About the Authors

John R. Fieberg

john.fieberg@state.mn.us

Affiliations Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America, Biometrics Unit, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Forest Lake, Minnesota, United States of America

Kyle W. Shertzer

Affiliation Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America

Paul B. Conn

Affiliation Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America

Karen V. Noyce

Affiliation Forest Wildlife Populations and Research Group, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, United States of America

David L. Garshelis

Affiliations Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America, Forest Wildlife Populations and Research Group, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, United States of America

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Analyzed the data: JRF. Wrote the paper: JRF KWS PBC KVN DLG. Wrote ADMB code for fitting the models: JRF KWS. Conducted the simulation study: JRF. Contributed to the design of the simulation study: JRF KWS PBC KVN DLG. Contributed to the formulation of the ADMB estimation models: JRF KWS PBC KVN DLG. Responsible for collecting all of the MN black bear data: KVN DLG.