Denning ecology of barren-ground grizzly bears in the central Arctic
McLoughlin PD, Cluff HD, Messier F. 2002. Denning ecology of barren-ground grizzly bears in the central Arctic. Journal of Mammalogy. 83(1):188-198
Between May 1995 and June 1999, we studied denning ecology of 81 barren-ground grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) equipped with satellite radio-collars within a study area of 235,000 km2, centered 400 km northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. All dens were located on well-drained slopes (X = 25.30, SE = 1.20, n = 55). Choice of den aspect was nonrandom (X2 = 12.4, d.f = 3, P less than 0.01, n = 56); the majority of dens faced south (25), followed by west (13), east (10), and north (8). Most dens were constructed under cover of tall (greater than 0.5 m) shrubs (Betula glandulosa and Salix), the root structures of which supported ceilings of dens. Selection of denning habitat by bears was significantly different from random (G = 127.67, d.f = 6, P less than 0.0001). Bonferroni confidence intervals indicated that esker habitat was selected more than expected by chance (P less than 0.10). Den entrance occurred primarily in last 2 weeks of October. The majority of bears emerged from dens in the 1st week of May.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- McLoughlin, P; Cluff, H; Messier, F
- Units
- ARCN , BELA , CAKR , GAAR , KOVA , NOAT
- Keywords
- Arctic, availability data, den ecology, Grizzly Bear, Habitat Use, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Radio Telemetry, resource development, Tundra