Experimental harvest reveals the importance of territoriality in limiting the breeding population of Svalbard rock ptarmigan

• Published in: European Journal of Wildlife Research
• Main Authors: Pedersen, Åshild Ønvik, Soininen, Eeva M, Unander, Sigmund, Willebrand, Maria Hörnell, Fuglei, E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerLink 2013
• Subjects: VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488; VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488; Arctic; Steen; Svalbard; Lagopus muta; Lagopus muta hyperborea; rock ptarmigan; Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10037/5894; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-013-0766-z

The Svalbard rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta hyperborea) is an endemic subspecies of rock ptarmigan inhabiting the high Arctic archipelagos of Svalbard and Franz Josefs Land. This ptarmigan species exists at low population densities, with little interannual variations in population numbers, and limited...