Whitebark pine, population density, and home-range size of grizzly bears in the greater yellowstone ecosystem.

ABSTRACT: Changes in life history traits of species can be an important indicator of potential factors influencing populations. For grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), recent decline of whitebark pine (WBP; Pinus albicaulis), an important fall food resource, has been paired with a slowing of population growth following two decades of robust population increase. These observations have raised questions whether resource decline or density-dependent processes may be associated with changes in population growth. Distinguishing these effects based on changes in demographic rates can be difficult. However, unlike the parallel demographic responses expected from both decreasing food availability and increasing population density, we hypothesized opposing behavioral resp

SUBMITTER: Bjornlie DD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3919729 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature