Polar bear research: has science helped management and conservation?

Abstract

Wildlife management is predicated upon the use of scientific research to assist decision-making. However, assessment of the effectiveness of the management–research relationship is rarely undertaken. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have benefitted from an international agreement that required each of the countries within the species’ range to manage them using the best available scientific data. The objective of this paper is to conduct a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature on polar bears to describe research trends and to assess how effectively research has met management needs. We analyzed 1191 peer-reviewed scientific papers from 1886–2016 covering 24 research topics. Annual counts of papers within each research topic were assessed for temporal trends, spatial coverage, and the extent to which they have facilitated management and monitoring needs. The annual number of papers increased from <10 in the early 1960s to >50 in recent years with a mean of 2.2 papers per subpopulation per year with great variation between the 19 global subpopulations. We conclude that there is an imbalance in the geographic and thematic focus of peer-reviewed research in recent years, and that only four subpopulations appear to have had a research focus covering most parameters essential for conservation and sound management.