Developing the Tools Necessary to Systematically Quantify the Vegetative Composition of the Andean Bear Diet

(Tremarctos ornatus)

Proposal by Tara Ball

Mentors: Dr. Janet Rachlow (UI) and Rodrigo Cisneros (UTPL)

(Dale, 2008)

Outline

• Background• Introduction• Research Questions• Goal• Objectives• Methods• Preliminary Analyses• Conservation Implications• Support

Background…

Dietary Analysis

• One of the most important tools in conservation management

• Food resources are an important parameter in:– Habitat analyses– Carrying capacity estimates– Conservation plans

(Hewitt & Robbins, 1996)

Introduction…

The Conservation Issue

(Britannica, 2011)

Current Threats

(McDowell, 2011)

(Black Sheep, 2011)

The Andean Bear(Tremarctos ornatus)

(URSA, 2011)

Current Dietary Information

Overarching Research Questions

1) What is the relative contribution of different plant species to the diet of the Andean bear?

2) How does the diet of the Andean bear vary across seasons and geographic range?

Project Goal

• To establish a reference collection of plants known—or—suspected to be part of the Andean bear diet.

Project Objectives

To develop the following:

1) Voucher collections that will contribute to the ongoing growth and research of the UTPL herbarium, the National Herbarium of Ecuador, and the University of Idaho Stillinger Herbarium;

2) Silica-gel dried tissue collections to be used for DNA extraction;

3) A microhistological reference collection of plant tissues; and

4) A DNA bank that will be housed at UTPL to be used for future genetic analyses.

Methods…

Andean Bear plot

Study Area

(Cisneros, 2011)

Field1) Plant Collection

2) Silica-gel Dried Tissue Collection (plant leaves)

3) Fecal Collection

(CeCalCULA, 2004)

Laboratory

1) Prepare Microhistological Plant Reference Slides

2) Prepare Plant DNA Bank

(University of Miami, 2000)

Preliminary Diet Analyses…

Process and Analyze 5 Fecal Samples

1) Prepare fecal reference slides

2) Quantify vegetative composition using grid technique• 10X10 square grid• 25 randomly located

microscope views per slide

Conservation Implications

• Developing the baseline tools needed for future diet analyses

• 1st step in addressing overarching research questions

• Produce the information necessary to develop realistic conservation management plans for the Andean bear

Support

• National Science Foundation

• Mentors: Dr. Janet Rachlow (UI) and Rodrigo Cisneros (UTPL)

• Field Botanist: Nixon Cumbicus (UTPL)

• Others: Bruce Davitt (WSU), Dave Tank (UI) and Jorge Armijos

(UTPL)

Literature Cited• Buytaert W., Célleri, R., Bièvre, B.D., Cisneros, F., Wyseure, G., Deckers, J., and Hofstede,

R. 2006. Human impact on hydrology of the Andean páramos. Earth Science Reviews 79:53-72.

• Cuesta, F., M.F. Peralvo, and F.T. van Manen 2003. Andean bear habitat use in the Oyacachi River Basin, Ecuador. Ursus 14:198-209.

• Kattan, G., O. L. Hernández, I. Goldstein, V. Rojas, O. Murillo, C. Gomez, H. Restrepo, and F. Cuesta. 2004. Range fragmentation in the spectacled bear Tremarctos ornatus in the northern Andes. Oryx 38:155-163.

• Mondolfi, E. 1989. Notes on the distribution, habitat, food habits, status and conservation of the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) in Venezuela. Mammalia. 53:525-544.

• Paisley, S., and D. L. Garshelis. 2006. Activity patterns and time budgets of Andean bears (Tremarctos ornatus) in the Apolobamba Range of Bolivia. Journal of Zoology 268:25 – 34.

• Peyton, B. 1980. Ecology, distribution, and food habits of spectacled bears, Tremarctos ornatus, in Peru. Journal of Mammalogy 61:639-652.

• Peyton, B. 1999a. Spectacled bear conservation action plan. In: C. Servheen, S. Herrero, and B. Peyton (eds). Bears. Status survey and conservation action plan. pp: 158-197. IUCN/SSC Bear and Polar Bear Specialist Groups, Gland Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

• Ríos-Uzeda, B., H. Gómez, and R. Wallace. 2005. Habitat preferences of the Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) in the Bolivian Andes. Journal of Zoology 268:271-278.

• Rodríguez, D., F. Cuesta, I. Goldstein, A.E. racho, L.G. Naranjo, and O.L. Hernandez. 2003. Ecoregional strategy for the conservation of the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) in the northern Andes. WWF Colombia, Fundación Wii, EcoCiencia, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Red Tremarctos.

• Troya, V., F. Cuesta, and M. Pervalo. 2004. Food Habits of Andean Bears in the Oyacachi River Basin, Ecuador. Ursus. 15:57-60. International Association of Bear Research and Management.

• Wilcox, B.A. 1984. In situ conservation of genetic resources: Determinants of minimum area requirements.In National Parks, Conservation and Development, Proceedings of the World Congress on National Parks. J.A. McNeely and K.R. Miller, Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 18-30.

• Yerena, E., and D. Torres. 2004. Spectacled Bear Conservation and Dispersal Corridors in Venezuela. Bears: Their Biology and Management. 9:169-172. International Association of Bear Research and Management, Missoula, Montana, USA.