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Distribution and genetic status of brown bears in FYR Macedonia: implications for conservation

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Abstract

Conservation and management of large carnivores is often hampered by the lack of information of basic biological parameters. This is particularly true for brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia. The bear population in this country is important, as it links bear populations of the central part of the Dinaric–Pindos population and the endangered population to the south in Greece. The aim of this study was to assess bear presence in FYR Macedonia and to provide the first evaluation of the genetic status of the species in this country. Bear presence was assessed through a questionnaire and sign surveys, while the genetic status of the species was evaluated through noninvasive genetic sampling from power poles and microsatellite analysis. The results of the study indicate the continuous and permanent presence of brown bears in FYR Macedonia from the border to Kosovo in the northwest, along the border to Albania and Greece in the south; bear presence around Mount Kožuf in the south of the country was seasonal. High levels of genetic diversity were recorded, and it appears that this bear population is currently not threatened by low genetic variability. Cross-border movements of bears between FYR Macedonia and Greece were documented, indicating the presence of an interconnected population and outlining the necessity for a coordinated international approach in the monitoring and conservation of the species in southeastern Europe.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the field teams of ARCTUROS, Molika, and the Macedonian Ecological Society for their help in the field work and collecting the hair samples. We greatly appreciate the overall logistic help of C. Zouras, L. Georgiadis, and L. Krambokoukis. The genetic analyses were carried out at the labs of Wildlife Genetics International; we thank R. Prive and D. Paetkau for their outstanding work and cooperation. J. Herman and two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments that improved the quality of the manuscript. This study received funding from Alertis, fund for bear and nature conservation, the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA), and ARCTUROS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ARCTUROS, Civil Society for the Protection and Management of Wildlife and the Natural Environment, Thessaloniki, 54624, Greece

    Alexandros A. Karamanlidis & Miguel de Gabriel Hernando

  2. Macedonian Ecological Society, Building of the Institute of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Skopje, 1000, FYR Macedonia

    Aleksandar Stojanov, Gjorge Ivanov & Dimche Melovski

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Ivna Kocijan

  4. Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Tomaž Skrbinšek

  5. Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental and Health Studies, Telemark University College, 3800, Bø i Telemark, Norway

    Andreas Zedrosser

  6. Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, 1432, Norway

    Alexandros A. Karamanlidis & Andreas Zedrosser

  7. Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, 1180, Austria

    Andreas Zedrosser

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  1. Alexandros A. Karamanlidis
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  2. Aleksandar Stojanov
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  3. Miguel de Gabriel Hernando
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  4. Gjorge Ivanov
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  5. Ivna Kocijan
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  6. Dimche Melovski
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  7. Tomaž Skrbinšek
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  8. Andreas Zedrosser
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Correspondence to Alexandros A. Karamanlidis.

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Communicated by: Jeremy Herman

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Karamanlidis, A.A., Stojanov, A., de Gabriel Hernando, M. et al. Distribution and genetic status of brown bears in FYR Macedonia: implications for conservation. Acta Theriol 59, 119–128 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-013-0147-8

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