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Habitat use between dominant and
subordinate badgers - intraterritorial dominance payoffs
Journal
Canadian Journal of
Zoology, Vol 79,No 1, Jan 2001, pp. 165-170(6) -
NRC Research Press
Authors
Revilla E.; Palomares F.
Abstract
Group-living territorial animals such as the badger, face the problem of intragroup competition. Badgers are asymmetric
in their access to reproduction (dominant individuals being the ones that
reproduce), but little information exists about the extent of intragroup trophic
competition. We studied badgers' use of a key trophic resource (the European
rabbit), as well as the use of the habitat where
this resource is located (key habitat, Mediterranean scrubland) by a low-density
group-living population of badgers in Coto del Rey, Doņana, southwestern Spain.
During 19951996, there was a 2.2-fold reduction of rabbit density, which was
reflected in a significant diminution of rabbit use; despite this, rabbits
continued to be the most used trophic resource. Notwithstanding the decrease in
rabbit density, subordinate badgers reduced their use of the key habitat, while
dominant badgers increased it. These results suggest that in Coto del Rey,
badger groups exhibit a fully despotic system, with dominance by some
individuals not only in access to reproduction, but also in access to food
through unequal use of the key habitat that contains it.
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