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ABSTRACT: Continual expansion of human development and recreational activity into previously undisturbed environments and wildlife habitat highlights the need for better understanding of behavioral impacts of human-induced disturbances on wildlife, [...]

Vehicle collisions with large wildlife provide a serious risk of severe personal injuries. In some countries, there is a common belief that hunting increases this risk because it leads to more active animals and increases roads crossings. We analyzed movements of moose (Alces alces) and frequency of moose road crossings during fall to test if moose altered their behavior during hunting periods compared to other times. We analyzed global positioning system (GPS) data from 172 free‐ranging adult moose (140 females, 32 males) between the end of August and the middle of October 2004–2013, in 7 different areas along Sweden's latitudinal gradient of 57°N–67°N. Female moose either decreased or did not change their movement rates as fall proceeded, and they did not cross roads more in any weeks of the hunting season. Male moose became more active between mid‐September and the beginning of October, which corresponds to the time before the hunting period in southern Sweden and the temporary hunting closure in northern Sweden. There was no overall change in moose movements in relation to hunting activity during fall regardless of region or sex. We found that number of road crossings correlated positively with the rutting period in male moose. Thus, the riskier periods for traffic during fall during the hunting period, based on moose movement, coincided with the rutting activity. We suggest that mitigation actions to reduce moose‐vehicle collisions should make drivers more aware of changes in movement behavior in moose during the rutting season, particularly in southern Sweden. © 2018 The Wildlife Society. At the population level, our results did not indicate an overall change in moose movement rates or road crossings due to hunting of the species, regardless of region or sex, but we found that the rutting period (between mid‐Sep and mid‐Oct) resulted in male moose being more active and crossing roads more often. Consequently, our findings suggested a riskier period for traffic in fall during the moose rut, which is before the moose hunt in southern Sweden and during the hunting break in northern Sweden.

Understanding a species' feeding ecology is essential for successful management and conservation, because food abundance can influence body mass, survival, reproductive success, movements, and habitat use. We describe annual and seasonal variations in the diet of brown bears Ursus arctosin southcentral Sweden, based on analysis of 527 fecal samples from 1994–1996 and 2000–2001. There was distinct seasonal variation in most of the 26 food items we documented. Ungulates, predominantly moose Alces alces, and insects comprised most of the estimated dietary energy content in spring and summer. Insects were represented almost entirely by ants, of which Formicaspp. and Camponotus herculeanuswere the most common. During autumn, berries dominated the diet. The most important berry species were bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, crowberry Empetrum hermaphoditumand lingonberry V. vitis-idaea. We determined berry availability by inventorying 308 random plots three times for two consecutive years. These three berries occurred with great spatial, seasonal and annual variation in abundance. The bears showed the strongest positive preference for bilberries, a lesser positive preference for crowberries, but no preference for lingonberries. The proportion of berries in the autmn diet was stable between years, but the relative importance of the species changed, indicating that bears switched to crowberries when bilberries were less abundant. The effects of predicted future climatic change might have severe effects on the availability of the berries, which is the only important food available for fat acquisition prior to hibernation.

•Mediation between local concerns and national goals is necessary in planning.•Apt municipal comprehensive planning is a tool in wind-power development.•Municipalities rely on their right to veto wind-power developments.•Municipalities are not prepared for implementing new national wind-power strategy.•Municipal generic capacity for wind-power planning will have to be strengthened.

Helicopters are used for numerous wildlife management and research purposes, but can alter wildlife behaviour and influence baseline data collection. We investigated reactions of GPS-collared moose Alces alces and brown bears Ursus arctos to short-term helicopter approaches by researchers. Moose responded with up to 10 times greater movement rates for up to two hours following a helicopter approach and moved into more rugged terrain. Brown bears decreased their speed and remained within similar habitat types and terrain. The movements were influenced only about two hours and did not influence the size of the activity areas. Contrary to our predictions, brown bears responded with a somewhat calmer response than moose, illustrating response differences in large herbivores and carnivores. This difference in response might be because brown bears are actually less disturbed than moose by direct helicopter approaches or because of a difference in tactical behaviour between brown bears and moose following disturbance. Researchers and managers should thus be cautious in using knowledge from one species to predict or perceive disturbance response in another species or taxa.

•The enactment of national interest areas for wind power affect the debate in media.•Localization and wind power in conflict with other land-uses are common frames.•Wind power is framed as a solution most often by politicians and wind entrepreneurs.•Individuals more often frame wind power as a cause of a problem.•During the end of the studied period wind power is more often framed as a solution.