Daily Activity Patterns Among Apex Predators in the Northwest United States

• Main Author: Romps, Sydney M
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: NMU Commons 2022
• Subjects: Canis lupus; gray wolf; Ursus arctos
• Online Access: https://commons.nmu.edu/celebration_student_scholarship/38; https://commons.nmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=celebration_student_scholarship

The gray wolf [Canis lupus], brown bear [Ursus arctos], and American black bear [Ursus americanus], are all ecologically interesting because they are all apex predators that exist in the same spaces in the United States. However, little research has been done after wolf reintroduction in many parts of the western U.S. to see if these three predators will change their daily activity patterns around each other. The goal of this research project was to see whether the daily activity patterns of the gray wolf, brown bear, and American black bear differ, and it was hypothesized that he American black bear and brown bear will be more active during the day while the gray wolf will be more active at night. Bar graphs of the daily activity pattern of each species was created using occurrences in camera trap images from Snapshot USA. Overall, the observed daily activity patterns show that the American black bear and brown bear followed a crepuscular activity pattern and the gray wolf followed a nocturnal activity pattern. Knowing these daily activity patterns can help mitigate human-wildlife conflict in spaces where they interact, which is especially important for the gray wolf since it is endangered, and future research could look into the cause of the activity patterns of the gray wolf, brown bear, and American black bear, whether it be due to competition among each other, with other species, or with humans.