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Life Sciences Commons

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Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Master's Projects and Capstones

Theses/Dissertations

2022

Climate change

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Impacts Of Sea Ice Loss On Polar Bear Diet, Prey Availability, Foraging Behaviors, And Human-Bear Interactions In The Arctic, Jasmin Chen May 2022

Impacts Of Sea Ice Loss On Polar Bear Diet, Prey Availability, Foraging Behaviors, And Human-Bear Interactions In The Arctic, Jasmin Chen

Master's Projects and Capstones

Anthropogenic-induced climate change has warmed the Arctic 2-3 times faster than the rest of the world, causing sea ice declines that introduce challenges for specialist species, such as polar bears, in adapting to rapid environmental changes. Comparative and quantitative analyses of three Hudson Bay polar bear subpopulations were used to determine the impacts of sea ice loss on polar bear diet, prey availability, foraging behaviors, and human-bear interactions in the Arctic. The study reveal that Hudson Bay polar bears experience the most severe impacts from sea ice declines, resulting in a 30% population decline. Due to their smaller body size, …