Huckleberry Habitat and Its Influence on Two Small Populations of Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos)
Justin E. Teisberg, Wayne F. Kasworm, Michael F. Proctor, Thomas G. Radandt, Jennifer K. Fortin‐Noreus, Hilary S. Cooley

TL;DR
This study explores how huckleberry habitats affect the behavior and survival of two small grizzly bear populations in western North America.
Contribution
A new resource selection model identifies key huckleberry habitats and their influence on grizzly bear populations.
Findings
Huckleberry habitat covers 28% of female grizzly bears' home ranges and overlaps seasonally.
Smaller body size of female bears correlates with huckleberry-dominated diets and habitat use.
Huckleberry habitat quality influences dispersal, range expansion, and population connectivity.
Abstract
Huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) are a nutritionally important food to grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos ) in interior, western North America. They provide sugar‐rich calories in late summer and fall prior to denning. We developed a resource selection function of high‐quality huckleberry habitat important to Cabinet‐Yaak and Selkirk female grizzly bears using field‐verified huckleberry foraging radiolocations acquired during prime months of huckleberry fruiting (July 15–September 15, 2010–2019, n = 22). Logistic regression analysis identified a model with 12 significant variables in predicting huckleberry habitat important to female grizzly bears (Somers' D = 0.729; K‐S statistic = 0.570, p < 0.00001). Most influential variables (p < 0.00001; positive [+] or negative [−] relationship) include canopy closure (−), moisture deficit (−), time since last wildfire (−), solar radiation (+), snow…
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Taxonomy
TopicsWildlife Ecology and Conservation · Rangeland and Wildlife Management · Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
