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Mørk T, Eira HI, Rødven R, Nymo IH, Blomstrand BM, Guttormsen S, Olsen L, Davidson RK. Necropsy findings, meat control pathology and causes of loss in semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in northern Norway. Acta Vet Scand 2024; 66:1. [PMID: 38178262 PMCID: PMC10768120 DOI: 10.1186/s13028-023-00723-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reindeer herding in Norway is based on traditional Sámi pastoralism with the animals free ranging throughout the year. The animals move over large areas in varying terrain and often in challenging weather conditions. Winter crises, such as difficult grazing conditions caused by icing or large amounts of snow, are survival bottlenecks for reindeer. Calves are especially vulnerable, and many may die from starvation during winter crises. Predation and starvation are the predominant narratives to explain losses, however, carcasses are difficult to find and often little remains after scavenging and decay. Documentation of the causes of death is therefore scarce. RESULTS In this study, we investigated the cause of reindeer mortality in Troms and Finnmark, Nordland and Trøndelag during 2017-2019. Necropsies (n = 125) and organ investigation (n = 13) were performed to document cause of death. Body condition was evaluated using visual fat score and bone marrow fat index. A wide range of causes of death was detected. The diagnoses were categorized into the following main categories: predation (n = 40), emaciation (n = 35), infectious disease (n = 20), trauma (n = 11), feeding related disease (n = 5), neoplasia (n = 4), others (n = 6) and unknown (n = 17). Co-morbidities were seen in a number of diagnoses (n = 16). Reindeer herders are entitled to economic compensation for reindeer killed by endangered predators, but a lack of documentation leads to a gap between the amount of compensation requested and what is awarded. An important finding of our study was that predators, during winter, killed animals in good as well as poor body condition. Emaciation was also shown to be associated with infectious diseases, and not only attributable to winter grazing conditions. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the importance of examining dead reindeer to gain knowledge about why they die on winter pasture. The work presented herein also shows the feasibility and value of increased documentation of reindeer losses during winter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torill Mørk
- Section of Food Safety and Animal Health Research, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, 9016, Tromsø, Norway.
| | - Henrik Isaksen Eira
- Norwegian Nature Surveillance, Local Office, Finnmark Estate, 9521, Kautokeino, Norway
| | - Rolf Rødven
- Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, AMAP, FRAM Centre, Hjalmar Johansens Gate 14, 9007, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Ingebjørg Helena Nymo
- Section of Food Safety and Animal Health Research, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, 9016, Tromsø, Norway
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, Hansine Hansens Veg 18, 9019, Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - Sandra Guttormsen
- Section of Food Safety and Animal Health Research, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, 9016, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Line Olsen
- Section of Food Safety and Animal Health Research, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, 9016, Tromsø, Norway
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Bergland H, Burlakov E, Wyller J. The Dynamics of Pasture-Herbivores-Carnivores with Sigmoidal Density Dependent Harvesting. Bull Math Biol 2023; 85:104. [PMID: 37726494 DOI: 10.1007/s11538-023-01210-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
We investigate biomass-herbivore-carnivore (top predator) interactions in terms of a tritrophic dynamical systems model. The harvesting rates of the herbivores and the top predators are described by means of a sigmoidal function of the herbivores density and the top predator density, respectively. The main focus in this study is on the dynamics as a function of the natural mortality and the maximal harvesting rate of the top predators. We identify parameter regimes for which we have non-existence of equilibrium points as well as necessary conditions for the existence of such states of the modelling framework. The system does not possess any finite equilibrium states in the regime of high herbivore mortality. In the regime of a high consumption rate of the herbivores and low mortality rates of the top predator, an asymptotically stable finite equilibrium state exists. For this positive equilibrium to exist the mortality of the top predator should not exceed a certain threshold level. We also detect regimes producing coexistence of equilibrium states and their respective stability properties. In the regime of negligible harvesting of the top predator level, we observe a finite window of the natural top predator mortality rates for which oscillations in the top predator-, the herbivore- and the biomass level take place. The lower and upper bound of this window correspond to two Hopf bifurcation points. We also identify a bifurcation diagram using the top predator harvesting rate as a control variable. Using this diagram we detect several saddle node- and Hopf bifurcation points as well as regimes for which we have coexistence of interior equilibrium states, bistability and relaxation type of oscillations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harald Bergland
- School of Business and Economics, Campus Harstad, University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway, Havnegata 5, 9404, Harstad, Norway
| | - Evgenii Burlakov
- X-Bio Institute, University of Tyumen, Volodarskogo 6, Tyumen, Russia, 625003.
- Research Institute of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Sciences, Derzhavin Tambov State University, Internatsionalnaya 33, Tambov, Russia, 392000.
| | - John Wyller
- Department of Mathematics, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Drøbakveien 31, 1432, Ås, Norway
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Cusack JJ, Nilsen EB, Israelsen MF, Andrén H, Grainger M, Linnell JDC, Odden J, Bunnefeld N. Quantifying the checks and balances of collaborative governance systems for adaptive carnivore management. J Appl Ecol 2022; 59:1038-1049. [PMID: 35910004 PMCID: PMC9306889 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Recovering or threatened carnivore populations are often harvested to minimise their impact on human activities, such as livestock farming or game hunting. Increasingly, harvest quota decisions involve a set of scientific, administrative and political institutions operating at national and sub-national levels whose interactions and collective decision-making aim to increase the legitimacy of management and ensure population targets are met. In practice, however, assessments of how quota decisions change between these different actors and what consequences these changes have on population trends are rare.We combine a state-space population modelling approach with an analysis of quota decisions taken at both regional and national levels between 2007 and 2018 to build a set of decision-making models that together predict annual harvest quota values for Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in Norway.We reveal a tendency for administrative decision-makers to compensate for consistent quota increases by political actors, particularly when the lynx population size estimate is above the regional target. Using population forecasts based on the ensemble of decision-making models, we show that such buffering of political biases ensures lynx population size remains close to regional and national targets in the long term.Our results go beyond the usual qualitative assessment of collaborative governance systems for carnivore management, revealing a system of checks and balances that, in the case of lynx in Norway, ensures both multi-stakeholder participation and sustainable harvest quotas. Nevertheless, we highlight important inter-regional differences in decision-making and population forecasts, the socio-ecological drivers of which need to be better understood to prevent future population declines. Synthesis and applications. Our work analyses the sequence of decisions leading to yearly quotas for lynx harvest in Norway, highlighting the collaborative and structural processes that together shape harvest sustainability. In doing so, we provide a predictive framework to evaluate participatory decision-making processes in wildlife management, paving the way for scientists and decision-makers to collaborate more widely in identifying where decision biases might lie and how institutional arrangements can be optimised to minimise them. We emphasise, however, that this is only possible if wildlife management decisions are documented and transparent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy J. Cusack
- Centro de Modelación y Monitoreo de EcosistemasUniversidad MayorSantiagoChile
- Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
| | | | | | - Henrik Andrén
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesRiddarhyttanSweden
| | | | | | - John Odden
- Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchOsloNorway
| | - Nils Bunnefeld
- Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
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Nonlinear spatial and temporal decomposition provides insight for climate change effects on sub-Arctic herbivore populations. Oecologia 2022; 198:889-904. [PMID: 35325288 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05150-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Global temperatures are increasing, affecting timing and availability of vegetation along with relationships between plants and their consumers. We examined the effect of population density, herd body condition in the previous year, elevation, plant productivity and phenology, snow, and winter onset on juvenile body mass in 63 semi-domesticated populations of Rangifer tarandus throughout Norway using spatiotemporal generalized additive models (GAMs) and varying coefficient models (VCMs). Optimal climate windows were calculated at both the regional and national level using a novel nonlinear climate window algorithm optimized for prediction. Spatial and temporal variation in effects of population and environmental predictors were considered using a model including covariates decomposed into spatial, temporal, and residual components. The performance of this decomposed model was compared to spatiotemporal GAMs and VCMs. The decomposed model provided the best fit and lowest prediction errors. A positive effect of herd body condition in the previous year explained most of the deviance in calf body mass, followed by a more complex effect of population density. A negative effect of timing of spring and positive effect of winter onset on juvenile body mass suggested that a snow free season was positive for juvenile body mass growth. Our findings suggest early spring onset and later winter permanent snow cover as reinforcers of early-life conditions which support more robust reindeer populations. Our methodological improvements for climate window analyses and effect size measures for decomposed variables provide important contributions to account for, measure, and interpret nonlinear relationships between climate and animal populations at large scales.
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Habitat Selection by Brown Bears with Varying Levels of Predation Rates on Ungulate Neonates. DIVERSITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/d13120678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In northern Eurasia, large carnivores overlap with semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces). In Scandinavia, previous studies have quantified brown bear (Ursus arctos) spring predation on neonates of reindeer (mostly in May) and moose (mostly in June). We explored if habitat selection by brown bears changed following resource pulses and whether these changes are more pronounced on those individuals characterised by higher predatory behaviour. Fifteen brown bears in northern Sweden (2010–2012) were fitted with GPS proximity collars, and 2585 female reindeers were collared with UHF transmitters. Clusters of bear positions were visited to investigate moose and reindeer predation. Bear kill rates and home ranges were calculated to examine bear movements and predatory behaviour. Bear habitat selection was modelled using resource selection functions over four periods (pre-calving, reindeer calving, moose calving, and post-calving). Coefficients of selection for areas closer to different land cover classes across periods were compared, examining the interactions between different degrees of predatory behaviour (i.e., high and low). Bear habitat selection differed throughout the periods and between low and high predatory bears. Differences among individuals’ predatory behaviour are reflected in the selection of habitat types, providing empirical evidence that different levels of specialization in foraging behaviour helps to explain individual variation in bear habitat selection.
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Gervasi V, Linnell JD, Berce T, Boitani L, Cerne R, Ciucci P, Cretois B, Derron-Hilfiker D, Duchamp C, Gastineau A, Grente O, Huber D, Iliopoulos Y, Karamanlidis AA, Kojola I, Marucco F, Mertzanis Y, Männil P, Norberg H, Pagon N, Pedrotti L, Quenette PY, Reljic S, Salvatori V, Talvi T, von Arx M, Gimenez O. Ecological correlates of large carnivore depredation on sheep in Europe. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
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The context of an emerging predation problem: Nenets reindeer herders and Arctic foxes in Yamal. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-021-01497-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Tyler NJC, Hanssen-Bauer I, Førland EJ, Nellemann C. The Shrinking Resource Base of Pastoralism: Saami Reindeer Husbandry in a Climate of Change. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.585685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The productive performance of large ungulates in extensive pastoral grazing systems is modulated simultaneously by the effects of climate change and human intervention independent of climate change. The latter includes the expansion of private, civil and military activity and infrastructure and the erosion of land rights. We used Saami reindeer husbandry in Norway as a model in which to examine trends in, and to compare the influence of, both effects on a pastoral grazing system. Downscaled projections of mean annual temperature over the principal winter pasture area (Finnmarksvidda) closely matched empirical observations across 34 years to 2018. The area, therefore, is not only warming but seems likely to continue to do so. Warming notwithstanding, 50-year (1969–2018) records of local weather (temperature, precipitation and characteristics of the snowpack) demonstrate considerable annual and decadal variation which also seems likely to continue and alternately to amplify and to counter net warming. Warming, moreover, has both positive and negative effects on ecosystem services that influence reindeer. The effects of climate change on reindeer pastoralism are evidently neither temporally nor spatially uniform, nor indeed is the role of climate change as a driver of change in pastoralism even clear. The effects of human intervention on the system, by contrast, are clear and largely negative. Gradual liberalization of grazing rights from the 18th Century has been countered by extensive loss of reindeer pasture. Access to ~50% of traditional winter pasture was lost in the 19th Century owing to the closure of international borders to the passage of herders and their reindeer. Subsequent to this the area of undisturbed pasture within Norway has decreased by 71%. Loss of pasture due to piecemeal development of infrastructure and to administrative encroachment that erodes herders' freedom of action on the land that remains to them, are the principal threats to reindeer husbandry in Norway today. These tangible effects far exceed the putative effects of current climate change on the system. The situation confronting Saami reindeer pastoralism is not unique: loss of pasture and administrative, economic, legal and social constraints bedevil extensive pastoral grazing systems across the globe.
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Pekkarinen AJ, Kumpula J, Tahvonen O. Predation costs and compensations in reindeer husbandry. WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.2981/wlb.00684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antti-Juhani Pekkarinen
- A.-J. Pekkarinen (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1993-6429) ✉ and O. Tahvonen, Dept of Forest Sciences, Univ. of Helsinki, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jouko Kumpula
- J. Kumpula, Natural Resources Inst. Finland, Kaamanen, Finland
| | - Olli Tahvonen
- A.-J. Pekkarinen (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1993-6429) ✉ and O. Tahvonen, Dept of Forest Sciences, Univ. of Helsinki, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
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10
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Andrén H, Hobbs NT, Aronsson M, Brøseth H, Chapron G, Linnell JDC, Odden J, Persson J, Nilsen EB. Harvest models of small populations of a large carnivore using Bayesian forecasting. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 30:e02063. [PMID: 31868951 PMCID: PMC7187313 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Harvesting large carnivores can be a management tool for meeting politically set goals for their desired abundance. However, harvesting carnivores creates its own set of conflicts in both society and among conservation professionals, where one consequence is a need to demonstrate that management is sustainable, evidence-based, and guided by science. Furthermore, because large carnivores often also have high degrees of legal protection, harvest quotas have to be carefully justified and constantly adjusted to avoid damaging their conservation status. We developed a Bayesian state-space model to support adaptive management of Eurasian lynx harvesting in Scandinavia. The model uses data from the annual monitoring of lynx abundance and results from long-term field research on lynx biology, which has provided detailed estimates of key demographic parameters. We used the model to predict the probability that the forecasted population size will be below or above the management objectives when subjected to different harvest quotas. The model presented here informs decision makers about the policy risks of alternative harvest levels. Earlier versions of the model have been available for wildlife managers in both Sweden and Norway to guide lynx harvest quotas and the model predictions showed good agreement with observations. We combined monitoring data with data on vital rates and were able to estimate unobserved additional mortality rates, which are most probably due to poaching. In both countries, the past quota setting strategy suggests that there has been a de facto threshold strategy with increasing proportion, which means that there is no harvest below a certain population size, but above this threshold there is an increasing proportion of the population harvested as the population size increases. The annual assessment of the monitoring results, the use of forecasting models, and a threshold harvest approach to quota setting will all reduce the risk of lynx population sizes moving outside the desired goals. The approach we illustrate could be adapted to other populations of mammals worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Andrén
- Grimsö Wildlife Research StationDepartment of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesSE‐730 91RiddarhyttanSweden
| | - N. Thompson Hobbs
- Natural Resource Ecology LaboratoryDepartment of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, and Graduate Degree Program in EcologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColorado80523USA
| | - Malin Aronsson
- Grimsö Wildlife Research StationDepartment of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesSE‐730 91RiddarhyttanSweden
- Department of ZoologyStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
| | - Henrik Brøseth
- Rovdata, Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchP.O. Box 5685, TorgardNO‐7485TrondheimNorway
| | - Guillaume Chapron
- Grimsö Wildlife Research StationDepartment of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesSE‐730 91RiddarhyttanSweden
| | - John D. C. Linnell
- Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchP.O. Box 5685, TorgardNO‐7485TrondheimNorway
| | - John Odden
- Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchP.O. Box 5685, TorgardNO‐7485TrondheimNorway
| | - Jens Persson
- Grimsö Wildlife Research StationDepartment of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesSE‐730 91RiddarhyttanSweden
| | - Erlend B. Nilsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchP.O. Box 5685, TorgardNO‐7485TrondheimNorway
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11
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Wheeler HC, Berteaux D, Furgal C, Cazelles K, Yoccoz NG, Grémillet D. Identifying key needs for the integration of social-ecological outcomes in arctic wildlife monitoring. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2019; 33:861-872. [PMID: 30471146 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Revised: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
For effective monitoring in social-ecological systems to meet needs for biodiversity, science, and humans, desired outcomes must be clearly defined and routes from direct to derived outcomes understood. The Arctic is undergoing rapid climatic, ecological, social, and economic changes and requires effective wildlife monitoring to meet diverse stakeholder needs. To identify stakeholder priorities concerning desired outcomes of arctic wildlife monitoring, we conducted in-depth interviews with 29 arctic scientists, policy and decision makers, and representatives of indigenous organizations and nongovernmental organizations. Using qualitative content analysis, we identified and defined desired outcomes and documented links between outcomes. Using network analysis, we investigated the structure of perceived links between desired outcomes. We identified 18 desired outcomes from monitoring and classified them as either driven by monitoring information, monitoring process, or a combination of both. Highly cited outcomes were make decisions, conserve, detect change, disseminate, and secure food. These reflect key foci of arctic monitoring. Infrequently cited outcomes (e.g., govern) were emerging themes. Three modules comprised our outcome network. The modularity highlighted the low strength of perceived links between outcomes that were primarily information driven or more derived (e.g., detect change, make decisions, conserve, or secure food) and outcomes that were primarily process driven or more derived (e.g., cooperate, learn, educate). The outcomes expand monitoring community and disseminate created connections between these modules. Key desired outcomes are widely applicable to social-ecological systems within and outside the Arctic, particularly those with wildlife subsistence economies. Attributes and motivations associated with outcomes can guide development of integrated monitoring goals for biodiversity conservation and human needs. Our results demonstrated the disconnect between information- and process-driven goals and how expansion of the monitoring community and improved integration of monitoring stakeholders will help connect information- and process-derived outcomes for effective ecosystem stewardship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen C Wheeler
- Canada Research Chair on Northern Biodiversity and Centre for Northern Studies, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, Montpellier, 34090, France
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Postboks 6050 Langnes, Tromsø, 9037, Norway
- School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, U.K
| | - Dominique Berteaux
- Canada Research Chair on Northern Biodiversity and Centre for Northern Studies, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Chris Furgal
- Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9L 0G2, Canada
| | - Kevin Cazelles
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Nigel G Yoccoz
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Postboks 6050 Langnes, Tromsø, 9037, Norway
| | - David Grémillet
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, Montpellier, 34090, France
- Department of Science and Technology - National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
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12
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Gervasi V, Linnell JDC, Brøseth H, Gimenez O. Failure to coordinate management in transboundary populations hinders the achievement of national management goals: The case of wolverines in Scandinavia. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo Gervasi
- CEFECNRSUniversity of MontpellierUniversity Paul Valéry Montpellier 3EPHEIRDMontpellier Montpellier France
| | | | - Henrik Brøseth
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway
| | - Olivier Gimenez
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et EvolutiveUMR 5175Campus CNRS Montpellier Cedex 5 France
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13
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Marolla F, Aarvak T, Øien IJ, Mellard JP, Henden J, Hamel S, Stien A, Tveraa T, Yoccoz NG, Ims RA. Assessing the effect of predator control on an endangered goose population subjected to predator‐mediated food web dynamics. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Marolla
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Tomas Aarvak
- Norwegian Ornithological SocietyBirdLife Norway Trondheim Norway
| | - Ingar J. Øien
- Norwegian Ornithological SocietyBirdLife Norway Trondheim Norway
| | - Jarad P. Mellard
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - John‐André Henden
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Sandra Hamel
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Audun Stien
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment Tromsø Norway
| | - Torkild Tveraa
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment Tromsø Norway
| | - Nigel G. Yoccoz
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Rolf A. Ims
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
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14
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Bråthen KA, Ravolainen VT, Stien A, Tveraa T, Ims RA. Rangifer management controls a climate-sensitive tundra state transition. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2017; 27:2416-2427. [PMID: 28871616 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Revised: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/28/2017] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Rangifer (caribou/reindeer) management has been suggested to mitigate the temperature-driven transition of Arctic tundra into a shrubland state, yet how this happens is uncertain. Here we study this much focused ecosystem state transition in riparian areas, where palatable willows (Salix) are dominant tall shrubs and highly responsive to climate change. For the state transition to take place, small life stages must become tall and abundant. Therefore we predicted that the performance of small life stages (potential recruits) of the tall shrubs were instrumental to the focal transition, where Rangifer managed at high population density would keep the small-stage shrubs in a "browse trap" independent of summer temperature. We used a large-scale quasi-experimental study design that included real management units that spanned a wide range of Rangifer population densities and summer temperatures in order to assess the relative importance of these two driving variables. Ground surveys provided data on density and height of the small shrub life stages, while the distributional limit (shrubline) of established shrublands (the tall shrub life stage) was derived from aerial photographs. Where Rangifer densities were above a threshold of approximately 5 animals/km2 , we found, in accordance with the expectation of a "browse trap," that the small life stages of shrubs in grasslands were at low height and low abundance. At Rangifer densities below this threshold, the small life stages of shrubs were taller and more abundant indicating Rangifer were no longer in control of the grassland state. For the established shrubland state, we found that the shrubline was at a 100-m lower elevation in the management units where Rangifer had been browsing in summer as opposed to the migratory ranges with no browsing in summer. In both seasonal ranges, the shrubline increased 100 m per 1°C increment in temperature. Our study supports the proposal that Rangifer management within a sustainable range of animal densities can mitigate the much-focused transition from grassland to shrubland in a warming Arctic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kari Anne Bråthen
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - Audun Stien
- The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, NO-9296, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Torkild Tveraa
- The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, NO-9296, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Rolf A Ims
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway
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15
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Ravenelle J, Nyhus PJ. Global patterns and trends in human-wildlife conflict compensation. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2017; 31:1247-1256. [PMID: 28440021 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2016] [Revised: 03/20/2017] [Accepted: 04/21/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Human-wildlife conflict is a major conservation challenge, and compensation for wildlife damage is a widely used economic tool to mitigate this conflict. The effectiveness of this management tool is widely debated. The relative importance of factors associated with compensation success is unclear, and little is known about global geographic or taxonomic differences in the application of compensation programs. We reviewed research on wildlife-damage compensation to determine geographic and taxonomic gaps, analyze patterns of positive and negative comments related to compensation, and assess the relative magnitude of global compensation payments. We analyzed 288 publications referencing wildlife compensation and identified 138 unique compensation programs. These publications reported US$222 million (adjusted for inflation) spent on compensation in 50 countries since 1980. Europeans published the most articles, and compensation funding was highest in Europe, where depredation by wolves and bears was the most frequently compensated damage. Authors of the publications we reviewed made twice as many negative comments as positive comments about compensation. Three-quarters of the negative comments related to program administration. Conversely, three-quarters of the positive comments related to program outcomes. The 3 most common suggestions to improve compensation programs included requiring claimants to employ damage-prevention practices, such as improving livestock husbandry or fencing of crops to receive compensation (n = 25, 15%); modifying ex post compensation schemes to some form of outcome-based performance payment (n = 21, 12%); and altering programs to make compensation payments more quickly (n = 14, 8%). We suggest that further understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of compensation as a conflict-mitigation tool will require more systematic evaluation of the factors driving these opinions and that differentiating process and outcomes and understanding linkages between them will result in more fruitful analyses and ultimately more effective conflict mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Ravenelle
- Environmental Studies Program, Colby College, 5358 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, Maine 04901, U.S.A
| | - Philip J Nyhus
- Environmental Studies Program, Colby College, 5358 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, Maine 04901, U.S.A
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Skonhoft A, Johannesen AB, Olaussen JO. On the tragedy of the commons: When predation and livestock loss may improve the economic lot of herders. AMBIO 2017; 46:644-654. [PMID: 28361495 PMCID: PMC5595741 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-017-0910-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2016] [Revised: 12/26/2016] [Accepted: 02/21/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
This paper studies the practice of semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer t. tarandus) herding in Finnmark county in northern Norway. In this area, the Saami reindeer herders compete for space and grazing areas and keep large herds, while at the same time, the reindeer population is heavily exposed to carnivore predation by the lynx (Lynx lynx), the wolverine (Gulo gulo), and the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). It is demonstrated that predation actually may improve the economic lot of livestock holders in this unmanaged local common setting. There are ecological as well as economic reasons as to why this happens. The ecological reason is that predation compensates for natural mortality; that is, increased predation reduces natural mortality, indicating that the net loss due to predation actually may be quite small. When predation reduces livestock density, the feeding conditions of the animals will improve, resulting in increased livestock weight and higher per animal slaughter value. At the same time, a smaller stock reduces the operating costs of the herders.
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Linnell JDC, Trouwborst A, Fleurke FM. When is it acceptable to kill a strictly protected carnivore? Exploring the legal constraints on wildlife management within Europe’s Bern Convention. NATURE CONSERVATION 2017. [DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.21.12836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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18
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Eythórsson E, Tombre IM, Madsen J. Goose management schemes to resolve conflicts with agriculture: Theory, practice and effects. AMBIO 2017; 46:231-240. [PMID: 28215015 PMCID: PMC5316325 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-016-0884-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
In 2012, the four countries hosting the Svalbard population of pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus along its flyway launched an International Species Management Plan for the population. One of the aims was to reduce conflicts between geese and agriculture to an acceptable level. Since 2006, Norway has offered subsidies to farmers that provide refuge areas for geese on their land. We evaluate the mid-Norwegian goose management subsidy scheme, with a view to its adjustment to prevailing ecological and socio-economic parameters. The analysis indicates that the legitimacy of the scheme is highly dependent on transparency of knowledge management and accountability of management scheme to the farming community. Among farmers, as well as front-line officials, outcomes of prioritisation processes within the scheme are judged unfair when there is an evident mismatch between payments and genuine damage. We suggest how the scheme can be made more fair and responsive to ecological changes, within a framework of adaptive management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Einar Eythórsson
- High North Department, Fram Centre, Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), P.O. Box 6606, Langnes, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Ingunn M. Tombre
- Department of Arctic Ecology, The Fram Centre, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), P.O. Box 6606, Langnes, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
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19
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Dental microwear textural analyses to track feeding ecology of reindeer: a comparison of two contrasting populations in Norway. MAMMAL RES 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-016-0304-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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20
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Walton Z, Mattisson J, Linnell JDC, Stien A, Odden J. The cost of migratory prey: seasonal changes in semi-domestic reindeer distribution influences breeding success of Eurasian lynx in northern Norway. OIKOS 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.03374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zea Walton
- Dept of Forestry and Wilderness Management; Hedmark College; Koppang Norway
| | - Jenny Mattisson
- Norwegian Inst. for Nature Research (NINA); NO-7484 Trondheim Norway
| | | | - Audun Stien
- Norwegian Inst. for Nature Research (NINA); Fram Centre Tromsø Norway
| | - John Odden
- Norwegian Inst. for Nature Research (NINA); NO-7484 Trondheim Norway
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Thomas MG, Næss MW, Bårdsen BJ, Mace R. Smaller Saami Herding Groups Cooperate More in a Public Goods Experiment. HUMAN ECOLOGY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL 2016; 44:633-642. [PMID: 27881891 PMCID: PMC5099356 DOI: 10.1007/s10745-016-9848-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Gwynfryn Thomas
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW UK
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø, 9007 Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø, 9007 Norway
| | - Marius Warg Næss
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø, 9007 Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø, 9007 Norway
| | - Bård-Jørgen Bårdsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø, 9007 Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø, 9007 Norway
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW UK
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Mattisson J, Rauset GR, Odden J, Andrén H, Linnell JDC, Persson J. Predation or scavenging? Prey body condition influences decision‐making in a facultative predator, the wolverine. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jenny Mattisson
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) NO‐7484 Trondheim Norway
| | - Geir Rune Rauset
- Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Science Grimsö Wildlife Research Station SE‐730 91 Riddarhyttan Sweden
| | - John Odden
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) NO‐7484 Trondheim Norway
| | - Henrik Andrén
- Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Science Grimsö Wildlife Research Station SE‐730 91 Riddarhyttan Sweden
| | | | - Jens Persson
- Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Science Grimsö Wildlife Research Station SE‐730 91 Riddarhyttan Sweden
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23
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Ordiz A, Saebø S, Kindberg J, Swenson JE, Støen OG. Seasonality and human disturbance alter brown bear activity patterns: implications for circumpolar carnivore conservation? Anim Conserv 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. Ordiz
- Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management; Norwegian University of Life Sciences; Ås Norway
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station; Department of Ecology; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Riddarhyttan Sweden
| | - S. Saebø
- Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science; Norwegian University of Life Sciences; Ås Norway
| | - J. Kindberg
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Umeå Sweden
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research; Trondheim Norway
| | - J. E. Swenson
- Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management; Norwegian University of Life Sciences; Ås Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research; Trondheim Norway
| | - O.-G. Støen
- Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management; Norwegian University of Life Sciences; Ås Norway
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Umeå Sweden
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24
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Pape R, Löffler J. Seasonality of habitat selection shown to buffer alpine reindeer pastoralism against climate variability. Ecosphere 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/es15-00169.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Tveraa T, Stien A, Brøseth H, Yoccoz NG. The role of predation and food limitation on claims for compensation, reindeer demography and population dynamics. J Appl Ecol 2014; 51:1264-1272. [PMID: 25558085 PMCID: PMC4279950 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2014] [Accepted: 07/31/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
A major challenge in biodiversity conservation is to facilitate viable populations of large apex predators in ecosystems where they were recently driven to ecological extinction due to resource conflict with humans.Monetary compensation for losses of livestock due to predation is currently a key instrument to encourage human-carnivore coexistence. However, a lack of quantitative estimates of livestock losses due to predation leads to disagreement over the practice of compensation payments. This disagreement sustains the human-carnivore conflict.The level of depredation on year-round, free-ranging, semi-domestic reindeer by large carnivores in Fennoscandia has been widely debated over several decades. In Norway, the reindeer herders claim that lynx and wolverine cause losses of tens of thousands of animals annually and cause negative population growth in herds. Conversely, previous research has suggested that monetary predator compensation can result in positive population growth in the husbandry, with cascading negative effects of high grazer densities on the biodiversity in tundra ecosystems.We utilized a long-term, large-scale data set to estimate the relative importance of lynx and wolverine predation and density-dependent and climatic food limitation on claims for losses, recruitment and population growth rates in Norwegian reindeer husbandry.Claims of losses increased with increasing predator densities, but with no detectable effect on population growth rates. Density-dependent and climatic effects on claims of losses, recruitment and population growth rates were much stronger than the effects of variation in lynx and wolverine densities.Synthesis and applications. Our analysis provides a quantitative basis for predator compensation and estimation of the costs of reintroducing lynx and wolverine in areas with free-ranging semi-domestic reindeer. We outline a potential path for conflict management which involves adaptive monitoring programmes, open access to data, herder involvement and development of management strategy evaluation (MSE) models to disentangle complex responses including multiple stakeholders and individual harvester decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torkild Tveraa
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), FRAM - High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment NO-9296, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Audun Stien
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), FRAM - High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment NO-9296, Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - Nigel G Yoccoz
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø NO-9037, Tromsø, Norway ; Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), FRAM - High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment NO-9296, Tromsø, Norway
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