Foraging strategies of the mole (Parascalops breweri Bachman, 1842). I. The distribution of prey

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (8) ◽  
pp. 1727-1733 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. M. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Potential Prey ◽  
Earthworm Biomass

The distribution of potential prey for moles in their burrows was compared with that in untunnelled areas. There was little evidence that surface tunnels acted as pitfall traps for invertebrates. There was some suggestion of reduced arthropod biomasss in and around the tunnels, possibly because of predation. Earthworm biomass was significantly lower in soil surrounding tunnels than in control areas, but this was shown not to be the result of predation.

Prey selection by the dasyurid Ningaui yvonneae

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren Bos ◽  
Susan M. Carthew
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Prey Consumption ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Potential Prey ◽  
Semiarid Environment ◽  
Faecal Analysis ◽  
Occurrence Data ◽  
Males And Females

We know little about the availability of potential prey and patterns of prey consumption by Ningaui yvonneae in a natural environment. This information is important to understanding how the species is able to exploit its semiarid environment. Here, we examine the diet of N. yvonneae inhabiting a semiarid mallee community in South Australia using a combination of faecal analysis and observations of nocturnally foraging animals. Prey consumption was compared with the availability of prey types in the environment, and comparisons made between habitat components, across seasons and between sexes. N. yvonneae was found to include a range of prey types in its diet, with 11 invertebrate taxa recorded from direct observation and eight of these detected in the scats. Prey taxa consumed most often by freely foraging ningauis were Araneae, Blattodea and Orthoptera, while those most commonly detected in scats were Hymenoptera and Araneae. In comparison, 22 invertebrate taxa were recorded in pitfall traps, although many of these were recorded infrequently. Taxa most commonly recorded in traps were Hymenoptera, Collembola, Coleoptera and Acariformes. Observational data also indicated that consumption of prey taxa differed significantly between sexes and among seasons. Males generally consumed a more diverse array of prey, with both observational and scat data showing that they were more likely to consume Hymenoptera and Isoptera, while females were more likely to consume Lepidoptera and Hemiptera. Variability between seasons was evident in consumption of invertebrate grubs (recorded only during ‘growth’; February–April), Orthoptera (recorded most often during ‘breeding’, August–October), and Araneae (recorded more often during ‘maturation’, May–July). However percentage occurrence data from the scats lacked this seasonality, possibly because of the smaller array of prey taxa recorded. N. yvonneae captured prey from all available habitat components, with five of the most frequently recorded prey taxa being recorded from all components. Leaf litter and Triodia were the most commonly recorded capture sites (45% and 22% of captures respectively), and males and females used the habitat components in a similar manner. Although N. yvonneae is like many other dasyurids in having a largely generalist insectivorous diet, comparisons of prey consumed with their availability in the environment indicated that individuals did show some selectivity towards certain taxa, particularly Blattodea, Orthoptera, Chilopoda, Lepidoptera and Araneae.

Influence of shelf oceanographic variability on alternate foraging strategies in long-nosed fur seals

2019 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. 189-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Foo ◽  
C McMahon ◽  
M Hindell ◽  
S Goldsworthy ◽  
F Bailleul
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Fur Seals

scholarly journals Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea Latreille, 1802: new continent record and distribution extension in Brazil

Check List ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Juventina Magrini ◽  
Paula Beatriz Araujo ◽  
Marcio Uehara-Prado
Keyword(s):  
Rio Grande ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
The State ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Undescribed Species ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Serra Do Mar ◽  
First Time

Terrestrial Isopods were sampled in four protected Atlantic Forest areas located in Serra do Mar, state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. A total of 2,217 individuals of six species (Atlantoscia sp., Benthana werneri, Pseudodiploexochus tabularis, Pudeoniscus obscurus, Styloniscus spinosus and Trichorhina sp.) were captured in pitfall traps. The exotic species S. spinosus is recorded for the first time for the Americas. Another introduced species, P. tabularis, previously recorded only from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, had its geographic distribution extended to the state of São Paulo. The most abundant isopods in this study belong to an undescribed species of Atlantoscia.

scholarly journals Wood Pastures: A Transitional Habitat between Forests and Pastures for Dung Beetle Assemblages

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
László Somay ◽  
Viktor Szigeti ◽  
Gergely Boros ◽  
Réka Ádám ◽  
András Báldi
Keyword(s):  
Functional Group ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Assemblage Composition ◽  
Beetle Assemblages

Wood pastures are home to a variety of species, including the dung beetle. Dung beetles are an important functional group in decomposition. Specifically, in terms of livestock manure, they not only contribute to nutrient cycling but are key players in supporting human and animal health. Dung beetles, however, are declining in population, and urgent recommendations are needed to reverse this trend. Recommendations need to be based on solid evidence and specific habitats. Herein, we aimed to investigate the role of an intermediate habitat type between forests and pastures. Wood pastures are key areas for dung beetle conservation. For this reason, we compared dung beetle assemblages among forests, wood pastures, and grasslands. We complemented this with studies on the effects of dung type and season at three Hungarian locations. Pitfall traps baited with cattle, sheep, or horse dung were used in forests, wood pastures, and pasture habitats in spring, summer, and autumn. Dung beetle assemblages of wood pastures showed transient characteristics between forests and pastures regarding their abundance, species richness, Shannon diversity, assemblage composition, and indicator species. We identified a strong effect of season and a weak of dung type. Assemblage composition proved to be the most sensitive measure of differences among habitats. The conservation of dung beetles, and the decomposition services they provide, need continuous livestock grazing to provide fresh dung, as well as the maintenance of wood pastures where dung beetle assemblages typical of forests and pastures can both survive.

scholarly journals Influence of Pre-Sowing Operations on Soil-Dwelling Fauna in Soybean Cultivation

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 474
Author(s):  
Darija Lemic ◽  
Ivana Pajač Živković ◽  
Marija Posarić ◽  
Renata Bažok
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crop ◽  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Biological Indicators ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Beneficial Insects ◽  
The Family ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Natural Equilibrium ◽  
Positive Effect

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different pre-sowing operations on the abundance and composition of total soil fauna in soybean cultivation, with special attention to carabids as biological indicators of agroecosystem quality. The study was conducted in central Croatia with six different pre-sowing activities (cover crop, mulching, ploughing, glyphosate, fertiliser removal, conventional tillage). Pitfall traps were used to collect soil fauna in April, June and September. After determining the abundance and composition of the fauna, their coenological characteristics were calculated and statistical analysis was performed. During the study, 7836 individuals of soil fauna were collected. The composition consisted of 84% beneficial, 8% harmful and 8% indifferent fauna. Class Insecta was the most numerous with a proportion of 56%, with most members of the family Carabidae (1622 individuals), followed by the class Arachnida (40%). The number of fauna collected was influenced by the interaction between pre-seeding intervention and sampling date. Pre-seeding interventions that did not involve soil activities did not affect the number and composition of soil fauna at the beginning of vegetation. Mechanical interventions in the soil and warmer and drier weather have a negative effect on the number and composition of soil fauna. As the season progresses, the influence of pre-sowing activities on soil fauna in soybean crops decreases. It seems that a reduction in mechanical activities in the shallow seed layer of the soil has a positive effect on species richness or diversity. Of particular note is the large proportion of beneficial insects that currently colonise the study area, characterising soil richness and stable natural equilibrium.

scholarly journals An exploration of the relationship between recruitment communication and foraging in stingless bees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robbie I’Anson Price ◽  
Francisca Segers ◽  
Amelia Berger ◽  
Fabio S Nascimento ◽  
Christoph Grüter
Keyword(s):  
Stingless Bees ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Recruitment Communication ◽  
Eusocial Bees ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Social information is widely used in the animal kingdom and can be highly adaptive. In social insects, foragers can use social information to find food, avoid danger or choose a new nest site. Copying others allows individuals to obtain information without having to sample the environment. When foragers communicate information they will often only advertise high quality food sources, thereby filtering out less adaptive information. Stingless bees, a large pantropical group of highly eusocial bees, face intense inter- and intra-specific competition for limited resources, yet display disparate foraging strategies. Within the same environment there are species that communicate the location of food resources to nest-mates and species that do not. Our current understanding of why some species communicate foraging sites while others do not is limited. Studying freely foraging colonies of several co-existing stingless bee species in Brazil, we investigated if recruitment to specific food locations is linked to (1) the sugar content of forage, (2) the duration of foraging trips and (3) the variation in activity of a colony from one day to another and the variation in activity in a species over a day. We found that, contrary to our expectations, species with recruitment communication did not return with higher quality forage than species that do not recruit nestmates. Furthermore, foragers from recruiting species did not have shorter foraging trip durations than those from weakly-recruiting species. Given the intense inter- and intraspecific competition for resources in these environments, it may be that recruiting species favour food resources that can be monopolised by the colony rather than food sources that offer high-quality rewards.

scholarly journals Be different to be better: the effect of personality on optimal foraging with incomplete knowledge

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poppy M. Jeffries ◽  
Samantha C. Patrick ◽  
Jonathan R. Potts
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Foraging ◽  
Optimal Foraging Theory ◽  
Foraging Strategy ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Partial Knowledge ◽  
Marginal Value ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Plausible Mechanism ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Modelling Approach

AbstractMany animal populations include a diversity of personalities, and these personalities are often linked to foraging strategy. However, it is not always clear why populations should evolve to have this diversity. Indeed, optimal foraging theory typically seeks out a single optimal strategy for individuals in a population. So why do we, in fact, see a variety of strategies existing in a single population? Here, we aim to provide insight into this conundrum by modelling the particular case of foraging seabirds, that forage on patchy prey. These seabirds have only partial knowledge of their environment: they do not know exactly where the next patch will emerge, but they may have some understanding of which locations are more likely to lead to patch emergence than others. Many existing optimal foraging studies assume either complete knowledge (e.g. Marginal Value Theorem) or no knowledge (e.g. Lévy Flight Hypothesis), but here we construct a new modelling approach which incorporates partial knowledge. In our model, different foraging strategies are favoured by different birds along the bold-shy personality continuum, so we can assess the optimality of a personality type. We show that it is optimal to be shy (resp. bold) when living in a population of bold (resp. shy) birds. This observation gives a plausible mechanism behind the emergence of diverse personalities. We also show that environmental degradation is likely to favour shyer birds and cause a decrease in diversity of personality over time.

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