Grant V Hilderbrand, Ph.D.
Large mammal ecology, nutritional ecology, wildlife harvest management, wildlife capture and handling, nutrient flow between ecosystems
Biography
Education
Ph.D. 1998 Washington State University, Pullman WA Zoology
M.S. 1995 Washington State University, Pullman WA Zoology
B.S. 1993 South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD Zoology
Professional Experience
2015 - Present Associate Center Director for Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
2010 - 2015 Regional Wildlife Biologist, National Park Service, Alaska Region
2004 - 2009 Regional Supervisor, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation
1998 - 2004 Research Wildlife Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation
Professional Activities and/or Memberships
President, Alaska Chapter of The Wildlife Society 2014-2016
2016 Conference co-chair - International Conference on Bear Research and Management
Honors and/or Awards
- 2013 NPS Director's Award for Natural Resource Stewardship
- 2014 NPS Alaska Region Award for Natural Resource Stewardship
- 2009 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Director's Award for Meritorious Service
- 2008 Fellow, National Conservation Leadership Institute
Science and Products
Community Outreach and Engagement
It is critically important that Alaska Native, rural communities and tribal organizations and Alaska co-management councils are kept informed of USGS research activities and findings. Involvement of and collaboration with students also provides valuable perspectives to USGS science. This page offers information on how USGS communicates its activities and seeks opportunities to gain important...
Changing Arctic Ecosystems
The USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative will enhance the long-term science foundation needed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and other partners.
Marine Wildlife and Habitats
The USGS conducts research on marine wildlife, habitats, and processes to provide science to inform our partners as they make decisions relative to species status, resource use, and human activities.
The influence of body size, condition, and age on recruitment of four Alaskan brown bear populations
Recruitment of brown bear (Ursus arctos) offspring into a population is the product of initial cub production and subsequent survival and is a critical component of overall population status and trend. We investigated the relationship between maternal body size, body condition, and age (as a surrogate for gained experience) and recruitment of...
Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Gustine, David; Joly, Kyle; Mangipane, Buck; Leacock, William; Cameron, Matthew; Sorum, Mathew; Mangipane, Lindsey; Erlenbach, JoyExposure of Alaska brown bears (Ursus arctos) to bacterial, viral, and parasitic agents varies spatiotemporally and may be influenced by age
We collected blood and serum from 155 brown bears (Ursus arctos) inhabiting five locations in Alaska during 2013–16 and tested samples for evidence of prior exposure to a suite of bacterial, viral, and parasitic agents. Antibody seroprevalence among Alaska brown bears was estimated to be 15% for Brucella spp., 10% for Francisella...
Leacock, William B.; Ramey, Andrew M.; Cleveland, Christopher A.; Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Joly, Kyle; Gustine, David D.; Mangipane, Buck; Leacock, William B.; Crupi, Anthony P.; Hill, Dolores E.; Dubey, Jitender P.; Yabsley, Michael J.Sex-specific variation in denning by brown bears
Denning characteristics of brown bears (Ursus arctos) have been described in numerous studies; however, population specific factors (i.e., landscape characteristics and climate) can greatly influence the location and timing of denning. Our objective was to evaluate den-site characteristics and denning chronology for male and female brown...
Mangipane, Lindsey; Belant, Jerrold L.; Mangipane, Buck; Gustine, David; Hilderbrand, Grant V.Body size and lean mass of brown bears across and within four diverse ecosystems
Variation in body size across populations of brown bears (Ursus arctos) is largely a function of the availability and quality of nutritional resources while plasticity within populations reflects utilized niche width with implications for population resiliency. We assessed skull size, body length, and lean mass of adult female and male brown...
Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Gustine, David; Mangipane, Buck A.; Joly, Kyle; Leacock, William; Mangipane, Lindsey S.; Erlenbach, Joy; Sorum, Mathew; Cameron, Matthew; Belant, Jerrold L.; Cambier, TroyPlasticity in physiological condition of female brown bears across diverse ecosystems
Variation in life history strategies facilitates the near global distribution of mammals by expanding realized niche width. We investigated physiological plasticity in the spring body composition of adult female brown bears (Ursus arctos) across 4 diverse Alaskan ecosystems. Brown bears are a highly intelligent omnivore with a historic range...
Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Gustine, David; Mangipane, Buck A.; Joly, Kyle; Leacock, William; Mangipane, Lindsey; Erlenbach, Joy; Sorum, Mathew; Cameron, Matthew; Belant, Jerrold L.; Cambier, TroyDietary plasticity in a nutrient-rich system does not influence brown bear (Ursus arctos) body condition or denning
Behavioral differences within a population can allow use of a greater range of resources among individuals. The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a generalist omnivore that occupies diverse habitats and displays considerable plasticity in food use. We evaluated whether brown bear foraging that resulted in deviations from a proposed optimal diet...
Mangipane, Lindsey S.; Belant, Jerrold L.; Lafferty, Diana J. R.; Gustine, David D.; Hiller, Tim L.; Colvin, Michael E.; Mangipane, Buck A.; Hilderbrand, Grant V.Using gene transcription to assess ecological and anthropological stressors in brown bears
Increasingly, population- and ecosystem-level health assessments are performed using sophisticated molecular tools. Advances in molecular technology enable the identification of synergistic effects of multiple stressors on the individual physiology of different species. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) are an apex predator; thus, they are ideal...
Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A. Keith; Waters, Shannon C.; Gustine, Dave; Joly, Kyle; Hilderbrand, Grant V.Influences of landscape heterogeneity on home-range sizes of brown bears
Animal space use is influenced by many factors and can affect individual survival and fitness. Under optimal foraging theory, individuals use landscapes to optimize high-quality resources while minimizing the amount of energy used to acquire them. The spatial resource variability hypothesis states that as patchiness of resources increases,...
Mangipane, Lindsey S.; Belant, Jerrold L.; Hiller, Tim L.; Colvin, Michael E.; Gustine, David; Mangipane, Buck A.; Hilderbrand, Grant V.Using multiple data types and integrated population models to improve our knowledge of apex predator population dynamics
Current management of large carnivores is informed using a variety of parameters, methods, and metrics; however, these data are typically considered independently. Sharing information among data types based on the underlying ecological, and recognizing observation biases, can improve estimation of individual and global parameters. We present a...
Bled, Florent; Belant, Jerrold L.; Van Daele, Lawrence J.; Svoboda, Nathan; Gustine, David D.; Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Barnes, Victor G.The impacts of human recreation on brown bears (Ursus arctos): A review and new management tool
Increased popularity of recreational activities in natural areas has led to the need to better understand their impacts on wildlife. The majority of research conducted to date has focused on behavioral effects from individual recreations, thus there is a limited understanding of the potential for population-level or cumulative effects. Brown bears...
Fortin-noreus, Jennifer; Rode, Karyn D.; Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Wilder, James; Farley, Sean; Jorgensen, Carole; Marcot, Bruce G.Importance of salmon to wildlife: Implications for integrated management
Salmon (Oncorhynchuss pp.) are an importantr esourcef or terrestriawl ildlife. However, the salmon requirements of wildlife populations and the role wildlife play in nutrient transport across ecosystems are largely ignored in salmon and habitat management. Any activity that reduces the availability of or access to salmon by wildlife may adversely...
Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Farley, Sean D.; Schwartz, Charles C.; Robbins, Charles T.Effect of hibernation and reproductive status on body mass and condition of coastal brown bears
We investigated the effect of hibernation and reproductive status on changes in body mass and composition of adult female brown bears (Ursus arctos) on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. This information is fundamental to understanding nutritional ecology of wild brown bear populations. Six adult females handled in the fall and following spring (paired...
Hilderbrand, Grant V.; Schwartz, C. C.; Robbins, C.T.; Hanley, Thomas A.