206
human fantasy. In former times, a good knowledge of carnivores was important to
be able to exterminate them; today, we need good knowledge in order to be able to
protect these species, which is demanded by EU-legislation.
Research on large carnivores has a long tradition in Scandinavia. The era of
effective and scientifically sound projects began in 1984, when the Scandinavian
Brown Bear Research Project was started. This became one of the most successful
long-term research projects on carnivores worldwide (www.bearproject.info). A
Swedish research project on lynx started in 1993 and, since 2005, there has been
formalized cooperation with Norway within Scandlynx, the Scandinavian Lynx
Project (http://scandlynx.nina.no/). The Swedish Wolverine Project was started in
1993 with the aim of providing a sound knowledge of wolverine ecology to facilitate science-based management and conservation of wolverines in Scandinavia
(www.wolverineproject.se). The Scandinavian Wolf Research Project SKANDULV
was established in 1999 (www.slu.se/skandulv/) and has since then increased
our understanding of wolf ecology in Scandinavia tremendously. The youngest
member in this suite of projects is the Swedish Golden Eagle Research Project
(www.goldeneaglesweden.com). This was started in 2010 to investigate the effects
of wind farms on golden eagles, but since then, the scope of the project has been
broadened.
The management of large carnivores in Sweden is, as far as possible, based on
scientific knowledge. Much of this knowledge originates in the five research projects mentioned above. The management authorities ask for specific information
and, at least in part, fund research to produce it. The research projects conduct basic
as well as applied research. Applied research often is reactive, answering the questions that management has put forward. Basic research is more pro-active, producing information and methods that management might find useful in the future. With
respect to surveillance, research findings can enhance survey performance by making possible higher spatial and temporal resolutions, by increasing accuracy, or by
testing and suggesting entirely novel methods. Then, the monitoring system uses the
results from surveillance to inform management, in order to reach the adaptive,
continuously improving management system that is the goal (see Fig. 1).
Methods for Surveillance
Several different methods are used for the surveillance of large carnivores in Sweden
(Table 1). Many of them focus on family groups, i.e. females with young. As family
groups are often more easily found than single individuals, they are more easily
counted, and they can be used as an indicator of the dynamics of the whole population in a given area.
Snow-tracking during winter is the main method used to follow the lynx population and to track wolves; both packs and dispersing individuals. Also, for these two
species, we use biotelemetry sensor tags to GPS-track individual animals to some
extent (e.g. Liberg et al. 2012). Wolverines are surveyed by looking for and visiting
M. Schneider and H. Dettki
human fantasy. In former times, a good knowledge of carnivores was important to
be able to exterminate them; today, we need good knowledge in order to be able to
protect these species, which is demanded by EU-legislation.
Research on large carnivores has a long tradition in Scandinavia. The era of
effective and scientifically sound projects began in 1984, when the Scandinavian
Brown Bear Research Project was started. This became one of the most successful
long-term research projects on carnivores worldwide (www.bearproject.info). A
Swedish research project on lynx started in 1993 and, since 2005, there has been
formalized cooperation with Norway within Scandlynx, the Scandinavian Lynx
Project (http://scandlynx.nina.no/). The Swedish Wolverine Project was started in
1993 with the aim of providing a sound knowledge of wolverine ecology to facilitate science-based management and conservation of wolverines in Scandinavia
(www.wolverineproject.se). The Scandinavian Wolf Research Project SKANDULV
was established in 1999 (www.slu.se/skandulv/) and has since then increased
our understanding of wolf ecology in Scandinavia tremendously. The youngest
member in this suite of projects is the Swedish Golden Eagle Research Project
(www.goldeneaglesweden.com). This was started in 2010 to investigate the effects
of wind farms on golden eagles, but since then, the scope of the project has been
broadened.
The management of large carnivores in Sweden is, as far as possible, based on
scientific knowledge. Much of this knowledge originates in the five research projects mentioned above. The management authorities ask for specific information
and, at least in part, fund research to produce it. The research projects conduct basic
as well as applied research. Applied research often is reactive, answering the questions that management has put forward. Basic research is more pro-active, producing information and methods that management might find useful in the future. With
respect to surveillance, research findings can enhance survey performance by making possible higher spatial and temporal resolutions, by increasing accuracy, or by
testing and suggesting entirely novel methods. Then, the monitoring system uses the
results from surveillance to inform management, in order to reach the adaptive,
continuously improving management system that is the goal (see Fig. 1).
Methods for Surveillance
Several different methods are used for the surveillance of large carnivores in Sweden
(Table 1). Many of them focus on family groups, i.e. females with young. As family
groups are often more easily found than single individuals, they are more easily
counted, and they can be used as an indicator of the dynamics of the whole population in a given area.
Snow-tracking during winter is the main method used to follow the lynx population and to track wolves; both packs and dispersing individuals. Also, for these two
species, we use biotelemetry sensor tags to GPS-track individual animals to some
extent (e.g. Liberg et al. 2012). Wolverines are surveyed by looking for and visiting
M. Schneider and H. Dettki