Dominance Relationships in Dark-Bellied Brent GeeseBranta bernicla berniclaat Spring Staging Areas

Abstract

Spring staging is an important period influencing reproductive success for migratory birds. During this period, female geese must accumulate reserves for subsequent migration, egg laying and incubation. They may increase feeding opportunities by being guarded by dominant males protecting a large feeding area and providing feeding time, and/or having themselves a high dominance status. Using paired adults of Dark-bellied Brent Geese Branta bernicla, we tested if males had higher dominance scores than females, if larger individuals had higher dominance scores than smaller ones and if dominance ranks of paired partners were correlated. Our results supported the first and third predictions while, once controlled by sex, body size was not correlated with adult dominance status.