Activity of Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Garshelis, David L.; Pelton, Michael R.

doi:10.2307/1379952

Cited by 139 publications

(101 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…From sightings of collared animals while radiotracking, error radii were < 25 m in most conditions. For each fix, activity (basing on signal amplitude fluctuations, Garshelis and Pelton 1980) and habitat type were recorded. Because none of the current measures of the home range size is free of problems (e.g.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home range, habitat selection and activity of the red fox in a Mediterranean coastal ecotone

Cavallini¹,

Lovari²

1994

Acta Theriol.

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Home range, habitat selection and activity of the red fox in a Mediterranean coastal ecotone Paolo CAVALLINI and Sandro LOVARI* Cavallini P. and Lovari S. 1994. Home range, habitat selection and activity of the red fox in a Mediterranean coastal ecotone. Acta theriol. 39: 279-287.Ranging behaviour and activity of five (2 females, 3 males) red foxes Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Mediterranean coastal area of Maremma Natural Park (central Italy; an area of great habitat diversity) are described. One female ranged over a very small area and had diurnal activity rhythms. For other foxes, home range size (100% minimum convex polygon) varied between 86 and 485 ha (larger than fox ranges in urban areas and smaller than in northern or homogeneous areas), and core areas (50% harmonic mean) between 4.0 and 13.7 ha. Habitat diversity within home ranges was significantly higher than that of the overall area. Within their home ranges, foxes selected scrubwood for resting. When active, they showed individual differences in habitat selection. Peak activity was between 20.00 h and 22.00 h, but foxes were active also during the day.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home range, habitat selection and activity of the red fox in a Mediterranean coastal ecotone

Cavallini¹,

Lovari²

1994

Acta Theriol.

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“…With bears, the bulk of movements are influenced by the abundance and spatial distribution of food, so the core area represents the bear's preferred foraging area [9,10]. This is especially true in the fall when bears must dramatically increase their body weight to prepare for winter [11].Animals prefer foods that provide the greatest energetic or nutritional return for the smallest effort [12][13][14]. For black bears, three ecological scenarios are consistent with this hypothesis.…”

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confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of the variable availability of seasonal foods on the home ranges of black bears, Ursus americanus, in the Sierra Nevada of California

Mazur

Klimley

Folger

2013

Animal Biotelemetry

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Background: Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) seeds and oak (Quercus spp.) acorns are both important fall food sources for a variety of wildlife in the Sierra Nevada, but both have variable mast production and are in decline. Sugar pines are in decline due to white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) infection and oaks are in decline due to fire exclusion and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) predation. To examine how a change in availability of seed and acorn crops from these trees could have a cascading effect on associated wildlife, we studied their relationship to black bear (Ursus americanus) fall ranges in Sequoia National Park, California. The distribution of seed-bearing sugar pines overlaps with the bears' summer range, whereas acorn-bearing oaks occur at lower elevations. We used GPS collars and field observations to collect location data on ten wild, adult, female bears during the summer and fall of both 2005 and 2006, and then compared these data on habitat use with the Park's vegetation map of available habitat. Results: Our results indicate that the inter-annual variability in the availability of these natural foods is closely related to the seasonal ranges of black bears. In the fall of 2005, when blue and black oak acorns were scarce but other acorns were abundant, bears remained within their summer ranges to feed on sugar pine seeds. In the fall of 2006, when blue oak acorns were abundant, bears shifted out of their summer ranges to feed on acorns and forego sugar pine seeds, even though the seeds were more abundant than in 2005. Incidents between humans and black bears were highest in 2006 while bears were moving between their summer ranges and the oak belt. Conclusion: In the fall, black bears make heavy use of both sugar pines and oaks. Although they prefer acorns to sugar pine seeds, the loss of either food source would lead to an increased dependence on the other. When both are unavailable due to continued decline or simultaneously low mast crops, an increase in human-bear incidents is likely.Keywords: Acorn production, Black bear, Blister rust, Home range, Preference, Sudden oak death, Sugar pine, Ursus americanus Background In California's Sierra Nevada, white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) threatens the continued existence of sugar pines (Pinus lambertiana). This fungal pathogen appeared in the Southern Sierra in the 1960s, infecting many of the region's sugar pines, which are now in decline [1,2]. Oaks are declining due to fire exclusion and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) predation [3,4]. The pathogen that causes sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum) has not yet arrived in the Sierra, but if it does, it will also threaten the region's black oaks (Quercus kelloggii) [5]. A loss of sugar pines will likely have a cascading effect on the associated wildlife, especially if it coincides with a reduction in oaks, but with little existing research on these associations, the impacts are difficult to predict [6]. To begin addressing this gap in information, we studied the impo...

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“…Second, we compared seasonal changes in the relationship between movement and HR over the course of the active period of the year. We hypothesized that the relationship would change seasonally with activity patterns Beecham 1976, Garshelis andPelton 1980), especially in the fall during hyperphagia (a period of intense caloric intake and consequent fat gains prior to hibernation). We posited that bears follow a similar pattern to that found in small hibernators in which metabolic rate diminishes prior to reductions in food intake, enabling significant gains in body mass (Florant and Healy 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral and physiological responses of American black bears to landscape features within an agricultural region

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Human activities and variation in habitat quality and configuration have been shown to influence space use patterns in many species, but few studies have documented the physiological responses of free-ranging animals to these factors. We combined remote biologger technology, capturing continuous heart rate values, with locational data from GPS collars to investigate the behavioral and physiological reactions of American black bears (Ursus americanus) to a landscape dominated by agriculture (52.5% areal cover). Our study occurred at the edge of the range of this species, with small, scattered patches of forest within a mosaic of crop fields and an extensive road network. However, only ;2-4% of the area contained crops that bears consumed (corn, sunflowers, oats). We used GPS locations to identify the habitat that bears occupied, and to estimate their rates of travel. Heart rates increased with movement rates, rising by over 30% from resting rate to their fastest travel speeds. We used a modeling approach to distinguish among factors that influenced heart rates independent of movement rates. Bears commonly crossed agricultural areas that provided no food or cover and their heart rates, elevated beyond what was expected from their movement rate, were indicative of a stress response. However, when bears entered agricultural areas composed of edible crops, many individuals showed reduced movement and slower heart rates, suggesting that bears foraging there felt at ease or crops allow bears to more easily forage due to their dense spatial arrangements. Unexpectedly, female bears elicited lower heart rates and lower levels of activity in the most fragmented patches of natural habitat, possibly a sign of humanavoidance behavior or a reaction related to crossing roads. During fall, as bears prepared for hibernation, their heart rates declined two weeks before their movements slackened, evidence that metabolism slowed to enhance fat accumulation; they also shifted to a nocturnal activity pattern, likely to reduce exertion during the heat of the day. The use of a physiological monitor provided new insights on bear biology and ecology that would not have otherwise been apparent.

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Activity of Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Cited by 139 publications

References 11 publications

Home range, habitat selection and activity of the red fox in a Mediterranean coastal ecotone

Home range, habitat selection and activity of the red fox in a Mediterranean coastal ecotone

Implications of the variable availability of seasonal foods on the home ranges of black bears, Ursus americanus, in the Sierra Nevada of California

Behavioral and physiological responses of American black bears to landscape features within an agricultural region

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