We studied the simultaneous activity patterns of a breeding wolf (Canis lupus) pair and five adult moose (Alces alces) cows from April through November 2004 in a wolf territory in south-eastern Norway. All study animals were GPS collared, and we used a total of 8,297 fixes to analyze their temporal activity patterns. We 1) describe the daily activity rhythm of the two species and how this varied seasonally through the study period, and 2) investigate the association in activity patterns between the two species. Wolf activity peaked at dawn. The distance moved per time unit and the linearity of the movement was higher in wolves than in moose, but both species showed a decrease in these variables in June, coinciding with the denning and calving seasons. With the exception of the summer months when the activity of wolves and moose was limited by the raising of offspring, we found no correlation between the temporal activity of the two species.1 Author for correspondence: Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway; e-mail: ane.eriksen@bio.uio.no; phone: (+47) 45269840 2 Hence, we did not find support for the hypothesis that the wolves and moose in Scandinavia have adjusted to each other's activity patterns. We discuss the results in light of the relative density of the two species and the intensive human harvest of moose, and hypothesize that synchronicity of predator-prey activity patterns may be ratio-dependent.Keywords: Activity pattern, Alces alces, Canis lupus, GPS-collar, moose, predation risk, predator avoidance, wolf.Continuous arms races are believed to be ongoing in predator-prey systems (Dawkins & Krebs 1979; Matter & Mannan 2005), resulting in a variety of predator-and anti-predator adaptations (Stephens & Peterson 1984). As one such adaptation, prey may adjust their activity pattern in response to that of their predator, and vice versa. Predators may increase their access to prey by being active in periods when prey is active (Jenny & Zuberbühler 2005). Conversely, prey may avoid their predators by reducing activity when predators are active (Nelson & Vance 1979; Overdorff 1988) or in circumstances in which predators find it easy to locate prey (Caro 2005). Prey, in particular females with young, may also avoid their predators in space by shifting their habitat use in response to predators (Main 1987; Festa-Bianchet 1988; Decaestecker et al. 2002; Caro 2005).The moose, Alces alces, is an important Holarctic prey species for wolves, Canis lupus (Peterson & Ciucci 2003), including within the boreal forests of south-central Scandinavia (Sand et al. 2008). Wolves and moose may both adjust their activity patterns to a number of factors, and when correlations between wolf and moose activity are found, it is a challenge to separate between those resulting from the same external factors acting on both species, and actual adjustments of one of the species to the activity pattern of the other. Without bei...

Over 6,000 GPS fixes from two wolves (Canis lupus) and 30,000 GPS fixes from five moose (Alces alces) in a wolf territory in southern Scandinavia were used to assess the static and dynamic interactions between predator and prey individuals. Our results showed that wolves were closer to some of the moose when inside their home ranges than expected if they had moved independently of each other, and we also found a higher number of close encounters (<500 m) than expected. This suggests that the wolves were actively seeking the individual moose within their territory. Furthermore, the wolves showed a preference for moving on gravel forest roads, which may be used as convenient travel routes when patrolling the territory and seeking areas where the moose are. However, due to the particularly large size of the wolf territory combined with relatively high moose densities, the wolves generally spent a very small proportion of their time inside the home range of each individual moose, and the frequency of encounters between the wolves and any particular moose was very low. We suggest that the high moose:wolf ratio in this large Scandinavian wolf territory compared to that typically occurring in North America, results in a relatively low encounter frequency and a low predation risk for individual moose, as the predation pressure is spread over a high number of prey individuals.

In some songbird species, large song repertoires are advantageous in female attraction, whereas song sharing with neighbours may give an advantage in male–male competition. Open‐ended learners, with the ability to memorize new song elements throughout their lives, may learn from territorial neighbours and thus benefit from increasing both repertoire size and song sharing. A distinction needs to be made between true adult song learning, i.e. memorization of novel song elements, and vocal plasticity resulting in changes in the use of previously memorized elements, such as the use of hidden repertoires or increased production of previously rare syllable types. We assessed the ability of adult pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca males to learn previously unheard song elements and to change their song production in response to playback of unfamiliar, conspecific song, emulating a singing neighbour. After a 1‐week playback treatment, three out of 20 subjects had learned foreign song elements, providing evidence from the wild that pied flycatchers are true open‐ended learners. However, the syllable sharing with the playback stimulus repertoires had not changed, and the males’ repertoires had decreased rather than increased. Hence, we did not find support for increased syllable sharing with neighbours or increased repertoire size as functions of adult song learning in pied flycatchers. Because pied flycatcher song seems to serve mainly for mate attraction, copying of attractive syllable types is a possible alternative function of adult song learning in this species.

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