B&C Fellow - Sarah Schooler

Michigan State University
Project Title:  Quantifying individual and population-level responses of black bears to baiting in Michigan

I'm a postdoctoral research scientist working with Michigan DNR to examine how black bear baiting in Michigan impacts black bear reproduction, population trends, and human-wildlife conflict. I've worked in the field of ecology for over a decade researching topics ranging from beach wrack nutrient leaching to brown bear habitat use. In my free time, I enjoy biking, cooking, and knitting.

Quantifying individual and population-level responses of black bears to baiting in Michigan

The goal of my project is to understand the magnitude of anthropogenic foods consumed by black bears and the potential demographic effects. I am estimating the contribution of assimilated human-based foods in black bear diets by sex and age before and after baiting season using stable isotope analysis from segmented hair and bone samples, then relating them to brown bear reproduction. I am also developing spatially-explicit models of bear bait density and region-specific effects on demographics and human-wildlife conflict.