Data_Sheet_1_Traditional Knowledge About Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in East Greenland: Changes in the Catch and Climate Over Two Decades.DOCX

<p>In Greenland, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are nutritional, economic, and cultural subsistence resources for Inuit. Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) collected from subsistence hunters can provide important insights and improve management decisions when collected systematically. We report on the results of a TEK survey of subsistence polar bear hunters living in the areas around Tasiilaq and Ittoqqortoormiit, East Greenland. Twenty-five full-time polar bear hunters were interviewed between December 2014 and March 2015 in a conversation-style interview, where a local interviewer fluent in the East Greenlandic dialect asked a series of 55 predetermined questions. The primary goals were to (1) gather Inuit perspectives on polar bear subsistence quotas and hunting strategies, (2) understand how climate change is affecting the polar bear subsistence hunt, and (3) document observed changes in polar bear distribution, abundance, and biology. Approximately 40% of the Tasiilaq respondents had caught between 10 and 19 polar bears in their lifetime, while 67% of Ittoqqortoormiit respondents reported lifetime catches of ≥20 bears. In both areas, polar bears were most commonly hunted between February and April. Hunters noted large changes to the climate in the areas where they hunt polar bears. Most hunters reported loss of sea ice, receding glaciers, unstable weather, and warmer temperatures. In Tasiilaq 73% of the hunters said climate changes had affected the polar bear hunt and in Ittoqqortoormiit about 88% of respondents reported the same. Hunters indicated that sea ice loss has created more areas of open water so dog sledges have become unsafe for hunting transportation compared to 10–15 years ago (reported by 100% of hunters in Tasiilaq and 80% in Ittoqqortoormiit). In Ittoqqortoormiit, the distance traveled during polar bear hunting trips has decreased dramatically. In both areas hunters noted that more polar bears are coming into their communities compared to 10–15 years ago (81% of Tasiilaq hunters and 78% of Ittoqqortoormiit hunters) and pointed to the introduction of quotas and loss of sea ice as potential reasons. This study provides an important perspective on the East Greenland subpopulation of polar bears that can be used to direct science questions and inform management.</p

Averaged click waveforms (A) and spectra (B) for 94 clicks received at the 16 hydrophones at various angles between +15° and -15° relative to on-axis.

<p>Averaged click waveforms (A) and spectra (B) for 94 clicks received at the 16 hydrophones at various angles between +15° and -15° relative to on-axis.</p

The receiver positions of the vertical hydrophone array are indicated by blue dots.

<p>The red star indicates the position based on the least square method. Each hyperbole is based on the time delay of a single hydrophone pair.</p

Narwhal echolocation click recorded at second 62 with the maximal amplitude on hydrophone 12 (see Fig 6).

<p>Waveform (A) showing sampling points, spectra (B) and vertical beam pattern (C). Negative angles show pattern above the beam axis, positive angles the pattern below the beam axis. The ASL is 215 dB pp re 1 μPa, the -3 dB BW is 3.5° (1.3° above and 2.2° below the beam axis).</p

Hilbert transform of the received amplitude of a 30 second long recording at one of the central array hydrophones.

<p>The different colored dots indicate the 6 different sequences that a total of 106 clicks were assigned to that were positioned less than 150 m away. Overlapping click trains could be separated based on the special patterning of the localizations. Dashed green line shows detection threshold of 146 dB pp re 1 μPa.</p

Map of location of sampling sites and search effort tracklines flown in West Greenland in spring 2013.

<p>Triangles show all sites sampled in this study; red triangles show sites 10 and 11.</p

Localized distances to the array (A) and depth (B) of clicks assigned to 6 tracks originating from 2–6 animals.

<p>Data of 63 clicks assigned to track one (shown by red dots) will be used in further figures.</p

Vertical angular dependent spectral variation relative to on-axis based on 94 clicks.

<p>Highest intensities and highest frequencies are emitted in the on-axis direction. High frequency content and intensities decay when recording off the acoustic axis. Negative angles: above the beam axis, positive angles: below the beam axis.</p

Sonar parameters of 11 on-axis narwhal clicks.

<p>Sonar parameters of 11 on-axis narwhal clicks.</p

Single click beam patterns of 11 on-axis clicks from 11 tracks (black).

<p>Average beam pattern (blue) and standard deviation (red). Negative angles show pattern above the beam axis, positive angles the pattern below the beam axis. The -3 dB BW is 5.0° (2.4° above and 2.6° below the beam axis).</p