Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Belant, Jerrold L.

Committee Member

Leopold, Bruce D.

Committee Member

Wang, Guiming

Date of Degree

12-9-2011

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Forest Resources

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Abstract

Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) den-site selection may be influenced by multiple factors at varying spatial extents. To test for hierarchical selection, I compared grizzly bear den sites (n = 21) to random locations in the Southern Lakes, Yukon at two scales: mesoscale (within 1 km of dens) and microscale (within 100 m of dens). I observed selection for den opening slope, pixel slope, soil content, and horizontal cover at the mesoscale. At the microscale, I observed selection for opening slope and horizontal cover. To further test the role of security and the sex hypothesis of sexual segregation, I compared adult female (n = 142), adult male (n = 36), and juvenile (n = 35) den locations in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Adult females spatially segregated from adult males, with dens characterized by higher elevations and steeper slopes than adult male den sites.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/17020

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