Mark Haroldson
Biography
Education
B.S. Wildlife Biology, 1979, University of Montana
Graduate level class work, 1982-88, University of Montana
Research Interest
Mark Haroldson is a USGS Supervisory Wildlife Biologist for the Interagency Grizzly Bears Study Team and works out of the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Bozeman, MT. Mark has had a passion for bears since he began studying them as an undergraduate in 1976. He has worked in bear research and management in several western states ever since. Since 1984 he has worked in various capacities for the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Current research is focused on mortality and population trend of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
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...
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. 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. Multiple estimates of effective population size for monitoring a long-lived vertebrate: An application to Yellowstone grizzly bears
Effective population size (Ne) is a key parameter for monitoring the genetic health of threatened populations because it reflects a population's evolutionary potential and risk of extinction due to genetic stochasticity. However, its application to wildlife monitoring has been limited because it is difficult to measure in natural populations. The...
Kamath, Pauline L.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Luikart, Gordon; Paetkau, David; Whitman, Craig L.; van Manen, Frank T. Dietary breadth of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) are opportunistic omnivores that eat a great diversity of plant and animal species. Changes in climate may affect regional vegetation, hydrology, insects, and fire regimes, likely influencing the abundance, range, and elevational distribution of the plants and animals consumed...
Gunther, Kerry A.; Shoemaker, Rebecca; Frey, Kevin L.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Cain, Steven L.; van Manen, Frank T.; Fortin, Jennifer K. Whitebark pine, population density, and home-range size of grizzly bears in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem
Changes in life history traits of species can be an important indicator of potential factors influencing populations. For grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), recent decline of whitebark pine (WBP; Pinus albicaulis), an important fall food resource, has been paired with a slowing of population growth following...
Bjornlie, Daniel D.; van Manen, Frank T.; Ebinger, Michael R.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Thompson, Daniel J.; Costello, Cecily M. Use of isotopic sulfur to determine whitebark pine consumption by Yellowstone bears: a reassessment
Use of naturally occurring stable isotopes to estimate assimilated diet of bears is one of the single greatest breakthroughs in nutritional ecology during the past 20 years. Previous research in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), USA, established a positive relationship between the stable isotope of sulfur (δ34S) and consumption of...
Schwartz, Charles C.; Teisberg, Justin E.; Fortin, Jennifer K.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Servheen, Christopher; Robbins, Charles T.; van Manen, Frank T. Roadside bear viewing opportunities in Yellowstone National Park: characteristics, trends, and influence of whitebark pine
Opportunities for viewing grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and American black bears (U. americanus) from roadways in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have increased in recent years. Unlike the panhandling bears common prior to the 1970s, current viewing usually involves bears feeding on natural foods. We define roadside bear viewing opportunities that...
Haroldson, Mark A.; Gunther, Kerry Influence of whitebark pine decline on fall habitat use and movements of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
When abundant, seeds of the high-elevation whitebark pine (WBP; Pinus albicaulis) are an important fall food for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Rates of bear mortality and bear/human conflicts have been inversely associated with WBP productivity. Recently, mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae)...
Costello, Cecily M.; van Manen, Frank T.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Ebinger, Michael R.; Cain, Steven L.; Gunther, Kerry A.; Bjornlie, Daniel D. Re-evaluation of Yellowstone grizzly bear population dynamics not supported by empirical data: response to Doak & Cutler
Doak and Cutler critiqued methods used by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) to estimate grizzly bear population size and trend in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Here, we focus on the premise, implementation, and interpretation of simulations they used to support their arguments. They argued that population increases documented by...
van Manen, Frank T.; Ebinger, Michael R.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Harris, Richard B.; Higgs, Megan D.; Cherry, Steve; White, Gary C.; Schwartz, Charles C.