Abstract
Habitat selection is an important behavioural process widely studied for its population-level effects. Models of habitat selection are, however, often fit without a mechanistic consideration. Here, we investigated whether patterns in habitat selection result from instinct or learning for a population of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in Alberta, Canada. We found that habitat selection and relatedness were positively correlated in female bears during the fall season, with a trend in the spring, but not during any season for males. This suggests that habitat selection is a learned behaviour because males do not participate in parental care: a genetically predetermined behaviour (instinct) would have resulted in habitat selection and relatedness correlations for both sexes. Geographic distance and home range overlap among animals did not alter correlations indicating that dispersal and spatial autocorrelation had little effect on the observed trends. These results suggest that habitat selection in grizzly bears are partly learned from their mothers, which could have implications for the translocation of wildlife to novel environments.
Highlights
Habitat selection is a behavioural process influencing individual fitness and populations through habitat-specific demographic performance (e.g. [1,2])
No relationship between genetic relatedness and patterns of habitat selection were observed in males during any season, while there was an overall positive relationship between relatedness and habitat selection in females (Table 3)
When all seasons were combined, a positive correlation between genetic relatedness and shared habitat selection patterns were observed for female grizzly bears (r(G,S|A) = 0.19, p = 0.02)
Summary
Habitat selection is a behavioural process influencing individual fitness and populations through habitat-specific demographic performance (e.g. [1,2]). Habitat selection is a behavioural process influencing individual fitness and populations through habitat-specific demographic performance We test the competing hypotheses of whether genetics (instinct), or parent-offspring rearing (learning) affect patterns of habitat selection for a population of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in Alberta, Canada. In the absence of pedigree information, which would allow the direct examination of parental-offspring relationships, analysis of genetic relatedness within each sex can help tease apart the influence of instinct and learning on behavioural patterns. If maternal rearing were to lead to habitat ‘learning’ or induce a natal habitat preference, we would expect a correlation between patterns of habitat selection and female relatedness, regardless of where individuals reside, and no relationship (or attenuated) among males because most animals would not be siblings - this is analogous to a matrilineal inheritance of behaviour. Because males do not contribute to offspring rearing, a correlation of habitat selection and genetic relatedness in males and females would support a genetically predetermined behaviour of habitat selection
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