Day 1: Climate Change, Huckleberries and Grizzly Bears in Montana

Photo Courtesy of Laura

Today we arrived at our new home for the next ten days, unpacked and got down to orientation with Dr. Tabitha Graves, our lead USGS scientist.

The Study: Climate Change, Huckleberries and Grizzly Bears in Montana

Huckleberries are a keystone species.  A keystone species is a species that has a larger effect than their abundance would suggest and many species rely on their presence for survival. These small berries are a very important food source at key points in animal’s lives. For example, birds fledging rely on huckleberries as do bears that are getting ready to hibernate. The sugars in the berries allow the bears to fatten up for their long winter in a den and aids females in having enough energy to reproduce.  

Bears in Montana have made the news recently as more of them have been hit and killed by cars as the bears are moving outside their normal territory in search of food. It has been proposed that climate change is changing the abundance of huckleberries and their locations. This may be a reason that the bears are moving around more. However, more research needs to be conducted before this can be said for certain.

Montana is currently experiencing the impacts of climate change more than most other states and this will continue in the future. Some impacts of climate change in Montana are one degree change in temperature, retreating glaciers, variations in the onset of spring and a delayed onset of winter.





The concern is that with climate change the normal food sources of the bears (such as huckleberries) will shift. However, there is no data on the presence or absence of huckleberries in Montana or the reliance of bears on huckleberries as a food source even though they have been documented eating the berries.


This goal of this project is to understand the variables that influence huckleberry productivity (the amount & size of berries they produce, pollinator factors, etc), so that land managers can improve the resilience of the food system for organisms such as grizzly bear. 

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