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Journal article
Consumption of wasps and bees by Yellowstone grizzly bears
Northwest science., Vol.76(2), pp.166-172
2002
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/951
Abstract
I investigated the consumption of wasps and bees by grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region, 1977-1992, using data collected during a study of radio-marked bears. Although wasps and bees were not a major source of energy, Yellowstone grizzly bears are among only a few populations of their species in North America known to consume these insects in sometimes noteworthy amounts. Consumption of wasps and bees was greatest during the driest months of the study and during years when abundant ungulate carrion and few whitebark pine seeds were available. Peak consumption during dry years probably reflected increases in wasp and bee populations, whereas little consumption during years when pine seeds were abundant probably reflected a relative preference for pine seeds. The odds that bears would consume wasps and bees were greatest when they were in forest stands with abundant coarse woody debris and considerable live basal area. Excavation of ground nests also was most extensive in dense forest stands. All detected exploitation involved excavation of nests, almost all of which were located in or under logs and stumps or in duff near the base of trees. It is not clear if this pattern of exploitation reflected the distribution of wasps and bees, and, if so, why wasps and bees were concentrated in dense forests with abundant coarse woody debris. In short, Yellowstone grizzly bears apparently consumed wasps and bees most often when and where these insects were most abundant as well as when known high-quality bear foods were scarce.
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Details
- Title
- Consumption of wasps and bees by Yellowstone grizzly bears
- Creators
- David J. Mattson (Author)
- Publication Details
- Northwest science., Vol.76(2), pp.166-172
- Academic Unit
- Northwest Science
- Publisher
- WSU Press
- Identifiers
- 99900501849901842
- Copyright
- In copyright ; openAccess ; http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ ; http://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/OpenAccess
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article