The cascading effects of human food on hibernation and cellular aging in free-ranging black bears
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Title
The cascading effects of human food on hibernation and cellular aging in free-ranging black bears
Description
Human foods have become a pervasive subsidy in many landscapes, and can dramatically alter wildlife behavior, physiology, and demography. While such subsidies can enhance wildlife condition, they can also result in unintended negative consequences on individuals and populations. Seasonal hibernators possess a remarkable suite of adaptations that increase survival and longevity in the face of resource and energetic limitations. Recent work has suggested hibernation may also slow the process of senescence, or cellular aging. We investigated how use of human foods influences hibernation, and subsequently cellular aging, in a large-bodied hibernator, black bears (Ursus americanus). We quantified relative telomere length, a molecular marker for cellular age, and compared lengths in adult female bears longitudinally sampled over multiple seasons. We found that bears that foraged more on human foods hibernated for shorter periods of time. Furthermore, bears that hibernated for shorter periods of time experienced accelerated telomere attrition. Together these results suggest that although hibernation may ameliorate cellular aging, foraging on human food subsidies could counteract this process by shortening hibernation. Our findings highlight how human food subsidies can indirectly influence changes in aging at the molecular level.
Bibliographic Citation
Kirby, R., H. E. Johnson, M. W. Alldredge, and J. N. Pauli. 2019. The cascading effects of human food on hibernation and cellular aging in free-ranging black bears. Scientific Reports 9:2197. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38937-5
Creator
Kirby, Rebecca
Johnson, Heather E.
Alldredge, Mathew W.
Pauli, Jonathan N.
Subject
Adaptations
Senescence
Demography
Hibernation
Aging
Bears
Food
Extent
7 pages
Date Created
2019-02-21
Type
Article
Format
application/pdf
Language
English
Is Part Of
Scientific Reports
Collection
Citation
Kirby, Rebecca et al., “The cascading effects of human food on hibernation and cellular aging in free-ranging black bears,” CPW Digital Collections, accessed April 19, 2025, https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/items/show/84.