The impact of hunting on a protected species, the Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus at Lake Constance

Abstract

A large increase in Whooper Swans was recorded at Lake Constance since the wintering tradition started in the late 1950s. Eutrophication, which caused an increase of the food plant Potamogeton, might have played an important role in this development. A ban on shooting in 1985 turned a formerly infrequently used bay into the most important site at the lake. Shooting had made the exploitation of the large food supply in this part of the lake impossible.