in the Canadian
Rockies
Bears and
Habitat
Bears and
Roads
Bears and
Science
Habitat
Backgrounder
Bears and
Habitat
A Mini-Dictionary of Habitat Concepts
Habitat
The place where an animal, plant
or microorganism lives
Habitat
fragmentation
“Habitat fragmentation occurs when natural
topographic features (e.g., mountains, rivers) or human disturbances break
up wildlife habitat into smaller, relatively ineffective fragments.
Habitat fragmentation results in the loss or isolation of effective
wildlife habitat and is widely recognized as a leading cause in the loss
of biodiversity.” 1
Fragmentation occurs at two
scales:
Landscape: within home ranges of individual
bears
Regional: interbreeding populations are
cut off from each other, forming smaller “island populations.” (McLellan 1992)
Habitat
loss
“Habitat loss occurs because of permanent changes, such
as the development of a human settlement, flooding for a reservoir, or
other irreversible changes to the land.” 2
Habitat
alienation
“Habitat alienation occurs when grizzly bear
habitat is used by people in ways that prevent grizzlies from using it.”
3
Habitat
potential
“Habitat potential is the inherent capability
of the landscape to support grizzly bears.” 4
Realized
habitat
“Realized habitat is land that grizzly bears wary of
humans will continue to use after the effects of human disturbance on the
landscape have been accounted for.” 5
Habitat
effectiveness
“Habitat effectiveness is the amount of realized
habitat expressed as a percentage of the landscape’s potential.”
6
Habitat
security/security areas
Security areas are “...areas where
grizzly bears will be relatively secure from encounters with humans; where
bears can meet their energetic requirements while at the same time
choosing to avoid people.” 7