Diagnosing Mechanisms of Decline and Planning for Recovery of an Endangered Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) Population

Background: The usual paradigm for translocations is that they should not take place in declining populations until the causes(s) of the decline has been reversed. This approach sounds intuitive, but may not apply in cases where population decline is caused by behavioral or demographic mechanisms that could only be reversed by translocation itself. Methodology/Principal Findings: We analyzed a decade of field data for Pyrenean brown bears (Ursus arctos) from two small populations: the growing Central population- created from a previous translocation and the endemic Western population- believed to be declining because of excessive human-caused mortality. We found that adult survival rates for both populations were as high as those observed for most other protected brown bear populations. However, the Western population had much lower reproductive success than the Central population. Adult breeding sex ratio was male-biased in the Western population and female-biased in the Central population. Our results exclude high anthropogenic mortality as a cause for population decline in the West but support low reproductive success, which could result from sexually selected infanticide induced by a male-biased adult sex ratio or inbreeding depression. Using a stochastic demographic model t

Suivi de la population d'ours bruns des Pyrenees et de son habitat dans le Bearn Resultats des investigations 1999

SIGLEAvailable from INIST (FR), Document Supply Service, under shelf-number : RP 185 (4567) / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueMinistere de l'Amenagement du Territoire et de l'Environnement, 75 - Paris (France). Direction de la Nature et des Paysages (DNP)FRFranc

Relation between recruitment rate and adult sex ratio.

<p>There is a statistically significant negative relationship between 3-year average recruitment rate <i>Rec</i> and 3-year average sex ratio <i>SR</i> (<i>Rec</i> = −0.23*<i>SR</i>+0.74) for brown bears in the Central (black circles) and Western populations (empty squares).</p

Probability of extinction for the Western population under the inbreeding scenario.

<p>Releasing several females drastically reduces the probability of extinction.</p

Probability of extinction for the Western population under the sex ratio scenario.

<p>For a given number of released females, releasing more than 2 males increases the probability of extinction by biasing the population adult sex ratio toward males.</p

Relation between maternity rate and adult sex ratio.

<p>There is a statistically significant negative relationship between 3-year average maternity rate <i>Mx</i> and 3-year average sex ratio <i>SR</i> (<i>Mx</i> = −0.26*<i>SR</i>+0.95) for brown bears in the Central (black circles) and Western populations (empty squares).</p

Spatial variation in public attitudes towards brown bears in the French Pyrenees

International audienceHuman dimension is an important component of large carnivore management and conservation. Here, we focus on the human-wildlife conflict related to depredation of livestock by Pyrenean brown bears (Ursus arctos), despite the population being among the smallest in the world. Two reintroductions were performed in the past to ensure the survival of the population, yet its conservation status remains critical due to small size, heavy inbreeding and disagreements over its management. We investigated the often-neglected spatial variations in attitude towards predator presence to improve our understanding of the human dimensions surrounding this conflict. We used a questionnaire to assess the drivers explaining the attitude of the local human population (n = 577) of the Pyrenees towards bear presence. Our results show that spatial variables (place of birth and county of residence of the respondent) are strong predictors of attitude. The residents of two counties in particular (Haute-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques) displayed a positive attitude, while the residents of the Hautes-Pyrénées county had the most negative attitude. People born outside of the Pyrenees also showed a more positive inclination towards bear presence than people born and raised in France's southwestern mountain range. Both these results may imply a link between the history of local communities with predator presence and their current attitude. Accounting for small-scale spatial heterogeneity in social–ecological studies of human-wildlife conflicts will prove useful to get a more accurate mapping of attitudes and inform subsequent management decisions

Tenir compte de la dimension humaine dans la gestion des conflits homme - grands carnivores : le cas de l’ours brun dans les Pyrénées

International audienc

Activity Patterns of the Reintroduced Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) in the Pyrenees Estimated by Photo-trapping Camera

Information on intra-specific activity patterns in non-social species, such as the brown bear (Ursus arctos), is important for understanding behavioral strategies of avoidance among individuals, specially between different age-sex classes during the breeding season. These studies are particularly important in small and reintroduced populations that are growing and recovering to apply effective conservation measurements. In this study, we reported the intra-specific activity patterns of the bear population in the Pyrenees (Northern Spain and Southern France), between March 2010 and December 2017, in relation with individual avoidance according to sex (males, solitary females and females with offspring), reproductive class (adults, sub-adults and cubs) and dominant males in the study area (dominant and sub-dominant), using a camera-trap survey. We found strong evidence that activity differed between two reproductive classes, sex and seasons. In general, bears were primarily nocturnal, with crepuscular peaks at 6h and 20h (sundial time); however, we present first evidence for this area suggesting that intra-specific activity differs among individuals as an adaptive behavioral strategy, namely: (1) females with cubs avoid males during the mating season, (2) females with cubs and sub-adults are more diurnal, and (3) the activity periods of solitary females and males is similar. Results revealed a high overlap between the activity pattern of males and solitary females, and also between dominant and sub-dominant bears. Indeed, the overlap between males and females with young, and between adult and sub-adult, was lower. These findings support the idea that in the Pyrenees the temporal segregation of brown bear activity is a behavioral strategy to avoid or support encounters with males, according to the reproductive class, decreasing the chances of infanticide. 1. Activity patterns 2.. Brown bear 3. PyreneespeerReviewe