Development of Equations Predictive of Size and Condition for Black Bears in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Baldwin RA and Bender LC. 2010. Development of Equations Predictive of Size and Condition for Black Bears in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. The American Midland Naturalist. 164(1):44-51
Knowledge of body condition is important in predicting health and performanceof large mammal populations. Therefore, we assessed body condition in black bears (Ursusamericanus) in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Colorado, using body mass (BM),percent body fat (BF) and a body condition index (BCI) to: (1) develop a model predictive ofBM for bears in RMNP using morphometric measures, (2) compare three models predictive ofBM to provide further information on the influence of elevation and more complex models onmodel accuracy, and (3) assess the relationship between BF and BCI to determine if BF couldbe estimated from BCI. Our best BM model included only girth (r2 5 0.923) and indicated thatmass-morphology relationships were more consistent within specified elevation zones;complexity of models had little influence on model efficiency. We also observed a strongrelationship between BF and BCI (r2 5 0.962) indicating that BCI scores can be accuratelyconverted to estimates of BF. This predictive equation should prove useful to black bearmanagers in situations where BF cannot be estimated using more direct methods.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Baldwin, Roger; Bender, Louis
- Units
- ROMO
- Keywords
- Black Bear, Body Condition