| Although resource selection by individuals within a species has been well investigated, the influence of scale and landscape pattern on the resource selection process has not been thoroughly examined. The study of large-bodied, mobile organisms might provide insight to the process of resource selection. I investigated the selection of resource characteristics and landscape pattern for grizzly bears, focussing specifically on adult females in the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I measured resource characteristics in the 300-m diameter vicinity of bears, specifically vegetation, slope, aspect, elevation, and proximity to edge, water, and human activity. I measured heterogeneous landscape patterns in 300-m, 1.5-km, and 3.0-km diameter windows, specifically vegetation dominance, diversity, terrain ruggedness, motorized access density, and non-motorized access density.; Female grizzly bears selected resource characteristics in the immediate vicinity of their locations. Selection varied between wary and habituated individuals. Spatial context, specifically placement in the core or periphery of the home range, influenced resource selection, particularly for females accompanied by cubs-of-the-year, indicating that resource selection is not constant across the spatial extent of home ranges. Bears selected variables, particularly heterogeneous landscape patterns, beyond the immediate 300-m vicinity and across several scales simultaneously. Bears commonly selected close proximity to edge, shrubland, grassland, and avalanche paths. Within areas containing high density of non-motorized human access, bears selected pockets of low density of non-motorized human access. The results indicate that resource selection by grizzly bears is complex, variable, context-specific, and is influenced by characteristics at different scales beyond the immediate vicinity. Due to such variability in resource selection, I suggest a management philosophy that is cautious, and maintains region-wide ecosystem processes.; My research contributes to both the theory of resource selection and grizzly bear ecology by featuring the multivariate interaction of several factors with resource selection, including the influence of (1) heterogeneous landscape patterns at different scales, (2) simultaneous selection of characteristics at multiple scales, (3) multiple scales with immediate variables, (4) placement within the home range, and (5) placement within the home range when young are present. |
