Brown Bear Consumption of Pacific Salmon Varies Greatly Among Individuals but Increases With the Bear's Age and Salmon Availability.

ABSTRACT: As animals age and grow, their diet often changes as food demand increases, and because their size and social dominance may allow them to capture and consume larger and different prey. Diet also can vary between sexes and individuals. In this study we used stable isotope analysis of hair samples collected from free-living brown bears, Ursus arctos, identified by DNA analysis, in an area with easy access to Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.). The goals were to test the hypotheses that salmon consumption would increase as bears aged, be higher in males than females, and higher in bears with access to more than fewer salmon, in the context of the level of variation among individuals. Samples (n = 165 from 85 different bears) were collected from six streams, three on each s

SUBMITTER: Quinn TP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12895481 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature