Future sea ice conditions in Western Hudson Bay and consequences for polar bears in the 21st century

The primary habitat of polar bears is sea ice, but in Western H udson B ay ( WH ), the seasonal ice cycle forces polar bears ashore each summer. Survival of bears on land in WH is correlated with breakup and the ice‐free season length, and studies suggest that exceeding thresholds in these variables will lead to large declines in the WH population. To estimate when anthropogenic warming may have progressed sufficiently to threaten the...