Study indicates polar bears are swimming more as sea ice retreats

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/zsos-sip041916.php

Public Release: 19-Apr-2016
Study indicates polar bears are swimming more as sea ice retreats
Zoological Society of San Diego

A study undertaken by scientists from the University of Alberta and Environment and Climate Change Canada to understand swimming behavior in polar bears is showing an increase in this behavior related to changes in the amount and location of summer sea ice. Lead author Nicholas Pilfold, now a postdoctoral fellow at San Diego Zoo Global, said "the pattern of long-distance swimming by polar bears in the Beaufort Sea shows the fingerprint of climate change. Swims are occurring more often, in association with sea ice melting faster and moving farther from shore in the summer."

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"Recent studies indicate that swimming may be energetically costly to polar bears," said Nicholas Pilfold. "Given the continued trend of sea ice loss, we recognize that an increased frequency in the need to engage in this behavior may have serious implications for populations of polar bears living around the Arctic Basin."

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