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

Abstract

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

Managing Protected Areas in Central and Eastern Europe Under Climate Change

“…Especially the areas with large variation in topographic and geomorphologic structures (Fig. 12.4) are particularly important, because they provide better potential for the birds to adapt to weather fluctuations by taking advantage of differences in microsite-specific climates (Favaron et al 2006;Revermann et al 2012). Therefore, the strict protection -the closure of some of such areas together with the highest peaks of the mountains within TNP should be provided.…”

“…Considering the small population size and naturally fragmented populations of rock ptarmigan in the Alps (Favaron et al 2006;Storch 2007) Finally, the understanding of species ecology, interactions with other species and potential overlapping ecological niches will be possible with long-term monitoring and scientific research. So far, the interactions of rock ptarmigan, corvids (Corvus sp.…”

Concept for the Monitoring of Climate Induced Impacts on Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in Triglav National Park, Slovenia

“…Especially the areas with large variation in topographic and geomorphologic structures (Fig. 12.4) are particularly important, because they provide better potential for the birds to adapt to weather fluctuations by taking advantage of differences in microsite-specific climates (Favaron et al 2006;Revermann et al 2012). Therefore, the strict protection -the closure of some of such areas together with the highest peaks of the mountains within TNP should be provided.…”

“…Considering the small population size and naturally fragmented populations of rock ptarmigan in the Alps (Favaron et al 2006;Storch 2007) genetic approaches in species conservation are particularly important. Furthermore, the knowledge on genetic basis of selectively favoured phenotypes allows the prediction and mitigation of the effects of climate change on population viability (Reusch and Wood 2007 cited in Oyler-McCance et al 2011).…”

“…In winter both factors provide mosaics of variable snow cover and different snow heights, while during summer a variety of microclimates favour high plant and food diversity (Bossert 1980;Nopp-Mayr and Zohmann 2008). Size of territories in Alps varies between 10 and 35 ha, while the distribution, extent and numbers of territories appear to be rather stable for decades (Bossert 1980(Bossert , 1995Favaron et al 2006). Breeding density varies among years and areas, and it is mostly estimated from 2 to 7 breeding pair per km 2 (Bossert 1995;Peer 2005;Nopp-Mayr and Zohmann 2008).…”