The PBSG is releasing resolutions passed at the Group’s 20th Working Meeting (held in Seattle, WA in June 2024) in advance of the publication of the Proceedings, which are expected sometime in late 2025. The second resolution is in reference to the importance of satellite telemetry in polar bear management and conservation.
The PBSG discussed the challenges polar bears face resulting from the continued loss of sea ice habitat due to climate warming. The Group noted that a variety of scientific methods will be required to collect information necessary for the long-term conservation of polar bears, which is needed for informed decision-making, to meet regulatory requirements, and to support cultural and subsistence use by indigenous communities.
In particular, identifying subpopulation boundaries and movement of bears between subpopulations, both on and off land, are critical to subpopulation assessments and mitigating bear-human conflict. This requires polar bear location data that can only currently be obtained by the deployment of tracking devices. The PBSG noted that the application and use of satellite telemetry has played a critical role in the management and conservation of polar bears over the last 50 years,
Data from satellite telemetry has provided important biological information relevant to subpopulation delineation, movements, habitat use, maternal denning, health, human-bear interactions, and accurate estimates of vital rates and abundance. Given that polar bears are distributed at low densities over vast and remote habitats, much of the information provided by satellite telemetry data cannot be collected by other means.
The PBSG also noted that opposition to the capture of polar bears and deployment of satellite-linked radio collars has resulted in these scientific tools no longer being used and the lack of current satellite telemetry data in many of the 20 recognized polar bear subpopulations. The increasing use of aerial surveys to estimate subpopulation abundance are insufficient for studying polar bear movements, habitat use and distribution changes. Further estimates derived from aerial surveys cannot be effectively compared to previous or future abundance estimates without information on movements and distribution changes.
The PBSG encouraged management authorities to discuss the importance of satellite telemetry data with local communities and support the collection of satellite telemetry data where needed for optimal management.
Further Reading:
Laidre, K. L., G. M. Durner, N. J. Lunn, E. V. Regehr, T.C. Atwood, K. D. Rode, J. Aars, H. Routti, Ø. Wiig, M. Dyck, E. S. Richardson, S. Atkinson, S. Belikov, and I. Stirling. 2022. The role of satellite telemetry data in 21st century conservation and management of polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Frontiers in Marine Science 9:816666, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.816666.
Last modified: April 25, 2025