Ludwig, Sonja C. and Roos, Staffan and Rollie, Chris J. and Baines, David
(2020).
Long-term changes in the abundance and breeding success of raptors and ravens in periods of varying management of a Scottish grouse moor.
Avian Conservation and Ecology. 15
, 21
, 1-17
[Journal article]
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Abstract
Management of heather moorland for driven Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) shooting in the British uplands may benefit some raptors by reducing predation risk, especially when breeding, and by increasing food availability. We describe changes in abundance and breeding success of four raptor species and Common Raven (Corvus corax) during a 27-year study on a grouse moor in southwest Scotland in relation to whether or not the moor was managed by gamekeepers. Ground-nesting raptors, Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) and Merlin (Falco columbarius), increased during periods of grouse moor management and had a higher proportion of successful nesting attempts. Predation was the main apparent cause of breeding failure. In contrast, grouse moor management did not influence either abundance or breeding success of tree- and crag-nesting species, i.e., Peregrine (Falco peregrinus), Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo), and Raven. Buzzard sightings increased during the study, in line with their national recovery, whereas Peregrine and Raven showed little change in abundance. The results of our study highlight that management for Red Grouse can benefit both Hen Harrier and Merlin. However, on a UK scale these benefits to Hen Harriers, but not Merlin, are outweighed by their illegal killing, caused by fears that their consumption of Red Grouse can undermine the economics of grouse moor management.
Authors/Creators: | Ludwig, Sonja C. and Roos, Staffan and Rollie, Chris J. and Baines, David | ||||||
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Title: | Long-term changes in the abundance and breeding success of raptors and ravens in periods of varying management of a Scottish grouse moor | ||||||
Year of publishing : | 2020 | ||||||
Volume: | 15 | ||||||
Article number: | 21 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 17 | ||||||
Publisher: | RESILIENCE ALLIANCE | ||||||
ISSN: | 1712-6568 | ||||||
Language: | English | ||||||
Publication Type: | Journal article | ||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 | ||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 1 Natural sciences > 106 Biological Sciences (Medical to be 3 and Agricultural to be 4) > Ecology | ||||||
Keywords: | ground-nesting, predation, predator control, prey abundance, population dynamics | ||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-107132 | ||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-107132 | ||||||
Additional ID: |
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ID Code: | 17433 | ||||||
Faculty: | NJ - Fakulteten för naturresurser och jordbruksvetenskap | ||||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Swedish Species Information Centre | ||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||
Deposited On: | 10 Sep 2020 07:57 | ||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 15 Jan 2021 19:26 |
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