Data from: Grizzly bear response to spatio-temporal variability in human recreational activity.

1. Outdoor recreation on trail networks is a growing form of disturbance
for wildlife. However, few studies have examined behavioural responses by
large carnivores to motorised and non-motorised recreational activity-- a
knowledge gap that has implications for the success of human access
management aimed at improving habitat quality for wildlife. 2. We used an
integrated step-selection analysis of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos)
radiotelemetry data and a spatio-temporal model of motorised and
non-motorised human recreational activity to examine the effect of human
recreational activity along trails on both habitat selection and movement
behaviour of individual bears. Grizzly bears were captured and
radiocollared in the west-central Alberta Rocky Mountains and Foothills,
and trail cameras were deployed on trails to obtain data on human
recreational activity. 3. We found that models including data on
recreational activity outperformed trail-proximity models when
interactions with movement covariates were included. Responses were highly
variable among individuals, and across classes; males, females and females
with cubs. 4. Male and solitary female grizzly bears increased avoidance
of trails with a high probability of motorised activity, as well as
displaying increased movement rates in response to motorised recreation.
Females with cubs did not increase avoidance, however they had the largest
response with higher movement rates. In contrast, for all classes
selection for proximity to trail increased when probability of
non-motorised activity was high, and the effect on movement was dampened
relative to the motorised response. 5. Synthesis and applications. By
combining selection and movement into a unified modelling framework, we
show that bears alter selection and movement behaviour in response to
trails and recreation, and that such responses are determined by the type
of recreational activity. Reduced selection and increased movement in
proximity to motorised trails could affect bears’ ability to exploit
foraging opportunities in these areas. Future access management actions
for grizzly bear recovery should consider frequency and type of linear
feature use by humans rather than solely relying on thresholds relating to
feature densities.