Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Alaska Science Center (ASC), is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research to support the estimation of polar bear abundance for the Southern Beaufort Sea and Northern Beaufort Sea subpopulations and a harvest risk assessment for the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation. The southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation has experienced a declining trend in abundance and the abundance estimate for the Northern Beaufort Sea subpopulation is outdated. Consequently, there is a need for new abundance estimates for both subpopulations. Additionally, the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation is exposed to a variety of anthropogenic activities that may present mortality risks for bears and thereby have the potential to affect the sustainability of the subsistence harvest. The goals of this project are to apply a recently developed integrated population model to estimate the abundance of the two subpopulations and to characterize the risk of under- or over-harvesting the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation. To facilitate those goals, the ASC will make available 20+ years of data on polar bear population dynamics to be used in the analysis. In support of this project, ASC seeks a CESU partnership that will focus on using an integrated population model (IPM) that blends western science with Indigenous Knowledge to estimate abundances and characterize harvest risk. Additionally, the ASC seeks a partner that has experience conducting research on polar bear population dynamics. The proposed work will help the USGS research team improve assessments of polar bear population vital rates and trends and help the USFWS and co-management entities ensure polar bear harvest is sustainable.