Behaviour and Social Structure in Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus hyperboreus

Unander, Sigmund; Steen, Johan B.

doi:10.2307/3676631

Cited by 32 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…However, our results indicated that all ptarmigan that migrated ended up close to or in an area of a sea bird colony. This is in agreement with observations written in old diaries from trappers in Svalbard (Løvenskiold 1964) and suggested by Unander and Steen (1985). Since sea bird cliffs with lush vegetation and potential winter forage for ptarmigan are widely scattered along the whole coastline of Svalbard, one should not expect any uniform migration pattern (i.e.…”

Section: Satellite Tag Performancesupporting

confidence: 79%

Demography of a Reintroduced Population of Evermann's Rock Ptarmigan in the Aleutian Islands

Kaler¹,

Ebbert²,

Braun³

et al. 2010

The Wilson Journal of Ornithology

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Section: Satellite Tag Performancesupporting

confidence: 79%

Demography of a Reintroduced Population of Evermann's Rock Ptarmigan in the Aleutian Islands

Kaler¹,

Ebbert²,

Braun³

et al. 2010

The Wilson Journal of Ornithology

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“…In contrast with populations studied in the Scottish highlands and on subarctic and arctic grounds (Watson 1965;Unander and Steen 1985;Nielsen and Pé tursson 1995), the social organisation, space use and habitat selection in these alpine populations are poorly known (e.g. Bossert 1980Bossert , 1995Huber and Ingold 1991;De Franceschi 1992;Scherini et al 2003), and there is no information on seasonal changes in the size of home ranges of individual birds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Spacing behaviour and habitat use of rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) at low density in the Italian Alps

Favaron

Scherini²,

Preatoni

et al. 2006

J Ornithol

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Studies of rock ptarmigan Lagopus mutus in\ud northern latitudes have shown that, in the breeding\ud season, the majority of cocks pair monogamously and\ud defend small territories, whilst in most populations, a\ud small proportion of cocks are polygynous or remain\ud unmated. Little is known, however, on spacing behaviour\ud and habitat use of alpine rock ptarmigan populations\ud occurring at low densities at the southern edge of\ud the species’ range. From 1995 to 1997, we trapped,\ud radio-tracked and observed birds in the Central Italian\ud Alps (elevation 2,000–3,000 m) in order to investigate\ud spacing behaviour and habitat use in alpine landscapes\ud where habitats offering rich food and cover are patchy.\ud Both sexes were selective in their habitat use, and cocks\ud did not establish territories on bare ground, artificial or\ud nutrient rich grasslands or bogs. In the breeding season,\ud cocks had larger home ranges than hens (cocks\ud 99 ± 57 ha, hens 50 ± 25 ha) that overlapped with the\ud ranges of neighbouring cocks and hens. Cocks were\ud monogamous and defended relatively large territories\ud (core areas of home ranges: cocks 37 ± 26 ha, hens\ud 24 ± 12 ha), which corresponded with low spring densities\ud (0.47–2.29 cocks km–2 and 0.35–1.60 pairs km–2).\ud Territory size of individual cocks was negatively correlated\ud with the amount of high quality habitat in the\ud core-area. Our results suggest increased home ranges\ud and large breeding territories in low density alpine rock\ud ptarmigan populations, compared to populations\ud occurring at higher densities in the central and northern\ud alps, and on subarctic and arctic grounds at northern\ud latitudes, confirming the predictions of models on foodbased\ud territoriality

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“…0.28U) and was longer in males compared to females f stride of the females . The difference in energy budget between ptarmigan sexes may be unique, however, as the extended photoperiod during the summer breeding season in Svalbard results in males defending territories for 24 h a day (Unander and Steen 1985). Significant metabolic investment has been recorded in males carrying out behaviours involved with attaining mates (Vehrencamp et al 1989;Barske et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, males often possess ornamental and colourful plumage and may be larger, compared to less conspicuous females (Dunn et al 2001;Lislevand et al 2009). Energetically costly courtship, territorial or lekking displays are exclusive to male birds giving rise to sex differences in energy budget (Unander and Steen 1985;Vehrencamp et al 1989;Barske et al 2011). Furthermore, egg formation, incubation and parental care require significant metabolic investment from only females (Parker and Holm 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neither season nor sex affects the cost of terrestrial locomotion in a circumpolar diving duck: the common eider (Somateria mollissima)

et al. 2014

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Locomotion accounts for a significant proportion of the energy budget in birds, and selection is likely to act on its economy, particularly where energy conservation is essential for survival. Birds are capable of different forms of locomotion, such as walking/running, swimming, diving and flying, and adaptations for these affect the energetic cost [cost of locomotion (CoL)] and kinematics of terrestrial locomotion. Furthermore, seasonal changes in climate and photoperiod elicit physiological and behavioural adaptations for survival and reproduction, which also influence energy budget. However, little is understood about how this might affect the CoL. Birds are also known to exhibit sex differences in size, behaviour and physiology; however, sex differences in terrestrial locomotion have only been studied in two cursorially adapted galliform species in which males achieved higher maximum speeds, and in one case had a lower mass-specific CoL than females. Here, using respirometry and high-speed video recordings, we sought to determine whether season and sex would affect the CoL and kinematics of a principally aquatic diving bird: the circumpolar common eider (Somateria mollissima). We demonstrate that eiders are only capable of a walking gait and exhibit no seasonal or sex differences in mass-specific CoL or maximum speed. Despite sharing identical limb morphometrics, the birds exhibited subtle sex differences in kinematic parameters linked to the greater body mass of the males. We suggest that their principally aquatic lifestyle accounts for the observed patterns in their locomotor performance. Furthermore, sex differences in the CoL may only be found in birds in which terrestrial locomotion directly influences male reproductive success.

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Behaviour and Social Structure in Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus hyperboreus

Cited by 32 publications

References 5 publications

Demography of a Reintroduced Population of Evermann's Rock Ptarmigan in the Aleutian Islands

Demography of a Reintroduced Population of Evermann's Rock Ptarmigan in the Aleutian Islands

Spacing behaviour and habitat use of rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) at low density in the Italian Alps

Neither season nor sex affects the cost of terrestrial locomotion in a circumpolar diving duck: the common eider (Somateria mollissima)

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