1. Brent goose colonies near snowy owls: Internest distances in relation to abundance of lemmings and arctic foxes.
- Author
-
Kharitonov, S. P., Volkov, A. E., Willems, F., Van Kleef, H., Klaassen, R. H. G., Nowak, D. J., Nowak, A. I., and Bublichenko, A. G.
- Subjects
BRANT ,GEESE ,SNOWY owl ,LEMMINGS ,ARCTIC fox - Abstract
Brent goose colonies around snowy owl nests have been studied near Medusa Bay (73°21′ N, 80°32′ E) and in the lower reaches of the Uboinaya River (73°37′N, 82°10′E), the northwestern Taimyr Peninsula, from 1999 to 2006. All brent nests within 680 m from an owl nest have been regarded as an individual colony. The results show that the area of the colony is always larger than the protected area around the owl nest. In years of low abundance of lemmings, brent geese nest generally closer to the owl nest than in years of high abundance. When arctic foxes are abundant, however, brent geese nest significantly closer to owls than when the foxes are scarce, irrespective of lemming abundance. The mechanism of brent colony formation around owl nests is based on a number of stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF