Movement Ecology and Activity Behavior of Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Movements and activity behavior of 29 radio-collared black bears (Ursus americanus) were monitored between July 1976 and December 1977 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Many bears exhibited home ranges with abrupt seasonal changes, especially between summer and fall. The timing and extent of these range shifts were influenced by sex, age and food availability. During good mast years, the fall ranges of many males overlapped considerably in an area of abundant oaks, while during poor mast years, social intolerance may force many subordinate males outside the Park boundaries in search of food. Fall movements increased the size of annual home ranges above previously reported estimates based strictly on summer data. Mean annual range size was 42 km2 for adult males and 15 km2 for adult females. Bears were generally more active in the summer, but traveled greater distances in a day during the fall. This was attributable to extended nocturnal activity in the fall probably associated with increased foraging in preparation for denning. A strictly crepuscular pattern was observed in the spring. Females with cubs were equally active throughout the year and were more active than any other sex-age group. Temperatures above 25 C or below freezing, and precipitation in the form of rain or snow apparently depress the level of activity

A simple magnetostatic sensing method for assessing the local hysteresis properties in ferromagnetic sheet materials

Global hysteretic properties of electrical steels can be measured using ring or strip samples, while the assessment of the local hysteretic properties is a much more difficult task since the measurement method needs to be very sensitive. This paper presents a new method wherein the intensity and spatial distribution of the magnetic field, arising from large gradients in the local magnetization, are measured. These large gradients are induced by the passage of a test sample through the steep gradient field of a small, proximate permanent magnet. Magnetic field measurements during both directions of motion provide information indicative of the hysteresis properties. We theoretically analyze these measurements and show experimentally that the measurements correlate well with all the significant aspects of conventional hysteresis loops. The results given in this paper are qualitative, and the method is both by its simplicity and its sensitivity to important hysteresis features a powerful means of magnetic nondestructive evaluation

An Analysis of Student and Teacher Opinions Regarding the Shortened School Day

The purpose of this field experience was to examine and compare student and teacher opinions concerning the shortened school day in the Charleston Community Unit School District No. 1. On January 5, 1977, the Charleston School Board of Education voted to enforce a five-hour school day schedule effective January 24, 1977. In this study the writer wanted to poll student and teacher opinions in regard to the shortened school day. Comparisons were then made in relation to their opinions. Data was collected from four groups of students and three groups of teachers. The four groups of students were: (1) fifth and sixth graders, (2) seventh and eighth graders, (3) ninth and tenth graders, and (4) eleventh and twelfth graders. The three groups of teachers were from every level in the Charleston School District, (1) the elementary, (2) the junior high, and (3) the high school. Data collected was analyzed to compare student and teacher opinions taken from an evaluation sheet containing ten specific statements. These ten statements were rated from a scale of one to five, (5) being excellent reasoning, (4) good reasoning, (3) reasonable, (2) poor reasoning, and (1) not reasonable. Results showed that both students and teachers felt that the shortened day was an improvement over the regular school day, and that both students and teachers felt that their school morale had improved. Students in all four groups rated the ten statements from the evaluation sheet in the following order: (1) got out early, (2) had more time to do homework, (3) students were better behaved in class, (4) because it saved district money, (5) shortened day was to help get next referendum passed, (6) period length was right for my attention span, (7) upset established normal routines, (8) lab classes too short to get work finished, (9) gave me more time to talk with teachers, (10) students did not receive time needed to complete course requirements. Teachers in all three groups rated the ten statements from the evaluation sheet in the following order: (l) had more time to plan effectively, (2) period length more in tune with student attention span, (3) used time for conferences, (4) discipline was easier to maintain, (5) because it saved district money, (6) shortened day was to help get next referendum passed, (7) got out early, (8) upset established normal routines, (9) lab classes were too short to accomplish adequate skills, (10 students did not receive time needed to meet course requirements. The only statement that both groups rated exactly the same was that students did not receive time needed to meet course requirements. However, both groups rated that last. Ironically, it seemed that the reason the Charleston Board of Education reversed its earlier decision and went back to the regular school day was because the State Board of Education said the district was not meeting the minimum daily student/teacher contact hours

Monitoring the wild black bear's reaction to human and environmental stressors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bears are among the most physiologically remarkable mammals. They spend half their life in an active state and the other half in a state of dormancy without food or water, and without urinating, defecating, or physical activity, yet can rouse and defend themselves when disturbed. Although important data have been obtained in both captive and wild bears, long-term physiological monitoring of bears has not been possible until the recent advancement of implantable devices.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Insertable cardiac monitors that were developed for use in human heart patients (Reveal® XT, Medtronic, Inc) were implanted in 15 hibernating bears. Data were recovered from 8, including 2 that were legally shot by hunters. Devices recorded low heart rates (pauses of over 14 seconds) and low respiration rates (1.5 breaths/min) during hibernation, dramatic respiratory sinus arrhythmias in the fall and winter months, and elevated heart rates in summer (up to 214 beats/min (bpm)) and during interactions with hunters (exceeding 250 bpm). The devices documented the first and last day of denning, a period of quiescence in two parturient females after birthing, and extraordinary variation in the amount of activity/day, ranging from 0 (winter) to 1084 minutes (summer). Data showed a transition toward greater nocturnal activity in the fall, preceding hibernation. The data-loggers also provided evidence of the physiological and behavioral responses of bears to our den visits to retrieve the data.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Annual variations in heart rate and activity have been documented for the first time in wild black bears. This technique has broad applications to wildlife management and physiological research, enabling the impact of environmental stressors from humans, changing seasons, climate change, social interactions and predation to be directly monitored over multiple years.</p

The Shared Preference Niche of Sympatric Asiatic Black Bears and Sun Bears in a Tropical Forest Mosaic

Ecologically similar species often coexist by partitioning use of habitats or resources. Such partitioning can occur through divergent or shared niches. We investigated overlap in habitat use and spatial co-occurrence by sympatric Asiatic black bears and sun bears in three habitats in Thailand, and thereby assessed which niche model best accounts for their coexistence.We used density of species-specific signs to assess habitat use. Signs of both bear species occurred in all three habitats, and on >60% of sampling transects. Both species fed mostly on fruit; insect feeding signs were uncommon, and were mostly from sun bears. Significant differences in habitat use occurred only in montane forest, the habitat in which fruit was most abundant; incidence of black bear sign there was six times higher than that of sun bears. Habitat use was similar between the two species in the other habitats, which comprised 85% of the area. Of 10 habitat attributes examined, fruiting tree density was the best predictor of occurrence for both species. Models that included interspecific competition (fresh foraging activity of the other species) were less supported than the top models without competition.Bear species co-occurrence at both coarse and fine spatial scales and use of the same resources (fruit trees) indicated common niche preferences. However, their habitat use differed in ways expected from their physical differences: larger black bears dominated in the most fruit-rich habitat, and smaller sun bears used less-preferred insects. These results indicate broadly overlapping fundamental niches combined with asymmetric competition—features consistent with the concept of shared preference niches. This model of the niche has received little attention in ecology, but appears to be relatively common in nature