Polar bears as an umbrella species for identifying a dynamic marine protected area in Hudson Bay

Interest in marine protected areas (MPAs) has increased but limited data on biological diversity in Arctic ecosystems present a challenge to identify candidate areas. One exception is polar bears ( Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774), with a history of research with substantial satellite tracking data. We examined polar bears as an umbrella species based on 13 criteria from the literature. While polar bears meet most umbrella species criteria (i.e., a high trophic level species with large home ranges whose protection confers conservation benefits to other species), there are concerns about their long-term persistence (i.e., the standard conservation assessment period of greater than three generations). We used satellite telemetry data from 2004 to 2023 in the Western Hudson Bay polar bear subpopulation ( n = 355 bears, 230 940 locations) to explore delineation of an MPA or a series of dynamic MPAs based on four seasons using both a 50% and 95% utilization distribution (UD) analysis and found high overlap in the UDs across seasons. We propose using the 50% UD of 66 051 km 2 as a candidate MPA to provide a foundation for assessment of the area's utility for protecting other biodiversity components. Designation of Arctic MPAs is challenging but polar bear location data provide an objective starting point.