Article

Mathew Sorum - Wildlife Biologist

A man rowing an inflatable raft on a river.
Mat Sorum on Lake Minakokosa, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, estimating grizzly bear densities.

NPS/Jillian Richie

Mathew Sorum
Wildlife Biologist
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve
4175 Geist Road
Fairbanks, AK 99709
(907) 455-0676
mathew_sorum@nps.gov

Education

University of Idaho, Moscow Idaho, 2010 - 2013, M.S. in Natural Resources

University of North Dakota, Grand Forks North Dakota, 2000 - 2005, B.S. in Wildlife Biology

Interests

Carnivore and ungluate ecology, predator-prey relationships, movement ecology, environmental influences to population demography, wildlife management

Projects

Wolves

Moose

Professional Experience

2014 – Present Wildlife Biologist, National Park Service, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

2009 – 2011 Wildlife Biological Technician, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Kodiak Alaska

2008 - 2009 Wildlife Research Technician, Montana State University

2007 - 2008 Wildlife Biological Technician, USGS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage Alaska

Publications

Bowersock, N. R., L. M. Ciarniello, W. W. Deacy, D. C. Heard, K. Joly, C. T. Lamb, W. B. Leacock, B. N. McLellan, G. Mowat, M. S. Sorum, F. T. van Manen, and J. A. Merkle. 2023. A test of the green wave hypothesis in omnivorous brown bears across North America. Ecography :e06549.

Sorum, M. S., M. D. Cameron, A. Crupi, G. K. Sage, S. L. Talbot, G. V. Hilderbrand, and K. Joly. 2023. Pronounced brown bear aggregation along anadromous streams in interior Alaska. Wildlife Biology e01057.

Sorum, M., J. Pruszenski, and B. Borg. 2022. It takes a pack to raise a pup. Frontiers for Young Minds 10: 735160.

Joly, K., M. D. Cameron, M. S. Sorum, D. D. Gustine, W. Deacy, and G. V. Hilderbrand. 2022. Factors influencing Arctic brown bear annual home range sizes and limitations of home range analyses. Ursus (33e11): 1-12.

Schmidt, J. H., M. D. Cameron, K. Joly, J. M. Pruszenski, J. H. Reynolds, and M. S. Sorum. 2022. Bayesian spatial modeling of moose count data: Increasing estimator efficiency and exploring ecological hypothesis. The Journal of Wildlife Management : e22220.

Brandell, E. E., P. C. Cross, M. E. Craft, D. W. Smith, E. J. Dubovi, ...B. L. Borg, M. Sorum, ... et al. 2021. Patterns and processes of pathogen exposure in gray wolves across North America. Scientific Reports 11: 3722.

Mahoney, P. J. K. Joly, B. L. Borg, M. S. Sorum, T. A. Rinaldi, … B. Mangipane, et al. 2020. Denning phenology and reproductive success of wolves in response to climate signals. Environmental Research Letters 15(12): 125001.

Davidson, S. C., G. Bohrer, E. Gurarie, S. LaPoint, P. J. Mahoney, ... K. Joly, ... J. P. Lawler, ... B. Mangipane, ... C. L. McIntyre, ... P. A. Owen, ... M. S. Sorum, ... et al. 2020. Ecological insights from three decades of animal movement tracking across a changing Arctic. Science 370(6517): 712-715.

Cameron, M. D., G. V. Hilderbrand, K. Joly, J. H. Schmidt, D. D. Gustine, L. S. Mangipane, B. Mangipane, and M. S. Sorum. 2020. Body size plasticity in North American black and brown bears. Ecosphere 11(8): e03235.

Mangipane, L. S., D. J. R. Lafferty, K. Joly, M. S. Sorum, M. D. Cameron, J. L. Belant, G. V. Hilderbrand, and D. D. Gustine. 2020. Dietary plasticity and the importance of salmon to brown bear (Ursus arctos) body size and condition in a low Arctic ecosystem. Polar Biology.

Sorum, M. S., K. Joly, M. D. Cameron, D. D. Gustine, and G. V. Hilderbrand. 2020. Salmon sleuths: GPS-collared bears lead researchers to unknown salmon streams in Interior Alaska. Alaska Park Science 19(1): 4-9.

Sorum, M. S., K. Joly, and M. D. Cameron. 2019. Use of salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) by brown bears (Ursos arctos) in an Arctic, interior, montane environment. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 133(2):151-155.

Sorum, M. S., K. Joly, A. G. Wells, M. D. Cameron, G. V. Hilderbrand, and D. D. Gustine. 2019. Den-site characteristics and selection by brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the central Brooks Range of Alaska. Ecosphere 10(8): e02822. 10.1002/ecs2.2822

Hilderbrand, G. V., D. D. Gustine, K. Joly, B. Mangipane, W. Leacock, M. D. Cameron, M. S. Sorum, L. S. Mangipane, and J. A. Erlenbach. 2019. Influence of maternal body size, condition, and age on recruitment of four brown bear populations. Ursus 29(2): 111-118.

Hilderbrand, G. V., K. Joly, M. S. Sorum, M. D. Cameron, and D. D. Gustine. 2019. Brown bear (Ursus arctos) body size, condition, and productivity in the Arctic, 1977-2016. Polar Biology:1-6.

Joly, K., M. S. Sorum, and M. D. Cameron. 2018. Denning ecology of wolves in east-central Alaska, 1993-2017. Arctic Institute of North America 71(4).

Joly, K., M. D. Cameron, and M. S. Sorum. 2018. Aerial survey of Dall’s sheep within Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, July 2018. Natural Resource Report NPS/YUCH/NRR—2018/1701. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Hilderbrand, G. V., Gustine, D. D., Mangipane, B. A., Joly, K., Leacock, W., Mangipane, L. S., Erlenbach, J., Sorum, M. S., Cameron, M. D., Belant, J. L., and Cambier, T. 2018. Body Size and Lean Mass of Brown Bears across and within Four Diverse Ecosystems. Journal of Zoology 305 (1):53-62. doi:10.1111/jzo.12536.

Hilderbrand, G. V., Gustine, D. D., Mangipane, B., Joly, K., Leacock, W., Mangipane, L., Erlenbach, J., Sorum, M. S., Cameron, M. D., Belant, J. L., and Cambier, T. 2018. Plasticity in Physiological Condition of Female Brown Bears across Diverse Ecosystems. Polar Biology 41(4): 773-780.

Joly, K, Craig, T., Cameron, M. D., Gall, A. E. and Sorum, M.S. 2017.Lying in Wait: Limiting Factors on a Low-Density Ungulate Population and the Latent Traits That Can Facilitate Escape from Them. Acta Oecologica 85: 174–83. doi:10.1016/j.actao.2017.11.004.

Sorum, M. S., Joly, K., Cameron, M. D. 2015. Aerial moose survey within and around Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, March 2015. Natural Resource Report NPS/GAAR/NRR— 2015/967. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Sorum, M. S. 2013. Behavior-specific resource selection by Kodiak brown bears. Master’s Thesis. University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve

Last updated: August 22, 2023