Makivik Magazine Issue 90

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Nunavik Research
Fact Sheet 23
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98
Polar Bear Aerial Survey Development
An aerial survey of the Foxe Basin polar bear subpopulation during
August and September 2009, led by the Government of Nunavut
and the University of Minnesota in partnership with the Makivik,
Parks Canada, and local hunting and trapping organizations,
represents a significant step in the development of
less invasive ways to monitor polar bear numbers.
Biologists often have used methods that require the
capture of bears to estimate population abundance. Now
a prime benefit of aerial surveys is that they do not require
bear capture and handling. Because they may be completed
in a single season, aerial surveys may enable more rapid
monitoring of polar bear populations.
Scientists flew more than 40,000 kilometres along
coastal and inland areas of Foxe Basin over the course of
the helicopter-based study. The Foxe Basin subpopulation
boundaries extend from the Hudson Bay shore of Nunavik,
northward to the Fury and Hecla Strait that separates Baffin
Island from the Melville Peninsula. Because the research was
completed during the late summer, ice-free season, virtually
all the bears were confined to land. Observers sighted
816 polar bears across Foxe Basin and recorded their age,
sex, and body condition. The final estimate of Foxe Basin
bears will be based on the number seen, a calculation of
the number not seen, and an extrapolation to areas that were not
surveyed.
The trickiest part of an aerial survey is estimating the number
of bears that was missed. Many people have worked on solutions
to this issue, and we are using a combination of methods that
barrie ford
appears to be highly accurate. In the past,
polar bear aerial surveys have had largely
mixed results so we’re very encouraged by
the Foxe Basin data.
This research will contribute to the
development of an aerial survey method
that can be used elsewhere in the Arctic.
Information will also help to identify potential
hotspots for human-polar bear conflict.
The new information gathered during the
aerial survey will be very valuable as we
assess harvest sustainability, and it will
provide baseline data to understand the
effects of proposed developments and
shipping.
While the aerial survey technique will
help scientists collect information on polar
bear numbers, it is still important to gather
data on body condition, birth and death
rates, and the effects of climate change.
Thus, the aerial survey method may not
eliminate the need to capture and handle
polar bears to meet conservation mandates.
seth stapleton