A circumpolar monitoring framework for polar bears

Establishing a definition of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) health: A guide to research and management activities

“…For example, do the identified indicators adequately measure the effects of the top concern, climate change, on polar bear health? A substantial amount of the current polar bear research is related to population ecology studies (e.g., Vongraven et al, 2012), and the generated list of indicators important for health closely aligns with data collected for those studies. It is possible that these data best reflect polar bear health, but it is also important to consider that the results of a Delphi exercise inherently reflect the specialties represented on the panel (Goluchowicz and Blind, 2011;Hus and Sandford, 2007).…”

“…Table 4 Condensed list of important metrics and indicators to monitor polar bear health enumerated in the first round questionnaire, and the mean, median, and range of the second round scores rating each metric/indicator on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 = "the metric is of little to no importance to monitor polar bear health" and 10 = "the metric is of utmost importance to monitor health in polar bears." Polar bears are a sentinel species in the Arctic ecosystem through which the cumulative effects of current and future stressors may be studied (Stirling and Derocher, 1993;Vongraven et al, 2012). Cumulative effects studies explore the impact of independent and interacting risk factors from multiple sources (Moore and Huntington, 2008;Ragan et al, 2008).…”

“…The breadth and topics covered by this research have varied; however, there has been modest focus on health and little is known about disease and health status in polar bears (Fagre et al, unpublished results;Hueffer et al, 2011Hueffer et al, , 2013Letcher et al, 2010;Sonne, 2010;Sonne et al, 2012;Vongraven et al, 2012). Vongraven et al (2012) outlined a circumpolar monitoring framework for polar bears and specifically noted the importance of monitoring population health. Additionally, marine mammals may be effective sentinels to monitor and assess ecosystem health (Aguirre and Tabor, 2004;Bossart, 2011).…”

“…This provides opportunities for experts to clarify and revise responses, ensuring accurate representations of their judgments. The purpose of this study was to apply the Delphi method to advance the efforts of Vongraven et al (2012) by establishing a definition of polar bear health which can be used in circumpolar monitoring plans. The overall objectives were, through systematic elicitation of expert knowledge, to (1) suggest a working definition of health as it applies to polar bears, (2) identify current concerns regarding polar bear health, and (3) outline important indicators to monitor health in polar bears.…”

Barents Sea polar bears (Ursus maritimus): population biology and anthropogenic threats

“…A background paper was presented at the working group's biennial meeting in February 2011 (Vongraven & Peacock 2011), and a circumpolar monitoring framework has been developed (Vongraven et al 2012). This framework identifies several threats and stressors to polar bear populations, identifies recommended monitoring parameters and knowledge gaps and suggests how to fill these gaps and improve monitoring.…”