ABSTRACT GOULD, NICHOLAS PAUL. Ecology of American Black Bears in an Urban Environment. (Under the direction of Dr. Christopher S. DePerno). Cities now constitute one of the most rapidly growing ecosystems in the world, and with the global spotlight on increasing urbanization and development, the focus on wildlife in ‘natural’ systems is sharing importance with a focus on wildlife in urban systems, providing unique research opportunities in ecology and conservation. Over four years from April 2014 through June 2018, we investigated the effects of urban development and natural food production on American black bear (Ursus americanus) ecology centered on the city of Asheville, North Carolina. Black bears are model animals for study because they are behaviorally flexible omnivores highly adapted to locate and secure high calorie foods and, thus, may benefit from a variety of urban resources. In chapter 1, we present research on the early growth and reproduction by urban and rural black bears in Asheville, North Carolina, and in 3 nearby rural sites. We used trapping in spring and summer and used winter den visits to assess reproduction by young female black bears. Urban yearling females weighed more than yearling females from the three rural study sites, and 2-year old urban female bears produced cubs, but no 2-year old rural females produced cubs. We hypothesize that reproduction by 2-year old bears may be linked to the permanence of anthropogenic food sources associated with urban environments. To inform population level management decisions further, managers and researchers should quantify urban food sources and the effects on black bear life history. If high population fecundity allows urban populations to sustain relatively high mortality rates, then urban bear populations may be source populations for surrounding, rural areas. In chapter 2, we present research on the spatial ecology of urban and rural American black bears in North Carolina. Black bears in rural areas are known to shift their spatial distributions in response to available resources but limited information is available on how bears move through developed environments beyond the bears’ use of urban areas in years of poor production of natural foods. We used continuous time movement models to estimate annual and seasonal home range sizes to compare bears occupying developed areas (urban bears) and those in undeveloped areas (rural bears). Urban bears had consistently smaller home ranges than rural bears, regardless of variation of natural food production. Furthermore, home range size for urban bears did not vary with housing density or with natural food production. This result suggests that urban areas may be good habitat for bears where they can meet their metabolic requirements and secure adequate resources across the full range of housing development present in our study area. In chapter 3, we present research on the effects of housing density and road density on the selection of den sites by black bears. We documented that urban bears did not avoid areas with housing or roads at the level of the study area (2nd order) or within the home range (3rd order). At the finer scale (3rd order), slope was the best predictor of den site selection. At both scales of den site selection, we detected no relationship with elevation or land cover type. Median den entry and emergence dates for bears were the third week in December and the third week in March. Reuse of den sites was low, suggesting that dens are not a limiting resource for urban bears in Asheville, North Carolina. Collectively, our results indicate that selection of den sites by black bears in urban areas may not be as critical to their fitness as it is to their rural counterparts. © Copyright 2020 by Nicholas Paul Gould All Rights Reserved Ecology of American Black Bears in an Urban Environment by Nicholas Paul Gould A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Raleigh, North Carolina 2020 APPROVED BY: _______________________________ _______________________________ Dr. Christopher S. DePerno Dr. Roger A. Powell Committee Chair _______________________________ _______________________________ Dr. Krishna Pacifici Dr. Roland Kays _______________________________ Dr. Christopher E. Moorman ii DEDICATION I dedicate my dissertation to my mom, Michelle Jeanne Starr. She was a kind, supportive, and fiercely loving person. No one could wrong her kids. Small in stature but enormous in character and heart, I only hope she would be as proud of me as I was of her! She was an inspiration, and each and every day I see her in both of my daughters, to whom I also dedicate this dissertation. Their impact on this world has only just begun. And to my wife, Kelly Ann Gould, no words can express the gratitude I have for you! iii BIOGRAPHY Nicholas Paul Gould was born and raised in Acton, Massachusetts, just west of Boston. He was the youngest of four and the only son to Michelle and Harry. He grew up in a very active family always involved in sports and always content being outside. After graduating from Acton- Boxborough Regional High School (where all of his family attended high school), and playing junior ice hockey in various parts of the country, he spent time at an educational wolf refuge in the mountains of Colorado. With a newly vested interest in wildlife ecology and conservation, he attended the University of Massachusetts-Boston and completed a dual degree in Natural Resource Management and Policy and English Literature. Upon graduation, Nick moved to Fort Collins, Colorado to pursue a master’s degree in wildlife biology at Colorado State University, where he graduated in 2010. After two years as a research associate at Colorado State University, Nick spent time at a consulting firm in Laramie, Wyoming, working on a variety of research and compliance projects prior to uprooting his family again to pursue a doctoral position in the Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology program at North Carolina State University. Upon graduating with his Ph.D. in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, he will begin work at North Carolina State University as a postdoctoral researcher. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research was made possible and solely funded by the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Grant and is a joint research project between the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program at North Carolina State University (NCSU). I thank Dr. Christopher S. DePerno, Dr. Roger A. Powell, Dr. Krishna Pacifici, Dr. Roland Kays, and Dr. Christopher E. Moorman for their influences in guiding the research design, analyses, writing, and professional development. Dr. DePerno was instrumental in securing funding for this project as well as additional funding to support a post- doctoral position for me after completion of my Ph.D. Dr. DePerno always had my best interest at hand, especially when it came to ensuring that I was fully funded. He was a good mentor and always pushed me to increase my professional involvement, involving me in numerous collaborative side projects with other departments at NCSU. Dr. DePerno was not only an advisor and mentor, but also became a good friend during my time at NCSU. Dr. Powell treated me like one of his own students, constantly provoking me to think a little bit deeper about bears and the clarity of my writing. He had an open-door policy from the far reaches of the Boundary Waters of Minnesota and always encouraged me to ask questions and to send him my thoughts or drafts of chapters. Dr. Pacifici tolerated my incessant requests for meetings to talk about approaches to analyses. I always looked forward to, and thoroughly enjoyed, our discussions, especially when we traded “dad stories”. Your calm demeanor, patience and easy approach to life is impressive and greatly appreciated. I credit Dr. Kays with helping to cultivate my passion for movement ecology and for always being candid in his constructive, but highly valuable, criticism. I shared my time at the Turner House most with Dr. Moorman, as we found ourselves the only ones there on many an afternoon. I appreciated his commitment to making his students v better writers, presenters, and overall scientists. I thank Dr. Kenneth H. Pollock for his early commitment to analyses and experimental design. I am incredibly grateful for all the hard work, long hours and dedication that my technicians Jennifer Strules, Craig Reddell, Alyssa Roddy, Sean Sullivan, Abby Guthman, and Braiden Quinlan put forth in their data collection efforts and commitment to the project. In particular, Jennifer Strules, was a saving grace on this project, and I am glad you are continuing with this project as part of your Ph.D. Mike Carraway and Justin McVey were invaluable with their constant field support, time, and ability to help trouble shoot and make repairs to pretty much any piece of equipment we had. Mike, you were a pleasure to work with and I thank you for never turning down a call to help process bears in the middle of the night. Enjoy your retirement. I thank Dr. David Cobb, Brad Howard, David Sawyer, and numerous other staff from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for their willingness to make this project a success and their ongoing assistance and support. I thank Colleen Olfenbuttel for sharing her expertise and extensive knowledge of black bears. You were instrumental in getting this project off the ground and your commitment to maintaining professionalism and constant support of myself and the project in general was impressive! Thank you. I thank Sarah Slover for her commitment and general care of all the graduate students in the Forestry and environmental Resources Department.