Problem:
Describe a paper from the peer-reviewed literature that provides an additional example of behavioral mediation of habitat use due to perceived risk related to human presence or activities that fits their scenario and discuss the management implications. In your response, rely on additional sources. Be sure to provide the citation. Need Assignment Help?
Post
Brown bears dominate Alaska's boreal forests by foraging and hunting down various prey. Due to their high abundance, in some areas of Alaska, they can be legally hunted with a license. Even though hunting does not threaten Alaska's brown bears, it could impact how they respond to the presence of humans and how they forage and hibernate. The predation risk theory states that wildlife that are hunted will view humans as predators and avoid them at all costs (Storch 2013). Studies have been conducted on how other animals that are commonly hunted, like grouse, respond to humans and they show that they confirm the predation risk theory in populations where hunting has occurred for multiple generations (Storch 2013). Therefore, brown bears in places where they can be legally hunted, will likely run away when they see or smell a nearby human. Not only will they stay away from humans, but they also will avoid areas where humans are frequently present. Another study on predation risk theory shows that deer do not forage in certain areas to avoid humans (Dwinnell et al. 2019). Bears forage as well so I predict that they will tend to only forage in areas where they have never encountered humans, even if it leads to missing out on food. The same study demonstrates how deer also lose some foraging in places where they feed during winter (Dwinnell et al. 2019). Brown bears do not forage during winter since they hibernate but the results from the deer study lead me to assume that bears will not build hibernation dens in high-risk areas. To summarize, according to the predation risk theory, hunting will cause brown bears to run away when they sense humans, they will lose out on areas where they forage to avoid hunters, and bears will hibernate away from places where humans are consistently found.