Physiological reactions to capture in hibernating brown bears

• Published in: Conservation Physiology
• Main Authors: Evans, Alina, Singh, Navinder, Fuchs, Boris, Blanc, Stéphane, Friebe, Andrea, Laske, Timothy, Frobert, Ole, Swenson, Jon, Arnemo, Jon
• Other Authors: Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Hedmark University College, Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Ecology and Natural Resources Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Medtronic Inc, University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMN), University of Minnesota System, Department of Cardiology, Örebro University, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Norwegian Environmental Agency, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Austrian Science Fund, Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management, French Space Agency, Idex H2E project, Lundbeck Foundation
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: Chemical immobilization; ecophysiology; hibernation; research ethics; Ursus arctos; [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology; [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01419918; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01419918/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01419918/file/Conserv%20Physiol-2016-Evans--2.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cow061

International audience Human disturbance can affect animal life history and even population dynamics. However, the consequences of these disturbances are difficult to measure. This is especially true for hibernating animals, which are highly vulnerable to disturbance , because hibernation is a process of major physiological changes, involving conservation of energy during a resource-depleted time of year. During the winters of 2011–15, we captured 15 subadult brown bears (Ursus arctos) and recorded their body temperatures (n = 11) and heart rates (n = 10) before, during and after capture using biologgers. We estimated the time for body temperature and heart rate to normalize after the capture event. We then evaluated the effect of the captures on the pattern and depth of hibernation and the day of den emergence by comparing the body temperature of captured bears with that of undisturbed subadult bears (n = 11). Both body temperature and heart rate increased during capture and returned to hibernation levels after 15–20 days. We showed that bears required 2–3 weeks to return to hiber-nation levels after winter captures, suggesting high metabolic costs during this period. There were also indications that the winter captures resulted in delayed den emergence.