Sexual and subspecific variation in the numbers of rectrices of blue grouse

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred C. Zwickel ◽  
Mark A. Degner ◽  
Donald T. McKinnon ◽  
David A. Boag
Keyword(s):  
Distinct Group ◽  
Centrocercus Urophasianus ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Hybrid Population ◽  
Sage Grouse ◽  
Modal Number ◽  
The North ◽  
Dendragapus Obscurus ◽  
Coastal Birds ◽  
Males And Females

We examined numbers of rectrices of all subspecies of blue grouse (Dendragapus obscurus), determined from our own studies and reported in the literature. Approximately 8% of all birds had an uneven number of rectrices, with no difference between males and females. More birds from a presumed subspecific "hybrid" population had uneven numbers of rectrices than those from "nonhybrid" samples. Of North American tetraonines, sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and blue grouse appear most variable in this character. Within subspecies, males and females had the same modal numbers of rectrices. The sexes differed, however, in the overall distribution of numbers of rectrices; most birds with submodal numbers were females and most birds with supermodal numbers, males. Males and females in one hybrid population differed in modal numbers of rectrices: males 20, and females 18. Eighty per cent of all coastal blue grouse had 18 rectrices, with no differences among subspecies. In contrast, all interior subspecies differed from each other. The two northern interior subspecies, D. o. pallidus and D. o. richardsonii, had modes of 20 rectrices, with that for pallidus weaker than that for richardsonii (70 and 81% modal, respectively). Dendragapus obscurus obscurus had a mode of 18 rectrices, not different from that for coastal birds. A small sample of D. o. oreinus was equally divided between birds with 18 and 20 rectrices, suggesting relationships with D. o. pallidus to the north and D. o. obscurus to the east. Northern interior blue grouse emerge as a distinct group with respect to modal number of rectrices, which parallels the pattern for the presence or absence of tail bands. Based on these two characteristics, coastal blue grouse appear more closely related to southern interior than to northern interior subspecies. The blue grouse is the only tetraonine with clear evidence of subspecific variation in numbers of rectrices.

scholarly journals Rates of Ovulation and Reproductive Success Estimated from Hunter-Harvested Greater Sage-Grouse in Colorado

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-163
Author(s):  
Gregory T. Wann ◽  
Clait E. Braun ◽  
Cameron L. Aldridge ◽  
Michael A. Schroeder
Keyword(s):  
Annual Variation ◽  
Centrocercus Urophasianus ◽  
Nesting Success ◽  
Sage Grouse ◽  
Primary Feather ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
The North ◽  
North Park ◽  
Biased Estimates ◽  
Source Of Information

Abstract Numerous studies provide estimates of nesting propensity rates (proportion of females attempting to nest at least once in a given year) for greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus. However, females may initiate nests without being detected during the course of normal research, leading to negatively biased estimates. We evaluated nesting propensity rates (rate of females laying ≥1 egg/y) by examining ovaries from 941 female sage-grouse collected at hunter-check stations in North Park, Colorado, during 1975–1984. Mean rate estimates of nesting propensity were lower for yearlings (0.926, 95% CI = 0.895–0.948) than adults (0.964, 95% CI = 0.945–0.978). We did not attempt to estimate laying rates (number of eggs laid per year) because they were likely unreliable. Nesting success—estimated as the probability of females producing a successful clutch in a given year based on primary feather replacement from hunter-harvested wings—was lower for yearlings (0.398, 95% CI = 0.370–0.427) than adults (0.571, 95% CI = 0.546–0.596). There were more chicks per female produced when nesting propensity rates were high, indicating nesting propensity rates correlate with the number of juveniles in the autumn population. Both nesting propensity rates and nesting success were positively related to precipitation during the lekking and brood-rearing seasons, respectively. Nesting propensity rates were positively related to spring abundance (as measured from annual lek counts), but nesting success was unrelated to spring abundance. A range-wide estimate of an unadjusted, apparent nesting propensity rate available from a previous study was approximately 7% lower than the North Park population. Postovulatory follicles provide a direct source of information on nesting propensity rates estimated from hunter-harvested sage-grouse. These estimated rates may prove useful to gain insights into annual variation of hunted populations' reproductive efforts.

The influence of season, temperature, and absorptive state on sage grouse metabolism

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 898-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark H. Sherfy ◽  
Peter J. Pekins
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Seasonal Change ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Centrocercus Urophasianus ◽  
Standard Metabolic Rate ◽  
Behavioral Thermoregulation ◽  
Sage Grouse ◽  
Critical Temperatures ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Endogenous Reserves

We used indirect respiration calorimetry to measure the metabolism of six adult sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) during winter, spring, and summer. During winter the metabolic rate of fed birds was higher (P < 0.05) than that of fasted birds. The standard metabolic rate (SMR) of females (0.692 mL O2∙g−1∙h−1) was higher than of males (0.583 mL O2∙g−1∙h−1) in winter; in both sexes SMR was higher in winter than in summer. Females' SMR was lower (P = 0.0001) in spring than in winter. Lower critical temperatures of both males and females were substantially lower in winter (−0.6 °C, −4.8 °C) than in summer (14.9 °C, 14.8 °C). Although seasonally elevated, the SMR of sage grouse in winter is low in comparison with that of other galliforms with northern distributions. Thermoregulation during a winter night at −10 °C would result in minimal (<5%) expenditure of endogenous reserves by either sex. Thermoregulation and SMR in winter are more energetically costly to female sage grouse than to males, and may necessitate increased behavioral thermoregulation by females. Seasonal change in SMR differs between the sexes, and is probably influenced by the energetic demands of the breeding season.

Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Schroeder ◽  
Jessica R. Young ◽  
Clait E. Braun
Keyword(s):  
Centrocercus Urophasianus ◽  
Sage Grouse

scholarly journals Field Methods for Translocating Female Greater Sage‐Grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) with their Broods

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary B. Meyerpeter ◽  
Kade D. Lazenby ◽  
Peter S. Coates ◽  
Mark A. Ricca ◽  
Steven R. Mathews ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Centrocercus Urophasianus ◽  
Sage Grouse ◽  
Field Methods

scholarly journals Age and growth of franciscana dolphins, Pontoporia blainvillei (Cetacea: Pontoporiidae) incidentally caught off southern Brazil and northern Argentina

2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (8) ◽  
pp. 1493-1500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Botta ◽  
Eduardo R. Secchi ◽  
Mônica M.C. Muelbert ◽  
Daniel Danilewicz ◽  
Maria Fernanda Negri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Models ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Age And Growth ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Von Bertalanffy ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Pontoporia Blainvillei

Age and length data of 291 franciscana dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei) incidentally captured on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul State (RS), southern Brazil, were used to fit growth curves using Gompertz and Von Bertalanffy growth models. A small sample of franciscanas (N = 35) from Buenos Aires Province (BA), Argentina, were used to see if there are apparent growth differences between the populations. Male and female franciscana samples from both areas were primarily (78–85%) <4 years of age. The Von Bertalanffy growth model with a data set that excluded animals <1 year of age provided the best fit to data. Based on this model, dolphins from the RS population reached asymptotic length at 136.0 cm and 158.4 cm, for males and females, respectively. No remarkable differences were observed in the growth trajectories of males and females between the RS and BA populations.

Effects of power lines on habitat use and demography of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)

2018 ◽  
Vol 200 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Gibson ◽  
Erik J. Blomberg ◽  
Michael T. Atamian ◽  
Shawn P. Espinosa ◽  
James S. Sedinger
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Centrocercus Urophasianus ◽  
Power Lines ◽  
Sage Grouse

Selective Forces Affecting the Predator Alarm Calls of Vervet Monkeys

Behaviour ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 76 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 25-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy L. Cheney ◽  
Robert M. Seyfarth
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Observation Time ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Calling Behavior ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Vervet Monkeys ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
High Ranking ◽  
Alarm Calling ◽  
Males And Females

AbstractVervet monkeys in Amboseli National Park, Kenya are preyed upon by four types of predator: mammalian carnivores, eagles, baboons, and snakes. Over a 14 month period, adult males and females gave first alarm calls at comparable rates. Both observation on the frequency of alarm-calling and experiments on the duration of alarm-calling indicated that high-ranking adult males and females gave alarm calls more often than low-ranking adult males and females. Individuals who alarm-called most often did not vocalize most often during social interactions, nor did they spend more time than others surveying the habitat around them. There was some tendency, however, for females who alarm-called most often to precede other females in group progressions. Limited evidence suggests that adult males who gave most alarm calls were more likely than other males to have fathered the group's juveniles and infants. Among adult females, however, there was no correlation between number of offspring and frequency of first alarm calls. Females who gave alarm calls most often were not more likely than other females to spend large proportions of observation time more than 2 m from their offspring. Data on a small sample of confirmed predatory attacks suggest that the offspring of high-ranking females may have been more vulnerable than other immatures to predation. Such differential vulnerability may have resulted in part from the tendency of the offspring of high-ranking females to precede other juveniles in group progressions. Vervets of all age/sex classes alarm-called most at those species of predators to which they themselves seemed to be most vulnerable. Adult vervets gave relatively few alarm calls to predators to which their offspring, but not themselves, were vulnerable, even though such alarm calls would have been of low cost to themselves and of great potential benefit to their offspring. While some aspects of the alarm-calling behavior of vervet monkeys are consistent with the hypothesis that their alarms have evolved to benefit kin, in other respects their alarms appear to have the consequence of benefitting only the alarmists themselves. It is likely that both kin and individual selection, acting on an individual's inclusive fitness, have played a role in the evolution of vervet monkeys' alarm calls.

scholarly journals An Investigation into Marmot Migration in Grand Teton National Park

1996 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 78-82
Author(s):  
George Montopoli ◽  
Nick Visser ◽  
Hank Harlow
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Snow Melt ◽  
Marmota Flaviventris ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The North ◽  
North Fork ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Long Distance Movement

In 1994 and 1995, a high abundant winter snowfall at higher elevations appeared to result in long distance movement patterns by yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) over snow to lower, snowfree elevations where food was more available. As the snow melted and food became abundant, the marmots return to higher altitudes. In 1996, we continued to investigate the potential for migrational movements, by studying two study sites at different elevations in the North Fork of Cascade Canyon. Four marmots at each site were implanted with intraperitoneal tracking transmitters. Of eight marmots that were equipped with intraperitoneal transmitters, six demonstrated significant movements of greater than 0.5 km, one did not, and one most likely died as a result of predation before any movement could be observed. Of the six that demonstrated significant movements within the canyon, only one moved distances greater than 1 km. Marmots, after emerging from hibernation, migrated down canyon to snowfree areas as they become available. With progressive snow melt, most marmots move upward to higher elevations, but not to the extent originally expected. Instead, they moved to the first available habitat where food was obtainable, and other (dominant) marmots accepted their presence. This movement is exhibited in both males and females, yearlings and adults, and melanistic and normal colored marmots.

scholarly journals Genome-wide sequence-based genotyping supports a nonhybrid origin of Castanea alabamensis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Taylor Perkins ◽  
Tetyana Zhebentyayeva ◽  
Paul H. Sisco ◽  
J. Hill Craddock
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Distinct Group ◽  
Morphological Diversity ◽  
Hybrid Origin ◽  
Putative Hybrid ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
The North ◽  
Snp Data ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Conservation Concern

AbstractThe genus Castanea in North America contains multiple tree and shrub taxa of conservation concern. The two species within the group, American chestnut (Castanea dentata) and chinquapin (C. pumila sensu lato), display remarkable morphological diversity across their distributions in the eastern United States and southern Ontario. Previous investigators have hypothesized that hybridization between C. dentata and C. pumila has played an important role in generating morphological variation in wild populations. A putative hybrid taxon, Castanea alabamensis, was identified in northern Alabama in the early 20th century; however, the question of its hybridity has been unresolved. We tested the hypothesized hybrid origin of C. alabamensis using genome-wide sequence-based genotyping of C. alabamensis, all currently recognized North American Castanea taxa, and two Asian Castanea species at >100,000 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci. With these data, we generated a high-resolution phylogeny, tested for admixture among taxa, and analyzed population genetic structure of the study taxa. Bayesian clustering and principal components analysis provided no evidence of admixture between C. dentata and C. pumila in C. alabamensis genomes. Phylogenetic analysis of genome-wide SNP data indicated that C. alabamensis forms a distinct group within C. pumila sensu lato. Our results are consistent with the model of a nonhybrid origin for C. alabamensis. Our finding of C. alabamensis as a genetically and morphologically distinct group within the North American chinquapin complex provides further impetus for the study and conservation of the North American Castanea species.

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