We modeled the distributions of important late-season grizzly bear food resources (fruiting species), along with habitats suitable for reproduction for these species. We then considered tradeoffs between bottom-up (food resource supply) and top-down (mortality risk from roads) factors affecting seasonal habitat quality for bears. Simulated annealing was used to prioritize source-like sites (high habitat productivity, low mortality risk) for protection, as well as sink-like sites (high habitat productivity, high mortality risk) for restoration. Priority source-like habitats identified key conservation areas where future developments should be limited, whereas priority sink-like habitats identified key areas for mitigating road-related mortality risk with access management. Maps, data, and additional information provided here is supplemental to Braid and Nielsen (2015) PLoS ONE.

Publication:

Braid A & Nielsen SE (2015) Prioritizing sites for protection and restoration for grizzly bears in southwest Alberta, Canada. PLoS ONE. 10(7):e0132501.

This project was funded by:

With support from: