Tjädern (Tetrao urogallus) är en av arterna skogshöns med sitt utbredningsområde Europa och Ryssland. Den är väl anpassad till ett liv i det norra barrskogsbältet. Beståndet av tjäder har minskat kraftigt under efterkrigstiden över hela sitt utbredningsområde utanför Ryssland, där den dock har ökat i antal. Tack vare den ökningen anger BirdLife International beståndet som stabilt. Anledningarna till nedgången i norra delen av Europa består troligen av flera orsaker varav de förändrade skogsbruksmetoderna under andra halvan av 1900-talet kan vara en av de viktigaste. Klimatfaktorer och förändrat predationstryck kan vara andra orsaker. För att försöka se effekterna av genomförda skogsbruksåtgärder inom upptagningsområdet för tjäderns lekplatser, har 12 lekplatser i norra Skaraborg som var inventerade under 1990-1995 återinventerats under våren 2005. Antalet tuppar idag på dessa lekplatser har jämförts med tidigare situation. Ingen lekplats uppvisar någon ökning av tuppar på leken och på 5 ställen har leken övergivits helt. Arealer för de olika markslagen har uppmätts inom de 300 ha som utgör en lekplats. Analyser av korrelationen mellan de olika markanvändningarna och antalet tuppar har inte gett några signifikanta resultat (p > 0,05). Det finns en signifikant korrelation mellan förlorat antal tuppar och förändrad andel plantering (p<0,05), det har betydelse från vilken nivå förändringen sker. Anledningarna till att tupparna försvunnit på en del ställen och minskat på andra skulle kunna vara resultatet av den samlade effekten av dels skogbruksåtgärder dels övriga faktorer. Det verkar vara betydelsefullt hur stort hygget är och var det ligger i förhållande till lekcentrum om det ska påverka tjädern. Ska hänsyn kunna tas när skogsbruksåtgärder planeras är det en förutsättning att lekplatsen är känd av berörda parter. Tjäderns höga krav på sin miljö med flera olika biotoper inom reviret och dess preferens för äldre skogar med lång kontinuitet gynnar många andra arter, vilket i sin tur även gör tjädern användbar som paraplyart inom naturvården. / The capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is one of the species of wood fowls with distribution in Europe and Russia. It is well adapted to a life in the northern coniferous forest area. The population of capercaillies has diminished considerably during the postwar period in the whole distribution area outside Russia, where it on the contrary has increased in number. Because of this increase the BirdLife International states the population as stable. The reasons for the decrease in the northern part of Europe are believed to emanate from different sources of which the changing methods in forestry during the second half of the 20th century seem to be one of the most important ones. Climate conditions and changed predacious pressure are other possible causes. In an attempt to observe the effects of the measures in forestry taken within the distribution areas of the mating grounds of the capercailzies, twelve sites in the northern county of Skaraborg, registered during the years 1990-1995, were again registered in spring 2005. The number of male birds today on these grounds has been compared to the number of earlier registrations. No mating ground shows an increase in the number of male birds and in five places the mating ground has been totally abandoned. Within the mating ground consisting of 300 hectares the acreage of different kinds of land has been measured. The analysis of the correlation between the use of the different kinds of land and the number of male birds has not given any significant results (p> 0,05). There is one significant correlation between lost numbers of male birds and the alter of the share of plantation (p<0,05). The reason why the male birds have disappeared and in other places have diminished in number could be the result of the increased effect of both the forestry measures taken and other factors. The size of the cutting area as well as the location in relation to the centre of the mating ground seems to be of importance in influencing the capercaillie. The knowledge of the mating grounds is therefore essential to the concerned parties in planning forestry measures in a considerate way. The capercaillie has high demands upon its environment with several different biotopes within its territory; its preference for old forests with a long continuity favors several other species, which thereby makes the capercaillie useful as a general covering species in the nature conservation work.

<p>Tjädern (Tetrao urogallus) är en av arterna skogshöns med sitt utbredningsområde Europa och Ryssland. Den är väl anpassad till ett liv i det norra barrskogsbältet. Beståndet av tjäder har minskat kraftigt under efterkrigstiden över hela sitt utbredningsområde utanför Ryssland, där den dock har ökat i antal. Tack vare den ökningen anger BirdLife International beståndet som stabilt. Anledningarna till nedgången i norra delen av Europa består troligen av flera orsaker varav de förändrade skogsbruksmetoderna under andra halvan av 1900-talet kan vara en av de viktigaste. Klimatfaktorer och förändrat predationstryck kan vara andra orsaker.</p><p>För att försöka se effekterna av genomförda skogsbruksåtgärder inom upptagningsområdet för tjäderns lekplatser, har 12 lekplatser i norra Skaraborg som var inventerade under 1990-1995 återinventerats under våren 2005. Antalet tuppar idag på dessa lekplatser har jämförts med tidigare situation. Ingen lekplats uppvisar någon ökning av tuppar på leken och på 5 ställen har leken övergivits helt. Arealer för de olika markslagen har uppmätts inom de 300 ha som utgör en lekplats. Analyser av korrelationen mellan de olika markanvändningarna och antalet tuppar har inte gett några signifikanta resultat (p > 0,05). Det finns en signifikant korrelation mellan förlorat antal tuppar och förändrad andel plantering (p<0,05), det har betydelse från vilken nivå förändringen sker. Anledningarna till att tupparna försvunnit på en del ställen och minskat på andra skulle kunna vara resultatet av den samlade effekten av dels skogbruksåtgärder dels övriga faktorer. Det verkar vara betydelsefullt hur stort hygget är och var det ligger i förhållande till lekcentrum om det ska påverka tjädern. Ska hänsyn kunna tas när skogsbruksåtgärder planeras är det en förutsättning att lekplatsen är känd av berörda parter. Tjäderns höga krav på sin miljö med flera olika biotoper inom reviret och dess preferens för äldre skogar med lång kontinuitet gynnar många andra arter, vilket i sin tur även gör tjädern användbar som paraplyart inom naturvården.</p> / <p>The capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is one of the species of wood fowls with distribution in Europe and Russia. It is well adapted to a life in the northern coniferous forest area. The population of capercaillies has diminished considerably during the postwar period in the whole distribution area outside Russia, where it on the contrary has increased in number. Because of this increase the BirdLife International states the population as stable. The reasons for the decrease in the northern part of Europe are believed to emanate from different sources of which the changing methods in forestry during the second half of the 20th century seem to be one of the most important ones. Climate conditions and changed predacious pressure are other possible causes.</p><p>In an attempt to observe the effects of the measures in forestry taken within the distribution areas of the mating grounds of the capercailzies, twelve sites in the northern county of Skaraborg, registered during the years 1990-1995, were again registered in spring 2005. The number of male birds today on these grounds has been compared to the number of earlier registrations. No mating ground shows an increase in the number of male birds and in five places the mating ground has been totally abandoned. Within the mating ground consisting of 300 hectares the acreage of different kinds of land has been measured. The analysis of the correlation between the use of the different kinds of land and the number of male birds has not given any significant results (p> 0,05). There is one significant correlation between lost numbers of male birds and the alter of the share of plantation (p<0,05). The reason why the male birds have disappeared and in other places have diminished in number could be the result of the increased effect of both the forestry measures taken and other factors. The size of the cutting area as well as the location in relation to the centre of the mating ground seems to be of importance in influencing the capercaillie. The knowledge of the mating grounds is therefore essential to the concerned parties in planning forestry measures in a considerate way. The capercaillie has high demands upon its environment with several different biotopes within its territory; its preference for old forests with a long continuity favors several other species, which thereby makes the capercaillie useful as a general covering species in the nature conservation work.</p>

Abstract The impact of hand-rearing on the morphology and physiology of captive and wild grey partridges (Perdix perdix) and capercaillies (Tetrao urogallus) was studied in three feeding trials conducted under laboratory conditions, and two comparative studies between wild and captive birds. Finally, wild and hand-reared grey partridges from several localities in Europe were sampled and the control region 1 of mitochondrial DNA was sequenced to reveal genetic variation between populations, as well as to compare wild and captive stocks. Wild capercaillies had heavier pectoral muscles, hearts, livers and gizzards, longer small intestines than hand-reared ones, and a higher cytochrome-c oxidase activity in muscle and heart. Invertebrates were essential to the growth, primary and temperature regulation development in grey partridge chicks. Fish was not sufficient to replace invertebrates in the diet. A change in diet from commercial to natural decreased the assimilation efficiency in the grey partridge. It also increased the mass of gizzard reflecting the need for greater grinding ability. Of hepatic P450 enzymes used in this study 7-ethoxyresorufin-0-deethylase and 7-pentoxyresorufin-0-deethylase differed between wild and hand-reared birds. Coumarin-7-hydroxylase activity was higher in grey partridges than capercaillies. Diet differences may have caused these differences. Quebracho tannin added to the diet lowered nitrogen concentration in caecal feces, and elevated the level of excreted tannin. Otherwise its effects were slight. Mitochondrial control region revealed 14 variable sites between two main lineages detected. Nucleotide and haplotype diversities varied greatly between populations. The markedly deep divergence between the two lineages indicated most probably post-glacial recolonisations from geographically isolated refuges. In Finland, wild birds represented the eastern lineage, while the farmstock represented the western lineage. Surprisingly little trace, contrary to expectations, from the large-scale releasing of imported partridges could be seen in the European populations.

The purpose of this study is to analyze which variables influence the capercaillie’s (Tetrao urogallus) selection of lek sites in northern Sweden by using remote sensing data. The lek site is a crucial area for the species’ reproductive success. Studies outside of northern Sweden have confirmed that the landscape structure highly influences the selection of lek sites. This study examines whether the type of vegetation, forest volume and proximity to anthropogenic disturbances influence the selection of lek sites. The findings can be used to create a prioritizing map of northern Sweden to aid in conservation management and improve future inventories. 58 lek sites within five different counties were analyzed by a use-availability design, using a generalized linear mixed model with a binary distribution of the dependent variables. The vegetation types of pine forest, wet pine forest, continuous pine forest, mixed coniferous forest and wet other mixed forest were preferred by capercaillie, while other mixed forest, mire, continuous other forest, young forest, and clear cuts were avoided. Wet pine forest was the only vegetation type that had higher probability (36%) to be chosen over pine forest. For forest volume, the probability of being chosen increased with 22 % for each additional unit (m3/ha). For distance to buildings and roads, the probability of being chosen increased with 10 % for each additional unit of distance. I conclude that vegetation type, forest volume and proximity to anthropogenic disturbances influence the capercaillie selection of lek sites in northern Sweden.

<p>In this thesis the genetic variation of two grouse species, the Chinese grouse (<i>Bonasa sewersowi</i>) and the Black grouse (<i>Tetrao tetrix</i>) was examined with neutral genetic markers: microsatellites. Habitat fragmentation and isolation leads to structuring among and loss of genetic variation within populations.</p><p>The Chinese grouse in a small population in Lianhuasan nature reserve was found to have undergone a population bottleneck and as a result of isolation and possible inbreeding showed genetic impoverishment hereof.</p><p>The Black grouse populations in Europe face various different conditions from widely distributed areas of suitable habitat in the northern and eastern parts of its range to highly naturally and anthropogenically fragmented habitat landscapes in the west.</p><p>Structure among populations was found in Great Britain where Wales, Scotland and England showed characteristics of three different genetic entities, indicating very little or no geneflow between these populations. </p><p>The Dutch population showed signs of loss of genetic variation as to be expected from a population that has historically decreased in population size from several thousands to tens of individuals in a matter of decades. However the possibility to spot signs of a bottleneck was impaired due to the short time-window in which this can be observed in a population with such a low effective population size (N_E).</p><p>The sampled populations in Europe clustered into five different groups of genetic identities. The different clusters were: Great Britain-, the Netherlands-, Fenno-Scandian-, Alpine- and lowland German-Austrian populations. The level of genetic variation when compared over all these different populations decreased as a sign of isolation and small N_E. However it was not feasible to separate the impact of these two factors.</p>

In this thesis the genetic variation of two grouse species, the Chinese grouse (Bonasa sewersowi) and the Black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) was examined with neutral genetic markers: microsatellites. Habitat fragmentation and isolation leads to structuring among and loss of genetic variation within populations. The Chinese grouse in a small population in Lianhuasan nature reserve was found to have undergone a population bottleneck and as a result of isolation and possible inbreeding showed genetic impoverishment hereof. The Black grouse populations in Europe face various different conditions from widely distributed areas of suitable habitat in the northern and eastern parts of its range to highly naturally and anthropogenically fragmented habitat landscapes in the west. Structure among populations was found in Great Britain where Wales, Scotland and England showed characteristics of three different genetic entities, indicating very little or no geneflow between these populations. The Dutch population showed signs of loss of genetic variation as to be expected from a population that has historically decreased in population size from several thousands to tens of individuals in a matter of decades. However the possibility to spot signs of a bottleneck was impaired due to the short time-window in which this can be observed in a population with such a low effective population size (NE). The sampled populations in Europe clustered into five different groups of genetic identities. The different clusters were: Great Britain-, the Netherlands-, Fenno-Scandian-, Alpine- and lowland German-Austrian populations. The level of genetic variation when compared over all these different populations decreased as a sign of isolation and small NE. However it was not feasible to separate the impact of these two factors.

The Bohemian Forest, a mountain range located in Central Europe on the border between the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria, has many well-known qualities. The areas of Modravské slatě moors and Trojmezná, are considered to be the most valuable biocenters in the Czech part of the Bohemian Forest. This Master thesis confirms the quality of these areas in a transboundary context Natura 2000 habitats and their representativeness. A new transboundary (European) biocentre is proposed and its importance for several species is discussed.