Enggist-Düblin, P. & Ingold, P. 2003: Modelling the impact of different forms of wildlife harassment, exemplified by a quantitative comparison of the effects of hikers and paragliders on feeding and space use of chamois Rupicapra rupicapra. - Wildl. Biol. 9: 37-45.

We developed a mathematical model to quantify and compare the impact of different forms of wildlife harassment, and applied it to compare the effects of hikers and paragliders on the feeding time and area of chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, considering differences between hikers and paragliders in terms of their prevalence and behaviour. Although many more hikers than paragliders visited the study area, the impact of paragliders was much stronger. With increasing paraglider traffic, the effects would steeply increase, whereas the effects of hikers approached an asymptote. With modification of input values and/or parameters, the model can be applied to other species, to compare the effects of other forms of wildlife harassment, and to simulate effects of changing conditions such as habituation of the animals or changes in the daily or spatial pattern of occurrence of tourism.

Key words: hikers, human disturbance assessment, modelling, paragliders, Rupicapra

Peter Enggist-Düblin* & Paul Ingold, University of Bern, Zoology Department, Ethology and Nature Conservation, Länggassstrasse 27, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland - e-mail addresses: peter.enggist@gmx.net (Peter Enggist-Düblin); paul.ingold@aen.unibe.ch (Paul Ingold)

*Present address: Rohrmatt 24, CH-3126 Kaufdorf, Switzerland

Corresponding author: Peter Enggist-Düblin

Received 29 October 2001, accepted 11 April 2002

Associate Editor: Marco Festa-Bianchet