Polar Bears - Maddie Lynn

Polar Bear Conservation and Recovery Action Plan

    As the effects of global warming increase, so does the risk of causing the extinction of polar bears. On January 9, 2017, polar bears were recently listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. There are currently only 22,000-31,000 polar bears ranging over five Arctic nations with 19 different subpopulations. Polar bears are an ice-dependent species meaning they need the Arctic ice for hunting seals, raising their young, travel to denning sites, and mating. Unlike other bears they don’t have specific territory and travel a great distance over their lives. Polar bears are long-lived, have late sexual maturity, small litters of one to three, and extended maternal investment of two and half to three years. This classifies them as a K-selected species. They mate in spring, return to land to den in the fall, then give birth in winter, taking time to nurse in the spring. Polar bears are able to communicate through body language, vocalizations, and scent markings. Their extremely dense fur also keeps the bears well insulated in addition to their high body fat, leaving their body temperature and metabolic rate always stable. However, males can sometimes overheat when running due to their fur. 

19 Subpopulations of Polar Bears

https://www.fws.gov/alaska/PDFs/PBRT%20Recovery%20Plan%20Book.pdf 

Although strong swimmers and divers, polar bears cannot exist without the help of sea-ice. If the ice stays away for more than their fasting period of 220 days, there is no chance they will be able to survive. Decline of sea-ice habitat is the main threat to polar bear extinction and has developed from climate change or atmospheric warming from greenhouse gases. The population has continued to decline and many threats have posed complications to their survival causing the listing by the USFWS. Disease, contamination from oil spills, shipping, and the inadequacy of mechanisms trying to deter climate change. 

Twin cubs

https://www.fws.gov/alaska/PDFs/PBRT%20Recovery%20Plan%20Book.pdf 

The recovery plan provided by the USFWS details seven key importances that need to be put into action in order to further protect and replenish the species. Within the recovery plan there are seven main goals. The first is to limit greenhouse gas emissions to levels that are appropriate to support polar bear recovery and conservation. This is highlighted as the single most important action and is needed not just in the US since these bears are ice-dependent and global warming has caused severe melting. The consequences must be presented to the Arctic people and to a general audience to better domestic efforts and prompt needed and necessary action. The plan also pays big attention to the need for research to better understand connections between sea-ice, concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere, demographics and polar bear resource selection. Major goal number two emphasizes support of international conservation efforts with Canada and Russia as well as all five Arctic nations to implement the Circumpolar Action Plan. The purpose of this plan is to address all the challenges polar bears are facing and to monitor and manage them until climate change is under control. Managing polar bear-human conflicts is also important and there is a need to develop some kind of communication strategy to prevent, monitor, and manage these conflicts. Better funding, research, integration of safety plans, garbage management and food storage are all necessary steps in order to improve effectiveness of this prevention. Collaboration with others by the Chukchi Sea and the Southern Beaufort Sea will be necessary to prepare sustainable subsistence harvest management of polar bears. Increased communication efforts with Alaskan natives would also help ensure that people have a more meaningful role in conservation and management. Protecting den habitat is another main goal of this plan and requires den detection, mapping, behavioral, and habitat work. Working collaboratively will be necessary to mitigate loss of denning habitat while also minimizing disturbance and development, especially on barrier islands where denning is most limited. Contamination from spills can occur and cause a lot of damage to polar bear populations but by updating oil spill modeling and scenarios, looking for overlap with seasonal polar bear movements, and reviewing shipping routes we can greatly reduce their negative consequences. A procedure and mitigation plan would also need to be distributed discussing the rescue and and handling of polar bears who may be caught in a spill. Lastly, strategic research and monitoring must be conducted to develop and adaptive management plan for updating and revising the conservation criteria. Specific analytical methods will also be necessary to evaluate the ESA and MMPA Demographic Criteria.

https://polarbearsinternational.org

There’s a lot of work to be done by conservationists in order to preserve and maintain the polar bear populations but these tasks listed in the recovery plan seem a little beyond an average Americans reach. You can help too however. Overall, working to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions is a huge helping hand. You can do this by riding a bike or public transportation, using LED light bulbs, insulating your home and other buildings, and using energy efficient appliances. Other actions you could take would be to consume less, especially with meat, avoid products that arise from deforestation, and vote for representatives who support actions to implement into society which could help our environment. Helping create a stewardship ethic and spreading the word about populations losses of polar bears and other species can really help more than you think since there are really so many people who don’t take the time to pay attention to issues like this. If you would like to learn more about polar bears, the problems they face, and how you can help, visit https://polarbearsinternational.org or https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/polar-bear.

Works Cited

"Get Involved, Polar Bears, Climate Change." Polar Bears International, PBI, polarbearsinternational.org.

"Polar Bear Recovery Action Plan." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, USA.gov, www.fws.gov/alaska/PDFs/PBRT%20Recovery%20Plan%20Book.pdf.