Fig 1.
a-b. Spatial distribution of polar bears observed during fall aerial surveys, 2010–2013, along the coast and over barrier islands prior to the stocking of bowhead whale bone piles with remains from the subsistence harvest. Unused remains from subsistence-harvested bowhead whales are occasionally aggregated at sites on Point Barrow, and consistently at Cross Island (near Prudhoe Bay), and adjacent to Kaktovik on Barter Island following the cessation of the fall whaling season.
Table 1.
Description of sea ice variables used in the analysis of factors influencing the timing of arrival on shore, length of stay, and timing of departure back to sea ice by polar bears from the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation.
Fig 2.
Proportion of radiocollared adult female polar bears that spent ≥ 21 consecutive days on shore, 1986–2014.
Table 2.
Model ID, explanatory variables, AICc values, Akaike weights, and deviance for linear mixed models describing the timing of arrival of polar bears on shore, 1986–2014.
Table 3.
Response and explanatory variables, model rank, AICc value, coefficient estimates, and 85% confidence intervals (CI) for the top general linear models describing the phenology of land use, 1986–2014.
Table 4.
Model ID, explanatory variables, AIC and AICc values, Akaike weights, and deviance for the linear mixed models describing the length of stay on shore, 1986–2014.
Fig 3.
Mean (and standard error) length of stay on shore relative to the length of the open water season, defined as when the proportion of the continental shelf covered by >15% sea ice concentration decreases below ≤15%.
Table 5.
Model ID, explanatory variables, AIC and AICc values, Akaike weights, and deviance for the linear mixed models describing the timing of departure from shore back to sea ice, 1986–2014.