RUI: Experimental Analysis of Territoriality in the Common Loon

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PIs: Walter H. Piper and Charles WalcottEXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF TERRITORIALITY IN THE COMMON LOONMany animals require a territory to breed. Among such animals, a crucial step is acquiring a territory for the first time. Surprisingly, scientists studying animal behavior are only beginning to learn about the strategies young animals use to obtain territories. One difficulty faced by scientists in this area is that young animals usually move great distances from their birthplace to breeding site. Common loons (Gavia immer) offer a unique opportunity to learn about territory acquisition. Ten years of field research on a marked population of these large aquatic diving birds has shown that young loons search for breeding territories very close to their natal lakes. Under the current study, investigators are experimentally testing hypotheses in two key areas: 1) strategies of young nonbreeders for learning about and taking over territories and 2) defense of territories against nonbreeders by established loons through acoustic signalling. A unique dimension of the project is a growing pool of nonbreeders marked as chicks in the study area that are being tracked as they acquire territories. The project has a number of impacts beyond its scientific merit. It is a partnership between a small college and a major research university that will support training of a doctoral student and 10-15 undergraduate interns, many of whom will continue into graduate programs. Data on juvenile survivorship and territory establishment, which are only available through this project, will be shared with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, which requires them for a model of loon population stability. Finally, many findings of the research team will be featured on the website of Journey North, an online educational service that reaches about 400,000 schoolchildren in the U. S. and Canada.