Resource selection and connectivity reveal conservation challenges for reintroduced brown bears in the Italian Alps

Peters, Wibke; Hebblewhite, Mark; Cavedon, Maria; Pedrotti, Luca; Mustoni, Andrea; Zibordi, Filippo; Groff, Claudio; Zanin, M.; Cagnacci, Francesca

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2015.02.034

Cited by 74 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…; Peters et al. ). In the meantime, the study of population dynamics should be based on analytical approaches capable of exploiting all available sources of information in order to increase reliability and precision.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Although current anthropogenic mortality rates do not appear to represent a threat to population persistence, management that seeks to improve social acceptance of bears, and large carnivores in general, is urgently needed. The mitigation of social and human-bear conflicts is also a priority as a means of establishing a self-sustained Alpine population and, eventually, restoring a meta-population network that includes the Dinaric-Pindos population (De Barba et al 2010b;Peters et al 2015). In the meantime, the study of population dynamics should be based on analytical approaches capable of exploiting all available sources of information in order to increase reliability and precision.…”

Section: The Brown Bear Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating mortality rates with a novel integrated framework for nonmonogamous species

Tenan

Iemma

Bragalanti

et al. 2016

Conservation Biology

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The conservation of wildlife requires management based on quantitative evidence, and especially for large carnivores, unraveling cause‐specific mortalities and understanding their impact on population dynamics is crucial. Acquiring this knowledge is challenging because it is difficult to obtain robust long‐term data sets on endangered populations and, usually, data are collected through diverse sampling strategies. Integrated population models (IPMs) offer a way to integrate data generated through different processes. However, IPMs are female‐based models that cannot account for mate availability, and this feature limits their applicability to monogamous species only. We extended classical IPMs to a two‐sex framework that allows investigation of population dynamics and quantification of cause‐specific mortality rates in nonmonogamous species. We illustrated our approach by simultaneously modeling different types of data from a reintroduced, unhunted brown bear (Ursus arctos) population living in an area with a dense human population. In a population mainly driven by adult survival, we estimated that on average 11% of cubs and 61% of adults died from human‐related causes. Although the population is currently not at risk, adult survival and thus population dynamics are driven by anthropogenic mortality. Given the recent increase of human‐bear conflicts in the area, removal of individuals for management purposes and through poaching may increase, reversing the positive population growth rate. Our approach can be generalized to other species affected by cause‐specific mortality and will be useful to inform conservation decisions for other nonmonogamous species, such as most large carnivores, for which data are scarce and diverse and thus data integration is highly desirable.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Brown Bear Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating mortality rates with a novel integrated framework for nonmonogamous species

Tenan

Iemma

Bragalanti

et al. 2016

Conservation Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…), brown bears ( Ursus arctos ; Peters et al. ), fishers ( Pekania pennanti ; Olson et al. ), and golden eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos ; Tack and Fedy ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding and predicting habitat for wildlife conservation: the case of Canada lynx at the range periphery

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Ecologists and managers are motivated to predict the distribution of animals across landscapes as well as understand the mechanisms giving rise to that distribution. Satisfying this motivation requires an integrated framework that characterizes multi-scale habitat use and selection, as well as builds predictive models such as resource selection functions. However, the assumption of constant habitat use or selection is often made in such analyses, which ignores the possibility that individuals experiencing different conditions might respond differently. Assessing functional responses in habitat use evaluates how animal behavior changes with differing environmental conditions, which has basic and applied utility. Here, we combined these ideas into an integrated process that characterizes habitat relationships, predicts habitat, and assesses behavioral differences with changing environmental conditions. Our species of interest was Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) in the Northern Rocky Mountains, which is a rare and federally threatened forest carnivore. Through our process, we developed multi-scale predictions of lynx distribution and learned that across scales and seasons, lynx use more mature, spruce-fir forests than any other structure stage or species. Intermediate snow depths and the distribution of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) were the strongest predictors of where lynx selected their home ranges. Within their home ranges, female and male lynx increasingly used advanced regeneration forest structures as they became more available (up to a maximum availability of 40%). These patterns supported the bottom-up mechanisms regulating Canada lynx in that advanced regeneration generally provides the most abundant snowshoe hares, while mature forest is where lynx appear to hunt efficiently. However, lynx exhibited decreasing use of stand initiation structures (up to a maximum availability of 25%). Land managers have an opportunity to promote lynx habitat in the form of advanced regeneration, but are required to go through the stand initiation phase. Thus, managers can apply the relative proportions of forest structure classes along with our response curves to inform landscape actions (e.g., timber harvest) targeted at facilitating the forest mosaic used and selected by Canada lynx. Collectively, the insights gleaned from our approach advance habitat conservation efforts and consequently are of broad utility to applied ecologists and managers.

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“…For instance, the Alpine ibex was almost exterminated due to over-hunting, and present populations have been reintroduced during the past century . The reintroduction of large carnivores such as the brown bear is particularly challenging because of habitat needs and conflicts with humans (Peters et al 2015), and hunters and farmers may undermine conservation projects (Kaczensky et al 2011). In these cases, the symbolic significance of these species may provide a valuable argument for supporting their protection in specific locations.…”

Section: Maintenance Of Symbolic Species and Associated Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbolic species as a cultural ecosystem service in the European Alps: insights and open issues

Schirpke

Meisch

2018

Landscape Ecol

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Purpose Symbolic plants and animals are recognised as a cultural ecosystem service (CES), which is still underrepresented in ecosystem services assessments. Thus, this study aims at identifying and mapping important symbolic species in the European Alps, which are of cultural significance to large parts of the Alpine population. Methods Symbolic species were identified by ten expert groups, and their use was assessed in a qualitative way. The spatial distribution of all species across the Alpine Space area was mapped at the municipality level. Through hotspots analysis, we identified spatial patterns in the distribution of species. Spearman correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between symbolic species and selected environmental and social variables. Results Ten species were identified (edelweiss, gentian, alpenrose, larch, pine, Alpine ibex, chamois, marmot, brown bear, and golden eagle) that are widely used for symbolic representations, i.e., depiction on flags, emblems, logos, and naming of hotels and brands. Hotspots of symbolic species were found in several locations in the European Alps and could be related to high elevation, steep slopes, open land cover, and naturalness. Conclusions This study proposes a methodology to map and assess symbolic species as a CES. As the spatial distribution of symbolic species depends on environmental characteristics and human activities, our results provide important insights for landscape planning and management. However, it remains unclear whether associated cultural values depend on the presence of the species and further research is needed to understand the relationships between the distribution of symbolic species and social benefits.

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Resource selection and connectivity reveal conservation challenges for reintroduced brown bears in the Italian Alps

Cited by 74 publications

References 73 publications

Evaluating mortality rates with a novel integrated framework for nonmonogamous species

Evaluating mortality rates with a novel integrated framework for nonmonogamous species

Understanding and predicting habitat for wildlife conservation: the case of Canada lynx at the range periphery

Symbolic species as a cultural ecosystem service in the European Alps: insights and open issues

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