Trial lecture: 'Conservation conflicts of large mammals with increased human footprint'
Time and place: June 27, 2024 10:15 AM, Nucleus, Bikuben, Kristine Bonnevies hus
Main research findings:
Agriculture has significantly impacted the land use over the past centuries. For wild herbivores such as the red deer, foraging on farmland can be beneficial when food is limited in their natural habitats. In Norway, the red deer populations consist of migratory and resident individuals, where migrants travel from low-elevation winter ranges, typically with more available farmland, towards higher-elevation summer ranges. Residents remain in the low-elevation areas year-round. I found that residents selected farmland more than migrants, buffering the migrants’ benefit from following the wave of emerging vegetation in spring. Higher farmland availability also delayed the red deer’s spring migration, that generally varied greatly between and within years.
Wildlife foraging on farmland can cause conflicts with humans due to reduced crop yield. Grazing can vary with factors on different scales, and I found most variation in grazing between neighbouring meadows, with more grazing on those recently renewed. Within meadows, more grazing was found close to the forest and away from infrastructure. On broad scale, grazing increased with population density. My thesis provides insight into the coupled dynamics of the red deer and agricultural farmlands, which can be important for management of this coupled ecosystem.
Adjudication committee
Assoc. Prof. Camilla Wikenros, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Prof. Stein Joar Hegland, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Prof. Anne Krag Brysting, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Chair of defense
Assoc. Prof. Yngvild Vindenes, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Supervisors
Prof. Atle Mysterud, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Researcher Inger Maren Rivrud, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)
Research Scientist Erling Meisingset, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research