Hunting regulations and movements of alpine reindeer

Le résumé fourni par la source

Most ungulate populations are regulated by hunting, and harvest rate is regulated through quotas and hunting season duration. Hunting is well known to affect behaviour of ungulates, but how annual variation in quotas and hunting season duration affects individual behaviour remains uncertain. Harvest rates reach their highest level when aiming to limit outbreaks of infectious diseases. In Norway, marked changes to hunting regulations of wild reindeer Rangifer tarandus were implemented as part of chronic wasting disease (CWD) management (2019‒2022) in the Hardangervidda population, Norway. Here, we quantify the movements (step length) of 135 female GPS‐marked alpine reindeer during years (2001‒2022) with largely variable levels of quotas, harvest rates (0‒33%) and hunting season duration (31‒58 days). A strong predictor of movement was season with a decline from mid‐ August to early October, and longer and more variable movement distances during daytime compared to the night. Reindeer moved more in years with higher harvest rates, but mainly in late September and not in the beginning of the hunting season. Movements were higher during weekends, only in early September. Our study shows that responses to hunting of an alpine ungulate living in open habitat appear to differ from those of forest living ungulates. The high level of sociality of reindeer may further increase disturbance effects relative to less social and forest‐dwelling species. Hunting season occurs at a critical time before the winter season in northern Europe, and further studies are needed to investigate whether increased movements during hunting affect body condition.

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