Brown bear behaviour in human-modified landscapes: The case of the endangered Cantabrian population, NW Spain

Zarzo‐Arias, Alejandra; Delgado, María del Mar; Ordiz, Andrés; Díaz, Juan; Cañedo, David Gallinar; González, Marco Aurélio Stumpf; Romo, Carlos; García, Pablo Vázquez; Bombieri, Giulia; Bettega, Chiara; Russo, Luca Francesco; Cabral, Pedro; García‐González, Ricardo; Martínez‐Padilla, Jesús; Penteriani, Vincenzo

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00499

Cited by 56 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Nevertheless, this predominantly nocturnal movement pattern is interrupted when specific biological functions, such as mating (Fernandez‐Gil, Naves & Delibes, ) or denning preparation, need to be fulfilled. In contrast, the more diurnal movement patterns of sub‐adult bears could have been associated with a higher tolerance towards humans (MacHutchon et al , ; Zarzo‐Arias et al, ) and/or with the efforts to avoid intra‐specific competition over food sources (Kaczensky et al , ), which may be monopolized by adults at night (Klinka & Reimchen, ), when human activity is lower.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Brown bear ( Ursus arctos ) movements vary throughout time (Ordiz et al , ) and are influenced by numerous factors, including reproductive maturity, sex (Dahle & Swenson, ) and daylight (Klinka & Reimchen, ; Klinka & Reimchen, ). Bears are also sensitive to changes in environmental conditions (Molnár et al , ; Zarzo‐Arias et al, ) and human activity (Martin et al , ; Ordiz et al , ), often seeking refuge in areas with rough terrain, far from human settlements [(Nellemann et al , ), but see also Elfström et al, ()] and roads [(Reynolds‐Hogland & Mitchell, ; Skuban et al , ; Finďo et al , ), but see also Roever, Boyce & Stenhouse, ()] and close to forests and forest edges (May et al , ; Stewart et al , ). The combined effects of all these factors often result in differences in basic movement parameters (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, movement parameters are highly interrelated (Van Moorter et al , ), and thus, the parameters affecting bear movement (e.g. daylight, human activity, environmental conditions) at a proximate level could ultimately affect how bears use space in their attempt to make the utmost of the available resources, while avoiding human disturbance (Ordiz et al , ) and adapting to environmental changes (Zarzo‐Arias et al, ). Studying the causal relationship between these movement parameters is therefore integral in understanding the strategies pursued by bears to survive in human‐dominated (or human‐modified) landscapes (Amstrup et al , ; Tuomainen & Candolin, ; Ordiz et al , ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduced movement of wildlife in Mediterranean landscapes: a case study of brown bears in Greece

Hernando

Karamanlidis

Grivas³

et al. 2020

Journal of Zoology

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The survival of large carnivores in a rapidly changing, human-modified world depends largely on their movements; therefore, understanding how movement patterns change within space and time and which factors affect them most is of paramount importance for their conservation. In a case study in Greece using brown bears Ursus arctos, we evaluated the movement ecology of a recovering population in a Mediterranean landscape, where human activity is high. We found that during daytime bears moved less when ambient temperatures were high and when they were far away from forests and close to settlements, where human activity is expected to be high. During night-time, when human activity and mortality risk are expected to be low, bear movement was higher farther from forested areas, close to roads, and in less rough terrain. Although bear movement patterns in Greece were generally similar to those of other bear populations in Europe, home ranges were smaller than in northern populations. These findings indicate that increased human activity and high ambient temperatures reduce bear movement and ultimately contribute to the smaller home ranges in the warmer and human-dominated Mediterranean landscapes. We suggest that management and conservation actions in Mediterranean landscapes should aim on separating humans and bears in space or time, so that bear movements are not constrained and, in turn, minimum home ranges that cover their essential requirements are guaranteed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduced movement of wildlife in Mediterranean landscapes: a case study of brown bears in Greece

Hernando

Karamanlidis

Grivas³

et al. 2020

Journal of Zoology

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“…For each year, we also grouped the damages by phenological bear season, as defined by Martínez Cano et al . (2016): (1) hibernation (January to mid‐April), with some bears remaining active during most of the winter (Nores et al ., 2010; Zarzo‐Arias et al ., 2018), (2) mating (mid‐April to June) and (3) hyperphagia (July to December).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonality, local resources and environmental factors influence patterns of brown bear damages: implications for management

et al. 2020

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Coexistence of humans and large carnivores is a major challenge for conservation and management, especially in human‐modified landscapes. Ongoing recovery of some large carnivore populations is good conservation news, but it also brings about increased levels of conflict with humans. Compensation payments and preventive measures are used worldwide as part of conservation programmes with the aim of reducing such conflicts and improving public attitude towards large carnivores. However, understanding the drivers triggering conflicts is a conservation priority, which helps prevent and reduce damages. Here, we have analysed the spatio‐temporal patterns of brown bear Ursus arctos damages to apiaries, crops and livestock in the two small, isolated and endangered bear populations in northern Spain. The increase in the number of damages varied in parallel with the increase in bear numbers, which is probably a primary cause determining the occurrence on damages. Damages also varied among years, seasons and bear populations and seemed to mainly depend on the local availability of natural food items, weather conditions and the availability of apiaries and livestock. Fluctuating availability of food items may explain the frequency of conflicts, which is yet another call to apply preventive measures in carnivore damage to human property in seasons and years when natural food availability is lower than usual. Understanding and preventing damage is in turn essential to mitigate conflicts where humans and large carnivores share the same landscape.

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“…The locations of brown bears were obtained from: (a) direct bear observations that were georeferenced by personnel of the Principado de Asturias and Junta de Castilla y León, primarily the Patrulla Oso, that is, the Bear Patrol, of the Principado de Asturias and the Junta de Castilla y León, as well as all the other guards of both regional governments, by the Asturian Foundation for the Conservation of Wildlife (FAPAS, Fondo para la Protección de los Animales Salvajes), the FOA (Fundación Oso de Asturias) and the Brown Bear Foundation (FOP, Fundación Oso Pardo); and (b) personal georeferenced observations of the authors (Zarzo‐Arias et al, ). The long‐term monitoring of the Cantabrian population, which started between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s is essentially based on yearly direct sightings and the location of indirect signs of presence, that is, footprints, fur and scats, records of damage caused by bears to livestock, beehives, crops, human activities and infrastructures, as well as camera traps that were randomly located by the FAPAS and Bear Team during the last twenty years, mainly in forested areas where bears are less visible (FAPAS/FIEP, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of an endangered brown bear population to climate change based on predictable food resource and shelter alterations

Penteriani

Zarzo‐Arias

Novo-Fernández

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

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The survival of an increasing number of species is threatened by climate change: 20%–30% of plants and animals seem to be at risk of range shift or extinction if global warming reaches levels projected to occur by the end of this century. Plant range shifts may determine whether animal species that rely on plant availability for food and shelter will be affected by new patterns of plant occupancy and availability. Brown bears in temperate forested habitats mostly forage on plants and it may be expected that climate change will affect the viability of the endangered populations of southern Europe. Here, we assess the potential impact of climate change on seven plants that represent the main food resources and shelter for the endangered population of brown bears in the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain). Our simulations suggest that the geographic range of these plants might be altered under future climate warming, with most bear resources reducing their range. As a consequence, this brown bear population is expected to decline drastically in the next 50 years. Range shifts of brown bear are also expected to displace individuals from mountainous areas towards more humanized ones, where we can expect an increase in conflicts and bear mortality rates. Additional negative effects might include: (a) a tendency to a more carnivorous diet, which would increase conflicts with cattle farmers; (b) limited fat storage before hibernation due to the reduction of oak forests; (c) increased intraspecific competition with other acorn consumers, that is, wild ungulates and free‐ranging livestock; and (d) larger displacements between seasons to find main trophic resources. The magnitude of the changes projected by our models emphasizes that conservation practices focused only on bears may not be appropriate and thus we need more dynamic conservation planning aimed at reducing the impact of climate change in forested landscapes.

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Brown bear behaviour in human-modified landscapes: The case of the endangered Cantabrian population, NW Spain

Cited by 56 publications

References 52 publications

Reduced movement of wildlife in Mediterranean landscapes: a case study of brown bears in Greece

Reduced movement of wildlife in Mediterranean landscapes: a case study of brown bears in Greece

Seasonality, local resources and environmental factors influence patterns of brown bear damages: implications for management

Responses of an endangered brown bear population to climate change based on predictable food resource and shelter alterations

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