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A test on social behavior as a cause of dispersal of spruce grouse

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Summary

Social behavior is one hypothesized cause for dispersal. We tested this hypothesis on spruce grouse (Dendragapus canadensis) in two years by removing adults in summer and monitoring emigration of juveniles in autumn. Despite the absence of adults, juveniles emigrated from the natal range at rates comparable to juveniles on control areas. Data on density and dispersal from earlier spruce grouse studies are reviewed, which show that emigration is constant despite substantial differences in density, and that a clear female sex bias occurs across a wide range of densities. Results do not support the hypothesis that social behavior influences dispersal nor do they support a prediction of the “Oedipus hypothesis” that no sex bias occurs in polygynous birds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Biology and Forest Resources, University of New Brunswick, Bag Service #44555, E3B 6C2, Fredericton, NB, Canada

    Daniel M. Keppie

  2. Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, E3B 5A3, Fredericton, NB, Canada

    Julie Towers

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  1. Daniel M. Keppie
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  2. Julie Towers
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Keppie, D.M., Towers, J. A test on social behavior as a cause of dispersal of spruce grouse. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 30, 343–346 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00170601

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00170601

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