New scientific article from the Biodiversa+ project BearConnect provides critical insights into how human activities shape the spatial behaviour of brown bears across Europe’s diverse landscapes. This study, led by Marta De Barba, our methods developer and DNA metabarcoding specialist, utilized an unparalleled dataset of 752 GPS trajectories from 370 brown bears to uncover patterns in bear movements and habitat use.

Key findings

The BearConnect team analyzed the impacts of human activity, resource availability, forest conditions, and conservation areas on brown bear movement. The findings highlight the challenges bears face in navigating increasingly human-altered environments and the implications for their survival and ecosystem connectivity.

Here are the main takeaways:

Human impact on bear movement:

• In areas with high human footprints and abundant resources, bears occupy smaller home ranges and move less.
• This restriction on movement can limit gene flow and hinder population expansion, posing risks to isolated bear populations.

Forest cover and disturbance:

• Contiguous forests play a crucial role in enabling longer daily movements, which are vital for healthy bear populations.

• However, recent forest disturbances reduce space use, underscoring the importance of forest continuity.

Conservation challenges:

• Protected and roadless areas currently cover too little ground to significantly affect bear space use.
• These findings underscore the urgent need for robust conservation strategies to support bear connectivity across fragmented landscapes.