Population fluctuations in mountain hares
Throughout their circumpolar distribution mountain hares Lepus timidus show unstable population dynamics characterised by regular and sometimes dramatic changes in abundance. The periodicity, amplitude and degree of cyclicity are different in different regions. The reasons for these fluctuations and...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2005
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/808/ https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/808/1/SummaryThesis_sueciae_2005-26-revised.pdf |
id |
ftslunivuppsala:oai:pub.epsilon.slu.se:808 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftslunivuppsala:oai:pub.epsilon.slu.se:808 2024-06-09T07:45:53+00:00 Population fluctuations in mountain hares Newey, Scott 2005-04 application/pdf https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/808/ https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/808/1/SummaryThesis_sueciae_2005-26-revised.pdf eng eng https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/808/1/SummaryThesis_sueciae_2005-26-revised.pdf Newey, Scott (2005). Population fluctuations in mountain hares. Diss. (sammanfattning/summary) Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, 1652-6880 2005:26 ISBN 91-576-7025-0 [Doctoral thesis] Not in use please see Agris categories Doctoral thesis NonPeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis 2005 ftslunivuppsala 2024-05-16T04:04:25Z Throughout their circumpolar distribution mountain hares Lepus timidus show unstable population dynamics characterised by regular and sometimes dramatic changes in abundance. The periodicity, amplitude and degree of cyclicity are different in different regions. The reasons for these fluctuations and geographic differences are not fully understood. In Fennoscandia there is experimental and correlative evidence that some mountain hare populations are limited by predators, but the experiments needed to conclusively demonstrate the role of predators, or of other potential factors have not been undertaken. In Scotland the rigorous control of predators means that the role of predators is largely dismissed, but this has not been experimentally tested. The most promising line of enquiry suggests that intestinal parasites have the potential to destabilise some mountain hare populations. There is paucity of literature from Asia and central Europe and no firm conclusions could be drawn. Time-series analysis of hunting bag records from Scotland largely confirmed the dominance of weak cycles with a mean periodicity of around 9 years found in earlier studies. The analysis of bag records from Fennoscandia found a number of differences compared to earlier studies. We found only limited evidence for the presence of 4-year cycles, and found that the pattern and distribution of cycles has changed in the last 20 years since the fox mange epizootic. Data coverage from central Europe and Asia was very limited and no meaningful conclusions could be drawn. Populations of mountain hares in Scotland show unstable dynamics with 7-12 year fluctuations in abundance. I describe the findings of three studies which tested the hypothesis that intestinal parasites i) reduce female survival, body condition and fecundity, and ii) are randomly distributed within the host population. Parasite reduction experiments suggested that the intestinal parasite Trichostrongylus retortaeformis had little affect on female survival, but reduced female body ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Fennoscandia Lepus timidus mountain hare Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU): Epsilon Open Archive |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU): Epsilon Open Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftslunivuppsala |
language |
English |
topic |
Not in use please see Agris categories |
spellingShingle |
Not in use please see Agris categories Newey, Scott Population fluctuations in mountain hares |
topic_facet |
Not in use please see Agris categories |
description |
Throughout their circumpolar distribution mountain hares Lepus timidus show unstable population dynamics characterised by regular and sometimes dramatic changes in abundance. The periodicity, amplitude and degree of cyclicity are different in different regions. The reasons for these fluctuations and geographic differences are not fully understood. In Fennoscandia there is experimental and correlative evidence that some mountain hare populations are limited by predators, but the experiments needed to conclusively demonstrate the role of predators, or of other potential factors have not been undertaken. In Scotland the rigorous control of predators means that the role of predators is largely dismissed, but this has not been experimentally tested. The most promising line of enquiry suggests that intestinal parasites have the potential to destabilise some mountain hare populations. There is paucity of literature from Asia and central Europe and no firm conclusions could be drawn. Time-series analysis of hunting bag records from Scotland largely confirmed the dominance of weak cycles with a mean periodicity of around 9 years found in earlier studies. The analysis of bag records from Fennoscandia found a number of differences compared to earlier studies. We found only limited evidence for the presence of 4-year cycles, and found that the pattern and distribution of cycles has changed in the last 20 years since the fox mange epizootic. Data coverage from central Europe and Asia was very limited and no meaningful conclusions could be drawn. Populations of mountain hares in Scotland show unstable dynamics with 7-12 year fluctuations in abundance. I describe the findings of three studies which tested the hypothesis that intestinal parasites i) reduce female survival, body condition and fecundity, and ii) are randomly distributed within the host population. Parasite reduction experiments suggested that the intestinal parasite Trichostrongylus retortaeformis had little affect on female survival, but reduced female body ... |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Newey, Scott |
author_facet |
Newey, Scott |
author_sort |
Newey, Scott |
title |
Population fluctuations in mountain hares |
title_short |
Population fluctuations in mountain hares |
title_full |
Population fluctuations in mountain hares |
title_fullStr |
Population fluctuations in mountain hares |
title_full_unstemmed |
Population fluctuations in mountain hares |
title_sort |
population fluctuations in mountain hares |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/808/ https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/808/1/SummaryThesis_sueciae_2005-26-revised.pdf |
genre |
Fennoscandia Lepus timidus mountain hare |
genre_facet |
Fennoscandia Lepus timidus mountain hare |
op_relation |
https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/808/1/SummaryThesis_sueciae_2005-26-revised.pdf Newey, Scott (2005). Population fluctuations in mountain hares. Diss. (sammanfattning/summary) Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, 1652-6880 2005:26 ISBN 91-576-7025-0 [Doctoral thesis] |
_version_ |
1801375541357445120 |