Rotational burning of moorland vegetation is considered by grouse moor managers to create structurally diverse habitat that helps maximise red grouse Lagopus lagopus scotica (Lath.) abundance for shooting by increasing breeding success and adult survival. However, there is growing concern that increasing levels of burning, particularly on deep peat, are impacting upon upland ecosystems. We used linear mixed models to examine the influence of burning on heather Calluna vulgaris (L.) height and structure, and on grouse density and breeding success, at 36 moors in northern England which practiced driven grouse shooting and employed full-time gamekeepers to burn heather, but also to control generalist predators of grouse and their parasitic nematode worms. Variation in heather height was positively associated with burning extent on moors and the relationship between heather height and burning was similar on moors of deep (blanket bog) and shallow peat (heath). Grouse pre-breeding density was not related to burning extent, but breeding success and post-breeding density were positively associated with extent of burning on moors. Relationships between grouse and burning were similar on heath and blanket bog. Higher grouse breeding success and post-breeding density were likely to be associated with a more varied vegetation structure following burning. Rotational burning is associated with higher grouse breeding success and post-breeding densities beneficial for driven grouse shooting. Thus a conflict may exist between rotational burning to benefit grouse and potential impacts of burning on ecosystem services such as carbon storage and flood protection. Potential benefits of burning for increasing grouse breeding success and post-breeding density need to be considered carefully against any likely impacts on ecosystem services, particularly in areas of blanket peat.

Radio-transmitters are used widely in wildlife research because they allow researchers to track individual animals and monitor their activity. However, to provide unbiased information about a population, transmitters must be deployed on a representative sample of animals and must not alter the behavior of the individuals. The greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus has been studied intensively using radio-transmitters for the last several decades. A previous study demonstrated that males fitted with necklace-style radio-transmitters could be less likely to attend breeding grounds than those without transmitters. However, how transmitters affect the behavior of males that do attend leks has not been investigated. Therefore, we investigated whether radio-transmitters alter the characteristics of strut vocalizations or display frequency of male sage-grouse. We measured time and frequency characteristics of vocalizations from six collared and seven non-collared adult male sage-grouse on three leks in south-central Idaho, and for two collared and four non-collared males from two leks in northern Nevada. Only one vocalization characteristic (maximum frequency of the primary whistle) differed between collared and non-collared males across both populations. Collared males showed a lower maximum frequency of the primary whistle that typically fell outside the range of variation for non-collared males. This was the only difference found in the sample from Nevada, while in Idaho, collared males also exhibited a narrower bandwidth for the primary whistle (lower maximum frequency and higher minimum frequency), a shorter primary whistle, and a shorter secondary coo than non-collared males. Some acoustic characteristics of sage-grouse strut vocalizations are linked to mate choice by females, and therefore our results suggest that collars could reduce male mating success by altering the production of breeding vocalizations. Therefore, we recommend using alternative attachment techniques for behavioral studies of male sage-grouse.

An increasing number of threats, both natural (e.g. fires, drought) and anthropogenic (e.g. agriculture, infrastructure development), are likely to affect both availability and quality of plants that grouse rely on for cover and food. As such, there is an increasing need to monitor plants and their use by grouse over space and time to better predict how changes in habitat quality influence the behavior of grouse. We use the greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus to showcase how new technology can be used to advance our understanding of the ecology, behavior and conservation of grouse. We demonstrate how laser, spectral and chemical detectors and unmanned aerial systems can be used to measure structural and phytochemical predictors of habitat quality at several spatial scales. We also demonstrate how advanced biotelemetry systems and robotic animals can be used to measure how habitat quality influences fine-scale habitat use, movement and reproductive effort of grouse. Integrating these technologies will allow researchers to better assess and manage the links among habitat quality (safety and food), resource acquisition (foraging behavior) and reproductive behaviors of grouse.

We re-evaluated the relationship between territorial Svalbard rock ptarmigan male presence and ecological relevant variables related to vegetation, terrain and snowmelt, building on the lessons learned from a previous regional habitat multiscale model, to predict breeding habitat suitability of this high-arctic, endemic ptarmigan on a large spatial scale. We used 11 years (2000–2010) of presence/absence data of territorial males, a multi-scale generalized linear modelling framework (glms) and recent advances in digital satellite based vegetation mapping. The final habitat model contained four significant predictors related to vegetation, terrain (elevation and slope) and a heat load index, as a proxy for snowmelt. Increasing amount of one particular habitat type, ‘established dense Dryas heath’ influenced habitat suitability positively at a small scale, while gentle sloping landscapes of intermediate steepness (10–25°) and elevation in the upper southwest facing part of the mountain slopes characterized occurrence at the landscape scale. The best model attained a relatively high explanatory power with a good ability to discriminate correctly between used and available sites. We extrapolated the habitat model to all parts of Spitsbergen with a current growing season sufficiently long for ptarmigan to complete a breeding cycle. The model indicates that only a small proportion of the vegetation covered land area (∼3.9%) is highly suitable for ptarmigan. In Svalbard the ptarmigan is an attractive game species, appears in low densities with low annual survival, has restricted availability of breeding habitat and is likely vulnerable to climate change. In such contexts, we suggest to use our predictive habitat model in harvest management of the species so that hunting quotas and efforts may be adjusted to habitat suitability, indicating the reproductive potential, in the hunting areas.

Ptarmigan are herbivorous birds that are year-round residents of alpine and arctic ecosystems — presently subjected to the most rapid climate warming on earth. Yet, compared to other bird taxa there has been little climate impact research on ptarmigan. Ptarmigan population dynamics, in particular in the sub/low-arctic, appears to be strongly influenced by complex interactions with a suite of functionally diverse predators in the food webs. We review evidence supporting that the strength of such predator—ptarmigan interactions has been altered, most likely due to climate change, having led to rapidly declining ptarmigan populations and in some places national red listing. Predation-mediated population declines are likely linked to dampened population cycles of keystone mammal herbivores (inducing increased apparent competition/reduced apparent mutualism), altitudinal/latitudinal expansions of boreal mesopredators and possibly mismatched ptarmigan plumage colour in spring and fall. Yet, other rapid food web mediated impacts are likely to act bottom—up, such as phenological mismatches with food plants and competitive interactions with other irrupting herbivores. We advocate that ptarmigan researchers should team up with specialists on other taxa in order to adopt a food web approach to their research. Coordinated action of research teams, to make comparative studies among ptarmigan species or populations imbedded in food webs of varying structure or ambient climate, may be rewarding in the age of rapid ongoing climate changes.

Among many unknown aspects of the Svalbard rock ptarmigan's biology is whether the birds migrate seasonally within the Svalbard archipelago. Visual observations in spring and fall have indicated that they could perform long-range migration, a behaviour that would allow them to track seasonal shifts in suitable feeding areas. However, the movement patterns and habitat use of the Svalbard rock ptarmigan has until now been hidden in the dark of the Polar winter making visual observations almost impossible. The most effective method for gathering reliable data about bird migrations and overwintering areas is to use satellite telemetry. Here we report on the first application of satellite telemetry on rock ptarmigan. Our aim was to investigate the performance of satellite tags on ptarmigan and to collect information about the timing of migration, migration distances and directions as well as the location of winter areas. Satellite tags were mounted on 21 birds in May, but due to technical malfunctioning, we obtained post-breeding migration data only from four birds (three females and one male). The three females remained at the breeding area until 17–27 September where after they migrated. The male made an excursion movement from his summer range before he migrated 17 September. The migration distances were in the range of 30 to 149 km, and their migrations were in different direction from the breeding locality. After this migration, the ptarmigan remained in the wintering areas until all of them died before the spring migration. The observations are consistent with previous suggestions that Svalbard rock ptarmigan undertake migrations to winter areas as a strategy to cope with spatially patchy and temporally unpredictable distribution of good feeding habitats in winter.

Black grouse were once widespread in England, but have declined over the past 150 years due largely to habitat changes. In 1998, 773 males remained and following the instigation of conservation measures population size increased to 1029 in 2006, but population range remained similar. We hypothesized that range expansion was limited by the short dispersal ranges of males (up to 1 km) relative to females (up to 19 km), resulting in yearling females dispersing into areas without males. We tested this hypothesis by moving males to establish new leks and to stimulate range expansion.

Three release sites were chosen beyond the southern edge of the male range, but were within the perceived dispersal distance of females, and where habitats were considered suitable and generalist predators were controlled. Between 2006 and 2010, 17 males were released at the first site, and a further 18 and 27 respectively at two sites between 2011 and 2014. Males were caught at night, fitted with radio-transmitters and hard released. In the first spring following translocation, 98% of males were observed displaying. Males displayed an average 3.6 km (range 0.6 to 27.1 km) from their release point. Leks were established at all sites, with 14 different leks occupied in spring 2015 contributing to the re-colonisation of seven 10 km grid squares. Mean annual survival in the first year following translocation was 0.77 (0.63–0.86, 95% CL) and was similar to that of birds measured in previous studies in the core northern England range. This suggests that under appropriate circumstances translocation can be a helpful conservation tool in stimulating range expansion.

Biologists and conservation planners are frequently asked to evaluate the spatial effects of anthropogenic disturbance on species of conservation concern. The linear response of a demographic parameter, such as survival or abundance, to the distance-from-disturbance is often used to inform spatial restrictions on development. The linear response, we argue, does not model the most common biological mechanisms that cause changes to demographic parameters, nor does it provide an estimate of a threshold that planners could use to protect species of concern. In the Great Plains of North America, biologists are increasingly concerned about the impact of energy development on populations of four species of grouse. To address this gap in our ability to properly assess distance thresholds, we developed a framework of four response patterns (null, linear, stair step, ramped) to describe the potential effects of a disturbance on biological processes relevant to nesting grouse located along a gradient from the disturbance. We simulated position and survival of grouse nests along a 25-km disturbance gradient to mimic the response to disturbances. We evaluated the relative support for a set of linear and nonlinear models in a known fate analysis of nest survival. Each of the underlying response patterns was detected with an appropriate model in a model selection framework (ωAIC = 0.61–0.75) when the sample size of nests was high (n = 500), and thresholds were identified when present. In a low sample size scenario (n = 50 nests) that may be typical of shortterm empirical sampling schemes, the stair step threshold was detected, but the more complex, ramped threshold was not detected. We provide recommendations regarding study design and inference for ecological and policy thresholds, and we encourage researchers to be cautious about the manner in which threshold responses are assessed and described.

Large areas of heather moorland in the British uplands are managed for shooting red grouse Lagopus lagopus scotica. However, there has been a long-standing conflict between grouse moor management and the conservation of raptors, particularly the hen harrier Circus cyaneus. Langholm Moor, a grouse moor in southwest Scotland, has hosted studies aiming to resolve this conflict for 24 years. Between 1992 and 1997, whilst managed as a grouse moor, hen harrier numbers increased from two to 20 breeding females, and raptor predation removed large proportions of both adult grouse and chicks. As driven shooting was no longer viable, grouse moor management ceased in 1999, and was not restored until 2008. This paper considers how cessation and subsequent restoration of grouse moor management, which involved heather management and legal control of generalist predators, affected the abundance and breeding success of red grouse and hen harrier, as well as the abundance of their perceived key predators; red fox Vulpes vulpes and carrion crow Corvus corone. Grouse moor management had a positive effect on abundance and breeding success of grouse and harriers, which were two- to three-fold higher when fox indices and crow abundance were reduced by 50–70%. Fox indices were negatively correlated with red grouse density and harrier breeding success, whereas crows were negatively correlated with grouse breeding success.

This study confirms that both grouse and harriers can benefit from grouse moor management, if harriers are not persecuted. However, restoration of grouse moor management, in combination with diversionary feeding of harriers, has not yet resulted in a sufficiently increased grouse density to allow driven shooting on Langholm Moor, and thus the management to be considered as economically viable.

Feather holes have traditionally been suggested to be feeding traces of chewing lice (mallophagans). There is controversy whether mallophagans are the real source of feather holes. We studied mallophagan infestations and holes in tail feathers of 528 rock ptarmigan Lagopus muta collected 2007–2012 in northeast Iceland. Three mallophagans were found, Amyrsidealagopi (prevalence 13%), Goniodes lagopi (72%) and Lagopoecus affinis (51%). The prevalence of feather holes was 15% and based on pattern the holes could be separated into two groups termed feather hole swarms (FHS), prevalence 9%, and single holes (SH), prevalence 6%. Holes for FHS were concentrated in the central tail feathers and decreased outwards, but holes for SH did not show any such pattern. There was a significant positive relationship between the number of holes for FHS birds and A. lagopi number, and the prevalence was similar. No other combinations of FHS or SH and the mallophagans indicated any relationship. The observed differences between FHS and SH suggest that feather holes have different origin. Our thesis based on known feeding habits of amblycerans like A. lagopi is that the holes in FHS are created during the pin feather stage when the lice bite the pin feather to draw blood. The holes in FHS were often in lines parallel to the feather shaft and the distance between adjacent holes was similar to the daily growth band, and where apparent the holes were sitting in the light portion of the band suggesting diurnal rhythm in lice feeding activity. Concluding, feather holes in ptarmigan may have various origins, but there is a clear correlation between the presence and numbers of A. lagopi and FHS. This is a novel finding for the grouse family and the genus Amyrsidea and should be a valuable contribution to the studies of feather hole formation.

In some monogamous birds, males invest more time in vigilance than females, especially during the pre-incubation period. As behaviors are time costly, there is a tradeoff between vigilance and feeding behavior. Male vigilance can be regarded as a male investment in their mates and may benefit the female by reducing the danger of predation, increasing her probability of survival, and allowing more time for her to forage to obtain more resources for egg production and incubation. In this study, we documented the proportion of time spent in vigilance and feeding by Chinese grouse Tetrastes sewerzowi with their mates and alone during the pre-incubation period, and then estimated male vigilance under more severe predation pressures through predator call playback. Our results indicated that paired male Chinese grouse spend more time in vigilance than unpaired males and paired females and could alter their activity budgets in response to the social context (i.e. with and without their mate) and an experimental encounter with an important predator. Male vigilance behavior and presence allowed females to spend more time foraging. We therefore conclude that vigilance behavior by their male partners by may play an important role in promoting the females' survival and probably the reproductive success. The proportion of time allocated for vigilance by males and foraging by females of Chinese grouse during the pre-incubation period was the highest recorded among monogamous grouse species, perhaps because the Chinese grouse is the smallest grouse species and has the highest relative reproductive investment.