Understanding how wildlife utilize habitat at varying scales is important for understanding and predicting potential impacts of landscape changes (e.g., habitat loss and fragmentation, restoration efforts, climate change, etc.) and in determining effective strategies for conservation and management. This research examines fine-scale and landscape-level habitat use of black bears in Canyon de Chelly National Monument (CACH), Arizona, USA in the context of large-scale landscape change. Currently, CACH is undergoing a large-scale restoration effort to remove all of the non-native Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) and tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima and T. chinensis) within the monument. As black bears rely on the Russian olive as a primary food source, a major goal of this research was to evaluate how bears currently use this resource and how its removal might affect bear habitat use and bear-human interactions within the monument. I developed a model of 3rd order (fine-scale) black bear habitat use in CACH using an occupancy modeling approach. Model results indicated that fine-scale habitat selection by bears in CACH is being driven by the presence of non-native Russian olive as well as native food sources. Thus availability of native foods may be sufficient to maintain the bear population in CACH, and bears may quickly adapt to the loss of the non-native food source. Similarly, results showed that bears avoid human areas and farmsteads and prefer higher elevations, suggesting that once olive is removed in the lower canyons near human areas, bear-human interactions may become less of a problem over the long term. I also developed a model of 2nd order (landscape-level) habitat use and evaluated movement patterns of black bears in CACH using location data collected from GPS collars. Model results showed that bears selected areas with higher tree canopy cover and terrain ruggedness, indicating that forest cover and escape cover are primary factors driving black bear habitat selection at the landscape scale in this region. Movement patterns revealed large mean daily movements and low average turning angles, indicating long, linear movements designed to take advantage of the mosaic of available habitats and food resources available over larger areas. I extracted DNA from hair samples collected throughout the study area to examine genetic variability and population structure of black bears in the region. Analyses revealed a relatively healthy, panmictic population across the wider landscape. No substantial genetic structuring was observed in multiple analyses, though I did find evidence of a slight isolation-by-distance pattern within the population. Measures of both current (Nb = 24) and long-term (Ne = 579) effective population size indicated a relatively high number of breeders in the current population and a sufficient amount of gene flow within the larger "superpopulation" to maintain long-term genetic viability. I focused the final portion of my dissertation research on understanding the factors that influence stakeholder acceptance capacity for black bears, which plays a central role in contemporary wildlife management issues, including human-wildlife conflict. I used data from telephone interviews of 1,546 residents in Virginia to develop conceptual models of black bear acceptance capacity at both county and state levels. Model results suggested that more deep-seated and less easily influenced factors (e.g., values and risk perceptions) are at the heart of stakeholder attitudes and perceptions of wildlife, making influencing these perceptions more difficult. Agencies can indirectly affect these attitudes and perceptions, however, by targeting more potentially pliable factors related to wildlife acceptance capacity such as knowledge, personal experience with wildlife, and trust in management agencies. / Ph. D.

The effects of gypsy moth infestation on the Shenandoah National Park (SNP) black bear population and habitat were studied during 1985 - 1991 by comparing radio telemetry, population, and behavioral data from preinfestation years (1982 - 1986) and years with extensive defoliation (1987 - 1991). Gypsy moth defoliation (> 60% canopy loss) increased from 546 ha in 1986 (1 % of the study area), to 2,304 ha in 1987 (4%), 6,227 ha in 1988 (12%), and 17,736 ha in 1989 (34%). Chestnut oak and red oak habitat types received the greatest defoliation; 60% and 45% of these habitat types suffered greater than 60 % canopy loss in the North and Central Districts, respectively. Infestation resulted in a 99% reduction in acorn production in defoliated stands. Maximum daily temperatures 0.5 m above the ground in defoliated stands averaged 4.7 ± 0.3 C, 4.3 ± 0.4 C, and 2.5 ± 0.3 C warmer (P < 0.01) than in nondefoliated stands during peak defoliation, refoliation, and post-refoliation periods, respectively. Bear / Ph. D.

The Cooperative Alleghany Bear Study (CABS) was initiated in 1994 to address concerns over the lack of biological and ecological data for black bear (Ursus americanus) populations in the Alleghany Mountains of western Virginia. I examined home range dynamics of bears during 1994-2002 on 2 study areas that were approximately 160 km apart. I analyzed my data with 3 home range programs (AMA, HRE, and ABODE) and determined the HRE was the least biased and produced the most biologically reasonable home range estimates. I used HRE to generate annual home ranges (fixed-kernel) for 90 bears over 160 bear years; I also generated seasonal home ranges using MCP. Annual and seasonal home ranges of male and female adult bears in the southern study area were larger than that of male and female adult bears in the northern study area, respectively; southern females and northern males had annual home ranges similar in size at the 95% and 75% fixed-kernel contours. In both study areas, most bears did not shift their range when transitioning from spring to summer (North: 63.0%; South: 57.0%) or from summer to fall (North: 67.0%; South: 65.0%), while most bears shifted their seasonal range between spring and fall (North: 67.0%; South: 52.0%). Most female bears in both study areas maintained the same spring and summer home range throughout the duration of the study, while 63% of northern females changed their fall home range and 55% of southern females maintained their fall home range. I found no differences in annual and seasonal home range size among years or among age classes for adult females, but tests for intra-year seasonal difference indicated that fall range was larger than spring and summer in 1997, when western Virginia experienced a poor mast crop. Females with and without COY had similar annual home ranges in either study area. In the north, seasonal home range size did not differ between females with and without COY, while in the south, breeding females (i.e. without COY) had larger spring ranges and smaller fall ranges than females with COY. In both study areas, females with COY had larger fall home ranges than during spring, while seasonal ranges of breeding females did not vary in size during the year. / Master of Science

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) expressed the need to develop appropriate management strategies for apparently high-density, growing black bear populations in the Roanoke-Neuse-Tar-Cape Fear ecosystem in coastal North Carolina and Virginia. In order to provide the scientific information necessary to develop these strategies, I investigated population densities and genetic structure of black bears at 3 national wildlife refuges [Great Dismal Swamp (GDSNWR), Pocosin Lakes (PLNWR), and Alligator River (ARNWR)]. Density estimates were derived from DNA samples collected noninvasively at each of the 3 refuges for 2 consecutive summers. Hair samples were analyzed for individual identification using 6-7 microsatellite markers. Estimated densities were some of the highest reported in the literature and ranged from 0.56-0.63 bears/km2 at GDSNWR to 0.65-1.12 bears/km2 at ARNWR to 1.23-1.66 bears/km2 at PLNWR. Sex ratios were male-biased in all areas of all refuges. Genetic variability and structure of bears at these refuges was assessed using 16 microsatellite markers for 40 bears from each refuge. Genetic variability of the 3 refuge populations was substantially high compared to other bear populations in North America, with observed heterozygosities ranging from 0.6729 at GDSNWR to 0.7219 at ARNWR. FST and DS values were relatively low (0.0257-0.0895 and 0.0971-0.3640, respectively), indicating movement of bears and gene flow across the landscape is adequate to prevent high levels of genetic differentiation and structure among the refuge bears. Genetic statistics at GDSNWR indicate that this population is isolated to some degree by geography (i.e., the Albemarle Sound) and encroaching urban development (i.e., the towns of Suffolk and Chesapeake). ARNWR has the potential to become isolated in the future if movement corridors to the south of the refuge are not maintained. Harvest of bears is likely warranted at PLNWR and ARNWR, though extreme caution must be taken the first few seasons as hunter success will be extremely high. Further research is needed to determine population growth rates, reproductive parameters, and survival rates at all 3 refuges, particularly if a hunting season will be established and maintained in these areas. Methods for regularly monitoring bear populations at these refuges also should be incorporated into biological programs, as bears comprise a significant component of the ecosystem at these refuges and cannot be ignored when outlining management goals. / Master of Science

During 1994-1996, reproductive biology and denning ecology of black bears (<i>Ursus americanus</i>) were investigated in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Virginia. The average age of captured bears was 4.88 years (SE=0.43, n=64) and 2.72 years (SE=0.19, n=127) for females and males, respectively. Timing of estrus ranged from 21 June to 7 August with most (58.8%, n=10) estrus females captured between 15 July and 31 July. Ages of primiparity were 3 or 4 years and averaged 3.14 years (SE=0.14, n=7). Average litter size was 2.0 cubs per litter (n=26). During 1995 and 1996, respectively, 81.8% and 83.3% of potentially pregnant females reproduced. Date of parturition averaged 22 January in 1995 and 1996, but ranged from 1 January to 22 February in 1995 and 11 January to 14 February in 1996. Pregnant females did not enter dens earlier (T=0.74, P=0.4598) than other bears, and did not emerge later (T=-1.69, P=0.0925) than other bears. cavities in trees and snags composed 82.4% (n=56) of all dens. Red oak (<i>Quercus rubra</i>) and chestnut oak (<i>Quercus prinus</i>) were the most commonly (n=49) used den tree species. Tree dens were on sites with steeper slopes (t=3.41, P=0.0013), lower medium tree density (t=-2.22, P=0.0313), higher large tree density (t=2.24, P=0.0296), and lower stem density (t=-3.43, P=0.0013) than random sites. Ground dens were on steeper slopes t=3. 22, P=O. 0122) than random sites. Den reuse occurred at 2 of 17 (11.8%) dens, and 84.6% (11 of 13) of bears, monitored both winters, used the same den type during both winters. Virginia's black bear harvest during 1982-1994 was used to reconstruct Virginia's bear population. During 1982-1991, Virginia I s reconstructed male black bear population ranged from 880 bears to 1,241 bears. Numbers of males increased during 1982-1986, declined during 1987-1989, and increased during 1990-1991. Virginia's reconstructed female black bear population ranged from 943 bears to 1064 bears and increased most years. / Master of Science

Forty-three radio-collared black bears (Ursus americanus) captured in northwestern Virginia were released in the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area (MRA) in southwestern Virginia, and monitored from June 1990-March 1992. Survival was 0.23 over the 22 month study; male (0.12) and female (0.37) survival rates were not different (P = 0.16). Vehicle collisions caused most of the mortality (53%), but legal harvest outside of the study area (16%) and illegal kills in the study area (11%) also were important. Female bears failed to reproduce in the first winter following translocation, but during the second winter mean litter size was 2.75 (n = 4). A computer simulation of the female segment of the translocated population at the MRA predicted 45 females in the population in 1992, but only 29 females by 2002. The instantaneous rate of increase of the simulated population was -0.05 from 1993-2002. Mean distance translocated from capture to release was 297.7 km. Eleven bears remained in their release areas (i.e., moved <10 km from release), while 32 left their release areas. The mean distance moved from release to recovery/last location was 3.6 km for the former and 48.8 km for the latter. There was no difference (P > 0.05) in the probability of remaining in or leaving the study area for either sex. Bears recovered dead were more frequently outside the study area than in the study area (P < 0.01). For bears that left their release areas, the mean direction of travel from release to recovery/last location relative to the capture location (i.e., release to capture direction = 0°) was 31° and did not differ (P > 0.05) from the homeward direction. Despite some homeward orientation, no bears returned to their capture areas during this study. / Master of Science

The seasonal movements, food habits, and habitat selection of black bears (<i>Ursus americanus</i>) in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia were studied from May 1982 to April 1985. A total of 47 collared bears, including 25 adult females, 17 adult males, and 5 subadult males < 3.5 years old, was located 3973 times during the study. Adult males had larger (<i>P</i><0.001) home ranges (100% X=195 km², 95% X=116 km²) than adult females (100% X=38 km², 95% X=22 km²). Subadult males had larger (<i>P</i><0.10) home ranges (100% X=542 km², 95% X=289 km²) than adult males and females. Extensive home range overlap occurred among each sex and age group. At least three subadult males dispersed from the Park during the study. Female bears with cubs were less mobile than solitary females during the spring. Fall cubs were large and did not restrict females' movements. Large fall home ranges for females were related to the scattered supply of acorns relative to the concentrated sources of soft mast used in the summer. Two females with cubs and 2 subadult males remained active during the winter months. Adult and subadult males generally had less stable home ranges than adult females. Female bears displayed infidelity to given areas during the fall from year-to-year due to variation in the distribution of hard mast (acorns). Male bears made long excursions onto the Piedmont Plateau east of the Park mainly during the spring and early fall. Females were not exposed to as much human induced mortality as males because they were located within the Park 17% more frequently than males. Males avoided fire roads (<i>P</i><0.001), light duty roads (<i>P</i><0.001), and primary roads (<i>P</i><0.01) year around. Female bears preferred fire roads during summer (<i>P</i>< 0.001) and early fall (<i>P</i><0.01) and avoided heavier traveled roads such as light duty roads (<i>P</i><0.001) and primary roads (<i>P</i><0.001) year around. Both male and female bears preferred foot trails for travel (<i>P</i><0.05). Bears rarely came within 100 meters of campgrounds, picnic areas, and other human disturbance areas within the Park. Both sexes used low (<i>P</i><0.10) elevations during the summer and high (<i>P</i><0.10) elevations during early and late fall. Bears showed the greatest use of small rivers and streams during the driest months of summer. Geographic land forms of specific aspects, contours, and varying steepness were used differently by male and female bears. Twelve stomachs and 854 scats were analyzed for food content. Forbs, graminoids, squawroot (<i>Conopholis americana</i>), corn, and the fruits of trees, shrubs, and vines composed 90 percent volume of the annual diet. Eight percent of the food consumed was animal matter from mammals, birds, and invertebrates. During all seasons, females used yellow poplar (<i>Liriodendron tulipifera</i>) forests more (<i>P</i><0.05) than males while males used yellow poplar forests less (<i>P</i><0.05) than expected; males used black locust (<i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i>) \ black cherry (<i>Prunus serotina</i>) forests more (<i>P</i><0.05) than females and more (<i>P</i><0.05) than expected. Shifts in use of chestnut oak (<i>Quercus prinus</i>) \ northern red oak (<i>Q. rubra</i>) forests and northern red oak \ white oak (<i>Q. alba</i>) forests by both males and females in early and late fall was attributed to annual variation in oak mast production, preference for white oak acorns, foraging strategy, and the importance of mountain laurel (<i>Kalmia latifolia</i>) shrub cover in late fall. Seasonal use of domestic fruits at 330 abandoned homesites was determined. Distance-to-nearest-homesite measurements indicated that males were never closer (<i>P</i>>0.10) to homesites than females or random points during any season while females were closer (<i>P</i><0.001) to homesites than males and random points during summer. Only females were located at homesites (≤ 100m) more (<i>P</i><0.001) than expected during summer and early fall. Bears consumed apples (<i>Malus</i> spp.) and sweet cherries (<i>Prunus avium</i>) at abandoned homesites mainly in summer, early fall, and late fall. Bears used homesites in late fall more than distance measures indicated. Domestic fruits were an important nutritional food for black bears in relation to total soft fruits eaten. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata

The planned widening of U.S. Highway 17 along the east boundary of Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (GDSNWR) and a lack of knowledge about the refuge's bear population created the need to identify potential sites for wildlife crossings and estimate the size of the refuge's bear population. I collected black bear hair in order to collect DNA samples to estimate population size, density, and sex ratio, and determine road crossing locations for black bears (Ursus americanus) in GDSNWR in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. I also investigated bear/vehicle collisions to determine patterns of road crossing. Genetic analysis of 344 hair samples collected on 2 trapping grids identified 85 unique individuals which I used in a mark-recapture analysis. Estimated population size on the trapping grids was 105 bears (95% CI = 91-148) and average density was 0.56 bears/km². This density estimate projected over the entire Great Dismal Swamp ecosystem yielded a population estimate of 308 bears (550 km2 X 0.56 bears/km²). Similar population estimates generated by Hellgren (1988), Tredick (2005), and this study suggest a stable bear population in the Great Dismal Swamp ecosystem over a 20-year period. I erected a 2.3-kilometer long strand of barbed wire along U. S. Highway 17 to monitor road crossing patterns near the Northwest River drainage. Genetic analysis identified 6 bears (4 males, 1 female, 1 unknown) that apparently crossed the highway in a 10-month period. Five of 6 bears deposited hair in a 171-m section which included the Northwest River corridor. The 6 bears detected crossed the road at least 11 times. I investigated 10 reports of bear/vehicle collisions on the periphery of the refuge from June 2000 to May 2002. Six bears (4M:1F:1 unknown) were confirmed killed during this time period. Based on reported bear/vehicle collisions from Hellgren (1988), the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries database, and this study, a minimum of 4 to 5 bears are struck by vehicles each year on the periphery of the refuge. I identified 2 areas of multiple bear/vehicle collisions: highway 58 on the north side of the refuge near Hampton Airport and Highway 17 on the eastern side of the refuge in the vicinity of the Northwest River corridor. / Master of Science

During June 1990 - November 1993 I measured the responses of black bears (Ursus americanus) in Shenandoah National Park (SNP), Virginia to gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) induced oak (Quercus spp.) mortality. Oak species composed >50% of the forest canopy of SNP, and oak mortality rates ranged from 1- ≥48%. I compared black bear population dynamics, food habits, movements and habitat use to preinfestation data collected in SNP from 1982 - 1985. Scat analysis indicated that the current diet of SNP’s black bear population includes proportionally more soft mast in the fall and more soft mast and ants (Formicidae spp., P<0.0001) in the summer than did the preinfestation diet. Fewer acorns (Quercus spp. mast, P=0.03) and squawroot (Conopholis americana, P=0.01) were consumed in the fall and summer respectively. No decline in the physical condition of adult females (P=0.91), subadult males (P=0.34) or subadult females (P=0.94) was evident. Adult male physical condition declined (P=0.03) for unknown reasons. The mean age of neither female (P=0.99) nor male bears (P=0.54) was different from preinfestation data. Mean litter size - 2.25 cubs - did not differ (P=0.49) froma preinfestation mean of 2.0 cubs. Survival of radio-collared female bears was 100%, indicating that the female survival rate has not declined from a high preinfestation survival rate. Minimum cub survival rate to 1 year was 64.7%. Fall and annual home ranges of female bears were smaller (P=0.001 and P=0.002, respectively) than during preinfestation years. Use of forest cover types differed from availability during the summer (P<0.01), early fall (P<0.0001) and late fall (P<0.001) and when compared to preinfestation data. Use of stands with different levels of oak mortality was not different from availability during the summer (P=0.1) but was different during the early fall (P<0.005) and late fall (P<0.001). / Master of Science

This study was a comprehensive evaluation of population reconstruction techniques. Population reconstruction techniques are population estimation methods that calculate a minimum population size based on age-specific harvest data (Downing 1980, Roseberry and Woolf 1991). Population reconstruction techniques share the following characteristics: 1) utilization of catch-at-age data and 2) backward addition of cohorts to estimate a minimum population size. I developed a questionnaire to survey the biologists participating in this survey to determine the most common reconstruction technique used to estimate population sizes of exploited white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and black bear (Ursus americanus). Downing reconstruction (Downing 1980) was the most commonly used reconstruction technique among biologists participating in this study. Based on a comprehensive literature review and discussions with state biologists, I decided to evaluate virtual reconstruction (Roseberry and Woolf 1991) and develop a new reconstruction technique: Reverse Order reconstruction. I developed a quantitative population model in Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 to evaluate the ability of the 3 reconstruction techniques to estimate population sizes given a variety of conditions. I evaluated the effects of stochasticity on reconstruction population estimates by incorporating different levels of environmental stochasticity (i.e. process error) and measurement error in the generated or "known" population. I also evaluated the effects of collapsing age classes and aging biases on population estimates. In all conditions, Downing and virtual reconstruction were underestimates of the actual population size. Reverse Order reconstruction more closely estimated the actual population size, but is also more data-intensive than the other 2 methods. Measurement error introduces more uncertainty in the reconstructed population estimates than does process error. The population simulation model proved that Downing and virtual reconstruction are consistently underestimates and the percent underestimation is due to lack of inclusion of a natural mortality rates in population estimation. I used the results of the questionnaire to characterize the harvest datasets of the states participating in this study. From these results, I chose two harvest datasets to further analyze: a white-tailed deer harvest dataset from North Carolina and a black bear harvest dataset from Pennsylvania. I analyzed these datasets with Downing and virtual reconstruction. I also applied the quantitative population model to these datasets to evaluate the effect of increasing levels of measurement error on the variance of the population estimates. I found that Downing and virtual reconstruction estimated the population sizes very closely to one another, within 5%, for both datasets, and the reconstructed estimates closely tracked the actual harvest numbers. I also found that increasing levels of measurement error increased the variance associated with reconstructed population estimates and may decrease the ability of these techniques to accurately capture population trends. / Master of Science