MSc students wanted Behavioural ecology of the Eurasian beaver in Telemark County, Norway Recently, Müller & Manser (2007) suggested that neighbour-stranger discrimination (NSD) is a consequence of differences in threat levels between neighbours and strangers, rather than familiarity per se. However, further studies need to be carried out to disentangle between familiarity and threat level hypothesis since both could be strongly correlated in some species. For example, Rosell et al. (submitted) showed that neighbours may pose less threat than strangers in root voles because strangers are likely to be dispersers/floaters searching for a breeding territory. Therefore, familiarity is strongly negatively correlated with threat level in this species. We (see below) are looking for 1-2 students that would like to follow up these ideas and test if the Eurasian beaver can discriminate between an adult neighbour/stranger with a territory (a dominant breeding individual) and one without (i.e. still home due to delayed dispersal but not the breeding individual and subordinate) (see Table 1, 1a). We plan to play-back these "pairs" from the same territory (neighbouring territory or a territory far away) (for detailed methods see papers cited in the reference list below). The main question to be asked is if they (dominant and subordinate neighbours and strangers) will represent different levels of threat to an established territory holder? The level of threat may also vary if we play-back the scents at the right border (familiar) or at the wrong border (neighbours may then be treated as strangers) (see Table 1, 1b). If the student(s) is interested it will also be possible to run all scent samples through a GC-MS for chemical analysis (see Rosell and Sundsdal 2001 for further details) at Telemark University College. Very few studies combine behavioural studies with chemical studies. The student will also participate in live-trapping (Rosell & Hovde 2001) and scent sample collection of beavers. The study area will be around Telemark University College in Bø, Telemark (approximately 3 hours drive from Gardemoen airport, Oslo) (see figure 1). The student needs to bring a car. It is easy to find a place to stay in Bø (see http://www.hit.no/english/). The student should be able to work in a group since several foreign students from Germany and UK will join the beaver team this years as well as student from Telemark University College.
Scent-marking
Table 1. Project summary. 1a) Recognising an age old problem: Can resident beavers discriminate between scent marks from simulated adult and sub-adult neighbours and Anytime between April strangers? This would involve testing responses of residents to scent of neighbour and stranger adult and sub-adult scent. and Sept (preferably, 1b) An outside context problem: Recognition of misplaced neighbours’ the student scent by Eurasian beavers. This would involve testing responses of residents should stay to scent of neighbours and strangers from two locations, the neighbours >3 months). boundary and an opposite boundary.
Project leader: Associate Professor Frank Rosell. Email:
[email protected] Telemark University College, 3800 Bø, Telemark, Norway. http://www.hit.no/main/ansatte/vis/frank.rosell/af Co-project leader: Dr. Jean-François Le Galliard. Email:
[email protected] Laboratoire Fonctionnement et Evolution des Systèmes Ecologiques, CNRS UMR 7625, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Case 237, 7 Quai St Bernard, 75005 Paris PhD student and field coordinator: Roo Campbell. Email:
[email protected] Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon, OX13 5QL. UK.
Please check out this beaver film from our study area (NRK 17 October 2006) for a closer look at the study area and study animals: http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/klipp/197093
Figure 1. The Straumen river in Lunde, Telemark county, Norway.
References Herr, J., Müller-Schwarze, D. & Rosell, F. 2006. Resident beavers (Castor canadensis) do not discriminate between castoreum scent from simulated adult and subadult male intruders. Canadian Journal of Zoology 84:615-622. Müller, C. A. & Manser, M. B. 2007. ’Nasty neighbours’ rather than ’dear enemies’ in a social carnivore. Proc. R. Soc. 274: 959-965. Rosell, F. & Bjørkøyli, T. 2002. A test of the dear enemy phenomenon in the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber). Animal Behaviour 6:1073-1078. Rosell, F. Gundersen, G. Le Galliard, J. F. Submitted. Territory ownership and familiarity status affect how much male root voles (Microtus oeconomus) invest in territory defence. Animal Behaviour. Rosell, F. & Hovde, B. 2001. Methods of aquatic and terrestrial netting to capture Eurasian beavers. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29:269-274. Rosell, F. & Sanda, J.I. 2006. Assessing potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by Eurasian beavers. Behavioral Ecology 17:897-904. Rosell, F. & Steifetten, Ø. 2004. Subspecies discrimination in the Scandinavian beaver (Castor fiber): combining behavioral and chemical evidence. Canadian Journal of Zoology 82:902-909. Rosell, F. & Sundsdal, L.J. 2001. Odorant source used in Eurasian beaver territory marking. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 27:2471-2491.
