Predicting future grizzly bear habitat use in the Bitterroot Ecosystem under recolonization and reintroduction scenarios.

ABSTRACT: Many conservation actions must be implemented with limited data. This is especially true when planning recovery efforts for extirpated populations, such as grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) within the Bitterroot Ecosystem (BE), where strategies for reestablishing a resident population are being evaluated. Here, we applied individual-based movement models developed for a nearby grizzly bear population to predict habitat use in and near the BE, under scenarios of natural recolonization, reintroduction, and a combination. All simulations predicted that habitat use by grizzly bears would be higher in the northern half of the study area. Under the natural recolonization scenario, use was concentrated in Montana, but became more uniform across the northern BE in Idaho over time. Use was more concentr

SUBMITTER: Sells SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11373846 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature