Citation. Archibald, H. L. 1976. Spatial relationships of neighboring male ruffed grouse in spring. Journal of Wildlife Management 40(4):750-760.   [1234  CC]

Abstract. Locations of five drumming male ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) were recorded with an automatic radiotracking system on the Cedar Creek Natural History Area in east-central Minnesota during spring 1970. Overlap of the ranges of 2 adjacent males was found in 17 of 23 weeks, and mutually occupied areas varied from 0 to 3.21 ha (x=0.88). Size of the overlapping area was negatively correlated with distance between activity centers and positively correlated with mean size of the two neighbors ranges. A strong tendency was found for differential use of overlapping 0.026-ha gridsquares. Male grouse usually avoided their neighbor's side of an artifical boundary line, suggesting that real territorial boundaries may have existed. Values of an index of interaction potential (based on locations <2 minutes apart showed that adjacent males could have displayed at close quarters or fought in most (78 percent) cases. One of two vacted territories was reoccupied by an unmarked juvenile male.

Keywords. ruffed grouse, Bonasa umbellus, territory, radiotelemetry