Skip to main content

Behavioral response of polar bears to aircraft activity on the northern coast of Alaska

Dates

Publication Date

Citation

Gwendolyn Quigley, Todd J. Brinkman, Ryan Wilson, and Aaron Christ, 2024-02-06, Behavioral response of polar bears to aircraft activity on the northern coast of Alaska: The Journal of Wildlife Management, v. 88, no. 3.

Summary

The rapid loss of arctic sea ice is forcing a larger proportion of the Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear (Ursus maritimus) population to spend more time on land, increasing chances of negative interactions between people and bears. In the United States, the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) protects polar bears from incidental disturbance from human activities. For the remote and roadless areas of northern Alaska, USA, effective management of small aircraft activity is necessary to limit disturbance, but effects of overflights on polar bear behavior are largely unknown. During 2021 and 2022, we intentionally exposed polar bears (n = 115) to systematic aircraft activity (helicopter, fixed-wing) until we observed a disruption of behavior [...]

Contacts

Attached Files

Communities

  • Alaska CASC
  • National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Tags

Categories
Types

Provenance

Data source
Input directly

Additional Information

Citation Extension

citationTypeJournal Article
journalThe Journal of Wildlife Management
parts
typeDOI
valuehttps://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22554
typeVolume
value88
typeNumber
value3
typeArticle
valuee22554

Item Actions

View Item as ...

Save Item as ...

View Item...