Transportation of Pacific salmon carcasses from streams to riparian forests by bears

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Quinn, Thomas P., Carlson, Stephanie M., Gende, Scott M., Rich, Jr., Harry B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2009
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Oncorhynchus gorbuscha; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z09-004; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/Z09-004; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/Z09-004

Predation on Pacific salmon by bears (genus Ursus L., 1758) can be an important ecosystem process because the spatial distribution of carcasses largely determines whether marine-derived nutrients cycle through aquatic or terrestrial pathways. Direct observations on three streams in southeastern Alaska indicated that 49% of the pink ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum, 1792)) and chum ( Oncorhynchus keta (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)) salmon killed by bears were carried into the forest. The tendency of bears to transport carcasses was independent of the sex and species of salmon, but unspawned fish were more often transported than fish that had completed spawning. Data on tagged sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)) in one southwestern Alaska stream indicated that 42.6% of the killed salmon were transported, and that higher percentages were transported in years when salmon densities were greater. At six other streams, on average, 68.1% of the sockeye salmon killed were apparently transported away from the stream into the forest. Combining the data from all sites, the proportion of carcasses transported increased with water depth at the site. These results emphasize the role that bears play in mediating the interactions between nutrients from salmon and the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the variation in carcass distribution among streams and among years.