PBI's Research Projects
Dr. Ian Stirling removes a satellite collar from a tranquilized female polar bear. Scientists track polar bears to understand their movement patterns and how the bears are responding to changing sea ice conditions.
Leading scientists from around the world serve on PBI's Scientific Advisory Council. These dedicated individuals provide guidance for the most urgently needed projects in a warming Arctic. PBI's current research efforts include:
The Polar Population Project (Tri-P)
Some climate experts now predict that the Arctic could be ice-free during the summer months in five to 10 years—decades earlier than the previous forecast of 2040. Yet scientists have only educated guesses for the size of many of the world's polar bear populations. This project is an all-out push to take a census of the world's 18 polar bear populations and to understand how they respond to sea-ice changes. By tracking the movement patterns of the bears in their natural habitat, scientists will be able to identify the micro-climates that offer a sanctuary. We will then work to completely protect these areas until climate change can be reversed and the bears can repopulate the Arctic. Components of this project include:
Development of a new aerial survey method for surveying polar bears in parts of the Arctic that are too difficult and expensive for traditional capture-recapture approaches.
Continuing long-term studies of the polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea and Western Hudson Bay. Only through such long-term studies can scientists obtain the data needed to document change. Because of these studies, we now know that the two best-studied populations—Western Hudson Bay and the Southern Beaufort—are showing the effects of climate change. The Western Hudson Bay polar bear population has dropped by 22% since 1980; the Southern Beaufort Sea population is showing signs of stress, with smaller bears and fewer cubs.
Collecting data from the Chukchi Sea population to see if it is on a path of change similar to that of the Southern Beaufort Sea bears.
Conducting aerial surveys to count four populations of polar bears that are landlocked in summer: Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Foxe Basin, and Southern Hudson Bay.
Beginning a monitoring program built upon capture and release and telemetry studies in the Canadian High Arctic. Some scientists hypothesize that polar bears will benefit, at least temporarily, from the effects of global warming on the year-round heavy sea ice in the High Arctic. As warming continues, however, the bears will suffer from sea ice loss. This study will provide scientists with baseline data on the bears and how they respond to sea ice changes. Most important, it will help scientists predict where polar bears are likely to occur in a future of very different ice distribution and quality.
The Polar Population Project (Tri-P)
Some climate experts now predict that the Arctic could be ice-free during the summer months in five to 10 years—decades earlier than the previous forecast of 2040. Yet scientists have only educated guesses for the size of many of the world's polar bear populations. This project is an all-out push to take a census of the world's 18 polar bear populations and to understand how they respond to sea-ice changes. By tracking the movement patterns of the bears in their natural habitat, scientists will be able to identify the micro-climates that offer a sanctuary. We will then work to completely protect these areas until climate change can be reversed and the bears can repopulate the Arctic. Components of this project include:
Development of a new aerial survey method for surveying polar bears in parts of the Arctic that are too difficult and expensive for traditional capture-recapture approaches.
Continuing long-term studies of the polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea and Western Hudson Bay. Only through such long-term studies can scientists obtain the data needed to document change. Because of these studies, we now know that the two best-studied populations—Western Hudson Bay and the Southern Beaufort—are showing the effects of climate change. The Western Hudson Bay polar bear population has dropped by 22% since 1980; the Southern Beaufort Sea population is showing signs of stress, with smaller bears and fewer cubs.
Collecting data from the Chukchi Sea population to see if it is on a path of change similar to that of the Southern Beaufort Sea bears.
Conducting aerial surveys to count four populations of polar bears that are landlocked in summer: Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Foxe Basin, and Southern Hudson Bay.
Beginning a monitoring program built upon capture and release and telemetry studies in the Canadian High Arctic. Some scientists hypothesize that polar bears will benefit, at least temporarily, from the effects of global warming on the year-round heavy sea ice in the High Arctic. As warming continues, however, the bears will suffer from sea ice loss. This study will provide scientists with baseline data on the bears and how they respond to sea ice changes. Most important, it will help scientists predict where polar bears are likely to occur in a future of very different ice distribution and quality.