Ski tourism stressing capercaillie

Writing in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology, researchers warn that forests should be kept free from tourism infrastructure if they are inhabited by capercaillie – a species whose numbers are declining markedly across central Europe.

The study by ecologists from Switzerland, Germany and Austria used a new technique to assess the impact of ski tourism on capercaillie. Working in the Southern Black Forest in Germany, they collected the birds’ droppings before and after the start of the ski season, and analysed them for levels of the breakdown products of the stress hormone corticosterone. They found that levels of the breakdown products of the stress hormone were significantly higher in birds living in areas with moderate or high levels of ski tourism.

One of the study's authors, Dr Lukas Jenni of the Swiss Ornithological Institute says: “Ski tourism affects both habitat use and stress hormone levels in capercaillie, and this could adversely affect their body condition and overall fitness. Because of this, we recommend that managers keep forests inhabited by capercaillie free from tourism infrastructure and retain undisturbed forest patches within skiing areas.”

According to Dr Jenni: “The level of winter sport activity and the introduction of new outdoor sports such as snow shoeing has increased drastically during the last decade and affects essential habitats or retreats for a number of rare or shy species such as black grouse and chamois. Human recreation activities in winter could be especially harmful to capercaillie because of the birds' reliance on a diet of low-quality conifer needles. Body condition at the end of winter has been shown to affect reproduction success of the related rock ptarmigan.”

Dominik Thiel et al (2008). Ski tourism affects habitat use and evokes a physiological response in capercaillie Tetrao urogallus: a new methodological approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01465.x, is published online on 3 March 2008.

Media Contact

Becky Allen alfa

All latest news from the category: Ecology, The Environment and Conservation

This complex theme deals primarily with interactions between organisms and the environmental factors that impact them, but to a greater extent between individual inanimate environmental factors.

innovations-report offers informative reports and articles on topics such as climate protection, landscape conservation, ecological systems, wildlife and nature parks and ecosystem efficiency and balance.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Acetylation: a Time-Keeper of glucocorticoid Sensitivity

Understanding the regulatory mechanism paves the way to enhance the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory therapies and to develop strategies to counteract the negative effects of stress- and age-related cortisol excess. The…

Mini satellite wants to take quantum communication to space

Researchers from Jena, Würzburg and Potsdam have successfully developed a design for the smallest system of its kind so far to take highly secure quantum communication to space: Led by…

Results for control of pollutants in water

Brazilian scientists tested a simple and sustainable method for monitoring and degrading a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, compounds present in fossil fuels and industrial waste. An article published in the journal Catalysis…

Partners & Sponsors