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Much research and media attention has revolved around the environmental impacts of growing global human populations. While the conclusions remain contested, these assessments have largely neglected the ecological and conservation impacts of other key regional processes such as declining populations, ageing demographics and rural‐to‐urban migration. These demographic shifts are increasingly prevalent across many regions of the world, and will have significant direct effects on natural resource management and biodiversity conservation by altering individual consumption patterns, land use, land stewardship and natural disturbances. Given that the scientific foundation around this topic is still developing, we first present an initial examination of some of the key environmental impacts, aiming to elevate awareness and encourage further research in these areas. Beyond the ecological implications, declining populations, ageing demographics and rural‐to‐urban migration carry intricate social and cultural consequences that can affect people and nature interactions. Ecological studies that focus on single dimensions of biodiversity or ecosystem responses often overlook these complexities. Demographic changes are likely to be accompanied by shifts in environmental attitudes and connections with nature, all of which will influence our capacity to adapt to or mitigate environmental changes. Finally, environmental policy and practice frameworks are potentially unprepared and their success could be sensitive to these socio‐cultural and demographic shifts. Synthesis and applications: This brief overview demonstrates that population decline, ageing and rural‐to‐urban migration can have extensive implications for biodiversity and the socio‐cultural relationships between people and nature. However, the significance, dynamics and consequences of these processes are still largely overlooked. We believe that these changes warrant specific attention from the research, policy and practice communities, as understanding the outcomes and feedbacks associated with depopulation, ageing populations, loss of culture and tradition and ecological change could aid in designing landscapes and informing management that enhances both human well‐being and biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding whether hunting mortality is additive to or compensated by other mortality sources is at the heart of managing harvested populations. Long‐lived species are expected to exhibit hunting mortality additive to other sources of mortality, making them ideal candidates for population management through sport harvest. Previous studies on these processes have focussed on density‐dependent natural mortality compensating for hunting mortality, but when harvest occurs in distinct periods of the year, heterogeneity in hunting vulnerability between individuals could also lead to compensatory mortality between these periods. We explore this new idea using the case of the greater snow goose (Anser caerulescens atlantica), a harvested species whose population became overabundant in the late 20th century. To control this population, wildlife agencies liberalised hunting regulations with unprecedented actions such as special hunting seasons implemented in spring 1999 in Canada and in winter 2009 in the USA. To determine the relative impact of each measure on survival, we estimated survival of adult geese on a seasonal basis using 30 years of capture‐mark‐reencounter data in a joint live‐and‐dead‐encounter multievent model. We also used this quasi‐experimental set‐up to evaluate possible compensation in hunting mortality between seasons. We found that both special hunting seasons decreased goose survival in the seasons and periods in which they were implemented. However, survival increased during the spring hunting season after the establishment of the special winter hunting season in the USA in 2009. There was a negative relationship between annual spring and winter mortalities, suggesting that the increase in hunting mortality in winter was compensated by a reduction in spring mortality after 2009. Synthesis and applications: To our knowledge, we report the first documented instance of hunting mortality in one season being compensated by a reduction in hunting mortality in a subsequent season. We suggest that heterogeneity in hunting vulnerability among individuals, possibly linked to the presence of juveniles, may explain this phenomenon. A better knowledge of seasonal patterns and relationships between mortality components is needed to improve our understanding of population dynamics and management of harvested populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behaviour of vertebrate pests, such as invasive species and nuisance native animals, towards control devices present a major challenge for wildlife managers. Physical devices, such as live capture or kill‐traps, serve as essential management tools, yet the efficacy of these devices can be compromised when some individuals fail to engage with devices, risking the failure of an entire management operation. A more nuanced understanding of how behavioural variability within target populations influences interactions with different device types is needed to improve the detectability of recalcitrant individuals that fail to engage with devices and are subsequently missed by research and management activities. We tested the behavioural responses of 28 wild‐caught stoats Mustela erminea, a highly successful invader in Aotearoa New Zealand, to three devices representing a range of styles commonly used for mesopredator research and management (box trap, tunnel trap and head‐up trap). We assessed the influence of stoat personality, sex and device type on susceptibility to devices (probability and latency to trigger) and found all had independent and interactive effects. In general, stoats which were shyer, less active, less exploratory and less neophiliac (low attraction to novelty) took significantly longer to trigger devices and had significantly lower probabilities of triggering devices. The influence of boldness on the probability of stoats triggering devices during first encounter differed significantly by trap type, and the box and tunnel traps targeted opposite ends of the personality spectrum. Trap recalcitrance (avoidance of the standard control measures) was greatest in shy female stoats and females generally had lower susceptibility to all devices compared to males. Synthesis and applications: Targeting recalcitrant individuals may pose a considerable problem if a failure to trigger a trap result in a long‐term and generalised avoidance of devices. We emphasise the importance of accounting for inter‐individual differences in responses to devices, addressing the motivations of recalcitrant individuals during fieldwork and accounting for these differences during data interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baiting is widely used in wildlife management for various purposes, including lethal control, fertility control, disease and parasite control, and conditioned aversion programs for many invasive vertebrate species. The efficacy of baiting programs relies on the likelihood that target animals will encounter the bait, consume it and receive an appropriate dose of the active ingredient. However, there has been little focus on encounter rate of toxic baits combined with behavioural aversion, which are likely to be significant factors affecting efficacy.Following optimal foraging theory, the likelihood of an animal encountering and consuming a toxic grain bait should increase in proportion to its availability relative to background food quantity if it is neither more or less detectable or palatable. Furthermore, the probability of consuming toxic baits might also be influenced by bait aversion following ingestion of a non‐lethal dose of toxin.Using a model system of wild house mice (Mus musculus L.) in mouse‐proof enclosures in Australia, we manipulated background food, applied zinc phosphide (Zn3P2) baits and measured mouse mortality. When background food was scarce, mouse mortality was high, whereas an increasing abundance of background food led to reduced mortality. A scenario modelling random encounters and including bait aversion explained 78% of the variation in observed mortality outcomes and achieved a closer fit to the data than modelling random encounters alone. Mortality rates were predicted to be higher with a higher strength bait, which would overcome behavioural aversion.Ensuring that animals locate and consume a lethal dose of toxic bait is a critical factor for successful bait delivery and efficacy. This is particularly significant in toxic baiting programs, where sublethal doses can make animals feel sick, leading to a negative association with the bait, and the development of aversion.Synthesis and applications: Our findings explain why some toxic baiting programs might fail. To achieve successful control, efforts should be directed at reducing the availability of background food to increase the probability of encounter and uptake of toxic baits. It is important to measure and understand the role of background food on toxic baiting programs to explain variable outcomes and inform strategies for successful bait delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High densities of native and introduced deer hamper the regeneration of temperate forests worldwide. Sport hunting is often the sole means of deer control, but whether it can restore forest regeneration remains uncertain.We assessed the potential to restore forest regeneration using unrestricted sport hunting alongside commercial harvesting and government‐funded culling of introduced sika deer (Cervus nippon) across a 594 km2 landscape in North Island, New Zealand. We used six decades of repeated measurements of forest regeneration and deer presence, alongside monitoring of tagged stems in a 20‐year paired exclosure experiment, to determine whether deer control restored regeneration.In our exclosure experiment, mountain beech (Fuscospora cliffortioides) seedling and sapling density, growth and survival were variable but consistently higher when deer were excluded by fencing. Sapling counts in unfenced plots were ≈3–10 times lower after 60 years of deer control compared with unfenced plots, before sika colonisation and other mountain beech forests without sika deer. This result suggests canopy replacement remains at risk despite government‐funded culling and encouragement of sport hunting.Individual‐based demographic models show that mountain beech is unlikely to regenerate following canopy gap formation in our study landscape unless deer impacts are reduced from current levels. These demographic models predicted present‐day forest regeneration far better than two widely used proxies of deer impact: plot‐based counts of saplings and estimates of deer densities from faecal pellet counts.Synthesis and applications. Here, we show that intensive culling beyond that achievable by sport hunting is needed to reduce deer densities enough to assure canopy regeneration. These interventions will be necessary in the many places worldwide where sport hunting is being relied upon to protect forests but appears to be failing. Given the controversy associated with deer culling, and the need for clear evidence to justify its implementation, we suggest managers could strengthen the evidence base for their interventions by collecting data to build demographic models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife populations may be the subject of management interventions for disease control that can have unintended, counterproductive effects. Social structure exerts a strong influence over infectious disease transmission in addition to other characteristics of populations such as size and density that are the primary target for disease control. Social network approaches have been widely used to understand disease transmission in wildlife but rarely in the context of perturbations, such as culling, despite the likely impacts of such disturbance on social structure and disease dynamics.Here we present a 'removal' study of a free‐living population of resident Canada geese Branta canadensis, a highly social species that is frequently managed by culling and can carry pathogens relevant to human and domestic animal health. We quantified social network structure and spatial behaviour before and after controlled culling of individuals during the summer moult.Culling did not substantially increase individual social connectivity. Individuals that moulted at cull sites or were formerly strongly associated with removed birds were more likely to strengthen and maintain any surviving existing associations while also forming new associations. However, the establishment of new associations was largely compensatory (with only small increases in the number and strength of connections) and occurred locally.Synthesis and applications: Geese that survived the cull responded by strengthening existing social relationships and forming new, compensatory relationships with birds local to them in the network. In the short term, such compensatory adjustments to patterns of association in response to culling could facilitate pathogen transmission. But in the longer term, controlled culling of geese is unlikely to strongly influence pathogen spread and may even slow transmission into new social clusters by reducing wider mixing. When managing wildlife for disease control, in addition to changes in social network structure the prevalence of infection at the time of the cull and the mode of transmission (e.g. direct vs. environmental) will also be critical determinants of disease transmission risk in perturbed populations of geese and other wild animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetics tools are used in applied conservation management for taxonomic identification, delineation of management units, management of wild populations, captive breeding and reintroduction and control of invasive species, disease and hybridisation.To assess the extent to which genetic tools are being used for applied conservation management, we conducted a systematic literature review of over 53,767 papers focussing on wildlife research that reported results on species delineation, translocations and population augmentation. We synthesised information on papers that used genetics tools in an expressly applied manner across all wildlife species.We found that the application of genetics tools in conservation management was biased towards fishes, mammals and birds and northern hemisphere locations, especially the United States and Europe.Despite genetics tools being a highly published topic, it was difficult to find published applications of these tools in both the primary and the grey literature. Of the 115 papers on 152 species that could be considered an applied use of a genetics tool expressly for conservation management, only 49 had definable applied outcomes. The remaining 66 made recommendations, but it was often unclear if the recommendations were ever used to make conservation management decisions because of the time‐lag between publication of the initial recommendation and publication of the results of the use of the tool in a conservation management situation, as well as the lack of dissemination in the primary literature.Our study highlights the relative low publication rate of applications of genetics tools compared to the general conservation genetics field. These tools appear to have either a low percentage of translations into publication ('conservation genetics publishing gap') or a poor uptake among wildlife conservation managers ('conservation genetics gap')—the two are indistinguishable in this review.Policy implications. Conservation genetics tools must be brought to the forefront of conservation policy and management. Users should support the use of systems and accessible databases to increase the uptake of genetics tools for conservation in applied management decisions for wildlife, reducing barriers to disseminating the results to other end users and interested parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the circumstances and causes of carnivore attacks on humans is important for prevention of future incidents as well as employing effective wildlife management strategies. Cape Breton Highlands National Park (CBHNP) in Nova Scotia has experienced multiple attacks by coyotes Canis latrans on humans, including a fatal attack on an adult in 2009.Here we use a combination of data on space use and diet collected from 2011 to 2013 to reveal that limited resources and a reliance on a large ungulate (moose, Alces americanus) as the mechanism leading to aggression by coyotes in CBHNP.Resident coyotes exhibited large home range sizes (mean = 77.5 km2) indicative of limited resources and spatiotemporal avoidance of human activity. Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values of sub‐sampled coyote whiskers (n = 32), which provide a longitudinal record of diet over the months before collection, revealed little intra‐ and inter‐individual variation with nearly all individuals specializing on moose, a pattern that agrees with indices of natural resource availability. Specifically, stable isotope mixing models show that moose was the most important prey for most coyotes (25/32), representing between 41% and 78% of dietary inputs. Only four coyotes exhibited use of anthropogenic resources (human foods), and only one of seven coyotes involved in attacks on people had been consuming human foods before the attacks.Synthesis and Applications: We have described a unique ecological system in which a generalist carnivore has expanded its niche to specialize on a large prey species, with the unfortunate consequence of also expanding pathways to conflicts with people. Our results suggest extreme unprovoked predatory attacks by coyotes on people are likely to be quite rare and associated with unique ecological characteristics. Extreme management actions such as bounties are unnecessary, but managers may need to employ hazing or lethal removal earlier in the conflict process than under normal circumstances. Also, users of these areas should be made aware of the risks coyotes pose and encouraged to take precautions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interventions against infectious diseases in wildlife are increasingly necessary but remain problematic. Dissimilar to public and domestic animal health, pharmacological interventions (PIs) are rarely used against disease in wildlife populations.However, drugs can combat a range of pathogen types while aligning with positive ethical, epidemiological, evolutionary and socio‐economic outcomes.We discuss how recent conceptual and technological advances could overcome barriers, improve safety and begin a new era of contemporary wildlife management that embraces PIs. We then provide a framework that supports an objective comparison of intervention suitability, including PIs.We find numerous directions for PI optimisation through innovation and transdisciplinary collaboration and demonstrate the utility of the framework for judging the appropriateness of a PI.Synthesis and applications: Interrogating how and when pharmacological interventions can be used to the greatest effect reduces risks and improves outcomes for wildlife, while empowering decision makers to draw from the full suite of intervention methods to find the most appropriate disease management solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, conflict between geese and agriculture has increased. Management practices to limit this conflict include concentrating geese in protected areas, derogation shooting or population reduction. To justify such management, we need to understand their effects on goose‐related damages, which requires an understanding of how yield loss is influenced by goose abundance and species interactions.We combined data from monthly goose counts and GPS‐tracked geese to estimate grazing pressures by barnacle, white‐fronted and greylag geese on agricultural grassland in Fryslân, the Netherlands. Using linear mixed models, we related this to damages assessed by professional inspectors.Our results show a positive nonlinear relationship between yield loss and barnacle goose grazing pressure, where assessed damage increases with a decelerating rate as grazing pressure increases. For white‐fronted geese, we find a negative relationship, while for greylag geese both positive and negative relationships occur. For each species, the relationship is influenced by the abundance of the other two.For barnacle geese, the relationship can be explained by selection of fields offering the best balance between food intake and energy expenditure, and by grass regrowth, with highest grazing pressures occurring over a longer time period. The results for the other species are likely due to spatial and temporal differences in foraging preferences compared to barnacle geese, where larger species avoid areas with highest damages.Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that decreasing herbivore abundance may not translate directly to decreased yield loss, and management tools such as population reduction or derogation shooting should be used with care. Management aimed at concentrating geese in refuges could help to alleviate farmer–goose conflict, although further studies are required to determine if it would lead to damage reduction. We also find that not all species contribute equally to agricultural damage; care should be taken to ensure wildlife management targets the right species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the use of agricultural fields by waterbirds has increased, resulting in conflicts with farmers. Designing effective management strategies to resolve these conflicts requires understanding the species' resource use. Dietary analyses can shed light on the extent of consumption of agricultural crops and surrounding natural resources, as well as the potential relationship between diet and an individual's body condition and ultimately its fitness.We examined the dietary composition of the tropical magpie goose Anseranas semipalmata, seasonally utilising a mixed natural‐agricultural landscape of northern Australia. We used DNA metabarcoding of intestinal contents from hunted geese to reconstruct individual diets and evaluated body condition from morphometric measurements. We compared the relative contribution of agricultural and natural foods to dietary composition, and investigated how this contribution varied spatially, temporally and among individuals that differed in body condition.We found that geese consumed both agricultural and naturally occurring plants assigned to at least 35 taxa. The most frequent and abundant taxa belonged to three families: Poaceae (grasses), Cyperaceae (sedges) and Anacardiaceae (mangoes). Dietary composition varied substantially among sampling sites and over time but not with body condition of geese.Synthesis and applications. We used a novel approach to investigate the diet of a waterbird perceived as problematic across an agricultural landscape in tropical Australia. We showed that individuals forage opportunistically, and that agricultural crops, while eaten, may not represent an essential part of geese diet across the study region. The knowledge acquired provides new insights into the species' foraging ecology offering clear alternatives for mitigating goose–agriculture interactions. Providing disturbance‐free alternative foraging areas or minimising the attractiveness of targeted agricultural fields (e.g. shorter grass, alternative ground cover) may alleviate crop consumption while benefiting the species' long‐term conservation. While also highlighting the limitations of DNA metabarcoding, our dietary study emphasises the potential of this methodology to improve our understanding of crop damage by wildlife, allowing effective evaluation of management requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facing the bushmeat crisis, tropical forests require effective monitoring for sustainable wildlife management. To gain credibility with local people and conservation officials, the monitoring needs indicators that comply with local knowledge and predict the available faunal resources.This study explores predictive indicators for bushmeat biomass—the total biomass of five main hunted mammals—in a Cameroonian rainforest. We employed camera trapping and the Random Encounter and Staying Time (REST) model to estimate the spatial variation in each species' population density and bushmeat biomass at three sites. We then calculated six indicators from camera‐trap capture rate estimates and assessed their predictive performance for the total wild meat amount.Duikers generally increased with distance from the public road, but two red duiker species were more markedly affected by the distance than blue duikers. Spatial density patterns of brush‐tailed porcupines and Emin's pouched rats differed between sites. Consequently, bushmeat biomass displayed exponential growth away from the road with varying degrees among the sites.Of the six indicators, the R/B ratio (red‐to‐blue duiker ratio) and the D/R ratio (duiker‐to‐rodent ratio) exhibited positive linear‐like correlations to bushmeat biomass at all sites. The correlation lines were moderately similar across sites in the R/B ratio but largely different in the D/R ratio, suggesting that the latter is unsuitable for sharing information between neighbouring communities.Synthesis and applications. The two indicators based on captured animal composition may effectively predict the total biomass of the main target species for bushmeat hunting, given a reasonably large sample size. The R/B ratio (red duikers/blue duikers) is recommended as a first choice; the D/R ratio (duikers/rodents) can be a good alternative when information sharing is not essential. Because local hunters are aware of depletion‐related changes in species composition of caught animals, these indices may be effectively incorporated into community‐based wildlife monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As landscape‐scale conservation models grow in prominence, assessments of how wildlife utilise multiple‐use landscapes are required to inform effective conservation and management planning. Such efforts should incorporate multi‐species perspectives to maximise value for conservation, and should account for scale to accurately capture species‐environment relationships.We show that the random forest machine learning algorithm can be used to model large‐scale sign‐based data in a multi‐scale framework. We used this method to investigate scale‐dependent habitat associations for 16 mammal species of high conservation importance across the southern Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area in Botswana and Zimbabwe.Our findings revealed substantial variation in factors shaping habitat use across species, and illustrate that different species often have divergent responses to the same environmental and anthropogenic factors, and differ in the scales at which they respond to them. For all variables across all species, scale optimisation most often selected our largest scale.Precipitation, soil nutrients, and vegetation appeared to be the most important factors determining mammal distributions, likely through their associations with food resources for herbivores and, in turn, prey availability for carnivores.Anthropogenic pressures also had an important influence, with many species selecting against areas with high cattle density. The variety of relationships with human density indicated that species vary in their tolerance of humans. We found a consistent positive relationship with areas under high protection, and negative relationship with unprotected and less‐strictly protected areas.Policy implications. Through a novel application of random forest modelling to spoor data from 16 mammal species, this study highlights the importance of adopting a multi‐scale, multi‐species approach for decision‐making processes that depend on understanding wildlife distributions and habitat associations, such as protected area and corridor prioritisation. The findings identify changing rainfall patterns and increasing livestock numbers as emerging trends that may impact wildlife distributions, both within sub‐Saharan Africa and on a global scale. Wildlife management authorities should use modelling exercises and adaptive management to ensure that protected area networks remain fit for purpose under anticipated changes in rainfall under climate change, and explore initiatives that promote coexistence of wildlife and livestock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human modification of landscapes and associated disturbances may facilitate the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases. Policy‐makers need better understanding of the link between anthropogenic disturbances and wildlife disease hosts at the interface of human society and the natural environment, for example agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. Empirical research is strongly needed for the control of novel zoonoses which might emerge, as well as the management of existing zoonoses with significant economic repercussions such as bovine tuberculosis (bTB).We aimed to examine the link between ecological disturbance and relative bTB risk using Ireland as a case study. We analysed clearfell forestry operations and assessed bTB breakdowns within cattle farms across different spatio‐temporal scales over multiple years, examining how ecological conditions may modulate this relationship using conditional logistic regression models.We found a significant effect of the interaction between the extent of clearfell forestry removed and the extent of natural grassland and mixed forestry present on relative bTB risk. This interaction was dynamic, leading to an increase or decrease of the relative bTB risk depending on where (between 2 and 6 km from the farm) and when (between 0 and 36 months prior to the bTB outbreak) the clearfell operations occurred.Our study provides empirical evidence of the link between mechanised forestry operations and fluctuating relative bTB risk in cattle farms, although the mechanism behind it is yet to be elucidated. Given our data, we hypothesise that wildlife hosts may abandon the area subjected to clearfell when disturbance is highest (during active operations and shortly afterward) but are subsequently attracted back to the site as they regenerate, potentially affecting the contact rates with livestock and thus, relative bTB risk.Synthesis and applications. Our analysis demonstrates that landscape modification is correlated with a change in relative bovine tuberculosis (bTB) risk that is dynamic in time and space. Understanding that the effect of landscape change is transient allows managers to understand the risk for neighbouring farms and inform policy accordingly. Landscape‐level studies are necessary to unveil subtle‐ecological processes, shifting research and management efforts away from cattle herd‐centric policy and toward macroecological surveillance of wildlife hosts and longitudinal assessment of bTB risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of species are facing unprecedented levels of threat to their long‐term survival due to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. Key opportunities for science to inform wildlife management are linked to increasing our understanding of how changes in climatic conditions will impact species, as well as whether, and how, managers may facilitate species' ability to adapt to change. However, information on species' climate change vulnerability and the effectiveness of potential conservation actions are not yet strategically collected or collated; this disconnect between threat level, ecological research and conservation practice is reducing the opportunities to guide decision‐making, ultimately hindering conservation outcomes.To demonstrate this point, we explore how existing knowledge can be brought together in a pressure‐state‐response framework that connects climate change ecology, conservation evidence assessments and management. Seabirds in Western Europe are used as a case study, as they are well‐researched and vulnerable to climate change. Using a combination of literature reviews and surveys, we identify the main threats posed to seabirds in the region by climate change, as well as existing conservation actions that could be applied to lessen the impacts of each of these threats.Our results show that 29% of the types of actions considered for reducing the impacts of climate change on seabirds are either associated with conflicting evidence or lack sufficient information to make robust conclusions about their effectiveness: actions aiming at restoring or creating habitat, encouraging relocation, treating or preventing disease, and reducing inter‐species competition all have limited or mixed evidence to support their use. Moreover, several threats identified by conservation practitioners as being of high priority to address, such as changes in prey abundance and eutrophication, have few or no viable identified actions to reduce their impact on seabirds.Synthesis and applications. We suggest that existing knowledge on species vulnerability to climate change and evidence of conservation action effectiveness should be more commonly brought together in tailored pressure‐state‐response frameworks. Such an approach provides an easily transferable platform for identifying missing information and areas where connections between research and management need to be tightened to improve conservation outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge concerning spatio‐temporal distributions of populations is a prerequisite for successful conservation and management of migratory animals. Achieving cost‐effective monitoring of large‐scale movements is often difficult due to lack of effective and inexpensive methods.Taiga bean goose Anser fabalis fabalis and tundra bean goose A. f. rossicus offer an excellent example of a challenging management situation with harvested migratory populations. The subspecies have different conservation statuses and population trends. However, their distribution overlaps during migration to an unknown extent, which, together with their similar appearance, has created a conservation–management dilemma.Gaussian process (GP) models are widely adopted in the field of statistics and machine learning, but have seldom been applied in ecology so far. We introduce the R package gplite for GP modelling and use it in our case study together with birdwatcher observation data to study spatio‐temporal differences between bean goose subspecies during migration in Finland in 2011–2019.We demonstrate that GP modelling offers a flexible and effective tool for analysing heterogeneous data collected by citizens. The analysis reveals spatial and temporal distribution differences between the two bean goose subspecies in Finland. Taiga bean goose migrates through the entire country, whereas tundra bean goose occurs only in a small area in south‐eastern Finland and migrates later than taiga bean goose.Synthesis and applications. Within the studied bean goose populations, harvest can be targeted at abundant tundra bean goose by restricting hunting to south‐eastern Finland and to the end of the migration period. In general, our approach combining citizen science data with GP modelling can be applied to study spatio‐temporal distributions of various populations and thus help in solving challenging management situations. The introduced R package gplite can be applied not only to ecological modelling, but to a wide range of analyses in other fields of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recovering or threatened carnivore populations are often harvested to minimise their impact on human activities, such as livestock farming or game hunting. Increasingly, harvest quota decisions involve a set of scientific, administrative and political institutions operating at national and sub‐national levels whose interactions and collective decision‐making aim to increase the legitimacy of management and ensure population targets are met. In practice, however, assessments of how quota decisions change between these different actors and what consequences these changes have on population trends are rare.We combine a state‐space population modelling approach with an analysis of quota decisions taken at both regional and national levels between 2007 and 2018 to build a set of decision‐making models that together predict annual harvest quota values for Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in Norway.We reveal a tendency for administrative decision‐makers to compensate for consistent quota increases by political actors, particularly when the lynx population size estimate is above the regional target. Using population forecasts based on the ensemble of decision‐making models, we show that such buffering of political biases ensures lynx population size remains close to regional and national targets in the long term.Our results go beyond the usual qualitative assessment of collaborative governance systems for carnivore management, revealing a system of checks and balances that, in the case of lynx in Norway, ensures both multi‐stakeholder participation and sustainable harvest quotas. Nevertheless, we highlight important inter‐regional differences in decision‐making and population forecasts, the socio‐ecological drivers of which need to be better understood to prevent future population declines.Synthesis and applications. Our work analyses the sequence of decisions leading to yearly quotas for lynx harvest in Norway, highlighting the collaborative and structural processes that together shape harvest sustainability. In doing so, we provide a predictive framework to evaluate participatory decision‐making processes in wildlife management, paving the way for scientists and decision‐makers to collaborate more widely in identifying where decision biases might lie and how institutional arrangements can be optimised to minimise them. We emphasise, however, that this is only possible if wildlife management decisions are documented and transparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural habitats in urban areas provide benefits for both humans and biodiversity. However, to achieve biodiversity gains, we require new techniques to determine habitat suitability and ecological connectivity that will inform urban planning and development.Using an example of an urban population of water voles Arvicola amphibius, we developed a habitat suitability model and a resistance‐surface‐based model of landscape connectivity to identify potential connectivity between areas of suitable habitat. We then updated the environmental variables according to new urban development plans and used our models to generate spatially explicit predictions of both habitat suitability and connectivity.To make models accessible to urban and conservation planners, we developed an interactive mapping tool that provided users with a graphical user interface (GUI) to inform conservation planning for this species.The model found that habitat suitability for water voles was related to the proportion and distance from key environmental variables, such as built‐up areas and urban green spaces, while the connectivity model identified important corridors connecting areas of potential distribution for this species.Future development plans altered the potential spatial distribution of the water vole population, reducing the extent of suitable habitat in some core areas. The interactive mapping tool made available suitable habitat and connectivity maps for conservation managers to assess new planning applications and for the development of a conservation action plan for water voles.Synthesis and applications. We believe this approach provides a framework for future development of nature conservation tools that can be used by planners to inform ecological decision‐making, increase biodiversity and reduce human–wildlife conflict in urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large herbivores provide key ecosystem processes, but have experienced massive historical losses and are under intense pressure, leaving current ecosystems with dramatically simplified faunas relative to the long‐term evolutionary norm. Hampered by a shifting baseline, natural levels of large‐herbivore biomass are poorly understood and seldom targeted. This 'Decade of ecosystem restoration' calls for evidence‐based targets for restoring the natural diversity and biomass of large herbivores.We apply the scaling of the consumer–producer relationship to a global dataset of large‐herbivore density in natural areas. The analyses reveal that African ecosystems generally have much higher large‐herbivore biomass and also the strongest consumer–producer relationship. For Europe, Asia and South America, there are no significant relationships with primary productivity indicative of impoverished faunas. Compared to expectations from the African scaling relation, large‐herbivore biomass in ecosystems outside Africa is considerably lower than expected.Synthesis and applications. Ecological restoration and rewilding entail restoration of a natural grazing process. Our findings indicate that many nature reserves are depleted in large‐herbivore biomass, judged from their primary productivity. Meanwhile, overexploitation by seasonal livestock grazing takes place in other areas. It is thus difficult, but urgent, to reach scientific consensus regarding a natural baseline for large‐herbivore biomass. Until such agreement has been reached, we recommend to manage, or rewild, large herbivores in year‐round near‐natural grazing and without predefined density targets, but following natural and fluctuating resource availability with minimal management intervention. The establishment of experimental rewilding sites with reactive herbivore management is needed to further advance our understanding of natural grazing density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. There is an increasing recognition that, although the climate change and biodiversity crises are fundamentally connected, they have been primarily addressed independently and a more integrated global approach is essential to tackle these two global challenges. 2. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are hailed as a pathway for promoting synergies between the climate change and biodiversity agendas. There are, however, uncertainties and difficulties associated with the implementation of NbS, while the evidence regarding their benefits for biodiversity remains limited. 3. We identify five key research areas where incomplete or poor information hinders the development of integrated biodiversity and climate solutions. These relate to refining our understanding of how climate change mitigation and adaptation approaches benefit biodiversity conservation; enhancing our ability to track and predict ecosystems on the move and/or facing collapse; improving our capacity to predict the impacts of climate change on the effectiveness of NbS; developing solutions that match the temporal, spatial and functional scale of the challenges; and developing a comprehensive and practical framework for assessing, and mitigating against, the risks posed by the implementation of NbS. 4. Policy implications. The Conference of the Parties (COP) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) present a clear policy window for developing coherent policy frameworks that align targets across the nexus of biodiversity and climate change. This window should (a) address the substantial and chronic underfunding of global biodiversity conservation, (b) remove financial incentives that negatively impact biodiversity and/or climate change, (c) develop higher levels of integration between the biodiversity and climate change agendas, (d) agree on a monitoring framework that enables the standardised quantification and comparison of biodiversity gains associated with NbS across ecosystems and over time and (e) rethink environmental legislation to better support biodiversity conservation in times of rapid climatic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aircraft collisions with birds span the entire history of human aviation, including fatal collisions during some of the first powered human flights. Much effort has been expended to reduce such collisions, but increased knowledge about bird movements and species occurrence could dramatically improve decision support and proactive measures to reduce them. Migratory movements of birds pose a unique, often overlooked, threat to aviation that is particularly difficult for individual airports to monitor and predict the occurrence of birds vary extensively in space and time at the local scales of airport responses.We use two publicly available datasets, radar data from the US NEXRAD network characterizing migration movements and eBird data collected by citizen scientists to map bird movements and species composition with low human effort expenditures but high temporal and spatial resolution relative to other large‐scale bird survey methods. As a test case, we compare results from weather radar distributions and eBird species composition with detailed bird strike records from three major New York airports.We show that weather radar‐based estimates of migration intensity can accurately predict the probability of bird strikes, with 80% of the variation in bird strikes across the year explained by the average amount of migratory movements captured on weather radar. We also show that eBird‐based estimates of species occurrence can, using species' body mass and flocking propensity, accurately predict when most damaging strikes occur.Synthesis and applications. By better understanding when and where different bird species occur, airports across the world can predict seasonal periods of collision risks with greater temporal and spatial resolution; such predictions include potential to predict when the most severe and damaging strikes may occur. Our results highlight the power of federating datasets with bird movement and distribution data for developing better and more taxonomically and ecologically tuned models of likelihood of strikes occurring and severity of strikes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals concentrate key nutrients in their bodies. In fenced wildlife reserves where nutrient input and/or retention is low, the off‐site removal of animals may constitute a significant loss of nutrients for the ecosystem.Here we add wildlife capture and removal into the phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) budget for a 121,700 ha fenced game reserve located in the southern Kalahari. We then use faecal P concentrations from 11 mammal herbivores >10 kg as an indicator of potential nutrient stress in this system to investigate whether the implications of nutrient loss via off‐site wildlife removal may be cause for concern. Finally, we assess the role of natural predation as a mechanism to minimise the need for wildlife removal and concomitant nutrient loss.During the period 2009–2018, mean loss of P and Ca via wildlife removal was 2.9 and 6.2 kg km−2 year−1, respectively. This compares to 1.0 and 2.1 kg km−2 year−1 of P and Ca added via the provision of mineral licks. If it is assumed that natural fluxes of these elements are in steady state, then anthropogenic activities have resulted in a net deficit of 18.5 kg/km2 of P and 40.6 kg/km2 of Ca over the decade.We found that dry season herbivore faecal P concentrations are close to or below a widely cited minimum threshold of 2,000 mg/kg, below which most vertebrates begin suffering growth and reproductive issues. Large animals were more likely to be under this threshold. Prolonged continuation of off‐site wildlife removal may result in nutrient losses that can lead to long‐term ecological degradation. Natural predation levels were, however, found sufficient to mitigate the need for wildlife removal and present a management strategy whereby herbivore populations can be regulated without a loss of nutrients.Synthesis and applications. We find that the capture and permanent removal of large‐bodied animals from wildlife reserves can be a significant cause of nutrient loss. Over time, in sites where nutrient input and/or retention is low, this may contribute to nutritional stress for remaining resident animals. Where possible, holistic management strategies that promote the retention of animals and carcasses within the reserve—such as the reintroduction of large carnivores—should be preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life‐history theory predicts energy allocation trade‐offs between traits when resources are limited. If females reduce allocation to growth when they reproduce, annual growth could reveal past reproductive effort, which would be useful to assess population dynamics and harvest sustainability. The potential and accuracy of growth measures for predicting reproductive success have rarely been evaluated with individuals with known reproductive history.We used long‐term monitoring of annual growth and reproduction of marked female bighorn sheep and mountain goats, two species in which primiparity normally occurs well before growth completion, to evaluate growth versus reproduction trade‐offs and their potential for predicting reproductive history of young females using mixed models and 10‐fold block cross‐validation.We documented a significant reduction in mass gain and horn growth in young reproducing females of both species. This trade‐off was affected by individual differences in energy acquisition and allocation because population density and previous allocation to growth affected the trade‐off. We then parameterized models to predict individual reproductive history of young females based on the growth traits subjected to a reproductive trade‐off.The accuracy of predictive models ranged from 85.2% to 91.0% across species and traits, indicating that growth is a good predictor of reproductive history. This method is especially useful for population management of species with traits that form permanent visible yearly annuli because they retain a record of annual growth that allows retrospective estimation of reproductive history over multiple years.Synthesis and applications. We show that because growth significantly decreased in years of allocation to reproduction, annual growth increments provide insights on reproductive history of young females. Population or temporal differences in reproduction of young females affect demographic rates and sustainable harvest. Growth measures of traits that form yearly annuli, such as teeth and horns, could be easily obtained at a low cost from animals harvested or found dead in multiple species. Thus, predictive models of reproductive history based on annual growth could assist conservation and management in a broad range of species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human‐dominated landscapes are being recolonized by large carnivores, thereby increasing conflicts worldwide via predation of livestock and harvested wildlife such as ungulates. Recent meta‐analyses have shown that predator control (hereafter, predator removal) has mixed success in reducing livestock predation. Yet, it is unknown how effective predator removal is in decreasing predation on ungulates due to a lack of quantitative synthesis, despite the long history of implementation in North America.We quantified the demographic responses of ungulate survival and recruitment rates, abundance, and population growth to experimental predator removal and identified the ecological and experimental design factors affecting ungulate responses to predator removal. We conducted a literature review of management and natural experiments to increase ungulate demography finding 52 predator removal experiments and 10 natural experiments from 47 publications. We then conducted a meta‐analysis to determine the overall effect size and factors which increased ungulate demography during predator removal. Lastly, we tested for evidence of publication bias and experimental rigour for these experiments.We found that predator removal in both management and natural experiments increased ungulate demographic responses by 13% (95% CI = 4.1%–23%), yet prediction intervals overlapped with 0 (95% PI = −34% to 93%). Focusing just on management removals, ungulate demographic responses increased only by 7.8% (95% PI = −32% to 72%), indicating that future experiments could have negligible effects. Predator removal in both management and natural experiments was more successful in improving the demography of young (e.g. recruitment ES = 44%, 95% CI = 13%–83%) but equivocal in improving adult survival (ES = 5.4%, 95% CI = −18% to 36%) and ungulate abundance (ES = 13%, 95% CI = −17% to 31%). The low and variable effectiveness of predator removal for ungulate populations might be linked to ungulates' slow life history and the compensatory mortality of carnivores on ungulates, though effects were stronger on endangered prey.We identified the experimental design factors that led to greater uncertainty in ungulate responses to predator removal, including lack of randomization, low replication and short temporal length. Lastly, we found evidence of publication bias, where experiments with poor rigour and negative effects (i.e. reduced ungulate demography following predator removal) were under‐reported.Synthesis and Applications. We recommend future predator removal experiments be conducted with a more rigorous experimental design to overcome these weaknesses, especially for endangered species where predator removal may work more effectively. We suggest that managers attempting to evaluate experimental practices to increase ungulate populations through predator removal could employ an open standards framework akin to the 'Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation' framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected areas (PAs) are increasingly being used world‐wide for the conservation and management of wildlife. Systematic conservation planning (SCP) aims at ensuring biodiversity persistence while minimizing the threats faced by the species and/or the economic costs related to protection. To account for spatio‐temporal interactions between species and human threats, conservation planning for mobile wildlife requires time‐series data derived from monitoring of species and human threats, a process that is costly and technically challenging. Therefore, assessments of the monitoring period needed to ensure sufficient data input in the design of efficient, adequate and representative networks of PAs are crucial.We demonstrated the value of time‐series data in conservation planning by implementing SCP and data from different monitoring periods to identify priority conservation areas for highly mobile marine megafauna accounting for their main threat: commercial fishing. Two analyses of 10 reserve‐design scenarios each, replicated as many times as the data composing each scenario permitted were run in Marxan. The best solutions of the planning scenarios were statistically compared using the Cohen's Kappa test. We also assessed differences in spatial similarity among and within scenarios using the Wilcoxon nonparametric test and a non‐metric multidimensional scaling analysis. Finally, we compared the necessary cost and the area selected for each scenario.Our study highlights the importance of time‐series ecological and socioeconomic data for the robust selection of priority conservation areas. The results revealed different thresholds of the minimum temporal data required to design efficient networks of PAs for highly mobile species, demonstrating that the incorporation of data covering longer periods to the scenarios produce a more robust selection of priority conservation areas. Conservation plans using data covering <3 years were missing important priority areas.Synthesis and applications. We provide a method for estimating the minimum number of years of monitoring required to design efficient networks of protected areas that ensure the persistence of highly mobile species such as cetaceans and seabirds. This method can be used within an adaptive management framework to evaluate whether a network of protected areas performs as planned, and to test whether management strategies should be altered or adjusted in response to local and global changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Involving communities in sustainable wildlife management in tropical forests can ensure food security and livelihoods of millions of forest dwellers that depend on wild meat, and also safeguard hunted species. Mathematical models have been developed to assess hunting sustainability; but these require empirical information on reproductive parameters of the prey species, often challenging to obtain.Here, we suggest that if local people can accurately identify the reproductive status of hunted animals in the field, these data could fill the existing knowledge gap regarding species' life‐history traits and enable better assessments of hunting impacts.We first tested whether local people in 15 rural communities in three Amazonian sites could accurately diagnose, before and after training, the pregnancy status of hunted pacas Cuniculus paca, which we use as our model. We then applied the results from these tests to correct reproductive status data of hunted specimens, voluntarily collected over 17 years (2002–2018) as part of a citizen-science project in one of our study sites. We ran generalized additive models to contrast these corrected reproductive rates with those obtained from the direct analysis of genitalia by researchers, and with indices describing game extraction levels (catch‐per‐unit‐effort, CPUE, and age structure of hunted individuals).Before training, interviewees correctly diagnosed pregnancy in 72.5% of tests, but after training, interviewees accurately diagnosed pregnancy in 88.2% of tests, with high improvements especially for earlier pregnancy stages. Monthly pregnancy rates determined by hunters and by researchers were similar. Reported annual pregnancy rates were negatively correlated with CPUE, and positively correlated with the percentage of immatures in the hunted population, in accordance with an expected density‐dependent response to variations in hunting levels.Synthesis and applications. We show that the voluntary diagnosis of game species' reproductive status by local people is a feasible method to obtain accurate life‐history parameters for hunted tropical species, and to assess hunting effects on game populations. Given that almost half of the protected areas in the world are co‐managed by local people, our results confirm the potential of integrating local communities in citizen-science initiatives to ensure faster, low‐cost and more accurate data collection for wildlife management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bird species are declining across Europe. Current European policy, that is, the Birds and Habitats Directives, focus on habitat management as a way of halting the declines. This paper explores the role of predation in causing bird population declines and asks if we need to reconsider our approach to the management of generalist predators.We analysed bird population trends and distribution changes across Europe, Britain and Ireland, reflecting an increasing gradient of generalist predator abundance (principally red fox Vulpes vulpes and species of the family Corvidae). We tested if ground‐nesting bird species, considered more vulnerable to predation, were in greater decline compared to other nesting strategies. We also compared Annex I designated species to non‐designated species as a proxy for habitat management.We found that across Europe, 74% of ground‐nesting bird species were in decline, compared to 41% of other species. This was especially evident in Britain, where the pattern was 66% compared to 31%, and in Ireland, 71% compared to 20%. Ground‐nesting species were significantly more likely to be declining than other species.These patterns are consistent with the idea that population declines are at least partially related to the increased abundance of generalist predators. In Britain, ground‐nesting species were less likely to be in decline if covered by Annex I designation. However, in Europe and Ireland, Annex I status did not mitigate the effect of nesting strategy.Policy implications. Current legislation is clearly insufficient to prevent widespread declines in ground‐nesting birds, and this is the case across Europe, in Britain and Ireland. Ignoring the role of generalist predators in modern landscapes may lead to further declines and losses. We urgently need large‐scale experiments to establish causality in the impact of generalist predators on ground‐nesting birds in different landscapes. If we value our ground‐nesting bird species, consideration needs to be given to the control of widespread generalist predators, at least until landscapes are restored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culling wildlife as a form of disease management can have unexpected and sometimes counterproductive outcomes. In the UK, badgers Meles meles are culled in efforts to reduce badger‐to‐cattle transmission of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (TB). However, culling has previously been associated with both increased and decreased incidence of M. bovis infection in cattle.The adverse effects of culling have been linked to cull‐induced changes in badger ranging, but such changes are not well‐documented at the individual level. Using GPS‐collars, we characterized individual badger behaviour within an area subjected to widespread industry‐led culling, comparing it with the same area before culling and with three unculled areas.Culling was associated with a 61% increase (95% CI 27%–103%) in monthly home range size, a 39% increase (95% CI 28%–51%) in nightly maximum distance from the sett, and a 17% increase (95% CI 11%–24%) in displacement between successive GPS‐collar locations recorded at 20‐min intervals. Despite travelling further, we found a 91.2 min (95% CI 67.1–115.3 min) reduction in the nightly activity time of individual badgers associated with culling. These changes became apparent while culls were ongoing and persisted after culling ended.Expanded ranging in culled areas was associated with individual badgers visiting 45% (95% CI 15%–80%) more fields each month, suggesting that surviving individuals had the opportunity to contact more cattle. Moreover, surviving badgers showed a 19.9‐fold increase (95% CI 10.8–36.4‐fold increase) in the odds of trespassing into neighbouring group territories, increasing opportunities for intergroup contact.Synthesis and applications. Badger culling was associated with behavioural changes among surviving badgers which potentially increased opportunities for both badger‐to‐badger and badger‐to‐cattle transmission of Mycobacterium bovis. Furthermore, by reducing the time badgers spent active, culling may have reduced badgers' accessibility to shooters, potentially undermining subsequent population control efforts. Our results specifically illustrate the challenges posed by badger behaviour to cull‐based TB control strategies and furthermore, they highlight the negative impacts culling can have on integrated disease control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The redistribution of species in response to climate change is expected to significantly challenge environmental management and conservation efforts around the globe. To date, we have had restricted understanding of the benefits and risks that species redistribution may pose to individual countries, and a limited appreciation of the variability in current opportunities for developing effective monitoring approaches that build on existing national frameworks.To assess the present level of ecological, economic and societal risks and opportunities associated with new arrivals of species driven by changes in climatic conditions, we conducted a review of the available information on changes in animal species (both terrestrial and marine) distribution suspected to be linked to climate change in the United Kingdom over the past 10 years (2008–2018).We found evidence that at least 55 species have arrived in new locations in the country due to climate change in the past decade, with 22 of them suspected to impact positively or negatively the recipient ecosystems, or nearby human communities. Ten of these 55 species were identified using keywords and hashtags on social media.Synthesis and applications. Our work identifies pressing monitoring gaps relevant to the management of species on the move and discusses the potential for social media to help address current information needs. It also calls for more theoretical work to enable the quick identification of species likely to be problematic (or beneficial) and locations likely to experience significant ecological and societal impacts from biodiversity's redistribution under a changing climate. Our work identifies pressing monitoring gaps relevant to the management of species on the move and discusses the potential for social media to help address current information needs. It also calls for more theoretical work to enable the quick identification of species likely to be problematic (or beneficial) and locations likely to experience significant ecological and societal impacts from biodiversity's redistribution under a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populations of large grazing birds have increased in Europe during the past five decades, raising conflicts between conservation and farming interests. Managing these conflicts requires knowledge about the currently unknown relationship between population sizes and crop damage levels.We analysed unique data on reported, inspected and compensated crop damage caused by geese, swans and cranes together with data from population surveys in Sweden to investigate how bird abundance is related to damage levels at the national scale between 2000 and 2015.Over the study period, the annual number of damage reports, yield loss and costs for compensation increased. These crop damage levels were positively related to national population indices of common crane, barnacle and greylag goose. The shape of these relationships varied between species and encompassed considerable uncertainty. However, on a year‐to‐year basis (detrended data) we found no evident association between damage levels and bird numbers.Yield loss and compensation costs per reported damage did not increase with higher population indices of greylag goose, but they did so for barnacle goose.Synthesis and applications. We present a novel study of the relationships between different crop damage level indicators (damage reports, yield loss and compensation costs) and population numbers of large grazing birds. We identified a positive relationship with high uncertainty for all cases. We also identified the need to (a) better synchronize the monitoring of damages and bird numbers in time and space and (b) further study the relationships between damage levels and bird numbers at smaller (local and regional) and larger (flyway) spatial scales to reduce the uncertainty of the relationship and to gain a more holistic understanding of the system. We present a novel study of the relationships between different crop damage level indicators (damage reports, yield loss and compensation costs) and population numbers of large grazing birds. We identified a positive relationship with high uncertainty for all cases. We also identified the need to (a) better synchronize the monitoring of damages and bird numbers in time and space and (b) further study the relationships between damage levels and bird numbers at smaller (local and regional) and larger (flyway) spatial scales to reduce the uncertainty of the relationship and to gain a more holistic understanding of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The release of more than 40 million captive‐bred pheasants and red‐legged partridges in Britain annually represents a significant addition to the potential food resource base for predators and scavengers. If this extra food availability subsidizes predator populations, gamebird releases could increase predation pressure on other wild birds, affecting their populations.Using three extensive datasets, we examined the spatial relationships between reared and free‐roaming gamebirds (pheasant Phasianus colchicus and red‐legged partridge Alectoris rufa), and explored spatial and temporal associations between these gamebirds and five species of avian predator (buzzard Buteo buteo, jay Garrulus glandarius, raven Corvus corax, magpie Pica pica and hooded Corvus cornix and carrion Corvus corone crows combined) in lowland rural Britain.Patterns of spatial variation in the abundance of free‐roaming gamebirds across Britain appear to be largely determined by gamebird releases, over and above any effects of land use or habitat. Predominantly positive associations between gamebird abundance (both reared and free‐roaming) and the abundance and inter‐annual population growth rates of predators tested suggest that large‐scale variation in avian predator populations may be positively affected by gamebird releases.Synthesis and applications. The positive associations between large‐scale gamebird release and predator populations shown here may have implications for prey populations if the releases cause increased predation pressure. If this occurs, game management could have an indirect negative impact on some prey species partially counteracting previously reported positive or benign effects of game management on wider biodiversity. Overall impacts of gamebird releases are likely to be determined by complex interactions between multiple factors, including induced predation pressure, better understanding of which would be possible with compulsory recording of releases and numbers of predators killed. Restriction of releases warrants further investigation and consideration as a potential conservation tool for wild bird populations. The positive associations between large‐scale gamebird release and predator populations shown here may have implications for prey populations if the releases cause increased predation pressure. If this occurs, game management could have an indirect negative impact on some prey species partially counteracting previously reported positive or benign effects of game management on wider biodiversity. Overall impacts of gamebird releases are likely to be determined by complex interactions between multiple factors, including induced predation pressure, better understanding of which would be possible with compulsory recording of releases and numbers of predators killed. Restriction of releases warrants further investigation and consideration as a potential conservation tool for wild bird populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invertebrate‐derived DNA (iDNA), in combination with high throughput sequencing, has been proposed as a cost‐efficient and powerful tool to survey vertebrate species. Previous studies, however, have only provided evidence that vertebrates can be detected using iDNA, but have not taken the next step of placing these detection events within a statistical framework that allows for robust biodiversity assessments.Here, we compare concurrent iDNA and camera‐trap surveys. Leeches were repeatedly collected in close vicinity to 64 camera‐trap stations in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We analyse iDNA‐derived mammalian detection events in a modern occupancy model that accounts for imperfect detection and compare the results with those from occupancy models parameterised with camera‐trap‐derived detection events. We also combine leech‐iDNA and camera‐trap data in a single occupancy model.We found consistent estimates of occupancy probabilities produced by our camera‐trap and leech datasets. This indicates that the metabarcoding of leech‐iDNA method provides reasonable estimates of occupancy and may be a suitable method for studying and monitoring mammal species in tropical rainforests. However, we also show that a more extensive collection of leeches would be needed to assess mammal biodiversity with a robustness similar to that of camera traps. As certain taxa were only detected in leeches, we see great potential in complementing camera‐trap studies with the iDNA approach, as long as the collection of leeches follows a robust and standardised sampling scheme.Synthesis and applications. Here, we describe an approach to analyse detection records of mammals derived from leech samples using an occupancy framework that accounts for leech‐specific factors influencing the detection probability. We further combined camera trap and leech data, which lead to increased confidence in occupancy estimates. Our approach is not restricted to the processing of leech samples, but can be used for the analysis of other invertebrate DNA and environmental DNA data. Our study is the first step to shift the application of invertebrate DNA studies from opportunistic ad‐hoc collections to the systematic surveys required for long‐term management of wildlife populations. Here, we describe an approach to analyse detection records of mammals derived from leech samples using an occupancy framework that accounts for leech‐specific factors influencing the detection probability. We further combined camera trap and leech data, which lead to increased confidence in occupancy estimates. Our approach is not restricted to the processing of leech samples, but can be used for the analysis of other invertebrate DNA and environmental DNA data. Our study is the first step to shift the application of invertebrate DNA studies from opportunistic ad‐hoc collections to the systematic surveys required for long‐term management of wildlife populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on the recovery of the population of grizzly bear in the modern landscape.

Abstract: In managing various threats to biodiversity, it is important to prioritize multiple management actions and the levels of effort to apply. However, a spatial conservation prioritization framework that integrates these key aspects, and can be generalized, is still missing. Moreover, assessing the robustness of prioritization frameworks to uncertainty in species responses to management is critical to avoid misallocation of limited resources. Yet, the impact of information uncertainty on prioritization of management effort remains unknown. We present an approach for prioritizing alternative levels of conservation management effort to multiple actions, based on the ecological responses of species to management. We estimated species responses through a structured email‐based expert elicitation process, where we also captured the uncertainty in individual experts' assessments. We identified priority locations and associated level of management of effort of four actions to abate threats to freshwater‐dependent fauna, using a northern Australia case study, and quantified sensitivity of the proposed solution to uncertainty in the answers of each individual expert. Achievement of conservation targets for freshwater‐dependent fauna in the Daly River catchment would require 9.4 million AU$ per year, for a total of approximately 189 million AU$ investment over 20 years. We suggest that this could be best achieved through a mix of aerial shooting of buffalos and pigs, riparian fencing and chemical spraying of weeds, applied at varying levels of management effort in key areas of the catchment. Uncertainty in experts' estimation of species responses to threats causes 60% of the species to achieve 80% of their conservation targets, which was consistent across target levels. Synthesis and applications. Our prioritization approach facilitates the planning of conservation management at fine spatial scales and is applicable to terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms. Plan implementation may require policy instruments ranging from landowner stewardship agreements, market‐based mechanisms and low‐intensity land use management schemes, to regulation of commercial activities within portions of marine protected areas. However, assessing plan sensitivity to uncertainty in species response to management and finding ways of dealing with it in the prioritization rather than ignoring it, as often done, remains vital for effective achievement of conservation objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The spatial distributions of biodiversity and people vary across landscapes and are critical to the delivery of ecosystem services and disservices. The high densities of people and often of birds in urban areas lead to frequent human–avian interactions, which can be positive or negative for people's well‐being. The identities of the bird species providing these services or disservices tend to be quite different; however, it is unclear how their abundance and richness covary with human population density, and hence with potential recipients of these services and disservices. We surveyed bird populations in 106 tiles (500 × 500 m) across the 174 km2 of an extended urban area in southern England. From the literature, we identified two groups of species: those associated with positive interactions for human well‐being and those that display behaviours that are negative for human well‐being. We estimated the abundance (adjusted for detection probability) and richness of each group and modelled how they covary with human population density. Aggregation of population estimates for the 35 service and nine disservice species observed revealed 593,128 (95% confidence interval: 541,817–657,046) and 225,491 (200,134–235,066) birds respectively. Across the surveyed tiles, there were 1.09 service and 0.42 disservice birds per person. There was a peaking quadratic relationship between service abundance and human population density, but a negative linear relationship between richness and human density. Conversely, there were positive linear relationships for both abundance and richness of disservice species with human density. The ratio of service to disservice birds shifted from 3.5–1 at intermediate human densities to 1–1 in more densely populated areas. Synthesis and applications. Differences in the distributions of service and disservice species, and the extremely low ratios of birds to people particularly in socioeconomically deprived areas, mean that people there have few opportunities for contact with birds, and the contact they do have is equally likely to be negative as positive for human well‐being. We recommend spatial targeting of improvements in green infrastructure, combined with the targeted provisioning of food and nesting places for service species, to promote positive interactions between birds and people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Development of transportation corridors has accelerated globally, with infrastructure projects being implemented across remote ecosystems, particularly in the tropics. Such developments can have negative impacts on wildlife and their ecosystems. The importance of wildlife crossing structures to mitigate adverse effects of such features is widely recognized, but the siting of and investment in crossing structures is contentious. Data on animal movement provide valuable, highly specific information for such processes, but can present analytical challenges and remain underutilized in planning mitigation efforts. We develop two algorithms based on Integer Linear Programming to prioritize crossing points based on frequency of use or breadth of coverage among tracked individuals. These scenarios represent metrics likely to guide the planning of crossing structures, where the former may relate to the objective of minimizing vehicle‐animal collisions and the latter on maintaining ecosystem connectivity. We exemplify the algorithms through application on a tracking dataset from over 150 African elephants living near the proposed Lamu Port‐South Sudan‐Ethiopia‐Transport corridor. We explore the influence of sampling bias on outcomes and discuss considerations to guide the application process. Given the generally open, unfenced nature of this ecosystem, recorded movements occurred throughout the system and a third of the corridor length in the ecosystem was intersected by recorded elephant movements. The selection of crossing structure locations and their impacts on elephants varied whether we used a subsample of elephant representative of local population density or total sample of monitored individuals. The two algorithms also selected for different crossing structure locations. Synthesis and applications. Our work shows some of the challenges of using Global Positioning System telemetry in deciding where to put crossing structures and demonstrates the need to identify the type of constraints in the system and desired crossing structure characteristics a priori. We recommend managers carefully evaluate the presence of potential biases in their data. High‐resolution data combined with objective prioritization methods allow reasoned planning actions, but are often lacking during critical infrastructure planning stages. Given the limited budget already allocated to mitigation measures in most proposed developments, the tools developed and applied here can facilitate effective spatial planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Predicting population responses to environmental conditions or management scenarios is a fundamental challenge for conservation. Proper consideration of demographic, environmental and parameter uncertainties is essential for projecting population trends and optimal conservation strategies. We developed a coupled integrated population model‐Bayesian population viability analysis to assess the (1) impact of demographic rates (survival, fecundity, immigration) on past population dynamics; (2) population viability 10 years into the future; and (3) efficacy of possible management strategies for the federally endangered Great Lakes piping plover Charadrius melodus population. Our model synthesizes long‐term population survey, nest monitoring and mark–resight data, while accounting for multiple sources of uncertainty. We incorporated latent abundance of eastern North American merlins Falco columbarius, a primary predator of adult plovers, as a covariate on adult survival via a parallel state‐space model, accounting for the influence of an imperfectly observed process (i.e. predation pressure) on population viability. Mean plover abundance increased from 18 pairs in 1993 to 75 pairs in 2016, but annual population growth ( λ ¯ t) was projected to be 0.95 (95% CI 0.72–1.12), suggesting a potential decline to 67 pairs within 10 years. Without accounting for an expanding merlin population, we would have concluded that the plover population was projected to increase ( λ ¯ t = 1.02; 95% CI 0.94–1.09) to 91 pairs by 2026. We compared four conservation scenarios: (1) no proposed management; (2) increased control of chick predators (e.g. Corvidae, Laridae, mammals); (3) increased merlin control; and (4) simultaneous chick predator and merlin control. Compared to the null scenario, chick predator control reduced quasi‐extinction probability from 11.9% to 8.7%, merlin control more than halved (3.5%) the probability and simultaneous control reduced quasi‐extinction probability to 2.6%. Synthesis and applications. Piping plover recovery actions should consider systematic predator control, rather than current ad hoc protocols, especially given the predicted increase in regional merlin abundance. This approach of combining integrated population models with Bayesian population viability analysis to identify limiting components of the population cycle and evaluate alternative management strategies for conservation decision‐making shows great utility for aiding recovery of threatened populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Rewilding, here defined as “the reorganisation of biota and ecosystem processes to set an identified social–ecological system on a preferred trajectory, leading to the self‐sustaining provision of ecosystem services with minimal ongoing management,” is increasingly considered as an environmental management option, with potential for enhancing both biodiversity and ecosystem services. Despite burgeoning interest in the concept, there are uncertainties and difficulties associated with the practical implementation of rewilding projects, while the evidence available for facilitating sound decision‐making for rewilding initiatives remains elusive. We identify five key research areas to inform the implementation of future rewilding initiatives: increased understanding of the links between actions and impacts; improved risk assessment processes, through, for example, better definition and quantification of ecological risks; improved predictions of spatio‐temporal variation in potential economic costs and associated benefits; better identification and characterisation of the likely social impacts of a given rewilding project; and facilitated emergence of a comprehensive and practical framework for the monitoring and evaluation of rewilding projects. Policy implications. Environmental legislation is commonly based on a “compositionalist” paradigm itself predicated on the preservation of historical conditions characterised by the presence of particular species assemblages and habitat types. However, global environmental change is driving some ecosystems beyond their limits so that restoration to historical benchmarks or modern likely equivalents may no longer be an option. This means that the current environmental policy context could present barriers to the broad implementation of rewilding projects. To progress the global rewilding agenda, a better appreciation of current policy opportunities and constraints is required. This, together with a clear definition of rewilding and a scientifically robust rationale for its local implementation, is a prerequisite to engage governments in revising legislation where required to facilitate the operationalisation of rewilding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Threatened species are managed using diverse conservation tactics implemented at multiple scales ranging from protecting individuals, to populations, to entire species. Individual protection strives to promote recovery at the population‐ or species‐level, although this is seldom evaluated. After decades of widespread declines, bald eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, are recovering throughout their range due to legal protection and pesticide bans. However, like other raptors, their recovery remains threatened by human activities. Bald eagle nests are commonly managed using buffer zones to minimize human disturbance, but the benefits of this practice remain unquantified. Within Voyageurs National Park (VNP), Minnesota, USA, managers have monitored bald eagle populations for over 40 years, and since 1991, have protected at‐risk nests from human disturbance using buffer zones (200 and 400 m radius). We aimed to (1) quantify the recovery of bald eagles in VNP (1973–2016), and (2) provide a first‐ever evaluation of the individual‐ and population‐level effects of managing individual nests. To do so, we developed Bayesian Integrated Population Models combining observations of nest occupancy and reproductive output (metrics commonly collected for raptors) to estimate nest‐level probabilities of occupancy, nest success, and high productivity (producing ≥2 nestlings), as well as population‐level estimates of abundance and growth. The breeding population of bald eagles at VNP increased steadily from <10 pairs in the late 1970s to 48 pairs by 2016. At the nest‐level, management significantly improved occupancy and success. At the population‐level, management led to 8% and 13% increases in nest success and productivity rates, respectively, resulting in a 37% increase in breeding pair abundance. Synthesis and applications. There is a clear need to evaluate how management approaches at multiple scales assist in species recovery. Our study uses an Integrated Population Model to reveal the population‐level benefits of a widely used, individual‐based management action (protecting nests using buffer zones) on a recovering raptor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Information criteria (ICs) are used widely for data summary and model building in ecology, especially in applied ecology and wildlife management. Although ICs are useful for distinguishing among rival candidate models, ICs do not necessarily indicate whether the “best” model (or a model‐averaged version) is a good representation of the data or whether the model has useful “explanatory” or “predictive” ability. As editors and reviewers, we have seen many submissions that did not evaluate whether the nominal “best” model(s) found using IC is a useful model in the above sense. We scrutinized six leading ecological journals for papers that used IC to compare models. More than half of papers using IC for model comparison did not evaluate the adequacy of the best model(s) in either “explaining” or “predicting” the data. Synthesis and applications. Authors need to evaluate the adequacy of the model identified as the “best” model by using information criteria methods to provide convincing evidence to readers and users that inferences from the best models are useful and reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sensitivity analyses that assess the impact of changing vital rates on population growth have been widely used to guide conservation. If implemented with caution, they can provide guidance as to which management actions will optimize conservation outcomes. In this review, we first focus on the commonly used proportional sensitivity and elasticity analyses that change each vital rate by equal proportions, to assess their importance for wildlife management. These types of analyses also feature potential pitfalls and limitations, including (1) Each vital rate is usually on a different scale. Without appropriate scaling this can result in a flawed evaluation of the importance of vital rates. (2) Vital rates rarely change at equal proportions in nature. This can bring about misguided management recommendations on the basis of vital rate changes that are unrealistic. (3) Proportional sensitivity analyses often do not reflect the feasibility and effectiveness of altering particular demographic parameters. Consequently, relying solely on proportional sensitivities or elasticities can lead to flawed evaluation of the importance of vital rates and thus prioritization of management options that are unrealistic or ineffective. We outline alternative approaches, which involve assessing the impact of threats, the relative demography of stable and declining populations, the effect of observable variation of vital rates on population viability, and the potential effects of feasible management scenarios. Synthesis and applications. Sensitivity analyses are useful tools to guide wildlife management. If implemented and interpreted with care, sensitivity analyses can identify key demographic parameters and threats to population viability. However, their usefulness is limited, when applied without careful evaluation as to whether the perturbations evaluated are realistic, feasible and meet the need of wildlife managers. We caution against the over‐reliance on proportional sensitivity and elasticity analyses and point to alternative approaches, including life‐stage simulation analysis, vital rate sensitivity analysis or manual perturbations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Efficient and reliable methods for estimating animal density are essential to wildlife conservation and management. Camera trapping is an increasingly popular tool in this area of wildlife research, with further potential arising from technological improvements, such as video‐recording functions that allow for behavioural observation of animals. This information may be useful in the estimation of animal density, even without individual recognition. Although several models applicable to species lacking individual markings (i.e. unmarked populations) have been developed, a methodology incorporating behavioural information from videos has not yet been established. We developed a likelihood‐based model: the random encounter and staying time (REST) model. It is an extension of the random encounter model by Rowcliffe et al. (J Appl Ecol 45:1228, 2008). The REST model describes the relationship among staying time, trapping rate, and density, which is estimable using a frequentist or Bayesian approach. We tested the reliability and feasibility of the REST model using Monte Carlo simulations. We also applied the approach in the African rainforest and compared the results with those of a line‐transect survey. The simulations showed that the REST model provided unbiased estimates of animal density. Even when animal movement speeds varied among individuals, and when animals travelled in pairs, the model provided unbiased density estimates. However, the REST model was vulnerable to unsynchronized activity patterns among individuals. Moreover, it is necessary to use a camera model with a fast and reliable infrared sensor and to set the camera trap's parameters appropriately (i.e. video length, delay period). The field survey showed that the staying time of two ungulate species in the African rainforest exhibited good fit with a temporal parametric distribution, and the REST model provided density estimates consistent with those of a line‐transect survey. Synthesis and applications. The random encounter and staying time model provides better efficiency and higher feasibility than the random encounter model in estimating animal density without individual recognition. Careful application of the random encounter and staying time model provides the potential to estimate density of many ground‐dwelling vertebrates lacking individually recognizable markings, and thus should be an effective method for population monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eruption of invasive wild pigs ( IWPs) Sus scrofa throughout the world exemplifies the need to understand the influences of exotic and nonnative species expansions. In particular, the continental USA is precariously threatened by a rapid expansion of IWPs, and a better understanding of the rate and process of spread can inform strategies that will limit the expansion., We developed a spatially and temporally dynamic model to examine three decades (1982-2012) of IWP expansion, and predict the spread of IWPs throughout the continental USA, relative to where IWPs previously inhabited. We used the model to predict where IWPs are likely to invade next., The average rate of northward expansion increased from 6·5 to 12·6 km per year, suggesting most counties in the continental USA could be inhabited within the next 3-5 decades. The spread of IWPs was primarily associated with expansion into areas with similar environmental characteristics as their previous range, with the exception of spreading into colder regions. We identified that climate change may assist spread into northern regions by generating milder winters with less snow. Otherwise, the spread of IWPs was not dependent on agriculture, precipitation or biodiversity at the county level. The model correctly predicted 86% of counties that were invaded during 2012, and those predictions indicate that large portions of the USA are in immediate danger of invasion., Synthesis and applications. Anti-invasion efforts should focus along the boundaries of current occupied range to stop natural expansion, and anti-invasion policies should focus on stopping anthropogenic transport and release of invasive wild pigs. Our results demonstrate the utility of a spatio-temporal examination to inform strategies for limiting the spread of invasive wild pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat suitability models (HSMs) are commonly used in conservation practise to assess the potential of an area to be occupied and colonised. A major limitation of these models, however, is the omission of spatially explicit understanding of human acceptance towards the focal species. As wildlife is more and more subject to human-dominated landscapes, ignoring the sociological component will result in misrepresentation of the observed processes and inappropriate management., We distributed 10 000 questionnaires across Switzerland and identified key socio-demographical factors correlated with human acceptance of the wolf. We then created a spatially explicit acceptance model based on geo-referenced socio-demographical, social and geographical information. Finally, we combined our acceptance model with a HSM to obtain a unified socio-ecological suitability model, which included human and ecological components., We showed that the key factors associated with human acceptance were perception of how harmful the wolf is, interest in wolf-related issues, need for livestock protection, and fear of the wolf. Perceived harmfulness was in turn correlated with direct and indirect experience with the wolf, and level of education., Our acceptance map predicted decreasing acceptance with increasing altitude of residency and proximity to locations of confirmed wolf presence. This resulted in the overall opposition to the wolf for the Alpine region, albeit substantial regional differences., We found little spatial overlap (6% of Switzerland) between areas where the wolf was accepted and areas of suitable habitat. These areas of socio-ecological suitability were concentrated in the Jura Mountains and in the eastern and southern Alps, and were absent in the western and central Alps. Particularly in the Jura region, which is yet to be colonised, management of human acceptance will be a crucial conservation target., Synthesis and applications. We developed an integrative, socio-ecological approach that allowed us to accurately reproduce recent wolf recolonisation. We anticipate our framework to be a powerful tool to reliably evaluate overall suitable habitats and predict short to medium-term range expansion for species whose distribution is also dependent on human attitudes. Because our approach is sensitive to both the ecological and human component, it is ideally suited to identify key regions where proactive and targeted socio-ecological management plans are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding resource selection and quantifying habitat connectivity are fundamental to conservation planning for both land-use and species management plans. However, data sets available to management authorities for resource selection and connectivity analyses are often highly limited and fragmentary. As a result, measuring connectivity is challenging, and often poorly integrated within conservation planning and wildlife management. To exacerbate the challenge, scale-dependent resource use makes inference across scales problematic, resource use is often modelled in areas where the species is not present, and connectivity is typically measured using a source-to-sink approach, erroneously assuming animals possess predefined destinations., Here, we used a large carnivore, the leopard Panthera pardus, to characterise resource use and landscape connectivity across a vast, biodiverse region of southern Africa. Using a range of data sets to counter data deficiencies inherent in carnivore management, we overcame methodological limitations by employing occupancy modelling and resource selection functions across three orders of selection, and estimated landscape-scale habitat connectivity - independent of a priori source and sink locations - using circuit theory. We evaluated whether occupancy modelling on its own was capable of accurately informing habitat connectivity, and identified conservation priorities necessary for applied management., We detected markedly different scale-dependent relationships across all selection orders. Our multi-data, multi-scale approach accurately predicted resource use across multiple scales and demonstrates how management authorities can more suitably utilise fragmentary data sets. We further developed an unbiased landscape-scale depiction of habitat connectivity, and identified key linkages in need of targeted management. We did not find support for the use of occupancy modelling as a proxy for landscape-scale habitat connectivity and further caution its use within a management context., Synthesis and applications. Maintaining habitat connectivity remains a fundamental component of wildlife management and conservation, yet data to inform these biological and ecological processes are often scarce. We present a robust approach that incorporates multi-scale fragmentary data sets (e.g. mortality data, permit data, sightings data), routinely collected by management authorities, to inform wildlife management and land-use planning. We recommend that management authorities employ a multi-data, multi-scale connectivity approach - as we present here - to identify management units at risk of low connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large population increase of the Svalbard-breeding pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus over recent decades has intensified the conflict with agriculture at the spring-staging sites in Norway. Knowledge of the yield loss caused by goose grazing in these northern areas is lacking, and the motivation behind the study was to quantify a relationship between grazing pressure and yield loss of agricultural grasslands and corresponding changes in vegetation composition., Field trials were established on agricultural grasslands at four sites in central Norway. Eight plots were established at each site; four with exclosures to exclude or reduce grazing from geese and four with access for the geese. The exact same plots were followed for 2-4 years. Dropping density, used as a measure of grazing pressure, and compressed sward height were recorded throughout the goose staging periods, and dry matter yield was determined at first and second harvests. Plant samples from first harvests were analysed for vegetation composition., Grazing pressure varied between both years and sites. Exclosures reduced grazing pressure by 75-78% during high-pressure grazing periods and increased first harvest yields by up to 31%. At lower grazing pressure, exclosures prevented grazing completely. Grazing pressure was inversely correlated with dry matter yield at first harvest, but second harvest yields were unaffected., The fraction of sown species declined while the fraction of weeds increased during the study both in open plots and exclosures, but level of grazing pressure did not have any significant influence on the overall fraction of sown species, or in any specific year., Synthesis and applications. As the same plots were measured over several years, it was possible to quantify goose-grazing effects beyond one season. In the context of the wildlife-agriculture conflict, the results demonstrate that some farmers always suffer disproportionately with yearly variations. The relationship between grazing pressure and yield loss may provide knowledge to a regional goose grazing subsidy scheme in the study area, identifying the most affected areas and distributing the subsidies correspondingly. However, the seasonal variations in grazing pressure demonstrate the difficulty of targeting exact areas on a yearly basis. On the other hand, the observed variations may promote another management tool in the form of delayed ploughing of stubble fields before spring sowing, as stubble fields may attract more geese, reducing the grazing pressure on agricultural grasslands and hence the overall conflicts with agricultural interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female ungulates are often selectively harvested according to their reproductive status. Because ungulate population growth depends heavily on adult female survival, it is crucial to understand the effects of this selective harvest. Recent studies revealed persistent individual differences in female reproductive potential, with a positive correlation of reproductive success over consecutive years. If current reproduction is correlated with lifetime reproductive success, then selective harvest of non-lactating females should remove individuals of low reproductive potential, with lower impact on population growth than random harvest. If lifetime reproductive success has a genetic basis, selective harvest may also increase the proportion of successful females., We used an individual-based model to understand the short-term effects of harvest intensity and hunter selectivity on population dynamics, accounting for both heterogeneity in reproductive potential and orphan survival. We also explored the long-term effect of harvest as a selective pressure on female heterogeneity., Selective harvest of non-lactating females reduced survival to primiparity compared to random harvest, because of high harvest rates of pre-reproductive females. After primiparity, however, females of higher reproductive potential had higher survival under selective than random harvest. Therefore, the overall effect on population dynamics depends on a trade-off between a high harvest of pre-reproductive females and a reduced harvest of reproductive females with high reproductive potential., Female heterogeneity and the length of the pre-reproductive period affected this trade-off. Over the short term, high heterogeneity in reproductive potential of pre-reproductive females made selective harvest the most effective strategy to maintain a high population growth rate. With low heterogeneity and little effects of orphaning on juvenile mortality, however, random harvest had a lower impact on population growth than selective harvest. Over the long term, selective female harvest may increase the proportion of successful reproducers in the population., Synthesis and applications. Selective harvests of non-lactating females appear justified only if female heterogeneity in reproductive potential and/or orphan mortality are very high. Because pre-reproductive females will be subject to intense harvest, selective harvest may reduce population growth rate compared to random harvest in species with late primiparity, especially if most pre-reproductive female normally survive to primiparity. When heterogeneity in reproductive potential and orphan mortality are low, random female harvest appears preferable to selective harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]