Ecological effects of mine reclamation on grizzly bears
The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) is a threatened species in Alberta and although we have studied grizzly bear response to forest seral stage change, little is known about the response to coal mine reclamation by bears. We addressed basic ecological questions to describe landscape change effects on gr...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | , |
Format: | Conference Object |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2012
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2429/43384 |
id |
ftunivbritcolcir:oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/43384 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivbritcolcir:oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/43384 2023-05-15T18:42:09+02:00 Ecological effects of mine reclamation on grizzly bears Cristescu, B. Stenhouse, G.B. Symbaluk, M. Boyce, M.S. British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium University of British Columbia. Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering 2012 http://hdl.handle.net/2429/43384 eng eng Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation CC-BY-NC-ND Alberta season diet edge access management mining Text Conference Paper 2012 ftunivbritcolcir 2019-10-15T18:10:08Z The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) is a threatened species in Alberta and although we have studied grizzly bear response to forest seral stage change, little is known about the response to coal mine reclamation by bears. We addressed basic ecological questions to describe landscape change effects on grizzly bears, focusing on Luscar and Gregg River reclaimed coal mines in west-central Alberta as case studies. We summarize bear use of mine mineral disturbance limits in relation to season, habitat, diet, and designated human access trails. Eight adult bears were monitored intensively during 2008-2010 using GPS radiocollars that allowed tracking of their movement and distribution on the landscape and facilitated collection of scats for diet analysis. Bears were present on reclaimed mines mostly during summer and fed primarily on vegetative matter. Although habitats were similar on the two mines under study, on Luscar mine bears had higher use of undisturbed forested areas and were closer to forest edge than on Gregg River mine. We attribute these differences primarily to higher presence of humans on Luscar mine, but bears responded differently to motorized and non-motorized trails. While reclaimed mines can provide habitat and forage for grizzly bears during summer, maintaining undisturbed forest patches and access management are necessary to ensure persistence of grizzly bears on reclaimed mining areas. Non UBC Unreviewed Other Conference Object Ursus arctos University of British Columbia: cIRcle - UBC's Information Repository |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of British Columbia: cIRcle - UBC's Information Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbritcolcir |
language |
English |
topic |
Alberta season diet edge access management mining |
spellingShingle |
Alberta season diet edge access management mining Cristescu, B. Stenhouse, G.B. Symbaluk, M. Boyce, M.S. Ecological effects of mine reclamation on grizzly bears |
topic_facet |
Alberta season diet edge access management mining |
description |
The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) is a threatened species in Alberta and although we have studied grizzly bear response to forest seral stage change, little is known about the response to coal mine reclamation by bears. We addressed basic ecological questions to describe landscape change effects on grizzly bears, focusing on Luscar and Gregg River reclaimed coal mines in west-central Alberta as case studies. We summarize bear use of mine mineral disturbance limits in relation to season, habitat, diet, and designated human access trails. Eight adult bears were monitored intensively during 2008-2010 using GPS radiocollars that allowed tracking of their movement and distribution on the landscape and facilitated collection of scats for diet analysis. Bears were present on reclaimed mines mostly during summer and fed primarily on vegetative matter. Although habitats were similar on the two mines under study, on Luscar mine bears had higher use of undisturbed forested areas and were closer to forest edge than on Gregg River mine. We attribute these differences primarily to higher presence of humans on Luscar mine, but bears responded differently to motorized and non-motorized trails. While reclaimed mines can provide habitat and forage for grizzly bears during summer, maintaining undisturbed forest patches and access management are necessary to ensure persistence of grizzly bears on reclaimed mining areas. Non UBC Unreviewed Other |
author2 |
British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium University of British Columbia. Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering |
format |
Conference Object |
author |
Cristescu, B. Stenhouse, G.B. Symbaluk, M. Boyce, M.S. |
author_facet |
Cristescu, B. Stenhouse, G.B. Symbaluk, M. Boyce, M.S. |
author_sort |
Cristescu, B. |
title |
Ecological effects of mine reclamation on grizzly bears |
title_short |
Ecological effects of mine reclamation on grizzly bears |
title_full |
Ecological effects of mine reclamation on grizzly bears |
title_fullStr |
Ecological effects of mine reclamation on grizzly bears |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ecological effects of mine reclamation on grizzly bears |
title_sort |
ecological effects of mine reclamation on grizzly bears |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/43384 |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
_version_ |
1766231758577074176 |