Black Bears (Ursus Americanus), and Their Use of National Parks

question 18

Essay

Black bears (Ursus americanus), and their use of National Parks can be a problem for humans. Bear travels are governed by the need for food, as well as a high degree of natural curiosity. Some humans inadvertently or purposefully feed the bears, leading them to harass the human population. When bears become troublesome, one strategy is to transplant them--that is, take them far from home and hope they don't find their way back. In a study of the success of this transplantation strategy, researchers kept track of the troublesome bears' fate over the course of a 10-year period of transplantations. One question of interest was whether the strategy worked equally well for "experienced" and "inexperienced" bears. "Experienced" bears are bears being transplanted a second time after wandering back and being troublesome again. The relevant data are presented in the table below. Test the hypothesis that the transplant outcome and the "experience level" of the population of troublesome bears are independent. For purposes of this question, you may assume that the captured bears are a random sample of the troublesome bear population.

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Definitions:

Genetic Influence

Genetic influence involves the impact of genes inherited from one's parents on physical traits, behaviors, and susceptibilities to certain conditions.

Personalities

The unique combination of emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral response patterns of an individual.

Parents

Guardians or caretakers who are responsible for raising and nurturing children, providing them with emotional and physical support.

Twin Studies

Twin studies are research methodologies that compare the similarity between monozygotic (identical) and dizygotic (fraternal) twins to understand the influence of genetics and environment on traits and behaviors.