Stephanie DeMay David Roon, UI Rodrigo Cisneros, UTPL Evaluating
the Diet of the Andean Bear http://www.warren-wilson.edu Slide 2
Outline Background & Introduction Objective Methods Importance
Project Linkages Slide 3 Study System- Tropical Andes Tropical
Andes high in biodiversity (Myers et al. 2000) Includes pramo
ecosystem 60% of 5000 pramo plant species endemic (Buytaert et al.
2006) Pramo uses Livestock grazing Agriculture Mining Timber
Tourism (Buytaert et al. 2006) Slide 4 Study System- Podocarpus
Natl Park Pramo Southern Ecuador Mestizo, Shuar, and Saraguro
people (Pohle 2008) Cold, wet, and windy climate (Keating 1999)
Contains many bromeliads (Keating 1999) Photo by Rodrigo Cisneros
Slide 5 Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) Umbrella species IUCN:
vulnerable Threats habitat destruction fragmentation poaching
conflicts with farmers and ranchers (Goldstein et al. 2008, Peyton
1999, Ros-Uzeda et al. 2005) Omnivorous, but primarily eat
bromeliads (Suarez 1988, Rivadeneira-Canedo 2008)
http://www.quantum-conservation.org Slide 6 Study Objective
Determine which, if any, ecological factors are correlated with
Andean bear foraging selection on bromeliads. Slide 7 Which
Ecological Factors? Each PlotEach Bromeliad Distribution of
conspecifics (10 m radius) Distribution of other potential food
plants (10 m radius) Distance from cover (GIS) Species Collected
water Flowering Size Clippings for future chemical and genetic
studies Distribution of bromeliads (photo) Percent bromeliad cover
Elevation/ aspect/slope (2 x 2 m and 90 x 90 m) Soil pH Soil depth
Soil Texture Microfauna Slide 8 Hypotheses Bears will forage on
some species of bromeliads while avoiding others. Foraging will be
affected by bromeliad proximity to conspecifics, other food plants,
and cover. Soil pH, depth, and texture will influence foraging
Elevation, slope, aspect, and microhabitat characteristics (located
in a rise or hollow) will influence foraging on bromeliads, perhaps
due to their effects on climate and moisture. Bears will forage
selectively on plants that collect water or microfauna and/or are
flowering. Bears will forage selectively on larger plants. Slide 9
Sampling Design (Garton et al. 2005) Two 5 km transects Twenty
plots (2 x 2 m) per transect Walk each transect every 2 weeks and
monitor for foraging Additional paired plots Slide 10 Proposed
Analysis (Garton et al. 2005) Multivariate logistic regression
models Akaike information criterion (AIC) analysis Slide 11
Importance Expand existing knowledge of a vulnerable species and
ecosystem Target conservation efforts Slide 12 Team Project
Linkages Assess plant species diversity/ composition across a pramo
gradient Developing a plant reference collection for diet of the
Andean bear Social and cultural importance of the pramo ecosystem
Slide 13 Literature Cited Buytaert, W., R. Clleri, B. De Bivre, F.
Cisneros, G. Wyseure and J. Deckers. 2006. Human impact on the
hydrology of the Andean pramos. Earth-Science Reviews 79:53-72.
Garton, Edward O., John T. Ratti, and John H. Giudice. 2005.
Research and Experimental Design. Chapter 3 In Braun, Clait (ed.).
Techniques For Wildlife Investigations and Management. The Wildlife
Society, Bethesda, MD. Goldstein, I., X. Velez-Liendo, S. Paisley
and D. L. Garshelis. 2008. Tremarctos ornatus. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4..
www.iucnredlist.org Keating, P.L. 1999. Changes in pramo vegetation
along an elevation gradient in southern Ecuador. Journal of the
Torrey Botanical Society 126: 159-175. Myers, N., R. A.
Mittermeier, C. G. Mittermeier, G. A. B. Da Fonseca and.J Kent.
2000. Biodiversity Hotspots for Conservation Priorities. Nature
40:853-858. Peyton B. 1999. Spectacled bear conservation action
plan. In: Servheen C, Herrero S, Peyton B, editors. Bears, status
survey and conservation action plan. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN: 1579
Pohle, P. 2008. The people settled around Podocarpus National Park.
E. Beck et al. (eds.). Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem
of Ecuador. Ecological Studies 198. Ros-Uzeda, B., H. Gmez and R.
B. Wallace. 2005. Habitat preferences of the Andean bear
(Tremarctos ornatus) in the Bolivian Andes. Journal of Zoology
268:271-278. Rivadeneira-Canedo, C. 2008. Estudio del oso andino
(Tremarctos ornatus) como dispersor legtimo de semillas y elementos
de su dieta en la regin de Apolobamba-Bolivia. Ecologa en Bolivia
43:29-39. Suarez, L. 1988. Seasonal distribution and food habits of
spectacled bears Tremarctos ornatus in the highlands of Ecuador.
Studies on neotropical fauna and environment 23:133-136. Slide 14
Questions?
