Frank T van Manen
Biography
Education
Ph.D. 1994. Ecology and Statistics. University of Tennessee
B.S. and M.S. 1989. Wageningen Agricultural University, Netherlands
Research Interests
Frank van Manen is an ecologist who blends his research interest in large carnivores with landscape ecology. In 2012 Frank became Team Leader of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, a cooperative research team that addresses monitoring and research needs for the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear population. His research focus for the past 25 years has been on bear ecology and management. Prior to his current research on Yellowstone grizzly bears, he conducted numerous studies on American black bears in the southeastern U.S. He has also collaborated on field studies with bear researchers in Ecuador (Andean bear), Sri Lanka (sloth bear), and China (giant panda).
Frank served as Treasurer and then President of the International Association for Bear Research and Management from 2001 through 2013 and is an Associate Editor for the Journal Ursus. He has adjunct appointments with Montana State University and the University of Tennessee.
Frank was born in Arnhem, The Netherlands and earned a combined B.S. and M.S. degree from Wageningen University. After an internship at the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, he entered the doctoral program at University of Tennessee with a major in Ecology and a minor in Statistics.
Formerly, Frank spent 12 years with the USGS Leetown Science Center specializing in (1) responses of mammals to landscape changes; (2) management of large carnivores; (3) international bear conservation; and (4) habitat models to support protection and restoration of plants and trees.
For available articles, click on the Publications tab.
Science and Products
Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team
The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) is an interdisciplinary group of scientists and biologists responsible for long-term monitoring and research efforts on grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The team was formed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in 1973 as a direct result of controversy...
NOROCK Large Carnivore Research Program
NOROCK has substantial expertise in large carnivore research, primarily involving species listed as Threatened or Endangered. NOROCK’s Large Carnivore Research Program includes scientists from NOROCK’s Headquarters, West Glacier Field Station, and the Southern Appalachian Field Station. Studies are conducted in a wide variety of landscapes throughout the U.S., as well as international...
Grizzly bear depredation on grazing allotments in the Yellowstone ecosystem
Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) conflicts with humans, including livestock depredation on public land grazing allotments, have increased during the last several decades within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) in the western United States as the grizzly bear population has grown in number and occupied range. Minimizing conflicts and improving...
Wells, Smith L.; McNew, Lance B.; Tyers, Daniel B.; van Manen, Frank T.; Thompson, Daniel J. Estimating distemper virus dynamics among wolves and grizzly bears using serology and Bayesian state‐space models
Many parasites infect multiple hosts, but estimating the transmission across host species remains a key challenge in disease ecology. We investigated the within and across host species dynamics of canine distemper virus (CDV) in grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and wolves (Canis lupus) of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). We hypothesized that...
Cross, Paul C.; van Manen, Frank T.; Viana, Mafalda; Almberg, Emily S.; Bachen, Daniel; Brandell, Ellen E.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Hudson, Peter J.; Stahler, Daniel R.; Smith, Douglas W. Carnivore hotspots in Peninsular Malaysia and their landscape attributes
Mammalian carnivores play a vital role in ecosystem functioning. However, they are prone to extinction because of low population densities and growth rates, and high levels of persecution or exploitation. In tropical biodiversity hotspots such as Peninsular Malaysia, rapid conversion of natural habitats threatens the persistence of this vulnerable...
Ratnayeke, Shyamala; van Manen, Frank T.; Clements, Gopalasamy Reuben; Mohd Kulaimi, Noor Azleen; Sharp, Stuart P. Size‐assortative choice and mate availability influences hybridization between red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans)
Anthropogenic hybridization of historically isolated taxa has become a primary conservation challenge for many imperiled species. Indeed, hybridization between red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) poses a significant challenge to red wolf recovery. We considered seven hypotheses to assess factors influencing hybridization between...
Hinton, Joseph W.; Gittleman, John L.; van Manen, Frank T.; Chamberlain, Michael J. Potential paths for male-mediated gene flow to and from an isolated grizzly bear population
For several decades, grizzly bear populations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) have increased in numbers and range extent. The GYE population remains isolated and although effective population size has increased since the early 1980s, genetic connectivity between these populations...
Peck, Christopher P.; van Manen, Frank T.; Costello, Cecily M.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Landenburger, Lisa; Roberts, Lori L.; Bjornlie, Daniel D.; Mace, Richard D. Yellowstone grizzly bears: Ecology and conservation of an icon of wildness
No abstract available.
White, P.J.; Gunther, Kerry A.; van Manen, Frank T. Using diets of Canis breeding pairs to assess resource partitioning between sympatric red wolves and coyotes
Foraging behaviors of red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) are complex and their ability to form congeneric breeding pairs and hybridize further complicates our understanding of factors influencing their diets. Through scat analysis, we assessed prey selection of red wolf, coyote, and congeneric breeding pairs formed by red wolves...
Hinton, Joseph W.; Ashley, Annaliese K.; Dellinger, Justin A.; Gittleman, John L.; van Manen, Frank T.; Chamberlain, Michael J. Space use and habitat selection by resident and transient red wolves (Canis rufus)
Recovery of large carnivores remains a challenge because complex spatial dynamics that facilitate population persistence are poorly understood. In particular, recovery of the critically endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) has been challenging because of its vulnerability to extinction via human-caused mortality and hybridization with coyotes (Canis...
Hinton, Joseph W.; Proctor, Christine; Kelly, Marcella J.; van Manen, Frank T.; Vaughan, Michael R.; Chamberlain, Michael J. New challenges for grizzly bear management in Yellowstone National Park
A key factor contributing to the success of grizzly bear Ursus arctos conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been the existence of a large protected area, Yellowstone National Park. We provide an overview of recovery efforts, how demographic parameters changed as the population increased, and how the bear management program in...
van Manen, Frank T.; Gunther, Kerry A. Diet and macronutrient optimization in wild ursids: A comparison of grizzly bears with sympatric and allopatric black bears
When fed ad libitum, ursids can maximize mass gain by selecting mixed diets wherein protein provides 17 ± 4% of digestible energy, relative to carbohydrates or lipids. In the wild, this ability is likely constrained by seasonal food availability, limits of intake rate as body size increases, and competition. By visiting locations of 37...
Costello, Cecily M.; Cain, Steven L.; Pils, Shannon R; Frattaroli, Leslie; Haroldson, Mark A.; van Manen, Frank T. Detecting grizzly bear use of ungulate carcasses using global positioning system telemetry and activity data
Global positioning system (GPS) wildlife collars have revolutionized wildlife research. Studies of predation by free-ranging carnivores have particularly benefited from the application of location clustering algorithms to determine when and where predation events occur. These studies have changed our understanding of large carnivore behavior, but...
Ebinger, Michael R.; Haroldson, Mark A.; van Manen, Frank T.; Costello, Cecily M.; Bjornlie, Daniel D.; Thompson, Daniel J.; Gunther, Kerry A.; Fortin, Jennifer K.; Teisberg, Justin E.; Pils, Shannon R; White, P J; Cain, Steven L.; Cross, Paul C. Density dependence, whitebark pine, and vital rates of grizzly bears
Understanding factors influencing changes in population trajectory is important for effective wildlife management, particularly for populations of conservation concern. Annual population growth of the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA has slowed from 4.2–7.6% during 1983–2001 to 0.3–...
van Manen, Frank T.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Bjornlie, Daniel D.; Ebinger, Michael R.; Thompson, Daniel J.; Costello, Cecily M.; White, Gary C.