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dc.contributor.authorVan Horn, Russell C.
dc.contributor.authorZug, Becky
dc.contributor.authorAppleton, Robyn D.
dc.contributor.authorVelez-Liendo, Ximena
dc.contributor.authorPaisley, Susanna
dc.contributor.authorLaCombe, Corrin
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-29T18:08:55Z
dc.date.available2020-06-29T18:08:55Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.identifier.issn2167-8359
dc.identifier.doi10.7717/peerj.1042
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12634/465
dc.description.abstractUsing photos of captive Andean bears of known age and pedigree, and photos of wild Andean bear cubs <6 months old, we evaluated the degree to which visual information may be used to estimate bears’ ages and assess their kinship. We demonstrate that the ages of Andean bear cubs ≤6 months old may be estimated from their size relative to their mothers with an average error of <0.01 ± 13.2 days (SD; n = 14), and that ages of adults ≥10 years old may be estimated from the proportion of their nose that is pink with an average error of <0.01 ± 3.5 years (n = 41). We also show that similarity among the bears’ natural markings, as perceived by humans, is not associated with pedigree kinship among the bears (R2 < 0.001, N = 1,043, p = 0.499). Thus, researchers may use photos of wild Andean bears to estimate the ages of young cubs and older adults, but not to infer their kinship. Given that camera trap photos are one of the most readily available sources of information on large cryptic mammals, we suggest that similar methods be tested for use in other poorly understood species.
dc.language.isoen
dc.relation.urlhttps://peerj.com/articles/1042
dc.rights© 2015 Van Horn et al. Licence This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectANDEAN BEARS
dc.subjectCAMERA TRAPS
dc.subjectIDENTIFICATION
dc.subjectYOUNG
dc.subjectADULT
dc.titlePhotos provide information on age, but not kinship, of Andean bear
dc.typeArticle
dc.source.journaltitlePeerJ
dc.source.volume3
dc.source.beginpagee1042
refterms.dateFOA2020-06-29T18:08:55Z
html.description.abstractUsing photos of captive Andean bears of known age and pedigree, and photos of wild Andean bear cubs <6 months old, we evaluated the degree to which visual information may be used to estimate bears’ ages and assess their kinship. We demonstrate that the ages of Andean bear cubs ≤6 months old may be estimated from their size relative to their mothers with an average error of <0.01 ± 13.2 days (SD; n = 14), and that ages of adults ≥10 years old may be estimated from the proportion of their nose that is pink with an average error of <0.01 ± 3.5 years (n = 41). We also show that similarity among the bears’ natural markings, as perceived by humans, is not associated with pedigree kinship among the bears (R2 < 0.001, N = 1,043, p = 0.499). Thus, researchers may use photos of wild Andean bears to estimate the ages of young cubs and older adults, but not to infer their kinship. Given that camera trap photos are one of the most readily available sources of information on large cryptic mammals, we suggest that similar methods be tested for use in other poorly understood species.


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© 2015 Van Horn et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2015 Van Horn et al. Licence This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.