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Evaluating the Diet of the Andean Bear

Evaluating the Diet of the Andean Bear. Stephanie DeMay David Roon , UI Rodrigo Cisneros, UTPL. http://www.warren-wilson.edu. Outline. Background & Introduction Objective Methods Importance Project Linkages. Study System- Tropical Andes.

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Evaluating the Diet of the Andean Bear

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  1. Evaluating the Diet of the Andean Bear Stephanie DeMay David Roon, UI Rodrigo Cisneros, UTPL http://www.warren-wilson.edu

  2. Outline • Background & Introduction • Objective • Methods • Importance • Project Linkages

  3. Study System- Tropical Andes • Tropical Andes high in biodiversity (Myers et al. 2000) • Includes páramo ecosystem • 60% of 5000 páramo plant species endemic (Buytaert et al. 2006) • Páramo uses • Livestock grazing • Agriculture • Mining • Timber • Tourism(Buytaert et al. 2006)

  4. Study System- Podocarpus Nat’l Park Páramo • Southern Ecuador • Mestizo, Shuar, and Saraguropeople (Pohle 2008) • Cold, wet, and windy climate (Keating 1999) • Contains many bromeliads (Keating 1999) Photo by Rodrigo Cisneros

  5. Andean Bear (Tremarctosornatus) • Umbrella species • IUCN: vulnerable • Threats • habitat destruction • fragmentation • poaching • conflicts with farmers and ranchers(Goldstein et al. 2008, Peyton 1999, Ríos-Uzeda et al. 2005) • Omnivorous, but primarily eat bromeliads (Suarez 1988, Rivadeneira-Canedo 2008) WHY?? http://www.quantum-conservation.org

  6. Study Objective Determine which, if any, ecological factors are correlated with Andean bear foraging selection on bromeliads.

  7. Which Ecological Factors? Each Plot Each Bromeliad Percent bromeliad cover Species Distribution of bromeliads (photo) Flowering Microfauna Size Distance from cover (GIS) Collected water Soil pH Clippings for future chemical and genetic studies Distribution of conspecifics (10 m radius) Soil depth Soil Texture Distribution of other potential food plants (10 m radius) Elevation/ aspect/slope (2 x 2 m and 90 x 90 m)

  8. Hypotheses • Bears will forage on some species of bromeliads while avoiding others. • Foraging will be affected by bromeliad proximity to conspecifics, other food plants, and cover. • Soil pH, depth, and texture will influence foraging • Elevation, slope, aspect, and microhabitat characteristics (located in a rise or hollow) will influence foraging on bromeliads, perhaps due to their effects on climate and moisture. • Bears will forage selectively on plants that collect water or microfauna and/or are flowering. • Bears will forage selectively on larger plants.

  9. Sampling Design (Garton et al. 2005) • Two 5 km transects • Twenty plots (2 x 2 m) per transect • Walk each transect every 2 weeks and monitor for foraging • Additional paired plots

  10. Proposed Analysis (Garton et al. 2005) • Multivariate logistic regression models • Akaike information criterion (AIC) analysis

  11. Importance • Expand existing knowledge of a vulnerable species and ecosystem • Target conservation efforts

  12. Team Project Linkages • Assess plant species diversity/ composition across a páramo gradient • Developing a plant reference collection for diet of the Andean bear Social and cultural importance of the páramo ecosystem

  13. Literature Cited • Buytaert, W., R. Célleri, B. De Bièvre, F. Cisneros, G. Wyseure and J. Deckers. 2006. Human impact on the hydrology of the Andean páramos. Earth-Science Reviews 79:53-72. • Garton, Edward O., John T. Ratti, and John H. Giudice.  2005.  Research and Experimental Design. Chapter 3 In Braun, Clait (ed.).  Techniques For Wildlife Investigations and Management.  The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, MD. • Goldstein, I., X. Velez-Liendo, S. Paisley and D. L. Garshelis. 2008. Tremarctosornatus. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. <www.iucnredlist.org>.  • Keating, P.L. 1999. Changes in páramo vegetation along an elevation gradient in southern Ecuador. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 126: 159-175. • Myers, N., R. A. Mittermeier, C. G. Mittermeier, G. A. B. Da Fonseca and .J Kent. 2000. Biodiversity Hotspots for Conservation Priorities. Nature 40:853-858. • Peyton B. 1999. Spectacled bear conservation action plan. In: Servheen C, Herrero S, Peyton B, editors. Bears, status survey and conservation action plan. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN: 157–9 • Pohle, P. 2008. The people settled around Podocarpus National Park. E. Beck et al. (eds.). Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador. Ecological Studies 198. • Ríos-Uzeda, B., H. Gómez and R. B. Wallace. 2005. Habitat preferences of the Andean bear (Tremarctosornatus) in the Bolivian Andes. Journal of Zoology 268:271-278. • Rivadeneira-Canedo, C. 2008. Estudio del osoandino (Tremarctosornatus) comodispersorlegítimo de semillas y elementos de sudieta en la región de Apolobamba-Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia 43:29-39. • Suarez, L. 1988. Seasonal distribution and food habits of spectacled bears Tremarctosornatus in the highlands of Ecuador. Studies on neotropical fauna and environment 23:133-136.

  14. Questions?

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