Population Control by Territorial Behaviour in Red Grouse

Abstract

THERE is uncertainty about the importance of social behaviour in regulating the size of animal populations, as shown by widely different explanations put forward in recent years^1–3. One difficulty is that firm conclusions on the subject cannot be drawn from correlations derived from simple field observations; and even with birds few experiments have been done in the wild, although the social behaviour of birds is better understood than of most other wild animals. The results of field work are therefore usually open to different interpretations.