SPATIOTEMPORAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF GRIZZLY BEARS (URSUS ARCTOS) INHABITING THE BARREN-GROUNDS OF THE CENTRAL CANADIAN ARCTIC ...

Spatially-explicit capture-recapture (SCR) methods can be used for estimating animal density and testing biogeographic hypotheses about the influence of landscape heterogeneity on animal space use. I used SCR to estimate the density of grizzly bears inhabiting the tundra of the central Canadian Arct...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jessen, Tyler
Format: Master Thesis
Language:English
Published: Graduate Studies 2017
Subjects:
Education > Sciences
Ecology
FOS Biological sciences
Zoology
Environmental Sciences
Grizzly bear
Ursus arctos
capture-recapture
spatially-explicit capture-recapture
Arctic
tundra
Northwest Territories
wildlife conservation
caribou
Tundra
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/prism/27848
https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/11023/4090
Description
Summary:Spatially-explicit capture-recapture (SCR) methods can be used for estimating animal density and testing biogeographic hypotheses about the influence of landscape heterogeneity on animal space use. I used SCR to estimate the density of grizzly bears inhabiting the tundra of the central Canadian Arctic and extended the SCR framework to estimate their multi-scale habitat selection in relation to the spatiotemporal variation of food sources. Grizzly bear density was estimated to be 4.56 bears/1,000km2, which is slightly higher than estimates from 15-20 years ago. Berries and the spatial distribution of migratory caribou had the largest effect on the large scale selection patterns of bears. Food abundance had less of an effect on the resource selection of grizzlies within their home ranges. The results of this thesis indicate that grizzly bear density in the tundra is dependent upon food sources, with other factors such as intraspecific competition governing finer-scale selection patterns. ...

Similar Items