Interaction effects between weather and space use on harvesting effort and patterns in red deer

Rivrud, Inger Maren; Meisingset, Erling L.; Loe, Leif Egil; Mysterud, Atle

doi:10.1002/ece3.1318

Cited by 34 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Moreover, their study area had other predators, with deer being subjected also to predation by lynx, Lynx lynx, an ambush predator that hunts most efficiently in dense cover (Lone et al, 2014). Visibility is more variable in our study area, and the risk is undoubtedly biased towards open areas (Rivrud, Meisingset, Loe, & Mysterud, 2014) because humans are the only significant predator (Langvatn & Loison, 1999). Indeed, horizontal visibility and other characteristics of the habitats used by our deer differed substantially within and between individuals (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

An adaptive behavioural response to hunting: surviving male red deer shift habitat at the onset of the hunting season

et al. 2015

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Keywords: behavioural plasticity cover fitness food forage risk avoidance safety survival trade-off wildlife management Hunting by humans can be a potent driver of selection for morphological and life history traits in wildlife populations across continents and taxa. Few studies, however, have documented selection on behavioural responses that increase individual survival under human hunting pressure. Using habitat with dense concealing cover is a common strategy for risk avoidance, with a higher chance of survival being the payoff. At the same time, risk avoidance can be costly in terms of missed foraging opportunities. We investigated individual fine-scale use of habitat by 40 GPS-marked European red deer, Cervus elaphus, and linked this to their survival through the hunting season. Whereas all males used similar habitat in the days before the hunting season, the onset of hunting induced an immediate switch to habitat with more concealing cover in surviving males, but not in males that were later shot. This habitat switch also involved a trade-off with foraging opportunities on bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus, a key forage plant in autumn. Moreover, deer that use safer forest habitat might survive better because they make safer choices in general. The lack of a corresponding pattern in females might be because females were already largely using cover when hunting started, as predicted by sexual segregation theory and the risk of losing offspring. The behavioural response of males to the onset of hunting appears to be adaptive, given that it is linked to increased survival, an important fitness component. We suggest that predictable harvesting regimes with high harvest rates could create a strong selective pressure for deer to respond dynamically to the temporal change in hunting risk. Management should consider the potential for both ecological and evolutionary consequences of harvesting regimes on behaviour.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

An adaptive behavioural response to hunting: surviving male red deer shift habitat at the onset of the hunting season

et al. 2015

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“…Despite the probability to shoot being lower during the weekend, we find that our theoretical predictions hold equally for weekend and weekday hunters. Third, animal behavior, not only hunter behavior, can also influence harvesting vulnerability [occurring through, e.g., differential use of open habitat (16) or behavioral responses to prevailing weather and moon phase (17)]. In addition, hunting early in the season will always change the size and composition of the population later in the season.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The climate effects literature is typically focused on explaining direct effects of severe winter weather (28) or how temperature and precipitation affect plant maturation and quality (29), whereas the wildlife management literature focuses on size and selectivity of quotas per se for population dynamics (30). Very little attention has been put on understanding how climate may affect the actual harvesting process operating indirectly on the hunters (17).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How constraints affect the hunter’s decision to shoot a deer

Diekert

Richter

Rivrud

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Hunting is the predominant way of controlling many wildlife populations devoid of large carnivores. It subjects animals to mortality rates that far exceed natural rates and that differ markedly in which age, sex, or size classes are removed relative to those of natural predators. To explain the emerging selection pattern we develop behavioral microfoundations for a hunting model, emphasizing in particular the constraints given by the formal and informal norms, rules, and regulations that govern the hunter's choice. We show how a shorter remaining season, competition among hunters, lower sighting probabilities, and higher costs all lead to lower reservation values, i.e., an increased likelihood of shooting a particular animal. Using a unique dataset on seen and shot deer from Norway, we test and confirm the theoretical predictions in a recreational and meat-motivated hunting system. To achieve sustainability, future wildlife management should account for this predictable selection pressure.hunting selection | optimal stopping | hunter behavior | social dilemma A lthough natural large predators are now recolonizing many industrialized countries (1), their functional roles are still limited and most wildlife populations in Europe are mainly controlled by hunting (2). Hunting is the predominant cause of adult mortality for 80-90% of the individual animals in deer populations (3). Despite this high hunting pressure, populations have grown and expanded their range, often resulting in overabundance (4). Part of this increase is due to hunter selectivity having distorted the natural sex and age distribution (5). The reluctance to shoot females with offspring facilitates rapid population growth, but skewing sex ratio also affects evolutionary processes. In some ungulate populations with heavy trophy hunting, there is concern that selective removal of specific phenotypic traits leads to evolution even over short timespans of a few tens of generations (6). There is hence an urgent need to inform policies on how to manage wildlife in a way that does not endanger the health of the supporting ecosystem or the resilience of the hunted population. To better understand how overall hunting pressure maps to population dynamics and potential for evolution, we need to understand selectivity.In Norway, the population size, distribution, and resulting hunting quota for red deer (Cervus elaphus) have increased dramatically. The west coast holds the majority of the population, with more than 75% of the red deer being harvested in the counties Møre and Romsdal, Sogn and Fjordane, and Hordaland (Fig. 1). Red deer is the second most valuable hunted species in terms of meat value (after moose, Alces alces), and there is an increasing interest for trophy hunting.In the ecological literature, selectivity by hunters has been treated as a static property, focusing mostly on the extreme case of trophy hunting (7,8). However, only a small proportion of hunting is for trophies; most hunting is for recreation, meat, or population regulation (9). Mo...

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“…Th e precipitation eff ect hypothesis predicts that precipitation negatively aff ects the decision of a recreational hunter to hunt (Tynon 1997, Schwabe et al 2001, Rivrud et al 2014. Th e eff ort compensation hypothesis predicts that recreational hunters compensate for low trapping eff ort in the current hunting session by increasing trapping eff ort in the next session (Fryxell et al 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Th e eff ort compensation hypothesis predicts that recreational hunters compensate for low trapping eff ort in the current hunting session by increasing trapping eff ort in the next session (Fryxell et al 2010). Recreational hunters ' typically hunt during the weekend or holidays when they have time off from work, but our understanding of daily variation in hunting eff ort is far from complete (Rivrud et al 2014). It remains less clear to what degree the above hypotheses may explain temporal variation in hunting eff ort of a group when fl exibility of most group members may be severely constrained.…”

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confidence: 99%

Evidence for European brown hare syndrome virus introduction with translocated brown hares (Lepus europaeus): implications for management of restocking operations

Spyrou¹,

Stamatis²,

Birtsas³

et al. 2013

Wildl. Res.

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Context Criticisms of wildlife restocking operations typically focus on concerns that translocations can lead to the introduction of pathogens, and risk the integrity of locally adapted genetic diversity. Restocking programs aiming to stabilise population declines of European brown hares using captive-bred individuals have been carried out in several European countries, including Greece. Aims To assess the potential for imported hares to introduce novel strains of European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV) during restocking operations, by (1) inferring the origin of wild Greek hares on the basis of their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype, (2) screening the hares to detect and characterise EBHSV, and (3) determining whether certain hare origin–EBHSV combinations occur in the wild. Methods RNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, and sequence and phylogenetic analyses of EBHSV were performed on 53 hares. Diagnostic RFLP markers of the mtDNA were used to infer the origins of sampled hares. Key results Thirty-three hares had ‘typical’ native Greek haplotypes and 20 had mtDNA haplotypes matching those found in imported and released hares. Twelve of the latter and none of the former were positive for EBHSV. Phylogenetic analysis showed that nine virus isolates formed a single genetic lineage distinct from northern–central European ones. Three virus sequences from three imported reared-and-released hares, from Chalkidiki, were closely related to the northern–central European EBHS viruses. Conclusions Alien strains of EBHSV are co-introduced with released captive-bred animals, possibly resulting in negative impacts on populations of Greek hares that have not evolved resistance to these novel virus strains. Implications The identification of these allopatric EBHSV strains has led the authorities to ban captures and transportations of local brown hares for any restocking operation. We consider it imperative to reinforce microbiological and genetic controls before further releases of captive-bred game species in the wild in Greece.

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Interaction effects between weather and space use on harvesting effort and patterns in red deer

Cited by 34 publications

References 43 publications

An adaptive behavioural response to hunting: surviving male red deer shift habitat at the onset of the hunting season

An adaptive behavioural response to hunting: surviving male red deer shift habitat at the onset of the hunting season

How constraints affect the hunter’s decision to shoot a deer

Evidence for European brown hare syndrome virus introduction with translocated brown hares (Lepus europaeus): implications for management of restocking operations

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