Welcome to the technical sessions schedule for the 2015 SEAFWA Annual Meeting.
NEW THIS YEAR! The technical schedule is capable of being sorted by date (i.e, Monday, Nov. 2), track (i.e. Wildlife Technical Sessions), or session (i.e. Wildlife Session #1). You can also search for a presentation title (i.e. Changing Landscapes by Coalition), key term (i.e. striped bass), or presenter last name (i.e. Weaver). The sort and search functions can be found on the navigation panel on the right side of this page. If you hover over the "Schedule" button, you’ll also see different schedule view options (i.e. Grid or Simple). Try selecting each of them to see which view you prefer.
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Nicholas P. Gould, North Carolina State University; Colleen Olfenbuttel, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission; Christopher S. Deperno, North Carolina State University
Little is known about the denning ecology of American black bear (Ursus americanus) populations in urban and suburban habitats. As the human population continues to increase and growth continues unabated, understanding the effects of disturbance on black bear den site selection in urban and suburban habitats is an important tool for wildlife managers. During October 2014 – March 2015, we monitored 24 GPS-collared bears (21 females, 3 males) in and around Asheville, North Carolina. Fifteen out of 20 dens (19 female, 1 male) were categorized as ground dens, four as tree dens, and one was located underneath a front porch (adult male). Seventeen of 18 denning females produced 45 cubs ( = 2.5). Additionally, we documented four litters of four and seven litters of three cubs. Three females with yearlings and two males remained active all winter, likely due to an abundant mast crop. Den sites were located primarily in ‘developed, open space’ (n = 11) and ‘deciduous forest’ (n = 10); one den was located in flood plain habitat, 5 m from a river edge. The average distances to paved road, major interstate, and the nearest anthropogenic feature (e.g., a residence) were 132 m (range: 15 – 488 m), 2825 m (range: 40 – 7262 m), and 109 m (range: 11 – 479), respectively. Overall, 40% (8/20) of den sites and 34% (range: 0 – 92%) of all bear locations during this first year, were located inside the Asheville city limits.
