IBA Member Webinar Series
Title: Tongass Brown Bears - A Keystone Species in an Ecosystem at Risk
Presented by: Dr. John W. Schoen
Retired Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist John Schoen provides an overview of the brown bear research he and colleagues started in 1981 on Admiralty and Chichagof Islands in southeastern Alaska. These islands are part of the Tongass National forest, the largest national forest in the USA (68,000 square km or 16.8 million acres), containing the last remaining intact temperate rainforests in the world. The research showed many intricate ecological connections, including how brown bear consumption of salmon redistributes marine nutrients from the marine to the terrestrial environments, fertilizing the forests especially near riparian areas. Using scientific findings as the guiding principle, John makes the case that the Tongass National Forest is our best opportunity to conserve a temperate rainforest ecosystem with all its functional parts, including ancient forests, salmon, and brown bears.
IBA has supported global bear conservation through research since 1968. Please consider joining IBA or becoming a donor: www.bearbiology.org/donate
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