Date of Completion

2014

Document Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Animal Science Department

First Advisor

Dr. Allan M. Strong

Keywords

Bobolink, Home Range, Shelburne Farms, Territory

Abstract

Abstract. From 6 June to 17 July 2013 in Shelburne, VT, I studied the territorial behavior of Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) on one unmanaged field site. A total of 13 males and 12 females were observed over the course of the breeding season, and estimates of home range size were made for 11 males and 6 females. Male home ranges were over six times greater than female home ranges (t = 2.63, P = 0.02, df = 15). Bobolink home range size showed a significant decline over the course of the breeding season when removing one outlying week (F = 4.56, P = 0.04, r2 = 0.15; df = 1 and 26). The observed size difference in home range seen between sexes could be attributed to the polygynous mating system of the Bobolink and thus a larger home range size in males. The decline in home range size over the course of the study may have resulted from significant rainfall such that 12 out of 16 nests failed during the study.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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