PBI Cited for Support of Research Projects
Photo © Dan Guravich. The body condition of female polar bears affects reproduction and cub survival rates. Click the image to enlarge.
At the July, 2009 meeting of the IUCN/Polar Bear Specialist Group, delegates cited PBI's leadership role in polar bear conservation, with over 70% of the research initiatives in North American supported by our organization.
Leading polar bear scientists met in Copenhagen, Denmark, this summer to discuss the status of the world's polar bears. At the meeting, members of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) connected the dots between sea ice loss in the Arctic and the health of polar bear populations.
Delegates reported that eight of the 19 worldwide polar bear populations are declining, compared with five at the group's last meeting in 2005. Of the remaining populations, three are stable, one is increasing, and seven have insufficient data on which to base a decision.
The group noted that the disturbing trend is directly linked with the rapid melt-down in the Arctic. “Studies published since our last meeting confirm that body condition in polar bears is linked to the availability of sea ice and the time of the spring ice break-up,” says Dr. Erik W. Born of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, the newly elected chair of the group.
A shorter hunting season on the sea ice, says Born, not only leads to a drop in body condition, but affects reproduction in female bears and cub survival rates. Polar bears rely on the ice as a platform from which to hunt seals, the mainstay of their diet.
Leading polar bear scientists met in Copenhagen, Denmark, this summer to discuss the status of the world's polar bears. At the meeting, members of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) connected the dots between sea ice loss in the Arctic and the health of polar bear populations.
Delegates reported that eight of the 19 worldwide polar bear populations are declining, compared with five at the group's last meeting in 2005. Of the remaining populations, three are stable, one is increasing, and seven have insufficient data on which to base a decision.
The group noted that the disturbing trend is directly linked with the rapid melt-down in the Arctic. “Studies published since our last meeting confirm that body condition in polar bears is linked to the availability of sea ice and the time of the spring ice break-up,” says Dr. Erik W. Born of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, the newly elected chair of the group.
A shorter hunting season on the sea ice, says Born, not only leads to a drop in body condition, but affects reproduction in female bears and cub survival rates. Polar bears rely on the ice as a platform from which to hunt seals, the mainstay of their diet.