Investigating the loss of recruitment potential in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) : the relative importance of hen mortality, food supply, tick infestation and louping-ill

dc.contributor.authorIrvine, R.J.
dc.contributor.authorMoseley, M.H.
dc.contributor.authorLeckie, F.
dc.contributor.authorMartinez-Padilla, J
dc.contributor.authorDonley, D.
dc.contributor.authorMiller, A.
dc.contributor.authorPound, M.
dc.contributor.authorMougeot, F.
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-07T07:26:30Z
dc.date.available2014-07-07T07:26:30Z
dc.date.issued2014-04
dc.description.abstractTicks and their pathogens cause significant disease and economic loss in many animal populations. Despite this, experiments that test the impact of ticks and tickborne diseases on wild animal populations are rare. Here, we report on an experiment assessing the effect of ticks on red grouse productivity and chick growth in relation to other causes of poor recruitment at two sites in the Scottish uplands during 2005. Treated hens received two leg bands impregnated with the acaricide permethrin, while controls hens were untreated. Chicks were captured at c.2 weeks of age and fitted with a metal patagial tag, and chicks from treated hens also received a permethrinimpregnated strip. Mean tick burdens in treated chicks were close to zero compared with a mean of around 12 in the control group. Although treatment reduced tick infestations, it did not increase brood size. Growth rates in chicks from control and treated hens were similar during the first 10 days and comparable with chicks fed an ad-lib invertebrate-based diet. These results suggest that in this case, neither ticks (and the tick transmitted louping-ill virus) nor food shortages was the main cause of chick mortality. However, mortality in the adult hens was around 35 %, and predation accounted for 62 % of these losses before broods fledged. Our results indicate that on our study sites, predation may have a more important impact on grouse population dynamics than ticks and tick-borne disease. We suggest that it may be more cost effective to determine the causes of poor grouse population performance before implementing popular but expensive tick control measures such as the culling of alternative hosts and running acaracide treated sheep ‘tick-mop’ flocks.en_US
dc.description.librarianhb2014en_US
dc.description.urihttp://link.springer.com/journal/10344en_US
dc.identifier.citationIrvine, RJ, Moseley, MH, Leckie, F, Martinez-Padilla, J, Donley, D. Miller, A, Pound, M & Mougeot, F 2014, 'Investigating the loss of recruitment potential in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) : the relative importance of hen mortality, food supply, tick infestation and louping-ill', European Journal of Wildlife Research, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 313-322.en_US
dc.identifier.issn1612-4642 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1439-0574 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1007/s10344-013-0788-6
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/40572
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherSpringeren_US
dc.rights© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013. The original publication is available at : http://link.springer.com/journal/10344en_US
dc.subjectFood supplyen_US
dc.subjectLouping-ill virusen_US
dc.subjectMortalityen_US
dc.subjectRecruitmenten_US
dc.subjectRed grouseen_US
dc.subjectTicksen_US
dc.titleInvestigating the loss of recruitment potential in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) : the relative importance of hen mortality, food supply, tick infestation and louping-illen_US
dc.typePostprint Articleen_US

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