In the sexual conflict over the duration of maternal care, male mammals may improve their reproductive success by forcing early mother–offspring separation in species where lactation supresses estrus. However, when individual females benefit from continuing to care for their current offspring, they should adopt counter-strategies to avoid separation from offspring. Here, we tested whether spatial segregation from adult males and proximity to humans during the mating season could be associated with longer maternal care in the Scandinavian brown bear (Ursus arctos). Using resource selection functions (RSFs), we contrasted habitat selection patterns of adult males and those of adult females with yearlings that either provided 1.5 years of maternal care (“short-care females”) or continued care for an additional year (“long-care females”) during the mating season, the period when family break-ups typically occur. Males and short-care females had similar habitat selection patterns during the mating season. In contrast, habitat selection patterns differed between males and long-care females, suggesting spatial segregation between the two groups. In particular, long-care females used areas closer to human habitations compared with random locations (defined here as selection), whereas males used areas further to human habitations compared with random locations (defined here as avoidance). Our results show a correlation between habitat selection behavior and the duration of maternal care. We suggest that proximity to humans during the mating season may represent a female tactic to avoid adverse interactions with males that may lead to early weaning of offspring. In mammalian species where lactation supresses ovulation, males may gain a reproductive advantage by forcing early mother-offspring separation; however females can respond through behavioral tactics. We show that female brown bears with yearling cubs can spatially segregate from males during the mating season and that this behavior is associated with longer maternal care. Females selecting areas close to human habitations tend to keep their yearlings for an additional year, suggesting that human presence could have a shielding effect from males. Our study is among the few to explore sexual conflicts over the duration of maternal care close to weaning and shows that animals have the potential to adjust their behavioral tactics to make use of human-dominated landscapes.

中文翻译：

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与人类的亲近与棕熊的长期母婴护理有关

在母体护理期间的性冲突中，雄性哺乳动物可能会通过在哺乳期抑制发情的物种中强制早期母子分离来提高它们的繁殖成功率。然而，当个别雌性因继续照顾它们当前的后代而受益时，它们应该采取反制策略以避免与后代分离。在这里，我们测试了在交配季节与成年雄性的空间隔离和与人类的接近是否可能与斯堪的纳维亚棕熊 (Ursus arctos) 的母性护理时间更长有关。使用资源选择函数 (RSF)，我们将成年雄性和成年雌性的栖息地选择模式与一岁鸽的栖息地选择模式进行了对比，其中任一提供了 1。在交配季节期间（通常发生家庭破裂的时期）接受 5 年的产妇护理（“短期护理雌性”）或继续护理一年（“长期护理雌性”）。在交配季节，雄性和短照雌性有相似的栖息地选择模式。相比之下，雄性和长期照料雌性之间的栖息地选择模式不同，表明两组之间存在空间隔离。特别是，与随机位置（此处定义为选择）相比，长期护理的女性使用更接近人类居住地的区域，而与随机位置（此处定义为回避）相比，男性使用更靠近人类居住地的区域。我们的结果显示栖息地选择行为与产妇护理持续时间之间存在相关性。我们建议在交配季节接近人类可能代表一种雌性策略，以避免与雄性发生不良互动，从而导致后代过早断奶。在哺乳期抑制排卵的哺乳动物物种中，雄性可能会通过迫使母子过早分离而获得生殖优势；然而，女性可以通过行为策略做出反应。我们表明，在交配季节，带有一岁幼崽的雌性棕熊可以与雄性在空间上隔离，并且这种行为与更长的母亲照顾时间有关。选择靠近人类居住区的雌性倾向于将一岁鸽多饲养一年，这表明人类的存在可能会对雄性产生屏蔽作用。