Overleving en biotoopkeuze van Noordse winterjuffers (Sympecma paedisca) in een overwinteringshabitat in Nederland

This article provides a description of the habitat, behaviour and survival of adults of the Siberian winter damsel ( Sympecma paedisca) during wintertime. The study was conduced between 2003 and 2006 in the province of Drenthe, the Netherlands. The habitat consisted of heather (Calluna vulgaris, Erica tetralix) and purple moor-grass (Molinia caerulea), surrounded by pine forest (Pinus). Capture-recapture techniques were used to study behaviour and survival during wintertime. Hibernating adults were highly philopatric and only moved over small distances within the study area. Recaptures of adults marked elsewhere showed that wintering individuals reached the wintering habitat using stopover-sites. Monthly survival rates (December through March) were high (winter 2004/2005: 75%; 2005/2006: 100%). Nevertheless, 58% of the hibernating adults did not survive the winter of 2004/2005. The area was used only for hibernation; reproductive behaviour was never observed and reproduction sites were not found. Based on the descriptions of habitat, behaviour and survival during winter, it is suggested that variation in winter survival plays an important role in the population dynamics of this species.