Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density
Scent-mediated communication is considered the principal communication channel in many mammal species. Compared with visual and vocal communication, odors persist for a longer time, enabling individuals to interact without being in the same place at the same time. The brown bear (Ursus arctos), like...
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Oxford University Press
2021
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228412 https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa170 https://doi.org/10.13039/100011941 |
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ftcsic:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/228412 2024-02-11T10:09:19+01:00 Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density González-Bernardo, Enrique Bagnasco, Carlotta Bombieri, Giulia Zarzo-Arias, Alejandra Ruiz-Villar, Héctor Morales-González, Ana Lamamy, Cindy Ordiz, Andrés Cañedo, David Díaz, Juan Chamberlain, Daniel E Penteriani, Vincenzo Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España) Principado de Asturias 2021-01-29 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228412 https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa170 https://doi.org/10.13039/100011941 en eng Oxford University Press #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE# info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020/CGL2017-82782-P Publisher's version https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa170 Sí Journal of Mammalogy: gyaa170 (2021) 0022-2372 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228412 doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyaa170 1545-1542 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011941 34121953 open Chemical communication Rub trees Rubbing behavior Tree selectivity Ursus arctos artículo http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 2021 ftcsic https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa17010.13039/100011941 2024-01-16T11:02:12Z Scent-mediated communication is considered the principal communication channel in many mammal species. Compared with visual and vocal communication, odors persist for a longer time, enabling individuals to interact without being in the same place at the same time. The brown bear (Ursus arctos), like other mammals, carries out chemical communication, for example, by means of scents deposited on marking (or rub) trees. In this study, we assessed rub tree selectivity of the brown bear in the predominantly deciduous forests of the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain). We first compared the characteristics of 101 brown bear rub trees with 263 control trees. We then analyzed the potential factors affecting the density of rub trees along 35 survey routes along footpaths. We hypothesized that: (1) bears would select particular trees, or tree species, with characteristics that make them more conspicuous; and (2) that bears would select trees located in areas with the highest presence of conspecifics, depending on the population density or the position of the trees within the species’ range. We used linear models and generalized additive models to test these hypotheses. Our results showed that brown bears generally selected more conspicuous trees with a preference for birches (Betula spp.). This choice may facilitate the marking and/or detection of chemical signals and, therefore, the effectiveness of intraspecific communication. Conversely, the abundance of rub trees along footpaths did not seem to depend on the density of bear observations or their relative position within the population center or its border. Our results suggest that Cantabrian brown bears select trees based on their individual characteristics and their location, with no influence of characteristics of the bear population itself. Our findings can be used to locate target trees that could help in population monitoring. During this research, EG-B was financially supported by a FPU grant (FPU15-03429) of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Digital.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) Journal of Mammalogy 102 2 468 480 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Digital.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) |
op_collection_id |
ftcsic |
language |
English |
topic |
Chemical communication Rub trees Rubbing behavior Tree selectivity Ursus arctos |
spellingShingle |
Chemical communication Rub trees Rubbing behavior Tree selectivity Ursus arctos González-Bernardo, Enrique Bagnasco, Carlotta Bombieri, Giulia Zarzo-Arias, Alejandra Ruiz-Villar, Héctor Morales-González, Ana Lamamy, Cindy Ordiz, Andrés Cañedo, David Díaz, Juan Chamberlain, Daniel E Penteriani, Vincenzo Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density |
topic_facet |
Chemical communication Rub trees Rubbing behavior Tree selectivity Ursus arctos |
description |
Scent-mediated communication is considered the principal communication channel in many mammal species. Compared with visual and vocal communication, odors persist for a longer time, enabling individuals to interact without being in the same place at the same time. The brown bear (Ursus arctos), like other mammals, carries out chemical communication, for example, by means of scents deposited on marking (or rub) trees. In this study, we assessed rub tree selectivity of the brown bear in the predominantly deciduous forests of the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain). We first compared the characteristics of 101 brown bear rub trees with 263 control trees. We then analyzed the potential factors affecting the density of rub trees along 35 survey routes along footpaths. We hypothesized that: (1) bears would select particular trees, or tree species, with characteristics that make them more conspicuous; and (2) that bears would select trees located in areas with the highest presence of conspecifics, depending on the population density or the position of the trees within the species’ range. We used linear models and generalized additive models to test these hypotheses. Our results showed that brown bears generally selected more conspicuous trees with a preference for birches (Betula spp.). This choice may facilitate the marking and/or detection of chemical signals and, therefore, the effectiveness of intraspecific communication. Conversely, the abundance of rub trees along footpaths did not seem to depend on the density of bear observations or their relative position within the population center or its border. Our results suggest that Cantabrian brown bears select trees based on their individual characteristics and their location, with no influence of characteristics of the bear population itself. Our findings can be used to locate target trees that could help in population monitoring. During this research, EG-B was financially supported by a FPU grant (FPU15-03429) of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and ... |
author2 |
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España) Principado de Asturias |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
González-Bernardo, Enrique Bagnasco, Carlotta Bombieri, Giulia Zarzo-Arias, Alejandra Ruiz-Villar, Héctor Morales-González, Ana Lamamy, Cindy Ordiz, Andrés Cañedo, David Díaz, Juan Chamberlain, Daniel E Penteriani, Vincenzo |
author_facet |
González-Bernardo, Enrique Bagnasco, Carlotta Bombieri, Giulia Zarzo-Arias, Alejandra Ruiz-Villar, Héctor Morales-González, Ana Lamamy, Cindy Ordiz, Andrés Cañedo, David Díaz, Juan Chamberlain, Daniel E Penteriani, Vincenzo |
author_sort |
González-Bernardo, Enrique |
title |
Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density |
title_short |
Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density |
title_full |
Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density |
title_fullStr |
Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density |
title_sort |
rubbing behavior of european brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228412 https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa170 https://doi.org/10.13039/100011941 |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_relation |
#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE# info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020/CGL2017-82782-P Publisher's version https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa170 Sí Journal of Mammalogy: gyaa170 (2021) 0022-2372 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/228412 doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyaa170 1545-1542 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011941 34121953 |
op_rights |
open |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa17010.13039/100011941 |
container_title |
Journal of Mammalogy |
container_volume |
102 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
468 |
op_container_end_page |
480 |
_version_ |
1790609153632239616 |