<p class="MsoNormal">Every summer on the McNeil River in coastal Alaska bears and salmon engage in a key ecological interaction. As the salmon return to their home streams to spawn, bears gather on the banks of those same streams to feed on the salmon. This interaction has long-term consequences for the survival of both populations, and <a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/field/grants-programs/waitt-grants/" target="_blank">NGS/Waitt Grantee</a> Ian Gill was there to investigate.</p> <p><i>Pictured:</i> Two young adult brown bears engage in a play bout one evening with the Aleutian Mountains in the background.</p>

Heavyweight Division

Every summer on the McNeil River in coastal Alaska bears and salmon engage in a key ecological interaction. As the salmon return to their home streams to spawn, bears gather on the banks of those same streams to feed on the salmon. This interaction has long-term consequences for the survival of both populations, and NGS/Waitt Grantee Ian Gill was there to investigate.

Pictured: Two young adult brown bears engage in a play bout one evening with the Aleutian Mountains in the background.

Photograph by Ian Gill

Predator-Prey Dynamics of Bears and Salmon

See brown bear pictures from National Geographic Society/Waitt grantee Ian Gill.

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