scholarly journals Prey Size Selection of Insular Lizards by Two Sympatric Predatory Bird Species

2007 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Padilla ◽  
Manuel Nogales ◽  
Patricia Marrero
Keyword(s):  
Prey Size ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Size Selection ◽  
Predatory Bird ◽  
Selection Of

Prey size selection of the Eurasian Otter,Lutra lutra(Linnaeus, 1758), at the Jajrood River, Iran

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roohallah Mirzaei ◽  
Mahmud Krami ◽  
Afshin Danehkar ◽  
Asghar Abdoli ◽  
Jim Conroy
Keyword(s):  
Prey Size ◽  
Lutra Lutra ◽  
Size Selection ◽  
Eurasian Otter ◽  
Selection Of

scholarly journals Brain mass explains prey size selection better than beak, gizzard and body size in a benthivorous duck species

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248615
Author(s):  
Karsten Laursen ◽  
Anders Pape Møller
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Brain Mass ◽  
Size Selection ◽  
Buccinum Undatum ◽  
Duck Species ◽  
Razor Clams

Prey size selection in some bird species is determined by the size of the beak. However, we assumed for bird species swallowing whole prey that a cognitive process may be involved. As cognitive feature, brain mass was used. We hypothesized that the mass of the brain was more strongly positively correlated with prey size than morphological features such as beak volume, gizzard mass and body mass. We tested this hypothesis on eiders Somateria mollissima that swallow the prey whole, by using mean and maximum size of nine prey categories. Eiders were collected at the main wintering grounds in Denmark. As index of brain mass we used head volume, which is positively correlated with brain mass (r2 = 0.73). Head volume of eiders was significantly, positive correlated with mean and maximum size of blue mussels Mytilus edulis, razor clams Ensis directus and all prey sizes combined and the maximum size of draft whelk Hinia reticulata and conch Buccinum undatum. Gizzard mass was also significantly positively correlated with maximum size of draft whelk and conch. Beak volume and body mass was not significantly correlated with the size of any of the nine food items. Analyses of effect size for organs showed that head volume was positively related to prey size, whereas beak volume, gizzard mass and body mass did not show a significant positive relationship. These results indicate that cognitive processes connected to brain mass may be involved in prey size selection by eiders.

Consumption and prey size selection of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by different juvenile stages of freshwater fish

Nematology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 631-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Weber ◽  
Sebastian Weber ◽  
Walter Traunspurger
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Common Carp ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Size Classes ◽  
Size Selection ◽  
Ninespine Stickleback ◽  
Nematode Abundance ◽  
Juvenile Stages ◽  
Selection Of

Meiofauna, and nematodes in particular, play an essential role in the diet of certain juvenile freshwater fish. However, the specific consumption and prey size selection of fishes on nematodes is largely unrecognised. In this study, the effects of different juvenile stages of widely distributed common European freshwater fish, gudgeon (Gobio gobio), roach (Rutilus rutilus), ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), and two strains of common carp (Cyprinus carpio (scaled) and C. carpio (mirror)), on abundances of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans were investigated in controlled laboratory experiments with a known number of prey. Gudgeon, carp (scaled), and carp (mirror) consumed significant amounts of nematodes, whereas the roach and ninespine stickleback did not. Both strains of common carp reduced nematode abundance dependent on the size of the fish, with smaller fish causing a greater reduction than medium-size or large fish, although fish of all sizes fed significantly on nematodes of all size classes (<0.5, 0.5-1.0 and >1.0 mm). While the gudgeon also reduced nematode abundance dependent on the size of the fish, with increasing body length there was a dietary shift towards larger nematode size classes (0.5-1.0 and >1.0 mm). Morphometric analysis of the branchial basket indicated that the mesh width of gudgeon and both strains of common carp, but not of roach and ninespine stickleback, is suitable for feeding on specific size classes of nematodes. Together, the results showed that nematodes are used as a food source for different juvenile stages of certain species of freshwater fish.

scholarly journals Prey size selection in invasive (Hemigrapsus sanguineus and H. takanoi) compared with native (Carcinus maenas) marine crabs

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-77
Author(s):  
Mark M. Bouwmeester ◽  
Andreas M. Waser ◽  
Jaap van der Meer ◽  
David W. Thieltges
Keyword(s):  
Resource Competition ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Carcinus Maenas ◽  
Hemigrapsus Sanguineus ◽  
Crab Species ◽  
Size Classes ◽  
Size Selection ◽  
Size Preference ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractIntroductions of predators can have strong effects on native ecosystems and knowledge of the prey size selection of invasive predators is pivotal to understand their impact on native prey and intraguild competitors. Here, we investigated the prey size selection of two invasive crabs (Hemigrapsus sanguineus and Hemigrapsus takanoi) recently invading European coasts and compared them with native shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) which are known to feed on similar prey species. In laboratory experiments, we offered different size classes of native blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) to different size classes of the crab species in an effort to identify the respective prey size preferences and potential overlap in prey size range of native and invasive crabs. In all three species, the preferred prey size increased with crab size reflecting general predator–prey size relationships. Prey size preference did not differ among the crab species, i.e. crabs showed similar mussel size preference in relation to carapace width. Given that additional morphological measurements showed that both of the invasive crab species have much larger claws relative to their body size compared with the native species, this finding was surprising and may relate to differential claw morphologies or structural strength. These results suggest that the invasive crabs exert predation pressure on the same size classes of native mussels as the native crabs, with potential effects on mussel population dynamics due to the high densities of the invaders. In addition, the overlap in prey size range is likely to result in resource competition between invasive and native crabs.

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