Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta
Seeds of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) are a major food for Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in the Yellowstone ecosystem. In Canada, Grizzly Bears are known to eat Whitebark Pine seeds, but little additional information, such as the extent of such use and habitat characteristics of feeding sites, i...
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2021
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ftjcfn:oai:canadianfieldnaturalist.ca:article/2165 2023-05-15T18:41:49+02:00 Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta Hamer, David 2021-06-23 application/pdf https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2165 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v135i1.2165 eng eng The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2165/2643 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2165 doi:10.22621/cfn.v135i1.2165 Copyright (c) 2021 The Canadian Field-Naturalist The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 135 No. 1 (2021); 61-67 0008-3550 Banff National Park Grizzly Bear midden Pinus albicaulis Red Squirrel seeds Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Ursus arctos Whitebark Pine info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2021 ftjcfn https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v135i1.2165 2022-01-23T18:29:06Z Seeds of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) are a major food for Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in the Yellowstone ecosystem. In Canada, Grizzly Bears are known to eat Whitebark Pine seeds, but little additional information, such as the extent of such use and habitat characteristics of feeding sites, is available. Because Grizzly Bears almost always obtain Whitebark Pine seeds by excavating cones from persistent caching sites (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), it is possible to infer Whitebark Pine feeding when bears are located near excavated middens in Whitebark Pine stands. During 2013–2018, I conducted a retrospective study in Banff National Park using data from 23 Grizzly Bears equipped by Parks Canada staff with global positioning system (GPS) collars. My objectives were to use GPS fixes to determine the percentage of these bears that had been located in close proximity to excavated middens containing Whitebark Pine seeds and to describe the habitat at these excavated middens. I linked 15 bears (65%) to excavated middens and, by inference, consumption of Whitebark Pine seeds. Excavated middens occurred on high-elevation (mean 2103 ± 101 [SD] m), steep (mean 26° ± 8°) slopes facing mostly (96%) north through west (0–270°). Use of Whitebark Pine seeds by at least 65% of the 23 studied Grizzly Bears suggests that conservation of Whitebark Pine in Banff National Park would concomitantly benefit the at-risk population of Grizzly Bears. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) Canada The Canadian Field-Naturalist 135 1 61 67 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjcfn |
language |
English |
topic |
Banff National Park Grizzly Bear midden Pinus albicaulis Red Squirrel seeds Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Ursus arctos Whitebark Pine |
spellingShingle |
Banff National Park Grizzly Bear midden Pinus albicaulis Red Squirrel seeds Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Ursus arctos Whitebark Pine Hamer, David Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta |
topic_facet |
Banff National Park Grizzly Bear midden Pinus albicaulis Red Squirrel seeds Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Ursus arctos Whitebark Pine |
description |
Seeds of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) are a major food for Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in the Yellowstone ecosystem. In Canada, Grizzly Bears are known to eat Whitebark Pine seeds, but little additional information, such as the extent of such use and habitat characteristics of feeding sites, is available. Because Grizzly Bears almost always obtain Whitebark Pine seeds by excavating cones from persistent caching sites (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), it is possible to infer Whitebark Pine feeding when bears are located near excavated middens in Whitebark Pine stands. During 2013–2018, I conducted a retrospective study in Banff National Park using data from 23 Grizzly Bears equipped by Parks Canada staff with global positioning system (GPS) collars. My objectives were to use GPS fixes to determine the percentage of these bears that had been located in close proximity to excavated middens containing Whitebark Pine seeds and to describe the habitat at these excavated middens. I linked 15 bears (65%) to excavated middens and, by inference, consumption of Whitebark Pine seeds. Excavated middens occurred on high-elevation (mean 2103 ± 101 [SD] m), steep (mean 26° ± 8°) slopes facing mostly (96%) north through west (0–270°). Use of Whitebark Pine seeds by at least 65% of the 23 studied Grizzly Bears suggests that conservation of Whitebark Pine in Banff National Park would concomitantly benefit the at-risk population of Grizzly Bears. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hamer, David |
author_facet |
Hamer, David |
author_sort |
Hamer, David |
title |
Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_short |
Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_full |
Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_fullStr |
Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta |
title_sort |
use of whitebark pine (pinus albicaulis) seeds by gps-collared grizzly bears (ursus arctos) in banff national park, alberta |
publisher |
The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2165 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v135i1.2165 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_source |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 135 No. 1 (2021); 61-67 0008-3550 |
op_relation |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2165/2643 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2165 doi:10.22621/cfn.v135i1.2165 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2021 The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v135i1.2165 |
container_title |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
container_volume |
135 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
61 |
op_container_end_page |
67 |
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1766231373725564928 |