10 research outputs found
Summary review and synthesis: Effects on habitats and wildlife of the release and management of pheasants and red-legged partridges on UK lowland shoots
This is the final version. Available on open access from the Nordic Council for Wildlife Research via the DOI in this recordThis review examines 128 items of primary and other literature to provide an insight into current knowledge of the effects of pheasant and red-legged partridge releasing and associated management for shooting on habitats and wildlife in the UK. It summarizes key findings and uses them to define sub-topic sections for which the effects are classified as positive, neutral or negative. This forms the basis of a numerical synthesis of effects and some overall conclusions. Fifty-four directly related studies were identified, which defined 25 sub-topics or effects. A mix of positive, neutral and negative ecological consequences of releasing are described, for which the corresponding number of sub-topics approximately balance each other. Positive effects are usually a consequence of gamebird management activities, most negative effects are caused by the released birds themselves. The different spatial scales at which effects are likely to operate are identified, for example effects on generalist predators or of gamecrops occur at the landscape scale, while many habitat effects have a local impact. Some local negative effects have relatively straightforward management solutions for example, by identifying and avoiding especially sensitive sites when locating release pens. The synthesis identifies seven negative effects associated with the increasing scale of releasing. Several positive effects are linked to economic considerations and are more likely to have greater impact at larger shoots. Pheasants released into woodland have more direct local effects than partridge releases on farmland. The framework of sub-sections could be used as the basis for a more complex synthesis or weighted analysis for a particular set of ecological priorities. The review findings should be interpreted as representing a median type of shoot in terms of size and adherence to good practice over recent decades. They increase the awareness of potential conflicts, highlighting the need for best practice and what factors to consider for mitigation
Demographic parameters of reintroduced grey partridges in central Italy and the effect of weather
International audienceGrey partridge populations declined in Europe from mid-1950s onwards mostly due to modifications of agricultural cropping. In Italy, the decline was even more dramatic because of over-hunting and restocking with allochthonous birds. We carried out a research on a re-introduced population in Central Italy from 1995 to 2005, with the aim of evaluating the reintroduction success and separating the intrinsic and external factors influencing year-to-year changes in partridge density with particular respect to the weather. Average spring density was 4.5 pairs per square kilometre (SD = 1.52); our population reached a peak few years after the reintroduction and then declined. Brood production rate was close to that of declining European populations (average 33.9%; SD = 10.21), and chick survival rate (average 40%; = 17.61) determined the change of breeding abundance from year to year + 1. Our population seemed to be mainly affected by brood production and chick survival rates and by the weather; in particular, higher early winter and spring temperatures increased breeding density whilst higher early summer temperatures decreased brood production rate
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Impact of game bird release on the Adonis blue butterfly Polyommatus bellargus (Lepidoptera Lycaenidae) on chalk grassland
Polyommatus bellargus is a priority species of butterfly
in the UK as a result of its scarcity and the rate of
population decline over the last few years. In the UK, the species is associated with chalk grassland on hot, south-facing slopes suitable for the growth of the food plant Hippocrepis comosa. Shooting game birds is a popular pastime in the UK. Over 40 million game birds, principally Phasianus colchicus and Alectoris rufa, are bred and released into the countryside each year for shooting interests. There is a concern that the
release of such a large number of non-native birds has an
adverse effect on native wildlife. A study was carried out over a period of 3 years out to examine whether there was any evidence that A. rufa released into chalk grassland habitat negatively affects populations of P. bellargus. A comparison was made between sites where large numbers of A. rufa were released versus sites where no, or few, birds were released. The study involved the construction of exclosures in these sites to allow an examination of the number of butterflies emerging from H. comosa when the birds were excluded versus when the birds had free range across the area. Where birds were present the on-site vegetation was shorter than where they were absent indicating that the birds were definitely
influencing habitat structure. However, the evidence that
A. rufa was negatively influencing the number of adult butterflies emerging was not strong, although there was a largely non-significant tendency for higher butterfly emergence when the birds were excluded or absent