Identifying reliable indicators of fitness in polar bears.

ABSTRACT: Animal structural body size and condition are often measured to evaluate individual health, identify responses to environmental change and food availability, and relate food availability to effects on reproduction and survival. A variety of condition metrics have been developed but relationships between these metrics and vital rates are rarely validated. Identifying an optimal approach to estimate the body condition of polar bears is needed to improve monitoring of their response to decline in sea ice habitat. Therefore, we examined relationships between several commonly used condition indices (CI), body mass, and size with female reproductive success and cub survival among polar bears (Ursus maritimus) measured in two subpopulations over three decades. To improve measurement and applicati

SUBMITTER: Rode KD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7437918 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature