Kurt Bollmann
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
Title
Assessing the roles of landscape ecology and population biology for the viability of the capercaillie in the Alps
Abstract
The understanding of the distribution and dynamics of small, spatially structured populations is of high
significance for the conservation of the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) in central Europe. The
capercaillie is an endangered forest grouse species with narrow habitat preferences and extensive spatial
requirements. These characteristics make it a model organism of both practical and theoretical interests.
As in most European countries, the populations have drastically declined in Switzerland during the last
decades and at present comprise 1000 adult birds. Changes in forest use causing the loss and fragmentation
of suitable habitat are generally assumed to be the major reason for the decline.
As a consequence, the species’ distribution has become patchy what may reduce the viability of the
remaining populations due to demographic and genetic processes. Whereas past research and conservation
efforts concentrated mostly on the forest stand scale, recent work has revealed the strong effect of
forest - open land patterns, habitat connectivity and fragmentation on capercaillie populations.
The objectives of our project were (1) to identify the factors affecting capercaillie occurrence at
different spatial scales, (2) to provide a spatially explicit basis for population viability analysis,
(3) to develop a patch occupancy model, (4) to reveal the population genetic pattern, and (5) to
propose guidelines and schemes for conceptual and practical decisions of stakeholders and practitioners.
Generally, we succeeded to predict suitable capercaillie habitat with only few landscape variables.
The area of a habitat patch and its nearest-neighbour distance to the next occupied patch proved to be
the most important predictors for patch occupancy. The referee will assess the presented results for
their conservation biological significance.
University education and professional experience
| 1989
| University of Zurich, division Ethology and
Wildlife Research.
Ms thesis „Bestand, Populationsstruktur, Standortwahl und Aktivitätsmuster der
Bezoarziege (Capra aegagrus blythi) im Kirthar Nationalpark, Sind, Pakistan”.
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| 1988-1990
| Research assistant at the Research
Commission of the Swiss National Park
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| 1996
| University of Zurich, division Ecology.
PhD thesis „The mating system of the alpine water pipit in a variable environment: ecological,
demographic and fitness aspects”.
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| 1995-2001
| Deputy director of SVS–BirdLife Switzerland
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| 2001 -
| Research associate at the Swiss Federal
Research Institute WSL, section Biodiversity
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Present position
Research associate
Module leader of the WSL-project "Dynamics of capercaillie in the Swiss Alps: Metapopulation
Modelling at the Landscape Level"
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Research interests
- Population biology of wildlife species with special emphasis on small populations
- conservation biology
- wildlife-habitat relationships
- development of criteria for the identification of priorities for conservation
- development of non-invasive methods for wildlife research
Selected publications
- Graf RF, Bollmann K, Suter W, Bugmann H. In press. The importance of scale in habitat models: the case of the capercaillie.
Landscape Ecology.
- Bollmann K, Weibel P, Graf, RF. Accepted. A small-scale analysis of Capercaillie habitat in the central Alps.
Forest Ecology and Management.
- Keller V, Bollmann K. 2004. From Red lists to species of conservation concern.
Conservation Biology 18: 1636–1644.
- Bollmann K, Graf RF, Debrunner R, Suter W. 2004. The capercaillie as indicator of high species richness: potential and limitations of the umbrella species concept.
In: Smithers, R. (Ed.) Proceedings of the 12th annual IALE(UK) conference “Landscape ecology of trees and forests”. Cirencester, UK. pp. 200?207.
- Graf RF, Bollmann K, Suter W, Bugmann H. 2004. Using a multi-scale model for identifying priority areas in capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) conservation.
In: Smithers, R. (Ed.) Proceedings of the 12th annual IALE(UK) conference “Landscape ecology of trees and forests”.Cirencester, UK. pp. 84?90.
- Mollet P, Badilatti B, Bollmann K, Graf RF, Hess R, Jenny H, Mulhauser B, Perrenoud A, Rudmann F, Sachot S, Studer J. 2003. Verbreitung und Bestand des Auerhuhns Tetrao urogallus in der Schweiz 2001 und ihre Veränderungen im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert.
Ornithol. Beob. 100: 67?86.
- Bollmann K, Keller V, Müller W, Zbinden N. 2002. Prioritäre Vogelarten für Artenförderungsprogramme in der Schweiz.
Ornithol. Beob. 99: 301–320.
- Bollmann K, Reyer H-U. 2001. Reproductive success of Water Pipits in an alpine environment.
Condor 103: 510–520.
- Keller V, Bollmann K. 2001. Für welche Vogelarten trägt die Schweiz eine besondere Verantwortung?
Ornithol. Beob. 98: 323–340.
- Hess R, Bollmann K, Rasool G, Chaudhry AA, Virk AT, Ahmad A. 1997. Pakistan.
In: Shackleton DM. (ed.) and the IUCN/SSC Caprinae Specialist Group. Wild Sheep and Goats and their Relatives. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Caprinae. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 390 + vii pp.
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