Population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014
Abstract Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in west‐central Alberta occupy an increasingly human‐dominated landscape. Natural resource extraction activities are hypothesized to increase stress in animals that reside in such changing landscapes by influencing habitat and resource availability. Our study ai...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:79c9b562cac9443e974ac2e457a38257 2023-05-15T18:42:14+02:00 Population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014 Abbey E. Wilson Sean Kearney Dan Wismer Bryan Macbeth Gordon Stenhouse Nicholas C. Coops David M. Janz 2020-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3181 https://doaj.org/article/79c9b562cac9443e974ac2e457a38257 EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3181 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.3181 https://doaj.org/article/79c9b562cac9443e974ac2e457a38257 Ecosphere, Vol 11, Iss 7, Pp n/a-n/a (2020) cortisol grizzly bear hair landscape physiology stress Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3181 2022-12-30T22:22:27Z Abstract Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in west‐central Alberta occupy an increasingly human‐dominated landscape. Natural resource extraction activities are hypothesized to increase stress in animals that reside in such changing landscapes by influencing habitat and resource availability. Our study aimed to determine whether stress, represented by hair cortisol concentration (HCC), was associated with variables related to landscape conditions in a population that increased by 7% annually from 2004 to 2014. Hair samples (n = 157) were collected using barbwire hair snags placed throughout the Yellowhead bear management area in Alberta, Canada. Candidate models were developed a priori representing hypotheses related to biologically and ecologically plausible relationships between HCC and landscape variables. Generalized linear model analysis with landscape attributes representing anthropogenic disturbance, food resource availability, and terrain conditions was used to determine potential drivers of HCC. We found support (ΔAICc ≤ 2.00) for three models that included variables from each hypothesis. Anthropogenic variables had the greatest impact on HCC; increasing oil and gas well‐site density resulted in reduced HCC, while increasing distance to coal mines resulted in elevated HCC. Hair cortisol concentration also increased as forest crown closure became more variable, while HCC decreased as the soil wetness (represented by compound topographic index) increased. Some forms of anthropogenic disturbance have been linked to increased food availability for this species. Therefore, we suggest that changes in landscape conditions from 2004 to 2014 may have indirectly increased food abundance and ultimately resulted in a reduction in HCC at a population level during this time period. Measuring HCC provides a non‐invasive and important monitoring strategy to assess the impact of environmental change on residing species and should be considered in landscape management decisions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Ecosphere 11 7 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
cortisol grizzly bear hair landscape physiology stress Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
cortisol grizzly bear hair landscape physiology stress Ecology QH540-549.5 Abbey E. Wilson Sean Kearney Dan Wismer Bryan Macbeth Gordon Stenhouse Nicholas C. Coops David M. Janz Population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014 |
topic_facet |
cortisol grizzly bear hair landscape physiology stress Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in west‐central Alberta occupy an increasingly human‐dominated landscape. Natural resource extraction activities are hypothesized to increase stress in animals that reside in such changing landscapes by influencing habitat and resource availability. Our study aimed to determine whether stress, represented by hair cortisol concentration (HCC), was associated with variables related to landscape conditions in a population that increased by 7% annually from 2004 to 2014. Hair samples (n = 157) were collected using barbwire hair snags placed throughout the Yellowhead bear management area in Alberta, Canada. Candidate models were developed a priori representing hypotheses related to biologically and ecologically plausible relationships between HCC and landscape variables. Generalized linear model analysis with landscape attributes representing anthropogenic disturbance, food resource availability, and terrain conditions was used to determine potential drivers of HCC. We found support (ΔAICc ≤ 2.00) for three models that included variables from each hypothesis. Anthropogenic variables had the greatest impact on HCC; increasing oil and gas well‐site density resulted in reduced HCC, while increasing distance to coal mines resulted in elevated HCC. Hair cortisol concentration also increased as forest crown closure became more variable, while HCC decreased as the soil wetness (represented by compound topographic index) increased. Some forms of anthropogenic disturbance have been linked to increased food availability for this species. Therefore, we suggest that changes in landscape conditions from 2004 to 2014 may have indirectly increased food abundance and ultimately resulted in a reduction in HCC at a population level during this time period. Measuring HCC provides a non‐invasive and important monitoring strategy to assess the impact of environmental change on residing species and should be considered in landscape management decisions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Abbey E. Wilson Sean Kearney Dan Wismer Bryan Macbeth Gordon Stenhouse Nicholas C. Coops David M. Janz |
author_facet |
Abbey E. Wilson Sean Kearney Dan Wismer Bryan Macbeth Gordon Stenhouse Nicholas C. Coops David M. Janz |
author_sort |
Abbey E. Wilson |
title |
Population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014 |
title_short |
Population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014 |
title_full |
Population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014 |
title_fullStr |
Population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014 |
title_sort |
population‐level monitoring of stress in grizzly bears between 2004 and 2014 |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3181 https://doaj.org/article/79c9b562cac9443e974ac2e457a38257 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_source |
Ecosphere, Vol 11, Iss 7, Pp n/a-n/a (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3181 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.3181 https://doaj.org/article/79c9b562cac9443e974ac2e457a38257 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3181 |
container_title |
Ecosphere |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
7 |
_version_ |
1766231857685331968 |