Brown bear den characteristics and selection in eastern Transylvania, Romania
Abstract Dens are important for species that need to survive and reproduce during harsh winters. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Romania, listed by the European Union as a population of concern, use dens for several months each year. To date, few quantitative assessments of denning habitat have been c...
Published in: | Journal of Mammalogy |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa047 http://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-pdf/101/4/1177/33727418/gyaa047.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/jmammal/gyaa047 2024-02-11T10:09:19+01:00 Brown bear den characteristics and selection in eastern Transylvania, Romania Faure, Ulysse Domokos, Csaba Leriche, Agathe Cristescu, Bogdan Hopkins, Jack Bears in Mind Bernd Thies Foundation Columbus Zoo and Aquarium EuroNatur Stiftung Frankfurt Zoological Society International Association for Bear Research and Management Nando Peretti Foundation Alberta Conservation Association Claude Leon Foundation 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa047 http://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-pdf/101/4/1177/33727418/gyaa047.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model Journal of Mammalogy volume 101, issue 4, page 1177-1188 ISSN 0022-2372 1545-1542 Nature and Landscape Conservation Genetics Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2020 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa047 2024-01-12T09:46:47Z Abstract Dens are important for species that need to survive and reproduce during harsh winters. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Romania, listed by the European Union as a population of concern, use dens for several months each year. To date, few quantitative assessments of denning habitat have been carried out for this population or others in Europe. In 2008–2013 and 2015–2017, we used local knowledge and telemetry data from brown bears fitted with GPS collars to identify 115 winter dens and eight open ground nests used by bears in eastern Transylvania, Romania. We located most dens in mountainous areas (64%) and fewer in foothills (36%). Den entrances in mountainous areas were significantly narrower than entrances in foothills, likely due to the need for reduced thermal loss during more severe winters at higher elevations. We selected seven habitat characteristics (abiotic and biotic) and human-related covariates associated with known locations of dens and open nests to identify potential brown bear denning habitat using maximum entropy modeling. We found that terrain ruggedness was the single most important factor when predicting bear denning habitat. The habitat map derived from this study can be used in the future to safeguard bear denning areas from potential human disturbances. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Oxford University Press Journal of Mammalogy 101 4 1177 1188 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Oxford University Press |
op_collection_id |
croxfordunivpr |
language |
English |
topic |
Nature and Landscape Conservation Genetics Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Nature and Landscape Conservation Genetics Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Faure, Ulysse Domokos, Csaba Leriche, Agathe Cristescu, Bogdan Brown bear den characteristics and selection in eastern Transylvania, Romania |
topic_facet |
Nature and Landscape Conservation Genetics Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Abstract Dens are important for species that need to survive and reproduce during harsh winters. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Romania, listed by the European Union as a population of concern, use dens for several months each year. To date, few quantitative assessments of denning habitat have been carried out for this population or others in Europe. In 2008–2013 and 2015–2017, we used local knowledge and telemetry data from brown bears fitted with GPS collars to identify 115 winter dens and eight open ground nests used by bears in eastern Transylvania, Romania. We located most dens in mountainous areas (64%) and fewer in foothills (36%). Den entrances in mountainous areas were significantly narrower than entrances in foothills, likely due to the need for reduced thermal loss during more severe winters at higher elevations. We selected seven habitat characteristics (abiotic and biotic) and human-related covariates associated with known locations of dens and open nests to identify potential brown bear denning habitat using maximum entropy modeling. We found that terrain ruggedness was the single most important factor when predicting bear denning habitat. The habitat map derived from this study can be used in the future to safeguard bear denning areas from potential human disturbances. |
author2 |
Hopkins, Jack Bears in Mind Bernd Thies Foundation Columbus Zoo and Aquarium EuroNatur Stiftung Frankfurt Zoological Society International Association for Bear Research and Management Nando Peretti Foundation Alberta Conservation Association Claude Leon Foundation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Faure, Ulysse Domokos, Csaba Leriche, Agathe Cristescu, Bogdan |
author_facet |
Faure, Ulysse Domokos, Csaba Leriche, Agathe Cristescu, Bogdan |
author_sort |
Faure, Ulysse |
title |
Brown bear den characteristics and selection in eastern Transylvania, Romania |
title_short |
Brown bear den characteristics and selection in eastern Transylvania, Romania |
title_full |
Brown bear den characteristics and selection in eastern Transylvania, Romania |
title_fullStr |
Brown bear den characteristics and selection in eastern Transylvania, Romania |
title_full_unstemmed |
Brown bear den characteristics and selection in eastern Transylvania, Romania |
title_sort |
brown bear den characteristics and selection in eastern transylvania, romania |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa047 http://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-pdf/101/4/1177/33727418/gyaa047.pdf |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_source |
Journal of Mammalogy volume 101, issue 4, page 1177-1188 ISSN 0022-2372 1545-1542 |
op_rights |
https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa047 |
container_title |
Journal of Mammalogy |
container_volume |
101 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1177 |
op_container_end_page |
1188 |
_version_ |
1790609175440523264 |