Grouse science as a process: where do we stand?

The paper sketches the state of grouse science as reflected by the 8th Inte rnational Grouse Symposium held at Rovaniemi, Finland, in September 1999, b y contrasting the representation of species, topics and trends in the liter ature and at the Symposium. The analysis was based on 5,349 grouse papers p ublished between 1930 and 1998 and 75 abstracts submitted for the Symposium . In the past, grouse research has focused on the species with the greatest economic and cultural importance. During the 1990s, population dynamics, h abitat and behaviour have become the major research topics. At the Symposiu m, a number of trends became apparent: increasing importance of genetic and landscape ecological studies, integration of disciplines, approaches and e xplanations, as well as increasing cooperation. However, a significant gap seems to exist in the documentation and communication of experience in grou se conservation and management.