The recovery of protected predators raises tensions and divisions within society when their prey are of socio-economic value. For instance, conflicts may arise when hunters perceive protected predators as a threat for declining game populations, and cull them. These conflicts can have a strong impact on the status of the affected predator species. In this paper we review a conflict between hunters and raptor protectionists related to grey partridge Perdix perdix - hen harrier Circus cyaneus relationships in central northern France. We compiled all available information from scientific journals as well as hunting or protectionist journals, in order to present the polarised views of the problem and to analyse the social, political, legal and scientific aspects of the conflict. The results of existing studies suggest that in some circumstances hen harrier predation may have an impact on grey partridge populations. However, these studies also suggest that the problem is currently restricted to certain areas. The impact of hen harrier predation on grey partridge populations is not fully understood. Further research is therefore needed to better understand the ecological basis of the conflict. We also present and discuss potential solutions to alleviate predation that might help to reduce the conflict.

We used cameras and artificial eggs to identify nest predators of dusky Canada goose Branta canadensis occidentalis nests during 1997–2000. Cameras were set up at 195 occupied goose nests and 60 artificial nests. We placed wooden eggs and domestic goose eggs that were emptied and then filled with wax or foam in an additional 263 natural goose nests to identify predators from marks in the artificial eggs. All techniques had limitations, but each correctly identified predators and estimated their relative importance. Nests with cameras had higher rates of abandonment than natural nests, especially during laying. Abandonment rates were reduced by deploying artificial eggs late in laying and reducing time at nests. Predation rates for nests with cameras were slightly lower than for nests without cameras. Wax-filled artificial eggs caused mortality of embryos in natural nests, but were better for identifying predator marks at artificial nests. Use of foam-filled artificial eggs in natural nests was the most cost effective means of monitoring nest predation.

“As the Eider is a bird very resistant to shot, often 2–3 birds are wounded for each that is shot dead…” (Müller, South Greenland, 1906)

The large numbers of common eiders Somateria mollissima and king eiders S. spectabilis wintering in southwest Greenland are subject to intensive hunting, and in addition to direct harvest an unknown number of birds are wounded and become carriers of embedded lead shot. We conducted the first assessment of the magnitude of this undesirable side effect of hunting in Greenland by X-raying 879 common and 114 king eiders collected by local fishermen and hunters during three winters (2000–2002). On average, 22% of all common eiders carried embedded shot, but proportions were strongly age dependent; of first-winter (1W) birds 13.2%, of immatures (IM) 16.4%, and of adults (AD) 29.1% were carriers. For king eiders the proportions were similar: 11.3, 10 and 20%, respectively, were carriers. Adult common eiders collected in fjord areas were significantly less burdened (24.5%) than birds collected in the more heavily hunted coastal areas (35.0%). Among inflicted birds, 1W birds contained more pellets (mean 2.2) than AD (mean 1.7), despite the adults' longer time to accumulate pellets from multiple inflictions, which suggests that the most burdened juveniles die before entering the older age class. From the proportion of wounded 1W birds (13.2%) we modelled the infliction rates, i.e. the proportion of an age class that become pellet carriers each year, for older birds (IM AD) to be at least 1.8–3%, assuming that annual survival of adult eiders falls within the range 0.8–0.9. Assuming that roughly 35% of the 463,000 common eiders estimated to winter in southwest Greenland are juveniles, 13% are immatures, and 52% adults (fourth winter and older), then each winter up to 30,000 eiders would become new carriers of embedded shot (21,000 juveniles, 1,200–1,800 immatures and 4,800–7,300 adults). As wounded birds may risk increased mortality in severe winters and reduced reproductive output, the infliction has implications for the demographic models used to assess sustainable eider harvest levels. There is a need for follow-up studies of regional variation in infliction, and to identify ways to possibly reduce the hunters' unintended impact on their game populations.

We studied the patterns of habitat availability and use by the Cantabrian capercaillie Tetrao urogallus cantabricus, an isolated and endangered population at the southwestern edge of the species distribution. We combined field surveys and GIS analyses to show that this population differs from its conifer-specialist conspecifics in that it inhabits beech Fagus sylvatica and oak Quercus petraea forests, without specialisation as regards the tree species as long as enough forest cover remains. The habitat of Cantabrian capercaillie is highly fragmented, and smaller forest patches have been abandoned during the last few decades; the display areas that remain occupied are now located farther from forest edges. Lower tree density and more widespread distribution of bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus characterised the occupied display grounds. However, even abandoned areas showed tree densities well within the optimum range for capercaillie and bilberry in other populations, a result that should be taken into account before any habitat management action is considered. We found that some non-forested habitats were also used by capercaillie, especially during the autumn and winter. We suggest that the protection of Cantabrian capercaillie should be tightly coupled with an effective, strict protection of the few remaining large forest fragments in the range, and that information about nesting and brood rearing habitat should be obtained. Conditions for understory development should be favoured, preventing overgrazing by ungulates. The natural, non-forested matrix should also be considered in management plans, as a direct source of food and shelter and an important feature determining connectivity among patches.

Attempts to establish functioning populations of prairie grouse by translocation often are unsuccessful due to low reproduction following release. We examined the relationship between capture date and nest attempts of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus during an effort to restore them by translocation to their historic range in northeastern Nevada, USA, during 1999–2000. After observing that females captured relatively early in the trapping period did not attempt to nest, we hypothesized that the likelihood of female insemination is positively correlated to capture date. If females captured at source leks later in the breeding season are more likely to be inseminated, then they may be more likely to nest following release than females that are not inseminated prior to capture. We found that female grouse that were captured from source leks at later dates during the lek-visitation period were more likely to nest following translocation than were females captured during the initial days of female visitation to leks (LogXact Test: P = 0.001). Of 40 radio-marked female grouse, 19 (48%) were observed nesting and nest success was 44%. During 2001, we tested the effect of capture date on the presence of spermatozoa in live female grouse captured from leks. Females trapped later in the lek-visitation period were more likely inseminated than females captured early in the lek-visitation period (LogXact Test: P = 0.036). We recommend that wildlife managers consider capturing females from source leks several days following the onset of the lek-visitation period to increase the frequency of female nest attempts and increase the probability of establishing a new population during reintroductions.

Compared to the other northern large carnivores, wolverines Gulo gulo are thought to be the most sensitive species with regard to habitat changes and human disturbance. Nowadays wolverines in Scandinavia are found in remote high alpine areas, and we investigated whether human development through presence of infrastructure has relegated them to these areas. We analysed wolverine habitat selection and the impact of infrastructure in two study areas in Norway using compositional analysis. We found that alpine tundra with low human development was important for wolverines to locate their home ranges. Human development formed a more important factor for home range location than did habitat, because habitat selectivity was much higher in undeveloped habitats than in developed habitats. Within their home ranges, wolverines used alpine shrubland and forest, irrespective of human development. The sympatric distribution of wolverines with wild and semi-domestic reindeer Rangifer tarandus indicates that wolverines are vulnerable to indirect loss of habitat. However, we hypothesise that wolverine distribution may be partly influenced by direct disturbance or higher risk of human-caused mortality associated with infrastructure. Increased human development and activity in once remote areas may thus cause reduced ability of wolverines to perform their daily activities unimpeded, making the habitat less optimal or causing wolverines to avoid the disturbed area. Our results suggest that the potential exists for further wolverine recovery in forest ecosystems with low levels of infrastructural development.

Numerous studies have analyzed bobcat Lynx rufus survival in temperate regions of North America. Our study compared survival and cause-specific mortality rates of resident and transient bobcats in a subtropical region of southern Texas in the United States. Our objectives were to estimate seasonal and annual survival rates and cause-specific mortality rates for resident and transient bobcats, and to evaluate differences between resident and transient bobcats. We conducted the study on the Welder Wildlife Foundation Refuge in San Patricio County, Texas. We radio-monitored 30 resident (15 F, 15 M) and 23 transient (9 F, 14 M) bobcats from 31 December 1993 through 1 January 2004, with 19 transients being subadult bobcats and 26 residents being adult bobcats. Annual (P = 0.09) and seasonal (P > 0.53) survival rates did not differ significantly between male and female resident bobcats. Seasonal survival did not differ for resident (P = 0.64) and transient (P = 0.72) bobcats. Resident bobcats had a higher (P < 0.01) annual survival rate (Ŝ = 0.88, SE = 0.04) than transient bobcats (Ŝ = 0.26, SE = 0.14). Resident bobcats had a higher rate (P = 0.04) of harvest mortalities, whereas transient bobcats had a higher rate (P = 0.01) of vehicle-caused mortalities. Other forms of mortality did not differ between resident and transient bobcats (P ≥ 0.15). Survival rates for bobcats seem to be lower outside the refuge environment. Data presented in this study will be helpful in assessing the viability of bobcat populations through population modeling.

We analysed macro- and microscopic features of dorsal guard hairs in 105 specimens of 10 wild and five domestic ungulates from southern Europe to work out a dichotomous key with a photographic reference system of diagnostic hair features. We integrated and extended the available data on hair morphology of wild ungulates and provide a first comparative analysis of hair structure of domestic forms. To develop the key, we used clearly recognisable qualitative characters of cuticle and medulla. The techniques used in this study can be easily, quickly and economically applied in routine investigations, keeping the time required to identify a sample at a minimum. The accuracy of the key was assessed through a blind test carried out by four trained observers. We describe the effects of age and season on the microscopic structure of hair, which have not yet been described in European literature. A review of all the available data on hair morphology of wild ungulates is presented and the relevant differences between domestic forms and their relative wild ancestors that have arisen during the domestication process are described. A hair identification key has a wide range of practical applications in biology, such as the study of carnivore feeding habits through scat analysis.

The growth of individuals and populations can be affected by both density-dependent and density-independent factors. Severe environmental conditions typically affect young and very old individuals more than prime-aged individuals, so that limiting factors such as climate and density frequently interact with the sex- and age-structure of the population. For roe deer Capreolus capreolus explicit analyses of growth rates of individuals and populations at northern latitudes are rare. In this article, we present the first analysis of a 17-year record of body weight data (N = 286) and harvest statistics (a proxy for population size) from the Lier valley, Norway. We tested whether climate (winter and spring) and population density affected individual body weight in autumn and the growth rate of the population as indicated by harvest statistics. We found that population growth rate in the Lier valley was negatively affected by increasing snow depth during winter. There was also a tendency for body weight to be lower after snowy than after less snowy winters. We found no significant effect of spring temperature or population density, though parameter estimates of both were negative. Our findings provide quantitative data supporting the ‘common knowledge’ that winter is the critical period for roe deer at northern latitudes, and that population density is unlikely to be a regulating factor in most inland areas of Norway with today's low population densities.

We assessed phylogeographic history of moose Alces alces in southeastern Alaska, USA, by determining their genetic affinity to surrounding populations thereby clarifying their origin and uncertain taxonomic status. Moose from central and southern regions of the southeastern Alaska panhandle were characterized by two mitochondrial haplotypes that were highly divergent from those in the remainder of the state; overlap with other haplotypes occurred only in the northernmost area of the panhandle. Moose inhabiting areas of British Columbia, Canada, immediately adjacent to Alaska's panhandle showed high haplotype diversity. A small proportion of those moose shared haplotypes with moose in southeastern and interior Alaska, but most possessed haplotypes that were restricted to that region. Association between geographic distribution and phylogenetic structure of haplotypes indicated spatial separation of moose lineages in the past. Our results indicate that there were two separate entries of moose into the region during colonization, likely from different geographic areas. Coastal populations of moose living south of 58°45′N latitude in southeastern Alaska should be classified as A. a. andersoni rather than as A. a. gigas. Behavioural and morphological differences between A. a. gigas and other forest-dwelling subspecies in North America indicate a need to examine moose management strategies and objectives in southeastern Alaska.

Wildlife research often uses radio-telemetry to track habitat use and movement of individual animals. This method may cause suffering or changes in the behaviour of radio-collared animals. The behavioural data collected may not be representative of the wild population, if the transmitter affects the behaviour of the animals. We therefore assessed the effect of radio-collars on some aspects of behaviour of alpine chamois Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra in the Swiss Alps. We also determined if collared animals were isolated from non-collared animals. We observed in 30-minute focal animal sampling periods the behaviour of nine female alpine chamois carrying a radio-collar for > 2 years and 40 non-collared females. Analysed behaviour included grazing (head down, head up), alert, scratching and licking. Furthermore, we compared distances between a non-collared female chamois and her collared and non-collared neighbours. Multivariate analysis revealed no significant difference in the behaviour of collared and non-collared chamois. For a non-collared chamois, there was no preference to be nearer to a non-collared than to a collared neighbour. We conclude that the tested radio-collars did not affect the behaviour of the chamois and that collared animals were not isolated from non-collared animals.