Abstract Mitigation measures are commonly implemented to reduce the negative effects of industrial development on wildlife but are not always evaluated for their efficacy. For example, oil fields in the Arctic typically incorporate design features intended to increase permeability for migratory, barren‐ground caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ), even though there is limited empirical evidence of the effectiveness of some of these features. Given expected increases in energy development in the North American Arctic, we examined whether two mitigation measures commonly used for migratory caribou, elevating pipelines and separating roads and pipelines, were effective at increasing the probability caribou would cross infrastructure. We conducted our investigation on adult female caribou in the Central Arctic Herd of Alaska during summer, analysing movement data from telemetry collars (2015–2020) in conjunction with spatial data on oil field infrastructure. To evaluate whether caribou would cross infrastructure as a function of the mitigation measures, we used non‐linear binomial and step selection models. We found that caribou were more likely to cross a pipeline when the nearest pipeline was elevated (≥1.5 m), a result that supports current mitigation recommendations. We also found that caribou were more likely to cross both a road and pipeline when they were adjacent to one another, as opposed to being spatially separated, a result that contradicts recommended mitigation strategies. Synthesis and applications. As new energy projects are designed and implemented in environments around the globe, it is important to ensure that mitigation efforts for wildlife are scientifically validated for their efficacy. In the North American Arctic, such efforts will be critical for minimizing the impacts of expanding industrial development on migratory caribou and on the human communities that rely on them for subsistence.

The diets of wild ungulates are a foundational component of their ecology, influencing their behavior, body condition, and demography. With changing environmental conditions, there is a significant need to identify important forage items for ungulates, but this has often proved challenging. Declines in several barren‐ground caribou herds across the North American Arctic have raised concerns about the influence of climate change on caribou forage conditions. Shifts in plant phenology, biomass, quality, and composition may be influencing caribou diets and subsequently affecting their body condition and demographic rates. Although forage is a primary driver of barren‐ground caribou behavior and population dynamics, there is limited recent information about the specific foods they consume, and uncertainty about appropriate methods for identifying those foods. Investigators are increasingly using fecal DNA metabarcoding and video camera collars to assess ungulate diets, but comparative studies of these approaches are lacking. To examine the summer diets of barren‐ground caribou, we used both fecal metabarcoding and video camera collars to identify forage used by the Porcupine caribou herd, which spans the Alaska–Yukon border. In 2021, we sampled the diets of adult females by collecting fecal samples and observing collar videos during 4 sampling occasions. We found that caribou consumed very specific forage items, and those items varied markedly across the growing season. Caribou predominantly consumed graminoids and lichens during early summer, and shrubs and forbs later in the season. Metabarcoding and video data provided significantly different estimates of diet for all taxonomic levels we evaluated, and inferences from the two approaches were often disparate. Metabarcoding failed to detect some items frequently consumed in videos, such as lichens, and indicated high use of other items rarely consumed, such as mosses. We found that video data provided greater taxonomic diversity and resolution for vascular plants and lichens, and more closely aligned with past research and biological expectations than data from fecal metabarcoding. Additional research is needed to be able to use these methods to identify the biomass of different forage items consumed.

Mortality risk for animals often varies spatially and can be linked to how animals use landscapes. While numerous studies collect telemetry data on animals, the focus is typically on the period when animals are alive, even though there is important information that could be gleaned about mortality risk. We introduce a thinned spatial point process (SPP) modelling framework that couples relative abundance and space use with a mortality process to formally treat the occurrence of mortality events across the landscape as a spatial process. We show how this model can be embedded in a hierarchical statistical framework and fit to telemetry data to make inferences about how spatial covariates drive both space use and mortality risk. We apply the method to two data sets to study the effects of roads and habitat on spatially explicit mortality risk: (1) VHF telemetry data collected for willow ptarmigan in Alaska, and (2) hourly GPS telemetry data collected for black bears in Colorado. These case studies demonstrate the applicability of this method for different species and data types, making it broadly useful in enabling inferences about the mechanisms influencing animal survival and spatial population processes while formally treating survival as a spatial process, especially as the development and implementation of joint analyses continue to progress.

AimRecent methodological advances for studying how animals move and use space with telemetry data have focused on fine-scale, more mechanistic inference. However, in many cases, researchers and managers remain interested in larger scale questions regarding species distribution and habitat use across study areas, landscapes, or seasonal ranges. Point processes offer a unified framework for many methods applied in studies of species distribution and resource selection; however, challenges remain in terms of dealing with temporal autocorrelation common in many types of telemetry data collected from animal locations.InnovationSpace-time point processes (STPPs) have a unique property, in that marginalising time offers a connection between individual animal movement and broader point processes, yet this property has seen little attention in both statistical and applied research. In this paper, we first present some of the details of this marginalisation property and methods for applying marginalised STPPs (mSTTPs) to autocorrelated telemetry data and then apply a mSTTP in a case study on the summer space use and habitat selection of female caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska.Main ConclusionsThe case study demonstrated that an mSTPP approach can improve inference over other commonly used methods in terms of its ability to account for temporal autocorrelation and offers greater precision in parameter estimates and improved predictions of space use. As this method fits conveniently into the existing point process frameworks, it offers a practical solution to dealing with temporal autocorrelation inherent to many types of telemetry data when research questions center around broader scale patterns of animal habitat selection and space use.

IntroductionUrbanization is an extreme form of land use alteration, with human development driving changes in the distribution of resources available to wildlife. Some large carnivores have learned to exploit anthropogenic food resources in urban development, resulting in human-carnivore conflict that can have detrimental impacts to people and carnivores, as exemplified by American black bears. Management agencies commonly promote the use of bear-resistant garbage containers for reducing conflicts, but little is known about the actual behavioral responses of bears to this intervention.MethodsTo understand whether black bears alter their behavior in response to changes in residential waste management, we investigated patterns of bear behavior in Durango, Colorado, where anthropogenic attractants were experimentally manipulated. Using location data from collared black bears, we modeled resource selection and movement in response to areas that had received bear-resistant garbage containers compared to those that did not.ResultsBears avoided residential areas where garbage availability had been reduced, and this avoidance response increased over subsequent years, potentially suggesting that bears were learning from the management intervention. Bear movement rates, however, were not notably affected by the garbage reduction.DiscussionOur findings highlight the importance of reducing the availability of anthropogenic attractants for changing bear behavior and reducing risk of urban human-bear conflict, and that these responses can strengthen over time as bears learn from the management intervention.

AbstractHuman‐carnivore conflicts pose significant challenges in the management and conservation of carnivores across the globe. Abundant research has led to generalizable insights into the causes of such conflicts. For example, conflicts predictably occur when carnivores have access to human food resources, particularly when their natural foods are scarce. However, similar insights into the effectiveness of interventions aimed at coexistence remains comparatively scarce. We hypothesized that this disparity might be reflected in a bias toward research focused on causes of conflict rather than interventions to address it. To test our hypothesis, we evaluated the content of studies on human–carnivore conflicts and coexistence in Canada and the United States from 2010 to 2021. We found that studies disproportionately focused on causes of conflict, with that discrepancy increasing through our study period. We also found a disproportionate focus on black bears and wolves and western jurisdictions, and a disproportionate use of observational (vs. experimental) approaches. Studies on conflict interventions were primarily directed at the carnivores themselves (e.g., lethal approaches) versus human elements (e.g., attractant management, policies), despite evidence that the latter are more effective. We expect that a shift in focus toward solutions‐oriented research, integrating insights across geographies, taxa, social contexts, and disciplines, would facilitate effective interventions and foster coexistence, improving outcomes for people and carnivores alike.

Climate change poses a pervasive threat to humans and wildlife by altering resource availability, changing co-occurrences, and directly or indirectly influencing human-wildlife interactions. For many wildlife agencies in North America, managing bears (Ursus spp.) and human-bear interactions is a priority, yet the direct and indirect effects of climate change are exacerbating management challenges. Understanding the underlying ecological drivers of bear responses to climate variability and change, and the implications for conflict, will be critical for maintaining human-bear coexistence in North America. We synthesized 120 articles that identified direct and indirect mechanisms by which climate variability and change affect brown bears (Ursus arctos) and American black bears (Ursus americanus) in North America. The literature focused on examining climate impacts on bear diet, body size, habitat selection, space use, activity, denning chronology, and population demographics and dynamics. Across these categories, we summarized the documented and projected bear responses and resulting implications for human-bear interactions. Climate-driven changes in natural food availability were frequently implicated in influencing bear behavior and demography, and creating conditions under which interactions with humans are likely to increase. Bears in North America may face increased challenges as habitat and natural food availability continue to be altered by climate change. Our review provides a foundation upon which to identify climate drivers of bear ecology, conditions conducive to human-bear interactions, and adaptive management strategies. Given substantial evidence of climate impacts to bears, incorporating climate considerations into bear management can help managers strategically allocate resources and promote human-bear coexistence.

Assessing the effects of industrial development on wildlife is a key objective of managers and conservation practitioners. However, wildlife responses are often only investigated with respect to the footprint of infrastructure, even though human activity can strongly mediate development impacts. In Arctic Alaska, there is substantial interest in expanding energy development, raising concerns about the potential effects on barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti). While caribou generally avoid industrial infrastructure, little is known about the role of human activity in moderating their responses, and whether managing activity levels could minimize development effects. To address this uncertainty, we examined the influence of traffic volume on caribou summer space use and road crossings in the Central Arctic Herd within the Kuparuk and Milne Point oil fields on the North Slope of Alaska. We first modeled spatiotemporal variation in hourly traffic volumes across the road system from traffic counter data using gradient boosted regression trees. We then used generalized additive models to estimate non-linear step selection functions and road crossing probabilities from GPS-collared female caribou during the post-calving and insect harassment seasons, when they primarily interact with roads. Step selection analyses revealed that caribou selected areas further from roads (~1-3 km) during the post-calving and mosquito seasons, and selected areas with lower traffic volumes during all seasons, with selection probabilities peaking when traffic was <5 vehicles/hr. Using road crossing models, we found that caribou were less likely to cross roads during the insect seasons as traffic increased, but that response dissipated as insect harassment became more severe. Past studies suggested that caribou exhibit behavioral responses when traffic exceeds 15 vehicles/hr, but our results demonstrate behavioral responses at much lower traffic levels. Our results illustrate that vehicle activity mediates caribou responses to road infrastructure, information which can also be used in future land-use planning to minimize the behavioral responses of caribou to industrial development in sensitive arctic landscapes.

Investigators have speculated that the climate-driven “greening of the Arctic” may benefit barren-ground caribou populations, but paradoxically many populations have declined in recent years. This pattern has raised concerns about the influence of summer habitat conditions on caribou demographic rates, and how populations may be impacted in the future. The short Arctic summer provides caribou with important forage resources but is also the time they are exposed to intense harassment by insects, factors which are both being altered by longer, warmer growing seasons. To better understand the effects of summer forage and insect activity on Arctic caribou demographic rates, we investigated the influence of estimated forage biomass, digestible energy (DE), digestible nitrogen (DN), and mosquito activity on the reproductive success and survival of adult females in the Central Arctic Herd on the North Slope of Alaska. We tested the hypotheses that greater early summer DN would increase subsequent reproduction (parturition and late June calving success) while greater biomass and DE would increase adult survival (September–May), and that elevated mosquito activity would reduce both demographic rates. Because the period when abundant forage DN is limited and overlaps with the period of mosquito harassment, we also expected years with low DN and high harassment to synergistically reduce caribou reproductive success. Examining these relationships at the individual-level, using GPS-collared females, and at the population-level, using long-term monitoring data, we generally found support for our expectations. Greater early summer DN was associated with increased subsequent calving success, while greater summer biomass was associated with increased adult survival. Mosquito activity was associated with reductions in adult female parturition, late June calving success, and survival, and in years with low DN, had compounding effects on subsequent late June calving success. Our findings indicate that summer nutrition and mosquito activity collectively influence the demographic rates of Arctic caribou, and may impact the dynamics of populations in the future under changing environmental conditions.

Abstract The phylogeography of the American black bear (Ursus americanus) is characterized by isolation into glacial refugia, followed by population expansion and genetic admixture. Anthropogenic activities, including overharvest, habitat loss, and transportation infrastructure, have also influenced their landscape genetic structure. We describe the genetic structure of the American black bear in the American Southwest and northern Mexico and investigate how prehistoric and contemporary forces shaped genetic structure and influenced gene flow. Using a suite of microsatellites and a sample of 550 bears, we identified 14 subpopulations organized hierarchically following the distribution of ecoregions and mountain ranges containing black bear habitat. The pattern of subdivision we observed is more likely a product of postglacial habitat fragmentation during the Pleistocene and Holocene, rather than a consequence of contemporary anthropogenic barriers to movement during the Anthropocene. We used linear mixed‐effects models to quantify the relationship between landscape resistance and genetic distance among individuals, which indicated that both isolation by resistance and geographic distance govern gene flow. Gene flow was highest among subpopulations occupying large tracts of contiguous habitat, was reduced among subpopulations in the Madrean Sky Island Archipelago, where montane habitat exists within a lowland matrix of arid lands, and was essentially nonexistent between two isolated subpopulations. We found significant asymmetric gene flow supporting the hypothesis that bears expanded northward from a Pleistocene refugium located in the American Southwest and northern Mexico and that major highways were not yet affecting gene flow. The potential vulnerability of the species to climate change, transportation infrastructure, and the US–Mexico border wall highlights conservation challenges and opportunities for binational collaboration.

Annual variation in phenology can have profound effects on the behavior of animals. As climate change advances spring phenology in ecosystems around the globe, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how animals respond to variation in the timing of seasonal events and how their responses may shift in the future. We investigated the influence of spring phenology on the behavior of migratory, barren‐ground caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ), a species that has evolved to cope with short Arctic summers. Specifically, we examined the effect of spring snow melt and vegetation growth on the current and potential future space‐use patterns of the Porcupine Caribou Herd (PCH), which exhibits large, inter‐annual shifts in their calving and post‐calving distributions across the U.S.–Canadian border. We quantified PCH selection for snow melt and vegetation phenology using machine learning models, determined how selection resulted in annual shifts in space‐use, and then projected future distributions based on climate‐driven phenology models. Caribou exhibited strong, scale‐dependent selection for both snow melt and vegetation growth. During the calving season, caribou selected areas at finer scales where the snow had melted and vegetation was greening, but within broader landscapes that were still brown or snow covered. During the post‐calving season, they selected vegetation with intermediate biomass expected to have high forage quality. Annual variation in spring phenology predicted major shifts in PCH space‐use. In years with early spring phenology, PCH predominately used habitat in Alaska, while in years with late phenology, they spent more time in Yukon. Future climate conditions were projected to advance spring phenology, shifting PCH calving and post‐calving distributions further west into Alaska. Our results demonstrate that caribou selection for habitat in specific phenological stages drive dramatic shifts in annual space‐use patterns, and will likely affect future distributions, underscoring the importance of maintaining sufficient suitable habitat to allow for behavioral plasticity.

Abstract Spatiotemporal variation in forage is a primary driver of ungulate behavior, yet little is known about the nutritional components they select, and how selection varies across the growing season with changes in forage quality and quantity. We addressed these uncertainties in barren‐ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus), which experience their most important foraging opportunities during the short Arctic summer. Recent declines in Arctic caribou populations have raised concerns about the influence of climate change on summer foraging opportunities, given shifting vegetation conditions and insect harassment, and their potential effects on caribou body condition and demography. We examined Arctic caribou selection of summer forage by pairing locations from females in the Central Arctic Herd of Alaska with spatiotemporal predictions of biomass, digestible nitrogen (DN), and digestible energy (DE). We then assessed selection for these nutritional components across the growing season at landscape and patch scales, and determined whether foraging opportunities were constrained by insect harassment. During early summer, at the landscape scale, caribou selected for intermediate biomass and high DN and DE, following expectations of the forage maturation hypothesis. At the patch scale, however, caribou selected for high values of all forage components, particularly DN, suggesting that protein may be limiting. During late summer, after DN declined below the threshold for protein gain, caribou exhibited a switch at both spatial scales, selecting for higher biomass, likely enabling mass and fat deposition. Mosquito activity strongly altered caribou selection of forage and increased their movement rates, while oestrid fly activity had little influence. Our results demonstrate that early and late summer periods afford Arctic caribou distinct foraging opportunities, as they prioritize quality earlier in the summer and quantity later. Climate change may further constrain caribou access to DN as earlier, warmer Arctic summers may be associated with reduced DN and increased mosquito harassment.

Conflicts between people and wild animals are increasing globally, often with serious consequences for both. Local regulations or ordinances are frequently used to promote human behaviors that minimize these conflicts (risk-reducing behaviors), but compliance with ordinances can be highly variable. While efforts to increase compliance could be improved through applications of conservation psychology, little is known about the relative influence of different factors motivating compliance. Using concepts from psychology and risk theory, we conducted a longitudinal study pairing data from mail surveys with direct observations of compliance with a wildlife ordinance requiring residents to secure residential garbage from black bears (Ursus americanus). We assessed the relative influence of beliefs and attitudes toward bears and bear proofing, perceived behavioral control, perceived risks and benefits assigned to bears, norms, trust in management, previous experience with conflicts, and demographics on compliance behavior (i.e., bear proofing). Data on previous experience were obtained through direct observation and survey reports. We found that higher compliance rates were associated with more observed conflicts on a respondent's block. Counter to expectations, however, residents were less compliant when they were more trusting of the management agency and perceived more benefits from bears. We suggest that messages have the potential to increase compliance when they empower residents by linking successful management of conflicts to individual actions and emphasize how reducing conflicts could maintain benefits provided by wildlife. Modifying existing educational materials to account for these psychological considerations and evaluating their impact on compliance behavior over time are important next steps in changing human behaviors relevant to the globally important problem of human-wildlife conflict.

Abstract Large carnivores are negotiating increasingly developed landscapes, but little is known about how such behavioral plasticity influences their demographic rates and population trends. Some investigators have suggested that the ability of carnivores to behaviorally adapt to human development will enable their persistence, and yet, others have suggested that such landscapes are likely to serve as population sinks or ecological traps. To understand how plasticity in black bear (Ursus americanus) use of residential development influences their population dynamics, we conducted a 6‐yr study near Durango, Colorado, USA. Using space‐use data on individual bears, we examined the influence of use of residential development on annual measures of bear body fat, cub productivity, cub survival, and adult female survival, after accounting for variation in natural food availability and individual attributes (e.g., age). We then used our field‐based vital rate estimates to parameterize a matrix model that simulated asymptotic population growth for bears using residential development to different degrees. We found that bear use of residential development was highly variable within and across years, with bears increasing their foraging within development when natural foods were scarce. Increased bear use of development was associated with increased body fat and cub productivity, but reduced cub and adult survival. When these effects were simultaneously incorporated into a matrix model, we found that the population was projected to decline as bear use of development increased, given that the costs of reduced survival outweighed the benefits of enhanced productivity. Our results provide a mechanistic understanding of how black bear use of residential development exerts opposing effects on different bear fitness traits and a negative effect on population growth, with the magnitude of those effects mediated by variation in environmental conditions. They also highlight the importance of monitoring bear population dynamics, particularly as shifts in bear behavior are likely to drive increases in human–bear conflicts and the perception of growing bear populations. Finally, our work emphasizes the need to consider the demographic viability of large carnivore populations when promoting the coexistence of people and carnivores on shared landscapes.

ABSTRACT Increasing demands for energy have generated interest in expanding oil and gas production on the North Slope of Alaska, USA, raising questions about the resilience of barren‐ground caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) populations to new development. Although the amount of habitat lost directly to energy development in the Arctic will likely be relatively small, there are significant concerns about habitat that may be indirectly affected because of caribou avoidance behaviors. Behavioral responses to energy development for wildlife have been documented, but such responses are often assumed to dissipate over time, despite scant information on the ability of animals to habituate. To understand the long‐term effects of energy development on barren‐ground caribou, we investigated the behavior of the Central Arctic Herd in northern Alaska, which has been exposed to oil development on its summer range for approximately 40 years. Using recent (2015–2017) location data from global positioning system (GPS)‐collared females, we conducted a zone of influence analysis to assess whether caribou reduced their use of habitat near energy development, and if so, the distance the effects attenuated. We conducted this analysis for the calving, post‐calving, and mosquito harassment periods when caribou exhibit distinct resource selection patterns, and contrasted our results to past research that investigated the responses of the Central Arctic Herd immediately following the construction of the oil fields. Despite the long‐term presence of energy development within the Central Arctic Herd summer range, we found that female caribou exhibited avoidance responses to infrastructure during all time periods, although the effects waned across the summer. Caribou reduced their use of habitat within 5 km of development during the calving period, within 2 km during the post‐calving period, and within 1 km during the mosquito harassment period; these areas were predicted to overlap 12%, 15%, and 17% of important calving, post‐calving, and mosquito period habitat, respectively. During the calving period, the indirect effects we observed were similar to those observed in past research, whereas during the post‐calving and mosquito periods, we detected avoidance responses that had not been previously reported. These findings corroborate a growing body of evidence suggesting that habituation to industrial development in caribou in the Arctic is likely to be weak or absent, and emphasizes the value of minimizing the footprint of infrastructure within important seasonal habitat to reduce behavioral effects to barren‐ground caribou. © 2019 The Authors. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society.

Human foods have become a pervasive subsidy in many landscapes, and can dramatically alter wildlife behavior, physiology, and demography. While such subsidies can enhance wildlife condition, they can also result in unintended negative consequences on individuals and populations. Seasonal hibernators possess a remarkable suite of adaptations that increase survival and longevity in the face of resource and energetic limitations. Recent work has suggested hibernation may also slow the process of senescence, or cellular aging. We investigated how use of human foods influences hibernation, and subsequently cellular aging, in a large-bodied hibernator, black bears (Ursus americanus). We quantified relative telomere length, a molecular marker for cellular age, and compared lengths in adult female bears longitudinally sampled over multiple seasons. We found that bears that foraged more on human foods hibernated for shorter periods of time. Furthermore, bears that hibernated for shorter periods of time experienced accelerated telomere attrition. Together these results suggest that although hibernation may ameliorate cellular aging, foraging on human food subsidies could counteract this process by shortening hibernation. Our findings highlight how human food subsidies can indirectly influence changes in aging at the molecular level.

Human tolerance for interactions with large carnivores is an important determinant of their persistence on the landscape, yet the relative importance of factors affecting tolerance is not fully understood. Further, the impact of management efforts to alter tolerance has not been adequately assessed. We developed a model containing a comprehensive set of predictors drawn from prior studies and tested it through a longitudinal survey measuring tolerance for black bears (Ursus americanus) in the vicinity of Durango, Colorado, USA. Predictors included human-bear conflicts, outcomes of interactions with bears, perceptions of benefits and risks from bears, trust in managers, perceived similarity with the goals of managers, personal control over risks, value orientations toward wildlife, and demographic factors. In addition, we monitored changes in tolerance resulting from a bear-proofing experiment designed to reduced garbage-related conflicts in the community. Residents who perceived greater benefits associated with bears and more positive impacts from bear-related interactions had higher tolerance. Residents who perceived greater risks and more negative impacts and who had greater trust in managers, domination wildlife value orientations, and older age were less tolerant. Conflicts with bears were not an important predictor, supported by our finding that changes in conflicts resulting from our bear-proofing experiment did not affect tolerance. In contrast to conservation approaches that focus primarily on decreasing human-wildlife conflicts, our findings suggest that communication approaches aimed at increasing public tolerance for carnivores could be improved by emphasizing the benefits and positive impacts of living with these species.

ABSTRACTAlthough most wildlife professionals agree that science should inform wildlife management decisions, disconnect still exists between researchers and managers. If researchers are not striving to incorporate their findings into management decisions, support for research programs by managers can wane. If managers are not using research findings to inform management decisions, those decisions may be less effective or more vulnerable to legal challenges. Both of these situations can have negative consequences for wildlife conservation. We outline a collaborative research‐management approach to bridging the gap between wildlife managers and researchers. We describe differences in perspectives, perceptions, and priorities between managers and researchers; outline how and why the divide between researchers and managers has likely occurred and continues to grow; and present specific strategies and recommendations to foster stronger collaborations between managers and researchers. We advocate increased synergy between managers and researchers based on a shared vision of conservation and a collaborative structure that rewards researchers and managers. Most importantly, we suggest that relationships and communication between managers and researchers must be established early in research development and decision‐making processes, fostering the trust needed for collaboration. Institutions and agencies can facilitate these relationships by creating opportunities and incentives for integrating collaborative research into management decisions. We suggest this approach will strengthen ties between researchers and managers, increase relevance of research to management decisions, promote effectiveness of management decisions, reduce legal challenges, and ultimately produce positive, tangible, and lasting effects on wildlife conservation. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.

ABSTRACT Interactions between people and American black bears ( Ursus americanus ) have been increasing throughout the United States, with negative interactions becoming a major management challenge for wildlife agencies. To monitor the number, location, and severity of these conflicts, wildlife agencies typically rely on voluntary public reports. Although trends in voluntary reports are commonly assumed to reflect actual trends in human–bear interactions, recent research suggests an individual's likelihood of reporting interactions may be biased, influenced by attitudes toward the species and its management, previous experiences with wildlife, or demographic factors. During 2012, we used a mail survey of residents in the vicinity of Durango, Colorado, USA, ( n = 1,667) to explore the relative importance of tolerance for black bears, satisfaction with bear management, personal experience with bears, and demographic traits as predictors of a resident's decision to report interactions to the authorities. We found that residents’ experiences with bears were most important in predicting reporting behavior, followed closely by attitudes related to tolerance for bears, and satisfaction with management; demographic factors had relatively little influence. Respondents were more likely to report when they had seen black bears near their homes, had been threatened by bears, were intolerant of bears, dissatisfied with management, and were female. Although several variables in our analyses were influential in explaining reporting behavior, the overall predictive power of our models was low ( R 2 = 0.17), suggesting future investigations of reporting behavior should include a broader set of covariates. Our results indicate that public reports represent a biased measure of human–bear interactions, and management agencies should either account for bias, or collect different types of interaction data, when assessing patterns of bear activity. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

ABSTRACTUngulates are key components in ecosystems and economically important for sport and subsistence harvest. Yet the relative importance of the effects of weather conditions, forage productivity, and carnivores on ungulates are not well understood. We examined changes in elk (Cervus canadensis) recruitment (indexed as age ratios) across 7 states and 3 ecotypes in the northwestern United States during 1989–2010, while considering the effects of predator richness, forage productivity, and precipitation. We found a broad‐scale, long‐term decrease in elk recruitment of 0.48 juveniles/100 adult females/year. Weather conditions (indexed as summer and winter precipitation) showed small, but measurable, influences on recruitment. Forage productivity on summer and winter ranges (indexed by normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI] metrics) had the strongest effect on elk recruitment relative to other factors. Relationships between forage productivity and recruitment varied seasonally and regionally. The productivity of winter habitat was more important in southern parts of the study area, whereas annual variation in productivity of summer habitat had more influence on recruitment in northern areas. Elk recruitment varied by up to 15 juveniles/100 adult females across the range of variation in forage productivity. Areas with more species of large carnivores had relatively low elk recruitment, presumably because of increased predation. Wolves (Canis lupus) were associated with a decrease of 5 juveniles/100 adult females, whereas grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) were associated with an additional decrease of 7 juveniles/100 adult females. Carnivore species can have a critical influence on ungulate recruitment because their influence rivals large ranges of variation in environmental conditions. A more pressing concern, however, stems from persistent broad‐scale decreases in recruitment across the distribution of elk in the northwestern United States, irrespective of carnivore richness. Our results suggest that wildlife managers interested in improving recruitment of elk consider the combined effects of habitat and predators. Efforts to manage summer and winter ranges to increase forage productivity may have a positive effect on recruitment. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.