Foraging Behavior of American Redstarts in Breeding and Wintering Habitats: Implications for Relative Food Availability

The Condor ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 782-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irby J. Lovette ◽  
Richard T. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
American Redstarts

Adaptive Flexibility in the Foraging Behavior of Fishes

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence M. Dill
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Graphical Model ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Risk Of Predation

Flexibility is an important adaptive feature of the foraging behavior of fishes, because most natural environments vary both spatially and temporally. Fish should respond to low levels of food availability by altering their behavior in ways which ensure higher feeding rates, larger feeding territories, and broader diets. It is shown that the gastric sensation of hunger and its rate of change may act as appropriate cues to food availability, and observed hunger-motivated changes in feeding behavior can produce all of these predicted effects. Data are presented to show that juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) alter their behavior in an adaptive manner when faced with variable degrees of threat of competition from territorial intruders, and of risk of predation. A review of similar studies on other species supports the generality of these results. Learning is an important mechanism providing behavioral flexibility, and changes in fish feeding behavior with experience are summarized. A graphical model is developed to show that these changes can result in training biases and food specialization. Learning also results in increased feeding rates. The consequences of these observations for the development of refined models of foraging are discussed.

scholarly journals Habitat-Specific Foraging of Prothonotary Warblers: Deducing Habitat Quality

The Condor ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Type I ◽  
Swamp Forest ◽  
Protonotaria Citrea ◽  
Focal Animal ◽  
Prothonotary Warblers

Abstract Foraging behavior often reflects food availability in predictable ways. For example, in habitats where food availability is high, predators should attack prey more often and move more slowly than in habitats where food availability is low. To assess relative food availability and habitat quality, I studied the foraging behavior of breeding Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) in two forest habitat types, cypress-gum swamp forest and coastal-plain levee forest. I quantified foraging behavior with focal animal sampling and continuous recording during foraging bouts. I measured two aspects of foraging behavior: 1) prey attack rate (attacks per minute), using four attack maneuvers (glean, sally, hover, strike), and 2) foraging speed (movements per minute), using three types of movement (hop, short flight [≤1 m], long flight [>1 m]). Warblers attacked prey more often in cypress-gum swamp forest than in coastal-plain levee forest. Foraging speed, however, was not different between habitats. I also measured foraging effort (% time spent foraging) and relative frequency of attack maneuvers employed in each habitat; neither of these variables was influenced by forest type. I conclude that Prothonotary Warblers encounter more prey when foraging in cypress-gum swamps than in coastal-plain levee forest, and that greater food availability results in higher density and greater reproductive success for birds breeding in cypress-gum swamp. Conductas de Alimentación Específicas según el Hábitat en Protonotaria citrea: Deduciendo la Calidad del Hábitat Resumen. La conducta de alimentación a menudo refleja la disponibilidad de alimento de maneras previsibles. Por ejemplo, en los hábitats donde la disponibilidad de alimento es alta, los depredadores deberían atacar presas más a menudo y moverse más lentamente que en los hábitats donde la disponibilidad de alimento es baja. Estudié la conducta de alimentación de Protonotaria citrea durante la época reproductiva en dos tipos de hábitats boscosos, el bosque pantanoso de ciprés-gomero y el bosque plano costero de albardón, para evaluar la disponibilidad relativa de alimento y la calidad de hábitat. Cuantifiqué la conducta de alimentación mediante muestreos focales y grabaciones continuas mientras las aves se alimentaban. Medí dos aspectos de dicha conducta: 1) la tasa de ataque a presas (ataques por minuto), utilizando cuatro maniobras de ataque (desplazarse sobre un sustrato recogiendo presas, vuelo desde una percha para atrapar las presas en el aire, vuelo suspendido, y otra maniobra de revoloteo), y 2) la velocidad (movimientos por minuto), utilizando tres tipos de movimiento (salto, vuelo corto [≤1 m], vuelo largo [>1 m]). Los individuos de P. citrea atacaron presas más a menudo en el bosque pantanoso de ciprés-gomero que en el bosque plano costero de albardón. La velocidad de alimentación, sin embargo, no fue diferente entre hábitats. Medí también el esfuerzo (% del tiempo utilizado en forrajear) y la frecuencia relativa de maniobras de ataque empleadas en cada hábitat; ninguna de estas variables fue influenciada por el tipo bosque. Concluyo que los individuos de P. citrea encuentran más presas cuando se alimentan en pantanos de ciprés-gomero que en el bosque plano costero de albardón, y que una mayor disponibilidad de alimento se traduce en una mayor densidad y en un éxito reproductivo más alto para las aves de los bosques pantanosos de ciprés-gomero.

scholarly journals Stopover Habitat Along the Shoreline of Northern Lake Huron, Michigan: Emergent Aquatic Insects as a Food Resource for Spring Migrating Landbirds

The Auk ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Smith ◽  
Frank R. Moore ◽  
Christopher A. May
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Spring Migration ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Mass Change ◽  
Upper Peninsula ◽  
Early Season ◽  
American Redstart ◽  
American Redstarts ◽  
Stopover Habitat

Abstract Recent work in Michigan's eastern Upper Peninsula suggests that terrestrial areas bordering northern Lake Huron provide important stopover habitat for spring migrating landbirds, principally because of the presence of emergent aquatic midges (Diptera: Chironomidae). Migrants were concentrated in lakeshore habitats abundant with midges during spring migration. American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) and Black-throated Green Warblers (Dendroica virens) foraged and used habitat differently, depending on their distance from the lakeshore. Here, we describe results of an integrative study in which we sampled resources, quantified American Redstart foraging behavior, and estimated mass change in American Redstarts and five other common migrant landbird species to evaluate the importance of adult midges as an early season resource for spring migrants. Resource sampling and American Redstart foraging behavior suggested that more food was available in shoreline habitats than inland during spring migration. Furthermore, migrants gained mass in shoreline habitat during stopover, which supports the argument that nearshore areas provide important stopover habitat for spring migrants. Finally, resource sampling, mass change estimates, and American Redstart foraging behavior suggested that midges and spiders (Araneae: Arachnidae) provided an important early season resource for migrating landbirds. Evidence suggests that midges were responsible for elevated spider abundance at the shoreline and that birds foraged on both midges and spiders. Midges appear to play an important role in providing high-quality stopover habitat for landbirds migrating through Michigan's eastern Upper Peninsula. Hábitat de las Paradas Migratorias a lo Largo de la Costa Norte del Lago Huron, Michigan: Insectos Acuáticos Emergentes como Recurso Alimenticio para las Aves Terrestres Migratorias Durante la Primavera

scholarly journals Stopover Habitat use by Spring Migrant Landbirds: The Roles of Habitat Structure, Leaf Development, and Food Availability

The Auk ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 1063-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. Rodewald ◽  
Margaret C. Brittingham
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Leaf Development ◽  
Mature Forest ◽  
Forest Interior ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Stopover Habitat ◽  
Empidonax Minimus

AbstractStopover habitat quality may influence the abundance of migrant landbirds, yet little is known about how spatial and temporal changes in stopover habitat quality influence the use of habitats by migrant landbirds. From late April to late May, 1997–1999, we surveyed migrant landbirds within five habitats (early successional shrub-sapling-stage forest, midsuccessional pole-stage forest, mature forest interior, mature forest-agricultural edge, and mature suburban forest) in central Pennsylvania. To assess relative quality of stopover habitats, we measured species abundance, species richness, and foraging behavior of Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata). We measured vegetation structure and phenology to examine proximate cues of potential importance in habitat selection. Of nine transient (nonbreeding) species analyzed, seven-Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus), Nashville Warbler (Vermivora ruficapilla), Northern Parula (Parula americana), Magnolia Warbler (D. magnolia), Black-throated Blue Warbler (D. caerulescens), Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Blackpoll Warbler (D. striata)-were most abundant in mature forests, and especially edge-dominated mature forests (forest-agricultural edge and suburban forest). Habitats used by mature-forest-breeding transients changed between years, but edge-dominated forest types were used most frequently in all three years. Although canopy leaf development at mature forest sites showed little relationship to site use by mature-forest-breeding transients within weekly intervals, year-to-year differences in leaf phenology were consistent with year-to-year changes in habitat use by migrant landbirds. Foraging behavior of Yellow-rumped Warblers suggested higher food availability and quality in forest-agricultural edges, compared with suburban forest and forest interior. Mature-forest-breeding transients were positively associated with sites that had large trees (>38 cm diameter at breast height) and denser understory vegetation (stems 0–2.5 cm in diameter). Extensive use of mature edge-dominated forests by migrating forest birds during spring suggests that these habitats may be important for the conservation of migrant landbirds.Uso de Hábitat durante las Escalas Migratorias por Aves Migratorias Terrestres: el Papel de la Estructura del Hábitat, el Desarrollo de las Hojas y la Disponibilidad de Alimento

Seasonal differences in rainfall, food availability, and the foraging behavior of Tropical Kingbirds in the southern Amazon Basin

2010 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex E. Jahn ◽  
Douglas J. Levey ◽  
Ana María Mamani ◽  
Mirtha Saldias ◽  
Angélica Alcoba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Seasonal Differences

Foraging behavior of an estuarine predator, the blue crab Callinectes sapidus in a patchy environment

Ecography ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Clark ◽  
Thomas G. Wolcott ◽  
Donna L. Wolcott ◽  
Anson H. Hines
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Blue Crab ◽  
Callinectes Sapidus ◽  
Patchy Environment
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