Grizzly bears (ursus arctos) as conservation umbrellas and local engineers of biodiversity

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Carnivores maintain ecosystem function and biodiversity through top-down regulation of prey with cascading (indirect) effects to other trophic levels. Some carnivores, however, including grizzly bears and badgers, also directly alter ecosystem function and biodiversity through biopedturbation (disturbance of soil by an organism). Many of these species are typified by having large-area requirements and sensitivities to human disturbance making them candidate umbrellas for biodiversity conservation. In the Canadian Rockies, recent conservation and management emphasis has been placed on protecting large carnivores. How protection of umbrella species influences ecosystem function and biodiversity in alpine environments, especially in the presence of climate change, remains unclear. Over the next five years, my research will focus on: (1) Determining the importance of biopedturbation on maintaining ecosystem function and biodiversity in alpine meadows; (2) Test the effectiveness of using carnivores as an umbrella for biodiversity conservation; and (3) Investigate the use of occupancy-based vital rates for monitoring species recovery and documenting critical factors affecting their distribution. I will use grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and the Canadian Rocky Mountains as a model species and system to address these questions. One PhD, two MSc, and six summer research students will be trained. This research will contribute to our understanding of species-biodiversity interactions, implications of using umbrella species as conservation shortcuts, and more broadly to methods for monitoring species-at-risk in Canada.