Polar bears may be adapting to survive warmer climates, UK researchers have suggested.

A study, by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA), found that some genes related to heat-stress, ageing and metabolism are behaving differently in polar bears living in southeastern Greenland.

The experts believe they might be adjusting to their warmer conditions. 

Lead researcher Dr Alice Godden, from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, said: “DNA is the instruction book inside every cell, guiding how an organism grows and develops.

“By comparing these bears’ active genes to local climate data, we found that rising temperatures appear to be driving a dramatic increase in the activity of jumping genes within the southeastern Greenland bears’ DNA.  

“Essentially this means that different groups of bears are having different sections of their DNA changed at different rates, and this activity seems linked to their specific environment and climate. 

“This finding is important because it shows, for the first time, that a unique group of polar bears in the warmest part of Greenland are using ‘jumping genes’ to rapidly rewrite their own DNA, which might be a desperate survival mechanism against melting sea ice.”  

DNA sequence can change and evolve over time but environmental stress, such as warmer climates, can speed up this process. 

The authors said that understanding these genetic changes is important for guiding future conservation efforts.

It will also allow them how polar bears might survive in a warming world and which populations are most at risk from climate change.

It comes as over two-thirds of polar bears are predicted to be extinct by 2050, with total extinction expected by the end of this century. 

The Arctic Ocean is also at its warmest with temperatures continuing to rise, reducing vital sea ice platforms that the bears use to hunt seals, leading to isolation and food scarcity. 

Dr Godden and her colleagues analysed genetic activity data collected for that study from 17 adult polar bears – 12 from northeastern and five from southeastern Greenland. 

She said the next step would be to look at other polar bear populations, with some 20 sub-populations globally.

Dr Godden added: “As the rest of the species faces extinction, these specific bears provide a genetic blueprint for how polar bears might be able to adapt quickly to climate change, making their unique genetic code a vital focus for conservation efforts.
“However, we cannot be complacent, this offers some hope but does not mean that polar bears are at any less risk of extinction. We still need to be doing everything we can to reduce global carbon emissions and slow temperature increases.”