Spatial Distribution of Black Bear Incident Reports in Michigan.

ABSTRACT: Interactions between humans and carnivores have existed for centuries due to competition for food and space. American black bears are increasing in abundance and populations are expanding geographically in many portions of its range, including areas that are also increasing in human density, often resulting in associated increases in human-bear conflict (hereafter, bear incidents). We used public reports of bear incidents in Michigan, USA, from 2003-2011 to assess the relative contributions of ecological and anthropogenic variables in explaining the spatial distribution of bear incidents and estimated the potential risk of bear incidents. We used weighted Normalized Difference Vegetation Index mean as an index of primary productivity, region (i.e., Upper Peninsula or Lower Peninsula), prim

SUBMITTER: McFadden-Hiller JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4847767 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature