Habitat features mediate selective consumption of salmon by bears
Salmon provide a key source of marine-derived nutrients to aquatic and surrounding terrestrial habitats in coastal areas of the North Pacific. Bears are a major predator of salmon and provide an important pathway for carcass transfer to riparian zones. We studied selective consumption of salmon (Onc...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
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Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
2018
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 2024-09-15T18:28:41+00:00 Habitat features mediate selective consumption of salmon by bears Andersson, Luke C. Reynolds, John D. 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences volume 75, issue 6, page 955-963 ISSN 0706-652X 1205-7533 journal-article 2018 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 2024-06-27T04:11:00Z Salmon provide a key source of marine-derived nutrients to aquatic and surrounding terrestrial habitats in coastal areas of the North Pacific. Bears are a major predator of salmon and provide an important pathway for carcass transfer to riparian zones. We studied selective consumption of salmon (Oncorhynchus keta and Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) by bears (Ursus arctos and Ursus americanus) on 12 streams on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada. We predicted that bears would select more energy-rich parts, and eat less of each fish (i.e., selective consumption), in streams with more prey and simpler habitat (i.e., streams that facilitate salmon capture). Bears were 12% more likely to consume fish selectively in narrow, shallow streams with less pool volume, where salmon are easier to catch, than in deep, wide streams. However, bears were also 21% more likely to selectively consume fish in streams with more wood obstacles and undercut banks, where hunting was predicted to be more difficult. This suggests that stream characteristics can have significant indirect effects on riparian nutrient subsidies to ecosystems through selective feeding by bears. Article in Journal/Newspaper Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Ursus arctos Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 75 6 955 963 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Salmon provide a key source of marine-derived nutrients to aquatic and surrounding terrestrial habitats in coastal areas of the North Pacific. Bears are a major predator of salmon and provide an important pathway for carcass transfer to riparian zones. We studied selective consumption of salmon (Oncorhynchus keta and Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) by bears (Ursus arctos and Ursus americanus) on 12 streams on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada. We predicted that bears would select more energy-rich parts, and eat less of each fish (i.e., selective consumption), in streams with more prey and simpler habitat (i.e., streams that facilitate salmon capture). Bears were 12% more likely to consume fish selectively in narrow, shallow streams with less pool volume, where salmon are easier to catch, than in deep, wide streams. However, bears were also 21% more likely to selectively consume fish in streams with more wood obstacles and undercut banks, where hunting was predicted to be more difficult. This suggests that stream characteristics can have significant indirect effects on riparian nutrient subsidies to ecosystems through selective feeding by bears. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Andersson, Luke C. Reynolds, John D. |
spellingShingle |
Andersson, Luke C. Reynolds, John D. Habitat features mediate selective consumption of salmon by bears |
author_facet |
Andersson, Luke C. Reynolds, John D. |
author_sort |
Andersson, Luke C. |
title |
Habitat features mediate selective consumption of salmon by bears |
title_short |
Habitat features mediate selective consumption of salmon by bears |
title_full |
Habitat features mediate selective consumption of salmon by bears |
title_fullStr |
Habitat features mediate selective consumption of salmon by bears |
title_full_unstemmed |
Habitat features mediate selective consumption of salmon by bears |
title_sort |
habitat features mediate selective consumption of salmon by bears |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 |
genre |
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Ursus arctos |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences volume 75, issue 6, page 955-963 ISSN 0706-652X 1205-7533 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0055 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
container_volume |
75 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
955 |
op_container_end_page |
963 |
_version_ |
1810470139458486272 |