Grizzly bear hair on barbed wire at a hair corral. Bears climb over or under the corral and the hair collected provides information for genetic analysis.
Mike Ebinger (Former Employee)
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 surrounding the closure of open pit garbage dumps within Yellowstone...
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 the gains have concentrated on obligate carnivores.
Authors
Michael R. Ebinger, Mark A. Haroldson, Frank T. van Manen, Cecily M. Costello, Daniel D. Bjornlie, Daniel J. Thompson, Kerry A. Gunther, Jennifer K. Fortin, Justin E. Teisberg, Shannon R Pils, P J White, Steven L. Cain, Paul C. Cross
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 0.3–2.2% during 2002–2011. Substantial changes in availability of a key f
Authors
Frank T. van Manen, Mark A. Haroldson, Daniel D. Bjornlie, Michael R. Ebinger, Daniel J. Thompson, Cecily M. Costello, Gary C. White
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 two decades of robust population increase. These obs
Authors
Daniel D. Bjornlie, Frank T. van Manen, Michael R. Ebinger, Mark A. Haroldson, Daniel J. Thompson, Cecily M. Costello
Sex-biased gene flow among elk in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem
We quantified patterns of population genetic structure to help understand gene flow among elk populations across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We sequenced 596 base pairs of the mitochondrial control region of 380 elk from eight populations. Analysis revealed high mitochondrial DNA variation within populations, averaging 13.0 haplotypes with high mean gene diversity (0.85). The genetic differ
Authors
Brian K. Hand, Shanyuan Chen, Neil Anderson, Albano Beja-Pereira, Paul C. Cross, Michael R. Ebinger, Hank Edwards, Robert A. Garrott, Marty D. Kardos, Matthew J. Kauffman, Erin L. Landguth, Arthur Middleton, Brandon M. Scurlock, P.J. White, Pete Zager, Michael K. Schwartz, Gordon Luikart
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) have killed many cone-producing WBP trees. We used fall (15
Authors
Cecily M. Costello, Frank T. van Manen, Mark A. Haroldson, Michael R. Ebinger, Steven L. Cain, Kerry A. Gunther, Daniel D. Bjornlie
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 IGBST based on females with cubs-of-the-year were
Authors
Frank T. van Manen, Michael R. Ebinger, Mark A. Haroldson, Richard B. Harris, Megan D. Higgs, Steve Cherry, Gary C. White, Charles C. Schwartz
Female elk contacts are neither frequency nor density dependent
Identifying drivers of contact rates among individuals is critical to understanding disease dynamics and implementing targeted control measures. We studied the interaction patterns of 149 female elk (Cervus canadensis) distributed across five different regions of western Wyoming over three years, defining a contact as an approach within one body length (∼2 m). Using hierarchical models that accoun
Authors
Paul C. Cross, Tyler G. Creech, Michael R. Ebinger, Kezia R. Manlove, Kathryn M. Irvine, John C. Henningsen, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon M. Scurlock, Scott Creely
Microsatellites indicate minimal barriers to mule deer Odocoileus hemionus dispersal across Montana, USA
To better understand the future spread of chronic wasting disease, we conducted a genetic assessment of mule deer Odocoileus hemionus population structure across the state of Montana, USA. Individual based analyses were used to test for population structure in the absence of a priori designations of population membership across the sampling area. Samples from the states of Wyoming, Colorado and Ut
Authors
John H. Powell, Steven T. Kalinowski, Megan D. Higgs, Michael R. Ebinger, Ninh V. Vu, Paul C. Cross
Wildlife contact analysis: Emerging methods, questions, and challenges
Recent technological advances, such as proximity loggers, allow researchers to collect complete interaction histories, day and night, among sampled individuals over several months to years. Social network analyses are an obvious approach to analyzing interaction data because of their flexibility for fitting many different social structures as well as the ability to assess both direct contacts and
Authors
Paul C. Cross, Tyler G. Creech, Michael R. Ebinger, Dennis M. Heisey, Kathryn M. Irvine, Scott Creel
Mapping brucellosis increases relative to elk density using hierarchical Bayesian models
The relationship between host density and parasite transmission is central to the effectiveness of many disease management strategies. Few studies, however, have empirically estimated this relationship particularly in large mammals. We applied hierarchical Bayesian methods to a 19-year dataset of over 6400 brucellosis tests of adult female elk (Cervus elaphus) in northwestern Wyoming. Management c
Authors
Paul C. Cross, Dennis M. Heisey, Brandon M. Scurlock, William H. Edwards, Angela Brennan, Michael R. Ebinger
Effects of chemical immobilization on survival of African buffalo in the Kruger National Park
Capturing, immobilizing, and fitting radiocollars are common practices in studies of large mammals, but success is based on the assumptions that captured animals are representative of the rest of the population and that the capture procedure has negligible effects. We estimated effects of chemical immobilization on mortality rates of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Kruger National Park, S
Authors
W.C. Oosthuizen, P.C. Cross, J.A. Bowers, C. Hay, M.R. Ebinger, P. Buss, M. Hofmeyr, E.Z. Cameron
Grizzly bear hair on barbed wire at a hair corral. Bears climb over or under the corral and the hair collected provides information for genetic analysis.
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 surrounding the closure of open pit garbage dumps within Yellowstone...
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 the gains have concentrated on obligate carnivores.
Authors
Michael R. Ebinger, Mark A. Haroldson, Frank T. van Manen, Cecily M. Costello, Daniel D. Bjornlie, Daniel J. Thompson, Kerry A. Gunther, Jennifer K. Fortin, Justin E. Teisberg, Shannon R Pils, P J White, Steven L. Cain, Paul C. Cross
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 0.3–2.2% during 2002–2011. Substantial changes in availability of a key f
Authors
Frank T. van Manen, Mark A. Haroldson, Daniel D. Bjornlie, Michael R. Ebinger, Daniel J. Thompson, Cecily M. Costello, Gary C. White
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 two decades of robust population increase. These obs
Authors
Daniel D. Bjornlie, Frank T. van Manen, Michael R. Ebinger, Mark A. Haroldson, Daniel J. Thompson, Cecily M. Costello
Sex-biased gene flow among elk in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem
We quantified patterns of population genetic structure to help understand gene flow among elk populations across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We sequenced 596 base pairs of the mitochondrial control region of 380 elk from eight populations. Analysis revealed high mitochondrial DNA variation within populations, averaging 13.0 haplotypes with high mean gene diversity (0.85). The genetic differ
Authors
Brian K. Hand, Shanyuan Chen, Neil Anderson, Albano Beja-Pereira, Paul C. Cross, Michael R. Ebinger, Hank Edwards, Robert A. Garrott, Marty D. Kardos, Matthew J. Kauffman, Erin L. Landguth, Arthur Middleton, Brandon M. Scurlock, P.J. White, Pete Zager, Michael K. Schwartz, Gordon Luikart
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) have killed many cone-producing WBP trees. We used fall (15
Authors
Cecily M. Costello, Frank T. van Manen, Mark A. Haroldson, Michael R. Ebinger, Steven L. Cain, Kerry A. Gunther, Daniel D. Bjornlie
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 IGBST based on females with cubs-of-the-year were
Authors
Frank T. van Manen, Michael R. Ebinger, Mark A. Haroldson, Richard B. Harris, Megan D. Higgs, Steve Cherry, Gary C. White, Charles C. Schwartz
Female elk contacts are neither frequency nor density dependent
Identifying drivers of contact rates among individuals is critical to understanding disease dynamics and implementing targeted control measures. We studied the interaction patterns of 149 female elk (Cervus canadensis) distributed across five different regions of western Wyoming over three years, defining a contact as an approach within one body length (∼2 m). Using hierarchical models that accoun
Authors
Paul C. Cross, Tyler G. Creech, Michael R. Ebinger, Kezia R. Manlove, Kathryn M. Irvine, John C. Henningsen, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon M. Scurlock, Scott Creely
Microsatellites indicate minimal barriers to mule deer Odocoileus hemionus dispersal across Montana, USA
To better understand the future spread of chronic wasting disease, we conducted a genetic assessment of mule deer Odocoileus hemionus population structure across the state of Montana, USA. Individual based analyses were used to test for population structure in the absence of a priori designations of population membership across the sampling area. Samples from the states of Wyoming, Colorado and Ut
Authors
John H. Powell, Steven T. Kalinowski, Megan D. Higgs, Michael R. Ebinger, Ninh V. Vu, Paul C. Cross
Wildlife contact analysis: Emerging methods, questions, and challenges
Recent technological advances, such as proximity loggers, allow researchers to collect complete interaction histories, day and night, among sampled individuals over several months to years. Social network analyses are an obvious approach to analyzing interaction data because of their flexibility for fitting many different social structures as well as the ability to assess both direct contacts and
Authors
Paul C. Cross, Tyler G. Creech, Michael R. Ebinger, Dennis M. Heisey, Kathryn M. Irvine, Scott Creel
Mapping brucellosis increases relative to elk density using hierarchical Bayesian models
The relationship between host density and parasite transmission is central to the effectiveness of many disease management strategies. Few studies, however, have empirically estimated this relationship particularly in large mammals. We applied hierarchical Bayesian methods to a 19-year dataset of over 6400 brucellosis tests of adult female elk (Cervus elaphus) in northwestern Wyoming. Management c
Authors
Paul C. Cross, Dennis M. Heisey, Brandon M. Scurlock, William H. Edwards, Angela Brennan, Michael R. Ebinger
Effects of chemical immobilization on survival of African buffalo in the Kruger National Park
Capturing, immobilizing, and fitting radiocollars are common practices in studies of large mammals, but success is based on the assumptions that captured animals are representative of the rest of the population and that the capture procedure has negligible effects. We estimated effects of chemical immobilization on mortality rates of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Kruger National Park, S
Authors
W.C. Oosthuizen, P.C. Cross, J.A. Bowers, C. Hay, M.R. Ebinger, P. Buss, M. Hofmeyr, E.Z. Cameron
Close Up of Grizzly Bear Hair on Fence
Grizzly bear hair on barbed wire at a hair corral. Bears climb over or under the corral and the hair collected provides information for genetic analysis.
Grizzly bear hair on barbed wire at a hair corral. Bears climb over or under the corral and the hair collected provides information for genetic analysis.