Supporting adaptive grizzly bear population management in British Columbia using dietary profiles

Stable isotope analysis is an important tool for identifying the primary foods present in wildlife diets. This project will use stable isotopes, collected from approximately 1000 hair samples, to develop dietary profiles of grizzly bears in British Columbia, Canada. The dietary profiles, representing the proportion of meat, fish, other marine fods, and vegetation in an individual bear’s diet, will be used to understand how the availability and quality of different foods, topography, climate and human pressures combine to influence bear diet throughout the province. The project goal is to support grizzly bear population monitoring and conservation programs developed by the BC Conservation Foundation by providing information on dietary patterns associated with different regions and habitats throughout the province.

Faculty Supervisor:

Mathieu Bourbonnais;Garth Mowat

Student:

Jonathan VanElslander

Partner:

BC Conservation Foundation

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Other

University:

University of British Columbia Okanagan