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- Title
Topographical constraints and home range quality
- Authors
Powell, R. A.; Mitchell, M. S.
- Abstract
The topography of an area affects the animals that live in it. Usingdigitized topographic maps of our mountainous study area in North Carolina, USA, and using radio telemetry data for locations of black bears Ursus americanus, we tested the hypotheses that topography influences home ranges of black bears and that topography affects access toresources by black bears. Use of space by bears correlated positively with steepness of slope but negatively with relative elevation. Theperimeters of bears' home ranges aligned with ridges and valleys more than expect by chance and home ranges were oriented on major topographic features, such as watersheds and basins. Bears' home ranges hadlower resource values than was optimal for their home range locations and access to resources was limited by topography. Ignoring topography may lead researchers to misunderstand the ecology and behavior ofanimals that live in mountainous areas.
- Subjects
NORTH Carolina; UNITED States; HOME range (Animal geography); BLACK bear
- Publication
Ecography, 1998, Vol 21, Issue 4, p337
- ISSN
0906-7590
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1600-0587.1998.tb00398.x