Black Bear Research
NDOW is dedicated to making
science-based decisions in our management of bears. The only way to effectively do this is to
conduct ongoing research into Nevada’s bear population. This research benefits not only Nevada’s
bears and residents but also assists states across the nation by providing the
best available science. NDOW uses the mark-recapture method with bears for population monitoring and demographics.
Nevada’s bear management and conservation, has benefitted
immensely by its relationship with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of
Nevada, Reno (UNR). Working together since 1999 the NDOW/WCS/UNR team led the way
in urban bear research. This research
represents one, if not the longest-running and earliest comparative studies of
a black bear population at the wildlife-urban interface in North America. This collaborative approach has allowed a
better understanding of the ecological, demographic and behavioral changes in a
large, recolonizing carnivore, and to use the data to impact conservation and
management. The collaboration has produced
several peer-reviewed publications in professional journals (see below).
NDOW provides biological samples from bears we have handled to
assist with other studies inside and outside of the state. For instance, hair and blood samples were
provided to the University of Nevada, Reno for DNA analysis (Malaney et al. 2017);
the University of Memphis was provided
with tissue samples for an ongoing study on color patterns in black bears; the
University of Tennessee used Nevada bear hair samples for an isotope analysis
of bear hair (expected publishing date of Summer 2019); Columbia University in
New York analyzed GPS data from Nevada bears
to learn about the mortality risks facing bears in urban landscapes
(Wynn-Grant et al. 2018); and currently NDOW is partnered with Michigan State
University on a non-invasive DNA sampling project in wildland areas. In addition to these projects, NDOW’s
wildlife health lab is collaborating with Oregon State University and UC Davis looking
into disease and virology of black bears.
Resultant publications can be found here:
Other Research
Other Publications