Factors Influencing the Abundance of Berry Plants for Black Bears, <em>Ursus americanus</em>, in Quebec

Abstract

Berries generally represent the primary food source used by Black Bears (Ursus americanus) during summer and sometimes fall. Our study attempted to identify factors influencing the abundance of these critical resources for Black Bears in Quebec. We used data from the ecological inventories of the Ministère de l’Environnement du Québec. Three different study areas were selected, including the Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve (326 sample plots; 24 species), the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve (679 sample plots; 16 species) and the Côte-Nord administrative region (1944 sample plots; 30 species). Each site represented a different bioclimatic domain. Characteristics of the dominant vegetation (density and height), soil texture, and drainage classes (vertical or oblique) were used as analysis factors. In general, height and density of the dominant vegetation had a significant effect on the abundance of berry plants. Berry plants were more abundant in plots where dominant vegetation height and density were low. Soil texture had little effect on the abundance of berry plants, and the influence of drainage varied depending on the region. This study allowed us to determine the optimal sites of berry resources for Black Bears.

How artificial feeding for tourism-watching modifies black bear space use and habitat selection

“…Spring is also the time when bears emerge from their den and begin to search for food, mainly forbs, grasses, and insects (Samson and Huot ). Low food availability in spring is likely to increase the magnitude of black bear movements because they have to visit more food patches, especially as these resources provide less energy than fruits, which are available later in summer and fall (Pelchat and Ruff , Hébert et al , Mosnier et al ).…”

Impacts d'un site de nourrissage à des fins d'observation sur l'utilisation de l'espace et la sélection de l'habitat de l'ours noir (Ursus americanus) en forêt boréale /

“…Le printemps correspond également à la période où les ours sortent de leur tanière et se mettent à la recherche de nourriture, principalement des plantes herbacées, des graminées et des insectes . La faible disponibilité de nourriture au printemps est susceptible d'augmenter l'ampleur des déplacements de l'ours noir, d'autant plus que ces ressources sont moins énergétiques que les fruits dont ils disposent plus tardivement en saison estivale et automnale Hébert et al 2008;). (Welch et al 1997), principalement des petits fruits, et ils peuvent parcourir des distances de plusieurs dizaines de kilomètres afin de constituer les réserves de graisses dont ils auront besoin pour hiberner .…”