Black Bear, &lt;em&gt;Ursus americanus&lt;/em&gt;, Denning Chronology and Den Site Selection in the Northeastern Cascades of Washington

Gaines, William L.

doi:10.22621/cfn.v117i4.833

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Our model indicated that bears selected den sites away from roads, similar to findings by Huygens et al (2001), Gaines (2003), Mitchell et al (2005), Reynolds-Hogland et al (2007), and Elfström et al (2008). Bears also avoided placing dens near recreation trails (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Brown Bear Den Habitat and Winter Recreation in South‐Central Alaska

Goldstein¹,

Poe

Suring³

et al. 2010

J Wildl Manag

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Increasing demand for backcountry recreation opportunities during winter (e.g., snowshoeing, helicopter-assisted skiing, snowmobiling) in steep, high-elevation terrain has elevated concern about disturbance to brown bears (Ursus arctos) denning on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, USA. To help identify areas where such conflicts might occur, we developed a spatially explicit model to predict potential den habitat. The model indicated brown bears selected locations for den sites with steep slopes, away from roads and trails. Den sites were associated with habitat high in elevation and away from potential human contact. We then compared areas with the highest probability of providing den habitat with patterns of snowmobile and nonmotorized recreation on a portion of the Kenai Peninsula. We found limited overlap between the 2 recreation activities and potential den habitat for brown bears. At the landscape scale, however, backcountry skiing overlapped more high-quality den habitat than did snowmobile riding. Our results may be used by land management agencies to identify potential conflict sites and to minimize the potential effects of recreation activities on brown bears in dens.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Brown Bear Den Habitat and Winter Recreation in South‐Central Alaska

Goldstein¹,

Poe

Suring³

et al. 2010

J Wildl Manag

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“…Similar to northern aspects, such heights provide increased shading and snow cover due to moderate to dense overstory (Novick et al 1981). Contemporary den sites were often found close to roads, which was unusual, because bears typically den away from human-use areas (Goodrich and Berger 1994, Linnell et al 2000, Gaines 2003. The importance of this variable in contemporary models compared to the historic period was not due to increased abundance of roads, because no new roads were constructed in RMNP between the 2 study periods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Den‐Site Characteristics of Black Bears in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Baldwin¹,

Bender²

2008

J Wildl Manag

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: We compared historic (1985–1992) and contemporary (2003–2006) black bear (Ursus americanus) den locations in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Colorado, USA, for habitat and physiographic attributes of den sites and used maximum entropy modeling to determine which factors were most influential in predicting den‐site locations. We observed variability in the relationship between den locations and distance to trails and elevation over time. Locations of historic den sites were most associated with slope, elevation, and covertype, whereas contemporary sites were associated with slope, distance to roads, aspect, and canopy height. Although relationships to covariates differed between historic and contemporary periods, preferred den‐site characteristics consistently included steep slopes and factors associated with greater snow depth. Distribution of den locations shifted toward areas closer to human developments, indicating little negative influence of this factor on den‐site selection by black bears in RMNP.

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“…At the population level, bears often choose den sites in areas away from roads (Huygens et al. , Gaines , Mitchell et al. ), and avoidance of roads at fine (<1 km radius), but not coarse (>5 km radius), scales has been observed for brown bears (Pigeon et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By denning farther from roads than what is individually available, bears likely decreased the risk of anthropogenic disturbance. At the population level, bears often choose den sites in areas away from roads (Huygens et al 2001, Gaines 2003, Mitchell et al 2005, and avoidance of roads at fine (<1 km radius), but not coarse (>5 km radius), scales has been observed for brown bears (Pigeon et al 2014). Black bears display physiological responses before and after human disturbance during denning (Laske et al 2010), and den location relative to roads likely depends on predictability and intensity of human use (Linnell et al 2000, Reynolds-Hogland et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive class influences risk tolerance during denning and spring for American black bears (Ursus americanus)

2019

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Den sites are important for many species’ ecology, and individuals should choose den sites that minimize risk and maximize energy gain. We examined den site selection and spring space use for black bears (Ursus americanus) at the individual level, and analyzed support for the anthropogenic risk avoidance and infanticide avoidance hypotheses. We obtained telemetry data for 94 individual bears (71 F and 23 M) and collected 162 den locations from Michigan (2009–2011 and 2013–2015), Missouri (2010–2016), and Mississippi (2008–2017), USA. Of 71 females, 37 were monitored during multiple reproductive states. We used generalized linear mixed models to evaluate the influence of reproductive state (female with cubs, female with yearlings, female alone, or male) on den distance to the nearest road, two road indexes (den emergence and spring), spring home range size, mean spring road distance, and a NDVI selection index. All black bears, except females with cubs, chose den locations farther from roads than available to them, supporting the anthropogenic risk avoidance hypothesis. Additionally, females with cubs displayed the smallest spring home ranges among females, as well as denned closer to roads and used areas closer to roads during spring than females with yearlings, supporting the infanticide avoidance hypothesis. The differential responses by the same females when having cubs or yearlings point to strategies to maximize reproductive success. By investigating behavior considering individual availability, we revealed patterns that might not be detected by population‐level assessments.

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Black Bear, <em>Ursus americanus</em>, Denning Chronology and Den Site Selection in the Northeastern Cascades of Washington

Cited by 12 publications

References 18 publications

Brown Bear Den Habitat and Winter Recreation in South‐Central Alaska

Brown Bear Den Habitat and Winter Recreation in South‐Central Alaska

Den‐Site Characteristics of Black Bears in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Reproductive class influences risk tolerance during denning and spring for American black bears (Ursus americanus)

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