Female American black bears do not alter space use or movements to reduce infanticide risk

PLoS One. 2018 Sep 14;13(9):e0203651. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203651. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Infanticide occurs in a variety of animal species and infanticide risk has large implications for the evolution of behavior. Further, the sex hypothesis of sexual segregation predicts that for species in which infanticide occurs, females with dependent young will avoid males to reduce risk of sexually-selected infanticide. Infanticide risk-avoidance behavior has been studied primarily in social species, but also occurs in some solitary species. We used generalized linear mixed models to determine if space use and movements of female American black bears (Ursus americanus) during the breeding season were consistent with the sex hypothesis of sexual segregation in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. Space use and movements of female black bears (n = 16) were not consistent with avoidance behavior to reduce sexually-selected infanticide risk. Females with cubs occupied core areas (mean = 4.64 km2, standard error [SE] = 1.28) and home ranges (mean = 19.46 km2, SE = 5.10) of similar size to females without cubs (core area [mean = 4.11 km2, SE = 0.59]; home range [mean = 16.07 km2, SE = 2.26]), and those core areas and home ranges were not in areas with lesser relative probability of male use. Additionally, females with cubs did not reduce movements during times of day when male movements were greatest. As female bears do avoid potentially infanticidal males in populations with greater levels of infanticide, female black bears may exhibit variation in avoidance behavior based on the occurrence of infanticide.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animal Distribution
  • Animals
  • Avoidance Learning
  • Behavior, Animal*
  • Female
  • Homing Behavior
  • Male
  • Michigan
  • Seasons
  • Ursidae / physiology*

Associated data

  • Dryad/10.5061/dryad.1320p

Grants and funding

Funding was provided by Safari Club International (https://www.safariclub.org/), Safari Club International Foundation (http://safariclubfoundation.org/), Safari Club International Michigan Involvement Committee (http://scimic.org/), Michigan Department of Natural Resources (http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/), Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (W-147-R), Mississippi State University (http://www.msstate.edu/), Mississippi State University Carnivore Ecology Laboratory (http://www.fwrc.msstate.edu/carnivore/), Northern Michigan University (http://www.nmu.edu/), Michigan Bear Hunters Association (http://www.mibearhunters.org/), and Upper Peninsula Bear Houndsmen Association (http://www.upbearhoundsmen.com/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.