scholarly journals Arithmetic-Like Reasoning in Wild Vervet Monkeys: A Demonstration of Cost-Benefit Calculation in Foraging

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayaka Tsutsumi ◽  
Tomokazu Ushitani ◽  
Kazuo Fujita
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Uniform Method ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Vervet Monkeys ◽  
Field Technique ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Different Levels

Arithmetic-like reasoning has been demonstrated in various animals in captive and seminatural environments, but it is unclear whether such competence is practiced in the wild. Using a hypothetical foraging paradigm, we demonstrate that wild vervet monkeys spontaneously adjust their “foraging behavior” deploying arithmetic-like reasoning. Presented with arithmetic-like problems in artificially controlled feeding conditions, all the monkeys tested attempted to retrieve “artificial prey” according to the quantity of the remainder when the task involved one subtraction only (i.e., “2−1”), while one monkey out of four did so when it was sequentially subtracted twice (i.e., “2−1−1”). This monkey also adjusted his “foraging behavior” according to the quantity of the reminder for a task requiring stepwise mental manipulation (i.e., “(2−1)−1”), though the results became less evident. This suggests that vervet monkeys are capable of spontaneously deploying mental manipulations of numerosity for cost-benefit calculation of foraging but that the extent of such capacity varies among individuals. Different foraging strategies might be deployed according to different levels of mental manipulation capacity in each individual in a given population. In addition to providing empirical data, the current study provides an easily adaptable field technique that would allow comparison across taxa and habitat using a uniform method.

scholarly journals Methods in field chronobiology

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1734) ◽  
pp. 20160247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide M. Dominoni ◽  
Susanne Åkesson ◽  
Raymond Klaassen ◽  
Kamiel Spoelstra ◽  
Martin Bulla
Keyword(s):  
Technological Development ◽  
Monitoring Systems ◽  
Migratory Restlessness ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Rapid Improvement ◽  
Free Living ◽  
The Future ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Temporal Aspect ◽  
Different Levels

Chronobiological research has seen a continuous development of novel approaches and techniques to measure rhythmicity at different levels of biological organization from locomotor activity (e.g. migratory restlessness) to physiology (e.g. temperature and hormone rhythms, and relatively recently also in genes, proteins and metabolites). However, the methodological advancements in this field have been mostly and sometimes exclusively used only in indoor laboratory settings. In parallel, there has been an unprecedented and rapid improvement in our ability to track animals and their behaviour in the wild. However, while the spatial analysis of tracking data is widespread, its temporal aspect is largely unexplored. Here, we review the tools that are available or have potential to record rhythms in the wild animals with emphasis on currently overlooked approaches and monitoring systems. We then demonstrate, in three question-driven case studies, how the integration of traditional and newer approaches can help answer novel chronobiological questions in free-living animals. Finally, we highlight unresolved issues in field chronobiology that may benefit from technological development in the future. As most of the studies in the field are descriptive, the future challenge lies in applying the diverse technologies to experimental set-ups in the wild. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Wild clocks: integrating chronobiology and ecology to understand timekeeping in free-living animals’.

Partitioning of diving effort in foraging trips of northern gannets

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (12) ◽  
pp. 1910-1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Lewis ◽  
Silvano Benvenuti ◽  
Francis Daunt ◽  
Sarah Wanless ◽  
Luigi Dall'Antonia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Initial Rate ◽  
Trip Duration ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Trip Time

Many species of seabirds are known to undertake foraging trips that vary in duration, lasting from a few hours up to several days. However, the important question of how individuals allocate their time during foraging trips of different durations has received relatively little attention until recently. Using activity loggers, we examined the foraging behavior of chick-rearing northern gannets, Morus bassanus (L., 1758), during trips of different durations, and tested predictions concerning how foraging activity varies across trips. There was no evidence of a relationship between dive frequency during the first 3 h of a trip and trip duration, suggesting that the decision to continue on a longer trip was not affected by an adult's initial rate of encounter with prey. Flight constituted approximately 50% of total trip time, and the dive rate of birds per daylight hour was apparently unaffected by trip duration. Birds dived at similar rates on the outward and return sections of their foraging trips, which suggests that they may have been "topping up" on food on their return. Overall our results suggest that, unlike other pelagic seabirds, northern gannets at the Bass Rock do not adjust their individual foraging strategies among trips of different durations.

scholarly journals Taming the Tiger: Voting Rights and Political Instability in Latin America

2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep M. Colomer
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Historical Survey ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

AbstractThis article discusses the relationship between certain institutional regulations of voting rights and elections, different levels of electoral participation, and the degree of political instability in several Latin American political experiences. A formal model specifies the hypotheses that sudden enlargements of the electorate may provoke high levels of political instability, especially under plurality and other restrictive electoral rules, while gradual enlargements of the electorate may prevent much electoral and political innovation and help stability. Empirical data illustrate these hypotheses. A historical survey identifies different patterns of political instability and stability in different countries and periods, which can be compared with the adoption of different voting rights regulations and electoral rules either encouraging or depressing turnout.

scholarly journals A GIS-Based Multicriteria Analysis in Modeling Optimum Sites for Rainwater Harvesting

Hydrology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khamis Sayl ◽  
Ammar Adham ◽  
Coen J. Ritsema
Keyword(s):  
Decision Problem ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Fuzzy Ahp ◽  
Multicriteria Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Systematic Methodology ◽  
Hierarchy Process ◽  
Different Levels

In order to select suitable rainwater harvesting sites within the study area, rainwater harvesting criteria needed to be determined, defined, and structured. Several criteria played an important role in selecting the most suitable rainwater harvesting sites. A multicriteria analysis (MCA) approach, which is widely used to classify potential rainwater harvesting sites, was chosen to help select potential sites in the Wadi Horan region of Iraq. An MCA approach offered a systematic methodology focused on mathematics as well as professional expertise to organize and evaluate complex decisions. Unfortunately, there is no method for choosing among them the most appropriate for a given decision problem, as the choice remains a subjective task. This study used a geographic information system (GIS)-based approach with remote sensing to identify the optimal sites for rainwater harvesting. Four indices: evaporation, cost–benefit, sediment, and hydrology were selected in order to compare the potential sites. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP), fuzzy AHP, and rank order method (ROM) were used to assign weight to the study criteria. The results were then compared using a statistical (variance inverse (VI)) method. A sensitivity analysis was done to test the uncertainties and robustness of the results for each method. The results showed that the ROM and VI methods affected the ranking priority and considered all of the criteria that were sensitive to impact in the ranking process at the different levels compared to the methods of AHP and fuzzy AHP.

Does Size Matter? Body Size, Mass Collecting, and Their Implications for Understanding Prehistoric Foraging Behavior

2005 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Ugan
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Clear Correlation ◽  
Small Animals ◽  
Large Fish ◽  
Return Rates ◽  
Size Matter ◽  
Mass Collection

Zooarchaeologists regularly assume a positive relationship between body size and energetic return rates among animal taxa. Some researchers question the validity of this assumption, suggesting that small animals collected in mass can provide high returns and pose interpretive problems for methods relying on a clear correlation. A review of empirical data shows that while large fish and invertebrates can provide high returns, those for most small animals remain very low. Differences appear to result from disparities in the relative energetic value of various taxa, costs associated with mass collection, and the efficiency with which resources are handled once acquired. Mass collection is unlikely to pose an interpretive problem under most circumstances, and the low returns for mass collecting many small animals have interesting implications for interpreting changes in their relative frequencies.

Sublethal Copper Effects on Bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, Foraging Behavior

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 1977-1985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Sandheinrich ◽  
Gary J. Atchison
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Lepomis Macrochirus ◽  
Daphnia Pulex ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Handling Time ◽  
Water Quality Criteria ◽  
Reaction Distance ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Copper Effects

The effects of four copper concentrations (5 [control], 31, 180, 1710 μg L−1) on bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) foraging behavior were examined with two separate experiments; one experiment assessing copper effects on the reaction distance of bluegill to two sizes of untreated zooplankton and one assessing copper effects on the functional response of bluegill to untreated (five tests) and treated (five tests) invertebrate prey. Prey used in these experiments were: Daphnia pulex, D. magna (Cladocera), Hyalella azteca (Amphipoda), and two sizes of Enallagma sp. (Zygoptera). Copper had no effect on the reaction distance of fish to zooplankton. There was a significant negative dose-response relationship for consumption rates of all untreated prey but not of treated prey groups. Prey handling time for bluegill capturing treated and untreated prey increased significantly with copper concentration and was the most consistently sensitive parameter measured. Capture efficiency by bluegill, although altered by copper for some prey types, was not as consistent a measure of toxicant stress. This study suggests that mechanistic measures are valuable indicators of toxicant effects on fish feeding behavior and that copper concentrations near the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency water quality criteria (18–28 μ L−1) may alter food consumption and reduce growth of fish in the wild.

scholarly journals Diet and foraging behavior of Ageneiosus inermis (Teleostei, Auchenipteridae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-218
Author(s):  
Tiago Magalhães da Silva Freitas ◽  
William Oliveira dos Santos ◽  
Bruno da Silveira Prudente ◽  
Luciano Fogaça de Assis Montag
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Feeding Strategy ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Pelagic Species ◽  
Bottom Substrate ◽  
Xingu River ◽  
The Family ◽  
In The Wild

Ageneiosus inermis is the largest species of the family Auchenipteridae (Siluriformes) and has a primarily piscivorous diet, although no comprehensive data are available on the habitat use of this species. Given this, the present study describes the diet of A. inermis, and provides inferences on its habitat use, based on the known behavior of its prey species. We analyzed the stomach contents of 14 specimens collected in the middle of Xingu River in the Brazilian state of Pará, which we complemented with data on 47 other specimens obtained from two published studies. Most of the ingested items were fish associated with the bottom substrate and riverbanks. Although A. inermis is considered a pelagic species, we conclude it forages by exploring the river’s bottom and margins. Furthermore, as A. inermis is presumed to be diurnal, we assume that it does not pursue its prey actively, given that most of the prey species are nocturnal, but rather searches actively during the daytime for prey hidden in the bottom substrate. This hypothesis on the feeding strategy of A. inermis can only be confirmed by underwater observations, either in the wild or under captive conditions.

Deterrence and Foreign Policy

1989 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L. George ◽  
Richard Smoke
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Strategic Interaction ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Status ◽  
Positive Inducements ◽  
Deductive Theory ◽  
Different Levels

Achen and Snidal's deductive theory of deterrence contributes very little to an understanding of the uses and limitations of deterrence strategy as an instrument of foreign policy. Lacking operationalization, their “rational deterrence theory” is incapable of predicting the outcome of individual cases. Furthermore, it has not yet addressed the need (i) to reconceptualize the problem of deterrence for different levels of conflict; (2) to refine the assumption of “rationality”; (3) to deal with the phenomenon of equifinality; (4) to develop a framework of strategic interaction between Initiator and Defender acknowledging that an Initiator often has multiple options for challenging the status quo from which to choose an action that meets his cost-benefit criteria; (5) to find a way of taking into account decision-making variables that, as case studies have demonstrated, often affect deterrence outcomes; and (6) to broaden the conceptualization of deterrence strategy to encompass the possible use of positive inducements as a means of discouraging challenges to a status quo situation.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Phytopathological Reaction of Wild and Cultivated Olives as a Means of Finding Promising New Sources of Genetic Diversity for Resistance to Root-Knot Nematodes

Plant Disease ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (10) ◽  
pp. 2559-2568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan E. Palomares-Rius ◽  
Angjelina Belaj ◽  
Lorenzo León ◽  
Raúl de la Rosa ◽  
Hava F. Rapoport ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hypersensitive Reaction ◽  
Strong Increase ◽  
Nematode Reproduction ◽  
Olive Cultivars ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Landscape Value ◽  
Wild Accessions ◽  
Moderate Resistance ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Reproduction Factor

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is one of the most important fruit crops in the Mediterranean Basin, because it occupies significant acreage in these countries and often has important cultural heritage and landscape value. This crop can be infected by several Meloidogyne species (M. javanica, M. arenaria, and M. incognita, among others), and only a few cultivars with some level of resistance to these nematodes have been found. Innovations in intensive olive growing using high planting densities, irrigation, and substantial amounts of fertilizers could increase the nematode population to further damaging levels. To further understand the interactions involved between olive and pathogenic nematodes and in the hope of finding solutions to the agricultural risks, this research aimed to determine the reaction of important olive cultivars in Spain and wild olives to M. javanica infection, including genotypes of the same and other O. europaea subspecies. All olive cultivars tested were good hosts for M. javanica, but high levels of nematode reproduction found in three cultivars (Gordal Sevillana, Hojiblanca, and Manzanilla de Sevilla) were substantially different. In the wild accessions, O. europaea subsp. cerasiformis (genotype W147) and O. europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris (genotype W224) were resistant to M. javanica at different levels, with strong resistance in W147 (reproduction factor [Rf] = 0.0003) and moderate resistance in W224 (Rf = 0.79). The defense reaction of W147 to M. javanica showed a strong increase of phenolic compounds but no hypersensitive reaction.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document