The Flatback Turtle, Chelonia depressa, in Queensland: Reproductive Periodicity, Philopatry and Recruitment

1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 579 ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Limpus ◽  
A Fleay ◽  
V Baker
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Recruitment Rate ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Total Fecundity ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Reproductive Life ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Remigration Interval ◽  
High Degree

The Bundaberg coast is the southern limit for reproduction by Chelonia depressa in eastern Australia. Here the species lays 2.84 � 0.78 (mean � SD) clutches per breeding season with a renesting interval of 15.99 � 1.89 days. When successful nesting does not occur on a nesting crawl the female returns after 1.17 � 1.07 d for another attempt. The mean remigration interval is 2.65 � 0.92 years and the average female is estimated to have a reproductive life of between 2.05 and 2.55 breeding seasons. The estimated annual recruitment rate of neonate nesting females into this colony is 27.2 � 10.8% of the population. The females return repetitively with a high degree of accuracy to the same small nesting beach within a single breeding season and in successive breeding seasons. The reproductive strategy of C. depressa compared with that of other sea turtles appears to involve an increase in hatchling size, to reduce predation, achieved by laying relatively large eggs. However, only a few small clutches are laid in a breeding season, so that seasonal fecundity for the species is low relative to that in other sea turtles such as C. mydas. Because its reproductive life is longer, C. depressa has a total fecundity only slightly less than that of C. mydas.

Manage one beach or two? Movements and space-use of the threatened hooded plover (Thinornis rubricollis) in south-eastern Australia

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Weston ◽  
Glenn C. Ehmke ◽  
Grainne S. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Kernel Analysis ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Breeding Seasons

An understanding of space use and dispersal of a wildlife species is essential for effective management. We examined the movements of a beach-dwelling, threatened population of hooded plover (Thinornis rubricollis) in southern central Victoria, Australia, by analysing sightings of colour-banded birds (4897 sightings; 194 birds tracked for up to 9 years). Most movements were relatively short (5050 ± 305 m), with 61.4% <1 km and 95.3% <20 km; they lacked directional or sexual bias. The extent of coastline used by individual birds was 47.8 ± 58.0 km. Regional differences in average distances moved by adults were apparent. For adults, movement rates (mean distance per day) were higher during the non-breeding season than during the breeding season. Non-breeding adults generally remained close to their partners (non-breeding, 456.3 ± 163.9 m; breeding, 148.2 ± 45.3 m). Largest flock sizes were recorded during the non-breeding period, and flocking was not uniformly distributed along the coast but appeared to be concentrated in particular locations. The frequency of pair cohesion (i.e. when the distance between partners was zero on a given day) was similar during the breeding (69.6%) and non-breeding seasons (67.7%). Breeding territories (kernel analysis) were 36.7 ± 5.7 ha and overlapped from year to year in all cases (23 pairwise comparisons; 47.9 ± 7.1% overlap). The high fidelity and constancy of territories confirms they warrant ongoing management investment, although the species relies on a matrix of breeding and non-breeding sites. The latter appear to occur in specific parts of the coast and warrant enhanced protection and more research attention. Fragmentation of the breeding population might occur where habitat is rendered unsuitable for > ~50 km.

scholarly journals Evidence for use of both capital and income breeding strategies in the mangrove tree crab, Aratus pisonii

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jade Carver ◽  
Morgan Meidell ◽  
Zachary J. Cannizzo ◽  
Blaine D. Griffen
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Breeding Strategy ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Breeding Strategies ◽  
Mangrove Tree ◽  
Income Breeding ◽  
Aratus Pisonii ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Capital And Income Breeding

AbstractTwo common strategies organisms use to finance reproduction are capital breeding (using energy stored prior to reproduction) and income breeding (using energy gathered during the reproductive period). Understanding which of these two strategies a species uses can help in predicting its population dynamics and how it will respond to environmental change. Brachyuran crabs have historically been considered capital breeders as a group, but recent evidence has challenged this assumption. Here, we focus on the mangrove tree crab, Aratus pisonii, and examine its breeding strategy on the Atlantic Florida coast. We collected crabs during and after their breeding season (March–October) and dissected them to discern how energy was stored and utilized for reproduction. We found patterns of reproduction and energy storage that are consistent with both the use of stored energy (capital) and energy acquired (income) during the breeding season. We also found that energy acquisition and storage patterns that supported reproduction were influenced by unequal tidal patterns associated with the syzygy tide inequality cycle. Contrary to previous assumptions for crabs, we suggest that species of crab that produce multiple clutches of eggs during long breeding seasons (many tropical and subtropical species) may commonly use income breeding strategies.

Influence of rainfall on population dynamics and survival of a threatened rodent (Pseudomys novaehollandiae) under a drying climate in coastal woodlands of south-eastern Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandy Lock ◽  
Barbara A. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Apparent Decrease ◽  
Mediterranean Systems ◽  
Precipitous Decline ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Successional Vegetation

In Mediterranean systems, such as south-east Australia, predictions of climate change including lower rainfall and extended drought, threaten vulnerable mammal species. We investigated the relationship between rainfall and population dynamics for a native rodent at risk of extinction, the New Holland mouse (Pseudomys novaehollandiae). In the eastern Otways, the species was significantly influenced by rainfall, exhibiting a population irruption (15–20 individuals ha–1) following six years of above-average rainfall and a precipitous decline to site extinction during subsequent drought. The decline was predominantly related to loss of adults before and during breeding seasons, together with an apparent decrease in juvenile survival. Population abundance was positively correlated with a rainfall lag of 0–9 months. We propose that the response of this omnivore to high rainfall was mediated through increased productivity and that rainfall decline resulted in resource depletion and population decline. Under a drying climate the direct impacts of rainfall decline will continue. However management of other threats may increase the species’ resilience. Burning to provide optimal successional vegetation, protection of refugia, and predator control are priorities. However, burning should be avoided during drought, as the likelihood of local extinctions is substantial.

Pelagic Amphipoda of the Belle Isle Strait Region

1951 ◽  
Vol 8b (3) ◽  
pp. 134-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Bousfield
Keyword(s):  
Light Intensity ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Ocean Currents ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Index Species ◽  
Labrador Current ◽  
Themisto Libellula

The distribution of certain pelagic Amphipoda taken in the Belle Isle strait region during the summer of 1923 is correlated with ocean currents, light intensity and size of individuals. Hyperoche medusarum, Themisto libellula and Pseudalibrotus glacialis are index species of the cold Labrador current in the area. Hyperia galba and H. medusarum are presumably also cold water indicators. Themisto abyssorum in sizeable numbers, and Calliopius laeviusculus are related to waters of the gulf of St. Lawrence. Themisto libellula, T. compressa form compressa and T. compressa form bispinosa are more numerous, while T. abyssorum is less numerous at the surface during daylight than during darkness. Part of the breeding season of T. compressa and T. abyssorum occurs in the area during August and September, when the young of both species are much more numerous than the adults, particularly at the surface. A new southern limit of distribution for P. glacialis is established. The known distribution of the tropical genus Phronima is extended into the gulf of St. Lawrence.

Environmental and Genetic Control of Reproduction in Danthonia caespitosa Populations

1978 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 351 ◽  
Author(s):  
KC Hodgkinson ◽  
JA Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Floral Induction ◽  
Flag Leaf ◽  
Day Length ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Floral Initiation ◽  
Inflorescence Development ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
The North ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Controlled Environments

Seedlings and older plants of five populations of Danthonia caespitosa from south-eastern Australia were grown in controlled environments and in a transplant garden to determine the effect of day length, temperature, and vernalization of floral initiation and inflorescence development. The populations were selected from widely separated sites which spanned the latitudinal range (31-42°S.) for the species and extended from a hot, semiarid environment in the north to a relatively cool and moist temperature environment in the south. Examination of herbarium specimens indicated that seed set could occur as early as mid September at the northern limit for the species and not before mid January at the southern limit (Tasmania). In a uniform transplant garden located at Deniliquin (latitude 35° 23′S.) plants from the northern site reached anthesis 4 weeks earlier than plants from southern sites. Controlled environment experiments revealed that D. caespitosa is a long-day plant. Northern populations required a 9 . 5 hr day length or longer for floral induction compared with 11 hr or longer for southern populations. The number of days in inductive conditions (outside, day length 13.5 hr) required for floral initiation was 5-7 for the three most northern populations and 21-25 days for the two southern populations. Inflorescence development (initiation to flag leaf stage) was considerably slower in southern populations. All but the most northern population responded to vernalization. Flowering was earlier in temperatures that were optimal for plant growth. At high temperatures (36/31°C day/night) flowering was not significantly delayed for the three most northern populations, but was for the two southern populations, and florets contained caryopses in only the three northern populations. These results suggest that in cool and moist temperate habitats reproduction of this species is programmed by day length and temperature effects on floral initiation and development to coincide with a predictable growing season, whereas in hot semiarid habitats this control is relaxed, which permits opportunistic reproduction whenever soil moisture and temperature permit growth.

scholarly journals Density and Flock Size of the Raven (Corvus corax) In the Orawa - Nowy Targ Basin During Non-Breeding Season

Ring ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125
Author(s):  
Michał Ciach ◽  
Dominik Wikar ◽  
Małgorzata Bylicka
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
High Density ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Flock Size ◽  
Early Winter ◽  
Corvus Corax ◽  
Line Transect Method ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Density and Flock Size of the Raven (Corvus corax) In the Orawa - Nowy Targ Basin During Non-Breeding Season During the 2002/2003-2004/2005 non-breeding seasons the density of the Raven in the open habitats of the Orawa - Nowy Targ Basin was studied by line transect method. The results were analysed in four periods (autumn, early winter, winter and early spring). The median density of Ravens did not differ significantly between individual periods and was respectively: 3.5, 3.8, 4.8 and 3.8 indiv. / 10 km. Number of birds during particular controls varied from 1.0 to 24.8 indiv. / 10 km. However, while excluding flocks, the median density of single individuals and pairs of the Raven was considerably lower and in subsequent periods reached respectively: 2.2, 2.4, 2.2 and 1.7 indiv. / 10 km. Flock size did not differ significantly between individual periods. Single individuals and, less often, groups of two birds were recorded mostly. Small (3-5 indiv.) and medium (6-15 indiv.) flocks were recorded rarely and large flocks (16 indiv. and above) - only exceptionally. The high density and strong fluctuations of abundance of Ravens were determined by flocks presence, which was probably linked to irregular occurrence of food resources.

Phenotypic plasticity of the montane vole (Microtus montanus) in unpredictable environments

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (11) ◽  
pp. 2121-2124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman C. Negus ◽  
Patricia J. Berger ◽  
Aelita J. Pinter
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Microtus Montanus ◽  
Age Cohort ◽  
Montane Meadow ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Breeding Seasons

From 1987 to 1989, the cohort dynamics of Microtus montanus populations were studied at two montane meadow sites approximately 160 km apart, in northwestern Wyoming. The 1987 and 1988 breeding seasons differed markedly from each other. In 1987, melt off occurred in April, and the first cohort was born in May (cohort 1). The entire breeding season was favorable owing to frequent rainfall throughout the summer. Cohort 1 animals grew rapidly and females began breeding at 4–5 weeks of age. Likewise, cohort 2 (June) animals exhibited rapid growth and females were breeding at 7–8 weeks of age. Cohort 3 (July and August) animals grew more slowly and most entered the winter as prepubertal animals of subadult size. At the end of the summer, cohort 3 animals represented >70% of the voles recruited during the breeding season. In 1988, following melt off in late April, precipitation was below normal and the situation intensified to severe drought through the summer. The growth rates of cohort 1 and 2 animals were significantly lower than 1987 growth rates, and very few females attained sexual maturity. At the end of the summer, cohort 3 animals represented <25% of the total recruitment at both study sites. Such apparent phenotypic plasticity of growth and maturation appears to be an evolved adaptive strategy that is responsive to several environmental cues. Both study sites, although widely separated, exhibited virtually identical patterns throughout the study.

Flexibility of nuptial colouration in a unique ecotype of Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Corney ◽  
Anne Haley ◽  
Laura Weir
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Colour Change ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Mate Quality ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Potential Signal ◽  
Intersexual Competition

Nuptial colouration in animals may serve as a signal of competitor and/or mate quality during breeding. In many temperate fishes, nuptial colouration develops during discrete breeding seasons and is a target of sexual selection. We examine nuptial colouration and behaviour of a unique ecotype of Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758), wherein males turn from dull brown-grey to pearlescent white during the breeding season. The main goal of this work was to determine the relative role of white colouration in intersexual competition and mate choice. In a combination of a field and laboratory work, we found that males are brightest white when engaging in courtship activities in the presence of a female; this indicates that white colouration may be primarily related to enhancing signalling during mate attraction. White colouration intensity increased as the breeding season progressed and may be related to an influx of conspecifics. Colour change from cryptic grey to bright white occurred rapidly (< 90 seconds) and may be deployed to enhance behavioural signals. We conclude that bright white colouration in the white ecotype is a potential signal of mate quality and may have evolved from a previously existing capacity for colour plasticity in common Threespine Stickleback.

“Data for the Problem of Evolution in Man. V. On the Correlation between Duration of Life and the Number of Offspring”

1901 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 458-479
Author(s):  
M. Beeton ◽  
G. U. Yule ◽  
Karl Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Similar Statement ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Darwinian Theory ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Biennial Plants ◽  
Long Life ◽  
Breeding Seasons

According to the Darwinian theory of evolution the members of a community less fitted to their environment are removed by death. But this process of natural selection would not permanently modify a race, if the members thus removed were able before death to propagate their species in average numbers. It then becomes an important question to ascertain how far duration of life is related to fertility. In the case of many insects death can interfere only with their single chance of offspring; they live or not for their one breeding season only. A similar statement holds good with regard to annual and biennial plants. In such cases there might still be a correlation between duration of life and fertility, but it would be of the indirect character, which we actually find in the case of men and women living beyond sixty years of age—a long life means better physique and better physique increased fertility. On the other hand, there is a direct correlation of fertility and duration of life in the case of those animals which generally survive a number of breeding seasons, and it is this correlation which we had at first in view when investigating the influence of duration of life on fertility in man. The discovery of the indirect factor in the correlation referred to above was therefore a point of much interest. For it seems to show that the physique fittest to survive is really the physique which is in itself (and independently of the duration of life) most fecund.

scholarly journals Effect of exogenous progesterone treatment on ovarian steroid hormones and oxidant and antioxidant biomarkers during peak and low breeding seasons in dromedary she-camel

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 542-552
Author(s):  
Amal M. Abo El-Maaty ◽  
Ragab H. Mohamed ◽  
Heba F. Hozyen ◽  
Adel M. El-Kattan ◽  
Mona A. Mahmoud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Steroid Hormones ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Seasonal Effect ◽  
Glutathione S Transferase ◽  
Sod Activity ◽  
Blood Concentrations ◽  
Exogenous Progesterone ◽  
Antioxidant Markers ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Background: Research about the effects of progesterone (P4) and the relationship of P4 to oxidative stress has been achieved in ruminants but not enough in camels Aim: This study evaluated the effect of exogenous P4 hormone using CIDR for 7 days on blood concentrations of steroid hormones and oxidative status of dromedary she-camels during peak and low breeding seasons. Materials and Methods: The present work was conducted on ten dark dromedary she-camels which were synchronized using a controlled internal drug release (CIDR) for 7 days as a reproductive management tool during peak breeding (November-April) and low breeding season (May-October). The blood samples were collected each other day from CIDR insertion until the end of experiment 5 days after the removal of CIDR. Camels were examined for P4, estradiol (E2), and testosterone (T) as well as malondialdehyde (MDA) as indicator of lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione-S-transferase as antioxidant markers. Results: Results revealed that P4 was higher during peak breeding season than low breeding season. While the levels of P4 increased during CIDR insertion and declined at CIDR removal and thereafter during breeding season, its concentrations declined after CIDR application during the non-breeding season. On the other hand, blood E2 and testosterone levels decreased after CIDR insertion in both high and low breeding seasons with higher serum E2 concentrations during the peak than the low breeding season. MDA concentrations and SOD activities were significantly (p<0.05) high on day 3 after CIDR insertion during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. During both the seasons, GSH levels decreased after CIDR removal in camels. However, MDA was lower during non-breeding season than high breeding season with no seasonal effect on SOD activity. Conclusion: Exogenous P4 treatment through CIDR in dromedary camels could be more efficient during breeding season than non-breeding season, and effects on circulating oxidant/antioxidant biomarkers and their return to normal levels might refer to the adaptation of camels to CIDR by modulating their oxidant and antioxidant levels.

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