Dispersal of male bears into peripheral habitats inferred from mtDNA haplotypes

Abstract Crop depredation by brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Hokkaido, Japan, has increased over the past 2 decades. With increased depredation, the number of permits issued and the removal of conflict animals have also increased. We hypothesized that peripheral areas adjacent to agricultural lands represent attractive sink-like habitat because of the association between abundant high-quality anthropogenic food resources and high levels of human-induced mortality by nuisance control. We used an allopatric distribution of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes in females to distinguish core from peripheral habitat; nuisance control for female bears was 2× greater in the periphery. Using these definitions, we investigated 85 male mtDNA haplotypes recovered from dead bears from eastern Hokkaido (1996–2008) and classified the birthplace for 64. Of these, 14 of 31 born in core were killed in periphery, whereas 5 of 33 born in periphery died in core. In periphery, the largest proportion of males killed occurred dur...