Team Work to Help the World's Polar Bears
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In addition to Ovsyanikov's spring and fall field observations, he urges population studies that utilize satellite telemetry tracking methods in order to obtain a solid data set. He also recommends:
Whisker Pattern Study
PBI has supported Dr. Jane Waterman's behavioral research in the Churchill area for the past five years. During that time, she completed a groundbreaking study on the effects of ecotourism on the region's polar bears. Tour operators in Churchill now follow the study's guidelines so they don't inadvertently disturb the bears. In addition to researching the behavior of Churchill's bears, Waterman is developing techniques for identifying bears by their whisker spot patterns and is working with digital images to estimate a bear's weight and size. Beginning this fall, Waterman will conduct her research with the help of a robotic camera provided by PBI.
"The robotic camera offers amazing possibilities from both the educational and research sides," Waterman says. "On the educational side it it is an opportunity to bring active science to the classroom. On the research front the camera offers us the potential to investigate polar bear behavior without the presence of humans. By honing our non-invasive techniques, such as identification of polar bears by whisker spot patterns and the estimation of body sizes using digital imagery, we will be able to follow individual bears as they move through time and space, and for the first time we, as researchers, won't be a factor influencing their behavior."
DNA Study in the Churchill Area
Like Waterman, biologists Linda J. Gormezano and Robert F. Rockwell of the American Museum of Natural History in New York are also working on a noninvasive method of studying polar bears. Their approach is to "passively" gather hair and scat samples on the tundra without disturbing the bears. These samples then undergo a DNA analysis to help scientists understand the genetic relatedness of polar bears in a given area. In addition, all scat samples are analyzed for dietary content. The location of the samples and the quantities found help scientists determine the abundance and spatial distribution of the bears, including occupancy rates at maternal den sites.
- The establishment of new protected territories in the Arctic.
- Effective law enforcement to prevent poaching and quota overtakes.
- Better management of polar bear-human encounters in order to avoid the shooting of bears in conflict encounters.
- Increased international cooperation in polar bear research and conservation, as global environmental changes affect all populations of polar bears and may stimulate the redistribution of polar bears in the Arctic.
Whisker Pattern Study
PBI has supported Dr. Jane Waterman's behavioral research in the Churchill area for the past five years. During that time, she completed a groundbreaking study on the effects of ecotourism on the region's polar bears. Tour operators in Churchill now follow the study's guidelines so they don't inadvertently disturb the bears. In addition to researching the behavior of Churchill's bears, Waterman is developing techniques for identifying bears by their whisker spot patterns and is working with digital images to estimate a bear's weight and size. Beginning this fall, Waterman will conduct her research with the help of a robotic camera provided by PBI.
"The robotic camera offers amazing possibilities from both the educational and research sides," Waterman says. "On the educational side it it is an opportunity to bring active science to the classroom. On the research front the camera offers us the potential to investigate polar bear behavior without the presence of humans. By honing our non-invasive techniques, such as identification of polar bears by whisker spot patterns and the estimation of body sizes using digital imagery, we will be able to follow individual bears as they move through time and space, and for the first time we, as researchers, won't be a factor influencing their behavior."
DNA Study in the Churchill Area
Like Waterman, biologists Linda J. Gormezano and Robert F. Rockwell of the American Museum of Natural History in New York are also working on a noninvasive method of studying polar bears. Their approach is to "passively" gather hair and scat samples on the tundra without disturbing the bears. These samples then undergo a DNA analysis to help scientists understand the genetic relatedness of polar bears in a given area. In addition, all scat samples are analyzed for dietary content. The location of the samples and the quantities found help scientists determine the abundance and spatial distribution of the bears, including occupancy rates at maternal den sites.