Space use by a male Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) tracked with GPS telemetry in the Macizo Chingaza, Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes

Authors

  • Daniel Rodriguez Fundación para la Investigación, Conservación y Protección del Oso Andino (Fundación Wii), Bogotá, Colombia.
  • Adriana Reyes Fundación para la Investigación, Conservación y Protección del Oso Andino (Fundación Wii), Bogotá, Colombia.
  • Andrea del Pilar Tarquino-Carbonell Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina.
  • Héctor Restrepo Fundación para la Investigación, Conservación y Protección del Oso Andino (Fundación Wii), Bogotá, Colombia.
  • Nicolás Reyes-Amaya Fundación para la Investigación, Conservación y Protección del Oso Andino (Fundación Wii), Bogotá, Colombia. Colección de mamíferos, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31687/saremNMS.21.2.4

Keywords:

Andean bear, core area, GPS telemetry, habitat, home range

Abstract

For decades, telemetry has provided large amounts of ecological information for several bear species; however, for the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus), only three studies have available information. The use of space for this species was measured for the first time in Colombia with a male specimen tracked with GPS telemetry. Bear locations (n = 348) were obtained between October and December 2013, during the dry season. Our dry-season male home range estimates with nearest-neighbor convex-hull (K-NNCH, 24.62 km²) and kernel density estimate (KDE, 42.15 km²) slightly exceed those reported for the species in Ecuador, and our minimum convex polygon (MCP, 238.86 km²) quintupled estimates from Ecuador. This finding supports the hypothesis that more fragmented landscapes demand greater movements to obtain sufficient resources. K-NNCH and KDE were the most accurate methods, as they excluded degraded terrain not used by the tracked bear. Total daily traveled routes oscillated between 0.51–12.07 km. The forest-páramo ecotone, full of dry-season-fruiting Ericaceae shrubs, was the main habitat used.

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Nearest-neighbor convex-hull home range estimate for a male Andean bear in Chingaza, Colombia

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Published

02/15/2021

How to Cite

Rodriguez, D., Reyes, A., Tarquino-Carbonell, A. del P., Restrepo, H., & Reyes-Amaya, N. (2021). Space use by a male Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) tracked with GPS telemetry in the Macizo Chingaza, Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes. Notas Sobre Mamíferos Sudamericanos, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.31687/saremNMS.21.2.4