The dietary habits of the Brown bear (Ursus arctos) in western Greece

Abstract

Knowledge of the dietary habits of an endangered species is essential to its management and conservation. The brown bear (Ursus arctos) exists in two isolated population in Greece, but only initial management actions have been taken to improve the habitat of this species. To improve our understanding of the ecology and habitat requirements of this species, we examined the dietary habits of the brown bear in the Panagia-Grevena region, of Macedonia, Greece. In total, 360 scats of brown bear were collected between 2002 and 2004 during spring, summer and autumn months. Scats were analyzed by their frequency of occurrence, volumetric and dry weights, and their importance values. Microhistological analysis was applied to estimate the proportion of wild and cultivated plants in the diet. The most important type of food in the spring was green vegetation, while, in the summer, fruits of Pyrus sp., Morus sp., Prunus sp. and Rubus sp. were important food items. In autumn, hard masts, mainly oak (Quercus sp.), were essential foods for the brown bear. The frequency of vertebrates in the diet was higher in the summer and autumn while that of invertebrates was higher in the spring. In summary, the brown bear is an omnivorous species that lives in Greece and adapts its diet according to food availability and human activities in its habitat. For this reason, human activities in the study area must take the needs and requirement of brown bears into consideration.

Efficiency of scat-analysis lab procedures for bear dietary studies: The case of the Apennine brown bear

“…Similarly to other European brown bear populations (Cicnjak et al 1987;Elgmork and Kaasa 1992;Dahle et al 1998;Naves et al 2006;Paralikidis et al 2010), and according to seasonal fluctuations in both food availability and nutritional requirements, the diet composition in the Apennine brown bear reflected a marked seasonal variation. The diet shifted markedly from forbs and ants in early summer, to carbohydrate-rich foods such as buckthorn and other fleshy fruits (Noyce et al 1997;Dahle et al 1998;Große et al 2003) in late summer.…”

A meta-analysis of ungulate predation and prey selection by the brown bear Ursus arctos in Eurasia

“…Most of the studies contained data concerning the percentage share of wild ungulate in the bear diet. However, in several localities, brown bear fed also on domestic animals, e.g., in Greece (Paralikidis et al 2010) or in Poland (Frąckowiak and Gula 1992). In these cases, the domestic ungulates were included in the percentage share of all ungulates consumed by bears.…”

Autumn diet of recolonising female New Zealand sea lions based at Otago Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand

“…The identification of undigested remains of prey (bones, body parts, feathers etc.) in scats and regurgitations is commonly used to investigate the diet of carnivores, including pinnipeds, as it is non-invasive, low-cost, and samples can easily be collected on land (McLellan & Hovey 1995;Capitani et al 2004;Ruhe et al 2008;Paralikidis et al 2010). By identifying remains in these samples, the prey species, number of prey species and sizes of prey can be determined, hence revealing the diet of the animals.…”