Additional Data and Perspectives on Interspecific Aggression in the Common Loon, Gavia immer

Auteurs-es

  • Martin L. Morton Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104
  • Maria E. Pereyra Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v125i1.1127

Mots-clés :

Common Loon, Gavia immer, Redhead, Aythya americana, aggression, interspecific fatalities, British Columbia

Résumé

We witnessed the killing of a female Redhead (Aythya Americana) by a male Common Loon (Gavia immer). The wound was delivered into the abdomen from below, and death occurred because of a torn, hemorrhaging liver. This same Common Loon also threatened a female Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) with ducklings. We hypothesize that interspecific aggression by loons might be energetically costly but is sometimes adaptive because it deters predators.

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Numéro

Vol. 125 No. 1 (2011)

Rubrique

Notes

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