Preconceived Residency Advantages in the Territorial Common Baskettail Dragonfly, Epitheca cynosure

Abstract

The main question addressed in this experiment is whether or not the residency effect influences the territorial behavior of the male common baskettail dragonfly. To examine this question, male common baskettail dragonflies were observed and the number of chases was recorded for each dragonfly territory. Then the resident male was captured, held for 2 min and then released. Observations were made as to whether or not the original resident male returned and if a new male took over the area. Since no males returned to their initial territories, the collected data indicated that there was no significance between the number of chases by resident males whose territory was taken over and the number of chases by resident males whose territory was not taken over.