Our project

We're learning how polar, grizzly, and black bears, among other mammals, behave in a changing Arctic environment, with special attention to how they interact with people. You can read more about some of our research findings here.

A changing ecosystem

The Arctic environment has been undergoing drastic changes over the past few decades. The rapid warming of this ecosystem is likely to affect various aspects of the bears and other species lives including:

1. Changes in species habitats and ranges
2. Greater habitat overlap between polar, grizzly, and black bears
3. Increase in interaction between the three bear species and with the other species of Wapusk National Park
4. Changes in the diversity of other tundra and boreal forest mammals on the landscape including caribou, moose, wolves, moose, red and Arctic fox, wolverines, snowshoe and Arctic hares, and potentially many other species

The sea ice on the Hudson Bay off the coast of Wapusk National Park completely melts every year. But, with the climate change experienced in this area, the sea ice is melting sooner and freezing later.

Polar bears come ashore when the ice melts. They however rely on sea ice for hunting their favourite meal – ringed seals. But with less and less time spent on the ice, they have limited time to hunt and maintain their body weight. This makes polar bears very sensitive to a changing climate. Hungry bears could mean more aggressive bears who are less afraid of humans, and less food might make the bears more willing to approach people and camps in search of a meal. Our research is trying to understand these complex relationships and we want to know when the bears are coming to camp and why.

This is where you come in!

Why cameras?

Trail cameras have become popular in ecological research because they allow researchers to monitor wildlife year-round, even in the harshest of conditions, like those in Wapusk National Park.

Using trail cameras is a non-invasive and cost-effective way for researchers to examine species at Wapusk National Park in a more natural state during all months of the year. The cameras use a ‘covert’ infrared flash which prevents the disturbance of animals when they trigger the cameras at night.

Our trail cameras have been deployed for 10 years now! We have done ground-breaking research using this technology and we are only part-way there. There is so much more to explore using the power of these remote cameras.

The big questions

What effect will a changing Arctic environment have on the species at Wapusk National Park?

Wapusk National Park lies at the transition between boreal forest and Arctic tundra. This unique area is therefore a hotspot for studying species interactions and their movement between the two ecosystems. Studying this interface means we get a huge variety of animal visitors at our cameras, providing a rare opportunity for us to see all these species coexist.

The nearby ocean provides a third ecosystem that is dynamically connected to those on land. With changing sea ice patterns, its effects are bound to ripple back on land and affect these native species. Polar bears are sensitive to changes in sea ice and as described in this scientific paper, it may cause a spike in polar-bear human interactions.

Wapusk National Park is also the only place in Canada where polar, grizzly, and black bears have been shown to co-occur.

Deterrent or attractant?

Our cameras are set up at three remote research camps in Wapusk National Park, and we want to know whether these camps attract or deter bears. Some of our findings have shown that mother polar bears with cubs are often found closer to camps, leading us to believe they may be using them as protection from other bears; although, this has not been scientifically proven. Polar bear cubs are very vulnerable, and given the chance, they make an easy meal for a bigger bear.

Polar bears tend to show curiousity towards the trail cameras and they will often come very close to inspect the cameras – we get a lot of polar bear selfies. Use #selfie to tag ones you classify!

Being an important denning area for polar bears, we are unsure whether these camps in Wapusk National Park are having an effect on their behaviour. But we hope to find that out too!

Does the presence of some species affect other species in the area?

There is an intimate relationship between predator and prey that we want to explore more. Wolves prey on caribou and there may be a connection between the occurrence of wolves and the occurrence of caribou on our cameras, or the lack thereof. We want to investigate the temporal distribution of species to further understand how the various species in this ecosystem are vitally connected.

Polar bears are large animals that roam the tundra in search of food and their presence might affect the movement of other species. Such a large predator warrants some attention from other animals in the area, even from small and/or younger polar bears.

The recent discovery of polar, grizzly, and black bears sharing the same ecosystem is also a topic that we want to study. We do not know how these bear species interact with one another in Wapusk National Park, but recent range expansion by grizzly bears into Wapusk National Park is likely to cause some shifts in the existing ecosystem dynamics.

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