Genetic evidence of capercaillie Tetrao urogallus dispersal sources and sinks in the Alps

© WILDLIFE BIOLOGY · 9:4 (2003) In landscapes altered by human activities, many species are restricted to small patches of habitat. Species that were once common have decreased both in distribution and density, and many have become extinct (Ceballos & Ehrlich 2002), mainly due to habitat deterioration, loss and fragmentation (Hilton-Taylor 2000). Previously contiguous populations have been turned into metapopulations (Hanski & Gilpin 1991), and connectivity by dispersal has become a key process for population dynamics and persistence. Metapopulation structure has recently been shown for capercaillie Tetrao urogallus in the Alps (Storch 1993, Storch & Segelbacher 2000, Segelbacher & Storch 2002). The birds occupy patches of mountain forests separated by open farmland valleys and interspersed by pastures, alpine vegetation and rocks above the treeline (Storch 2002a,b). Parallel to an ongoing population decline during the 20th century throughout Europe, the Alpine range of the capercaillie Genetic evidence of capercaillie Tetrao urogallus dispersal sources and sinks in the Alps