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ResearchIn past years, FWC and several universities have conducted research on black bears in Florida. Research topics include: bee yard depredation, denning and litter sizes, diets, diseases and parasites, habitat selection, movements, and population characteristics. The results of such research have been published in scientific journals, available from university libraries. To assist in your search, the citations for these articles are listed in the bibliography. Recent ResearchFWC and graduate students from several universities (University of Florida, University of Kentucky, and University of Tennessee) are currently conducting or have recently completed several research projects on Florida black bears. These projects are: Bears in the urban-wildland interface, 2005 - Ongoing This is Aletris Neils study.
Determining the impact of relocation
on nuisance Florida
black bear in
2004 - Ongoing The FWC nuisance bear policy allows for the
relocation of nuisance bears, rehabilitated orphaned cubs and bears
reported in residential areas. Relocation is often perceived as a tool
to reduce nuisance bear activity. Although this method has been
practiced for several years, minimal data are available to determine the
fate of bears after relocation and whether such actions are effective in
reducing the level of nuisance bear activity. Determining the fate of
relocated bears in Florida
could alter the nuisance bear management activities currently practiced
in the state. The objective of Kim Annis' University of Florida graduate
project is to monitor the movements and activities of relocated nuisance
bears to document whether relocated nuisance bears 1) remain where
released, 2) return to former home ranges, 3) suffer high rates of
mortality, and 4) become nuisances in new areas. Management
recommendations will be provided based on these results.
South-central Florida Black Bear Conservation, 2004 - Ongoing: This University of Kentucky study is using VHF and GPS technology to examine the ecological and spatial characteristics of one of the last remaining, unstudied black bear populations in Florida. Research on this population was identified as a high priority at least a decade ago. Because of its position in a quickly developing part of Florida, its linkage with North America’s southeastern-most bear population, and its existence in a landscape that appears marginally suitable for black bear occupation, south central Florida embodies unique ecological and conservation challenges. Similarly denatured and deforested habitat in Florida is devoid of the species. The findings of this study will be important in identifying essential core habitat and the critical pathways that link remnant forests and other important habitats in the region. An understanding of black bear movements and ecology in this developing region of Florida will promote continued conservation successes such as The Nature Conservancy’s acquisition of the Royce Ranch at Lake Apthorpe (now an FWC Wildlife Management Area), an expanding Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, the Florida Conservation and Recreation Lands Program (CARL), and Florida Forever. The results will also suggest the short- and long-term prospects for persistence through the examination of demographic and genetic data in a population that is likely well below 100 individuals. Recommendations will then be made to promote population and landscape management that maintains this part of the black bear’s range as integral to a statewide metapopulation. Objectives: 1. Determine habitat use and preference patterns. 2. Determine the overall demographic and genetic status of the population. 3. Identify key attributes of the landscape that facilitate or hinder bear movements and potential linkages with other bear populations. 4. Estimate total population size and trends. 5. Develop recommendations for enhancing habitat continuity, facilitating connectivity with adjacent bear populations, and promoting the long-term persistence of the south central Florida black bear population.
Demodicosis in the Ocala Population, 2000 - Ongoing: Researchers with FWC are looking at demodicosis
(mange) problem in black bears on the western edge of the Ocala National
Forest. This type of mange is caused by a mite that is not contagious
to people or domestic animals. The mites live in the hair follicles
and severe infestations result in hair loss. In domestic animals, demodicosis
is often the result of immunosuppression and we suspect that the presence
of these mites may reflect some type of underlying problem in bears
from this region.
This research was conducted in collaboration with Black
Bear Movement and Habitat Use Relative to Roads in Ocala National Forest. Non-invasive Assessment of Black Bear Movements and Abundance Relative to U.S. 98 Within the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area, 2003 - 2005: The section of US 98 that bisects the Aucilla WMA is ranked third in importance out of 15 statewide bear roadkill problem areas. Using hair snaring techniques and track transects, FWC will estimate the size of this local population, and reveal the rates and specific locations where bears cross US 98. Results will assist FLDOT regarding any future needs for improved habitat connectivity features such as wildlife crossing structures or a longer replacement bridge spanning both the Aucilla River and floodplain. Statewide Assessment of Road Impacts on Bears in Florida, 2001 - 2005: This FWC study will assess the impacts of transportation related deaths on bear populations by estimating the abundance and distribution of black bears in six core areas across the state. The results will enable FWC to make informed decisions regarding highway management issues such as design, placement, and mitigation. A second aspect of this project will be to update the distribution map of black bears throughout Florida using FWC records (nuisance calls, research, and roadkill locations), and interviews with land managers from public agencies and large private lands. Cub survival and denning ecology of
Florida black bears in Ocala National Forest, 2002 - 2004:
Elina Garrison's thesis
is finished, and listed in the bibliography. This University of Florida graduate project determined survival
rates and specific causes of mortality of cubs in Ocala National Forest
and the residential area of Lynne by using lightweight, expandable
radio-collars. Information on reproductive ecology of female black
bears such as litter size and age at reproduction was also
collected. Because birth and early maternal care occur in dens and
availability of adequate den sites can influence survival of cubs,
denning site characteristics were also investigated. This
information is important to bear management because demographic models
of black bear populations elsewhere suggest that cub survival rate is a
critical demographic variable with substantial consequences for
population dynamics. However, data on survival rates, specific
causes and time of mortality, and the relative importance of mortality
factors for Florida black bear cubs are virtually nonexistent.
This research was conducted in collaboration with Black
Bear Movement and Habitat Use Relative to Roads in Ocala National Forest
and Demodicosis in the Ocala Population. Genetic Structure and Gene Flow Among Florida Black Bear Populations, 2002 - 2004: See bibliography for Jeremy Dixon's thesis. Building on the data collected in the Statewide Assessment of Road Impacts on Bears in Florida, the objectives this University of Florida graduate project were to characterize the genetic structure of black bears in Florida, document gene flow among populations, investigate gene flow in terms of landscape configuration, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a regional corridor in connecting the Ocala and Osceola black bear populations. The Ocala-Osceola corridor is perhaps the only functioning regional corridor in the southeastern coastal plain, yet long-term survival of this important corridor is questionable due to increasing development pressure. Habitat Use and Genetic Relatedness of Female Black Bears in the Ocala National Forest, 2002 - 2004: Melissa Moyer's thesis is also listed in the bibliography. This University of Florida graduate project used habitat preference analysis and habitat modeling to identify important habitats for the black bears, as well as how these requirements may change seasonally and annually. Because of the relatively high density of black bears in the forest, there are many overlapping home ranges between bears. A comparison of habitats within the overlaps to total habitat availability may be another productive method for identifying important areas for the bears. The assumption was that habitats capable of supporting several bears are of higher quality than surrounding areas. This research also addressed how space sharing correlates to genetic relatedness. It is generally assumed that related females will be more tolerant of one another and thus permit more home range overlap. However, there is currently little genetically-based information to support this pattern. This project was conducted in collaboration with Black Bear Movement and Habitat Use Relative to Roads in Ocala National Forest. Black Bear Movements and Habitat Use Relative to Roads in Ocala National Forest, 2000 - 2004: The
Final
report is now available. Researchers with FWC investigated the movements, habitat use, and population dynamics of black bears along
a portion of State Road 40 in Ocala National Forest. The Ocala black
bear population is the largest in the state and has sustained 43% of
the statewide roadkill since 1976. State Road 40, which is being considered
for widening, bisects the national forest and contains several sites
where roadkilled bears are a reoccurring problem. FWC sought to
define habitat use, patterns of movement and rates and sources of adult
mortality from radiocollared bears. Data concerning the locations and
patterns of highway crossings were gathered from a dirt track transect
adjacent to the roadway, and by documenting the locations of unsuccessful
road crossings. The distribution and abundance of fall foods was also assessed
with mast surveys to help explain bear movements and highway
crossing frequency.
This research was conducted in collaboration with Demodicosis in the Ocala Population. Northern St. Johns River Black Bear Assessment, 2002 - 2003: Black bears appear to be very patchy in the northern portions of the St. Johns population. To assist in updating the bear distribution maps for this population, FWC collected bear hair from hair traps in Flagler and St. Johns counties from late fall 2002 to spring 2003. This data allowed us to more precisely determine in which areas bears were present. Habitat Assessment for Potential
Reintroduction of Black Bears to the Mobile-Tensaw Delta of
2000 - 2003:
Black bears have been extirpated from all but a few areas in southwestern Alabama, and the remaining enclaves are rapidly being lost to development. Adjacent to those remnant bear populations are extensive (>125,000 ha) bottomland hardwood forests in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta (MTD), but bears are nearly absent there. Reintroduction may be possible to reestablish black bears in the MTD, which would improve the viability of the overall bear population in southwestern Alabama. To determine whether such efforts could be successful, Kent Hersey's graduate project at the University of Tennessee compared habitat quality with an area of similar habitats in Arkansas (White River National Wildlife Refuge), performed flood simulation using GIS to assess the availability of save ground dens, and used demographic variables (i.e., age, race, sex) in a model to predict human attitudes towards black bear restoration efforts. |
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