Ecology Summary - Ursus maritimus

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Ecology of Ursus maritimus

Main Ref.	Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993
Remarks	Generally associated with ice, but they have been swimming at sea many kilometers away from the nearest land. Feeds on ringed, bearded, harp and hooded seals, and rarely walruses and white whales; sometimes eat arctic cod (Ref. 1394), charr, sculpin, and plants (Ref. 81152). They display migration patterns and spend time on the ice for hunting, a positive energy state, and move to their terrestrial habitat, a negative energy state, when the ice melts. Earlier ice break-ups show earlier arrival of polar bears ashore (Ref. 93189).

Main Ref.

Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993

Remarks

Generally associated with ice, but they have been swimming at sea many kilometers away from the nearest land. Feeds on ringed, bearded, harp and hooded seals, and rarely walruses and white whales; sometimes eat arctic cod (Ref. 1394), charr, sculpin, and plants (Ref. 81152). They display migration patterns and spend time on the ice for hunting, a positive energy state, and move to their terrestrial habitat, a negative energy state, when the ice melts. Earlier ice break-ups show earlier arrival of polar bears ashore (Ref. 93189).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Ursus maritimus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref.	Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

feeding

Feeding type	plants/detritus+animals (troph. 2.2-2.79)
Feeding type Ref.	Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	original sample		unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition	3.66	0.43			Troph of juv./adults.
From individual food items	4.04	0.24			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.	Russell, R.H., 1975

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