2009/12/10 by Jonathan P. Doupé, John England, Mark F.A. Furze +1 · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Health Professions · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Indigenous Studies and Ecology #Genetic diversity and population structure #Ursus #Grizzly Bears #Ursus maritimus #Archipelago #Geography #Population #Arctic #Mainland #Ecology #Archaeology #Biology
paper · pdf · doi:10.14430/arctic219
openalex publication_date 2009/12/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
During geological studies in 2003 and 2004 on Melville Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, field parties photographed and gathered genetic information on one or more grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). To our knowledge, these data constitute the most northerly observations made of this species in North America. The DNA of a hair sample collected on Melville Island in 2004 is genetically indistinguishable from DNA collected from a population of grizzly bears around Paulatuk, Northwest Territories, along the northern mainland coast. It is also distinct from the DNA of the Viscount Melville polar bear (Ursus maritimus) population. Our evidence and review suggest that, at a minimum, transient grizzly bears are now regular visitors to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. More research will be required to understand the significance of these observations, but a small viable population of grizzly bears may now be using areas in or around Melville Island.