Last month a polar bear cub was spotted alone in the Prudhoe Bay area of Alaska. A team of biologists assessed the situation and made the decision to capture the 10-11 months old cub.
A Northern Michigan University alumna and her NMU faculty mentor contributed to a published paper on a recent study of Alaskan brown bears that found significant variations in their gut microbiomes, depending on where they live. The finding advances scientific understanding of the relationship between wildlife habitat, diet and gut microbiome diversity, and facilitates more informed decisions to support the health of wildlife species.
A recent study of Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos) finds that there is significant variation in the gut microbiome of bear populations, depending on where the bears live.