Constraints On Frugivory By Bears

• Main Authors: Welch, Christy A., Keay, Jeffrey, Kendall, Katherine C., Robbins, Charles T.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 1997
• Subjects: bears; berries; body mass; digestibility; foraging efficiency; fruits; gastrointestinal capacity; intake rate; metabolic efficiency; reproductive success; Ursus americanus; Ursus arctos
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natlpark/56; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/natlpark/article/1055/viewcontent/Welch_ECOLOGY_1997_Constraints_frugivory.pdf

Bears consuming wild fruits for fall energy accumulation are constrained by several factors, including intake rate, the physiological capacity of the gastrointestinal tract, and the metabolic efficiency of gain in body mass. We measured these relationships through foraging and feeding trials using captive and wild black bears (Ursus americanus) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). Four fruit types covering a range of sizes and clustering were offered to captive bears to determine the effect of density, size, and presentation on intake rate. Intake rate (in grams per minute) and bite rates (in bites per minute) increased curvilinearly with increasing fruit density in singly spaced fruits. Maximum intakes ranged from 30 g/min for 0.5-g berries to >200 g/min for 4.2-g fruits. The highest bite rates were obtained during the initial encounter with each patch as bears consumed all visually apparent fruits on the surface. Bite rates quickly dropped by 15-20% as foraging continued within the patch. Maximum bite rates were not depressed until initial fruit density fell to <50 berries/M3. Maximum daily fresh fruit intake for the captive bears averaged 34 ± 6% (mean ± 1 SD) of body mass. The dry-matter digestibility of wild fruits, particularly preferred species, was as high as 72%. While large captive bears could gain body mass very rapidly when given fruit ad libitum, foraging efficiencies increasingly constrained growth rates of wild bears >100 kg. We concluded that large bears, such as grizzlies, must depend on plants that permit large bite sizes or high bite rates through fruit clustering and bush configuration that reduce leaf-to-fruit ratios.