Virtual Posters

Depending on time of year and reproductive status, the importance of available resources and the area traversed in acquiring them can differ between males and females, especially during the mating period. For reproductively receptive individuals, roaming behaviour during the mating period may be advantageous, because of the increased probability of encountering asynchronously receptive mates (i.e., the roam-to-mate hypothesis). To examine roam-to-mate behaviour in Arctic grizzly bears (Ursus arctos), we used Argos satellite-linked GPS radio-collars to collect location information on movement and range use during mating and post-mating periods from 41 animals in the Mackenzie Delta region of northern Canada. Bears were classed as males, solitary females, females with cubs >= one year old, and females with cubs-of-the-year. A two-way ANOVA was used to compare home range sizes by sex and reproductive status across mating and post-mating periods. We found no significant difference in the range size of grizzly bears from the mating period to the post-mating period with the exception of females with cubs-of-the-year that used smaller ranges during the mating period. Our data did not support the roam-to-mate hypothesis observed in other grizzly bear populations and taxa. Only females with young cubs-of-the-year had significantly smaller ranges than all other bears and continued to use smaller areas than males during the post-mating period. Determining how grizzly bears in the Mackenzie Delta use the landscape during mating and post-mating periods has improved our understanding of the range use behaviour within the population, which will be beneficial for future grizzly bear management.