Journal
URSUS
Volume 21, Issue 1, Pages 43-56Publisher
INT ASSOC BEAR RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT-IBA
DOI: 10.2192/09GR010.1
Keywords
Alberta; bootstrap; conditional logistic regression; contingency tables; crossing index; Fisher's exact test; grizzly bear; roads; Ursus arctos
Categories
Funding
- Foothills Research Institute
- Ainsworth Lumber
- Alberta Conservation Association (ACA)
- Alberta Energy Company
- Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
- Alberta Newsprint
- Anderson Resource Ltd.
- Avid Identification Systems Inc Canada
- Blue Ridge Lumber (1981 Ltd.)
- British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission Environmental Fund
- British Petroleum Canada Energy Company
- Burlington Resources
- Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
- Canada Resources Ltd.
- Canadian Forest Products
- Canadian Hunter
- Canadian Wildlife Service
- Cardinal River Coals Ltd.
- GeoAnalytic Ltd.
- Gregg River Resources
- Inland Cement
- Luscar Sterco (1977) Ltd.
- Millar Western Pulp Ltd.
- Mountain Equipment Co-op
- Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada
- Parks Canada
- Petro-Canada
- PTAC (Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada)
- Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
- Suncor
- Sundance Forest Industries
- Sunpine Forest Products Ltd.
- Telemetry Solutions
- Center for Wildlife Conservation (USA)
- Trans Canada Pipeline
- University of Alberta
- University of Calgary
- University of Saskatchewan
- University of Washington
- West Fraser Timber Company Limited
- Western College of Veterinary Medicine
- Weyerhaeuser of Canada Ltd.
- World Wildlife Fund
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Resource extraction activities in Alberta, Canada, have produced a large increase in the number of roads in grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) habitat. High road densities have been associated with high grizzly bear mortality rates in some areas. We used GPS data from grizzly bears in west-central Alberta, Canada, 1999-2005 to examine (1) frequencies at which grizzly bears crossed roads (standardized by number of locations/bear and length of road segments), using a crossing index analysis among age sex classes, traffic volumes, seasons, and time of day; (2) habitat attributes surrounding crossing locations, using a resource selection function analysis to discern if certain habitats and road types were associated with crossing areas; and (3) grizzly bear distribution near roads as a function of age sex class and season to determine if bears were near roads more or less frequently than expected. Females had higher crossing indices than males for all seasons and daylight hours. Crossings occurred most often at narrow, unpaved roads near creeks and in open areas with high greenness scores. In spring, females with cubs were within 200 m of roads more frequently than expected. In autumn, subadult females were within 200 m of roads more frequently than expected, whereas adult males displayed the reverse pattern. These results indicate that females had a greater chance of encountering humans. Reducing the density of roads in grizzly bear habitat or reducing human presence on these roads, especially during the spring and fall seasons, may reduce the human-caused mortality to female grizzly bears. Creating or leaving a dense tree buffer along roads that traverse open habitats could provide a visual shield from passing vehicles, which may reduce grizzly bear human encounters and human-caused mortalities.
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