Application of Large-Scale Parentage Analysis for Investigating Natal Dispersal in Highly Vagile Vertebrates: A Case Study of American Black Bears (Ursus americanus)

Scott Winterstein,Jennifer A. Moore,Hope M. Draheim,Kim T. Scribner,Dwayne Etter

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091168

Scott Winterstein, Jennifer A. Moore + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091168

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Abstract

Understanding the factors that affect dispersal is a fundamental question in ecology and conservation biology, particularly as populations are faced with increasing anthropogenic impacts. Here we collected georeferenced genetic samples (n = 2,540) from three generations of black bears (Ursus americanus) harvested in a large (47,739 km2), geographically isolated population and used parentage analysis to identify mother-offspring dyads (n = 337). We quantified the effects of sex, age, habitat type and suitability, and local harvest density at the natal and settlement sites on the probability of natal dispersal, and on dispersal distances. Dispersal was male-biased (76% of males dispersed) but a small proportion (21%) of females also dispersed, and female dispersal distances (mean ± SE = 48.9±7.7 km) were comparable to male dispersal distances (59.0±3.2 km). Dispersal probabilities and dispersal distances were greatest for bears in areas with high habitat suitability and low harvest density. The inverse relationship between dispersal and harvest density in black bears suggests that 1) intensive harvest promotes restricted dispersal, or 2) high black bear population density decreases the propensity to disperse. Multigenerational genetic data collected over large landscape scales can be a powerful means of characterizing dispersal patterns and causal associations with demographic and landscape features in wild populations of elusive and wide-ranging species.

Highlights

Dispersal is an important ecological process that allows individuals to exploit temporally and spatially variable resources, and has implications for population dynamics and population viability through the spatial redistribution of individuals [1]
Understanding the mechanisms that motivate individuals to disperse from, and to settle in specific locales is a fundamental question in ecology and conservation biology [1] as populations are faced with increasing anthropogenic impacts and rapidly changing and fragmented environments
Field Sampling During the annual Northern Lower Peninsula (NLP) bear hunting season (September and October), hunters must register harvested bears at registration stations facilitated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR)

Summary

Introduction

Dispersal is an important ecological process that allows individuals to exploit temporally and spatially variable resources, and has implications for population dynamics and population viability through the spatial redistribution of individuals [1]. Dispersal behavior can be based on factors intrinsic to the individual (i.e., phenotype-dependent) and/or extrinsic social or ecological factors (i.e., condition-dependent) [3]. Individuals are theoretically expected to disperse from areas of high to low population density, to exploit areas with comparatively more abundant resources (e.g., space, food, mates) and areas with fewer competitors [3]. Results from the few empirical studies that have investigated densitydependent dispersal directly have found equivocal support for theoretical expectations, which may reflect context-specific probabilities of immigration and emigration in response to density [4,5,6]. When the relationship between population density and resource availability is not closely coupled, individuals may be better able to survive and reproduce by dispersing into locales characterized by habitat that is similar to habitat in their natal areas (i.e., natal habitat-biased dispersal [7,8] or natal habitat imprinting [9,10])

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