Black Bear Seasonal Food Habits and Distribution by Elevation in Banff National Park, Alberta

1990 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Michael Raine ◽  
John L. Kansas
PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. e34777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Sawaya ◽  
Jeffrey B. Stetz ◽  
Anthony P. Clevenger ◽  
Michael L. Gibeau ◽  
Steven T. Kalinowski

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 1771-1775 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Kasbohm ◽  
James G. Kraus ◽  
Michael R. Vaughan

During 1988–1991 we determined food habits and indices of diet quality for a black bear (Ursus americanus) population in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, experiencing a severe gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) defoliation event, and compared the results with data collected prior to defoliation (1982–1984). Gypsy moth infestation resulted in extensive summer overstory canopy loss and a complete acorn failure in affected areas. As in predefoliation years, analysis of scats collected during defoliation indicated that bears ate primarily herbaceous vegetation in spring, followed by squawroot (Canopholis americana) and fruits of black and sweet cherry (Prunus serotina and P. avium) in summer. However, in early and late fall bears switched from consuming predominantly acorns before defoliation to pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) berries and grapes (Vitis spp.), respectively, during defoliation. Despite acorn loss, no decline in dietary nutritional quality was observed in comparisons of the percentages of crude protein, crude fat, and crude fiber in seasonal diets before and during defoliation. When it is available, bears can successfully exploit soft mast as a fall food source and do not necessarily experience a substantial reduction in food quality if acorn crops fail.


1983 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Graber ◽  
Marshall White

1968 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1193-1204 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Holmes ◽  
Ronald Podesta

Ninety-eight wolves and 75 coyotes from the forested regions of Alberta were examined for helminths. Fourteen species (2 trematodes, 8 cestodes, and 4 nematodes) were recovered from wolves, with a mean of 2.6 and a maximum of 6 species per wolf; 18 species (3 trematodes, 8 cestodes, and 7 nematodes) were recovered from coyotes, with a mean of 2.0 and a maximum of 6 species per coyote. Helminths common in wolves were Taenia hydatigena (79% of the wolves infected), Echinococcus granulosus (72%), Taenia krabbei (52%), Toxascaris leonina (14%), and Taenia pisiformis (13%), Toxascaris leonina (52%), Alaria americana (33%), Taenia pisiformis (31%), Uncinaria stenocephala (16%), and Filaroides osleri (15%) were common in coyotes. Metorchis conjunctus, Taenia omissa, and T. taeniaeformis appear to be new records for wolves and M. conjunctus, Taenia twitchelli, Diphyllobothrium sp., and Capillaria aerophila appear to be new for coyotes.High indexes of similarity (and comparable indexes of diversity) suggest that the helminth faunas of wolves in various regions of North America are basically similar. This similarity is probably due to similar food habits of wolves from various regions.The helminth fauna of coyotes appears to vary extensively in diversity and in species between the regions studied. The fauna from the coyotes from the area around Lac la Biche, Alberta, differed markedly from that of the other samples, with a generally richer fauna of different species, more equitably distributed. The helminths, particularly the cestodes, from coyotes from Minnesota and from Banff National Park were as similar to those of wolves as they were to those of coyotes from other areas. These features may be due to the food habits of the host coyotes.


Koedoe ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas E. Collias ◽  
Elsie C. Collias

Spotted-backed Weaverbirds were studied during September-December, 1969 in the Transvaal, chiefly in the Kruger National Park, and observations were made on their distribution, ecology and behaviour. Territorial behaviour, nest-building, pair formation displays, vocalizations and food habits are described as well as the division of labour between male and female in care of the young. Attacks by snakes and hawks are described as well as responses of the birds to their enemies. Behavioural relations to another species of weaver were also observed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hamer

Bears (Ursus spp.) in North America eat the seeds of several pines (Pinus spp.), including Limber Pine (P. flexilis E. James). Information on use of Limber Pine in Canada is limited to a report of three bear scats containing pine seeds found in Limber Pine stands of southwestern Alberta. After my preliminary fieldwork in Banff National Park revealed that bears were eating seeds of Limber Pine there, I conducted a field study in 2014–2015 to assess this use. Because bears typically obtain pine seeds from cone caches (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), I described the abundance, habitat characteristics, and use by bears of Red Squirrel middens in and adjacent to Limber Pine stands at six study sites. On Bow River escarpments, I found abundant Limber Pines (basal area 1–9 m2/ha) and middens (0.8 middens/ha, standard deviation [SD] 0.2). Of 24 middens, 13 (54%) had been excavated by bears, and three bear scats composed of pine seeds were found beside middens. Although Limber Pines occurred on steep, xeric, windswept slopes (mean 28°, SD 3), middens occurred on moderate slopes (mean 12°, SD 3) in escarpment gullies and at the toe of slopes in forests of other species, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). At the five other study sites, I found little or no use of Limber Pine seeds by bears, suggesting that Limber Pine habitat may be little used by bears unless the pines are interspersed with (non-Limber Pine) habitat with greater forest cover and less-steep slopes where squirrels establish middens. These observations provide managers with an additional piece of information regarding potential drivers of bear activity in the human-dominated landscape of Banff National Park’s lower Bow Valley.


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