Can grizzly bears act as a surrogate species for songbirds?
Summary
Surrogacy, managing multiple species through the protection of one, is a tool to help achieve wildlife management efficiency. Grizzly bears, a species with protected habitat in Alberta, are a candidate surrogate species for songbirds - a large taxa which has the potential to occupy over-lapping habitat. To evaluate the efficacy of grizzly bears as surrogates for songbirds, a paired study was conducted in the Yellowhead Bear Management Area during the bird migration and breeding seasons in 2017. Sites of known bear activity were paired with sites not used by the bears. The bird populations at these sites were then determined using acoustic surveys with autonomous recording units. Various multi-variate analyses indicated no relationships between the bird species observed and the presence of bears or the dominant vegetation type observed at each site. This finding indicates a issue between the size of area used in our study and the measurements of birds, which extended beyond this area.
About the Researcher
Emily Cicon is a Masters Student at the University of Alberta, with a BSc in Environmental and Conservation Sciences . Her past research has focused predominantly on Alberta bird populations and their conservation.
Disclaimer: The data presented and analyzed in this study is a non-representative sub-set of the Grizzly PAW Project for which it was collected.
For any inquires, please contact Emily via [email protected] .
Disclaimer: The data presented and analyzed in this study is a non-representative sub-set of the Grizzly PAW Project for which it was collected.
For any inquires, please contact Emily via [email protected] .