Disentangling the direct and indirect effects of canopy and understory vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of the brown bear Ursus arctos
Elucidating the factors affecting the foraging habitat selection of wildlife can further our understanding of the animal- habitat relationships and inform wildlife conservation and management. Canopy and understory vegetation may directly or indirectly affect the foraging habitat selection of carniv...
Published in: | Wildlife Biology |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Nordic Board for Wildlife Research
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2115/84024 https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00886 |
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fthokunivhus:oai:eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp:2115/84024 2023-05-15T18:41:50+02:00 Disentangling the direct and indirect effects of canopy and understory vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of the brown bear Ursus arctos Tomita, Kanji Hiura, Tsutom http://hdl.handle.net/2115/84024 https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00886 eng eng Nordic Board for Wildlife Research http://hdl.handle.net/2115/84024 Wildlife Biology, 2021(4): 00886 http://dx.doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00886 digging direct effects dwarf bamboo indirect effects structural equation model Ursus arctos 468 article fthokunivhus https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00886 2022-11-18T01:06:46Z Elucidating the factors affecting the foraging habitat selection of wildlife can further our understanding of the animal- habitat relationships and inform wildlife conservation and management. Canopy and understory vegetation may directly or indirectly affect the foraging habitat selection of carnivores through changes in habitat structure and prey availability, respectively; however, the relative importance of these two effects remains largely unknown. Dwarf bamboo Sasa kurilensis is a predominant understory plant that suppresses regeneration in the forests of northern Japan. The purpose of this study was to disentangle the direct and indirect effects of canopy forest type Larix kaempferi plantation versus natural mixed forest) and dwarf bamboo on foraging habitat selection of a large carnivore, the brown bear Ursus arctos. In the Shiretoko World Heritage, brown bears dig for cicada nymphs during summer. We evaluated the frequency of brown bear foraging on cicadas by investigating traces of digging for cicada nymphs. A structural equation model was used to statistically disentangle the direct and indirect effects of vegetation. Our results demonstrated that canopy and understory vegetation directly and indirectly affected foraging habitat selection of brown bears. Dwarf bamboo negatively affected cicada nymph density, which positively affected brown bear digging. This suggests that dwarf bamboo also had indirect negative effects on brown bears. Forest type had significant direct and indirect effects via change in cicada nymph density on foraging behavior in brown bears. Forestry managers in northern Japan, including the study site, try to remove dwarf bamboo for assisting natural regeneration. Removal of dwarf bamboo by scarification might not only promote natural regeneration, but also provide a beneficial foraging habitat for bears. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Hokkaido University Collection of Scholarly and Academic Papers (HUSCAP) Wildlife Biology 2021 4 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Hokkaido University Collection of Scholarly and Academic Papers (HUSCAP) |
op_collection_id |
fthokunivhus |
language |
English |
topic |
digging direct effects dwarf bamboo indirect effects structural equation model Ursus arctos 468 |
spellingShingle |
digging direct effects dwarf bamboo indirect effects structural equation model Ursus arctos 468 Tomita, Kanji Hiura, Tsutom Disentangling the direct and indirect effects of canopy and understory vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of the brown bear Ursus arctos |
topic_facet |
digging direct effects dwarf bamboo indirect effects structural equation model Ursus arctos 468 |
description |
Elucidating the factors affecting the foraging habitat selection of wildlife can further our understanding of the animal- habitat relationships and inform wildlife conservation and management. Canopy and understory vegetation may directly or indirectly affect the foraging habitat selection of carnivores through changes in habitat structure and prey availability, respectively; however, the relative importance of these two effects remains largely unknown. Dwarf bamboo Sasa kurilensis is a predominant understory plant that suppresses regeneration in the forests of northern Japan. The purpose of this study was to disentangle the direct and indirect effects of canopy forest type Larix kaempferi plantation versus natural mixed forest) and dwarf bamboo on foraging habitat selection of a large carnivore, the brown bear Ursus arctos. In the Shiretoko World Heritage, brown bears dig for cicada nymphs during summer. We evaluated the frequency of brown bear foraging on cicadas by investigating traces of digging for cicada nymphs. A structural equation model was used to statistically disentangle the direct and indirect effects of vegetation. Our results demonstrated that canopy and understory vegetation directly and indirectly affected foraging habitat selection of brown bears. Dwarf bamboo negatively affected cicada nymph density, which positively affected brown bear digging. This suggests that dwarf bamboo also had indirect negative effects on brown bears. Forest type had significant direct and indirect effects via change in cicada nymph density on foraging behavior in brown bears. Forestry managers in northern Japan, including the study site, try to remove dwarf bamboo for assisting natural regeneration. Removal of dwarf bamboo by scarification might not only promote natural regeneration, but also provide a beneficial foraging habitat for bears. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tomita, Kanji Hiura, Tsutom |
author_facet |
Tomita, Kanji Hiura, Tsutom |
author_sort |
Tomita, Kanji |
title |
Disentangling the direct and indirect effects of canopy and understory vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of the brown bear Ursus arctos |
title_short |
Disentangling the direct and indirect effects of canopy and understory vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of the brown bear Ursus arctos |
title_full |
Disentangling the direct and indirect effects of canopy and understory vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of the brown bear Ursus arctos |
title_fullStr |
Disentangling the direct and indirect effects of canopy and understory vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of the brown bear Ursus arctos |
title_full_unstemmed |
Disentangling the direct and indirect effects of canopy and understory vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of the brown bear Ursus arctos |
title_sort |
disentangling the direct and indirect effects of canopy and understory vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of the brown bear ursus arctos |
publisher |
Nordic Board for Wildlife Research |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2115/84024 https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00886 |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/2115/84024 Wildlife Biology, 2021(4): 00886 http://dx.doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00886 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00886 |
container_title |
Wildlife Biology |
container_volume |
2021 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1766231391667748864 |