Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta
Bears (Ursus spp.) in North America eat the seeds of several pines (Pinus spp.), including Limber Pine (P. flexilis E. James). Information on use of Limber Pine in Canada is limited to a report of three bear scats containing pine seeds found in Limber Pine stands of southwestern Alberta. After my pr...
Published in: | The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
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Language: | English |
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The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
2017
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Online Access: | https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1918 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v130i4.1918 |
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ftjcfn:oai:canadianfieldnaturalist.ca:article/1918 2023-05-15T18:42:15+02:00 Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta Hamer, David 2017-03-29 application/pdf https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1918 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v130i4.1918 eng eng The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1918/1842 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1918 doi:10.22621/cfn.v130i4.1918 Copyright (c) 2017 The Canadian Field-Naturalist The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 130 No. 4 (2016); 281-288 0008-3550 American Black Bear Banff National Park Grizzly Bear Limber Pine midden Pinus flexilis Red Squirrel seeds Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Ursus americanus Ursus arctos info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2017 ftjcfn https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v130i4.1918 2021-09-02T18:54:43Z Bears (Ursus spp.) in North America eat the seeds of several pines (Pinus spp.), including Limber Pine (P. flexilis E. James). Information on use of Limber Pine in Canada is limited to a report of three bear scats containing pine seeds found in Limber Pine stands of southwestern Alberta. After my preliminary fieldwork in Banff National Park revealed that bears were eating seeds of Limber Pine there, I conducted a field study in 2014–2015 to assess this use. Because bears typically obtain pine seeds from cone caches (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), I described the abundance, habitat characteristics, and use by bears of Red Squirrel middens in and adjacent to Limber Pine stands at six study sites. On Bow River escarpments, I found abundant Limber Pines (basal area 1–9 m2/ha) and middens (0.8 middens/ha, standard deviation [SD] 0.2). Of 24 middens, 13 (54%) had been excavated by bears, and three bear scats composed of pine seeds were found beside middens. Although Limber Pines occurred on steep, xeric, windswept slopes (mean 28°, SD 3), middens occurred on moderate slopes (mean 12°, SD 3) in escarpment gullies and at the toe of slopes in forests of other species, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). At the five other study sites, I found little or no use of Limber Pine seeds by bears, suggesting that Limber Pine habitat may be little used by bears unless the pines are interspersed with (non-Limber Pine) habitat with greater forest cover and less-steep slopes where squirrels establish middens. These observations provide managers with an additional piece of information regarding potential drivers of bear activity in the human-dominated landscape of Banff National Park’s lower Bow Valley. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) Canada The Toe ENVELOPE(-59.167,-59.167,-62.333,-62.333) The Canadian Field-Naturalist 130 4 281 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjcfn |
language |
English |
topic |
American Black Bear Banff National Park Grizzly Bear Limber Pine midden Pinus flexilis Red Squirrel seeds Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Ursus americanus Ursus arctos |
spellingShingle |
American Black Bear Banff National Park Grizzly Bear Limber Pine midden Pinus flexilis Red Squirrel seeds Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Ursus americanus Ursus arctos Hamer, David Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta |
topic_facet |
American Black Bear Banff National Park Grizzly Bear Limber Pine midden Pinus flexilis Red Squirrel seeds Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Ursus americanus Ursus arctos |
description |
Bears (Ursus spp.) in North America eat the seeds of several pines (Pinus spp.), including Limber Pine (P. flexilis E. James). Information on use of Limber Pine in Canada is limited to a report of three bear scats containing pine seeds found in Limber Pine stands of southwestern Alberta. After my preliminary fieldwork in Banff National Park revealed that bears were eating seeds of Limber Pine there, I conducted a field study in 2014–2015 to assess this use. Because bears typically obtain pine seeds from cone caches (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), I described the abundance, habitat characteristics, and use by bears of Red Squirrel middens in and adjacent to Limber Pine stands at six study sites. On Bow River escarpments, I found abundant Limber Pines (basal area 1–9 m2/ha) and middens (0.8 middens/ha, standard deviation [SD] 0.2). Of 24 middens, 13 (54%) had been excavated by bears, and three bear scats composed of pine seeds were found beside middens. Although Limber Pines occurred on steep, xeric, windswept slopes (mean 28°, SD 3), middens occurred on moderate slopes (mean 12°, SD 3) in escarpment gullies and at the toe of slopes in forests of other species, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). At the five other study sites, I found little or no use of Limber Pine seeds by bears, suggesting that Limber Pine habitat may be little used by bears unless the pines are interspersed with (non-Limber Pine) habitat with greater forest cover and less-steep slopes where squirrels establish middens. These observations provide managers with an additional piece of information regarding potential drivers of bear activity in the human-dominated landscape of Banff National Park’s lower Bow Valley. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hamer, David |
author_facet |
Hamer, David |
author_sort |
Hamer, David |
title |
Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_short |
Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_full |
Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_fullStr |
Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_sort |
excavation of red squirrel (tamiasciurus hudsonicus) middens by bears (ursus spp.) in limber pine (pinus flexilis) habitat in banff national park, alberta |
publisher |
The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1918 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v130i4.1918 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-59.167,-59.167,-62.333,-62.333) |
geographic |
Canada The Toe |
geographic_facet |
Canada The Toe |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_source |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 130 No. 4 (2016); 281-288 0008-3550 |
op_relation |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1918/1842 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1918 doi:10.22621/cfn.v130i4.1918 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2017 The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v130i4.1918 |
container_title |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
container_volume |
130 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
281 |
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1766231887819309056 |