Studies on the foraging ecology of wildlife species are of fundamental importance, as foraging decisions are closely linked to ecological key issues such as resource partitioning or population dynamics. Using Black grouse as a model system, we applied Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIRS) to address some key questions in foraging ecology: (1) does FTIRS allow for determining plant taxa and plant parts? Can FTIRS suggest variation in digestibility of food and physiological mechanisms of consumers? (2) Can FTIRS be used to track changes in diets among populations? (3) Can FTIRS capture plants' phenology and shifts in diet? To answer these questions, we analyzed crop and gizzard contents of Black grouse via FTIRS looking for specific spectra and bands of plant taxa and plant parts. We compared spectral signals of undigested plant material and intestinal droppings, gained from wild-living birds and from aviaries. Our analyses yielded characteristic spectral fingerprints for several food plants and plant parts. Spectral fingerprints could differentiate between needles of J. communis and P. mugo and between fruits of J. communis, Sorbus sp., and Vaccinium sp. Spectral signals differed more between undigested material and crop samples than between crop and gizzard samples. Differences were more pronounced for berries than for needles. Apart from these differences, some fingerprints persisted for certain food items. The diverse foraging regime of wild-living individuals compared to captive Black grouse was reflected by spectral signals. Thus, FTIRS is a promising approach to explore variation in food choice of grouse species by means of non-invasively gained fecal samples.

Climate warming has been observed as the main cause of changes in diversity, community composition, and spatial distribution of different plant and invertebrate species. Due to even stronger warming compared to the global mean, bumblebees in alpine ecosystems are particularly exposed to these changes. To investigate the effects of climate warming, we sampled bumblebees along an elevational gradient, compared the records with data from 1935 and 1936, and related our results to climate models. We found that bumblebee community composition differed significantly between sampling periods and that increasing temperatures in spring were the most plausible factor explaining these range shifts. In addition, species diversity estimates were significantly lower compared to historical records. The number of socio-parasitic species was significantly higher in the historical communities, while recent communities showed increases in climate generalists and forest species at lower elevations. Nevertheless, no significant changes in community-weighted means of a species temperature index (STI) or the number of cold-adapted species were detected, likely due to the historical data resolution. We conclude that the composition and functionality of bumblebee communities in the study area have been significantly affected by climate warming, with changes in land use and vegetation cover likely playing an additional important role.

Summer pasture grazing is perceived as being under pressure from renewed wolf presence in the Italian Alpine province of South Tyrol. To investigate this, we combined a literature review with expert interviews to (1) get an overview of the situation of small ruminant farming and (2) identify drivers with an influence on summer pasture use, including wolf presence. Firstly, the results show an increase in small ruminant farms and stock numbers in the valley and on summer pastures during the last years. Secondly, subsidy programs, off-farm employment, lack of personnel and tourism are some of the main drivers for summer pasture development in the past and future. Thirdly, this analysis detects the potential pressure of wolf presence on small ruminant summer farming. Nevertheless, this impact should still be considered modest compared to other driving processes that have started before the return of the wolves. Based on this, the study finally discusses the importance of focusing on targeted funding, the revalorization of the shepherd profession and the balance between tourism and livestock farming to support summer pasture farming in the future.

Central questions of reproductive research on Dactylorhiza sambucina (Orchidaceae) are, if and how pollinator-mediated negative frequency dependent selection might maintain its flower colour polymorphism. As this hypothesis was based on artificial populations, it needs to be verified under natural conditions. Therefore, we demonstrate and discuss spatial-temporal variation of flowering, flower colour morph frequencies and population fluctuations in D. sambucina as prerequisites for understanding its population and reproduction dynamics. Knowledge of these dynamics is also crucial for the species’ conservation. We investigated colour morph frequencies for ten Austrian populations of D. sambucina over maximum time series of 18 consecutive years. We report repeated changes in the dominance of red- or yellow-flowering morphs in at least three populations during these time series. Even though being basically erratic (e.g., switches in different years), we identify smaller populations as being more prone to changes of flower colour dominance. Conversely, constant morph frequencies and the dominance of one flower colour morph is demonstrated for individual-poor and large populations. As previous large-scale (continental) analyses failed to identify environmental factors explaining the distribution of differing morph frequencies across Europe, we strongly argue for local approaches by investigating such factors at the micro-habitat scale.