Observations of Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) associated with abundance of spawning Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) at an inland river, British Columbia, Canada
Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are an important food source for Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos), but many salmon populations are declining. While most research on Grizzly Bear–salmon interactions occurs in coastal ecosystems, declining salmon may also affect Grizzly Bears in inland ecosystems where salmon a...
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Language: | English |
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The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
2023
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Online Access: | https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2559 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v136i4.2559 |
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ftjcfn:oai:canadianfieldnaturalist.ca:article/2559 2023-07-16T04:01:12+02:00 Observations of Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) associated with abundance of spawning Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) at an inland river, British Columbia, Canada Raymond, Sage Strauss, Julius Flood, Nancy 2023-06-21 application/pdf https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2559 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v136i4.2559 eng eng The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2559/2969 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2559/2971 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2559 doi:10.22621/cfn.v136i4.2559 Copyright (c) 2023 The Canadian Field-Naturalist The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 136 No. 4 (2022); 337-347 0008-3550 Grizzly Bear Ursus arctos Oncorhynchus nerka Animal Behaviour Dietary Plasticity Optimal Foraging Theory Kokanee Community Science info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2023 ftjcfn https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v136i4.2559 2023-06-25T17:50:47Z Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are an important food source for Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos), but many salmon populations are declining. While most research on Grizzly Bear–salmon interactions occurs in coastal ecosystems, declining salmon may also affect Grizzly Bears in inland ecosystems where salmon are also an important part of their diet. We document changes in the number and distribution of observations of Grizzly Bears and changing Kokanee (i.e., landlocked Sockeye Salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka) abundance at an inland river. We hypothesized that reduced abundance of Kokanee would limit the number of Grizzly Bear observations at the river. We compared Kokanee abundance and Grizzly Bear observations (n = 535) between 2012 and 2019 at the Lardeau River, British Columbia, Canada. We used a generalized linear mixed model to test if the number of bear observations changed as a function of Kokanee abundance among four river reaches during eight consecutive years of study. Kokanee abundance was a strong statistical predictor of Grizzly Bear observations (β = 0.52, P = 0.001, CI = 0.12–0.87), and Kokanee abundance and reach explained 73% of the variance. Our results suggest that reduced Kokanee abundance also reduces Grizzly Bear presence, likely because bears seek out other, more available food sources, away from Kokanee spawning habitat. This pattern could limit ecosystem services provided by Grizzly Bears adjacent to spawning areas and it could have implications for bear management and conservation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) British Columbia ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) Canada Sockeye ENVELOPE(-130.143,-130.143,54.160,54.160) The Canadian Field-Naturalist 136 4 337 347 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjcfn |
language |
English |
topic |
Grizzly Bear Ursus arctos Oncorhynchus nerka Animal Behaviour Dietary Plasticity Optimal Foraging Theory Kokanee Community Science |
spellingShingle |
Grizzly Bear Ursus arctos Oncorhynchus nerka Animal Behaviour Dietary Plasticity Optimal Foraging Theory Kokanee Community Science Raymond, Sage Strauss, Julius Flood, Nancy Observations of Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) associated with abundance of spawning Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) at an inland river, British Columbia, Canada |
topic_facet |
Grizzly Bear Ursus arctos Oncorhynchus nerka Animal Behaviour Dietary Plasticity Optimal Foraging Theory Kokanee Community Science |
description |
Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are an important food source for Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos), but many salmon populations are declining. While most research on Grizzly Bear–salmon interactions occurs in coastal ecosystems, declining salmon may also affect Grizzly Bears in inland ecosystems where salmon are also an important part of their diet. We document changes in the number and distribution of observations of Grizzly Bears and changing Kokanee (i.e., landlocked Sockeye Salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka) abundance at an inland river. We hypothesized that reduced abundance of Kokanee would limit the number of Grizzly Bear observations at the river. We compared Kokanee abundance and Grizzly Bear observations (n = 535) between 2012 and 2019 at the Lardeau River, British Columbia, Canada. We used a generalized linear mixed model to test if the number of bear observations changed as a function of Kokanee abundance among four river reaches during eight consecutive years of study. Kokanee abundance was a strong statistical predictor of Grizzly Bear observations (β = 0.52, P = 0.001, CI = 0.12–0.87), and Kokanee abundance and reach explained 73% of the variance. Our results suggest that reduced Kokanee abundance also reduces Grizzly Bear presence, likely because bears seek out other, more available food sources, away from Kokanee spawning habitat. This pattern could limit ecosystem services provided by Grizzly Bears adjacent to spawning areas and it could have implications for bear management and conservation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Raymond, Sage Strauss, Julius Flood, Nancy |
author_facet |
Raymond, Sage Strauss, Julius Flood, Nancy |
author_sort |
Raymond, Sage |
title |
Observations of Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) associated with abundance of spawning Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) at an inland river, British Columbia, Canada |
title_short |
Observations of Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) associated with abundance of spawning Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) at an inland river, British Columbia, Canada |
title_full |
Observations of Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) associated with abundance of spawning Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) at an inland river, British Columbia, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Observations of Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) associated with abundance of spawning Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) at an inland river, British Columbia, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observations of Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos) associated with abundance of spawning Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) at an inland river, British Columbia, Canada |
title_sort |
observations of grizzly bear (ursus arctos) associated with abundance of spawning kokanee (oncorhynchus nerka) at an inland river, british columbia, canada |
publisher |
The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2559 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v136i4.2559 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) ENVELOPE(-130.143,-130.143,54.160,54.160) |
geographic |
British Columbia Canada Sockeye |
geographic_facet |
British Columbia Canada Sockeye |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_source |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 136 No. 4 (2022); 337-347 0008-3550 |
op_relation |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2559/2969 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2559/2971 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2559 doi:10.22621/cfn.v136i4.2559 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2023 The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v136i4.2559 |
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The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
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136 |
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4 |
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337 |
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347 |
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