Abstract
Abundance estimation of hunted brown bear populations should occur on the same geographic scale as harvest data analyses for estimation of harvest rate. Estimated harvest rates are an important statistic for managing hunted bear populations. In Alaska, harvest data is collected over large geographic units, called Game Management Units (GMUs) and sub-GMUs. These sub GMUs often exceed 10,000 km2. In the spring of 2002, we conducted an aerial survey of GMU 9D (12,600 km2) and GMU 10 (4,070 km2) using distance sampling with mark-resight data. We used a mark-resight distance sampling method with a two-piece normal detection function to estimate brown bear abundance as 1,682.9 (SE = 174.29) and 316.9 (SE = 48.25) for GMU 9D and GMU 10, respectively. We used reported hunter harvest to estimate harvest rates of 4.35% (SE = 0.45%) and 3.06% (SE = 0.47%) for GMU 9D and GMU 10, respectively. Management objective for these units support sustained, high quality hunting opportunity which harvest data indicate are met with an annual harvest rate of approximately 5–6% or less.
Highlights
Brown bears (Ursus arctos) are a long-lived species of low reproductive rate that are managed conservatively in most coastal areas of Alaska, but often without the aid of estimates of population abundance or harvest rate
For Game Management Units (GMUs) 9D, no brown bears were detected above 610 m; and for GMU 10 none were detected above 305 m, which we used to define spring brown bear habitat
GMU 9D brown bear habitat consisted of 8,648.2 km2 and was sampled with 363 transects with a total length of 7,436.4 km from which 253 bear groups containing 458 bears were detected (Fig 1)
Summary
Brown bears (Ursus arctos) are a long-lived species of low reproductive rate that are managed conservatively in most coastal areas of Alaska, but often without the aid of estimates of population abundance or harvest rate. The Alaska Peninsula, which is Game Management Unit (GMU) 9 managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), produces large brown bears that are highly prized by hunters and professional bear guides. To manage this resource more actively for sustained yield and trophy characteristics, accurate and precise estimates of population abundance can be obtained to determine and potentially modify the harvest rates of these populations. ADFG monitors bear harvest on a subunit basis, of which there are 5 in GMU 9 (e.g., GMU 9D).
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