High lek fidelity and low annual survival in two breeding populations of <i>Gallinago media</i> (Great Snipe)

Abstract Polygamous birds with lek-mating breeding systems often show site fidelity to display sites, leading to spatio-temporal stability of traditional leks that can persist for decades. Here, we used a mark–recapture framework to study between-year lek fidelity among adult male and female Gallinago media (Great Snipe), for 2 distinct breeding populations in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. We evaluated the effects of individual body size, lek size, and distance among leks on the probability of changing lek between seasons. Moreover, we were able to obtain more precise estimates of annual survival for G. media beyond previously obtained population parameters from a single lek and for males only. Gallinago media had a low but stable annual apparent survival across both sexes and breeding populations (S = 0.571 ± 0.019 SE). Birds showed high between-year fidelity to their leks, as we detected a relatively low probability of changing leks between seasons (ψ = 0.18 ± 0.019 SE). Despite pronounced differences in breeding behavior between sexes, as well as habitat differences between breeding populations, they did not influence lek fidelity, and neither did individual body size nor distance between leks. However, birds at larger leks were less likely to move elsewhere in the following years. Understanding the drivers of lek changing behavior provides insights into the evolution of a lek mating strategy, and accounting for site fidelity is crucial for studying population dynamics and space use patterns. Taking the inherent limitations of estimates based on mark-capture models into account, our estimates of annual survival and site fidelity for G. media can be used to inform management decisions and conservation strategies.