Effect of social environment within the brood on dominance rank in gallinaceous birds (Tetraonidae and Phasianidae)

Abstract

The effect of brood composition (number of siblings of the same sex) on the dominance status achieved by individual members of a brood, during postbrood interactions with conspecifics of the same sex, was investigated in red grouse and Japanese quail. In both species, the social environment provided by the brood appeared to influence the outcome of these interactions; the potential deviation of an individual's dominance rank from the mean was directly related to the number of broodmates of the same sex.