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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

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