Effects of Moose, Alces alces, on Aquatic Vegetation in Sibley Provincial Park, Ontario

The effect of Moose (AIces aIces) on aquatic vegetation was studied in Sibley Provincial Park, Ontario. Two small exclosures were built in preferred feeding lakes to protect vegetation from Moose. Both exclosures developed a dense growth of plants. In one, species palatable to Moose were much more abundant than in unprotected areas. The other lake supported very little vegetation outside the exclosure. Aquatic vegetation in a large preferred lake underwent a series of changes from the 1960\u27s to 1980. Nuphar variegatum and Potamogeton filiformis largely disappeared, leaving the lake sparsely vegetated in some years and dominated by annuals in others. With recent reductions in Moose activity, Nuphar is becoming re-established. In the 23 lakes studied, Nuphar variegatum was absent or scarce in areas heavily used by Moose, but Poiamogeton foliosus, an annual, was most common in such sites

Human development and climate affect hibernation in a large carnivore with implications for human–carnivore conflicts

1. Expanding human development and climate change are dramatically altering habitat conditions for wildlife. While the initial response of wildlife to changing environmental conditions is typically a shift in behavior, little is known about the effects of these stressors on hibernation behavior, an important life-history trait that can subsequently affect animal physiology, demography, interspecific interactions and human-wildlife interactions. Given future trajectories of land use and climate change, it is important that wildlife professionals understand how animals that hibernate are adapting to altered landscape conditions so that management activities can be appropriately tailored. 2. We investigated the influence of human development and weather on hibernation in black bears (Ursus americanus), a species of high management concern, whose behavior is strongly tied to natural food availability, anthropogenic foods around development and variation in annual weather conditions. Using GPS collar data from 131 den events of adult female bears (n = 51), we employed fine-scale, animal-specific habitat information to evaluate the relative and cumulative influence of natural food availability, anthropogenic food and weather on the start, duration and end of hibernation. 3. We found that weather and food availability (both natural and human) additively shaped black bear hibernation behavior. Of the habitat variables we examined, warmer temperatures were most strongly associated with denning chronology, reducing the duration of hibernation and expediting emergence in the spring. Bears appeared to respond to natural and anthropogenic foods similarly, as more natural foods, and greater use of human foods around development, both postponed hibernation in the fall and decreased its duration. 4. Synthesis and applications. Warmer temperatures and use of anthropogenic food subsides additively reduced black bear hibernation, suggesting that future changes in climate and land use may further alter bear behavior and increase the length of their active season. We speculate that longer active periods for bears will result in subsequent increases in human–bear conflicts and human-caused bear mortalities. These metrics are commonly used by wildlife agencies to index trends in bear populations, but have the potential to be misleading when bear behavior dynamically adapts to changing environmental conditions, and should be substituted with reliable demographic methods

The Carrot or the Stick? Evaluation of Education and Enforcement as Management Tools for Human-Wildlife Conflicts

Evidence-based decision-making is critical for implementing conservation actions, especially for human-wildlife conflicts, which have been increasing worldwide. Conservation practitioners recognize that long-term solutions should include altering human behaviors, and public education and enforcement of wildlife-related laws are two management actions frequently implemented, but with little empirical evidence evaluating their success. We used a system where human-black bear conflicts were common, to experimentally test the efficacy of education and enforcement in altering human behavior to better secure attractants (garbage) from bears. We conducted 3 experiments in Aspen CO, USA to evaluate: 1) on-site education in communal dwellings and construction sites, 2) Bear Aware educational campaign in residential neighborhoods, and 3) elevated law enforcement at two levels in the core business area of Aspen. We measured human behaviors as the response including: violation of local wildlife ordinances, garbage availability to bears, and change in use of bear-resistance refuse containers. As implemented, we found little support for education, or enforcement in the form of daily patrolling in changing human behavior, but found more support for proactive enforcement, i.e., dispensing warning notices. More broadly we demonstrated the value of gathering evidence before and after implementing conservation actions, and the dangers of measuring responses in the absence of ecological knowledge. We recommend development of more effective educational methods, application of proactive enforcement, and continued evaluation of tools by directly measuring change in human behavior. We provide empirical evidence adding to the conservation managers' toolbox, informing policy makers, and promoting solutions to human-wildlife conflicts

Estimating Grizzly and Black Bear Population Abundance and Trend in Banff National Park Using Noninvasive Genetic Sampling

We evaluated the potential of two noninvasive genetic sampling methods, hair traps and bear rub surveys, to estimate population abundance and trend of grizzly (Ursus arctos) and black bear (U. americanus) populations in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Using Huggins closed population mark-recapture models, we obtained the first precise abundance estimates for grizzly bears ( = 73.5, 95% CI = 64–94 in 2006;  = 50.4, 95% CI = 49–59 in 2008) and black bears ( = 62.6, 95% CI = 51–89 in 2006;  = 81.8, 95% CI = 72–102 in 2008) in the Bow Valley. Hair traps had high detection rates for female grizzlies, and male and female black bears, but extremely low detection rates for male grizzlies. Conversely, bear rubs had high detection rates for male and female grizzlies, but low rates for black bears. We estimated realized population growth rates, lambda, for grizzly bear males ( = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.74–1.17) and females ( = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.67–1.20) using Pradel open population models with three years of bear rub data. Lambda estimates are supported by abundance estimates from combined hair trap/bear rub closed population models and are consistent with a system that is likely driven by high levels of human-caused mortality. Our results suggest that bear rub surveys would provide an efficient and powerful means to inventory and monitor grizzly bear populations in the Central Canadian Rocky Mountains

Activity of Moose and White-Tailed Deer at Mineral Springs

Activity of moose (Alces alces) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was studied at two natural mineral springs (licks) in Ontario during the springtime and summer of 1977 to 1980. Most adult moose appeared to use a lick during a single 1- to 5-day period in a year; some returned at intervals during the season; and all seemed drawn principally by the mineral-rich water. Some young moose remained in the lick vicinity for 3 weeks or more, and often wandered in and out of the licks, grazing herbage as well as drinking. This suggested a social as well as a nutritional attraction for young moose. Activity of both moose and deer increased after leaf flush. Adult male moose used licks most heavily in late May and early June, adult females in middle and late June. Use by young animals was more variable, but all moose activity declined in late June when aquatic feeding became common. Deer continued to use licks heavily until mid-July. Evidently the Na hunger that motivates lick use is related to spring phenology and wanes during the summer. Social and other behaviour seen at licks is described

Genetic variation and population structure of moose (Alces alces) at neutral and functional DNA loci

Genetic variation was examined for moose (Alces alces) from Riding Mountain, Isle Royale, and Pukaskwa national parks; northwestern, Nipigon, northeastern, and central Ontario; New Brunswick; and Newfoundland. The national parks were identified as maintaining potentially different local selection pressures due to the absence of hunting and the presence or absence of the parasite Parelaphostrongylus tenuis. Genetic variation was estimated using neutral DNA markers, assessed by multilocus DNA fingerprinting and five microsatellite loci, and the functional antigen binding region (ARS) (exon 2) of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene DRB. There was discordance in the allelic diversity observed at the neutral loci compared with the MHC DRB locus in a number of populations. Ontario populations demonstrated higher levels of variability at the neutral loci and relatively low levels at the DRB locus. Conversely, the Isle Royale population has the lowest genetic variability, consistent with a historic small founding event, at the neutral DNA markers and relatively high variability at the MHC gene. Relatively high levels of genetic variation at the DRB locus were observed in protected park populations concomitant with the absence of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) or the parasite P. tenuis and an absence of hunting. Gene flow was observed among the neighboring geographic regions within Ontario, including Pukaskwa National Park, with evidence of isolation-by-distance among more distant regions within Ontario. The discordant patterns between DNA markers suggest that neutral DNA markers may not accurately reflect adaptive variation present at functional loci