We developed models to estimate the soft tissue content of benthic marine invertebrates that are prey for aquatic wildlife. Allometric regression models of tissue wet weight with shell length for 10 species of benthic invertebrates had r² values ranging from 0.29 for hermit crabs Pagurus longicarpus to 0.98 for green crabs Carcinus maenas. As a class, bivalves had the highest r² values (0.84) and crustaceans the lowest (0.48). Energy and nutrient content of soft tissue is also presented for the 10 benthic species. The energy content was lowest in crabs, and ranged within 2.20–4.71 kcal g^-1 dry weight. Fat content was highly variable (range: 3.5–16.0%), and protein content ranged within 43.1–68.1% and was highest for shrimp Palaemonetes pugio. Comparison between classes of organisms of the amount of soft tissue per unit shell length showed that crustaceans yield five times more soft tissue per unit shell length than bivalves, and four times more than gastropods. The models we present use simple measures, such as the length of shell or wet weight of the entire animal, to quantitatively estimate the amount of available soft tissue in benthic prey that are usually consumed in total (with shell and soft tissue intact) but for which only the soft tissue is used for nutritional gain. This information can be combined with energy and nutrient content data to calculate energy or nutrient based carrying capacities that can help assess available resources for shorebirds, waterfowl and marine mammals.

We investigated habitat selection patterns of the great bustard Otis tarda in a dynamic agricultural landscape in southern Portugal. Combining data from 26 bustard counts with habitat mapping, we used resource selection functions to characterise habitat selection in two areas with different agricultural uses. Selection patterns were compared among areas, seasons (breeding, post-breeding and winter), and flock types (male, female and mixed) during the breeding season. Seasonal differences in selection patterns generally parallelled changes in estimated food availability. Stubbles (i.e. recently harvested fields) and stream margins were preferentially selected by all bustards during the post-breeding period, whereas cereal and fallow fields were selected during winter. During the breeding season, males selected fallow fields more than other habitat types, whereas females selected cereal fields. Habitat selection seemed to be influenced by habitat availability, with birds showing stronger selection for preferred habitats in the areas where they were less available. Great bustards used different habitat types throughout the agricultural year, and we recommend that habitat management promotes a rotational crop system that includes cereal and fallow fields.

We explored how waterfowl in a large Danish coastal wetland responded to one day of marsh shooting at intervals of three weeks (1998), two weeks (1999), and one week (2000 and 2001). Shooting took place around sunset on a section of salt marsh that usually is part of a large shooting-free refuge. The behavioural response of waterfowl was recorded, and all waterfowl were counted on the day of the hunt and on the first and second day after each hunt. The wildfowl responded to the first 1–7 shots by moving into the open water parts of the refuge (dabbling ducks) or to sites > 8 km away (geese and waders). When the salt marsh was flooded early in autumn 2001, wigeon Anas penelope, teal A. crecca and lapwing Vanellus vanellus restricted their response to movements to other non-hunted parts of the salt marsh. On the first day after the hunts, mallard A. platyrhynchos occurred in significantly lower numbers both on the adjacent shallow and on the salt marsh. Wigeon numbers on the shallows were not affected by shooting, though they returned in lower numbers to the salt marsh on the first day after the hunts in 1998–2000, but not after the hunts in 2001. A similar pattern was observed in teal numbers on the salt marsh. We conclude: 1) that shooting lead to short-term displacements of dabbling ducks, 2) that the response of wigeon and teal varied depending on prevailing conditions on the salt marsh, 3) that intermittent regulation of marsh shooting was a management tool that ensured that waterfowl continued to exploit the area shot over on days when no shooting took place, and 4) that the relatively weak responses were linked to the existence of an extensive refuge adjacent to the area with marsh shooting.

The recolonising wolf Canis lupus population has created conflicts in Scandinavia, and it will eventually be necessary to control wolf numbers if the population continues to grow. One mechanism for this is hunting. Under what circumstances will the Swedish public support hunting of wolves? We examined this question for the general public and for three stakeholder groups: all hunters, the public living in areas with wolf populations and hunters living in wolf population areas. A majority of all four groups found it acceptable to hunt wolves to reduce the risk of livestock depredation (53–91%), and if wolves had been coming into populated areas (54–86%). However, about one fifth of the Swedish public was neutral to any justification, so an extreme or a well-publicised event could alter the current levels of support. The majority in all groups did not support wolf hunting merely because people were afraid of them (22–46%), or because wolves compete with humans for game (11–45%). A majority of all hunters found wolf hunting to be justified if wolves were a threat to dogs in the area, but the majority of the general public even in the wolf population areas did not find this to be appropriate justification. Our study shows the importance of surveying stakeholder groups as well as the general public to develop sound and acceptable conservation and management plans for rebounding populations of large carnivores such as wolves.

Activity pattern plasticity may serve as an evolutionary adaptation to optimize fitness in an inconstant environment, however, quantifying patterns and demonstrating variation can be problematic. For American black bears Ursus americanus, wariness and habitat inaccessibility further complicate quantification. Radio telemetry has been the primary technique used to examine activity, however, interpretation error and limitation on numbers of animals available to monitor prevent extrapolation to unmarked or untransmittered members of the population. We used remote cameras to quantify black bear activity patterns and examined differences by season, sex and reproductive class in the Alleghany Mountains of western Virginia, USA. We used 1,533 pictures of black bears taken during 1998–2002 for our analyses. Black bears generally were diurnal in summer and nocturnal in autumn with a vespertine activity peak during both seasons. Bear-hound training seasons occurred during September and may offer explanation for the observed shift towards nocturnal behaviour. We found no substantial differences in activity patterns between sex and reproductive classes. Use of remote cameras allowed us to efficiently sample larger numbers of individual animals and likely offered a better approximation of population-level activity patterns than individual-level, telemetry-based methodologies.

The contiguous United States population of Canada lynx Lynx canadensis was listed as threatened in 2000. The long-term viability of lynx populations at the southern edge of their geographic range has been hypothesized to be dependent on old growth forests; however, lynx are a specialist predator on snowshoe hare Lepus americanus, a species associated with early-successional forests. To quantify the effects of succession and forest management on landscape-scale (100 km²) patterns of habitat occupancy by lynx, we compared landscape attributes in northern Maine, USA, where lynx had been detected on snow track surveys to landscape attributes where surveys had been conducted, but lynx tracks had not been detected. Models were constructed a priori and compared using logistic regression and Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC), which quantitatively balances data fit and parsimony. In the models with the lowest (i.e. best) AIC, lynx were more likely to occur in landscapes with much regenerating forest, and less likely to occur in landscapes with much recent clearcut, partial harvest and forested wetland. Lynx were not associated positively or negatively with mature coniferous forest. A probabilistic map of the model indicated a patchy distribution of lynx habitat in northern Maine. According to an additional survey of the study area for lynx tracks during the winter of 2003, the model correctly classified 63.5% of the lynx occurrences and absences. Lynx were more closely associated with young forests than mature forests; however, old-growth forests were functionally absent from the landscape. Lynx habitat could be reduced in northern Maine, given recent trends in forest management practices. Harvest strategies have shifted from clearcutting to partial harvesting. If this trend continues, future landscapes will shift away from extensive regenerating forests and toward landscapes dominated by polesized and larger stands. Because Maine presently supports the only verified populations of this federally threatened species in the eastern United States, changes in forest management practices could affect recovery efforts throughout that region.

My study was carried out to evaluate hypotheses about the effects of maternal age and population growth rate on twinning rate and offspring sex ratio in moose Alces alces. Reproductive tracts from 128 female moose of known age and with embryos present were collected across Estonia during the hunting seasons (1 October-15 November) of 1993–1999. Maternal age was treated as an indicator of condition, with younger mothers assumed to be in poorer condition than older mothers. The sex of embryos was determined using cytological methods. As indexed by sex ratio, there was a clear increase in maternal investment as maternal age increased. The sex ratio in younger mothers was nearly one male to three females, whereas in older mothers it was nearly equal. If the age of the mother is a good index of condition, this can be explained by the Trivers-Willard theory of condition-dependant sex ratios. Yet, because the Trivers-Willard theory predicts the sex ratio only of an individual, older females might compensate for the excess of female offspring among subadults according to Fischer's equal allocation theory. Population phases were distinguished using data on fecundity. In the increase phase there was strong agreement with the Trivers-Willard theory, but there was no clear agreement in the low-density phase. This was probably a result of the greater participation of young females in reproduction during the increase phase. Foetal sex ratio did not differ between different population growth phases.

I studied trends and the spatial variation in ungulate-vehicle collisions (UVC) in Sweden varying the spatial resolution in order to test the hypothesis that UVC are proportional to animal density and traffic volume. Spatial patterns were studied at the level of individual hunting areas (N = 311), moose management districts (N = 95), and counties (N = 22), whereas trends in UVC were studied at national, county and district level covering periods of 30,16 and 12 years, respectively. During 1970–1999 the overall number of reported collisions with moose Alces alces and roe deer Capreolus capreolus was closely correlated with changes in annual game bags and the increase in traffic volume. Large-scale spatial variations in UVC also showed a strong correlation with harvest and traffic. The ratio of collision numbers to harvest, however, increased significantly over time, suggesting a growing importance of traffic over ungulate management. With increased resolution, other environmental factors such as preferred habitat, road density and the presence of road underpasses that can provide passages for wildlife, gained significance over ungulate density and traffic volume. My results suggest that the relationship between animal abundance, road traffic, mitigation measures and collision numbers are not linear. For future prediction, evaluation and mitigation of UVC in Sweden, improved knowledge about passage design, fence location, and the occurrence of UVC in time and space is needed.