Wolverines in a changing world – the first international wolverine symposium - Scandinavia June 2005

The wolverine is considered as a vulnerable and shy carnivore of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting arctic and sub-arctic regions in portions of the western United States, Alaska, Canada, Siberia and Fennoscandia. In comparison to other northern large ca rnivores the platform of scientific knowledge for conservation is especially poor for the wolverine. Meanwhile, the species is subject of serious management and conservation concerns in both the old and new world. In Scandinavia the main management proble m is its predation on semi-domestic reindeer and in Norway also on domestic sheep. Wolverine management issues in North America include regulating trapper harvest, preventing human disturbance at natal denning sites, and mitigating for habitat loss and fr agmentation. Although little information on wolverine biology is available in scientific literature, several research projects have been initiated the last decades both in northern America and Scandinavia. Recent communication among researchers and manage rs working with wolverines has shown a strong support for the need to facilitate an improved exchange of information on wolverine biology and management worldwide. Now is the time to arrange the first international symposium on wolverine biology and manag ement. The symposium consists of two days of open seminars with sessions presenting the syntheses of current knowledge and frontline research on wolverine ecology, addressing current conservation and management problems and solutions to these. The semina rs will be based on invited speakers who have previously conducted and are currently running research projects on wolverines as well as managers working with wolverine conservation. Following the seminars a two-day workshop will be held for invited resear chers and managers for in-depth discussions on biology, research and management techniques. For interested persons a field excursion will be organised into the Swedish wolverine project’s study area in Sarek NP.