Habitat selection and spatial relationships of black bears ( Ursus americanus) with woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Alberta
Populations of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) have declined across much of their range. Wolves ( Canis lupus L., 1758) are believed to be responsible for the majority of mortality in adult female caribou; however, we hypothesize that other predators such as black bears...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Canadian Science Publishing
2011
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z10-115 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/z10-115 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z10-115 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z10-115 2024-09-15T18:01:18+00:00 Habitat selection and spatial relationships of black bears ( Ursus americanus) with woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Alberta Latham, A.D.M. Latham, M.C. Boyce, M.S. 2011 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z10-115 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/z10-115 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z10-115 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 89, issue 4, page 267-277 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2011 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z10-115 2024-08-29T04:08:49Z Populations of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) have declined across much of their range. Wolves ( Canis lupus L., 1758) are believed to be responsible for the majority of mortality in adult female caribou; however, we hypothesize that other predators such as black bears ( Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) may be important contributors to calf mortality. We assessed habitat selection by black bears and spatial relationships of caribou – black bears during the caribou calving season in northeastern Alberta, Canada. Black bears avoided bogs and fens, while selecting upland mixed woods and various industrial features. Conversely, caribou showed strong selection for bogs and fens relative to bears, supporting the hypothesis that caribou in the boreal forest attempt to minimize predation risk by selecting peatlands to avoid areas frequented by predators. However, habitat selection by individual black bears was highly variable and some bears selected habitats similar to those selected by caribou, i.e., bogs and fens. Bears that specialize on foraging in peatlands might be responsible for some of the predation on caribou calves. Because declines in caribou populations have resulted from a combination of high adult female and calf mortalities, management actions to conserve woodland caribou should consider the entire suite of potential predators rather than focusing only on wolves. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Rangifer tarandus Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 89 4 267 277 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Populations of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) have declined across much of their range. Wolves ( Canis lupus L., 1758) are believed to be responsible for the majority of mortality in adult female caribou; however, we hypothesize that other predators such as black bears ( Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) may be important contributors to calf mortality. We assessed habitat selection by black bears and spatial relationships of caribou – black bears during the caribou calving season in northeastern Alberta, Canada. Black bears avoided bogs and fens, while selecting upland mixed woods and various industrial features. Conversely, caribou showed strong selection for bogs and fens relative to bears, supporting the hypothesis that caribou in the boreal forest attempt to minimize predation risk by selecting peatlands to avoid areas frequented by predators. However, habitat selection by individual black bears was highly variable and some bears selected habitats similar to those selected by caribou, i.e., bogs and fens. Bears that specialize on foraging in peatlands might be responsible for some of the predation on caribou calves. Because declines in caribou populations have resulted from a combination of high adult female and calf mortalities, management actions to conserve woodland caribou should consider the entire suite of potential predators rather than focusing only on wolves. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Latham, A.D.M. Latham, M.C. Boyce, M.S. |
spellingShingle |
Latham, A.D.M. Latham, M.C. Boyce, M.S. Habitat selection and spatial relationships of black bears ( Ursus americanus) with woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Alberta |
author_facet |
Latham, A.D.M. Latham, M.C. Boyce, M.S. |
author_sort |
Latham, A.D.M. |
title |
Habitat selection and spatial relationships of black bears ( Ursus americanus) with woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Alberta |
title_short |
Habitat selection and spatial relationships of black bears ( Ursus americanus) with woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Alberta |
title_full |
Habitat selection and spatial relationships of black bears ( Ursus americanus) with woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Alberta |
title_fullStr |
Habitat selection and spatial relationships of black bears ( Ursus americanus) with woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Habitat selection and spatial relationships of black bears ( Ursus americanus) with woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern Alberta |
title_sort |
habitat selection and spatial relationships of black bears ( ursus americanus) with woodland caribou ( rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern alberta |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z10-115 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/z10-115 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z10-115 |
genre |
Canis lupus Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 89, issue 4, page 267-277 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z10-115 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
89 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
267 |
op_container_end_page |
277 |
_version_ |
1810438459048853504 |