Proximity-sensors on GPS collars reveal fine-scale predator-prey behavior during a predation event: A case study from Scandinavia ...

• Main Authors: Tallian, Aimee, Mattisson, Jenny, Stenbacka, Fredrik, Neumann, Wiebke, Johansson, Anders, Støen, Ole Gunnar, Kindberg, Jonas
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2023
• Subjects: FOS Biological sciences; behavioral interactions; brown bears; direct interactions; interspecific interactions; Moose; predator-prey interactions; Sweden; Alces alces; Ursus arctos
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pc866t1wf; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.pc866t1wf

Although the advent of high-resolution GPS tracking technology has helped increase our understanding of individual and multi-species behavior in wildlife systems, detecting and recording direct interactions between free-ranging animals remains difficult. In 2023, we deployed GPS collars equipped with proximity sensors (GPS proximity collars) on brown bears (Ursus arctos) and moose (Alces alces) as part of a multi-species interaction study in central Sweden. On 6 June, 2023, a collar on an adult female moose and a collar on an adult male bear triggered on each other’s UHF signal and started collecting fine-scale GPS positioning data. The moose collar collected positions every 2 minutes for 89 minutes and the bear collar collected positions every 1 minute for 41 minutes. On 8 June, field personnel visited the site and found a female neonate moose carcass with clear indications of bear bite marks on the head and neck. During the predation event, the bear remained at the carcass while the moose moved back and ... : Bears and female moose were captured and collared via helicopter using established protocols (Kreeger and Arnemo 2007, Arnemo et al. 2012, Lian et al. 2014), which were approved by the Swedish Ethical Committee on Animal Research; Permits Dnr 5.8.18-03376/2020 and Dnr A11-2020. Moose capture efforts began in 2020, with the goal of collaring females near the 2018 burn and within the core study area (Fig. 1). Bear capture efforts began in 2022 and were focused on the area where moose had previously been collared to maximize temporal and spatial overlap between species and thus, the potential to observe interspecific interactions. Captured bear and moose were equipped with GPS neck collars (Vectronic Aerospace, 2023). During the 2023 capture, a sub-sample of bears (n = 4; 2 adult males, 1 solitary female, and 1 female with cubs of the year) and moose (n = 18) were fit with GPS neck-collars that also had proximity sensors and UHF transmitters, i.e., GPS proximity-collars (Vectronic Aerospace GmbH, Berlin, ...