Drivers and consequences of individual specialization in an Arctic marine top predator

Principal Investigator: Gregory Thiemann Funding: NSERC Discovery Grant. Term: 2021-2026. The proposed research involves testing hypotheses around the environmental drivers and ecological consequences of individual specialization, using the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as a model species and target for conservation. As a long­-lived top predator in a dynamic habitat, polar bears demonstrate several characteristics that

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Climate, conflict, and co-existence: Identifying the drivers of human-polar bear interaction in Southern Hudson Bay

Principal Investigator: Gregory Thiemann Funding: World Wildlife Fund Term: 2021 – to date The primary goal of this research is to reduce the risk of human-polar bear conflict. This will both reduce the risk of injury to people and reduce the number of polar bears killed in defense of life or property. Secondarily, the proposed

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Polar bear diets reflect environmental changes

When people hear the words “global warming,” they often think of the polar ice caps melting, and the polar bears that suffer as a result. This raises questions about how rising temperatures and sea ice loss are affecting the diets of polar bears, and how this information can be used to help protect them. New research from

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