validity of open seasons for sandgrouse shooting: analysis of an 11-year data set from Kenya

• Published in: African journal of ecology Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 186 - 193
• Main Authors: NJOROGE, P, LENS, L, SUTTON, J, BENNUN, L.A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.09.1997
• Subjects: breeding; gonadal; hunting; Pterocles; Pterocles decoratus; Pterocles exustus; rainfall; sandgrouse; Kenya
• ISSN: 0141-6707; 1365-2028
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.1997.078-89078.x

Variation in gonadal size of shot black-faced sandgrouse, Pterocles decoratus, and chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, P. exustus, considered to be indicative of their breeding condition, was studied to examine whether or not breeding seasons fall within the set shooting seasons for different parts of Kenya, and to reveal a possible relationship between rainfall patterns and the onset of breeding. Analysis of an eleven-year data set shows large overlap between the present shooting season for sandgrouse and their main breeding period in southern Kenya, while seasons for other areas and other gamebird species seem appropriate in most years. Cumulative rainfall from four to six months earlier correlates positively with the proportion of birds breeding, while rainfall in the period shortly before breeding does not. These findings support the hypothesis that sandgrouse breed when seeds are likely to be most abundant. Results from this study further suggest that incubating females frequent waterholes more often than do males, possibly due to a higher water deficit. This hypothesis, however, needs further field testing with a genuinely random sample.