130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Scale Status Population trend Justification Threats
Global
[2]
Least Concern Decreasing Widespread distribution
Large population size
1. Residential & commercial development
2. Agriculture & aquaculture (livestock farming)
3. Transportation and service corridors
4. Hunting & persecution
5. Human disturbance
Europe
[12]
Vulnerable Decreasing Small population size
Declines outside the northern part of
the range
1. Residential & commercial development
2. Agriculture & aquaculture (livestock farming)
3. Hunting & persecution
4. Human disturbance
Europe –
regional
population
Vulnerable:
Sweden [23]
Endangered:
Norway [24] ,
Karelia [12] N/A Scandinavia [12] : Stable but small
population, limited connectivity,
genetically distinct
Karelia [12] : Small and declining
Scandinavia [12] : Hunting & persecution
Karelia [12] : Poaching, Depletion of prey base
Habitat preferences and general densities
In Europe, the Wolverine has a broad range [1] ,
occurring primarily in boreal forest and tundra [4] .
Because Wolverines exist at low densities [4] and
have large home ranges, they require vast areas of
suitable habitat for viable breeding populations [1] .
Males have significantly larger home ranges, which
overlap with females but are exclusive with other
males [13] . Den sites are placed primarily in steep,
rugged terrain with bare rock, which is some
distance from infrastructure such as roads [14] .
Wolverines select habitats that promote survival
through limited encounters with humans but
which are rich in prey, and this selection is stronger
in winter [15] . The species occurs at extremely low
densities of between 0.1 and 1.5 individuals per
100 km 2 [1] .
Legal protection and conservation status
The Wolverine is protected under the Habitats
Directive (Annexes II and IV) in Sweden and
Finland [16] and the Bern Convention (Appendix
II) in all three Scandinavian countries [17] . Limited
culls are undertaken in Sweden, and Norway
heavily manages the species to control numbers [18] .
Compensations schemes are in place for damages
to semi-domesticated reindeer (all three countries)
and sheep (Norway and Sweden) [18, 19] . Much of the
biology and ecology of the Wolverine was not
known until fairly recently, but highly cooperative
research projects are now in place in Sweden [20] ,
Finland [21] , and Norway [18] to collect missing information
about wolverine ecology, for instance
assessing the impact of the species on reindeer,
and exploring interactions with the Eurasian lynx
(Lynx lynx) [20, 22] .
At a global level, the Wolverine is classified as
Least Concern due to the species’ wide distribution
and large population size, as well as on-going
expansion into its former range (Table 1). However,
densities remain low, and the overall species trend
is believed to be declining in number despite
signs of range recovery (Table 1). In Europe, the
species is currently classified as Vulnerable with a
decreasing population trend (Table 1). Despite this,
extensive hunting quotas and lethal control, which
are indirectly related to depredation conflicts, are
implemented in Norway to decrease population
size, while Sweden only culls the species at a very
local level [4, 5] .
Abundance and distribution:
current status
Recent population estimates suggest that the
current European population comprises just over
2,600 individuals (Table 2), forming two populations
between which there is believed to be some
exchange [18] : the Karelian population (European
Russia and eastern Finland) and the Scandinavian
population (Sweden, Norway and the rest of
Finland). At a country level, the largest populations
occur in Russia and Sweden, which account for 53%
and 26% of the European population respectively
(Table 2). Smaller populations exist in Norway (15%)
and Finland (6%). It should be noted, however, that
the estimate for European Russia may be outdated.
Of the largest population of the species in
Russia (based on information from 2005), the
majority occurred in the Komi Republic according
to a pre-2000 estimate [1] . Although undoubtedly
important in terms of size, the Russian population
Table 1.
Summary of Global
and European Red
List assessments and
threats listed for the
Wolverine.
Table 2.
Latest approximate
population
estimates for the
Wolverine in Europe
and for European
populations.
Please note that
the estimate for
European Russia may
be outdated.
Estimate Year assessed Reference
Global No data -
[2]
Europe 2,630–2,640 2005–11
[11, 18]
% of global population No data
European Russia 1,400 2005
[11]
Finland 165–175 2011
[18]
Norway 385 2011
[18]
Sweden 680 2011
[18]
121