Breeding Biology of the Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus hyperboreus

Steen, Johan B.; Unander, Sigmund

doi:10.2307/3676630

Cited by 55 publications

(74 citation statements)

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“…As observed in other populations of rock ptarmigan (MacDonald, 1970;Weeden and Theberge, 1972;Olpinski, 1986), initiation of laying of first nests was highly synchronous at Windy Lake, both within and between years and between adult and yearling hens. However, initiation of laying was not correlated with body weight before incubation, as Steen and Unander (1985) found in Svalbard. Steen and Unander (1985) also found that yearling rock ptarmigan hens, which weighed significantly less than adults, initiated egg-laying later than adult hens; they surmised that the later initiation by yearlings was more a function of the condition of the hen, as expressed in body mass, than of age and breeding experience.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…However, initiation of laying was not correlated with body weight before incubation, as Steen and Unander (1985) found in Svalbard. Steen and Unander (1985) also found that yearling rock ptarmigan hens, which weighed significantly less than adults, initiated egg-laying later than adult hens; they surmised that the later initiation by yearlings was more a function of the condition of the hen, as expressed in body mass, than of age and breeding experience. A similar relationship was observed for willow ptarmigan from northwestern British Columbia, where Hannon et al (1988) noted that hens which laid early were significantly heavier that those that laid in middle or later periods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…To date, the most in-depth study of the reproductive biology of rock ptarmigan was conducted by Steen and Unander (1985) on Svalbard. Their study was the first to follow the fate of marked hens from the onset of the breeding season through to the end of fledging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Reproductive Biology of Rock Ptarmigan (<i>Lagopus mutus</i>) in the Central Canadian Arctic

Cotter¹

1999

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. This paper reports on the nesting phenology, breeding biology, and attrition rates at different stages of the breeding cycle of a population of rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) at Windy Lake, Northwest Territories, from 1987 to 1989. By early May, males were on the study area, mostly in flocks numbering in the tens and hundreds. Females arrived two to three weeks later, about one week after males had dispersed and established territories. All males succeeded in establishing a territory, but only 83% were successful in attracting a mate. There were no unmated females. All but one male were monogamous. The initiation of laying was highly synchronous both within and between years, beginning shortly after ground snow cover receded below 50% (early June). Initiation of laying and clutch size were not correlated with either pre-incubation body weight or wing chord of females. The majority (71%) of hens that deserted or had their first nest depredated during laying renested. However, renesting was rare once incubation had commenced. Clutch size of first nests (mean = 8.7) was significantly larger than that of renests (mean = 5.0). In one year, adults laid larger clutches than yearlings; this did not result, however, in adults' fledging larger broods than yearlings that year. Pooling years, yearling females were as successful as adults: the proportion of first nests initiated that fledged was 0.56 for yearling hens and 0.55 for adult hens. Of all the hens that settled to breed at Windy Lake in 1988 and 1989, 57% were successful in fledging a brood. Predation was the major cause of complete nest failures. Predation of clutch caused most failures (72%), followed by depredation of the hen (24%) and brood predation (4%).Key words: reproduction, population attributes, rock ptarmigan, Lagopus mutus, Northwest Territories RÉSUMÉ. Cet article fait état de la phénologie de la nidification, de la biologie de la reproduction et des taux de réduction naturelle à différents stades du cycle reproducteur d'une population de lagopèdes des rochers (Lagopus mutus) à Windy Lake (Territoires du Nord-Ouest) de 1987 à 1989. Au début de mai, les mâles se trouvaient sur le site de l'étude, pour la plupart en volées regroupant des dizaines et des centaines d'individus. Les femelles arrivaient deux à trois semaines plus tard, environ une semaine après que les mâles se soient éparpillés et aient établi leur territoire. Tous les mâles ont réussi à établir leur territoire, mais seulement 83 p. cent ont réussi à attirer une partenaire. Il n'y a eu aucune femelle non fécondée. Tous les mâles sauf un se sont révélés monogames. Le début de la ponte s'est produit à peu près au même moment, au sein d'une même année et d'une année à l'autre, commençant peu après que la couverture de neige ait reculé de plus de 50 p. cent (début juin). Le début de la ponte et la taille des couvées n'étaient pas corrélés avec le poids corporel d'avant la couvaison ni avec la corde de l'aile des femelles. La plupart (71 p. cent) des femelles qui ont abandonné le nid,...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

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The Reproductive Biology of Rock Ptarmigan (<i>Lagopus mutus</i>) in the Central Canadian Arctic

Cotter¹

1999

ARCTIC

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“…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. direction and So far, we must rely on observations of the sex-segregated flocks returning to the breeding areas reported by Steen and Unander (1985), where males arrived to the same territories in late March while hens arrived to the same breeding areas in early April. During autumn, the Svalbard rock ptarmigan gather in groups foraging under sea bird cliffs or other areas with rich vegetation for a few weeks before they leave the area (Løvenskiold 1964, Unander and.…”

Section: Satellite Tag Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although no quantitative information is available, observation indicates that Svalbard rock ptarmigan use separate habitats during the winter-and the breeding season. Steen and Unander (1985) observed flocks of ptarmigan returning to the breeding grounds in early spring, cocks arrived first in mid-March followed by hens in early April. Shortly after arrival, the cocks establish territories and the pairs stay on the territories until after hatching of the broods .…”

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confidence: 99%

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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Monitoring Svalbard rock ptarmigan: Distance sampling and occupancy modeling

et al. 2011

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The only resident terrestrial herbivorous bird species in high-Arctic Svalbard, Norway is the endemic Svalbard rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta hyperborea) of which little is known of its population dynamics. We assessed temporal and spatial variability of the pre-breeding population of Svalbard rock ptarmigan males using: 1) distance sampling to estimate density (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009) and 2) occupancy modeling to determine the proportion of survey points being occupied in relation to a habitat index for ptarmigan habitat suitability (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)). Data were collected using a point-transect sampling design. We split the analysis according to type of survey point (non-random, random, and survey points combined). Our estimated spring densities were low (1.3-3.1 territorial male/km 2 , non-random survey points, 2000-2009) with limited annual variability. The best models describing occupancy rates of territorial males at 2 different spatial scales (ptarmigan males observed 250 m and 450 m from the sampling point) were independent of spatial scales and the type of survey points. Occupancy dynamics were related to the habitat index whereas detection probability was year dependent. Extinction probability was negatively related to habitat quality (good habitats had lower extinction probability). We could not estimate the habitat effect on colonization precisely because initial occupancy rates were high at both spatial scales (estimated average initial occupancy at scale 250 m ¼ 0.96; scale 450 m ¼ 0.97). Colonization appeared to be positively related to the habitat index for the random survey points (including mainly marginal habitats), but the small sample size led to large uncertainty in the parameter estimate. Detection probabilities varied greatly between study years, thus demonstrating the importance of estimating detection probability annually. We recommend that future surveys are stratified with respect to habitat quality and to integrate the 2 methodologies in population monitoring of Svalbard rock ptarmigan. ß 2011 The Wildlife Society.

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Breeding Biology of the Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus hyperboreus

Cited by 55 publications

References 5 publications

The Reproductive Biology of Rock Ptarmigan (<i>Lagopus mutus</i>) in the Central Canadian Arctic

The Reproductive Biology of Rock Ptarmigan (<i>Lagopus mutus</i>) in the Central Canadian Arctic

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

Monitoring Svalbard rock ptarmigan: Distance sampling and occupancy modeling

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