. The Canadian field-naturalist. The Past Abundance of Willow Ptarmigan on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland Arthur T. Bergerud Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia. Abstract. A study of the past abundance of Willow Ptarmigan {Lagopiis lagopiis) on the Avalon Penin- sula of Newfoundland was made by searching old newspaper accounts 1843 to 1963. High ptarmigan populations occurred in 1909-10, 1925-26, 1929-31, 1940-41, 1950-51, and 1960-61. A Study of the past abundance of Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland was made
. The Canadian field-naturalist. The Past Abundance of Willow Ptarmigan on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland Arthur T. Bergerud Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia. Abstract. A study of the past abundance of Willow Ptarmigan {Lagopiis lagopiis) on the Avalon Penin- sula of Newfoundland was made by searching old newspaper accounts 1843 to 1963. High ptarmigan populations occurred in 1909-10, 1925-26, 1929-31, 1940-41, 1950-51, and 1960-61. A Study of the past abundance of Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland was made by searching old newspapers for reports on ptarmigan abundance 1843 to 1963. Notes were also taken on the occurrence of forest fires; it was thought that extensive fires might have reduced conifer growth and provided succes- sional stages with more food species for ptarmi- gan which could have influenced early numbers. Now-defunct newspapers, such as The Stand- ard and The Mercury faithfully reported the opinion of hunters on ptarmigan abundance in the past. Many reports compared the supply of birds with those in a previous season. Re- searchers located approximately 900 statements in newspapers on ptarmigan abundance. An index of annual abundance from these news- paper reports was based on the following formula: Per cent abundance index = (Nvs) + 2 (Ns) + 3 (Ni) + 4 (Np) + 5 (Nvp) / 5 (N) Where: N = total newspaper reports in one year Nvs = number of reports stating ptarmigan very scarce Ns = number of reports stating ptarmigan scarce Ni = number of reports stating ptarmigan intermediate in numbers Np = number of reports stating ptarmigan plentiful Nvp =: number of reports stating ptarmigan very plentiful The abundance index indicated high popu- lations in 1909-10, 1925-26, 1929-31, 1940-41, 1950-51 and 1960-61 (Fig. 1.) The high populations in 1940-41, 1950-51, and 1960-61 agreed with another indice of abundance based on hunting statistics and the 1960-61 peak with census da
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