Den abandonment and transitional day bed use by black bears Ursus americanus in Newfoundland

The use of day beds for extended periods during the transition into and out of the physiological state of hibernation has been documented in many bear populations, but has never been quantifi ed. Additionally, den abandonment by black bears Ursus americanus has rarely been observed at northern latit...

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Published in:Wildlife Biology
Main Authors: Rayl, Nathaniel D., Fuller, Todd K., Organ, John F., McDonald, John E., Otto, Robert D., Mahoney, Shane P.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2014
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00020
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2981/wlb.00020
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spelling crwiley:10.2981/wlb.00020 2024-06-23T07:54:46+00:00 Den abandonment and transitional day bed use by black bears Ursus americanus in Newfoundland Rayl, Nathaniel D. Fuller, Todd K. Organ, John F. McDonald, John E. Otto, Robert D. Mahoney, Shane P. 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00020 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2981/wlb.00020 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.2981/wlb.00020 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Wildlife Biology volume 20, issue 4, page 222-228 ISSN 1903-220X 1903-220X journal-article 2014 crwiley https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00020 2024-06-04T06:38:50Z The use of day beds for extended periods during the transition into and out of the physiological state of hibernation has been documented in many bear populations, but has never been quantifi ed. Additionally, den abandonment by black bears Ursus americanus has rarely been observed at northern latitudes except after den visits by researchers. In three areas on the northern island of Newfoundland, where male and female black bears spent an average of 158 and 178 d denning, respectively, we identified den sites and extended‐use day beds (occupied continuously for 6–26 d) remotely using GPS collars, and here provide the first systematic description of the use of these day beds by bears. We documented den abandonment in 6 (9%; 3 F, 3 M) of 67 bear‐winters (6 [14%] of 44 radio‐collared bears) and the use of extended‐use transitional day beds in 16 (24%) of 67 bear‐winters (15 [34%] of 44 radio‐collared bears, 8 F, 7 M). In 5 of 10 instances bears left their fall day beds on days with > 15 mm of rain (mean = 28.2 mm, range = 15.6–63.6 mm), which was more than would be expected by chance (p < 0.01). We had more than one year of denning data for 17 bears, 6 (35%) of which reused den sites in diff erent years. Further, we observed some bears using day bed and den sites interchangeably. Though we hypothesized that environmental (flooding) or anthropogenic disturbance (researcher‐, forestry‐related, or recreational) may have played a role in den abandonment, we found no such relationships, nor was there a difference in the rate of abandonment or day bed use between male and female bears. We could not assess the eff ects of microhabitat attributes, condition, or reproductive status, but acknowledge that these factors may have played a role in den changes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland Wiley Online Library Wildlife Biology 20 4 222 228
institution Open Polar
collection Wiley Online Library
op_collection_id crwiley
language English
description The use of day beds for extended periods during the transition into and out of the physiological state of hibernation has been documented in many bear populations, but has never been quantifi ed. Additionally, den abandonment by black bears Ursus americanus has rarely been observed at northern latitudes except after den visits by researchers. In three areas on the northern island of Newfoundland, where male and female black bears spent an average of 158 and 178 d denning, respectively, we identified den sites and extended‐use day beds (occupied continuously for 6–26 d) remotely using GPS collars, and here provide the first systematic description of the use of these day beds by bears. We documented den abandonment in 6 (9%; 3 F, 3 M) of 67 bear‐winters (6 [14%] of 44 radio‐collared bears) and the use of extended‐use transitional day beds in 16 (24%) of 67 bear‐winters (15 [34%] of 44 radio‐collared bears, 8 F, 7 M). In 5 of 10 instances bears left their fall day beds on days with > 15 mm of rain (mean = 28.2 mm, range = 15.6–63.6 mm), which was more than would be expected by chance (p < 0.01). We had more than one year of denning data for 17 bears, 6 (35%) of which reused den sites in diff erent years. Further, we observed some bears using day bed and den sites interchangeably. Though we hypothesized that environmental (flooding) or anthropogenic disturbance (researcher‐, forestry‐related, or recreational) may have played a role in den abandonment, we found no such relationships, nor was there a difference in the rate of abandonment or day bed use between male and female bears. We could not assess the eff ects of microhabitat attributes, condition, or reproductive status, but acknowledge that these factors may have played a role in den changes.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Rayl, Nathaniel D.
Fuller, Todd K.
Organ, John F.
McDonald, John E.
Otto, Robert D.
Mahoney, Shane P.
spellingShingle Rayl, Nathaniel D.
Fuller, Todd K.
Organ, John F.
McDonald, John E.
Otto, Robert D.
Mahoney, Shane P.
Den abandonment and transitional day bed use by black bears Ursus americanus in Newfoundland
author_facet Rayl, Nathaniel D.
Fuller, Todd K.
Organ, John F.
McDonald, John E.
Otto, Robert D.
Mahoney, Shane P.
author_sort Rayl, Nathaniel D.
title Den abandonment and transitional day bed use by black bears Ursus americanus in Newfoundland
title_short Den abandonment and transitional day bed use by black bears Ursus americanus in Newfoundland
title_full Den abandonment and transitional day bed use by black bears Ursus americanus in Newfoundland
title_fullStr Den abandonment and transitional day bed use by black bears Ursus americanus in Newfoundland
title_full_unstemmed Den abandonment and transitional day bed use by black bears Ursus americanus in Newfoundland
title_sort den abandonment and transitional day bed use by black bears ursus americanus in newfoundland
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2014
url http://dx.doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00020
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2981/wlb.00020
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.2981/wlb.00020
genre Newfoundland
genre_facet Newfoundland
op_source Wildlife Biology
volume 20, issue 4, page 222-228
ISSN 1903-220X 1903-220X
op_rights http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor
op_doi https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00020
container_title Wildlife Biology
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