A human-induced landscape of fear influences foraging behavior of brown bears |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Integrated Remote Sensing Studio (IRSS), Department of Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;2. Wildlife Coexistence Lab, Department of Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;3. Applied Conservation Ecology Lab, Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, Life, and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada;4. fRI Research, 1176 Switzer Drive, Hinton, Alberta T7V 1V3, Canada;1. Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd, SE 90183 Umeå, Sweden;2. Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;3. Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, South Africa;4. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Stoczek 1, 17-230 Białowieża, Poland;5. Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, PO Box 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht, the Netherlands;6. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW), P.O. Box 13053, Cascades 3202, South Africa;7. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | Animals adapt their foraging behavior to variations in food availability and predation risk. In Sweden, brown bears (Ursus arctos) depend on a nearly continuous intake of berries, especially bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) during late summer and early autumn to fatten up prior to hibernation. This overlaps with the bear hunting season that starts on 21 August. Bilberry occurrence varies across space, as does human-induced mortality risk. Here, we hypothesize that brown bears select for areas with a high probability of bilberry occurrence across a boreal forest ecosystem in Sweden (H1), and that human-induced mortality risk reduces bear selection for bilberries (H2). In addition, we hypothesized that bears that survived the hunting season avoided bilberry areas associated with high risk, whereas bears that were later killed selected more strongly for berries and less against risk prior to the hunting season (H3). To evaluate our hypotheses, we used resource selection functions to contrast bear GPS relocation data (N = 35, 2012–2015) and random positions within the bearś home range with generalized linear mixed effect models against two focal variables: a map predicting bilberry occurrence and a map predicting human-induced mortality risk. We found that bears selected for areas with a high probability of bilberry occurrence (supporting H1), but avoided these areas if they were associated with and high risk of hunting mortality (supporting H2). The killed and surviving bears did not differ in their selection for bilberries, but they did differ in their selection against risk (partially supporting H3). Surviving bears strongly avoided high risk areas, whereas killed bears responded less to risk and selected for high-risk areas with a low probability of bilberry occurrence. This suggests that killed bears selected for other food sources than berries in high risk areas, which exposed them to human hunters. We conclude that bears respond to a landscape of fear during the berry season and that different foraging strategies may have a direct impact on individual mortality during the hunting season. |
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| Keywords: | Brown bears Bilberries Foraging behavior Human induced mortality Hunting Landscape of fear |
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