Habitat selection and diet of the Capercaillie <i>Tetrao urogallus</i> in Abernethy Forest, Strathspey, Scotland

Summers, Ron W.; Proctor, R.; Thorton, Michael; Avey, Greg

doi:10.1080/00063650409461333

Cited by 44 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(37 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…As has been reported elsewhere (e.g. Børset and Krafft 1973;Wegge et al 1982Wegge et al , 2005Kolstad et al1985;Storch 1994, Summers et al 2004, CAP broods were clearly more associated with bilberry-dominated vegetation types, whereas BG preferred the poorer pine forested bogs. The Vaccinium-rich types contained more insects and had a higher ratio of larvae to adult insects than the pine bog habitat.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Habitat and diet of young grouse broods: resource partitioning between Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) in boreal forests

Wegge

Kastdalen²

2008

J Ornithol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We compared habitat use and diets of young Capercaillie and Black Grouse broods in a boreal forest in southeast Norway. We used pointing dogs to search for broods (N = 83) in mature ''natural'' forest types and examined the crop content of 66 chicks 1-9 weeks old. We also measured the abundance of insects in the habitats where broods were found. Although overlapping substantially in both habitat and diets, there were notable differences: Capercaillie broods were more frequently recorded in bilberry-dominated forest types, whereas Black Grouse preferentially used pine bog forest, a more open habitat with little bilberry. Capercaillie chicks ate proportionally more insects, particularly lepidopteran larvae, and insects dominated their diet for a longer period of time (until age 28-29 days) than in Black Grouse (14-15 days). After reaching their peaks, the quantity of insects in the crops declined rapidly especially in Capercaillie, and in one of 2 years this occurred at a time when insects, including larvae, were still abundant in the habitats. Among plant foods, both species ate large amounts of Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and Bog Whortleberry (V. uliginosum). The main difference between species was a large proportion of both over-wintered and new, not yet ripe, berries of Cranberry (Oxycoccus quadripetalus) in Black Grouse, and a higher proportion of the forb Melampyrum sylvaticum in Capercaillie. The difference in diets reflected their differential use of habitats; the Vaccinium-preferred habitats of Capercaillie were richer in insects, particularly larvae, than the pine bog habitat preferred by Black Grouse. Because insects, especially larvae, comprised a larger proportion of the diet of Capercaillie chicks and chicks of this species need more food to sustain their rapid growth, Capercaillie is likely to be more sensitive to variation in insect food than Black Grouse. Also, by reducing the abundance of bilberry, the main host plant of larvae chick food, clearcutting forestry has negative effects on the brood habitat quality of both species.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Habitat and diet of young grouse broods: resource partitioning between Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) in boreal forests

Wegge

Kastdalen²

2008

J Ornithol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Identified food items (n  2326, additional 121 cases for which we could not identify the item excluded) and average time per feeding bout of a specific item (with 95% confidence intervals) for 22 radio-tracked young capercaillies observed over 139 full days. The diet of capercaillie in our study consisted of berries, shoots, leaves, needles and grasses and sedges and was similar to those in other sites of central and northern Europe (Picozzi et al 1996, Summers et al 2004. Although, unlike in boreal forest, where capercaillie feed almost exclusively on pine needles, shoots and cones in winter (Pulliainen 1979), the diet in our study was diverse year-round.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Annual variation in (A) total time of day spent feeding on major food items, (B) proportion of time spent feeding on major food items, and (C) average proportion of time spent not active, feeding, preening, moving (including flying) or in another activity of 22 young capercaillies radio-tracked for 139 full days. (Gjerde and Wegge 1987, Picozzi et al 1996, Summers et al 2004, Gregersen and Gregersen 2008, Stader et al 2013). The diet and foraging patterns indicate a sufficient availability of diverse natural food resources in the study area.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Recreation and Hunting on Flushing Distance of Capercaillie

et al. 2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

: The capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) in Central Europe is an endangered species of grouse that is thought to be highly susceptible to human disturbance, possibly causing local populations to decline. We investigated the behavioral response of capercaillie in the Black Forest, Germany, and the French Pyrenees to an off‐trail hiker by measuring flushing distances. Flushing distance varied with capercaillie sex, visibility of the hiker, intensity of winter tourism, and hunting pressure. Independent of the study area, males flushed at consistently longer distances than females, and lower visual blocking between bird and hiker resulted in longer flushing distances. Capercaillie flew at longer distances from an approaching hiker in areas with high intensity of winter tourism or hunting pressure than in undisturbed areas. We recommend the establishment of regulations requiring hikers to stay on trails and to close trails where intertrail distances fall below 100 m (90% of all flushing events appeared within 50 m). Furthermore, planting or preserving evergreen conifer trees in dense rows along critical parts of disturbance sources, reducing the degree of visibility between capercaillie and recreationists would increase habitat for capercaillie in forests with predictable recreation activities.

show abstract

“…Both the study by Baines and co-workers (2004) and others have shown a close positive association between capercaillie and bilberry (e.g. Storch, 1993;Summers et al 2004b) and have been instrumental in promoting management operations such as selective thinning and deer reduction to favour bilberry in forests used by capercaillie. Indeed, this management formed a key part of the recent EU LIFE Nature Project: "Urgent Conservation Management for Scottish Capercaillie".…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A comparison of 14 forests showed that birds bred more successfully where predators, particularly foxes Vulpes vulpes and crows Corvus corone, were fewer, and where bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, a preferred habitat component whose leaves and berries are a key part of the diet (Storch, 1993;Summers et al, 2004b), was more plentiful . Recognition of the importance of bilberry to capercaillie has resulted in substantial collaborative habitat management work designed to increase the amount of bilberry cover, especially within plantation forests in Scotland.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Human Disturbance on Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus Distribution and Demography in Scottish Woodland

Moss¹,

Leckie²,

Biggins³

et al. 2014

Wildlife Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Leisure activities in fragmented western European forests are thought to threaten local populations of capercaillie Tetrao urogallus. We studied impacts of human disturbance on capercaillie in three Scottish woods by documenting the distribution of their droppings in relation to woodland tracks and entrances, surrogates for human activity. Droppings were sparser within 300-800 m of entrances and 70-235 m of tracks, depending on track use and habitat. Some 75% of each wood lay within 130 m of a track. In the most disturbed wood, droppings were most abundant in the centres of larger patches of trackless boggy ground, which acted as refuges. The reproductive rate (chicks reared per hen) at our three study areas was no less than in other, less disturbed parts of the same valley. The ratio of full-grown hens to cocks, however, was unusually low in the two most disturbed woods. Disturbance reduces the birds' living space, possibly affecting hens more than cocks. It might therefore impact metapopulation dynamics and contribute to genetic impoverishment in small populations. Ensuring that people and dogs keep to tracks, closing tracks and creating refuges should mitigate such effects.

show abstract

Habitat selection and diet of the Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus in Abernethy Forest, Strathspey, Scotland

Cited by 44 publications

References 18 publications

Habitat and diet of young grouse broods: resource partitioning between Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) in boreal forests

Habitat and diet of young grouse broods: resource partitioning between Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) in boreal forests

Effects of Recreation and Hunting on Flushing Distance of Capercaillie

Impacts of Human Disturbance on Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus Distribution and Demography in Scottish Woodland

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About