Abstract 284 – Categorizing the research effort across the family Ursidae

Zachary David and John Whiteman

Scientific research is critical for informing management and conservation plans for threatened
species. An understanding of concepts such as life history, ecological interactions, human-
wildlife conflict, and habitat and diet selection are essential for assessing species-specific
threats. The distribution of research effort across threatened species is not uniform, with some
species and topics receiving significantly more attention than others. The family Ursidae – bears
– may exemplify this discrepancy; several species are global icons, while others are relatively
unknown outside of wildlife studies. Bears are charismatic and draw a lot of public attention,
are ecologically important due to their extensive geographical range and status as an umbrella
species, and occupy a variety of biomes. Additionally, individual species within Ursidae exhibit a
wide range of unique adaptations and dietary niches, from hypercarnivorous polar bears to
herbivorous giant pandas. Using the Web of Science database, we collected all peer-reviewed
papers published on Ursidae species between 1970-2021 and categorized studies into 28
distinct research disciplines, revealing a sharp discrepancy in both number of papers published
and distribution of research topics across Ursidae. Analysis of research effort by species both
temporally and spatially are currently ongoing.