882 2827 6137 618541 13074 618537 5375 618532 876 618526 2556 618529 261

Table8.Meanarea(km²)ofseasonalhomeranges(MCP)ofsatellitecollaredfemalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009. Open‐water Freeze‐up Winter Spring Break‐up Annual

Mean 7443 20131 16926 12436 25922 106671

SE 2251 4964 4613 5277 4531 30545

N 18 13 7 4 2 4

Minimum 261 297 3747 2393 21391 19634

Maximum 41451 50544 37369 27129 30452 160126


26

Table9.Meanmonthlymovementrate(km/hr)ofsatellitecollaredfemalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009. August September October November December January February March April May June July

Mean 0.37 0.37 0.41 1.12 1.04 1.07 1.11 1.08 0.88 0.61 0.56 2.26

SE 0.11 0.07 0.05 0.21 0.20 0.23 0.24 0.17 0.20 0.37 0.32

N 13 22 18 14 13 9 7 6 4 4 3 1

Minimum 0.01 0.02 0.11 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.34 0.50 0.48 0.44 1.17

Maximum 1.34 1.34 0.84 2.74 2.64 2.01 1.95 1.59 1.38 1.93 2.27

Table10.Meanseasonalmovementrate(km/hr)ofsatellitecollaredfemalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009. Open‐water Freeze‐up Winter Spring Break‐up

Mean 0.38 1.10 1.13 1.03 1.69

SE 0.05 0.20 0.19 0.23 0.45

N 22 13 7 4 2

Minimum 0.11 0.07 0.45 0.45 1.24

Maximum 1.08 2.40 1.66 1.47 2.14


27

Table11.Meanmonthlydistances(km)ofsatellitecollaredfemalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009. August September October November December January February March April May June July

Mean 117 181 236 572 482 511 484 530 365 563 643 832

SE 31 32 28 103 95 107 91 71 74 137 158

N 7 22 18 13 11 9 7 6 4 4 3 1

Minimum 26 11 64 18 0 4 208 320 185 312 452

Maximum 268 558 429 1140 1302 1031 918 757 512 950 957


28

Table12.Monthlydistances(km)movedbysatellitecollaredfemalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009.CTN August September October November December January February March April May June July

618542 52 351 848 1302 1031 918 585 512 950 957 832

618527 383 95 882 285 405 367 757 305 454 521

618536 529 266 73 0 4 401 687 457 535 452

617098 11 171 845 577 423 208 320 185 312

618544 46 221 818 517 481 304 389

618538 101 61 194 319 474 850 635 443

618530 162 247 187 18 418 595 552

618534 117 180 429 201 331 666

617090 558 359 775 371 146

618543 268 172 77 691 499

617097 32 100 64 699 526

617087 269 124 124

618882 44 286 1140

618541 53 344

618537 120 335

618532 103 370

618526 187 299


29

CTN August September October November December January February March April May June July

618529 26 59 71

618535 113 219

618540 92

618531 223

618533 279

(Table12continued)


30

Table13.Seasonalhomerange(MinimumConvexPolygon)size(km²)ofsatelliteear‐taggedmalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009.ArgosID Open‐water Freeze‐up84561 3752 1395584562 1817 274984563 2443 190884564 1770 565884565 8028 MeanSENMinimumMaximum

35621173517708028

606727494190813955

Table14.Monthlydistances(km)movedbysatelliteear‐taggedmalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009.ArgosID September October November December84561 340 55 554 84562 170 142 244 84563 99 159 52 23884564 55 205 84565 96 146 MeanSENMinimumMaximum

15250555340

14124555205

284146352554


31

Table15.Monthlymovementrate(km/hr)ofsatelliteear‐taggedmalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009.ArgosID September October November December84561 0.55 0.14 1.05 84562 0.37 0.54 0.47 0.1484563 0.14 0.20 0.10 0.4884564 0.08 0.25 84565 0.16 0.25 MeanSENMinimumMaximum

0.260.0950.080.55

0.280.0750.140.54

0.540.2830.101.05

0.310.1720.140.48

Table16.Seasonalmovementrate(km/hr)ofsatelliteear‐taggedmalepolarbears,FoxeBasin2008–2009.ArgosID Open‐water Freezeup84561 0.36 0.8584562 0.45 0.3584563 0.17 0.3084564 0.14 84565 0.23 MeanSENMinimumMaximum

0.270.0650.140.45

0.500.1830.300.85


32

Figure1.BoundariesofCanadianpolarbearmanagementzonesorsubpopulations,includingFoxeBasin(FB).


33

Figure2.Satellitecollars(pinktriangles)andtag(bluestar)deployedonpolarbearsinFoxeBasin,August–October2009.


34

Figure3.Homeranges(MinimumConvexPolygons)ofpolarbearscollaredin2007and2008duringtheopen‐waterseasoninFoxeBasin.


35

Figure4.Homeranges(MinimumConvexPolygons)ofpolarbearscollaredin2007and2008duringthefreeze‐upseasoninFoxeBasin.


36

Figure5.Homeranges(MinimumConvexPolygons)ofpolarbearscollaredin2007and2008duringthewinterseasoninFoxeBasin.


40

Figure9.DataasinTable6.Thestandardizedencounterratesofpolarbeargroupsinrelationtothecoastonthemainlandandlargeislands(>35kminwidth)inFoxeBasinduringthefall‐timeaerialsurveyin2009.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Coast Inland<5km Inland5‐15km Inland15‐50km

Encoun

terratesofbearsorfamilygroup

s(p

er100

0km

)

Coast‐‐‐‐‐‐‐>Inland

Adultmales

Adultunencumberedfemales

Familygroups

Subadults


41

a.

b.Figure10.Distancedetectionfunctionordistributionofperpendiculardistances(i.e.,fromthetransectline)ofpolarbearssightedduringa.FoxeBasinaerialsurveyinlandsampling,AugustandSeptember2009.Notethatthisfiguredoesnotincludeindividualssightedduringoverlandferriesandb.fordistance‐samplingaerialsurveystudyofpolarbearsintheBarentsSeaforcomparison(Aarsetal.2009);theircoefficientofvariation(CV)was13%.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

0‐175 175‐350350‐525525‐700700‐875 875‐1050

1050‐1225

1225‐1400

1400‐1575

>1575

Observa\o

nsofp

olarbeargrou

ps

Distancefromtransect(m)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0‐200 200‐400 400‐600 600‐800 800‐10001000‐12001200‐1400 >1400

Observera\o

nsofp

olarbeargrou

ps

Distancefromtransect(m)


42

a.b.c.Figure11.Totalconcentrationoficethatwasavailable(solidbars)andused(hashedbars)bythirteenadultfemalepolarbearswithcollarsfrom2007to2008inthea.fall;b.winter;andc.spring.


43

a.b.c.Figure12.Icethicknessthatwasavailable(solidbars)andused(hashedbars)bythirteenadultfemalepolarbearswithcollarsfrom2007to2008inthea.fall;b.winter;andc.spring.


44

a.b.c.Figure13.Icefloesizethatwasavailable(solidbars)andused(hashedbars)bythirteenadultfemalepolarbearswithcollarsfrom2007to2008inthea.fall;b.winter;andc.spring.


47

Figure16.AnexampleofseaicehabitatavailabletopolarbearsinHudsonStrait,29February2009.

Figure17.SeaicehabitatusedbythreecollaredfemalepolarbearswithcubsinHudsonStrait,December2008–March2009.


48

Figure18.Dailyseaicehabitatuse,withrespecttofinescalecomplexity,bythreecollaredfemalepolarbearswithcubs,HudsonStrait,December2008–March2009.


49

Figure19.Area(km2)ofcollaredadultfemale(whitebars)andmale(graybars)seasonalhomeranges(MinimumConvexPolygons)betweenAugust2008andJuly2009.Samplesizesaresummer(18);freeze‐up(13);winter(7);spring(4)andbreak‐up(2)forfemales.Displayedaredatafor4males.

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

summer freezeup winter spring breakup

Area(km

2 ,SE)

Season


51

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Appendix1.PolarbearsaffixedwithRFIDtagsinrightearsin2008and2009,andthestatusofthosetags.ThistableshouldbeusedasreferenceforsearchingforRFIDtagsduring2010andifthesebearsareharvested,inordertounderstandretentionrateofRFIDtags.Originalnumberofbear Year

Dateofcapture Sex

Capturetype Fieldage‐class

RFIDnumber Status

X35867 2008 August‐7 F M‐CAP ADULT 98370 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35900 2008 August‐15 F M‐CAP ADULT 98586 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect

X35866 2008 August‐7 F M‐CAP ADULT 98763 Deployedin2008;Detectedin2009;onbear;noinfection

X358942008 August‐15 F M‐CAP ADULT 98986

Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009;detected,butsawnobear;likelydropped

X35921 2008 August‐27 F M‐CAP ADULT 99242 Deployedin2008;Detectedin2009;onbear;noinfectionX35885 2008 August‐14 F M‐CAP ADULT 99274 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35870 2008 August‐7 F M‐CAP ADULT 99427 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect

X35872 2008 August‐7 F M‐CAP ADULT 99618 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35924 2008 August‐26 F M‐CAP ADULT 99755 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35891 2008 August‐14 M M‐CAP ADULT 99811 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect

X35876 2008 August‐11 F M‐CAP SUBAD 100435 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35906 2008 August‐17 F M‐CAP ADULT 100715 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect

X358842008 August‐14 F M‐CAP ADULT 100883

Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009;detected,butsawnobear;likelydropped

X35877 2008 August‐11 F M‐CAP ADULT 100954 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35875 2008 August‐8 F M‐CAP ADULT 101746 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect

X35927 2008 August‐26 F M‐CAP ADULT 102098 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35903 2008 August‐15 F M‐CAP ADULT 102170 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35862 2008 August‐7 F M‐CAP ADULT 102210 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect

X35917 2008 August‐25 F M‐CAP ADULT 102682 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35897 2008 August‐15 F M‐CAP ADULT 102706 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetectX35892 2008 August‐14 M M‐CAP ADULT 102779 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect

X35893 2008 August‐14 M M‐CAP ADULT 102874 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect


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X35881 2008 August‐13 F M‐CAP ADULT 102898 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect



X35935 2008 September‐5 F M‐CAP ADULT 103098 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect




X358652008 August‐7 M M‐CAP ADULT 104162

Deployedin2008;HarvestedinFebruary2009;onbear;noinfection


X35933 2008 September‐5 F M‐CAP ADULT 104875 Deployedin2008;Searchedin2009didnotdetect

X35952 2009 September‐3 F M‐CAP ADULT 98571 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X35866 2009 August‐25 F M‐RECAP ADULT 98763 note:recapture,notadditionalRFIDtag

X35921 2009September‐13 F M‐RECAP ADULT 99242 note:recapture,notadditionalRFIDtag

X31673 2009September‐18 M M‐CAP YRL 99290 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X35399 2009 September‐2 M M‐CAP ADULT 99298 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X31668 2009September‐18 F M‐CAP ADULT 100002 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor





X35398 2009 September‐2 M M‐CAP 2YR 101034 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor



X35404 2009 August‐27 F M‐CAP ADULT 102858 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X31671 2009 September‐ F M‐CAP ADULT 102883 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor


58

18


X35407 2009 August‐28 F M‐CAP ADULT 102914 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X35408 2009 August‐28 F M‐CAP 2YR 102923 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X31675 2009September‐19 F M‐CAP YRL 104275 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X31672 2009September‐18 F M‐CAP YRL 104763 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X35406 2009 August‐27 M M‐CAP 2YR 104843 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X35949 2009 September‐7 M M‐CAP YRL 104914 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor

X31650 2009 September‐8 F M‐CAP YRL 104923 Deployedin2009;Havenotsearchedfor


X31647 2009 September‐8 F M‐CAP ADULT 128395 Deployedin2009;HavenotsearchedforDeployedin2008and2009 55Searchedforasof2009 33Harvestedasof2009 1Droppedasof2009 2Known‐retainedasof2009 3

foxe basin polar bear projectnofieldcodes · pdf filepeacock et al. – foxe basin polar...

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