scholarly journals Brown bear communication hubs: patterns and correlates of tree rubbing and pedal marking at a long-term marking site

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10447
Author(s):  
Eloy Revilla ◽  
Damián Ramos Fernández ◽  
Alberto Fernández-Gil ◽  
Agnieszka Sergiel ◽  
Nuria Selva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Communication ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Communication Behaviors ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
A Site

Chemical communication is important for many species of mammals. Male brown bears, Ursus arctos, mark trees with a secretion from glands located on their back. The recent discovery of pedal glands and pedal-marking at a site used for tree-rubbing led us to hypothesize that both types of marking form part of a more complex communication system. We describe the patterns of chemical communication used by different age and sex classes, including differences in the roles of these classes as information providers or receivers over four years at a long-term marking site. Using video recordings from a camera trap, we registered a total of 285 bear-visits and 419 behavioral events associated with chemical communication. Bears visited the site more frequently during the mating season, during which communication behaviors were more frequent. A typical visit by male bears consisted of sniffing the depressions where animals pedal mark, performing pedal-marking, sniffing the tree, and, finally, rubbing against the trunk of the tree. Adult males performed most pedal- and tree-marking (95% and 66% of the cases, respectively). Males pedal-marked and tree-rubbed in 81% and 48% of their visits and sniffed the pedal marks and the tree in 23% and 59% of visits, respectively. Adult females never pedal marked, and juveniles did so at very low frequencies. Females rubbed against the tree in just 9% of their visits; they sniffed the tree and the pedal marks in 51% and 21% of their visits, respectively. All sex and age classes performed pedal- and tree-sniffing. There were significant associations between behaviors indicating that different behaviors tended to occur during the same visit and were more likely if another individual had recently visited. These associations leading to repeated marking of the site can promote the establishment of long-term marking sites. Marking sites defined by trees and the trails leading to them seem to act as communication hubs that brown bears use to share and obtain important information at population level.

scholarly journals Seasonal movements of brown bears in the Middle Sikhote-Alin

2021 ◽  
pp. 78-86
Author(s):  
И.В. СЕРЁДКИН
Keyword(s):  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Far East ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Pinus Koraiensis ◽  
Sikhote Alin ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Seasonal Movements ◽  
Quercus Mongolica

Бурый медведь (Ursus arctos) на территории Дальнего Востока играет важную роль в экосистемах и имеет большое практическое значение для человека, являясь ценным объектом охоты. Важной экологической характеристикой популяции является использование пространства, включая сезонные перемещения особей. Оценивали сезонные перемещения 12 взрослых самцов, семи взрослых самок, одного молодого самца и одной молодой самки бурых медведей на Среднем Сихотэ-Алине в 1993–2011 гг. с помощью радио- и GPS-телеметрии. Для описания сезонных перемещений использовали линейную дистанцию между двумя локациями или сумму линейных смещений между последовательными локациями особей. Животных с целью мечения отлавливали лапозахватывающими ловушками Олдрича на лесных тропах и с использованием приманки; обездвиживали при помощи дистанционного инъектора с использованием анестезирующих препаратов. Значительные линейные смещения медведей наблюдали во все сезоны внеберложного периода, наибольшие из них достигали 111.5 км. Сезонные перемещения самцов были более выраженными по сравнению с таковыми самок. В постберложный период медведи совершали переходы от берлог к весенним кормовым стациям. В летний период переходы были связаны с пищевым и репродуктивным поведением. Осенью в период нажировки медведи активно перемещались в поисках нажировочных кормов – орехов сосны корейской (Pinus koraiensis) и желудей дуба монгольского (Quercus mongolica). В предберложный период медведи совершали переходы в места залегания в берлоги. Исследования, выполненные с помощью телеметрии, расширили знания экологии бурого медведя на Сихотэ-Алине, которые важны для научно обоснованного управления его популяцией. On the territory of the Far East, the brown bear (Ursus arctos) plays an important role in the ecosystems and, being valuable hunting species, has a great practical value for humans. The space use including the seasonal movements of specimens is an important ecological characteristic of population. The seasonal movements of 12 adult males, seven adult females, one young male and one young female of brown bears were evaluated in the Middle Sikhote-Alin in 1993–2011 with the use of radio- and GPS-telemetry. For description of seasonal movements, the linear distance between two locations or sum of linear displacements between the successive locations of specimens were used. With the purpose of marking, the animals were caught by the Aldrich foot snares on the forest trails and with the use of baits, immobilized using the remote injector and anesthetics. Significant linear movements of bears were observed in all seasons of the non-denning period and the largest of them reached 111.5 km. Seasonal movements of males were more pronounced than those of females. In the post-denning period, bears made passages from dens to spring feeding stations. In the summer season, the movements were related to feeding and reproductive behavior. In autumn, during the hyperphagia, the bears moved actively in search of fattening feed: Korean pine nuts (Pinus koraiensis) and Mongolian oak acorns (Quercus mongolica). In the pre-denning period, bears made passages to den places. The telemetry studies have broadened the knowledge of the brown bear ecology in the Sikhote-Alin, which is important to scientifically grounded management of its population.

scholarly journals Competition between apex predators? Brown bears decrease wolf kill rate on two continents

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1848) ◽  
pp. 20162368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimee Tallian ◽  
Andrés Ordiz ◽  
Matthew C. Metz ◽  
Cyril Milleret ◽  
Camilla Wikenros ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Opposite Effect ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
The Common ◽  
Kill Rate

Trophic interactions are a fundamental topic in ecology, but we know little about how competition between apex predators affects predation, the mechanism driving top-down forcing in ecosystems. We used long-term datasets from Scandinavia (Europe) and Yellowstone National Park (North America) to evaluate how grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) kill rate was affected by a sympatric apex predator, the brown bear ( Ursus arctos ). We used kill interval (i.e. the number of days between consecutive ungulate kills) as a proxy of kill rate. Although brown bears can monopolize wolf kills, we found no support in either study system for the common assumption that they cause wolves to kill more often. On the contrary, our results showed the opposite effect. In Scandinavia, wolf packs sympatric with brown bears killed less often than allopatric packs during both spring (after bear den emergence) and summer. Similarly, the presence of bears at wolf-killed ungulates was associated with wolves killing less often during summer in Yellowstone. The consistency in results between the two systems suggests that brown bear presence actually reduces wolf kill rate. Our results suggest that the influence of predation on lower trophic levels may depend on the composition of predator communities.

scholarly journals Responses of Vertebrate Wildlife to Oil and Natural Gas Development: Patterns and Frontiers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Chalfoun
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Natural Gas Development ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas

Abstract Purpose of Review Anthropogenic activities can lead to the loss, fragmentation, and alteration of wildlife habitats. I reviewed the recent literature (2014–2019) focused on the responses of avian, mammalian, and herpetofaunal species to oil and natural gas development, a widespread and still-expanding land use worldwide. My primary goals were to identify any generalities in species’ responses to development and summarize remaining gaps in knowledge. To do so, I evaluated the directionality of a wide variety of responses in relation to taxon, location, development type, development metric, habitat type, and spatiotemporal aspects. Recent Findings Studies (n = 70) were restricted to the USA and Canada, and taxonomically biased towards birds and mammals. Longer studies, but not those incorporating multiple spatial scales, were more likely to detect significant responses. Negative responses of all types were present in relatively low frequencies across all taxa, locations, development types, and development metrics but were context-dependent. The directionality of responses by the same species often varied across studies or development metrics. Summary The state of knowledge about wildlife responses to oil and natural gas development has developed considerably, though many biases and gaps remain. Studies outside of North America and that focus on herpetofauna are lacking. Tests of mechanistic hypotheses for effects, long-term studies, assessment of response thresholds, and experimental designs that isolate the effects of different stimuli associated with development, remain critical. Moreover, tests of the efficacy of habitat mitigation efforts have been rare. Finally, investigations of the demographic effects of development across the full annual cycle were absent for non-game species and are critical for the estimation of population-level effects.

scholarly journals Long-Term Safety of Intraperitoneal Radio Transmitter Implants in Brown Bears (Ursus arctos)

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon M. Arnemo ◽  
Bjørnar Ytrehus ◽  
Knut Madslien ◽  
Jonas Malmsten ◽  
Sven Brunberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Radio Transmitter

scholarly journals The smell of success: Reproductive success related to rub behavior in brown bears

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0247964
Author(s):  
Andrea T. Morehouse ◽  
Anne E. Loosen ◽  
Tabitha A. Graves ◽  
Mark S. Boyce
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Parentage Analysis ◽  
Fitness Component ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Rubbing Behavior ◽  
Insight Into

Several species of bears are known to rub deliberately against trees and other objects, but little is known about why bears rub. Patterns in rubbing behavior of male and female brown bears (Ursus arctos) suggest that scent marking via rubbing functions to communicate among potential mates or competitors. Using DNA from bear hairs collected from rub objects in southwestern Alberta from 2011–2014 and existing DNA datasets from Montana and southeastern British Columbia, we determined sex and individual identity of each bear detected. Using these data, we completed a parentage analysis. From the parentage analysis and detection data, we determined the number of offspring, mates, unique rub objects where an individual was detected, and sampling occasions during which an individual was detected for each brown bear identified through our sampling methods. Using a Poisson regression, we found a positive relationship between bear rubbing behavior and reproductive success; both male and female bears with a greater number of mates and a greater number of offspring were detected at more rub objects and during more occasions. Our results suggest a fitness component to bear rubbing, indicate that rubbing is adaptive, and provide insight into a poorly understood behaviour.

scholarly journals Heart rate during hyperphagia differs between two bear species

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 20180681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Fuchs ◽  
Koji Yamazaki ◽  
Alina L. Evans ◽  
Toshio Tsubota ◽  
Shinsuke Koike ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Fat Reserves ◽  
Generalized Additive Mixed Models ◽  
Additive Mixed Models ◽  
Increased Activity

Hyperphagia is a critical part of the yearly cycle of bears when they gain fat reserves before entering hibernation. We used heart rate as a proxy to compare the metabolic rate between the Asian black bear ( Ursus thibetanus ) in Japan and the Eurasian brown bear ( Ursus arctos ) in Sweden from summer into hibernation. In the hyperphagic period, black bears feed on fat- and carbohydrate-rich hard masts whereas brown bears feed on sugar-rich berries. Availability of hard masts has quantitative and spatial annual fluctuations, which might require increased activity and result in intraspecific stress. Using generalized additive mixed models we analysed the differences in heart rate between the two species. Black bears had decreased heart rates during summer but had doubled heart rate values throughout the hyperphagic period compared to brown bears. This letter illustrates the different physiological consequences of seasonal differences in food availability in two species of the same genus dealing with the same phenological challenge.

scholarly journals Use of salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) by Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) in an Arctic, interior, montane environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew S. Sorum ◽  
Kyle Joly ◽  
Matthew D. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Brooks Range ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Arctic Circle ◽  
Aerial Surveys

Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) is a key dietary item for temperate coastal Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) across much of their circumpolar range. Brown Bears living in Arctic, interior, and montane environments without large annual runs of salmon tend to be smaller bodied and occur at much lower densities than coastal populations. We conducted ground and aerial surveys to assess whether Brown Bears fished for salmon above the Arctic Circle, in and around Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. Here, we document the use of salmon by interior Brown Bears in the Arctic mountains of the central Brooks Range of Alaska. We believe our findings could be important for understanding the breadth of the species’ diet across major biomes, as well as visitor safety in the park and Brown Bear conservation in the region.

Salmon consumption by Kodiak brown bears (Ursus arctos middendorffi) with ecosystem management implications

2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.B. Van Daele ◽  
C.T. Robbins ◽  
B.X. Semmens ◽  
E.J. Ward ◽  
L.J. Van Daele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Total Mass ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Management Implications ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Commercial Harvest ◽  
Maximum Sustained Yield ◽  
Large Predators

The ecological role of large predators in North America continues to spark heated public debate. Although brown bears (Ursus arctos L., 1758) and the salmon (genus Oncorhynchus Suckley, 1861) they feed on have declined in many areas, the Kodiak archipelago is famous for large brown bears and abundant salmon. Salmon have generally been managed for maximum sustained yield in a fisheries sense, but those levels may be well below what is necessary for maximum ecosystem productivity. Consequently, we used stable isotopes and mercury accumulated in hair to estimate intake of salmon by Kodiak brown bears (Ursus arctos middendorffi Merriam, 1896). Salmon intake increased from subadult males (592 ± 325 kg·bear−1·year−1) to adult males (2788 ± 1929 kg·bear−1·year−1) and from subadult females (566 ± 360 kg·bear−1·year−1) to adult females (1364 ± 1261 kg·bear−1·year−1). Intake within each group increased 62% ± 23% as salmon escapement increased from ∼1 500 to ∼14 000 kg·bear−1·year−1. The estimated population of 2300 subadult and adult bears consumed 3.77 ± 0.16 million kg of salmon annually, a mass equal to ∼6% of the combined escapement and commercial harvest (57.6 million kg). Although bears consume a small portion of the total mass of adult salmon, perpetuation of dense populations of large bears requires ecosystem-based management of the meat resources and environments that produce such bears.

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