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SUMMARY:Polar bear's range dynamics in the Holocene - Prof. Heikki Seppa (
 University of Helsinki)
DTSTART:20241204T173000Z
DTEND:20241204T190000Z
UID:TALK223231@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:91369
DESCRIPTION:Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the apex predator of the Arcti
 c\, largely dependent on sea-ice. The predicted disappearance of the ice c
 over of the Arctic seas by the mid 21th century is likely to cause a drama
 tic decrease in the global range and population size of the polar bear To 
 place this scenario against the backdrop of past distribution changes and 
 their causes\, we use a fossil dataset to investigate the polar bear’s p
 ast distribution dynamics during the Late-Pleistocene and the Holocene. Du
 ring the last deglaciation\, polar bears were present at the south-western
  margin of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet\, surviving until the earliest Holoc
 ene. There are no Arctic polar bear findings from 8\,000-6\,000 years ago 
 (8-6 ka)\, the Holocene’s warmest period. However\, findings from 8-9 ka
  and 5-6 ka show that the species was able to survive this period likely i
 n cold refugia in the East Siberian Sea\, the northernmost part of Greenla
 nd and the Canadian Archipelago. A marked range expansion is observed over
  the last 4\,000 years in tandem with cooling climate and expanding Arctic
  sea ice. Our results highlight a remarkable dynamism of polar bear’s di
 stribution in response to Late Pleistocene and Holocene Arctic temperature
  and sea ice trends.
LOCATION:Latimer Room\, Clare College
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