FACTORS INFLUENCING HOME-RANGE SIZE OF FEMALE FLORIDA BLACK BEARS

The manner in which space is utilized by animals is influenced by several factors, including habitat quality and the distribution and abundance of resources. We used 4 years (2000–2003) of radiotelemetry data to investigate the space-use pattern of female Florida black bears (Ursus americanus floridanus) in the Ocala National Forest and an adjacent residential community of Lynne, north-central Florida. Annual home-range size (95% fixed kernel density estimator) ranged from 3.8 km2 to 126.9 km2, and averaged (± SE) 24.2 ± 3.55 km2. Home ranges were largest during 2000 when a drought led to a forest-wide mast failure, suggesting that abundance of food resources can substantially influence space-use pattern. Home-range sizes during autumn (19.92 ± 4.59 km2) were substantially larger than during summer (8.26 ± 0.99 km2). Although annual home-range size did not differ between the 2 study sites, home ranges in summer were smaller in Lynne (5.30 ± 1.01 km2) than in Ocala National Forest (9.82 ± 1.29 km2), whereas home ranges in autumn were twice as large in Lynne (35.76 ± 13.91 km2) as in Ocala National Forest (13.24 ± 1.80 km2). We suggest that site-specific differences in the size of seasonal home range are due to differences in habitat characteristics and the degree of habitat fragmentation between the 2 study sites.