Influence of Natural Food Abundance on Black Bear Harvests in Minnesota
Citations Over Time
Abstract
Many agencies use data on hunter success and harvest composition to guide decisions about black bear (Ursus americanus) management, despite well-known limitations of such data. The likely influence of natural food abundance on harvests has been acknowledged, yet few studies have examined this relation. We conducted a simple survey, employing subjective ratings by experienced observers, to monitor food abundance across Minnesota's bear range, and used these data to interpret a 12-year record of hunting success and harvest composition. Percent females in the harvest, mean age of females killed, and hunting success were related inversely to fall food abundance, particularly hazelnuts (Corylus spp.) and acorns (Quercus spp.). Percent females in the harvest, mean age of females killed, and estimated harvest rates for most sex-age classes, particularly adult females, also increased with increased number of hunters. After accounting for fall food and number of hunters, the estimated size of the bear population appeared to have little effect on hunting success and harvest sex ratio; that is, bear harvest data apparently yielded little insight into population status. Despite the simple format and subjective nature of our food survey, it adequately explained most of the year-to-year variation in hunting success and the sex-age composition of the harvest.
Related Papers
- → Prediction of abundance of beetles according to climate warming in South Korea(2015)19 cited
- → The role of floods in the Long-term dynamics of geobiont and chortobiont communities on islands of the Kuibyshev Reservoir(2009)3 cited
- Amendment of List of Exempt Native Specimens - 6 Fisheries (Western Australian Blue Swimmer Crab (Non Shark Bay) Fisheries, New South Wales Sea Urchin and Turban Shell Fishery and South Australia Dive Fisheries) (Extension of Export Approval Deadline after 1 December 2005), WA, NSW and SA (29/11/2005)(2005)
- → INFLUENCE OF RELIEF ON ANTHROPOGENIC LOADING OF NATURAL LANDSCAPES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF LANKARAN NATURAL REGION OF AZERBAIJAN)(2022)