Spatial and temporal variation in mountain hare (Lepus timidus) abundance in relation to red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) management in Scotland

Distribution of mountain hares Lepus timidus in Scotland in 2016/2017 and changes relative to earlier surveys in 1995/1996 and 2006/2007

“…Across all regions, the area occupied by mountain hare was greater on estates practicing driven grouse shooting than on those where walked-up grouse shooting predominates or where grouse were not-shot, with two-thirds of the mountain hare's range occurring on estates where driven grouse shooting was the main shooting method. This supports previously reported positive associations between grouse management and hares (Watson et al 1973, Stoddart and Hewson 1984, Patton et al 2010, Hesford et al 2019, where it is considered that reductions in generalist predators by gamekeepers, as well as strip burning of older heather, may improve hare habitat and survival (Stoddart and Hewson 1984, Savory 1986, Reynolds and Tapper 1996.…”

“…Grouse shooting is typically categorized into either driven shooting, where grouse are flushed by a line of human beaters towards a stationary line of hunters, and walked-up shooting, where hunters walk in line, often using dogs to help flush grouse (Sotherton et al 2009, Mustin et al 2017. Driven shooting requires higher post-breeding densities of grouse than walked-up shooting, is associated with more intensive management of heather habitat and generalist predators (Sotherton et al 2017), and supports higher densities of mountain hares (Watson and Hewson 1973, Stoddart and Hewson 1984, Hesford et al 2019. Therefore, following Patton et al (2010), we categorised the estates of questionnaire respondents into three levels of management based on the predominant grouse shooting type; those where the estate practiced either driven grouse shooting (driven), walked-up grouse shooting (walked-up) or no grouse shooting (not-shot).…”

“…To-date, Scotland lacks a national hare monitoring scheme, including mandatory reporting of hunting records (Brooker et al 2018) and a standardised method for counting hares is only now being considered (Newey et al 2018). Thus, available information on conservation status is limited to few studies that rely on incidental and sometimes conflicting data (Massimino et al 2018, Watson and Wilson 2018, Aebischer 2019, Hesford et al 2019, further compromised by 4-15-year cyclical fluctuations in hare abundance (Newey et al 2007b). Distribution data are similarly limited to spatial modelling of hares counted during bird surveys (Massimino et al 2018) and were used to inform the latest Article 17 reporting (JNCC 2019).…”

Contextualizing UK moorland burning studies with geographical variables and sponsor identity

“…Recent widespread intensification of land management in the UK uplands to support the driven grouse shooting industry (Douglas et al., 2015; Yallop et al., 2006) has led to a situation in which claims and counterclaims about the effects of this practice are now commonplace. These claims often stem from increasingly high‐profile unexplained deaths or disappearances of protected birds such as hen harrier Circus cyaneus (Murgatroyd et al, 2019) as well as changes in mountain hare Lepus timidus populations (Hesford et al., 2019; Watson & Wilson, 2019). There have also been debates about the effects of changes in vegetation and catchment processes due to vegetation burning (e.g.…”

The diel activity pattern of mountain hare (Lepus timidus) on managed heather moorland in Scotland

“…Mountain hares breed between February and September (Angerbjörn & Flux, 1995). They can be present at densities of up to 80 km −2 in their native alpine habitat in Scotland (Watson, 2013) and even higher densities of up to 245 km −2 on heather moorland (Watson & Hewson, 1973) where the encouragement of new heather growth and the control of predators are part of the management regime (Hesford et al, 2019). In recent years however, extensive culling of mountain hares on shooting estates has been associated with some local declines (Watson & Wilson, 2018).The hill habitats in Scotland can be unforgiving in winter with high winds, low temperatures, and lack of shelter.…”