Unraveling the Mystery of the Glacier Bear

Abstract

There are few animals as elusive and mysterious as the glacier bear in Southeast Alaska, a region of deep marine fjords left by the Pleistocene ice advances, steep rugged mountains from ongoing tectonism, and large glaciers and ice fields maintained by persistent cold precipitation. Glacier bears, also known as blue bears, are uncommon color variants of black bears (Ursus americanus) whose coats range from white to grey to black with silver tipped guard hairs. Tania will describe a ten year collaborative research project between Glacier Bay National Park and Alaska Department of Fish and Game using DNA from black bears in the region to examine how populations with glacier bears relate to the glacier landscape of northern Southeast Alaska.