[Population density dependence of the daily duration of mate seeking activity in males of the dragonfly Aeschna cyanea (Odonata)].

Male dragonflies of the species Aeschna cyanea pay several visits per day to a suitable pond in search of mates. The influence of the population density upon the daily duration of presence of single dragonfly males was investigated by means of multiple regression analysis. Several environmental factors were also considered. Population density was defined in terms of the total number of males attending the pond per day. It could be shown that the total daily length of male visits is dependent upon air temperature but not significantly upon population density. This fact is surprising since the duration of a single visit is strongly dependent upon the number of individuals present at a pond at the same time (Kaiser, 1970, 1974). Nevertheless the daily presence does not vary with population density because the males compensate for the shorter duration of single visits by attending the pond more often per day when population density is high. Thus, the number of males present at a pond at the same time varies less than would be expected by their random arrivals.