Complete Guide to the Polar Bear: Climate Change Impacts, Critical Habitats, Threats, Protections, Sea Ice, Conservation Efforts, Alaska Management, Chukchi Sea, Safety, Research, Oil Spill Response
Book Details
PublisherProgressive Management
ISBN / ASINB0164SD0QW
ISBN-13978B0164SD0Q1
Sales Rank99,999,999
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
This is a print replica reproduction of over fifty comprehensive federal publications (with over two thousand pages) on the polar bear, with coverage of conservation efforts, international agreements and plans, data on climate change, global warming, and sea ice loss impacts, breeding biology, critical habitats and threats, management of the Alaskan bear population, human safety issues, managing human-polar bear interactions, ecosystem protection, monitoring, harvest management plan for the Chukchi Sea Region, conservation activities at Barter Island, bear den detection studies, fall coastal surveys in the southern Beaufort Sea, radiotelemetry tagging, USGS studies, FWS research reports, population studies, oil spill response plans, evaluating and ranking threats to the long-term persistence of polar bears, Congressional hearing, economic analysis of critical habitat designations, and much more.
The polar bear, or “Nanuuq,†as the Eskimos call it, lives only in the Northern Hemisphere, on the arctic ice cap, and spends most of its time in coastal areas. Polar bears are widely dispersed in Canada, extending from the northern arctic islands south to the Hudson Bay area. They are also found in Greenland, on islands off the coast of Norway, on the northern coast of the former Soviet Union, and on the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska in the United States.
Some polar bears may make extensive north-south migrations as the pack ice recedes northward in the spring and advances southward in the fall. They also may travel long distances during the breeding season to find mates, or in search of food.
Polar bears are long-lived carnivores with relatively low rates of reproduction and natural mortality. They are the largest member of the bear family, with the exception of Alaska’s Kodiak brown bears, which can equal polar bears in size. Male polar bears can be up to 11 feet long and typically weigh 600 to 1,200 pounds, but may weigh as much as 1,500 pounds. Females can be up to 8 feet long and typically weigh between 400 and 600 pounds. Polar bears have a longer, narrower head and smaller ears than other bears. Their white coat helps them blend in with the snow-covered environment, which is a useful hunting adaptation. On May 15, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because of observed and forecasted evidence that circumpolar warming is melting sea ice, the polar bears’ primary habitat. Critical habitat was designated on December 7, 2010. Polar bears’ primary habitat is sea ice, which they depend on as a platform for hunting ice seals (their primary prey), seasonal and long-distance movements, travel to terrestrial maternal denning areas, resting, and mating. Polar bears are not evenly distributed throughout the Arctic, nor do they comprise a single nomadic population, but rather occur in 19 relatively discrete subpopulations throughout the ice-covered marine waters of the northern hemisphere. The U.S. contains portions of two subpopulations: the Chukchi Sea (CS) and the Southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) subpopulation, shared with Russia and Canada, respectively. Although a precise population estimate does not currently exist for polar bears in Alaska, the SBS population is estimated to be approximately 1,526 bears; the size of the CS population is unknown. Globally, the total polar bear population is estimated to be 20,000 to 25,000. The main threat to polar bears is the loss of their sea ice habitat due to circumpolar warming. Recorded declines in sea ice have been correlated with declines in polar bear body condition, survival rates, and population size in portions of their range. The extent and duration of sea ice is projected to continue to decline into the foreseeable future. Polar bear populations also are susceptible to other human-caused disturbances, such as offshore development, habitat alteration and human-caused mortality.
The polar bear, or “Nanuuq,†as the Eskimos call it, lives only in the Northern Hemisphere, on the arctic ice cap, and spends most of its time in coastal areas. Polar bears are widely dispersed in Canada, extending from the northern arctic islands south to the Hudson Bay area. They are also found in Greenland, on islands off the coast of Norway, on the northern coast of the former Soviet Union, and on the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska in the United States.
Some polar bears may make extensive north-south migrations as the pack ice recedes northward in the spring and advances southward in the fall. They also may travel long distances during the breeding season to find mates, or in search of food.
Polar bears are long-lived carnivores with relatively low rates of reproduction and natural mortality. They are the largest member of the bear family, with the exception of Alaska’s Kodiak brown bears, which can equal polar bears in size. Male polar bears can be up to 11 feet long and typically weigh 600 to 1,200 pounds, but may weigh as much as 1,500 pounds. Females can be up to 8 feet long and typically weigh between 400 and 600 pounds. Polar bears have a longer, narrower head and smaller ears than other bears. Their white coat helps them blend in with the snow-covered environment, which is a useful hunting adaptation. On May 15, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because of observed and forecasted evidence that circumpolar warming is melting sea ice, the polar bears’ primary habitat. Critical habitat was designated on December 7, 2010. Polar bears’ primary habitat is sea ice, which they depend on as a platform for hunting ice seals (their primary prey), seasonal and long-distance movements, travel to terrestrial maternal denning areas, resting, and mating. Polar bears are not evenly distributed throughout the Arctic, nor do they comprise a single nomadic population, but rather occur in 19 relatively discrete subpopulations throughout the ice-covered marine waters of the northern hemisphere. The U.S. contains portions of two subpopulations: the Chukchi Sea (CS) and the Southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) subpopulation, shared with Russia and Canada, respectively. Although a precise population estimate does not currently exist for polar bears in Alaska, the SBS population is estimated to be approximately 1,526 bears; the size of the CS population is unknown. Globally, the total polar bear population is estimated to be 20,000 to 25,000. The main threat to polar bears is the loss of their sea ice habitat due to circumpolar warming. Recorded declines in sea ice have been correlated with declines in polar bear body condition, survival rates, and population size in portions of their range. The extent and duration of sea ice is projected to continue to decline into the foreseeable future. Polar bear populations also are susceptible to other human-caused disturbances, such as offshore development, habitat alteration and human-caused mortality.
