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Adaptive management (AM) is widely promoted to improve management of natural resources, yet its implementation is challenging. We show that obstacles to the implementation of AM are related not only to the AM process per se but also to external factors such as ecosystem properties and governance systems. To overcome obstacles, there is a need to build capacities within the AM process by ensuring adequate resources, management tools, collaboration, and learning. Additionally, building capacities in the legal and institutional frames can enable the necessary flexibility in the governance system. Furthermore, in systems experiencing profound changes in wildlife populations, building such capacities may be even more critical as more flexibility will be needed to cope with increased uncertainty and changed environmental conditions. Adaptive management (AM) is a stepwise iterative process in which interventions are implemented, their effects monitored and evaluated, and the next intervention adapted according to knowledge gained. In theory, this process of learning and adaptation leads to increased understanding of ecological processes and improved management. However, the AM approach faces many obstacles to its effective implementation. These obstacles may be exacerbated by emerging challenges related to a rapidly changing environment. In the face of large-scale climate and land use change, AM's stepwise learning may not keep pace with environmental changes. To inform future AM schemes, a transdisciplinary approach is needed to address obstacles in technical and social components of AM, but also obstacles related to the ecosystem and governance system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scaring is a widely used damage mitigation tool to make agricultural fields less attractive to wildlife and by that reduce crop damage. However, few experimental studies exist where the numerical response of different scaring devices has been compared. We tested experimentally the effect of three different scaring devices (kite, scarecrow, inflatable man) on the number of geese in fields with cereals, ley, rapeseed, potatoes, and carrots in Sweden. Geese were counted by camera traps and two approaches were used; in a first (model 1) only geese within 50–150m of the scaring devices were counted, and in a second (model 2) all geese in the field were included. A total of 42,281 geese were counted: Greylag goose Anser anser was the most common species (87%), followed by bean goose Anser fabalis (6%), greater white-fronted goose Anser albifrons (3%), barnacle goose Branta leucopsis (2%), and Canada goose Branta canadensis (2%). During scaring the number of geese significantly decreased for all three devices in model 2. The inflatable man decreased goose numbers by 90.0 %, scarecrow 64.6%, and kite 60.5%. A similar pattern was found in model 1, but the decrease was not significant. Our study shows that the scaring devices studied can reduce goose grazing pressure for some time and locally. However, since geese continue to graze during scaring, we conclude that scaring alone is not a final solution to mitigate crop damage. Future work to develop more effective control measures should address the efficiency of other management tools and scaring techniques in combination. • Scarecrow, kite and inflatable man are devices commonly used for scaring geese. • The scaring effect was experimentally tested for the different devices. • Number of geese feeding in agricultural fields significantly decreased during scaring. • No significant difference was found among the three devices. • Yet, the relative scaring effect varied considerably (∼60–90%) among the devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lethal scaring is one method used to alleviate crop damage by grazing geese. During lethal scaring, a few geese foraging on growing crops are shot to achieve a deterrent effect on other flock members. An additional aim is to reinforce the effects of non-lethal scaring measures. As the populations of geese increase in large parts of the world, an increased need for tools within the multifaceted area of goose management has been highlighted. Lethal scaring can potentially be one method, but currently little evidence exists about the effectiveness of the method. In this study, I tested whether grazing greylag geese Anser anser show short-term numeric and behavioral responses due to lethal scaring in targeted fields, using a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) study design. The study includes 26 fields with lethal scaring and 43 controls (geese were left undisturbed), where the number of birds was counted and the distance between an approaching person and the geese when all individuals have raised their heads and when they escaped were measured - before and after lethal scaring was performed. On average, 33 geese were shot per trial, which corresponds to 8.9% of the counted geese on the lethal scaring fields before the shooting occurred. The number of geese significantly decreased in the lethal scaring fields after the shooting (63% less) but were also reduced in numbers on the control fields (17% less). This result may be due to the same goose individuals using both control and lethal scaring fields, and when affected at scaring fields they choose another area or habitat for foraging; for example, in wetlands. However, the difference in the number of geese on control fields, both before and after lethal scaring, did not relate to the distance to lethal scaring fields. Moreover, birds did not seem to become more afraid of an approaching person (i.e., a non-lethal scaring tool) after the lethal scaring had been conducted (flight distance before 134 m (±15.3 S.E.) and after 149 m (±14.1 S.E.) in lethal scaring fields). In conclusion, this study shows that lethal scaring can substantially decrease the number of greylag geese in damage prone fields for at least three consecutive days, hence this method may also work as a tool to reduce crop losses. Practical experience from tools for alleviating crop damage is available from both Europe and North America, but very little has been published. It is therefore important to evaluate the effectiveness of the available tools under controlled conditions to increase our understanding of appropriate preventive tools and provide guidelines for stakeholders involved in the multifaceted area of goose management and crop protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • We investigate relationships between red deer intake of rapeseed and spruce bark. • Bark biomass consumption increases above a threshold temperature in spring. • This coincides with a change in the bark's concentration of starch. • We do not find a significant influence of rapeseed intake on bark stripping. The distribution and population density of red deer (Cervus elaphus) are increasing in several regions of Europe. The deer may cause severe damage in commercial forestry and agriculture. Bark stripping is the main problem in forests, especially on Norway spruce (Picea abies), and is thought to mostly occur during winter when other forage is scarce. It has been suggested that an imbalance in the nutrient intake, and especially a diet including high amounts of easily-digestible macronutrients, such as agricultural crops, can lead to an increased urge to consume bark. Feeding on brassicas, for example rapeseed (Brassica napus) might have this effect. The aim with this study was to investigate the relationship between intake of rapeseed and bark stripping on Norway spruce by red deer during early spring. We did this by a controlled feeding experiment with four groups of captive red deer in southern Sweden. All groups were given spruce logs every week, while only two groups had access to freshly harvested rapeseed plants. In addition, influence of air temperature and forage nutritional composition was taken into account. Our results show that red deer bark stripping can be considerable not only during winter but also during spring green-up. We found no significant influence of rapeseed on bark stripping performed by the deer. However, at a threshold temperature, deer suddenly started to ingest large amounts of bark biomass, coinciding with a significant change in the bark's concentration of starch. We suggest that the lack of effect of rapeseed feeding can partly be explained by overshadowing effects caused by such seasonal changes of bark characteristics, and partly by the fact that the rapeseed plants in our study contained lower than expected concentrations of easily-digestible macronutrients (apart from protein). We conclude that the risk of damage on spruce can be especially high during certain periods, something that is important to consider when mitigating bark stripping. However, several interactive effects are involved and must be considered in order to more efficiently mitigate damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Knowledge of plant–herbivore interactions is fundamental for understanding foraging patterns of herbivores and their effects on the ecosystem as well as the human use of natural resources. The nutrient resources available for plants may determine not only growth rate, but also the amounts of secondary compounds in the plant tissues. As a consequence, browsing pressure on plant communities by large herbivores can be affected by fertilization and nitrogen deposition. We conducted a field fertilization experiment to test the hypothesis that fertilization leads to increased sapling growth and increased browsing by a large herbivore, the moose (Alces alces). The study was conducted on fertilized and unfertilized plots (50m×50m) in northern Sweden. The plots were located in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands of young succession stages with an intermixture of deciduous species. Fertilization with 600kg calcium–ammonium–nitrate per ha (=200kgNha−1), was conducted in spring on one of the plots in each of 25 paired plots. The other plot in each pair was kept as control. The effect of fertilization on plants and browsing pressure was evaluated on five deciduous tree species in June and August the year after fertilization. Both browsing from preceding winter (bites) and current summer (leaf strips and bites) was recorded. Shoot size and other shoot variables increased with fertilization. Fertilization increased winter browsing for most species, but few differences were statistically significant. The late summer recording (August) showed pronounced differences in browsing pressure (leaf strips and bites) between control and treatment. In June, only a trend of increased browsing (leaf strips) was found for all species on fertilized plots. Generally, the pressure of leaf stripping was low in June, probably due to the short time the annual shoots had been exposed to moose browsing. Number of summer bites (recorded in August) was significantly higher on fertilized plots for the Betula spp., and the trend was similar for the other tree species. Within species, there was no difference in strip length between the treatments. The result indicates that fertilization can be used as a habitat improvement for ungulates within wildlife management. But, fertilization is also likely to lead to an increased risk of browsing damage, which is undesirable if forests are being fertilized for increased forest production. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Recolonization of wolves did not affect moose browsing damage on Scots pine. • Occurrence and level of moose browsing damage were affected by habitat characteristics, snow depth and road network. • Human activities like hunting and forestry reduce the potential for trophic cascades caused by wolves in Scandinavia. Ungulates frequently cause damage to human livelihoods, such as agriculture, livestock or forestry. In Sweden, forestry is the dominating land use and is a very important source of income. Moose (Alces alces) browsing commonly causes damage to young forest stands, mainly Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). Factors known to affect the level of moose browsing damage are moose density, forage availability, site productivity, tree species composition, snow depth, and infrastructure. One hypothesis is that the recent recolonization of wolves (Canis lupus) in Sweden may lead to a decrease in browsing damage levels, through an effect of wolf predation on moose density or moose behaviour. We used data from annual moose browsing damage surveys, long-term wolf monitoring, moose harvest statistics, habitat composition, snow depth, and road network to investigate the effect of wolf recolonization on moose browsing damage on Scots pine. Contrary to predicted, wolf territory establishment and duration showed an increase in the level of moose damage on young Scots pine. But, the effect size was small and it is questionable if it can be considered as biologically relevant. Overall, other factors were more important than wolves in explaining browsing damage on pine by moose. Presence and cover of deciduous species increased the occurrence of moose browsing damage on pine but reduced the level of damage. Decreasing snow depth and increasing road density both resulted in a lower level of damage. We suggest that the strong human impact on all trophic levels on the Swedish forest ecosystem through harvest and intense forestry practices is likely to override wolves' effects on density and behaviour of moose, as well as their potential effects on preferred browsing species for moose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • GPS-data can be used to identify specific behaviors from movement patterns. • Movement patterns can distinguish reproductive events such as parturition. • Utilizing these tools can increase precision in population growth estimations. Abstract Quantifying a fundamental life history event like parturition for any species is important both for wildlife management and research purposes. Surveys to estimate reproductive success for large mammals are typically done by visual observations on the ground or from the air and are time consuming, expensive and labor intensive particularly when conducted in remote locations. An alternative to visual verification is remote monitoring of animal movement and locations which can identify and link movement behavior to different types of life history events, such as parturition. We used GPS locations of a large ungulate (moose) to identify a specific behavioral change in the movement pattern that would indicate a calving event. From these data we applied three methods, one of which is a novel technique, to search for localized movement patterns that characterize a calving event for female moose in Sweden (n = 60 moose-years, ground observations) and Alaska (n = 49 moose-years, aerial observations). The three methods include a computerized visual method using Tracking Analyst® (TA), a rolling window minimum convex polygon (rMCP), and behavioral change point analysis (BCPA), all of which provided nearly identical results. BCPA confirmed lack of a parturition date for 100% of the animals that were never observed with a calf, whereas the rMCP method yielded 1 false positive. For Sweden, parturition dates inferred using rMCP agreed exactly or ±1 day with the dates inferred using BCPA for 98% moose-years whereas TA vs BCPA and rMCP agreed 98% and 100% respectively; for Alaska parturition dates estimated from rMCP and BCPA agreed equally at 94%. In this study we showed that evaluation of wildlife movement patterns from remote monitoring can lead to increased precision and understanding of parturition with minimal bias from neonatal mortality, in addition to understanding spatiotemporal distribution, resource selection, and other behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation conflicts represent complex multilayered problems that are challenging to study. We explore the utility of theoretical, experimental, and constructivist approaches to games to help to understand and manage these challenges. We show how these approaches can help to develop theory, understand patterns in conflict, and highlight potentially effective management solutions. The choice of approach should be guided by the research question and by whether the focus is on testing hypotheses, predicting behaviour, or engaging stakeholders. Games provide an exciting opportunity to help to unravel the complexity in conflicts, while researchers need an awareness of the limitations and ethical constraints involved. Given the opportunities, this field will benefit from greater investment and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many populations of large grazing birds (cranes, geese, swans) have recovered following protection. During migration, these birds often aggregate in large numbers at staging sites and feed on agricultural crops. Because staging sites often coincide with protected wetlands, extensive crop damages may avert both bird and wetland conservation. There is a need to integrate damage mitigation and conservation of large grazing birds staging in agricultural landscapes, based on knowledge of large grazing birds’ spacing behavior. Their space use forms the basis for assessment of damage risk and for the scale at which measures should be implemented. We used high-resolution GPS location data to assess space use of common cranes (Grus grus) at an important staging site in south-central Sweden. We focus on daytime behaviour because this is the time when foraging cranes may cause crop damage and when preventive measures such as scaring and culling are conducted. We found that the daily activity area (mean 4.4 km 2 ) did not vary within staging periods. Cranes exhibited high site fidelity during staging, as their activity area over the staging period (mean 15.6 km 2 ) was considerably smaller than the entire staging site (>200 km 2 ). However, on a daily scale cranes gradually shifted activity areas, forming a space use pattern analogous to overlapping rings. This pattern is presumably explained by heterogeneous and unpredictable food availability caused by continuous changes in agricultural practices, weather conditions and competition. Considering the size of crane activity areas over the staging period and the scale of current damage preventive measures ( e.g., hunting permissions given for a few fields [mean size 0.049 km 2 ] at a time), we suggest that current preventive measures might be implemented on a too small scale compared to that of crane space use. Our findings highlight the necessity of adapting crop damage preventive measures to the scale of bird space use to facilitate both bird conservation and agricultural practices at wetlands staging sites along the flyways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunoglobulin A deficiency (IgAD) is the most common primary immunodeficiency in both humans and selected breeds of domestic dogs. In both species, IgAD is associated with recurrent infections and immune mediated diseases. Previous results imply that IgAD is also common in the wild ancestor of domestic dogs, the gray wolf. Here, we report that serum IgA concentrations are significantly different in Scandinavian and Canadian wolves (p = 3.252e−15) with an increased prevalence for IgAD in Scandinavian wolves (60%), which is as high as those found in high-risk dog breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]