Factors affecting the detectability and eastern distribution of grizzly bears in Alberta, Canada

• Author / Creator

  Rovang, Sarah B

• Effective and adaptive conservation of a species requires knowledge of trend in abundance and distribution. Monitoring species that are highly mobile, cryptic, and occurring at low densities is especially challenging. This research investigates the local factors affecting the detectability of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in west-central Alberta, as well as regional factors affecting their eastern distribution in the province. When surveyed using a permanent DNA hair trap design, grizzly bear detection is maximized when sites are placed in areas with abundant buffaloberry and clover cover and near pipelines, wellsites, cutblocks, and streams. To the east, grizzly bear range is limited by agricultural zones, human settlements, and the loss of secure wild land habitat. Such information can help guide the placement of monitoring sites in core and peripheral habitats, which may help lower the cost of long-term monitoring programs of grizzly bear populations and range edge.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Hair trap
  • Range edge
  • Ursus arctos
  • Monitoring
  • Occupancy
  • Alberta
  • Detectability
  • Distribution
  • DNA
  • Grizzly bears

• Graduation date

  Fall 2013

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3V392

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.