Abstract 156 – Boundary effects on Black bear (Ursus americanus) in Elk Island National Park

Fletcher Elliott, Ramona Maraj, Erin Henderson, Rachel Stapleton, Nolan Waters,
Mary McConnell, Emily Gavey, Michelle Hoang

Habitat loss and fragmentation is a major driver of ecological change. Protected areas of
pristine habitat with minimal human disturbance can become increasingly isolated through
habitat fragmentation to a point of unsuitability for wildlife. Elk Island National Park is the only
fully fenced national park in Canada. The fence was established to protect the elk and bison
herds from disease transmission and human-wildlife conflict outside the park boundaries.
However, it presents challenges to the many other species that use the park. While the fence
fully contains and prevents the movement of bison, elk and moose, we were interested to
understand the impact of the fence on a species that is vagile and capable of climbing. GPS data
was collected across two years from collars fitted to 11 individual black bears (Ursus
americanus), to investigate the effects of boundaries on the species movement. A model of
space use was developed, examining the effect of the fence and other linear features on the
black bears in the park. The different types of linear features (i.e., fence, parkway, highway or
township road) that was closest had a significant effect on the space use of black bears (F=
27.3494, p < 0.001), however the distance to the nearest boundary did not affect space use
regardless of barrier type (F = 2.0850, p = 0.15). Model fit and sampling bias are possible
limitations of the study that can be improved with further analysis and sampling effort.
Understanding the movement of black bears in an isolated patch of protected habitat such as
Elk Island is crucial to understanding the impact of the fence to landscape connectivity and the
preservation of the local population