Athenry, Co. Galway, 2 Applied Ecology Unit, Centre for Environmental Science, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland (phone: +353-91-492294; fax: +353-91-494598) Abstract. Irish and UK uplands and peatlands are of international importance but are under threat from several factors, including heavy grazing pressure. Sheep preferentially graze patches of acid grassland with short dense swards, sometimes referred to as 'grazing lawns', and have been implicated in damage to uplands. The aim of this study was to increase our understanding of resource selection by grazers to further inform the design and implementation of conservation strategies. Grazing lawn frequency and habitat condition were mapped and GPS collars were used to track Scottish Blackface sheep on a hill farm in Ireland. Weighted compositional analysis (multivariate analysis of variance) was used to test for random use of different categories of grazing lawn frequency and habitat condition. Grazing lawn frequency was spatially uneven and habitat condition ranged from undamaged to very severely damaged areas. Typically, selection of differing categories of habitat condition was not significant (P>0.05), although the highest selection rank was consistently for the 'moderate-undamaged' category. Sheep most selected 1 ha grid squares containing numerous/extensive grazing lawns (P<0.05) day, night and yearround. As a simple, efficient indicator of hill use by sheep, which would be a valuable input in models predicting grazing impact on hill vegetation, the mapping of grazing lawn frequency is suggested. Keywords: agriculture; ecology; environment; resource management; resource selection IntroductionIrish and UK uplands and peatlands are of international importance due to the limited global distribution of the habitats, plant communities and fauna they support [9,56]. Many of these habitats and associated species are protected under the EC Habitats (92/43/EEC) and Birds (79/409/EEC) Directives [21], and are included in biodiversity action plans [16,37] and agri-environment scheme measures [14,49]. Despite this, the quality of remaining upland and peatland continues to be under threat from heavy grazing pressure, burning, afforestation, peat extraction, undergrazing and/or land abandonment [22,48,56,57].Damage in this study refers to habitat conditions which fail to meet biological conservation objectives. While habitats are affected by natural phenomena such as topography [24] and wind-driven rain [11], management practices including grazing [55] play a key role in habitat condition and can be altered. Therefore, the focus of this study is on grazer behaviour as grazing is the predominant management practice on

Abstract. Uplands and peatlands are of international ecological importance and heavy grazing pressure has been implicated in a decline in their condition. Therefore, a better understanding of grazer behaviour could aid the design of conservation strategies. The objective of this study was to test whether the same resource selection results were obtained from direct flock observations as simultaneously-run GPS tracking studies. Direct flock observations were conducted on 50 sampling days, June 2004-July 2005. Habitat, habitat condition and grazing lawn frequency maps were produced. Resource use and availability were estimated using range analysis and GIS, and resource selection was analysed using weighted compositional analysis. Flock distribution was uneven with a mean of 0.0-8.9 sheep/ha observed based on a 1 ha grid system. Habitat selection based on direct observations varied seasonally with acid grasslandrelated habitats selected most in spring, summer and autumn, and wet heath and blanket bog selected most in winter. Moderately damaged areas and grid squares containing numerous/extensive grazing lawns were consistently selected most (P<0.05). Resource selection findings based on direct flock observations were consistent with those obtained using detailed GPS tracking data from fewer individuals. Resource management recommendations are discussed.

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Uplands and peatlands are of high conservation importance and, while grazing animals are a key management tool for conservation, grazing-related damage can easily occur. Damage to European uplands is most notable in Britain and Ireland, where Scottish Blackface is the dominant hill sheep breed. Therefore, if conservation strategies that address concerns of grazing-related damage are to be strengthened, the Scottish Blackface is a good subject and a better understanding of their resource use would be advantageous. While previous habitat selection studies of hill sheep have depended on direct observation, this particular study uses Global Positioning System tracking collars to determine ewe locations. The study site is on a mountainside in western Ireland that is dominated by blanket bog (52.8%) and wet heath (35.3%). Habitat mapping and ewe range and resource selection analyses indicated that habitat selection was significant (P B0.05), typically acid grassland is selected most followed by wet heath, with blanket bog habitats selected least. Seasonal variation in habitat selection was also evident. These results (1) corroborate the findings of previous work elsewhere on plant community/habitat selection and (2) provide additional information that can be used to strengthen existing or new hill grazing management models that are used to aid decision-making. In particular, management plans should take into consideration the availability (both in terms of total area and connectivity) of the preferred sheep habitats and specifically consider grazing pressure in and between those habitats.