scholarly journals Foraging energetics of a nectar-feeding ant: metabolic expenditure as a function of food-source profitability

2006 ◽  
Vol 209 (20) ◽  
pp. 4091-4101 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. E. Schilman ◽  
F. Roces
Keyword(s):  
Food Source ◽  
Nectar Feeding ◽  
Metabolic Expenditure ◽  
Foraging Energetics ◽  
Food Source Profitability

Efficiency of facultative frugivory in the nectar-feeding bat Glossophaga commissarisi: the quality of fruits as an alternative food source

2008 ◽  
Vol 178 (8) ◽  
pp. 985-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Detlev H. Kelm ◽  
Juliane Schaer ◽  
Sylvia Ortmann ◽  
Gudrun Wibbelt ◽  
John R. Speakman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Source ◽  
Alternative Food ◽  
Nectar Feeding ◽  
Alternative Food Source

Ecomorphology of the Tongues of Australian Megachiroptera (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae)

1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrina Birt ◽  
Leslie S. Hall ◽  
Geoffrey C. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Nectar Feeding

The tongues of six species of Australian megachiropterans were studied macroscopically and microscopically to observe whether there were any morphological characteristics correlating with their foraging and feeding behaviour. Tongues varied from being extensible and brush-like (with long hair-like papillae) in Syconycteris australis, to club-like (with very few types of papillae) in Nyctimene robinsoni, to long-pointed (possessing several types of surface papillae) in the Pteropus species. The morphology of the tongue of S. australis and the Pteropus species was similar to that of nectar-feeding birds, marsupials and other mammals. N. robinsoni possessed a tongue highly structured for processing the fruit on which it feeds, whilst the tongue of the S. australis and P. scapulatus was highly structured for a diet predominantly made up of nectar. Although the surface papillae were similar among P. poliocephalus, P. alecto and P. conspicillatus, the shape of the tongue varied considerably, suggesting that there may be subtle differences between individual feeding strategies. The morphology of the tongues in this study, combined with field observations, suggest that many megachiropterans are able to consume different food types when their preferred food source is unavailable. In addition, the structure of tongue and its papillae support the role of megachiropterans in both pollination and seed dispersal.

scholarly journals Trail-Laying Behaviour as a Function of Resource Quality in the AntCamponotus rufipes

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo E. Schilman
Keyword(s):  
Food Quality ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Resource Quality ◽  
Nectar Feeding ◽  
Trail Marking ◽  
Sucrose Solutions ◽  
Trail Laying ◽  
Camponotus Rufipes ◽  
Marking Behaviour

Chemical trails have been shown to act as an orientation cue in some ant species. Here, I report that the trail-laying behaviour in the nectar-feeding ant,Camponotus rufipes, varies with the concentration of the sucrose solutions collected. Single workers collected solutions of different sucrose concentrations (5%, 20%, and 40% in weight) during 4 consecutive visits to the resource, and their trail-marking behaviour was recorded on soot-coated slides during their first and last visits. Results suggest that these chemical trails provide both an orientation cue between the nest and the food source, as previously suggested forCamponotusants, as well as information about food quality.

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