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- Title
Behaviour of the Common Moorhen in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
- Authors
Wallau, Gabriel Luz; Della-Flora, Franchesco; Bueno, Anderson Saldanha; Corso, Josmael; Ortiz, Mauro Freitas; Cáceres, Nilton Carlos
- Abstract
This study presents data on behavioural acts performed by the Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus in southern Brazil, and compares these with the behaviours previously reported for other populations. Focal observations of individuals were conducted in the municipality of Santa Maria, in the central region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The sampling was done in 2-hour sessions, between January and March of 2007. A total of 20 behavioural acts, grouped in seven categories, were identified and described: locomotion ( N = 5 acts), grooming ( N = 4), intra-specific behaviour ( N = 2), inter-specific behaviour ( N = 3), foraging ( N = 2), reproduction ( N = 2) and rest ( N = 2). Among the observed behaviours were acts that are not described in the literature such as greeting of offspring and some feeding acts. Regarding the use of habitat, we observed that this species has a preference for water or aquatic macrophytes, which is contrary to other reports. In the analysis of behavioural daily variation, overall behavioural categories did not vary significantly throughout the day, whereas we observed a significant difference in the use of categories during the periods 11:00 am-1:00 pm, 1:00-3:00 pm and 5:00-7:00 pm. The contrasting data between studies indicate that the variation between habitats and ecological interactions may generate different selective pressures on the behaviour of G. chloropus.
- Subjects
BRAZIL; COMMON moorhen; ANIMAL populations; ANIMAL behavior; ANIMAL species; MACROPHYTES; HABITATS
- Publication
Acta Ethologica, 2010, Vol 13, Issue 2, p127
- ISSN
0873-9749
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10211-010-0082-5