Colour biases in learned foraging preferences in Trinidadian guppies

Ethology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Wyatt Toure ◽  
Simon M. Reader
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Preferences

scholarly journals Prey removal in cotton crops next to woodland reveals periodic diurnal and nocturnal invertebrate predation gradients from the crop edge by birds and bats

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi L. Kolkert ◽  
Rhiannon Smith ◽  
Romina Rader ◽  
Nick Reid
Keyword(s):  
Pest Control ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Optimal Foraging Theory ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Generalist Predators ◽  
Crop Cover ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
Experimental Feeding ◽  
Natural Pest Control

AbstractFactors influencing the efficacy of insectivorous vertebrates in providing natural pest control services inside crops at increasing distances from the crop edge are poorly understood. We investigated the identity of vertebrate predators (birds and bats) and removal of sentinel prey (mealworms and beetles) from experimental feeding trays in cotton crops using prey removal trials, camera traps and observations. More prey was removed during the day than at night, but prey removal was variable at the crop edge and dependent on the month (reflecting crop growth and cover) and time of day. Overall, the predation of mealworms and beetles was 1-times and 13-times greater during the day than night, respectively, with predation on mealworms 3–5 times greater during the day than night at the crop edge compared to 95 m inside the crop. Camera traps identified many insectivorous birds and bats over crops near the feeding trays, but there was no evidence of bats or small passerines removing experimental prey. A predation gradient from the crop edge was evident, but only in some months. This corresponded to the foraging preferences of open-space generalist predators (magpies) in low crop cover versus the shrubby habitat preferred by small passerines, likely facilitating foraging away from the crop edge later in the season. Our results are in line with Optimal Foraging Theory and suggest that predators trade-off foraging behaviour with predation risk at different distances from the crop edge and levels of crop cover. Understanding the optimal farm configuration to support insectivorous bird and bat populations can assist farmers to make informed decisions regarding in-crop natural pest control and maximise the predation services provided by farm biodiversity.

Rates of growth of the food fungus of the leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on different substrates gathered by the ants

1979 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mudd ◽  
G. L. Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Growth Inhibitors ◽  
Atta Cephalotes ◽  
Leaf Extracts ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Relative Growth Rates ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Rates Of Growth

AbstractGrowth of the food fungus of the leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes (L.) on extracts of plants selected by the ants was shown to be affected by the plant species, the pH of the extract, the concentration of the sap or plant extract and pretreatment of the substrate by the ants. It was not possible to establish an unambiguous relationship between the rate of growth of the fungus on leaf extracts and the foraging preferences of the ants for the leaves. There were indications, however, that the fungus grows most rapidly on extracts of plant material preferred by A. cephalotes. Relative growth rates of the fungus on different substrates may be related to the presence of growth inhibitors rather than to nutrient availability.

scholarly journals Short-term study on the yak dung seed bank on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: effects of grazing season, seed characteristics and forage preferences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shulin Wang ◽  
Fujiang Hou
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
Seedling Density ◽  
Seed Shape ◽  
Grazing Season ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
Seed Characteristics ◽  
Yak Dung

Abstract Aims Viable seeds in herbivore dung constitute the dung seed bank, and the contribution of livestock dung to this seed bank in grazing pastures is often overlooked. Grazing season (warm and cold), seed characteristics (size and shape), and forage preference are the main factors that affect the size and composition of the dung seed bank and ultimately affect grassland ecology. However, how these three factors interact is unclear. Methods We collected yak dung as well as seeds of the common plant species from warm- and cold-season alpine meadows in northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and explored how grazing season (warm and cold), seed characteristics (size and shape) and foraging preferences (temporary cages method) affects yak dung seedling density, richness and diversity in an alpine pasture. Results Forty-three plant species (mainly perennials) germinated from yak dung. Dung seedling density, richness, and diversity did not differ significantly between the two grazing seasons. Small to medium-sized spherical seeds (seed size < 10 mg, shape index < 0.5) had the greatest germination potential. Conclusions Yaks vary their forage preference depending on the season (phenological period), and endozoochory occurs throughout both grazing seasons. Seed shape and size directly regulate the dung seedling density, richness, and diversity. Dung seedlings increase the heterogeneity of the aboveground vegetation near the microsites of the dung pieces and therefore promote grassland patching. Our study demonstrates that grazing season, seed characteristics, and yak forage preferences affect the dung seed bank in grazing ecosystems.

Foraging preferences of ants on a heterogeneous Brazilian sandy shore habitat

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayra C. Vidal ◽  
Ana K. Silva ◽  
Sebastián F. Sendoya
Keyword(s):  
Sandy Shore ◽  
Foraging Preferences

scholarly journals Individual-level specialisation and interspecific resource partitioning in bees revealed by pollen DNA metabarcoding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Klečka ◽  
Michael Mikát ◽  
Pavla Koloušková ◽  
Jiří Hadrava ◽  
Jakub Straka
Keyword(s):  
Resource Partitioning ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Plant Reproduction ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Temporal Scales ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
Flower Visiting

It is increasingly recognised that intraspecific variation in traits, such as morphology, behaviour, or diet is both ubiquitous and ecologically important. While many species of predators and herbivores are known to display high levels of between-individual diet variation, there is a lack of studies on pollinators. It is important to fill in this gap because individual-level specialisation of flower-visiting insects is expected to affect their efficiency as pollinators with consequences for plant reproduction. Accordingly, the aim of our study was to quantify the level of individual-level specialisation and foraging preferences, as well as interspecific resource partitioning, across different temporal scales in three co-occurring species of bees of the genus Ceratina (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Xylocopinae), C. chalybea, C. nigrolabiata, and C. cucurbitina. We conducted a field experiment where we provided artificial nesting opportunities for the bees and combined a short-term mark-recapture study with the dissection of the bees' nests to obtain repeated samples from individual foraging females and complete pollen provisions from their nests. Hence, we could study variation of the composition of pollen collected by the bees at different temporal scales. We used DNA metabarcoding based on the ITS2 locus to identify the composition of the pollen samples. We found that the composition of pollen carried on the bodies of female bees and stored in the brood provisions in their nests significantly differed among the three co-occurring species. At the intraspecific level, individual females consistently differed in their level of specialisation and in the composition of pollen carried on their bodies and stored in their nests. Our study thus provides evidence of consistent individual-level specialisation in pollinators across multiple temporal scales. We also demonstrate that higher generalisation at the species level stemmed from larger among-individual variation in diets as observed in other types of consumers, such as predators. Our study thus reveals how specialisation and foraging preferences of bees change from the scale of individual foraging bouts to complete pollen provisions accumulated in their nests over their lifetime. Such multi-scale view of foraging behaviour is necessary to improve our understanding of the functioning of plant-flower visitor communities.

Foraging segregation in a breeding bird guild declines following nesting

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander M. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Landscape Patterns ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Avian Communities ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Wood Warblers ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
The One

Ecological communities appear to have structure, and exploitation of food resources have commonly been implicated in contributing to that apparent structure. Avian communities are frequently used in foraging research, but such studies do not usually document within-landscape patterns of change over seasonal time. I studied a guild of twelve small, foliage-gleaning, insectivorous songbirds in their breeding landscape in central Ontario, Canada. By focussing on foraging preferences indicated by tree species, foraging height, and foraging maneuvers, I compared patterns among the breeding period (June), midsummer (late July and early August), and early autumn (late August to mid September) within the one landscape. Correspondence analysis indicates that each species foraged in a distinct manner, yet there was substantial foraging overlap at all times in preferred (i) foraging tree species, (ii) foraging height, and (iii) foraging maneuvers. As the season progressed, patterns related to preferred foraging height and foraging maneuvers did not change dramatically. However, patterns of preferred foraging tree species did change progressively from breeding to autumn. During the breeding period, the guild tended to exploit different tree species in a manner correlated with the relative availabilities of those species, but this was not the case in midsummer or autumn. By autumn, foraging tree preferences among species were much more homogeneous, especially among wood-warblers of the genus Dendroica Gray, 1842. Consequently, based on preferred foraging tree species, whatever segregation existed during breeding was largely disassembled by autumn.

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