Temporal niche switching by grizzly bears but not American black bears in Yellowstone National Park

The large, nutrient-rich seeds of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelmann) are important food for bears (Ursus spp.) in Yellowstone National Park. In Banff National Park, studies have shown that American Black Bears (Ursus americanus) eat these seeds, but little additional information is available. We studied Whitebark Pine in Banff National Park to address this information gap. Because bears obtain Whitebark Pine seeds from Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) middens, our objective was to measure the abundance, habitat characteristics, and use by bears of middens in Whitebark Pine forests. A second objective was to determine whether Grizzly Bears (U. arctos) in Banff National Park also eat Whitebark Pine seeds. In 2011–2012, we ran 29 ha of 20–50 m wide transects at 10 sites with accessible Whitebark Pine stands and found 0–3.7 middens/ha (mean 1.23, SD 1.17, n = 10). Midden density was weakly related to total basal area of all conifers but not to basal area of Whitebark Pine. Middens were located in the upper subalpine at an average elevation of 2110 m (SD 90, n = 8) on 41–248° facing slopes with a mean steepness of 28° (SD 5, n = 8). Bears had excavated middens at all eight sites where we found middens; at the remaining two sites, middens did not occur within our transects. Overall, 24 (67%) of the 36 middens located in our transects had been dug by bears. In October 2013, we searched areas where three global positioning system (GPS)-collared Grizzly Bears had been located in late September 2013 and found five recently dug middens located less than 6 m from GPS fixes. These observations are, to our knowledge, the first conclusive evidence that grizzly Bears in Banff National Park eat Whitebark Pine seeds. Because Whitebark Pine occurs at high elevations on steep slopes where human use is low, this resource may be important in keeping bears in habitat where risk of human-caused mortality is lower. Our results may assist managers responsible for conservation of bears in Banff National Park, where both American Black Bears and Grizzly Bears are subject to high levels of human-caused mortality.

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Aspects of Evolution and Adaptation in American Black Bears (Ursus americanus Pallas) and Brown and Grizzly Bears (U. arctos Linné.) of North America

Bears Their Biology and Management ◽

10.2307/3872586 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 221 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Stephen Herrero

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Ursus Americanus ◽

Black Bears ◽

Grizzly Bears ◽

American Black ◽

American Black Bears

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INVESTIGATION OF SARCOCYSTIS SPP. INFECTION IN FREE-RANGING AMERICAN BLACK BEARS (URSUS AMERICANUS) AND GRIZZLY BEARS (URSUS ARCTOS HORRIBILIS) IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Journal of Wildlife Diseases ◽

10.7589/jwd-d-20-00225 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Lisa K. F. Lee ◽

Glenna F. McGregor ◽

Katherine H. Haman ◽

Stephen Raverty ◽

Michael E. Grigg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Ursus Arctos ◽

Ursus Americanus ◽

Black Bears ◽

Grizzly Bears ◽

Ursus Arctos Horribilis ◽

Sarcocystis Spp ◽

American Black ◽

American Black Bears ◽

Free Ranging

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The changing anthropogenic diets of American black bears over the past century in Yosemite National Park

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment ◽

10.1890/130276 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 107-114 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

John B Hopkins ◽

Paul L Koch ◽

Jake M Ferguson ◽

Steven T Kalinowski

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Black Bears ◽

Past Century ◽

Yosemite National Park ◽

The Past ◽

American Black ◽

American Black Bears

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Helminths of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and American black bears (Ursus americanus) in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2015-0063 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 93 (10) ◽

pp. 765-772 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

S. Catalano ◽

M. Lejeune ◽

P. Tizzani ◽

G.G. Verocai ◽

H. Schwantje ◽

...

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Ursus Arctos ◽

Ursus Americanus ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Black Bears ◽

Grizzly Bears ◽

Infection Prevalence ◽

Infection Parameters ◽

American Black ◽

American Black Bears

Between May 2011 and June 2013, we collected the carcasses and gastrointestinal tracts of 40 American black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) and 13 grizzly bears (Ursus arctos L., 1758) from populations of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Specimens were examined for helminths, which were identified to the species level by applying an integrated morphological and molecular approach. Our goal was to investigate parasite biodiversity and infection parameters in the sampled grizzly and black bears. We found seven parasite taxa: Dirofilaria ursi Yamaguti, 1941, Baylisascaris transfuga (Rudolphi, 1819), Uncinaria rauschi Olsen, 1968, Uncinaria yukonensis (Wolfgang, 1956), Taenia arctos Haukisalmi, Lavikainen, Laaksonen and Meri, 2011, Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Nitzsch, 1824), and Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense Yamane, Kamo, Bylund and Wikgren, 1986. The statistical significance of infection prevalence, intensity, and abundance for each helminth species was assessed relative to host species, gender, age class, sampling season, and location. This is the first unequivocal report of the potentially zoonotic tapeworms D. dendriticum and D. nihonkaiense in North American bears. Furthermore, we provide insight into the biology and ecology of the nematodes B. transfuga, D. ursi, and species of Uncinaria Frölich, 1789, and enrich the information available on the recently described tapeworm T. arctos.

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Activity patterns of American black bears in Yosemite National Park

Ursus ◽

10.2192/1537-6176(2006)17[30:apoabb]2.0.co;2 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 30-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Sean M. Matthews ◽

John J. Beecham ◽

Howard Quigley ◽

Schuyler S. Greenleaf ◽

H. Malia Leithead

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Black Bears ◽

Yosemite National Park ◽

American Black ◽

American Black Bears

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Response of American black bears to the non-motorized expansion of a road corridor in Grand Teton National Park

Ursus ◽

10.2192/ursus-d-11-00027.1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 54-69 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Cecily M. Costello ◽

Steven I. Cain ◽

Ryan M. Nielson ◽

Christopher Servheen ◽

Charles C. Schwartz

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Black Bears ◽

Grand Teton National Park ◽

American Black ◽

American Black Bears

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“Dear, Honored Guest”

Bears ◽

10.5744/florida/9781683401384.003.0003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 48-70

Author(s):

David Mather

Keyword(s):

Mixed Forest ◽

Body Part ◽

Black Bears ◽

Grizzly Bears ◽

Bone Fragments ◽

American Black ◽

American Black Bears ◽

Culturally Connected ◽

Calcined Bone ◽

Indian Nations

Bears are represented in Minnesota’s archaeological record through rock art, effigy earthworks, and portable art, but most frequently through zooarchaeology. Most identified bone fragments are American black bears (Ursus americanus), with rare identifications of grizzly bears (U. arctos). These finds are found throughout the state, but are most frequent in the forested biomes of the Laurentian Mixed Forest and Eastern Broadleaf Forest. The sites are archaeological expressions of bear ceremonialism, culturally connected to the Dakota, Ojibwe, or related American Indian nations, and descriptions by native elders and cultural anthropologists Irving Hallowell and Ruth Landes. Analyses of body part representation and taphonomy (such as burned or calcined bone) allows interpretation of sites representing feasts or bear graves where the remains were respectfully placed. Traditions of bear ceremonialism in Minnesota also include cultural manifestations of bear power, such as by healers, warriors, spiritual societies, or clans.

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