Polar Bear Gut Microbiome

The project sought to conduct interpopulation comparisons of the gut microbiota for East Greenland (EG) and Southern Beaufort Sea (SB) polar bears. These two polar bear subpopulations occur in two distinct Arctic sea ice ecoregions, convergent (EG) and divergent (SB). Region-specific differences in sea ice decline patterns has led to differential use of sea ice habitat and has altered polar bear access to traditional ice-associated seal prey, particularly in the SB subpopulation found in the divergent ice ecoregion. Polar bears in this subpopulation have demonstrated increased use of terrestrial habitat and terrestrial-based food resources over the last decade or so, which has implications in terms of how this might impact their gut microbiome--an important aspect of host health.