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
Greta M. Schmidt, Tabitha A. Graves, Jordan C. Pederson, Sarah L. Carroll
Summary: Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models are powerful tools for estimating abundance and density of wild animal populations. This study evaluated the factors influencing the uncertainty of SCR parameter estimates using black bear data, and provided density estimates for Utah black bear populations. The results showed that sample sizes are important for the accuracy and precision of parameter estimates, and multiple years of data are needed for precise density estimates.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Sean. M. M. Sultaire, Yuki Kawai-Harada, Ashley Kimmel, Emily. M. M. Greeson, Patrick. J. J. Jackson, Christopher. H. H. Contag, Carl. W. W. Lackey, Jon. P. P. Beckmann, Joshua. J. J. Millspaugh, Robert. A. A. Montgomery
Summary: In the first two decades of the 21st century, the population of American black bear (Ursus americanus) has rebounded and expanded its range into previously extinct areas. Habitat quality and availability are crucial factors limiting the range expansion, especially in western Nevada, USA. Through various data collection methods, including cameras, hair sampling, genotyping, and GPS tracking, we found that black bears preferred the Sierra Nevada with conifer land cover over the Great Basin Desert. The population density of black bears in the Sierra Nevada was over 4 times higher than in desert mountain ranges, indicating limited range expansion into the western Great Basin due to habitat quality and availability.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Joshua D. Alston, Joseph D. Clark, Daniel B. Gibbs, John Hast
Summary: This study used spatially explicit capture-recapture methods to estimate the abundance and growth of reintroduced American black bear population in Kentucky and Tennessee. The results showed that hunting seasons had minimal impact on the population growth, and genetic diversity was retained. This could be attributed to the lack of conspecifics, highly productive habitat, and initial age and sex distribution.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Eric J. Howe, Derek Potter, Kaela B. Beauclerc, Katelyn E. Jackson, Joseph M. Northrup
Summary: This study proposes a method to quickly and accurately estimate animal abundance across different landscapes, while avoiding biases caused by pooling spatially heterogeneous data.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2022)
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
Ecology
Jacob Humm, Joseph D. Clark
Summary: This study used DNA extracted from hair traps to estimate the density, abundance, and harvest rate of female black bears in the southern Appalachian highlands of the United States. The results indicated that harvest rates in most states approached or exceeded theoretical maximum sustainable levels, and population trend data showed decreasing growth rates since about 2009.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2021)
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
Hannah S. Tiffin, Michael J. Skvarla, Erika T. Machtinger
Summary: The study indicates that black bears may play an important role in tick ecology and dispersal, as all three mobile life-stages of Ixodes scapularis were found parasitizing black bears in a region with high numbers of Lyme disease cases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE
(2021)
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
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
Environmental Sciences
Ludovick Brown, Maikel Rosabal, Christian Dussault, Jon M. Arnemo, Boris Fuchs, Andreas Zedrosser, Fanie Pelletier
Summary: This study investigated the long-term lead (Pb) exposure in American black bears in areas with higher big game harvest densities in Quebec, Canada. The results showed that female black bears had higher tooth Pb concentrations in these areas, and older bears had higher tooth Pb concentrations compared to younger ones. The study suggests that hunters may drive mammalian scavengers into an evolutionary trap due to increased Pb exposure from bullet fragments.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Nalleli E. Lara-Diaz, Heli Coronel-Arellano, Christian A. Delfin-Alfonso, Maria Eugenia Espinosa-Flores, Juan L. Pena-Mondragon, Carlos A. Lopez-Gonzalez
Summary: The study assessed and validated long-distance corridors for black bears in the southern distribution by using resistance models, occurrence records, and radio-telemetry data. It identified connectivity core areas and important corridors through Natural Protected Areas, emphasizing the need for monitoring dispersal individuals to understand the plasticity of organisms and the barriers they face.
Article
Zoology
Ankita Bhattacharya, Nilanjan Chatterjee, Kunal Angrish, Dharamveer Meena, Bitapi C. Sinha, Bilal Habib
Summary: This study estimated the population density of Asiatic black bears in two protected areas in the Indian Himalayan Region using camera traps. The researchers used a Bayesian framework and the Spatial Presence-Absence model to estimate the detection probability, scale or movement parameter, and population size of the bears. The study provided important population estimates without relying on individual identification, and the method used can be replicated in other mountainous landscapes.