Abstract 53 – Non-social species are more social than we thought – understanding seasonal patterns in sociality in a solitary carnivore

Rick Heeres, Martin Leclerc, Shane Frank, Fanie Pelletier, Andreas Zedrosser

The social system of a species describes the pattern of relationships between and among
individuals and social groups, and how these individuals and social groups are distributed across
the landscape. Sociality is the interplay between the spatial and social environment in which
animal populations persist. Using long-term movement data to investigate social associations is
a critical advancement to study sociality in solitary species. We examined the frequency and
main-driver of social associations in a hunted brown bear population using individual-based
movement data of 153 GPS-collared individuals (2003-2022). We used social network analysis
to investigate if inter- and intra-sexual associations are occurring non-randomly during the
entirety of the active period of brown bears based on annual and seasonal social networks. We
found that bears are associating throughout their active period with seasonal distinctive
frequencies. Reproduction was established as the main driver regarding sociality in the
population. Our results show that associations are occurring non-randomly and at a higher
frequency than expected both during and outside the mating season. The results go against the
general assumptions of bears being “non-social” or “solitary-living” species, suggesting that
bears may have a higher degree of sociality then previously acknowledged.