TERRITORY AND MALE QUALITY DO NOT INFLUENCE SETTLEMENT OF YEARLING FEMALE WILLOW PTARMIGAN

A common assumption in territory and mate selection models is that individuals evaluate the qualities of territories and/or partners and then choose the best ones. We determined whether this assumption was correct for yearling female willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus). Yearling females did not choose partners based on the characteristics of the territories or of the males that we measured. In addition, the first females to settle did not appear to obtain better territories or better partners than those settling later; date of settling was not related to subsequent survival, reproductive success, or quality of chicks produced. To evaluate whether choices of territories and partners were consistent among females, we manipulated settlement such that two sets of yearling females had the same suite of territories and males available. We found no consistent patterns of territory and mate choice. We concluded that, in this population, yearling females did not choose where to settle based on the relative qualities of territories or partners. Females may have been unable to assess differences among territories when settling because all territories were covered with snow.