Abstract
As many other wild living species, black grouse Tetrao tetrix has to cope with anthropogenic disturbances in many habitats. Impacts of tourism and outdoor recreation on grouse species Tetraoninae have been subject to several studies in mountainous habitats in Central Europe and the United Kingdom. The geographically isolated and critically endangered black grouse population of Lower Saxony (North Germany) has been consistently monitored but beyond that poorly studied. This also applies to the key habitats of the nature reserve Lüneburg Heath (Lüneburger Heide) which, in turn, serves as a recreational area as well. In this study, the impact of tourism activity on habitat use of black grouse was investigated using data of GPS-tracked individuals. Additionally, visitor numbers on public and (usually undisturbed) closed routes were monitored using infrared light barriers. The spatio-temporal distribution of locations and the recreational activity were evaluated by linear mixed-effects models. Tagged individuals avoided the vicinity of public routes and avoiding distances were directly related to intensity of human activity. There was no seasonal change of black grouse habitat use alongside public routes. However, towards closed routes, significantly higher distances appeared during peak phases of visitor numbers (August and September), implying temporary increased disturbance levels within a key refuge area. Diurnal adaptation of habitat use was strongly dependent on the route density within the home range. Individuals used the vicinity of public trails at night and dawn but evaded these habitats during peak human activity around noon and afternoon. Recreational disturbances appeared to significantly affect the effective habitat availability for black grouse in the nature reserve. Visual cover by vegetation, however, seemed to diminish negative effects emerging from hiking trails. This provides an effective protective measure which requires minimal effort for the local conservation management.
Highlights
The black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) suffered a severe decline within the Central European Lowlands during the 20th century [1]
We found our visitor monitoring data to be comparable by months for different years and evaluate the assumption that they were transferable for the period of black grouse tracking as reliable and reasonable
The visitor monitoring showed that the number of passing visitors varied between differently frequented public routes but kept a similar temporal distribution during the year as well as during the course of the day (Fig 2)
Summary
The black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) suffered a severe decline within the Central European Lowlands during the 20th century [1]. The region Luneburg Heath, which is located in eastern Lower Saxony, houses the last remaining population with only 130 confirmed individuals left in spring 2019 It is considered the last autochthonous population within the Central European Lowlands and dispersed among five special protection areas (SPA) which are part of the European protected areas network NATURA 2000 [5]. Four of these sites are used as military training areas or firing ranges. As of 2019, only 30 individuals were confirmed on this site, this being the lowest number since 2000 (previous data: [5], recent data: Sandkuhler, pers. comm.)
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