Black Bear Morphometries 147 



Regression analyses indicated that chest girth, neck girth, and 

 zygomatic circumference were the best predictors of body mass for 

 both sexes (Table 3). Chest girth has been used commonly to estimate 

 body mass in bears (Cherry and Pelton 1976, Glenn 1980, Nagy et al. 

 1984), although Swenson et al. (1987) cautioned that interpopulation 

 variation in measurement-mass relationships makes it impossible to 

 produce a single, species-specific equation. These authors also concluded 

 that gender variation warranted development of sex-specific prediction 

 equations. 



Morphometric data can be used to predict nutritional condition 

 (Cattet 1990) and make intraspecific comparisons of body size. Differences 

 in body size and growth rates of black bears of different populations 

 resulting from variability in ecosystem productivity may lead to differences 

 in skull morphometry, a key tool in taxonomic analysis. If morphometric 

 variation between populations is best explained by phenotypic responses 

 to the environment, can morphometries be used to classify animals 

 into subspecies (Pelton 1990)? Such a question is germane to taxonomy 

 of black bears and other species. 



Our paper reports on a single, southeastern Coastal Plain 

 population of black bears. We encourage other black bear researchers 

 to standardize the collection and reporting of data on external 

 morphometries to maximize their utility. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS— Viz thank the United States Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 

 North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, North Carolina State 

 Parks Department, and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, 

 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Particularly helpful 

 were D. J. Schwab, R. D. McClanahan, and the entire staff of Great 

 Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Technical field assistance was 

 provided by W. M. Lane, J. R. Polisar, and K. M. Meddleton. This 

 project was funded by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Abler, W. A. 1985. Bear population dynamics on a study area in 

 southeastern Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta. 



Alt, G. L. 1980. Rate of growth and size of Pennsylvania black 

 bears. Pennsylvania Game News 51(12):7-17. 



Bunnell, F. L., and D. E. N. Tait. 1981. Population dynamics of 

 bears — implications. Pages 75-98 in Dynamics of large mammal 

 populations. (T. D. Smith and C. Fowler, editors). John Wiley 

 and Sons, Incorporated, New York, New York. 



