Sexual segregation in red deer: is social behaviour more important than habitat preferences?

Alves, Joana; Silva, António Alves da; Soares, Amadeu M.V.M.; Fonseca, Carlos

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.12.018

Cited by 34 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Fine scale sexual segregation, in which segregation occurs within a small area, is particularly prevalent in species with strong sexual dimorphism ( Ruckstuhl & Neuhaus, 2002 ) and those with polygynous mating systems ( Clutton-Brock, 1989 ). However, there is little consensus about the underlying factors driving sexual segregation ( Alves et al, 2013 ; Bonenfant et al, 2007 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is little consensus as to what are the driving mechanisms underpinning sexual segregation ( Conradt & Roper, 2000 ; Ruckstuhl et al, 2006 ). Typically, studies are unable to tease apart which hypothesis best predicts why species segregate, often suggesting that multiple hypotheses could be the cause ( Alves et al, 2013 ; Bonenfant et al, 2007 ; Loe et al, 2006 ). One reason for this could be that much of the research concentrates on ungulates ( Alves et al, 2013 ; Bon & Campan, 1996 ; Bowyer & Kie, 2004 ), in particular ruminants ( Bowyer & Kie, 2004 ) in systems that are notoriously difficult to study in the wild ( Michelena et al, 2004 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Typically, studies are unable to tease apart which hypothesis best predicts why species segregate, often suggesting that multiple hypotheses could be the cause ( Alves et al, 2013 ; Bonenfant et al, 2007 ; Loe et al, 2006 ). One reason for this could be that much of the research concentrates on ungulates ( Alves et al, 2013 ; Bon & Campan, 1996 ; Bowyer & Kie, 2004 ), in particular ruminants ( Bowyer & Kie, 2004 ) in systems that are notoriously difficult to study in the wild ( Michelena et al, 2004 ). It is not always feasible in such free-ranging mammalian systems to collect the physiological and behavioural data necessary to explicitly separate and test these competing hypotheses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Size dimorphism and sexual segregation in pheasants: tests of three competing hypotheses

Whiteside

Horik

Langley

et al. 2018

PeerJ

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Fine scale sexual segregation outside of the mating season is common in sexually dimorphic and polygamous species, particularly in ungulates. A number of hypotheses predict sexual segregation but these are often contradictory with no agreement as to a common cause, perhaps because they are species specific. We explicitly tested three of these hypotheses which are commonly linked by a dependence on sexual dimorphism for animals which exhibit fine-scale sexual segregation; the Predation Risk Hypothesis, the Forage Selection Hypothesis, and the Activity Budget Hypothesis, in a single system the pheasant, Phasianus colchicus; a large, sedentary bird that is predominantly terrestrial and therefore analogous to ungulates rather than many avian species which sexually segregate. Over four years we reared 2,400 individually tagged pheasants from one day old and after a period of 8–10 weeks we released them into the wild. We then followed the birds for 7 months, during the period that they sexually segregate, determined their fate and collected behavioural and morphological measures pertinent to the hypotheses. Pheasants are sexually dimorphic during the entire period that they sexually segregate in the wild; males are larger than females in both body size and gut measurements. However, this did not influence predation risk and predation rates (as predicted by the Predation Risk Hypothesis), diet choice (as predicted by the Forage Selection Hypothesis), or the amount of time spent foraging, resting or walking (as predicted by the Activity Budget Hypothesis). We conclude that adult sexual size dimorphism is not responsible for sexual segregation in the pheasant in the wild. Instead, we consider that segregation may be mediated by other, perhaps social, factors. We highlight the importance of studies on a wide range of taxa to help further the knowledge of sexual segregation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Size dimorphism and sexual segregation in pheasants: tests of three competing hypotheses

Whiteside

Horik

Langley

et al. 2018

PeerJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Young & Isbell 1991), where larger individuals, often males, suffer higher absolute heat loss and therefore opt for warmer habitats often at the expense of foraging availability (Conradt et al 2001) There is little consensus as to what are the driving mechanisms underpinning sexual segregation (Conradt & Roper 2000;Ruckstuhl et al 2006). Typically, studies are unable to tease apart which hypothesis best predicts why species segregate, often suggesting that multiple hypotheses could be the cause (Alves et al 2013;Bonenfant et al 2007;Loe et al 2006). One reason for this could be that much of the research concentrates on ungulates (Alves et al 2013;Bon & Campan 1996;Bowyer & Kie 2004), in particular ruminants (Bowyer & Kie 2004) in systems that are notoriously difficult to study in the wild (Michelena et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #1 of "Size dimorphism and sexual segregation in pheasants: tests of three competing hypotheses (v0.1)"

2018

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Fine scale sexual segregation outside of the mating season is common in sexually dimorphic and polygamous species, particularly in ungulates. A number of hypotheses predict sexual segregation but these are often contradictory with no agreement as to a common cause, perhaps because they are species specific. We explicitly tested three of these hypotheses which are commonly linked by a dependence on sexual dimorphism for animals which exhibit fine-scale sexual segregation; the Predation Risk Hypothesis, the Forage Selection Hypothesis, and the Activity Budget Hypothesis, in a single system the pheasant, Phasianus colchicus; a large, sedentary bird that is predominantly terrestrial and therefore analogous to ungulates rather than many avian species which sexually segregate. Over four years we reared 2400 individually tagged pheasants from one day old and after a period of 8-10 weeks we released them into the wild. We then followed the birds for 7 months, during the period that they sexually segregate, determined their fate and collected behavioural and morphological measures pertinent to the hypotheses. Pheasants are sexually dimorphic during the entire period that they sexually segregate in the wild; males are larger than females in both body size and gut measurements. However, this did not influence predation risk and predation rates (as predicted by the Predation Risk Hypothesis), diet choice (as predicted by the Forage Selection Hypothesis), or the amount of time spent foraging, resting or walking (as predicted by the Activity Budget Hypothesis). We conclude that adult sexual size dimorphism is not responsible for sexual segregation in the pheasant in the wild. Instead, we consider that segregation may be mediated by other, perhaps social, factors. We highlight the importance of studies on a wide range of taxa to help further the knowledge of sexual segregation.

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“…Eurasian wild sheep [ 5 ]), differences in social motivation to interact that may lead to behavioural incompatibility (e.g. red deer [ 6 ]), physiological differences (e.g. pelagic shark [ 7 ]), or to decrease intraspecific resource competition (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

City life makes females fussy: sex differences in habitat use of temperate bats in urban areas

et al. 2014

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Urbanization is a major driver of the global loss of biodiversity; to mitigate its adverse effects, it is essential to understand what drives species' patterns of habitat use within the urban matrix. While many animal species are known to exhibit sex differences in habitat use, adaptability to the urban landscape is commonly examined at the species level, without consideration of intraspecific differences. The high energetic demands of pregnancy and lactation in female mammals can lead to sexual differences in habitat use, but little is known of how this might affect their response to urbanization. We predicted that female Pipistrellus pygmaeus would show greater selectivity of forging locations within urban woodland in comparison to males at both a local and landscape scale. In line with these predictions, we found there was a lower probability of finding females within woodlands which were poorly connected, highly cluttered, with a higher edge : interior ratio and fewer mature trees. By contrast, habitat quality and the composition of the surrounding landscape were less of a limiting factor in determining male distributions. These results indicate strong sexual differences in the habitat use of fragmented urban woodland, and this has important implications for our understanding of the adaptability of bats and mammals more generally to urbanization.

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Sexual segregation in red deer: is social behaviour more important than habitat preferences?

Cited by 34 publications

References 67 publications

Size dimorphism and sexual segregation in pheasants: tests of three competing hypotheses

Size dimorphism and sexual segregation in pheasants: tests of three competing hypotheses

Peer Review #1 of "Size dimorphism and sexual segregation in pheasants: tests of three competing hypotheses (v0.1)"

City life makes females fussy: sex differences in habitat use of temperate bats in urban areas

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