engleski

Status and conservation of capercaillie and hazel grouse in Croatia

Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia) are autochthonous bird species in Croatia. Both were previously listed as a game species but marked decline of population resulted in their strict protection from 1999. Presently capercaillie inhabits area of Risnjak, Velika Kapela, Velebit, Učka, Lička Plješivica and Mala Kapela mountains. Even though that both species are grouped as forest grouses, their living niches are distinctly different. Capercaillie in general prefers older forest stands with higher percentage of spruce trees and clear pathways that enables them to fly up. Hazel grouse on the other hand inhabits mainly edges of dense forests extending its habitat for up to 150 m in meadows usually covered with common juniper. Their specific way of life in the same time requires a specific research approach. A review of most frequently mentioned threats to forest grouses emphasizes two main types of threats, environmental and organizational. Environmental include habitat degradation, climate changes, poaching, predators and human disturbance. Organizational are mainly lack of monitoring activities and especially of long-term management strategies that will cover areas which are larger than a single National Park. The new model for conservation of forest grouses should include monitoring on the national level, non-invasive evaluation of distribution, lek sites and activity, identification of negative key factors in each habitat, non-invasive stress evaluation, genetic analysis and evaluation of potential corridors. Here we present application and outcomes of such model on the areas of two National Parks, Sjeverni Velebit and Plitvička jezera.

capercaillie; hazel grouse; status; conservation; Croatia

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