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Reliable data and methods for assessing changes in wildlife population size over time are necessary for management and conservation. For most species, assessing abundance is an expensive and labor-intensive task that is not affordable on a frequent basis. We present a novel approach to reconstructing brown bear population dynamics in Slovenia in the period 1998-2019, based on the combination of two CMR non-invasive genetic estimates (in 2007 and 2015) and long-term mortality records, to show how the latter can help the study of population dynamics in combination with point-in-time estimates. The spring (i.e. including newborn cubs) population size estimate was 383 (CI: 336-432) bears in 1998 and 971 (CI: 825-1161) bears in 2019. In this period, the average annual population growth rate was 4.5 %. The predicted population size differed by just 7 % from the non-invasive genetic size estimate after eight years, suggesting that the method is reliable. It can predict the evolution of the population size under different management scenarios and provide information on key parameters, e.g. background mortality and the sex- and age-structure of the population. Our approach can be used for several other wildlife species, but it requires reliable mortality data over time. Za upravljanje in ohranjanje populacij prostoživečih živali so potrebni zanesljivi podatki in metode za ocenjevanje njihove številčnosti. Ugotavljanje številčnosti je pri večini vrst drago in zahtevno, zato ga ni mogoče pogosto izvajati. V članku predstavljamo nov pristop, ki smo ga pripravili na primeru rekonstrukcije populacijske dinamike rjavega medveda v Sloveniji v obdobju 1998-2019. Pristop temelji na kombinaciji dveh ocen njegove številčnosti z neinvazivnimi genetskimi metodami (v letih 2007 in 2015) in dolgoletnega niza podatkov monitoringa smrtnosti. Ocena 'pomladanske' (t.j. največje letne - po poleganju mladičev) številčnosti rjavega medveda v Sloveniji za leto 1998 znaša 383 (CI: 336-432), za leto 2019 pa 971 osebkov (CI: 825-1161). Povprečna letna stopnja rasti populacije je bila v tem obdobju 4,5 %. Modelno ocenjena številčnost populacije se je od ugotovljene z genetsko metodo po osmih letih razlikovala le za 7 %, kar nakazuje, da je pristop zanesljiv oz. so njegovi rezultati za upravljavske namene dovolj kakovostni. Pristop omogoča tudi napovedovanje prihodnje populacijske dinamike pri različnih scenarijih upravljanja in okvirno ocenjevanje ključnih populacijskih parametrov, kot so spolna in starostna sestava, relativna rodnost in naravna smrtnost populacije. Pristop je uporaben tudi za več drugih populacij in živalskih vrst, vendar so zanj potrebni zanesljivi dolgoletni podatki o smrtnosti.

Vedno boljše poznavanje pomena parkljarjev za ekosistem in človeka ter hkrati širjenje teh živalskih vrst v evropskem prostoru prinaša potrebo po nadgrajevanju in izpopolnjevanju načinov njihovega upravljanja. V Sloveniji se je v zadnjih letih zaradi stopnjevanja konfliktov interesov gozdarske, lovske in kmetijske stroke pojavila potreba po natančnejšem poznavanju številčnosti domorodnih vrst parkljarjev, še posebno jelenjadi (Cervus elaphus). V tem prispevku smo opredelili metodo štetja kupčkov iztrebkov s predhodnim čiščenjem kot najbolj optimalno metodo za ugotavljanje lokalnih gostot jelenjadi in podrobno razložili metodološke korake za uspešno načrtovanje in izvedbo metode na terenu. Zaključili smo s primerom izvedbe metode v LPN Kompas Peskovci in predstavili rezultate gostot jelenjadi in srnjadi (Capreolus capreolus) na omenjenem območju, pridobljenimi z metodo štetja kupčkov iztrebkov. The improvement in knowledge about the importance of wild ungulates for the ecosystem and humans, as well as the increasing trend in wild ungulates distribution in Europe, calls for upgrades and optimizations in their management. The need for abundance data of autochthonous ungulates, especially red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Slovenia has arisen in recent years, mostly due to the human-wildlife conflict occurring in forestry, hunting and agricultural sectors. In this paper, we argue the pellet group counts with prior plot clearing are the most optimal census method for estimating local red deer abundance and describe all the methodological phases for successful planning and execution of the methods on the field. In the end, we give an example of a method implementation in hunting ground %LPN Kompas Peskovci% and report the abundance estimates based on the pellet group counts for roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer in the area.

As for other large carnivores in Europe, the brown bear shows a trend of recovering under different management scenarios. However, this recovery comes with specific biological and conservation requirements at individual and population levels often followed by conflicts in a highly humanized continent. To foresee conflicts with humans and to facilitate decisionmaking, spatially-explicit research is required to identify potential habitats and the connectivity of fragmented bear populations. First, we conducted multiscale modeling based on scale-integrated resource selection functions (SRSFs) to identify drivers shaping the spaceuse of three bear populations/demographic units (Trentino-Swiss, pre-Alps, and Dinaric), and across 3 scales of space (population distribution, home range establishment, and use of individual home range). Secondly, we also conducted an analysis of the connectivity patterns of suitable habitat patches (nodes) to identify the potential importance of each node to contribute to individual mobility, survival, and population connectivity. Lastly, to support further environmental impact assessment analyses, we identified the most plausible least-cost paths connecting different areas of the same large patch with itself and surrounding patches. Using topographic, landcover, and anthropogenic predictors, our analytical approach transcended from scale dependence bias to produce a predictive map on habitat suitability while delivered information on habitat selection trends for each population. Bears mostly selected forest habitats in all the populations however, habitat selection differed for the other variables among populations and scales, especially in the Trentino area where the species selected the most intricate topography. Predictive maps revealed a broad range of suitable but fragmented patches of bear habitat. The largest and most important patches for connectivity occurred in the current distribution range of the species, with the most suitable habitat lying in the pre-Alpine and Dinaric populations. Connecting viable patches to host female homeranges is possible through stepping-stone patches of corridors reachable within the estimated dispersal distance of females. Unified transnational decision-making is required for the conservation of stepping-stone patches, facilitate bear mobility, and ultimately connect bear populations. Podobno kot pri drugih vrstah velikih zveri se tudi pri rjavemu medvedu njegovo območje razširjenosti in številčnost povečujeta v več delih Evrope, in to ob različnih upravljavskih pristopih. Vendar uspešno širjenje vrste vselej zahteva specifične biološke in varstvene pogoje na individualni in populacijski ravni. V gosto poseljeni Evropi širjenje medveda pogosto spremljajo tudi konflikti s človekom. Za pravočasno napovedovanje in racionalno preprečevanje konfliktnih situacij s človekom in s tem lajšanja procesa odločanja so ključne zanesljive prostorske raziskave. Te nam omogočajo prepoznavanje potencialnih habitatov za medveda in območij/koridorjev, ki so ključna za ohranjanje povezljivosti populacije. V prvi fazi pričujoče raziskave smo zato izvedli večstopenjsko hierarhično prostorsko eksplicitno napovedno modeliranje habitatne ustreznosti prostora (scale integrated RSF), s katerim smo lahko prepoznali glavne omejitvene dejavnike rabe prostora za tri obravnavane medvedje populacije oz demografske enote (Trentino-Švicarske, pred-Alpska in Dinarska) na treh prostorskih nivojih (populacijski nivo, nivo območja aktivnosti in nivo notranje rabe znotraj območij aktivnosti). Izvedli smo tudi analizo povezljivosti prostora med osnovnimi zaplatami habitata in opredelili prispevek vsake zaplate k %vitalnosti% celotne medvedje populacije v raziskovalnem območju. Končno smo z namenom lažjega prepoznavanja potreb po prihodnjih presojah vplivov posegov na okolje (PVO) opredelili še najbolj verjetne prehode med habitatnimi krpami (least-cost paths). Na osnovi napovednih spremenljivk, ki opisujejo rabo tal, reliefne značilnosti in prisotnost človeka (npr. ceste, naselja) smo pripravili modele habitatne ustreznosti prostora za medveda in prepoznali tudi razlike v habitatnem izboru med 3 obravnavanimi populacijami in prostorskimi merili. V vseh treh populacijah so medvedi primarno izbirali gozdnata območja, so pa med populacijami in prostorskimi merili opazne razlike v rabi/pomenu ostalih okoljskih spremenljivk. Zlasti odstopa skupina medvedov v Trentinu, za katere je značilna izbira bolj nedostopnih območij (težji, topografsko bolj razgiban teren). Naš prostorsko eksplicitni model kaže, da je v obravnavanem območju veliko habitata, ki je primeren za medveda, vendar pa je zanj značilna močna fragmentiranost. Največje in najbolj pomembne zaplate habitata za povezljivost populacije se nahajajo na območju trenutne razširjenosti vrste, z najbolj primernim habitatom na območju pred-Alpske in Dinarske populacije. Zadostno povezanost najprimernejših zaplat (ki so dovolj velike, da v njih lahko žive samice % medvedke), bi bilo mogoče vzdrževati preko ohranjanja dovolj povezanih habitatnih krp v koridorjih (step-stones). Za ohranjanje zadostne povezanosti prostora/habitatov, zagotavljanja povezav med deli populacij in populacijami medvedov ter za dolgoročno viabilnost medveda v območju Alp in Dinaridov je ključna poenotena % med državami usklajena - politika odločanja in rabe prostora.

When we explore global changes effects over biodiversity it is usually explored the direct effects, while ignoring the indirect effects (biotic), driving to erroneous predictions of how global change impacts biodiversity. Here, we focus on the brown bear (Ursus arctos) to understand how direct and indirect impacts of climate and land use change would affect the future distribution and vulnerability of different populations across Europe. We first conducted a literature search, compiling information on ~100 species consumed by brown bears. We downloaded occurrence data for all species consumed by the brown bear from GBIF. We built species distribution models for all these species, using biomod2 in R, in function of current climate and land use data. We interpolated the spatial variation of energy of each species in the diet, and it was combined with the distribution model resulting in the potential energy for each species. Using different scenarios for climate and land use change, we projected the future distributions of the brown bear diet species. Finally, we calculated the potential current and future suitable habitats of brown bear in function of the potential energy of diet, climate and land use. The range dynamic of the brown bear was best explained by considering both direct and indirect impacts. Accounting for energy (indirect effect) buffered the direct impact of climate and land use change. Our results highlight the importance of taking a food-web ecosystem approach to evaluate the impact of global changes and predict modifications in the distribution and vulnerability of species.

The information on absolute and/or relative abundance of wild ungulates is one of the key parameters for sustainable and efficient management. Wild ungulates are the most important and abundant group of game species in Slovenia; however, there are currently no standard census methods, which would be performed on the annual basis. There are various methods for estimating wild ungulate abundance and several criteria have to be met, when selecting the most suitable one. The most important criteria that have to be taken into account are studied species, habitat characteristics, size of the studied area, population density and cost efficiency. Besides the faecal pellet group method, which has already been used in Slovenia to estimate the abundance of roe deer and red deer, a suitable method is also the kilometre index. The reliable methods for wild boar are camera traps, drive counts and distance sampling with thermovision and, for chamois, ground counts and aerial counts. Poznavanje absolutne in/ali relativne številčnosti prostoživečih parkljarjev je eden pomembnejših vhodnih podatkov, ki nam omogoča njihovo učinkovito trajnostno upravljanje. V večjem delu Slovenije so prostoživeči parkljarji gospodarsko, motivacijsko in ekološko najpomembnejša skupina divjadi. V procesu njihovega upravljanja trenutno ni uveljavljenih standardnih in rutinskih metod, na podlagi katerih bi lahko zanesljivo ocenjevali absolutno in/ali relativno številčnost na vsakoletni ravni. Metod za spremljanje številčnosti populacij prostoživečih parkljarjev je veliko; pri izbiri najustreznejše je treba upoštevati določene kriterije. Najpomembnejši kriteriji za izbiro metode so obravnavana vrsta parkljarjev, značilnosti habitata, velikost območja, gostota populacije, možnost kontrole in nenazadnje tudi stroški. V Sloveniji je bila za ocenjevanje številčnosti srnjadi in jelenjadi že v rabi metoda štetja kupčkov iztrebkov, poleg katere bi bila primerna tudi metoda kilometrskega indeksa. Pri divjem prašiču za najbolj zanesljive metode veljajo uporaba foto pasti, štetje na pogonih in daljinsko vzorčenje s pomočjo termovizije, pri gamsu pa štetje s tal in monitoring iz zraka.

Grivasti skakač (Ammotragus lervia) je vrsta divlje koze (kozolika antilopa), koja potječe iz gorja Atlas u Sjevernoj Africi, od Mauritanije na zapad do Crvenog mora na istok. Tijekom 2002. godine, pet grivastih skakača (tri ženke i dva mužjaka) nepoznatog podrijetla, ilegalno su ispušteni na prostor sjeverne dinarske regije (planina Mosor ; 1.339m nadmorske visine) u Hrvatskoj. Kako bismo bolje shvatili ekologiju grivastog skakača, posebice njegov obrazac aktivnosti, izbor staništa i potencijalno daljnje prostorno širenje, uhvatili smo i pratili devet životinja (pet ženki i četiri mužjaka) s GPS-GSM ogrlicama. Životinje su se kumulativno kretale 1.63 km po danu i njihova je cirkadijurna aktivnost imala dva naglašena intervala, ujutro i navečer. Vrhunac se promijenio u skladu sa sezonskom dinamikom fotoperioda. Praćene životinje uglavnom su kretanje ograničile na prostor uz planinski greben, a nekoliko puta i cijeli opseg (25 km) planine Mosor i to u relativno kratkom vremenskom periodu (2-4 dana). Okomita kretanja prema glavnoj planini su bila kratka i često ograničena na područje planinskog podnožja s višim vegetacijskim pokrovom i manje ekstremnim terenom. Mjesečna aktivnost se kretala između 0.6 do 17.00 km2 . Za jednu smo životinju uspjeli predvidjeti njenu godišnju aktivnost: 26.0 km2. Snimanje senzornom kamerom je ostvareno kroz dvogodišnji period, koristeći deset kamera, nasumice postavljenih na staništu. Sveukupno je sabrano 2, 755 JPEG slika, a snimljeno je 8 vrsta: grivasti skakač, divlja svinja, smeđi medvjed, vuk, lisica, divlja mačka i jazavac. Trenutni podaci sugeriraju da je grivasti skakač u području istraživanja ograničen na planinu Mosor i ne postoji vjerojatnost da će se njihov areal proširiti.

In Europe, large carnivore populations typically span national, state, and regional borders. This makes comprehensive and cooperative population management a challenge, despite this shared vision among many managers and researchers. Additionally, the historical differences in management approaches across countries furthers the obstacles to successful implementation of transboundary population-level management.The European Union’s LIFE Program supports efforts to improve transboundary conservation and management of wildlife. We offer preliminary results from an emerging project called LIFE DINALP BEAR that was supported by the EU and is designed to foster transboundary population management and conservation of brown bears. Initial cooperative efforts began during the proposal writing phase to the European Union’s LIFE Program and brought together brown bear experts from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia who had a history of working together. After the proposal was awarded in 2014, a series of workshop and strategic meetings were organized among partners over the next few years. The first strategic document that was produced by the partnership, Guidelines for Common Management of Brown Bear in the Alpine and Northern Dinaric Region, has support of the ministries of all four countries and is designed to be incorporated into national policy over time. A second document, Guidelines for Bear Intervention Groups, will standardize protocols for management teams to respond to bear damages and emergencies. And the third document, Protocol for Data Gathering, will help synergize important datasets on bear occurrence and distribution and will be housed in a common monitoring database. Moreover, during the process of development of the common management guidelines more countries approached and joined the team, working on the document. Guidelines were finished with the involvement of experts and decision-makers from all countries connected by the Alpine Convention and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This way (cooperation with B&H and Switzerland), the practice of common, population-level management of brown bear already outgrew the borders of the European Union.

Pan-European legislation stimulates international cooperation to overarching challenges of large carnivore management across jurisdictions. We present an analysis for current transboundary brown bear (Ursus arctos) population management in Croatia and Slovenia. Slovenia's bear management attempts aimed to reduce human-bear conflicts, by limiting the size and distribution of the bear population, with a relatively frequent use of intervention shooting. In contrast, fewer conflicts occur in Croatia and bears have been traditionally managed as a valuable game species, with heavily male-biased trophy hunting. On average 9% of the estimated bear population was removed annually in Croatia and 18% in Slovenia for the years 2005e2010. In Croatia, a greater proportion of adult males were shot than in Slovenia (80% vs 47% of total hunted males, respectively). We model a scenario for the shared panmictic population and two scenarios assuming that Croatian and Slovenian bear populations were spatially closed. When isolated, each countries' policies lead to potentially undesired management directions. The Slovenian bear population showed a stable or slightly decreasing trend that maintained its sex and age structure, while the Croatian bear population showed an increase in size but with a possible lack of older male bear. The panmictic scenario showed that different management policies buffered each other out with the overall combined population trend being slightly increasing with a sustained age/sex structure. The recent geopolitical refugee crisis has led to the partial erection of border security fencing between the two countries. Our data illustrate how the impacts of constructed fencing put in place to address border security issues may also impact the fate of Europe's bear populations and other wildlife species that use shared ecosystems

Large quantities of food subsidies provided by humans to animal communities have the potential to change a variety of animal life traits, including denning behaviour of facultative hibernators like bears. Brown bears Ursus arctos regularly use anthropogenic food, but it has remained unclear if human food subsidies affect their hibernation and denning behaviour, despite the consequences this could have for bear interactions with humans and other species. We studied denning behaviour of European brown bears in Slovenia, where intensive supplemental feeding with corn is practiced throughout the year, including winter. We used GPS telemetry data to locate den sites and to monitor bear denning chronology. We conducted a meta-analysis to compare our results with other bear populations across Europe, Asia and North America. A consistent relationship between latitude and time spent denning was observed for male and female brown bears across the species’ range (for each degree of latitude northwards, denning period increased for 3.1 days), and males on average denned 10.3 days longer than females throughout the latitudinal gradient. However, our study area deviated strongly from regions where supplemental feeding was not practiced. In Slovenia, denning period averaged 82 days for females and 57 days for males, which was 45 and 56% shorter compared to the time predicted for this latitude, respectively. We also observed regular den abandonments (61% of bears abandoned dens, on average 1.9 times per winter). During the winter period bears increased use of supplemental feeding sites for 61% compared to the non-denning period. We conclude that the availability of anthropogenic food is an important driver of denning behaviour in brown bears. Reduction in the denning period increases the potential for bear interactions with other species, including humans, and we highlight possible management and ecological implications of this human-caused perturbation to denning behaviour of wild ursids.

Povečane koncentracije fluoridov v okolju negativno vplivajo na številne živalske vrste ena najbolj vidnih posledic je nepravilni razvoj trdih zobnih tkiv oz. zobna fluoroza. Z ocenjevanjem stopnje zobne fluoroze pri vsej odrasli srnjadi, odvzeti iz vzhodne Slovenije v 10 lovsko-upravljavskih območjih leta 2007 (n = 7.158), izvedbo statističnih analiz v rastrskem GIS okolju z razmeroma veliko prostorsko ločljivostjo (1 km2) ter s kartografskim prikazom smo želeli: (i) ugotoviti razlike v pojavnosti in stopnji zobne fluoroze pri srnjadi različnih območij vzhodne Slovenije (ii) določiti vpliv glavnih virov emisij na stopnjo in pojavnost zobne fluoroze (iii) določiti najpomembnejše okoljske dejavnike, ki vplivajo na pojavnost zobne fluoroze. Ugotovili smo, da vzhodna Slovenija na splošno s fluoridi ni onesnažena, saj se zmerna in močna fluoroza pojavljata pri manj kot 1 % vzorcev 84 % vzorcev ni kazalo fluoroze. Le v okolici največjega vira fluoridov v Sloveniji (tovarna aluminija) je večje območje velike obremenjenosti okolja s flouridi. Z multivariatnimi statistikami smo ugotovili, da na pojavnost in stopnjo fluoroze vplivajo: (i) oddaljenost od največjega vira emisij (94,6 % pojasnjene variance) (ii) starost srnjadi (5 % pojasnjene variance) (iii) oddaljenost od najbližjega gozdnega roba (0,7 % pojasnjene variance). Increased concentrations of fluorides in the environment have a negative impact on different animal species, which are manifested mainly with the irregular formation of the dental hard tissue, called dental fluorosis. With the assessment of dental fluorosis in every adult roe deer shot in eastern Slovenia in 10 Hunting Management Districts in 2007 (n = 7,158), implementation of statistical analyses in raster GIS environment with high resolution (1x1 km) and cartography, we wished to: (i) establish the differences in the appearance and distribution of dental fluorosis in roe deer from different areas of eastern Slovenia (ii) define the impact of the main sources of fluorides on the appearance and distribution of dental fluorosis (iii) determine the most important environmental factors that have an impact on the appearance of dental fluorosis. In general, eastern Slovenia is not polluted with fluorides, while less than 1% of samples showed moderate to severe dental fluorosis 84% of samples showed no fluorosis at all. Only inthe vicinity of the most important source of fluorides in Slovenia (aluminium smelter), there is an area with extreme fluoride pollution of the environment. The multivariate statistics revealed that the appearance and distribution of dental fluorosis are influenced primarily by: (i) the distancefrom the most important point source - (94.6% of the total variance) (ii) the age of the analysed animal (5% of the total variance) and (iii) the distance from the nearest forest edge (0.7% of the total variance), respectively.