In this 2014 image from a remote camera trap provided by Taal Levi, a black bear eats devil's club berries near Haines, Alaska. A study of bears and berries has determined that the big animals are the main dispersers of fruit seeds in southeast Alaska. The study by Oregon State University researchers says it's the first instance of a temperate plant being primarily dispersed by mammals through their excrement rather than by birds. (Taal Levi and Laurie Harrer via AP)
The Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A study of bears and berries has determined that the big animals are the main dispersers of fruit seeds in southeast Alaska.
The study by Oregon State University researchers says it's the first instance of a temperate plant being primarily dispersed by mammals through their excrement rather than by birds.
Researcher Taal Levi says seed dispersal is a key component in the understanding of any ecosystem.
He says brown and black bears thrive on Alaska's Panhandle because of abundant salmon but both feed on berries while they wait for spawning fish to enter streams.
Researchers used motion-triggered video cameras and samples of saliva left on plants to determine whether bears or birds were eating more berries and dispersing seeds through excrement.
Levi says bears consumed and excreted far more seeds.
In this 2014 image from a remote camera trap provided by Taal Levi, a brown bear eats devil's club berries near Haines, Alaska. A study of bears and berries has determined that the big animals are the main dispersers of fruit seeds in southeast Alaska. The study by Oregon State University researchers says it's the first instance of a temperate plant being primarily dispersed by mammals through their excrement rather than by birds. (Taal Levi and Laurie Harrer via AP)
The Associated Press
FILE- In this October 2017 file photo, a black bear walks in Granite Basin, amid low-lying blueberry thickets, in Juneau, Alaska. A study of bears and berries has determined that the big animals are the main dispersers of fruit seeds in southeast Alaska. The study by Oregon State University researchers says it's the first instance of a temperate plant being primarily dispersed by mammals through their excrement rather than by birds. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2017 file photo, red berries ripen on a devil's club plant in Anchorage, Alaska. A study by Oregon State researchers of wildlife and devil's club outside Haines, Alaska, concludes that brown and black bears, not birds are the main dispersers of fruit seeds through their scat in southeast Alaska. (AP Photo/Dan Joling, File)
The Associated Press
File - In this June 2017 file photo, a black bear cub forages for food along a salmon stream below a bear viewing spot for tourists in the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area in Juneau, Alaska. A study of bears and berries has determined that the big animals are the main dispersers of fruit seeds in southeast Alaska. The study by Oregon State University researchers says it's the first instance of a temperate plant being primarily dispersed by mammals through their excrement rather than by birds.(AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
The Associated Press