Ανάπτυξη καινοτόμου μεθόδου για τη μελέτη γενετικών, πληθυσμιακών και ηθολογικών χαρακτηριστικών της καφέ αρκούδας (Ursus arctos)

• Main Authors: Καραμανλίδης, Αλέξανδρος, Karamanlidis, Alexandros
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: Greek
• Published: Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki (AUTH) 2008
• Subjects: Καφέ αρκούδα; Απειλούμενα είδη; Προστασία; Διαχείριση; Καινοτόμοι μέθοδοι; Πίνδος; Brown bear; Endangered species; Protection; Management; Innovative study method; Pindos; Φυσικές Επιστήμες; Βιολογία; Natural Sciences; Biological Sciences; Ursus arctos
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10442/hedi/20592; https://doi.org/10.12681/eadd/20592

The endangered brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Greece is in urgent need of effective protection and management; that management should be based on information that is both reliable and quickly attained. After observing bears marking and rubbing on power poles in Greece, we initiated a study to collect information that will enable us to better understand this behavior and design an effective method for studying the species in the country. Research carried out in Chapter II aimed in describing the types of power-pole related signs and how these deteriorate throughout time and comparing their amount with other signs commonly used in the study of the species. After an initial inspection of all power poles in the main study area of Grevena, thirty-nine power poles were selected and inspected monthly for a year. The information and experience gained in the main study area was used to survey three additional areas, thus covering a representative sample of the species distribution in the country. Power pole-related behaviour was associated with mud smears, hair deposits, and bite and claw marks. Tracks and scats also have been used to document the presence of brown bears in Greece, but fewer of these were found in all areas surveyed. Deterioration rate of power-pole related signs was slower than that of tracks and scats. The results of the research carried out in Chapter II, indicated that power-pole related behaviour is associated with the marking and rubbing behaviour of the species. In order to better understand this poorly understood aspect of bear behaviour, the intensity of marking and rubbing behaviour throughout time and the factors that influence it were investigated in Chapter III, as well as the “natural” behaviour of the species. In order to examine the intensity of power pole-related behaviour throughout time, 13 sampling units were selected and inspected monthly for 27 months. The influence of different factors on the intensity of the behaviour was examined by carrying out a second, systematic sampling of all ...