Duckling production of the Oldsquaw in relation to spring weather and small-rodent fluctuations

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Author: Pehrsson, Olof
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1986
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z86-274; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z86-274

The duckling production of the Oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis) was studied between 1969 and 1974 in Torne Lapmark in northern Sweden. The degrees of relationship among various indices of reproductive output, climatic factors, and fluctuations in small rodents were estimated. Total brood and duckling production were calculated. A correlation between first observations of broods and time of arrival of spring indicated that the Oldsquaw breeds as early as possible, an adaptation to the utilization of ephemeral lakes. Peaks in duckling production correlated well with peaks in the abundance of small rodents but not as well with climatic variables. Twice as many ducklings were produced during the rodent peak years as during the intervening years, and the densities of the Oldsquaw population were highest the year after these peaks in brood production. The positive correlation between duckling production and population size in small rodents seems to be analogous to grouse–rodent cycles, and both are best explained by the predator-shift or the alternative prey hypothesis.