The smell of success: Reproductive success related to rub behavior in brown bears.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Morehouse AT
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7928475 | biostudies-literature | 2021
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
The smell of success: Reproductive success related to rub behavior in brown bears.
Morehouse Andrea T AT Loosen Anne E AE Graves Tabitha A TA Boyce Mark S MS
PloS one 20210303 3
Several species of bears are known to rub deliberately against trees and other objects, but little is known about why bears rub. Patterns in rubbing behavior of male and female brown bears (Ursus arctos) suggest that scent marking via rubbing functions to communicate among potential mates or competitors. Using DNA from bear hairs collected from rub objects in southwestern Alberta from 2011-2014 and existing DNA datasets from Montana and southeastern British Columbia, we determined sex and indivi ...[more]
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