US EditionSvalbard Polar Bears Gaining Weight Despite Rapid Arctic Ice Loss
Adult polar bears in Svalbard have gained body fat from 2000 to 2019 by eating more land-based prey and benefiting from local ecological changes, despite rapid sea ice loss.
- Jon Aars and colleagues report in Scientific Reports that Svalbard polar bears have stayed in good condition despite rapid sea ice loss in the Svalbard archipelago, Barents Sea region.
- The Barents Sea around Svalbard has warmed up to 2C per decade and lost sea ice more than twice as fast, increasing ice-free days by around 100.
- Researchers sedated and measured 770 adult polar bears across 1,188 body-measurement records from 1992–2019, using the body composition index to analyze body condition trends.
- Scientists warned that the apparent improvements are likely temporary and that continued sea ice loss could reduce cub survival and reproduction and push bears closer to human communities near the Arctic.
- Researchers attribute the change to population recovery after hunting and increased land-based prey such as reindeer, walrus carcasses and harbour seals.
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Polar bears in Norway’s Arctic are getting fatter and healthier, despite melting sea ice
By Amarachi Orie, CNN (CNN) — As the sea ice melts due to climate change, the trend of polar bears getting thinner and having fewer cubs has been well documented in areas such as Baffin Bay, a stretch of ocean between Greenland and Canada’s Baffin Island, and Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada. A population of bears in Norway’s Arctic are bucking the trend, however, getting fatter and healthier even as the ice melts rapidly, according to a study …
Body condition among Svalbard Polar bears Ursus maritimus during a period of rapid loss of sea ice - Scientific Reports
Polar bears are only found in Arctic areas with sufficient access to sea ice and seals on which they prey. Studies have highlighted negative effects on condition and demographics in areas where sea ice cover is declining due to warmer climate, but condition of the Barents Sea polar bear population have not been examined yet. Loss of sea ice rate has been considerably higher here than in other areas with polar bears. We investigated variation in …
According to the Norwegian Polar Institute, this result could be explained by a diversification of the diet of plantigrades.
Polar bears fatten up with new diets amid ice loss
Polar bears in Svalbard are getting fatter, even as sea ice disappears. The Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean is warming rapidly; winter sea ice lasts for two months less than it did 20 years ago; and bears often have to swim hundreds of miles between hunting grounds and breeding grounds. But the Svalbard bears have put on weight since 2000, a survey found, and their population has probably increased, as they adapt by hunting land animal…
Norway's polar bears bulk up despite melting Arctic
Arctic sea ice is vanishing faster than ever, and scientists expected polar bears in Svalbard would grow thinner. But a surprising new study reveals they are gaining body fat, defying predictions despite rapid climate change in the region.
In the Arctic islands of Norway they seem to be better despite climate change, but it may not last long.
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