Assessing Longitudinal Diet Patterns of Black Bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Using Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes
van Manen JT, Muller LI, Li Z, Saxton A, Pelton MR. 2012. Assessing Longitudinal Diet Patterns of Black Bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Using Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes. International Bear News. 21(1):37-38
We recently concluded the first of a two-part study in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), Tennessee, USA, examining longitudinal diet patterns of American black bears (Ursus americanus) using whole hair stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis . As part of an ongoing, long-term research project on black bears in GSMNP that started in 1969, approximately 1700 hair samples were collected from black bears captured in the backcountry (Pelton and van Manen 1996). We selected 117 of those samples collected during 1980–2001 based on stratified random sampling. We used an information-theoretic approach (Anderson Burnham and Anderson 2002) to developed a set of a priori models examining if sex, age class, year, weight class, total hard mast index, white oak index (Quercus spp.), red oak index (Quercus spp.), nuisance status, and hog harvest (Sus scrofa) were associated with stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures.
- Type
- Newsletter Article
- Authors
- van Manen, Jennapher; Muller, Lisa; Li, Zheng-Hua; Saxton, Arnold; Pelton, Michael
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- Anthropogenic Food, Black Bear, Diet, GRSM-00025, hog, natural foods, Oak, Stable Isotopes
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals