Determinants of Risk in Bear-Train Interactions

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atmire.migration.oldid3898
dc.contributor.advisorDraper, Dianne
dc.contributor.authorBurley, Brianna
dc.contributor.committeememberCartar, Ralph
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-04T19:31:42Z
dc.date.available2015-12-04T19:31:42Z
dc.date.issued2015-12-04
dc.date.submitted2015en
dc.description.abstractRailway-caused bear mortality is a concern in the Canadian Mountain National Parks. This research examined the behavioral responses of bears and oncoming trains to better understand what bears perceive as ‘risky’ in bear-train encounters. I used videos of bear-train interactions to measure site-specific variables at bear-train encounter sites to explain a bear’s flight initiation distance (FID) and Flee Speed from an oncoming train. I found that a bear’s FID to an oncoming train was best explained by an interaction between Train Speed and Slope, and between Longitudinal Visibility and Perpendicular Visibility, and that their Flee Speed was best explained additively by Species (bear), Train Speed, the bear’s distance from the track and the between-side difference in Delta Density of Overhead Vegetation. These results can be used to help make site-specific mitigations to areas of the railway where a bear might deem the location more ‘risky’.en_US
dc.identifier.citationBurley, B. (2015). Determinants of Risk in Bear-Train Interactions (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25603en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/25603
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/2655
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectForestry and Wildlife
dc.titleDeterminants of Risk in Bear-Train Interactions
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineGeography
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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