by Linda Nowack, Michaël Bonin, Martin Leclerc, Candice Michelot, Christian Dussault, Joëlle Taillon, John Pisapio, Steeve D. Côté Migratory caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) is a key component of the arctic food web.
Female caribou typically gather in late spring to give birth, creating a predictable, ephemeral resource pulse that can influence consumer behavior. As an omnivore, the black bear ( Ursus americanus ) predates on caribou neonates during calving when they are most vulnerable and occur at high densities.
We studied black bears in northern Québec and Labrador interacting with the Rivière-aux-Feuilles (RAFH) and Rivière-George (RGH) migratory caribou herds. Our aim was to assess the spatial response of bears to caribou distribution during calving by investigating the potential correlation between bear movements and their relative trophic position.
We expected bears with higher trophic positions to adopt behaviors favoring caribou encounters during the caribou calving period.
The research targets whether bears with higher trophic positions exhibit movement patterns that increase encounters with calving caribou.
Bear relative trophic position was derived from stable isotope analysis of blood serum, enabling linking space use to diet-level indicators.
However, no single movement pattern robustly predicts trophic position across individuals.
RGH) and substantial individual variability highlight context dependence and potential environmental or ecological modifiers of bear foraging tactics.