The primary purpose of keeping blue grouse was to learn to keep them in good health and breed them. New data were obtained on the weights, nutrition, survival, diseases, and behaviour of blue grouse in captivity. They were kept in 3 sizes of pens, 2 feet wide by 4 feet high by 8 feet long, 6 feet wide by 4 feet high by 8 feet long, and 20 feet wide by 10 feet high by 20 feet long. On the basis of plumage condition and reproductive behaviour the medium sized pens were best. The level of protein of the diet of the hens appeared to affect survival and reproductive behaviour. Grouse that were fed a diet with 18 percent protein had better survival and exhibited more reproductive behaviour than grouse fed a diet with 24 or 28 percent protein. Grouse were unable to survive on a diet of dried and pelleted Douglas fir needles. None of the conclusions reached appear applicable to conditions observed in the field. Hens exhibiting reproductive behaviour were sexually imprinted upon humans. The only successful method of mating grouse was to take a male exhibiting sexual display to a squatting female. Artificial insemination was as successful as natural matings in the aviary. The apparent digestibility of the commercial chicken breeder ration varied from 51.2 to 64.9 percent. There was a relationship between the daily consumption of water and body weight. The study of behaviour indicated there was a relationship between the hooting of males and the squatting and egg laying of females. Adult males hooted more than yearlings. The female usually gave a pre-copulatory cry when ready to mate. Males became more aggressive during the breeding season and less aggressive through the summer. The females appeared to have two peaks of aggressive behaviour during the reproductive season. Aggressive behaviour of females may serve to space them in the field during the period of nesting. There may be a period of aggressive behaviour in males during the winter. A partial catalogue of grouse behaviour was made. Photo graphs of postures and sonographs of calls supplement description. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

This study was designed to follow up previous studies (Bendell and Elliott 1967, Lance 1967, Zwickel and Bendell 1967) which suggested blue grouse regulated their numbers through juvenile mortality over winter, and to examine the population of grouse that lived their entire lives on winter range. Grouse were observed and collected in the sub-alpine of Vancouver Island between May, 1965, and June, 1966. Data from the uplands were compared to grouse on lowland breeding ranges. The major findings were: (1) A low density and apparently stable breeding population lived in the sub-alpine with sex and age ratios and recruitment similar to those of lowland populations. (2) All events of reproduction following spring migration were delayed approximately one month compared to the lowlands. Further, the nesting season was shorter by approximately four weeks. (3) Grouse in the sub-alpine selected open forest and hilly areas as on the lowlands. (4) In winter, some males at least, lived separately from hens and chicks. The males lived in the open forest of the upper elevations of the sub-alpine but the habitat used by the hens and chicks is unknown. (5) The main source of juvenile mortality, and hence population regulation, probably occurred in autumn with first snow fall and/or brood break-up. Late winter behavioral interaction may also be important in regulating numbers. (6) No factor of the sub-alpine was found that could explain the size and success of lowland populations. There was some evidence to suggest that the quality of food in the sub-alpine may.be important to reproductive success on the lowlands. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

This study was a natural experiment to test an hypothesis that blue grouse populations are regulated by aggressive behavior. Three natural populations were studied during two successive breeding seasons. The environments of the three were essentially the same. The density of one remained stable at 5 territorial males per 100 acres. The density of the second was declining 10% annually and was approximately 6 territorial males per 100 acres. The density of the third was 35 territorial males per 100 acres and had risen to this density in the previous three years. It ceased to rise during the study. The annual mortality of adults was similar in all three. Annual recruitment in any one year, was also similar, however the population which was decreasing showed a lower recruitment over the term of the study. In the population which was increasing in density, more chicks were produced per adult, than in the population which was decreasing. Production in the stable population was intermediate. Males in the increasing population, sang longer into the season than those in the other populations. Males in the increasing population hooted less frequently in response to humans and reacted less aggressively to artificial song than those at the other areas. All grouse in the increasing population were less frequently observed on the ground and were harder to capture than those in the other populations. 'Flush distances' were longer, and the time to flush, was shorter than in the other populations. Threatening calls, "head dips" and "neck stretches", all behavior which indicates aggression were observed more frequently in the decreasing and stable populations. "Flutter flights" and "feather spread displays", gestures which probably also serve as threats, were recorded more often in the declining and stable populations. "Grouch and run", a non-aggressive pattern, was observed more frequently in the increasing population. In the declining population, hens showed more vigorous brood defense than those in the increasing. Chicks were further from the hen in the increasing population, flew more readily, and flew further when flushed. Artificial hen calls caused territorial cocks in all populations to alter their songs similarily. Males at the declining and stable populations advanced more quickly toward the sound. Males in all populations courted a dummy female similarily. When reacting to a mirror, males showed fewer aggressive acts per minute in the increasing population. Behavior, including many types of agonistic behavior can vary between populations. Hostile interactions have the potential of being less severe in the increasing population. This may have caused its increase. However, no cause and effect relationship was demonstrated. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-138). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--College of William and Mary. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2005. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on May 10, 2006). Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.