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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. British Ecological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Animal Ecology. Summary 1. In many parts of Britain and in other parts of western Europe, the lapwing Vanellus vanellus is declining. In order to determine if the decline in numbers was associated with a reduction in adult or first-year survival rates, an analysis of British ringing recoveries was conducted. 2. There was no evidence that survival after the first year of life was age-dependent. 3. Mean annual adult survival (1930-88) is estimated at 0*705 ? 0.031 (?95% confidence intervals). Since 1960, adult survival has increased to 0-752 ? 0-046. Two weather variables (mean winter soil temperature and total winter rainfall) explained 69% of the variation in adult survival rates between 1961 and 1979. 4. Mean first-year survival (1930-87) is estimated at 0*595 ? 0*040 (?95% confidence intervals). As in the adults, the same two weather variables (mean winter soil temperature and total winter rainfall) explained 55% of the variation in firstyear survival rates between 1959 and 1979. 5. In order to replace annual adult losses, lapwings should produce in the region of 0.83-0-97 fledglings per pair each year. From a review of the available literature, lapwings produced enough fledglings to maintain the population in only 8 out of 24 studies.

Grey squirrels are basically conservative in their choice of diet, selecting items closely resembling those used in habitats containing native vegetation. There is a strong seasonality in the use of various foods. The period of late spring appears to be the most critical for food supply; however, food did not appear to be a proximate limiting factor for this population. Food-caching and recovery behaviors show a strong seasonality. Food caching starts with the maturation of husked nuts and terminates with the onset of winter. Food recovery begins with cessation of food caching and terminates with the appearance of spring foods. Large numbers of nuts are cached and a large proportion (84.6%) of these are recovered. Cached food contributes significantly to the winter diet. The caching of food by an individual squirrel is beneficial to the general population and possibly to tree reproduction.

Summary 1.  Birds of prey and driven‐grouse shooting are at the centre of a long‐standing human–wildlife conflict. Hen harrier predation can reduce grouse shooting bags, limit grouse populations and cause economic losses. Despite legal protection, hen harrier numbers are severely depleted on driven‐grouse moors. 2.  In limited trials, provision of supplementary food to hen harriers greatly reduced their predatory impact on young grouse, but did not result in higher grouse densities for shooting. Consequently, grouse moor managers have failed to adopt the technique. 3.  A recent Forum paper has called for a trial ‘population ceiling scheme’ for hen harriers, arguing that this represents the best way to increase hen harrier numbers on driven‐grouse moors. Once densities exceed the agreed ceiling, the excess would be translocated to other suitable habitat. 4.  Whilst a ‘ceiling’ scheme might work, it would be difficult to implement and we believe that other approaches to population recovery should be tested first. 5.  While driven‐grouse shooting makes an important economic contribution to some rural communities, some grouse moor owners receive considerable sums of public money. Despite this, many moors are in poor condition, the ecosystem services they supply may be at risk from both climate change and current management practices, and grouse numbers are in decline. The socio‐economic and environmental implications of alternative models of grouse management need urgent examination. 6.  Synthesis and applications. If driven‐grouse shooting is only viable when birds of prey are routinely disturbed and killed, then we question the legitimacy of driven‐grouse shooting as a sustainable land use. Moorland owners need to consider more broadly sustainable shooting practices for the 21st century.