Voorhees, H., R. Sparks, H. P. Huntington, and K. D. Rode. 2014. Traditional knowledge of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Northwestern Alaska. Arctic 67(4):523-436. doi:10.14430/arctic4425.
Karyn Rode, Ph.D.
Nutritional, physiological and population ecology of large mammals with particular focus on polar bears, black bears, grizzly bears, and Pacific walrus and anthropogenic effects on large mammals.
Biography
Education
Ph.D. Washington State University Zoology
M.S. Washington State University Zoology
B.S. Colorado State University Wildlife Biology
Professional Experience
Mar 2012 - Present Research Wildlife Biologist, Alaska Science Center, US Geological Survey
Oct 2006 - Feb 2012 Wildlife Biologist, US Fish and Wildlife Service Polar Bear Program, Anchorage, Alaska
Jan 2006 - Oct 2006 Research Associate, Cornell University, Forest Elephant program
June 2002 - Dec 2005 Contract wildlife biologist - Alaska Department of Fish and Game/PhD candidate - Washington State University
Professional Activities and/or Memberships
2020 - present Vice President- Americas, International Association of Bear Research and Management
2017 - present International Association of Bear Research and Management Grants Review Committee
2017 - present Member of the American Zoological Association’s Polar Bear Research Council
2015 - present Member of Science/TEK working group of the US Fish and Wildlife Service Polar Bear Recovery Team
2009 - 2010 Secretary/Treasurer of the Alaska chapter of the Wildlife Society
2008 - present Member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Polar bear specialist group
2007 - present Member of the Scientific/TEK working group under the US-Russia polar bear commission
Science and Products
Year Published: 2017
Harvesting wildlife affected by climate change: a modelling and management approach for polar bears
The conservation of many wildlife species requires understanding the demographic effects of climate change, including interactions between climate change and harvest, which can provide cultural, nutritional or economic value to humans.We present a demographic model that is based on the polar bear Ursus maritimus life cycle and includes...
Regehr, Eric V.; Wilson, Ryan R.; Rode, Karyn D.; Runge, Michael C.; Stern, HarryView Citation
Regehr, E. V., Wilson, R. R., Rode, K. D., Runge, M. C. and Stern, H. L. (2017), Harvesting wildlife affected by climate change: a modelling and management approach for polar bears. J Appl Ecol.
Year Published: 2017
Simultaneous estimation of diet composition and calibration coefficients with fatty acid signature data
Knowledge of animal diets provides essential insights into their life history and ecology, although diet estimation is challenging and remains an active area of research. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) has become a popular method of estimating diet composition, especially for marine species. A primary assumption of QFASA is...
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Budge, Suzanne M.; Thiemann, Gregory W.; Rode, Karyn D.View Citation
Bromaghin J. F., S. M. Budge, G. W. Thiemann, and K. D. Rode. 2017. Simultaneous estimation of diet composition and calibration coefficients with fatty acid signature data. Ecology and Evolution 7:6103-6113.
Year Published: 2017
Habitat degradation affects the summer activity of polar bears
Understanding behavioral responses of species to environmental change is critical to forecasting population-level effects. Although climate change is significantly impacting species’ distributions, few studies have examined associated changes in behavior. Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulations have varied in their near-term responses to sea...
Ware, Jasmine V.; Rode, Karyn D.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Douglas, David C.; Wilson, Ryan R.; Regehr, Eric V.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Durner, George M.; Pagano, Anthony M.; Olson, Jay; Robbins, Charles T.; Jansen, Heiko TView Citation
Ware, J.V., Rode, K.D., Bromaghin, J.F., Douglas, D.C., Wilson, R.R., Regehr, E.V., Amstrup, S.C., Durner, G.M., Pagano, A.M., Olson, J., Robbins, C.T., and Jansen, H.T., 2017, Oecologia. vol. 184, no. 1, p. 87-99. doi: 10.1007/s00442-017-3839-y
Year Published: 2017
Using tri-axial accelerometers to identify wild polar bear behaviors
Tri-axial accelerometers have been used to remotely identify the behaviors of a wide range of taxa. Assigning behaviors to accelerometer data often involves the use of captive animals or surrogate species, as their accelerometer signatures are generally assumed to be similar to those of their wild counterparts. However, this has rarely been tested...
Pagano, Anthony M.; Rode, Karyn D.; Cutting, A.; Owen, M.A.; Jensen, S.; Ware, J.V.; Robbins, C.T.; Durner, George M.; Atwood, Todd C.; Obbard, M.E.; Middel, K.R.; Thiemann, G.W.; Williams, T.M.View Citation
Pagano, A.M., Rode, K.D., Cutting, A., Owen, M.A., Jensen, S., Ware, J.V., Robbins, C.T., Durner, G.M., Atwood, T.C., Obbard, M.E., Middel, K.R., Thiemann, G.W., and Williams, T.M. 2017. Using tri-axial accelerometers to identify wild polar bear behaviors: Endangered Species Research vol. 32, p. 19-33. - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00779
Year Published: 2017
Collar temperature sensor data reveal long-term patterns in southern Beaufort Sea polar bear den distribution on pack ice and land
In response to a changing climate, many species alter habitat use. Polar bears Ursus maritimus in the southern Beaufort Sea have increasingly used land for maternal denning. To aid in detecting denning behavior, we developed an objective method to identify polar bear denning events using temperature sensor data collected by satellite-...
Olson, Jay W; Rode, Karyn D.; Eggett, Dennis L.; Smith, T.S.; Wilson, R. R.; Durner, George M.; Fischbach, Anthony S.; Atwood, Todd C.; Douglas, David C.View Citation
Olson JW, Rode KD, Eggett D, Smith TS and others (2017) Collar temperature sensor data reveal long-term patterns in southern Beaufort Sea polar bear den distribution on pack ice and land. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 564:211-224.
Year Published: 2016
Invariant polar bear habitat selection during a period of sea ice loss
Climate change is expected to alter many species' habitat. A species' ability to adjust to these changes is partially determined by their ability to adjust habitat selection preferences to new environmental conditions. Sea ice loss has forced polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to spend longer periods annually over less productive waters, which may be a...
Wilson, Ryan R.; Regehr, Eric V.; Rode, Karyn D.; St Martin, Michelle
Year Published: 2016
Forecasting the relative influence of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on polar bears
Effective conservation planning requires understanding and ranking threats to wildlife populations. We developed a Bayesian network model to evaluate the relative influence of environmental and anthropogenic stressors, and their mitigation, on the persistence of polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Overall sea ice conditions, affected by rising global...
Atwood, Todd C.; Marcot, Bruce G.; Douglas, David C.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Rode, Karyn D.; Durner, George M.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.
Year Published: 2016
Isotopic incorporation and the effects of fasting and dietary lipid content on isotopic discrimination in large carnivorous mammals
There has been considerable emphasis on understanding isotopic discrimination for diet estimation in omnivores. However, discrimination may differ for carnivores, particularly species that consume lipid-rich diets. Here, we examined the potential implications of several factors when using stable isotopes to estimate the diets of bears, which can...
Rode, Karyn D.; Stricker, Craig A.; Erlenbach, Joy; Robbins, Charles T.; Cherry, Seth; Newsome, Seth D.; Cutting, Amy; Jensen, Shannon; Stenhouse, Gordon; Brooks, Matt; Hash, Amy; Nicassio, NicoleView Citation
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 89(3):182–197. 2016.
Year Published: 2016
The impacts of human recreation on brown bears (Ursus arctos): A review and new management tool
Increased popularity of recreational activities in natural areas has led to the need to better understand their impacts on wildlife. The majority of research conducted to date has focused on behavioral effects from individual recreations, thus there is a limited understanding of the potential for population-level or cumulative effects. Brown bears...
Fortin-noreus, Jennifer; Rode, Karyn D.; Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Wilder, James; Farley, Sean; Jorgensen, Carole; Marcot, Bruce G.
Year Published: 2016
Assessing the robustness of quantitative fatty acid signature analysis to assumption violations
Knowledge of animal diets can provide important insights into life history and ecology, relationships among species in a community and potential response to ecosystem change or perturbation. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a method of estimating diets from data on the composition, or signature, of fatty acids stored...
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Budge, Suzanne M.; Thiemann, Gregory W.; Rode, Karyn D.View Citation
Bromaghin, J. F., S. M. Budge, G. W. Thiemann, and K. D. Rode. 2016. Assessing the robustness of quantitative fatty acid signature analysis to assumption violations. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7:51-59.
Year Published: 2015
Increased land use by Chukchi Sea polar bears in relation to changing sea ice conditions
Recent observations suggest that polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are increasingly using land habitats in some parts of their range, where they have minimal access to their preferred prey, likely in response to loss of their sea ice habitat associated with climatic warming. We used location data from female polar bears fit with satellite radio...
Rode, Karyn D.; Wilson, Ryan R.; Regehr, Eric V.; St. Martin, Michelle; Douglas, David C.; Olson, Jay
Year Published: 2015
Validation of mercury tip-switch and accelerometer activity sensors for identifying resting and active behavior in bears
Activity sensors are often included in wildlife transmitters and can provide information on the behavior and activity patterns of animals remotely. However, interpreting activity-sensor data relative to animal behavior can be difficult if animals cannot be continuously observed. In this study, we examined the performance of a mercury tip-switch...
Jasmine Ware; Rode, Karyn D.; Pagano, Anthony M.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Robbins, Charles T.; Joy Erlenbach; Shannon Jensen; Amy Cutting; Nicassio-Hiskey, Nicole; Amy Hash; Owen, Megan A.; Heiko JansenPre-USGS Publications
Erlenbach, J. A., K. D. Rode, D. Raubenheimer, and C. M. Robbins. 2014. Macronutrient optimization and energy maximization determine diets of brown bears. Journal of Mammalogy 95(1):160-168. doi:10.1644/13-MAMM-A-161.
Robbins, C. T., C. Lopez-Alfaro, K. D. Rode, Ø. Tøien, and O. L. Nelson. 2012. Hibernation and seasonal fasting in bears: the energetic costs and consequences for polar bears. Journal of Mammalogy 93(6):1493-1503. doi:10.1644/11-MAMM-A-406.1.
Whiteman, J. P., K. A. Greller, H. J. Harlow, L. A. Felicetti, K. D. Rode, and M. Ben-David. 2012. Carbon isotopes in exhaled breath track metabolic substrates in brown bears (Ursus arctos). Journal of Mammalogy 93:413-421. doi:10.1644/11-MAMM-S-178.1.
Gleason, J. S. and K. D. Rode. 2009. Polar bear distribution and habitat association reflect long-term changes in fall sea ice conditions in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. Arctic 62(4):405-417.
Schliebe, S. L., K. D. Rode, J. S. Gleason, J. Wilder, K. M. Proffitt, T. J. Evans, and S. Miller. 2008. Effects of sea ice extent and food availability on spatial and temporal distribution of polar bears during the fall open-water period in the Southern Beaufort Sea. Polar Biology 31(8):999-1010. doi:10.1007/s00300-008-0439-7.
Stirling, I., A. E. Derocher, W. Gough, and K. D. Rode. 2008. Response to Dyck et al. (2007) on polar bears and climate change in western Hudson Bay. Ecological Complexity 5(3):193-201. doi:10.1016/j.ecocom.2008.01.004.
Polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea III: Stature, mass, and cub recruitment in relationship to time and sea ice extent between 1982 and 2006
Rode, K. D., S. C. Amstrup, and E. V. Regehr. 2007. Polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea III: Stature, mass, and cub recruitment in relationship to time and sea ice extent between 1982 and 2006. USGS Administrative Report, 31 p.
Robbins, C. T., J. K. Fortin, K. D. Rode, S. D. Farley, L. A. Shipley, and L. A. Felicetti. 2007. Optimizing protein intake as a foraging strategy to maximize mass gain in an omnivore. Oikos 116(10):1675-1682. doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2007.16140.x.
Fortin, J. K., S. D. Farley, C. T. Robbins, and K. D. Rode. 2007. The role of salmon and berries in determining fall weight gains in brown bears. Ursus 18(1):19-29. doi:10.2192/1537-6176(2007)18[19:DASOBS]2.0.CO;2.
Rode, K. D., S. D. Farley, and C. T. Robbins. 2006. Behavioral responses of brown bears mediate nutritional impacts of experimentally introduced tourism. Biological Conservation 133(1):70-80. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.021.
Rode, K. D., C. A. Chapman, L. D. McDowell, and C. A. Stricker. 2006. Nutritional mechanisms of population regulation across habitats and logging intensities in redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius). Biotropica 38:625-634. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00183.x.
Rode, K. D., P. I. Chiyo, C. A. Chapman, and L. D. McDowell. 2006. Nutritional ecology of elephants in Kibale National Park, Uganda, and its relationship with crop raiding behaviour. Journal of Tropical Ecology 22(4):441-449. doi:10.1017/S0266467406003233. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467406003233
Rode, K. D., S. D. Farley, and C. T. Robbins. 2006. Sexual dimorphism, reproductive strategy, and human activities determine resource use by brown bears. Ecology 87(10):2636-2646. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[2636:SDRSAH]2.0.CO;2.
The role of sugar content in diet selection in redtail and red colobus monkeys
Danish, L., C. A. Chapman, C. O'Driscoll Worman, K. D. Rode, and M. B. Hall. 2006. The role of sugar content in diet selection in redtail and red colobus monkeys. In Feeding Ecology in apes and other primates. Cambridge University Press, UK.
Chapman, C. A., L. J. Chapman, K. D. Rode, and L. D. McDowell. 2003. Variation in the nutritional value of primate foods: Among trees, time periods, and areas. International Journal of Primatology 24(2):317-337. doi:10.1023/A:1023049200150.
Rode, K. D., C. A. Chapman, L. J. Chapman, and L. D. McDowell. 2003. Mineral resource availability and consumption by colobus monkeys in Kibale National Park, Uganda. International Journal of Primatology 24(3):541-573. doi:10.1023/A:1023788330155.
Variation in the Diets of Cercopithecus Species: Differences Within Forests, Among Forests, and Across Species
Chapman, C. A., L. J. Chapman, M. Cords, M. Gauthua, A. Gautier-Hion, J. E. Lambert, K. D. Rode, C. E. G. Tutin, and L. J. T. White. 2002. Variation in the Diets of Cercopithecus Species: Differences Within Forests, Among Forests, and Across Species. In The Guenons: Diversity and Adaptation in African Monkeys. M. Glenn and M. Cords (eds.). Plenum Press New York City, NY, USA.
Rode, K. D., C. T. Robbins, and L. A. Shipley. 2001. The constraints on herbivory by bears. Oecologia 128(1):62-71. doi:10.1007/s004420100637.
Rode, K. D. and C. T. Robbins. 2000. Why bears consume mixed diets during fruit abundance. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78(9):1-6. doi:10.1139/z00-082.