Nursing behavior of wild polar bears in the Canadian High Arctic

IF 17.7 1区化学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Accounts of Chemical Research Pub Date : 2024-07-19 DOI:10.1139/cjz-2024-0001

Ian Stirling, Lynne E. Burns, Eric V. Regehr, Kristin L. Laidre, C. Spencer

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Abstract

During 17 spring and summer field seasons between 1973 and 1999, we documented 220 bouts of nursing by dependent polar bear ( Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774) cubs at Radstock Bay, Nunavut, Canada. The overall mean duration of nursing bouts for cubs-of-the-year (COY) and yearlings (YRLG) litters was 7.1 min (standard deviation (SD) = 3.3, range = 1–23). Mean nursing bout durations of one- and two-cub litters of COY and YRLG in spring and summer seasons ranged from 6.09 to 7.78 min and from 5.00 to 9.18 min, respectively. The overall mean duration of inter-nursing intervals for COY and YRLG litters was 5.7 h (SD = 4.9, range = 0.0–35.0). The mean inter-nursing interval for one-cub litters was 6.4 h (SD = 4.6, range = 0.0–20.2) and for two-cub litters was 5.1 h (SD = 5.1, range = 0.0–35.0). We found no evidence for effects of season or cub age class on nursing behavior. We found weak evidence that two-cub litters nurse slightly longer than one-cub litters, potentially reflecting reduced nursing efficiency due to sibling rivalry. There was neither evidence for diel patterns in nursing behavior nor a detectable relationship between the cessation of nursing and the onset of hunting or sleeping by the adult female.

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加拿大高纬度地区野生北极熊的哺乳行为

在1973年至1999年的17个春夏野外季节，我们在加拿大努纳武特地区的拉斯托克湾记录了220次北极熊（Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774）幼崽的哺乳过程。一岁幼熊（COY）和一岁幼熊（YRLG）哺乳期的总平均持续时间为 7.1 分钟（标准差 (SD) = 3.3，范围 = 1-23）。春夏季一岁幼仔和两岁幼仔的平均哺乳时间分别为6.09-7.78分钟和5.00-9.18分钟。COY和YRLG仔鼠的总平均哺乳间隔时间为5.7 h（SD = 4.9，范围 = 0.0-35.0）。一窝幼鼠的平均哺乳间隔为6.4小时（SD = 4.6，范围 = 0.0-20.2），两窝幼鼠的平均哺乳间隔为5.1小时（SD = 5.1，范围 = 0.0-35.0）。我们没有发现季节或幼崽年龄对哺乳行为有影响的证据。我们发现有微弱的证据表明，两只幼崽的哺乳时间略长于一只幼崽，这可能反映了由于同胞竞争而导致的哺乳效率降低。既没有证据表明哺乳行为存在日间模式，也没有证据表明哺乳停止与成年雌性开始狩猎或睡觉之间存在可察觉的关系。

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来源期刊

Accounts of Chemical Research 化学-化学综合

CiteScore

31.40

自引率

1.10%

发文量

312

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance. Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.