Abstract The American black bear (Ursus americanus) has very plastic activity patterns that maximize its ability to adapt to changing environments. Hibernation length is positively correlated with latitude, where northern populations remain in hibernation for up to 5 months during the winter; however, the species may not hibernate at all in its southern range. Several studies have focused on the description of the species’ ecology from specific locations; however, the macroecological perspective of the seasonal activity in black bears has not been explored. Using ecological niche models and temporal climate transfers, we tested for a correlation between the 971 monthly activity records we obtained for this species within its whole distribution and monthly climatic conditions. We observed that there was a high degree of geographic overlap among the monthly potential transferred areas and the monthly presence locality records. Thus, we suggest that climate is one of the main factors affecting the cycles of activity of this species and explains its hibernation patterns.

中文翻译：

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季节性变化对美洲黑熊活动模式的影响：一种生态位建模方法

摘要 美国黑熊 (Ursus americanus) 具有非常可塑性的活动模式，可以最大限度地适应不断变化的环境。冬眠长度与纬度呈正相关，北方种群在冬季冬眠时间长达 5 个月；然而，该物种在其南部范围内可能根本不会冬眠。几项研究侧重于从特定地点描述该物种的生态；然而，尚未探索黑熊季节性活动的宏观生态学观点。使用生态位模型和时间气候转移，我们测试了我们在该物种的整个分布范围内获得的 971 个月活动记录与每月气候条件之间的相关性。我们观察到，每月潜在转移区域和每月存在地点记录之间存在高度的地理重叠。因此，我们认为气候是影响该物种活动周期的主要因素之一，并解释了其冬眠模式。