Figure 1.
Spatial pattern of evidence of island occupancy and detection type.
a) Weight of evidence of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) occupancy at the island scale within Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai'xais Territories in coastal British Columbia, Canada. Each data type (local ecological knowledge observation, mortality record, genetic ID and remote camera observation) was weighted equally to provide an indication of occupancy rather than bear density. Dark grey areas were not included in our study. The ‘current management boundary' is the westward (i.e., seaward extent) of the Province of British Columbia's Grizzly Bear Population Units, the spatial scale at which grizzly bears are managed in the province. Spatial pattern in data types used to detect grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in sampled areas within Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai'xais Territories. Eighteen islands were included in the study.
Figure 2.
Time series of island grizzly bear occupation over three time periods.
Local residents' perception of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) distribution throughout Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai'xais Territories in coastal British Columbia, Canada during the Pre 1992 (traditional ecological knowledge data), 1992–2002 (local ecological knowledge data) and 2003–2012 (local ecological knowledge data) time periods. Data are reported at the island scale (n = 18 islands) as the percentage of participants who indicated the island was within their area of observation and supported grizzly bears. Dark grey areas were not included in our study and the ‘current management boundary' is the westward (i.e., seaward extent) of the Province of British Columbia's Grizzly Bear Population Units, the spatial scale at which grizzly bears are managed in the province.
Table 1.
Detections of island grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) by data type (presented as raw observations and as detection-per-unit-effort (DPUE) values) within Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai'xais Territories in coastal British Columbia, Canada (n = 18 islands).
Table 2.
Sampling effort of island grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) by data type within Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai'xais Territories in coastal British Columbia, Canada (n = 18 islands).
Figure 3.
Trend of island grizzly occupation over time as derived from LEK data.
Yearly number of island grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) observations per unit survey effort (a summation of all participants' observations across all islands; local ecological knowledge data only) between 1992–2011 in the Traditional Territories of the Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai'xais First Nations in British Columbia, Canada. These observations encompass islands within and outside the current management boundary (n = 18 islands).