Bioclimatic, demographic and anthropogenic correlates of grizzly bear activity patterns in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Plasticity of diel activity rhythms may be a key element for adaptations of wildlife populations to changing environmental conditions. In the last decades, grizzly bears Ursus arctos in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) have experienced notable environmental fluctuations, including changes in availability of food sources and severe droughts. Although substantial research has been conducted on grizzly bear diets, space use, and demographic parameters, studies on factors that may influence their diel activity patterns are lacking. We investigated diel activity of grizzly bears in the GYE as a function of anthropogenic landscape modification, maximum daily ambient temperature, drought severity, and bear density. Specifically, we used accelerometry readings of 169 bears (39 females, 130 males) from 2009 to 2022 to compute three complementary activity measures, hourly intensity of activity, daily active minutes, and active bout length, each used as a response variable within a Bayesian modeling framework. Grizzly bears generally exhibited bimodal diel activity, with crepuscular peaks and slight variations across seasons. Females with young (i.e. cubs or yearlings) were an exception, with more pronounced diurnal activity patterns, possibly as a strategy to avoid infanticide by dominant males. Landscape modification and maximum ambient temperature were the factors most strongly associated with activity patterns of grizzly bears, with greater nocturnality observed in lone females and males as these factors increased. Females with young were comparatively less affected. The GYE is changing because of increasing land development, human recreation pressures, and effects of climate change. Given their greater diurnal activity compared with other cohorts, female grizzly bears with dependent offspring may be more constrained in their ability to modify activity patterns. Our findings add to a growing body of research emphasizing the importance of the temporal dimension of wildlife behavior as a critical factor in assessing species adaptability and vulnerability in a changing world.