1. [Brant goose colonies near snowy owls: internest distances in relation to lemming and arctic fox abundance].
- Author
-
Kharitonov SP, Volkov AE, Willems F, van Kleef H, Klaassen RH, Nowak DJ, Nowak AI, and Bublichenko AG
- Subjects
- Animals, Arctic Regions, Population Dynamics, Russia, Arvicolinae physiology, Ecosystem, Foxes physiology, Strigiformes physiology
- Abstract
Brant goose colonies around snowy owl nests have been studied near Meduza Bay (73 degrees 21' N, 80 degrees 32' E) and in the lower reaches of the Uboinaya River (73 degrees 37' N, 82 degrees 10' E), the northwestern Taimyr Peninsula, from 1999 to 2006. All brant 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 guarded area around the owl nest. In years of high abundance of lemmings, brant geese nest generally closer to the owl nest than in years of high abundance. When arctic foxes are abundant, however, brant geese nest significantly closer to owls than when the foxes are scarce, irrespective of lemming abundance. The mechanism of brant colony formation around owl nests is based on a number of stimuli.
- Published
- 2008