Non-invasive measures for assessing long-term stress in free ranging mammals are an increasingly important approach for understanding physiological responses to landscape conditions. Using a spatially and temporally expansive dataset of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) generated from a threatened grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) population in Alberta, Canada, we quantified how variables representing habitat conditions and anthropogenic disturbance impact long-term stress in grizzly bears. We characterized spatial variability in male and female HCC point data using kernel density estimation and quantified variable influence on spatial patterns of male and female HCC stress surfaces using random forests. Separate models were developed for regions inside and outside of parks and protected areas to account for substantial differences in anthropogenic activity and disturbance within the study area. Variance explained in the random forest models ranged from 55.34% to 74.96% for males and 58.15% to 68.46% for females. Predicted HCC levels were higher for females compared to males. Generally, high spatially continuous female HCC levels were associated with parks and protected areas while low-to-moderate levels were associated with increased anthropogenic disturbance. In contrast, male HCC levels were low in parks and protected areas and low-to-moderate in areas with increased anthropogenic disturbance. Spatial variability in gender-specific HCC levels reveal that the type and intensity of external stressors are not uniform across the landscape and that male and female grizzly bears may be exposed to, or perceive, potential stressors differently. We suggest observed spatial patterns of long-term stress may be the result of the availability and distribution of foods related to disturbance features, potential sexual segregation in available habitat selection, and may not be influenced by sources of mortality which represent acute traumas. In this wildlife system and others, conservation and management efforts can benefit by understanding spatial- and gender-based stress responses to landscape conditions.

Abstract. Intrapopulation variability in resource acquisition (i.e., niche variation) influences population dynamics, with important implications for conservation planning. Spatial analyses of niche variation within and among populations can provide relevant information about ecological associations and their subsequent management. We used stable isotope analysis and kernel-weighted regression to examine spatial patterns in a keystone consumer-resource interaction: salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) consumption by grizzly and black bears (Ursus arctos horribilis, n = 886; and Ursus americanus, n = 557) from 1995 to 2014 in British Columbia (BC), Canada. In a region on the central coast of BC (22,000 km 2 ), grizzly bears consumed far more salmon than black bears (median proportion of salmon in assimilated diet of 0.62 and 0.06, respectively). Males of both species consumed more salmon than females (median proportions of 0.63 and 0.57 for grizzly bears and 0.06 and 0.03 for black bears, respectively). Black bears showed considerably more spatial variation in salmon consumption than grizzlies. Protected areas on the coast captured no more habitat for bears with high-salmon diets (i.e., proportions >0.5 of total diet) than did unprotected areas. In a continental region (~692,000 km 2 ), which included the entire contemporary range of grizzlies in BC, males had higher salmon diets than females (median proportions of 0.41 and 0.04, respectively). Highsalmon diets were concentrated in coastal areas for female grizzly bears, whereas males with high-salmon diets in interior areas were restricted to areas near major salmon watersheds. To safeguard this predatorprey association that spans coastal and interior regions, conservation planners and practitioners can consider managing across ecological and jurisdictional boundaries. More broadly, our approach highlights the importance of visualizing spatial patterns of dietary niche variation within populations to characterize ecological associations and inform management.

1. Preserving genetic and phenotypic diversity can help safeguard not only biodiversity but also cultural and economic values. 2. Here, we present data that emerged from Indigenous‐led research at the intersection of evolution and ecology to support conservation planning of a culturally salient, economically valuable, and rare phenotypic variant. We addressed three conservation objectives for the white‐phased ‘Spirit bear’ polymorphism, a rare and endemic white‐coated phenotype of black bear (Ursus americanus) in Kitasoo/Xai'xais and Gitga'at Territories and beyond in coastal British Columbia, Canada. First, we used non‐invasively collected hair samples (n = 385 bears over ∼18,000 km2) to assess the spatial variation in the frequency of the allele that controls the white‐coloured morph (mc1r). Second, we compared our observed allele frequencies at mc1r with those expected under Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Finally, we examined how well current protected areas in the region aligned with spatial hotspots of Spirit bear alleles. 3. We found that landscape‐level allele frequency was lower than previously reported. For example our systematic sampling estimated a frequency of 0.25 (95% CI [0.13, 0.41]) on Gribbell Island compared with the previously reported estimate of 0.56. Also, in contrast with previous reports, we failed to detect a statistically significant departure from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium at mc1r, which calls into question the previously posited role of homozygote gene flow, heterozygote disadvantage, and positive assortative mating in the maintenance of this polymorphism. Finally, we found a discrepancy between the placement of protected areas and the 90th percentile hotspots (upper 10% of all estimated values) of Spirit bear alleles, with ∼50% of hotspots falling outside of protected areas. 4. These results provide new insight into hypotheses related to the maintenance of this rare polymorphism, and directly relevant information to support evidence‐based opportunities for Indigenous Nations of the area to attend to gaps in conservation planning.

We examined how environmental factors affected the body condition of grizzly bears in Alberta, Canada. Individual body condition varied significantly dependent on gender, age, human disturbance, vegetation productivity, and potential energetic demands. Our findings are important for understanding how body condition dynamics may influence recovery in this threatened population