Steyaert, Sam M.J.G. and Stoen, Ole-Gunnar and Karlsson, Jens and Elfström, Marcus and van Lammeren, Ron and Bokdam, Jan and Zedrosser, Andreas and Brunberg, Sven and Swenson, Jon E.
(2011).
Resource selection by sympatric free-ranging dairy cattle and brown bears Ursus arctos.
Wildlife biology. 17
:4
, 389-403
[Journal article]
![]() |
PDF
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. 648kB |
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.2981/11-004
Abstract
Livestock depredation is an important factor that contributes to low public acceptance of large carnivores, and it is often used as an incentive to reduce large carnivore populations. In central Sweden, brown bears Ursus arctos coexist with a traditional cattle husbandry system that allows daytime free-ranging of dairy cattle. Despite a growing brown bear population, depredation on cattle remained stable during the last decade and is among the lowest rates reported worldwide. Nevertheless, major stakeholders argue for a substantial reduction in brown bear numbers, among other reasons, to safeguard the traditional husbandry system. Based on satellite tracking data, we assessed and correlated the resource selection of nine brown bears that were sympatric with six daytime free-ranging cattle herds during the freeranging season (i.e. June-August) in 2008. We found a significant and negative relationship between resource selection of brown bears and free-ranging cattle during the study period, mainly because of inverse relationships between the species towards vegetation density and human-related infrastructure, such as forest roads, buildings and settlements. We predict that the probability of an encounter between these species, given that there is no directed predation, is highest in dense vegetation patches close to the human habitation-related variables. Because of the low reported depredation rates and the apparent habitat segregation between the species, our results provide no support for the argument to reduce brown bear numbers to safeguard the traditional cattle herding system.
Authors/Creators: | Steyaert, Sam M.J.G. and Stoen, Ole-Gunnar and Karlsson, Jens and Elfström, Marcus and van Lammeren, Ron and Bokdam, Jan and Zedrosser, Andreas and Brunberg, Sven and Swenson, Jon E. | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title: | Resource selection by sympatric free-ranging dairy cattle and brown bears Ursus arctos | ||||||||
Series/Journal: | Wildlife biology (0909-6396) | ||||||||
Year of publishing : | 2011 | ||||||||
Volume: | 17 | ||||||||
Number: | 4 | ||||||||
Page range: | 389-403 | ||||||||
Number of Pages: | 15 | ||||||||
Publisher: | Nordic Board for Wildlife Research | ||||||||
Associated Programs and Other Stakeholders: | Wildlife Damage Centre | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0909-6396 | ||||||||
Language: | English | ||||||||
Publication Type: | Journal article | ||||||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 | ||||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 1 Natural sciences > 106 Biological Sciences (Medical to be 3 and Agricultural to be 4) > Zoology (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 401 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries > Forest Science | ||||||||
Agrovoc terms: | predator prey relations | ||||||||
Keywords: | brown bears, cattle, coexistence, depredation, human-wildlife conflict, resource selection, Ursus arctos | ||||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-3751 | ||||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-3751 | ||||||||
Additional ID: |
| ||||||||
ID Code: | 13716 | ||||||||
Faculty: | NL - Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences (until 2013) S - Faculty of Forest Sciences | ||||||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Dept. of Ecology (S) > Dept. of Ecology (S) > Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies | ||||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||||
Deposited On: | 01 Nov 2016 07:09 | ||||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2020 14:17 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page