Newswise — West Virginia University and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources are using cutting-edge technology to gain a better understanding of the state's black bear population.
John Edwards, associate professor of wildlife and fisheries resources in the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences, and graduate student Ed Arrow of Enon Valley, Pa., have teamed with wildlife biologists Harry Spiker and Steve Bittner from the Maryland DNR Wildlife and Heritage Services to learn more about black bears in western Maryland.
The collaborative research project will address two important ecological and human dimension aspects: monitoring black bear movements using global positioning (GPS) radio collars placed on captured bears, and determining hunter movements through the use of GPS armband units.
"Use of such novel technology will allow us to determine spatial patterns and habitat use of black bears throughout the year, while at the same time allowing us to assess the vulnerability of bears to hunting mortality by providing real-time information of bear and hunter movements during the black bear season," Edwards said.
This is the first study of its kind where concurrent GPS information will be collected on both bears and bear hunters.
"Our goal for the two-year project is to have 15 to 17 bears equipped with GPS collars. During the recent 2005 season, 42 hunters " approximately 25 percent of those permitted to hunt " wore GPS armband units during their hunt. Data gathered over the next two years will allow biologists to determine the most likely habitats occupied by black bears, and how to best structure hunting seasons to maintain desired numbers of black bears in western Maryland," Edwards said.
In 2004, increasing estimates of black bear numbers, bear sightings and nuisance complaints over the last decade prompted the first regulated black bear hunt in Maryland in 51 years.
"The goal of the hunt was to slow the growth of the population to a level more consistent with cultural carrying capacity; 20 bears were harvested," according to Harry Spiker, Maryland DNRs black bear biologist. Maryland's second successful bear season closed Oct. 27 after the 2005 harvest quota of 40-55 bears was met.
Information regarding the ecological requirements of black bears in Maryland is critical in making future management decisions.
"Because of the previously low numbers of black bears, only limited information is available on many important parameters such as home range and habitat use," Spiker said. "Moreover, it's also important to determine the vulnerability of black bears to hunting when setting harvest regulations and seasons."
Respondents to a Maryland public opinion survey conducted in 2004 were more likely to support black bear hunting as a management tool if they knew the black bear population as a whole would not be endangered, or if they knew that black bear hunting would be allowed only if hunting methods were fair, sportsmanlike, and conformed to the ethics of "fair chase."
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