Macronutrient Requirements and Intake of Polar Bears

Project ID: G18AC00328

Federal Agency: U.S. Geological Survey

Partner Institution: Washington State University

Fiscal Year: 2018

Initial Funding: $47,000

Total Funding: $47,000

Project Type: Research

Project Disciplines: Biological

Principal Investigator: Robbins, Charles

Agreement Technical Representative: Rode, Karyn

Abstract: The goal of this research is to improve the use of stable isotope-based approaches to estimate both diet composition and macronutrient intake in polar bears and to identify the optimal balance of protein and lipid intake. Objectives are to 1) obtain data on the discrimination of carbon isotopes between dietary lipids and protein and serum protein and lipids. 2) estimate the optimal dietary lipid to protein ratio for polar bears and 3) incorporate discrimination values and uncertainty in the values into a model to estimate polar bear diet and lipid content for spring-caught polar bears in the Chukchi Sea 2008-2017.