Measuring Use 263
Box 1. Evaluating wildlife habitat preference.
Radiotelemetry and live captures are among the
most frequently used methods to investigate wildlife
habitat associations, The following is a data set that
resulted from monitoring a transmitter-equipped
black bear in a 100-km? study area in northern New
Hampshire.
Study area Home range Locations
Cover type () (®) (%)
pen ina) 40 50 35
® Spruce-fir 25 10 5
*Clearcut 15 30 40
°Bog 20 10 20
Total: 100 100 100
For ease of presentation, assume that 100 locations
were obtained on the bear. Now, we can approach an
evaluation of habitat preference using the procedures
described by Neu et al. (1974) and Byers et al
(1984), This method combines an initial chi-square
comparison with confidence intervals on observed
use. First, we must generate the expected number of
locations by using the portion of the study area or
hhome range, depending on the comparison we plan
to make
Observed use
Cover type Expected use*
0.40 x 100)
0.25 x 100
Aspen
Spruce-fir
Cleareut
Bog
Total:
“Based on the composition of the study area,
are observed ingesting food; (2) feeding site surveys,
where the, amount of vegetation removed by foraging an-
imals is measured or estimated; and (3) post-ingestion
samples, where the remains of food in gastrointestinal
tracts, feces, or regurgitated pellets are identified,
OBSERVATIONAL
Direct observation has been a widely used technique
for estimating food habits of large herbivores. Individual
animals are watched through binoculars or a spotting
scope as they graze or browse, and the type and frequency
of plant species consumed are recorded. Observations are
quantified either as bite-counts (number of bites of a par-
ticular plant species) or as feeding minutes (time spent
foraging on a particular plant species). These values are
then translated into relative occurrence in the diet by con-
sidering the number of bites or minutes of grazing on a
— 2592 ~ 152
4 S25? , 40 ~ 15)
25 13
20)"
20
This value of chi-square with 3 df is highly signifi-
cant, Therefore, we can conclude that the bear is not
using the four cover types in proportion to their avail-
ability within the study area. Next, we examine the
selection or avoidance of each cover type by con-
structing confidence intervals for the proportion of
use in each type using the following formula:
Al