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Using Stable Isotopes To Assess Longitudinal Diet Patterns Of Black Bears (Ursus Americanus) In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Jennapher Lynn Teunissen Van Manen

Masters Theses

Long-term diet patterns based on stable isotope analysis may be helpful to understand changes in food selection of black bears (Ursus americanus) over time and guide management programs to reduce human-bear conflicts. An enriched stable carbon isotope signature indicates an anthropogenic food source in the diet and an enriched nitrogen signature indicates a higher tropic level for a species. I examined longitudinal feeding patterns from 117 hair samples of black bears live captured in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during 1980–2001 using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis from hair samples. I developed a set of a priori …