Kin Landownership, Differential Aggression between Kin and Non-Kin, and Population Fluctuations in Red Grouse

Abstract

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Aggressive behaviour affects selection on morphology by influencing settlement patterns in a passerine bird

“…However, this divergence seems unlikely because in order for it to occur the aggressive phenotypes in the population and the distribution of nest cavities across the population would have to be stable over time. Studies on the role of aggression in producing population cycles suggest that this is unlikely (Watson et al 1994;Matthiopoulos et al 2000;Mougeot et al 2003) and, moreover, the association between habitat type and nest cavity density varies both spatially and temporally depending on the ecology of a particular site (e.g. burned forests and open meadows with mature trees can both have high densities of nest cavities).…”

“…The outcome of aggressive interactions will depend not only on an individual's own aggressive behaviour but will also depend on the aggressive phenotype of other individuals in the population. This makes aggressive interactions important for evolution because they can influence the local breeding environment for many individuals at once by determining territory spacing, population density and population dynamics Watson et al 1994). Therefore, even in the absence of behavioural plasticity, which is often assumed to be necessary for behaviours to affect evolutionary change (Wcislo 1989;West-Eberhard 2003), aggressive interactions can influence the evolutionary trajectory of populations if the frequency of aggressive and non-aggressive phenotypes changes over time (Mougeot et al 2003).…”

Inbreeding in the Greater White-Toothed Shrew, Crocidura Russula

“…However, males apparently play an important role in territory acquisition and defense (Cantoni and Vogel 1989). If this task is made easier by familiarity with the natal area (Greenwood 1980;Pärt 1994;Bensch et al 1998) or by living among related neighbors (e.g., Watson et al 1994;Koprowski 1996), then male philopatry should evolve (Perrin and Goudet 2001).…”

The role of invertebrates in the diet, growth and survival of red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) chicks

“…It is a bird of economic importance as a quarry species and has been the subject of several long-term studies investigating their ecology, population dynamics and behaviour (Jenkins, Watson & Miller, 1963, 1967Watson & Moss, 1979;Moss & Watson, 1985;Hudson, 1986a;Hudson et al, 1997;Hudson, 1992;Watson et al, 1994). Some of these studies have suggested that variations in chick survival between sites influences productivity, and others that chick survival within a site may play a role in year to year changes in red grouse numbers.…”