Territory occupancy and breeding success of the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) around tourist destinations in northern Finland

Abstract

We examined the potential effects of tourist destinations on territory occupancy and breeding success of the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in northern Finland. We gathered information from 12 tourist destinations and from all known Golden Eagle territories surrounding these within a radius of 40 km. According to 2,151 territory records from 1990-2004, the nearest territory was located on average 9.9 km from the centre of the tourist destination whereas the nearest successful nest was located on average 10.3 km away. Both the occupancy rate of territories and breeding success varied between years and tourist destinations. Territory occupancy has decreased during the study years. Territory occupancy rates were lower around large-sized tourist destinations. Disturbance levels at tourist destinations, measured as the length of skiing and snowmobile routes, negatively affected territory occupancy but not breeding success. During the study years, tourism (measured as number of guest nights in accommodation establishments), clear cuts and total area of harvested forest has increased, whereas prey abundance and weather conditions have not changed significantly in northern Finland. We conclude that tourism-related habitat changes and activities might cause increasing pressures for disturbance-sensitive species such as Golden Eagles in the near future and that conservation plans should take into account the effects of such disturbance. Effective conservation of the Golden Eagle requires addressing constraints in the wider environments and multiple factors affecting territory occupancy and breeding success.