Polar bears have become one of the symbols of climate change. Diminishing sea ice has reduced their habitat and, in some areas, cut them off from food supplies. As a result the bears are now considered to be endangered and, according to some, could face extinction.

However, while the world debates and discusses the fate of the polar bears, the animals appear to be taking matters into their own hands. According to a new study published today in the journal PLOS ONE bears appear to be moving en masse toward areas where sea ice is less vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which lead the report, There are 19 recognized subpopulations of polar bears, which group into four clusters. These are the Canadian Archipelago, the Eastern and Western Polar Basins and Southern Canada. Over the last one to three generations, according to researchers, there has been significant gene flow toward the Canadian Archipelago.

“Gene flow—also called migration—is any movement of genes from onepopulation to another. Gene flow includes lots of different kinds of events, such as pollen being blown to a new destination or people moving to new cities or countries. If genes are carried to a population where those genes previously did not exist, gene flow can be a very important source of genetic variation,” according to the University of California at Berkley’s Evolution 101 website.

According to the researchers this gene flow and the findings of spacial structures, or clusters of population, is important to the polar bears future. It supports the hypothesis that polar bears are coalescing in the region of the Arctic most likely to retain sea ice. Gene flow can also be critical in maintaining genetic diversity in a species, which is important to the survival and adaptability of any species.

“The polar bear’s recent directional gene flow northward is something new. In our analyses that focused on more historic gene flow, we did not detect movement in this direction,” said Elizabeth Peacock, USGS researcher and lead author of the study in a statement.

The researchers found that the primary gene flow was from Southern Canada and the Eastern Polar Basin toward the Archipelago. The Canadian Archipelago, which includes the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is a group of 36,563 islands of various sizes and covers 550,000 square miles. Due to a variety of factors including complex geography and circulation patters the area retains much of its sea ice, even in the summer. While the area is expected to be impacted by climate change, it is more likely to retain its sea ice than the other North American polar bear habitats.

“By examining the genetic makeup of polar bears, we can estimate levels and directions of gene flow, which represents the past story of mating and movement, and population expansion and contraction. Gene flow occurs over generations, and would not be detectable by using data from satellite-collars which can only be deployed on a few polar bears for short periods of time,” said Peacock.

The study also confirmed earlier studies which suggested that polar bears are a result of hybridization events with brown bears although no evidence of continuing or further hybridization was found in the 2800 samples examined by researchers. Historically, brown bear populations rise when the climate warms and polar bear populations rise as it cools. Hybrid bears have been observed in the Northern Beaufort Sea however this appears to be an isolated event according to the report.