A food-based habitat-selection model for grizzly bears in Kluane National Park, Yukon ...

• Main Author: McCormick, James Edward
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2009
• Subjects: Alsek River; Yukon; Kluane National Park; Ursus arctos
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0089010; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0089010

I examined the relationship between plant food abundance and diet, and habitat selection by grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Alsek River Valley, Kluane National Park (KNP) in 1995 and 1996. I built a simple model that combined how much food was present in each bear habitat type (BHT) with how prevalent that food was in the diet of grizzly bears to produce a habitat food value (HFV) for each BHT. I tested the effectiveness of the model using habitat selection data from radio-collared grizzly bears. I designed this model to make a priori predictions of selection of BHTs by grizzly bears. The model combined the relative food abundances from each BHT with the respective seasonal food values to produce a HFV for each BHT. I calculated the relative abundance of 10 grizzlybear plant foods within 8 BHTs from 478 food abundance plots. Diet was inferred from an analysis of scats collected in KNP. Four dietary seasons were distinguished based on shifts in plant foods eaten. I calculated a food value by dietary ...