Game species are valuable resources in many regions and contribute to a range of ecosystem services, yet they are often studied and managed individually despite responding to similar environmental conditions. This study examined spatial variation in 10 game species across a coastal-inland gradient in Norway by (1) examining regional variation in relative abundance, and (2) analysing spatial patterns of game species assemblages in relation to land-cover composition and elevation. We used harvest density as a proxy for relative abundance, and analysed data using negative binomial regression, self-organising maps, and principal component analysis. Significant regional differences were observed for several species, including moose (Alces alces), red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), mountain hare (Lepus timidus), and capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus). The relative harvest density of red fox (Vulpes vulpes), pine marten (Martes martes), rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), and willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) did not differ significantly among regions. Spatial clustering identified five game species assemblages (red deer, willow grouse, moose-forest grouse, roe deer-moose, willow grouse–ptarmigan) defined by distinct combinations of land-cover types, elevation and harvest densities across municipalities. Assemblages were distributed across gradients from coastal semi-natural landscapes to inland forest–agricultural mosaics and from lowland to higher-elevation environments. Our findings show that game species assemblages vary systematically with landscape composition and elevation across the coastal–inland gradient. This highlights the value of an assemblage-based perspective for understanding spatial patterns and integrating game species management with land-use planning.
Beyene et al. (Thu,) studied this question.