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Predators or prey? Spatio-temporal discrimination of human-derived risk by brown bears

  • Behavioral ecology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Prey usually adjust anti-predator behavior to subtle variations in perceived risk. However, it is not clear whether adult large carnivores that are virtually free of natural predation adjust their behavior to subtle variations in human-derived risk, even when living in human-dominated landscapes. As a model, we studied resting-site selection by a large carnivore, the brown bear (Ursus arctos), under different spatial and temporal levels of human activity. We quantified horizontal and canopy cover at 440 bear beds and 439 random sites at different distances from human settlements, seasons, and times of the day. We hypothesized that beds would be more concealed than random sites and that beds would be more concealed in relation to human-derived risk. Although human densities in Scandinavia are the lowest within bear ranges in Western Europe, we found an effect of human activity; bears chose beds with higher horizontal and canopy cover during the day (0700–1900 hours), especially when resting closer to human settlements, than at night (2200–0600 hours). In summer/fall (the berry season), with more intensive and dispersed human activity, including hunting, bears rested further from human settlements during the day than in spring (pre-berry season). Additionally, day beds in the summer/fall were the most concealed. Large carnivores often avoid humans at a landscape scale, but total avoidance in human-dominated areas is not possible. Apparently, bears adjust their behavior to avoid human encounters, which resembles the way prey avoid their predators. Bears responded to fine-scale variations in human-derived risk, both on a seasonal and a daily basis.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the help provided in the field by volunteers and students of the Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project, which is funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management, Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management, WWF Sweden, Research Council of Norway, and the program “Adaptive management of fish and wildlife populations”. AO was funded by Fundación Oso de Asturias, funds provided by Hunosa and Sato. The manuscript greatly benefited from comments and advice by M. Basille, R. Bischof, J. Naves, S. Sæbø, G. Sonerud, P. Wegge, A. Zedrosser, and an anonymous reviewer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Postbox 5003, 1432, Ås, Norway

    Andrés Ordiz, Ole-Gunnar Støen & Jon E. Swenson

  2. Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Avenida Américo Vespucio s/n, Isla de la Cartuja, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Andrés Ordiz & Miguel Delibes

  3. Department of Animal Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden

    Ole-Gunnar Støen

  4. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 7485, Trondheim, Norway

    Jon E. Swenson

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  1. Andrés Ordiz
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  2. Ole-Gunnar Støen
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  3. Miguel Delibes
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  4. Jon E. Swenson
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Correspondence to Andrés Ordiz.

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Communicated by Jean-Michel Gaillard.

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Ordiz, A., Støen, OG., Delibes, M. et al. Predators or prey? Spatio-temporal discrimination of human-derived risk by brown bears. Oecologia 166, 59–67 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-1920-5

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