Evaluating the ecological consequences of human land-use on grizzly bears in southwest Yukon, Canada

• Main Author: Maraj, Ramona
• Other Authors: Gates, Cormack
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Environmental Design 2007
• Subjects: Canada; Yukon; Ursus arctos
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1880/102032; https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/1031

Bibliography: p. 209-254 Some pages are in colour. This study investigated the effects of human land-use on grizzly bear (Ursus arctos L.) habitat and populations in the Kluane region of southwest Yukon, Canada. Previous studies in the region identify grizzlies as the species most at risk from cumulative impacts of human activity . The goals of this project were to: 1) identify the effects of cumulative human activities on grizzly habitat and populations; and 2) provide recommendations on human-use management with respect to the conservation of grizzlies and their habitat. Thus , I investigated three aspects of bear ecology and synthesized them to examine the influence of human-activities on bears. First, I examined the appropriateness of using Tasselled Cap Transformation variables for representing the distribution of bear forage. Tasselled Cap layers correlated with aggregate measures of forage abundance, provided continuous variables for linear occupancy estimation models, and were more cost-effective to produce than land cover classifications . I then tested the influence of conspecific distribution on habitat selection by grizzly bear sex/age cohorts . Family groups segregated from other cohorts, in part, to avoid intra-specific aggression and to protect cubs. Segregation also occurred because of differential response by each cohort to the distribution of human activity, and the distribution of forage. I next examined the temporal trends and spatial characteristics of grizzly bear mortality in Kluane. While efforts reduced the frequency of occurrences and management-related mortalities, there was a substantial lag between the management efforts and the decline of human bear interactions and human-caused bear mortalities. Increased human activity in the region may have negated the positive effects of landfill closures. Finally , to examine the influence habitat and mortality models had on grizzly bear productivity and survival, I compared the explanatory power of empirical habitat models based on grizzly ...