Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Don W. Hardeman Jr, Hannah B. Vander Zanden, J. Walter McCown, Brian K. Scheick, Robert A. McCleery
Summary: Growing human populations and development have led to increased conflicts between humans and carnivores, especially bears. Wildlife managers often remove bears from developed areas under the assumption that they will become food conditioned and more likely to cause conflicts. However, our study using isotopic values of bear hair found that the presence of bears in developed areas does not necessarily indicate food conditioning. Therefore, assumptions about bears in developed areas should not be made based solely on observations of their behavior.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joanna Klees van Bommel, Catherine Sun, Adam T. Ford, Melissa Todd, A. Cole Burton
Summary: The urban-wildland interface is expanding and increasing the risk of human-wildlife conflict. In this study, we investigated black bear habitat use in a North American hotspot of conflict and found that bears modify their behaviors by avoiding humans in space and time, but conflicts still occur in summer and autumn.
Article
Ecology
Sarah M. Chinn, Glen E. Liston, Ryan R. Wilson
Summary: Long-term changes in environmental conditions resulting from climate change may have negative impacts on reproductive success and population dynamics of polar bears. The availability of suitable denning habitat on Wrangel Island is crucial for the long-term persistence of the Chukchi Sea subpopulation. Despite rising temperatures and sea ice loss, the current climate in the area is still cold enough that availability of denning habitat is not an immediate limiting factor for the subpopulation.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Seungyun Baek, Tadashi Iwasaki, Koji Yamazaki, Tomoko Naganuma, Akino Inagaki, Kahoko Tochigi, Maximilian L. Allen, Chinatsu Kozakai, Shinsuke Koike
Summary: Investigating activity patterns of Asian black bears during the pre-denning period revealed a marked reduction in activity in the Ashio-Nikko Mountains from 2006 to 2017. The duration of pre-denning activities was found to be shorter than that of brown bears and was not significantly impacted by the bear's age, sex, or the abundance of hard mast.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jennifer Vonk
Summary: By training an American black bear, it was found that the bear was able to choose the correct response button for a preferred food item but struggled with a less preferred food item. This study represents the first attempt to train a bear to indicate its preferences using a Likert scale-like method, and it could be beneficial for improving animal welfare.
Article
Virology
Arturo Oliver-Guimera, Alzbeta Hejtmankova, Kenneth Jackson, Patricia A. Pesavento
Summary: Polyomaviruses are ancient DNA viruses that infect various species of animals. Black bears are the natural hosts for Ursus americanus polyomavirus 1 (UaPyV1), with the virus detected in tissues of six out of seven bears submitted for examination. However, there is currently no evidence of a specific disease associated with UaPyV1 infection in this small group of bears.
ARCHIVES OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Manuela Thienel, Johannes B. Mueller-Reif, Zhe Zhang, Vincent Ehreiser, Judith Huth, Khrystyna Shchurovska, Badr Kilani, Lisa Schweizer, Philipp E. Geyer, Maximilian Zwiebel, Julia Novotny, Enzo Luesebrink, Gemma Little, Martin Orban, Leo Nicolai, Shaza El Nemr, Anna Titova, Michael Spannagl, Jonas Kindberg, Alina L. Evans, Orpheus Mach, Matthias Vogel, Steffen Tiedt, Steffen Ormanns, Barbara Kessler, Anne Dueck, Andrea Friebe, Peter Godsk Jorgensen, Monir Majzoub-Altweck, Andreas Blutke, Amin Polzin, Konstantin Stark, Stefan Kaab, Doris Maier, Jonathan M. Gibbins, Ulrich Limper, Ole Frobert, Matthias Mann, Steffen Massberg, Tobias Petzold
Summary: This study identified a mechanism of thromboprotection in immobilized brown bears and spinal cord injury patients, involving the down-regulation of heat shock protein 47 (HSP47) in platelets. This resulted in attenuated immune cell activation and neutrophil extracellular trap formation, providing potential therapeutic targets for antithrombotic treatments.
Article
Ecology
Maximilian L. Allen, L. Mark Elbroch, Heiko U. Wittmer
Summary: Interactions between apex predators and dominant scavengers, such as kleptoparasitism by American black bears on puma kills, can have significant effects on the foraging behavior and energetics of the apex predators. The study found that black bears were the most frequent scavenger of puma kills, leading to pumas spending less time at their kill sites and experiencing energetic losses, which in turn influenced their inter-kill intervals and kill rates. The results highlight the importance of understanding interspecific interactions in ecological communities and how dominant scavengers can impact apex predator dynamics.
BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Babar Zahoor, Xuehua Liu, Basharat Ahmad, Lalit Kumar, Melissa Songer
Summary: Approximately 20%-30% of plant and animal species are at risk of extinction by the end of the 21st century due to climate change, impacting the distribution and survival of animal species relying on plants. Climate change is projected to alter species composition and distribution in the forested landscapes of the northern highlands of Pakistan, potentially affecting the Asiatic black bear.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Ashley Friedenberger, Colleen Doyle, Lindsey Couillard, Christopher J. Kyle
Summary: A multiplex qPCR assay was developed in this study to detect and distinguish different bear species, showing its sensitivity and applicability in bile mixture recipes. This assay can aid wildlife enforcement applications for the protection of bear species.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL-GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Benjamin Merkel, Jon Aars
Summary: Climate warming has led to significant sea ice loss in the Arctic, affecting the availability of denning habitat for polar bears. The delayed arrival of sea ice has reduced the accessible area for pregnant female polar bears, posing a threat to their population persistence.
Article
Ecology
Vijay P. Patil, George M. Durner, David C. Douglas, Todd C. Atwood
Summary: Polar bears of the Southern Beaufort Sea have started creating maternal dens on land as sea ice declines. This has led to increased human-bear interactions and the need for mitigation strategies to reduce den disturbance.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Michael J. Hooker, Joseph D. Clark, Bobby T. Bond, Michael J. Chamberlain
Summary: Habitat fragmentation and loss have negative impacts on the isolation and extinction risks of American black bear populations. The study found limited demographic connectivity between the central Georgia bear population and surrounding bear populations, and the establishment of corridors may have marginal effects on gene flow.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Faizan Ahmad, Muhammad Ali Nawaz, Mohammad Salim, Muhammad Rehan, Mohammad Farhadinia, Luciano Bosso, Muhammad Kabir
Summary: The distribution, activity pattern, and human-bear conflict of the Asiatic black bear in the Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan were investigated. Camera traps and a questionnaire survey were used to monitor the bear's activity and understand the conflict with the local community. The study revealed the activity patterns of the bear and the concerns of the local communities over livestock and crop losses.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Melanie R. Boudreau, Mariela G. Gantchoff, Laura Conlee, Charles Anderson, Nathaniel R. Bowersock, Jerrold L. Belant, Raymond B. Iglay
Summary: Having reproducible and transparent science-based processes is crucial in wildlife management, especially when establishing harvest frameworks. This study provides an example of using multiple data sets to assess spatial and temporal vulnerability of black bear harvest, resulting in the establishment of bear management zones and timing recommendations to limit female harvest bias.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Heather E. Johnson, David L. Lewis, Stacy A. Lischka, Stewart W. Breck
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2018)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ryan C. Wilbur, Stacy A. Lischka, Jessica R. Young, Heather E. Johnson
WILDLIFE SOCIETY BULLETIN
(2018)
Article
Ecology
Heather E. Johnson, David D. Gustine, Trevor S. Golden, Layne G. Adams, Lincoln S. Parrett, Elizabeth A. Lenart, Perry S. Barboza
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rebecca Kirby, Heather E. Johnson, Mathew W. Alldredge, Jonathan N. Pauli
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Jerod A. Merkle, Neil J. Anderson, Danna L. Baxley, Matthew Chopp, Laura C. Gigliotti, Justin A. Gude, Tyler M. Harms, Heather E. Johnson, Evelyn H. Merrill, Michael S. Mitchell, Tony W. Mong, Jerry Nelson, Andrew S. Norton, Michael J. Sheriff, Eric Tomasik, Kelly R. Vanbeek
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Heather E. Johnson, Trevor S. Golden, Layne G. Adams, David D. Gustine, Elizabeth A. Lenart
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Heather E. Johnson, David L. Lewis, Stewart W. Breck
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Stacy A. Lischka, Tara L. Teel, Heather E. Johnson, Courtney Larson, Stewart Breck, Kevin Crooks
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
John P. Severson, Heather E. Johnson, Stephen M. Arthur, William B. Leacock, Michael J. Suitor
Summary: Phenological changes in spring can have significant impacts on the behavior and space utilization patterns of migratory barren-ground caribou, with future climate conditions projected to further shift their distributions westward.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Heather E. Johnson, Trevor S. Golden, Layne G. Adams, David D. Gustine, Elizabeth A. Lenart, Perry S. Barboza
Summary: Spatiotemporal variation in forage is a key factor driving ungulate behavior, with caribou selecting for different nutritional components throughout the growing season. Climate change may further impact caribou access to quality forage due to reduced digestible nitrogen and increased insect harassment. Mosquito activity strongly influences caribou foraging behavior, while oestrid fly activity has minimal impact.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Matthew J. Gould, James W. Cain, Todd C. Atwood, Larisa E. Harding, Heather E. Johnson, Dave P. Onorato, Frederic S. Winslow, Gary W. Roemer
Summary: The genetic structure of the American black bear in the American Southwest and northern Mexico was studied using microsatellites and a sample of 550 bears. The study found that the fragmentation of habitat following the glacial period was the main factor contributing to genetic subdivision, while contemporary anthropogenic barriers had less impact on gene flow.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Heather E. Johnson, Elizabeth A. Lenart, David D. Gustine, Layne G. Adams, Perry S. Barboza
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between summer forage and insect activity and the demographic rates of Arctic caribou. The findings showed that greater early summer digestible nitrogen was associated with increased subsequent calving success, while greater summer biomass was associated with increased adult survival. Mosquito activity was linked to reductions in adult female parturition, calving success, and survival.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
John P. Severson, Timothy C. Vosburgh, Heather E. Johnson
Summary: This study examines the influence of traffic volume on caribou's summer space use and road crossings in Arctic Alaska. The results show that caribou prefer areas further from roads during the post-calving and mosquito seasons, and select areas with lower traffic volumes. Additionally, during the insect seasons, caribou are less likely to cross roads as traffic increases, but this response dissipates as insect harassment becomes more severe.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2023)