Home range, habitat choice and activity of stoats (<i>Mustela erminea</i>) in a subarctic area

Hellstedt, Paavo; Henttonen, H.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00072.x

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Stoats respond mainly numerically with an approximately nine-month lag to changes in the density of their main prey, voles (Korpimäki et al 1991). After a crash in the vole population, stoats increase their mobility and expand their ranges from main habitats (grasslands and cultivated fields) to forests (Klemola et al 1999;Hellstedt and Henttonen 2006), where the probability of encountering grouse broods increases. We also found a positive correlation between the predation index of grouse hens and the ratio of the abundance index of stoats to the bank vole index.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability of black grouse hens to goshawk predation: result of food supply or predation facilitation?

Tornberg

Helle²,

Korpimäki

2010

Oecologia

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The plant cycle hypothesis says that poor-quality food affects both herbivorous voles (Microtinae spp.) and grouse (Tetraonidae spp.) in vole decline years, leading to increased foraging effort in female grouse and thus a higher risk of predation by the goshawk Accipiter gentilis. Poor-quality food (mainly the bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus) for these herbivores is induced by seed masting failure in the previous year, when the bilberry is able to allocate resources for chemical defence (the mast depression hypothesis; MDH). The predation facilitation hypothesis (PFH) in turn states that increased searching activity of vole-eating predators during or after the decline year of voles disturbs incubating and brooding grouse females. The behaviours used by grouse to avoid these terrestrial predators make them more vulnerable to predation by goshawks. We tested the main predictions of the MDH and PFH by collecting long-term (21-year) data from black grouse Tetrao tetrix hens and cocks killed by breeding goshawks supplemented with indices of bilberry crop, vole abundance and small carnivores in the vicinity of Oulu, northern Finland. We did not find obvious support for the prediction of the MDH that there is a negative correlation of bilberry crop in year t with vole abundance and with predation index of black grouse hens in year t + 1. We did find obvious support for the prediction of the PFH that there is a positive correlation between predator abundance and predation index of grouse hens, because the stoat Mustela erminea abundance index was positively related to the predation index of black grouse hens. We suggest that changes in vulnerability of grouse hens may mainly be caused by the guild of vole-eating predators, who shift to alternative prey in the decline phase of the vole cycle, and thus chase grouse hens and chicks to the talons of goshawks and other avian predators.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability of black grouse hens to goshawk predation: result of food supply or predation facilitation?

Tornberg

Helle²,

Korpimäki

2010

Oecologia

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“…Other studies have reported clear ecological divergence in species that show little differences in morphology (e.g. Gray & Hamer, 2001; Lewis et al ., 2002; Hellstedt & Henttonen, 2006), lending further support to the notion that the directly linking of morphology with ecology may need to be reassessed.…”

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confidence: 81%

“…Durell, Gosscustard & Caldow, 1993; Braña, 1996; Pearson, Shine & How, 2002; Page, McKenzie & Goldsworthy, 2005; Herrel et al ., 2006), microhabitat use (e.g. Vidal, Ortiz & Labra, 2002; Both, Edelaar & Renema, 2003; Wolf, Kauermann & Trillmich, 2005; Hellstedt & Henttonen, 2006), and thermal ecology (e.g. Van Damme, Bauwens & Verheyen, 1986; Perez‐Mellado & Dela Riva, 1993; Brown & Weatherhead, 2000).…”

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confidence: 99%

Functional and ecological relevance of intraspecific variation in body size and shape in the lizard Podarcis melisellensis (Lacertidae)

Brecko¹,

Huyghe²,

Vanhooydonck³

et al. 2008

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Within populations, individual animals may vary considerably in morphology and ecology. The degree to which variation in morphology is related to ecological variation within a population remains largely unexplored. We investigated whether variation in body size and shape among sexes and age classes of the lizard Podarcis melisellensis translates in differential whole-animal performance (sprint speed, bite force), escape and prey attack behaviour in the field, microhabitat use and diet. Male and female adult lizards differed significantly in body size and head and limb proportions. These morphological differences were reflected in differences in bite strength, but not in sprint speed. Accordingly, field measurements of escape behaviour and prey attack speed did not differ between the sexes, but males ate larger, harder and faster prey than females. In addition to differences in body size, juveniles diverged from adults in relative limb and head dimensions. These shape differences may explain the relatively high sprint and bite capacities of juvenile lizards. Ontogenetic variation in morphology and performance is strongly reflected in the behaviour and ecology in the field, with juveniles differing from adults in aspects of their microhabitat use, escape behaviour and diet. . It is tempting to ascribe these ecological differences directly to sexual or ontogenetic differences in body size or shape, but theoretical developments in ecological morphology and empirical observations suggest that the relationship deserves closer inspection.In the spirit of Arnold's (1983) seminal contribution to ecological morphology, prudent assessments of the relationship between the morphology and the ecology of males and females, or juveniles and adults, requires measurements of whole-animal performance. These measurements will indicate whether the morphological variation observed is functionally and ecologically relevant, i.e. translates into differential performance. For instance, does sexual dimorphism in head size actually contribute to differences in bite performance? This is not self-evident, especially not when structures relevant in a survival context (e.g. aiding feeding or locomotion) are at the same time under sexual selection. Sexual selection for larger heads could, for example, theoretically increase head size in males without affecting muscle mass (Herrel Aguirre LF, Herrel A, Van Damme R, Mathyssen E. 2003. The implications of food hardness for diet in bats. Functional Ecology 17: 201-212. Arnold SJ. 1983. Morphology, performance and fitness. American Zoologist 23: 347-361. Bauwens D, Thoen C. 1981. Escape tactics and vulnerability to predation associated with reproduction in the lizard Lacerta vivipara. Journal of Animal Ecology 50: 733-743. Bonine KE, Garland T Jr. 1999. Sprint performance of phrynosomatid lizards, measured on a high-speed treadmill, correlates with hindlimb length. Journal of Zoology, London 248: 255-265. Bonnet X, Ineich I, Shine R. 2005. Terrestrial locomotion in sea snakes: the effects of sex and...

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“…Thereafter, African elephants exhibit pronounced sexual dimorphism in both size and behaviour (Lee & Moss, ). The forage selection hypothesis predicts that these differences may lead to segregation of the sexes by virtue of their size dimorphism (Berteaux, ; Mysterud, ; Hellstedt & Henttonen, ; Shannon et al ., ). Being smaller, adult females are generally more selective in the resources they use (Shannon et al ., ; Woolley, Page & Slotow, ), whereas adult males can tolerate a wider range of forage quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in habitat use by African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana: is size really the deciding factor?

Evans

2012

Afr. J. Ecol.

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Many sexually dimorphic mammals show sexual segregation of habitat use. We studied habitat selection and use by male and female elephants in the Okavango Delta, and males of different ages and therefore sizes, to assess whether size was a driving force behind any sex differences in habitat selectivity. There was variation in habitat choices, with males preferring island vegetation and mopane woodland and avoiding grassland/floodplain and Terminalia woodland; females showed no selection for or against most habitats other than selecting for mopane woodland in the rainy season. Male habitat choice changed dramatically during the dry season, when resources were most limited and there was the least sexual difference in habitat selection. Females were more selective in the flood season, when access to resources was restricted. Contrary to other studies and the forage selection hypothesis, males showed greater habitat selectivity than females, but age, and therefore size, did not affect their habitat selection. Whilst our data suggested that males were superior competitors, we could not discount that females excluded males from preferred habitats. In the Okavango Delta, habitat selection by male elephants may be more dependent on social groupings, and hence the decisions of others, than individual size and energetic requirements.

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Home range, habitat choice and activity of stoats (Mustela erminea) in a subarctic area

Cited by 18 publications

References 45 publications

Vulnerability of black grouse hens to goshawk predation: result of food supply or predation facilitation?

Vulnerability of black grouse hens to goshawk predation: result of food supply or predation facilitation?

Functional and ecological relevance of intraspecific variation in body size and shape in the lizard Podarcis melisellensis (Lacertidae)

Sex differences in habitat use by African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana: is size really the deciding factor?

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