https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741

Simo Njabulo Maduna,Jon Aars,Ida Fløystad,Cornelya F. C. Klütsch,Eve M. L. Zeyl Fiskebeck,Øystein Wiig,…See all authorsPublished:08 September 2021https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741

• Review history

Abstract

Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is predicted to reduce both genetic diversity and gene flow in ice-dependent species, with potentially negative consequences for their long-term viability. Here, we tested for the population-genetic impacts of reduced sea ice cover on the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) sampled across two decades (1995–2016) from the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, an area that is affected by rapid sea ice loss in the Arctic Barents Sea. We analysed genetic variation at 22 microsatellite loci for 626 polar bears from four sampling areas within the archipelago. Our results revealed a 3–10% loss of genetic diversity across the study period, accompanied by a near 200% increase in…