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Sample records for winter foraging areas

  1. Winter active bumblebees (Bombus terrestris achieve high foraging rates in urban Britain.

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    Ralph J Stelzer

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Foraging bumblebees are normally associated with spring and summer in northern Europe. However, there have been sightings of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris during the warmer winters in recent years in southern England. But what floral resources are they relying upon during winter and how much winter forage can they collect?To test if urban areas in the UK provide a rich foraging niche for bees we set up colonies of B. terrestris in the field during two late winter periods (2005/6 & 2006/7 in London, UK, and measured their foraging performance. Fully automatic radio-frequency identification (RFID technology was used in 2006/7 to enable us to record the complete foraging activity of individually tagged bees. The number of bumblebees present during winter (October 2007 to March 2008 and the main plants they visited were also recorded during transect walks. Queens and workers were observed throughout the winter, suggesting a second generation of bee colonies active during the winter months. Mass flowering shrubs such as Mahonia spp. were identified as important food resources. The foraging experiments showed that bees active during the winter can attain nectar and pollen foraging rates that match, and even surpass, those recorded during summer.B. terrestris in the UK are now able to utilise a rich winter foraging resource in urban parks and gardens that might at present still be under-exploited, opening up the possibility of further changes in pollinator phenology.

  2. Winter active bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) achieve high foraging rates in urban Britain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stelzer, Ralph J; Chittka, Lars; Carlton, Marc; Ings, Thomas C

    2010-03-05

    Foraging bumblebees are normally associated with spring and summer in northern Europe. However, there have been sightings of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris during the warmer winters in recent years in southern England. But what floral resources are they relying upon during winter and how much winter forage can they collect? To test if urban areas in the UK provide a rich foraging niche for bees we set up colonies of B. terrestris in the field during two late winter periods (2005/6 & 2006/7) in London, UK, and measured their foraging performance. Fully automatic radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology was used in 2006/7 to enable us to record the complete foraging activity of individually tagged bees. The number of bumblebees present during winter (October 2007 to March 2008) and the main plants they visited were also recorded during transect walks. Queens and workers were observed throughout the winter, suggesting a second generation of bee colonies active during the winter months. Mass flowering shrubs such as Mahonia spp. were identified as important food resources. The foraging experiments showed that bees active during the winter can attain nectar and pollen foraging rates that match, and even surpass, those recorded during summer. B. terrestris in the UK are now able to utilise a rich winter foraging resource in urban parks and gardens that might at present still be under-exploited, opening up the possibility of further changes in pollinator phenology.

  3. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus and climate change: Importance of winter forage

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    Thrine Moen Heggberget

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available As a consequence of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, climate change is predicted to be particularly pronounced, although regionally variable, in the vast arctic, sub-arctic and alpine tundra areas of the northern hemisphere. Here, we review winter foraging conditions for reindeer and caribou (Rangifer tarandus living in these areas, and consider diet, forage quality and distribution, accessibility due to snow variation, and effects of snow condition on reindeer and caribou populations. Finally, we hypothesise how global warming may affect wild mountain reindeer herds in South Norway. Energy-rich lichens often dominate reindeer and caribou diets. The animals also prefer lichens, and their productivity has been shown to be higher on lichen-rich than on lichen-poor ranges. Nevertheless, this energy source appears to be neither sufficient as winter diet for reindeer or caribou (at least for pregnant females nor necessary. Some reindeer and caribou populations seem to be better adapted to a non-lichen winter diet, e.g. by a larger alimentary tract. Shrubs appear to be the most common alternative winter forage, while some grasses appear to represent a good, nutritionally-balanced winter diet. Reindeer/caribou make good use of a wide variety of plants in winter, including dead and dry parts that are digested more than expected based on their fibre content. The diversity of winter forage is probably important for the mineral content of the diet. A lichen-dominated winter diet may be deficient in essential dietary elements, e.g. minerals. Sodium in particular may be marginal in inland winter ranges. Our review indicates that most Rangifer populations with lichen-dominated winter diets are either periodically or continuously heavily harvested by humans or predators. However, when population size is mainly limited by food, accessible lichen resources are often depleted. Plant studies simulating climatic change indicate that a warmer, wetter

  4. Foraging flight distances of wintering ducks and geese: a review

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    William P. Johnson

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The distance covered by foraging animals, especially those that radiate from a central area when foraging, may affect ecosystem, community, and population dynamics, and has conservation and landscape planning implications for multiple taxa, including migratory waterfowl. Migrating and wintering waterfowl make regular foraging flights between roosting and feeding areas that can greatly impact energetic resources within the foraging zone near roost sites. We reviewed published studies and gray literature for one-way foraging flight distances (FFDs of migrating and wintering dabbling ducks and geese. Thirty reviewed studies reported FFDs and several reported values for multiple species or locations. We obtained FFD values for migration (n = 7 and winter (n = 70. We evaluated the effects of body mass, guild, i.e., dabbling duck or goose, and location, i.e., Nearctic or Palearctic, on FFDs. We used the second-order Akaike's Information Criterion for model selection. We found support for effects of location and guild on FFDs. FFDs of waterfowl wintering in the Nearctic (7.4 ± 6.7 km, mean ± SD; n = 39 values were longer than in the Palearctic (4.2 ± 3.2 km; n = 31 values. The FFDs of geese (7.8 ± 7.2 km, mean ± SD; n = 24 values were longer than FFDs of dabbling ducks (5.1 ± 4.4 km, mean ± SD; n = 46 values. We found mixed evidence that distance flown from the roost changed, i.e., increased or decreased, seasonally. Our results can be used to refine estimates of energetic carrying capacity around roosts and in biological and landscape planning efforts.

  5. Maize stubble as foraging habitat for wintering geese and swans in northern Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Kevin Kuhlmann; Madsen, Jesper; Nolet, Bart, A.

    2018-01-01

    Agricultural crops have become increasingly important foraging habitats to geese and swans in northern Europe, and a recent climate-driven expansion in the area of maize fields has led to a rapid increase in the exploitation of this habitat. However, due to the novelty of maize foraging in this r......Agricultural crops have become increasingly important foraging habitats to geese and swans in northern Europe, and a recent climate-driven expansion in the area of maize fields has led to a rapid increase in the exploitation of this habitat. However, due to the novelty of maize foraging...... in this region, little is known about the abundance and energetic value of this resource to foraging birds. In this study we quantify food availability, intake rates and energetic profitability of the maize stubble habitat, and describe the value of this increasingly cultivated crop to wintering geese and swans...... of geese and swans wintering in northern Europe....

  6. Movements and foraging effort of Steller's Eiders and Harlequin Ducks wintering near Dutch Harbor, Alaska

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    Reed, J.A.; Flint, Paul L.

    2007-01-01

    We studied the movements and foraging effort of radio-marked Steller's Eiders (Polysticta stelleri) and Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) to evaluate habitat quality in an area impacted by industrial activity near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Foraging effort was relatively low, with Steller's Eiders foraging only 2.7 ± 0.6 (SE) hours per day and Harlequin Ducks 4.1 ± 0.5 hours per day. Low-foraging effort during periods of high-energetic demand generally suggests high food availability, and high food availability frequently corresponds with reductions in home range size. However, the winter ranges of Harlequin Ducks did not appear to be smaller than usual, with the mean range size in our study (5.5 ± 1.1 km2) similar to that reported by previous investigators. The mean size of the winter ranges of Steller's Eiders was similar (5.1 ± 1.3 km2), but no comparable estimates are available. Eutrophication of the waters near Dutch Harbor caused by seafood processing and municipal sewage effluent may have increased populations of the invertebrate prey of these sea ducks and contributed to their low-foraging effort. The threat of predation by Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that winter near Dutch Harbor may cause Steller's Eiders and Harlequin Ducks to move further offshore when not foraging, contributing to an increase in range sizes. Thus, the movement patterns and foraging behavior of these ducks likely represent a balance between the cost and benefits of wintering in a human-influenced environment.

  7. Characteristics of foraging sites and protein status in wintering muskoxen: insights from isotopes of nitrogen

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    Gustine, David D.; Barboza, Perry S.; Lawler, James P.; Arthur, Stephen M.; Shults, Brad S.; Persons, Kate; Adams, Layne G.

    2011-01-01

    Identifying links between nutritional condition of individuals and population trajectories greatly enhances our understanding of the ecology, conservation, and management of wildlife. For northern ungulates, the potential impacts of a changing climate to populations are predicted to be nutritionally mediated through an increase in the severity and variance in winter conditions. Foraging conditions and the availability of body protein as a store for reproduction in late winter may constrain productivity in northern ungulates, yet the link between characteristics of wintering habitats and protein status has not been established for a wild ungulate. We used a non‐invasive proxy of protein status derived from isotopes of N in excreta to evaluate the influence of winter habitats on the protein status of muskoxen in three populations in Alaska (2005–2008). Multiple regression and an information‐theoretic approach were used to compare models that evaluated the influence of population, year, and characteristics of foraging sites (components of diet and physiography) on protein status for groups of muskoxen. The observed variance in protein status among groups of muskoxen across populations and years was partially explained (45%) by local foraging conditions that affected forage availability. Protein status improved for groups of muskoxen as the amount of graminoids in the diet increased (−0.430 ± 0.31, β± 95% CI) and elevation of foraging sites decreased (0.824 ± 0.67). Resources available for reproduction in muskoxen are highly dependent upon demographic, environmental, and physiographic constraints that affect forage availability in winter. Due to their very sedentary nature in winter, muskoxen are highly susceptible to localized foraging conditions; therefore, the spatial variance in resource availability may exert a strong effect on productivity. Consequently, there is a clear need to account for climate–topography effects in winter at multiple scales

  8. Foraging patch selection in winter: a balance between predation risk and thermoregulation benefit.

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    Sara Villén-Pérez

    Full Text Available In winter, foraging activity is intended to optimize food search while minimizing both thermoregulation costs and predation risk. Here we quantify the relative importance of thermoregulation and predation in foraging patch selection of woodland birds wintering in a Mediterranean montane forest. Specifically, we account for thermoregulation benefits related to temperature, and predation risk associated with both illumination of the feeding patch and distance to the nearest refuge provided by vegetation. We measured the amount of time that 38 marked individual birds belonging to five small passerine species spent foraging at artificial feeders. Feeders were located in forest patches that vary in distance to protective cover and exposure to sun radiation; temperature and illumination were registered locally by data loggers. Our results support the influence of both thermoregulation benefits and predation costs on feeding patch choice. The influence of distance to refuge (negative relationship was nearly three times higher than that of temperature (positive relationship in determining total foraging time spent at a patch. Light intensity had a negligible and no significant effect. This pattern was generalizable among species and individuals within species, and highlights the preponderance of latent predation risk over thermoregulation benefits on foraging decisions of birds wintering in temperate Mediterranean forests.

  9. The energetic importance of night foraging for waders wintering in a temperate estuary

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    Lourenco, Pedro M.; Silva, Andreia; Santos, Carlos D.; Miranda, Ana C.; Granadeiro, Jose P.; Palmeirim, Jorge M.

    2008-01-01

    Many species of waders forage extensively at night, but there is very little information on the relevance of this behaviour for the energy budget of waders wintering in estuarine wetlands. Quantitative data on diurnal and nocturnal intake rates can indicate the extent to which birds need to forage

  10. Relative abundance of small mammals in nest core areas and burned wintering areas of Mexican spotted owls in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico

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    Joseph L. Ganey; Sean C. Kyle; Todd A. Rawlinson; Darrell L. Apprill; James P Ward

    2014-01-01

    Mexican Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) are common in older forests within their range but also persist in many areas burned by wildfire and may selectively forage in these areas. One hypothesis explaining this pattern postulates that prey abundance increases in burned areas following wildfire. We observed movement to wintering areas within areas burned by...

  11. Second generation sequencing and morphological faecal analysis reveal unexpected foraging behaviour by Myotis nattereri (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) in winter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hope, Paul R; Bohmann, Kristine; Gilbert, M. Thomas P.

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Temperate winters produce extreme energetic challenges for small insectivorous mammals. Some bat species inhabiting locations with mild temperate winters forage during brief inter-torpor normothermic periods of activity. However, the winter diet of bats in mild temperate locations is ...

  12. Radiocesium in roe deer and wild boars and their forage in the Chernobyl area

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    Eriksson, O.; Jungskaer, W. [Uppsala Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Ecological Botany; Gaichenko, V.; Panov, G. [Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev (Ukraine). Schmalhausen Inst. of Zoology; Goshchak, S. [RIA Pripyat, Chernobyl (Ukraine). Restoration Dept.; Jones, B. [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden). Dept. of Clinical Chemistry; Petrov, M.; Davydchuk, V. [Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev (Ukraine). Inst. of Geography; Shcherbatchenko, A. [Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev (Ukraine). Inst. of Nuclear Research

    1996-12-31

    Tissue samples from 67 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and 73 wild boars (Sus scrofa L.) were obtained from the evacuated zone around the damaged nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The samplings were performed from June 1992 to February 1995 regularly during each typical season (spring in mid-May, summer in mid-August, autumn in mid-October and winter in late February). By using botanical analysis of rumen/stomach contents, dominant forage plants were identified and collected in the area where the animals had been foraging. The results show that there is a considerable individual variation in diet selection within each season for both these animal species and also a seasonal variation in the radiocesium contamination of muscular tissue. The seasonal variation is most pronounced in the wild boar. Minimum levels of 137Cs were seen during summer and autumn (mean 6kBq/kg w.w. and 2 kBq/kg w.w., resp.) and maximum levels in winter (mean 113 kBq/kg w.w.). In the roe deer, the minimum levels were seen in winter (mean 6kBq/kg w.w.) and maximum levels in autumn (mean 58 kBq/kg w.w.). These variations are caused by differences in pasture selection during different seasons of the year. One very important forage plant eaten both by roe deer and by wild boars during all seasons was evening primrose (Oenothera biennis L.). Also the underground parts of this plant are consumed by the wild boar. Also the role of soil as an intake source of radioactive contaminants has been estimated by determination of inorganic residues after ashing of rumen/stomach samples. In the winter, wild boars show the highest ash content with 32% (mean of dry matter) and the lowest in summer with 6%. In roe deer, the differences between seasons are smaller, with an average of 9% in the spring and 15% in winter. The level of 137Cs contamination in muscular tissue of these two species has not decreased noticeably in the studied area during the study period from summer 1992 to winter 1995. 18 refs, 8 figs.

  13. Radiocesium in roe deer and wild boars and their forage in the Chernobyl area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eriksson, O.; Jungskaer, W.; Gaichenko, V.; Panov, G.; Goshchak, S.; Jones, B.; Petrov, M.; Davydchuk, V.; Shcherbatchenko, A.

    1996-01-01

    Tissue samples from 67 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and 73 wild boars (Sus scrofa L.) were obtained from the evacuated zone around the damaged nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The samplings were performed from June 1992 to February 1995 regularly during each typical season (spring in mid-May, summer in mid-August, autumn in mid-October and winter in late February). By using botanical analysis of rumen/stomach contents, dominant forage plants were identified and collected in the area where the animals had been foraging. The results show that there is a considerable individual variation in diet selection within each season for both these animal species and also a seasonal variation in the radiocesium contamination of muscular tissue. The seasonal variation is most pronounced in the wild boar. Minimum levels of 137Cs were seen during summer and autumn (mean 6kBq/kg w.w. and 2 kBq/kg w.w., resp.) and maximum levels in winter (mean 113 kBq/kg w.w.). In the roe deer, the minimum levels were seen in winter (mean 6kBq/kg w.w.) and maximum levels in autumn (mean 58 kBq/kg w.w.). These variations are caused by differences in pasture selection during different seasons of the year. One very important forage plant eaten both by roe deer and by wild boars during all seasons was evening primrose (Oenothera biennis L.). Also the underground parts of this plant are consumed by the wild boar. Also the role of soil as an intake source of radioactive contaminants has been estimated by determination of inorganic residues after ashing of rumen/stomach samples. In the winter, wild boars show the highest ash content with 32% (mean of dry matter) and the lowest in summer with 6%. In roe deer, the differences between seasons are smaller, with an average of 9% in the spring and 15% in winter. The level of 137Cs contamination in muscular tissue of these two species has not decreased noticeably in the studied area during the study period from summer 1992 to winter 1995

  14. Annual forage cropping-systems for midwestern ruminant livestock production

    OpenAIRE

    McMillan, John Ernest

    2016-01-01

    Annual forage cropping systems are a vital aspect of livestock forage production. One area where this production system can be enhanced is the integration of novel annual forages into conventional cropping systems. Two separate projects were conducted to investigate alternative forage options in annual forage production. In the first discussed research trial, two sets of crops were sown following soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain harvest, at two nitrogen application rates 56 ...

  15. Persistence of forage fish ‘hot spots’ and its association with foraging Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in southeast Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gende, Scott M.; Sigler, Michael F.

    2006-02-01

    Whereas primary and secondary productivity at oceanic 'hotspots' may be a function of upwelling and temperature fronts, the aggregation of higher-order vertebrates is a function of their ability to search for and locate these areas. Thus, understanding how predators aggregate at these productive foraging areas is germane to the study of oceanic hot spots. We examined the spatial distribution of forage fish in southeast Alaska for three years to better understand Steller sea lion ( Eumetopias jubatus) aggregations and foraging behavior. Energy densities (millions KJ/km 2) of forage fish were orders of magnitude greater during the winter months (November-February), due to the presence of schools of overwintering Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasi). Within the winter months, herring consistently aggregated at a few areas, and these areas persisted throughout the season and among years. Thus, our study area was characterized by seasonally variable, highly abundant but highly patchily distributed forage fish hot spots. More importantly, the persistence of these forage fish hot spots was an important characteristic in determining whether foraging sea lions utilized them. Over 40% of the variation in the distribution of sea lions on our surveys was explained by the persistence of forage fish hot spots. Using a simple spatial model, we demonstrate that when the density of these hot spots is low, effort necessary to locate these spots is minimized when those spots persist through time. In contrast, under similar prey densities but lower persistence, effort increases dramatically. Thus an important characteristic of pelagic hot spots is their persistence, allowing predators to predict their locations and concentrate search efforts accordingly.

  16. Vigilance and activity time-budget adjustments of wintering hooded cranes, Grus monacha, in human-dominated foraging habitats.

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    Li, Chunlin; Zhou, Lizhi; Xu, Li; Zhao, Niannian; Beauchamp, Guy

    2015-01-01

    Due to loss and degradation of natural wetlands, waterbirds increasingly rely on surrounding human-dominated habitats to obtain food. Quantifying vigilance patterns, investigating the trade-off among various activities, and examining the underlying mechanisms will help us understand how waterbirds adapt to human-caused disturbances. During two successive winters (November-February of 2012-13 and 2013-14), we studied the hooded crane, Grus monacha, in the Shengjin Lake National Nature Reserve (NNR), China, to investigate how the species responds to human disturbances through vigilance and activity time-budget adjustments. Our results showed striking differences in the behavior of the cranes when foraging in the highly disturbed rice paddy fields found in the buffer zone compared with the degraded natural wetlands in the core area of the NNR. Time spent vigilant decreased with flock size and cranes spent more time vigilant in the human-dominated buffer zone. In the rice paddy fields, the birds were more vigilant but also fed more at the expense of locomotion and maintenance activities. Adult cranes spent more time vigilant and foraged less than juveniles. We recommend habitat recovery in natural wetlands and community co-management in the surrounding human-dominated landscape for conservation of the hooded crane and, generally, for the vast numbers of migratory waterbirds wintering in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River floodplain.

  17. Habitat-effectiveness index for elk on Blue Mountain Winter Ranges.

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    Jack Ward Thomas; Donavin A. Leckenby; Mark Henjum; Richard J. Pedersen; Larry D. Bryant

    1988-01-01

    An elk-habitat evaluation procedure for winter ranges in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and Washington is described. The index is based on an interaction of size and spacing of cover and forage areas, roads open to traffic per unit of area, cover quality, and quantity and quality of forage.

  18. Winter habitat predictions of a key Southern Ocean predator, the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arthur, Benjamin; Hindell, Mark; Bester, Marthan; De Bruyn, P. J. Nico; Trathan, Phil; Goebel, Michael; Lea, Mary-Anne

    2017-06-01

    Quantification of the physical and biological environmental factors that influence the spatial distribution of higher trophic species is central to inform management and develop ecosystem models, particularly in light of ocean changes. We used tracking data from 184 female Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) to develop habitat models for three breeding colonies for the poorly studied Southern Ocean winter period. Models were used to identify and predict the broadly important winter foraging habitat and to elucidate the environmental factors influencing these areas. Model predictions closely matched observations and several core areas of foraging habitat were identified for each colony, with notable areas of inter-colony overlap suggesting shared productive foraging grounds. Seals displayed clear choice of foraging habitat, travelling through areas of presumably poorer quality to access habitats that likely offer an energetic advantage in terms of prey intake. The relationships between environmental predictors and foraging habitat varied between colonies, with the principal predictors being wind speed, sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a concentration, bathymetry and distance to the colony. The availability of core foraging areas was not consistent throughout the winter period. The habitat models developed in this study not only reveal the core foraging habitats of Antarctic fur seals from multiple colonies, but can facilitate the hindcasting of historical foraging habitats as well as novel predictions of important habitat for other major colonies currently lacking information of the at-sea distribution of this major Southern Ocean consumer.

  19. Forage intake and weight gain of ewes is affected by roughage mixes during winter in northeastern China.

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    Yang, Zhiming; Wang, Yunbo; Yuan, Xia; Wang, Ling; Wang, Deli

    2017-08-01

    We studied the effect of dietary roughage species and their combinations on forage intake and growth rate of ewes during winter in a pastoral-farming area of northeast China. Twenty-five Northeast crossbred ewes (fine-wool sheep × Small-tailed Han sheep) were randomly selected and divided into five groups (G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5). During a 30 day feeding trial, each group of ewes were offered the same basal diet (composed of 0.36 kg chopped maize stalk (10 mm), 0.14 kg corn meal, 0.05 kg soybean meal and 1.2 g NaCl) and one of the five supplementary roughage mixes, namely 100% Leymus chinensis hay (G1), 100% Vigna radiata stalk (G2), L. chinensis hay plus Suaeda glauca (G3), V. radiata stalk plus S. glauca (G4) and L. chinensis hay plus V. radiata stalk and S. glauca (G5). The results showed that roughage mixes had significant influences on daily roughage intake and daily weight gain of ewes. Ewes had greater daily roughage intake when supplemented with three species of roughage compared to the roughage with one species; however, there was no significant difference between G1 and G2, G3 and G4, or between G4 and G5. The average daily gain of ewes was also greater when they were supplemented with the roughage combination of L. chinensis, V. radiata stalk and S. glauca. No difference in average daily weight gain was observed between the G4 and G5 treatments (P > 0.05). The lowest average daily weight gain was observed when the ewes were supplemented with V. radiata stalk alone (G2) (P ewes with various roughages simultaneously in winter could improve their forage intake and average daily weight gain compared to offering the ewes only one type of dietary roughage. Further, feeding roughage supplements containing a diverse mix of roughage species represents one method for increasing roughage utilization in livestock production during winter in the pastoral-farming areas of northeastern China. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  20. Nitrogen and carbohydrate fractions in exclusive Tifton 85 and in pasture oversown with annual winter forage species - 10.4025/actascianimsci.v34i1.11428

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    Ana Claudia Ruggieri

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The experiment was undertaken at the Faculty of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (FCAV Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, Brazil, during winter-spring-summer of 2001-2002, to determine the fractionation of nitrogen and carbohydrates in Tifton 85 (Cynodon dactylon Vanderyst x Cynodon nlemfuensis (L. Pers, exclusively or oversown with winter annual forage species. Treatments comprised bristle oat (Avena strigosa Schreb, yellow oat (Avena byzantina C. Koch, triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack, bristle oat + yellow oat, bristle oat + triticale, yellow oat + triticale, bristle oat + yellow oat + triticale seeded in Tifton 85 and sole crop (control. Experimental design was composed of completely randomized blocks with three replications. Fodder was cut 20 cm high (presence of winter forage and 10 cm high (Tifton 85 pasture. Crude protein, total carbohydrate and the fractions of nitrogen compounds and carbohydrates were determined. Decrease was reported in the levels of chemical compounds in winter forage species and in Tifton 85 during the evaluation periods. The content of nitrogen compounds and carbohydrates varied widely during the evaluation period according to the morphological characteristics of grass species and botanical composition of pastures.

  1. A Remote Sensing Based Forage Biomass Yield Inversion Model of Alpine-cold Meadow during Grass-withering Period in Sanjiangyuan Area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Weize; Jia, Haifeng; Liang, Shidong; Wang, Zheng; Liu, Shujie; Hao, Lizhuang; Chai, Shatuo

    2014-01-01

    Estimating forage biomass yield remotely from space is still challenging nowadays. Field experiments were conducted and ground measurements correlated to remote sensing data to estimate the forage biomass yield of Alpine-cold meadow grassland during the grass and grass-withering period in Sanjiangyuan area in Yushu county. Both Shapiro-Wilk and Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-tailed tests showed that the field training samples are normally distributed, the Spearman coefficient indicated that the parametric correlation analysis had significant differences. The optimal regression models were developed based on the Landsat Thematic Mapper Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (TM-NDVI) and the forage biomass field data during the grass and the grass-withering periods, respectively. Then an integration model was used to predict forage biomass yield of alpine-cold meadow in the grass-withering period. The model showed good prediction accuracy and reliability. It was found that this approach can not only estimate forage yield in large scale efficiently but also overcome the seasonal limitation of remote sensing inversion. This technique can provides valuable guidance to animal husbandry to resource more efficiently in winter

  2. Quality of the forage apparently consumed by beef calves in natural grassland under fertilization and oversown with cool season forage species

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    Denise Adelaide Gomes Elejalde

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition of the forage apparently consumed by steers in a natural grassland on region of Campanha, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, subjected or not to different inputs: NP - natural pasture without inputs; FNP - fertilized natural pasture and INP - improved natural grassland with fertilization and over-seeded with cultivated winter species. Three Angus steers testers and a variable number of regulator animals per experimental unit were utilized in order to maintain 13 kg of DM/100 kg of live weight (LW as forage allowance. One time at each season, hand plucking samples were performed along the daily grazing time simulating forage harvested by the animals. The collected samples after drying and grind were submitted to chemical analysis to determine the forage quality. Except in winter and spring, the values of neutral detergent fiber were higher than the critical value of 550 g/kg of DM, which could limit forage intake, demonstrating that the values of forage on offer provided (15.6; 13.7; 13.5; 15.8 kg of DM/100 kg of LW/day in summer, autumn, winter and spring, respectively were not restrictive to intake. The oversowing of winter cultivated species or fertilization positively alter the degradable fiber content. The seasons had marked influence on the chemical composition of forage apparently consumed; positively increasing some fractions of forage chemical composition in the seasons in which native or cultivated winter species increased their participation. The forage chemical composition is the determining factor in animal performance in natural pasture.

  3. Maize stubble as foraging habitat to wintering geese and swans in northern Europe.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Clausen, K.K.; Madsen, J.; Nolet, B.A.; Haugaard, L.

    2018-01-01

    Agricultural crops have become increasingly important foraging habitats to geese and swans in northern Europe, and a recent climate-driven expansion in the area of maize fields has led to a rapid increase in the exploitation of this habitat. However, due to the novelty of maize foraging in this

  4. Foraging areas, offshore habitat use, and colony overlap by incubating Leach's storm-petrels Oceanodroma leucorhoa in the Northwest Atlantic.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    April Hedd

    Full Text Available Despite their importance in marine food webs, much has yet to be learned about the spatial ecology of small seabirds. This includes the Leach's storm-petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa, a species that is declining throughout its Northwest Atlantic breeding range. In 2013 and 2014, we used global location sensors to track foraging movements of incubating storm-petrels from 7 eastern Canadian breeding colonies. We determined and compared the foraging trip and at-sea habitat characteristics, analysed spatial overlap among colonies, and determined whether colony foraging ranges intersected with offshore oil and gas operations. Individuals tracked during the incubation period made 4.0 ± 1.4 day foraging trips, travelling to highly pelagic waters over and beyond continental slopes which ranged, on average, 400 to 830 km from colonies. Cumulative travel distances ranged from ~900 to 2,100 km among colonies. While colony size did not influence foraging trip characteristics or the size of areas used at sea, foraging distances tended to be shorter for individuals breeding at the southern end of the range. Core areas did not overlap considerably among colonies, and individuals from all sites except Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy foraged over waters with median depths > 1,950 m and average chlorophyll a concentrations ≤ 0.6 mg/m3. Sea surface temperatures within colony core areas varied considerably (11-23°C, coincident with the birds' use of cold waters of the Labrador Current or warmer waters of the Gulf Stream Current. Offshore oil and gas operations intersected with the foraging ranges of 5 of 7 colonies. Three of these, including Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland, which supports the species' largest population, have experienced substantial declines in the last few decades. Future work should prioritize modelling efforts to incorporate information on relative predation risk at colonies, spatially explicit risks at-sea on the breeding and wintering grounds

  5. Habitat preferences and conservation threats to Black-necked Cranes wintering in Bhutan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namgay, Rinchen; Wangchuk, Sangay

    2016-01-01

    Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) is a vulnerable Red list species whose populations are declining. However, little is known about Black-necked Cranes' habitat requirements or the causes of their population decline. We identified Black-necked Cranes' winter roost and foraging preferences of Black-necked Cranes in Bhutan during the winter of 2013-2014. Black-necked Cranes' roosts were recorded using Garmin GPSmap 60CSx, while foraging preferences and threats to the birds were identified based on a survey of household heads (n = 107) residing within a 3 km radius of roost sites. We grouped the threats identified by the communities into four major categories, viz. biological, social, political and natural threats based on the relevance. Of the four major threats, communities residing within the roosting and foraging habitat of the Black-necked Crane reported biological threat as major. Biological threats as reported by communities include loss of habitat, food shortage and competition from other animals. We recommend the present roosting areas be designated as part of the conservation areas for Black-necked Crane wintering in Bumthang district. In addition to preserving these areas, government should also encourage farming in foraging habitats of Black-necked Crane, because they mainly feed on barley, wheat, paddy, potatoes and buckwheat, besides roots, tubers and insects in the wetlands.

  6. Foraging decisions, patch use, and seasonality in egrets (Aves: ciconiiformes)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erwin, R.M.

    1985-01-01

    Feeding snowy (Egretta thula) and great (Casmerodius albus) egrets were observed during 2 breeding seasons in coastal New Jersey and 2 brief winter periods in northeast Florida (USA). A number of tests based on assumptions of foraging models, predictions from foraging theory, and earlier empirical tests concerning time allocation and movement in foraging patches was made. Few of the expectations based on foraging theory and/or assumptions were supported by the empirical evidence. Snowy egrets fed with greater intensity and efficiency during the breeding season (when young were being fed) than during winter. They also showed some tendency to leave patches when their capture rate declined, and they spent more time foraging in patches when other birds were present nearby. Great egrets showed few of these tendencies, although they did leave patches when their intercapture intervals increased. Satiation differences had some influence on feeding rates in snowy egrets, but only at the end of feeding bouts. Some individuals of both species revisited areas in patches that had recently been exploited, and success rates were usually higher after the 2nd visit. Apparently, for predators of active prey, short-term changes in resource availability ('resource depression') may be more important than resource depletion, a common assumption in most optimal foraging theory models.

  7. [Activity patterns and foraging behavior of Apis cerana cerana in the urban gardens in winter].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Fa-jun; Yang, Qing-qing; Long, Li; Hu, Hong-mei; Duan, Bin; Chen, Wen-nian

    2016-01-01

    Bees and other pollinating insects are the important parts of biodiversity due to their great role in plant reproduction and crop production. To explore the role of city garden in native bees conservation, activity patterns, visiting behaviors and flowering plants with nectar or pollen were recorded in south Sichuan in winter. The results showed that, worker bees (Apis cerana cerana) were active to collect food out hive under suitable weather conditions, the duration of working was long. Peaks of the number of outgoing, entrance and foragers without pollen appeared at 14:00-15:00, and bimodal patterns were observed. While, peak of bees with pollen appeared at 11:00, and a unimodal pattern was observed. Time significantly affected the activity of workers. The workload of honey bees on nectar and pollen collection were different, just less than twenty percent foragers carrying pollen. Temperature and humidity also affected flights of bees to some degree, and bee activities showed similar patterns on different days. However, the activities had diverse characteristics in some time. Though a less number of plants were in flowering, most of them could be utilized by A. cerana cerana, and colonies could effectively get the food resource by behavior adjustment. In addition, visiting activities of bees on the flowers of main garden plants, such as Camellia japonica, showed obvious rhythm. Increasing the flowering plants with nectar and pollen in winter by scientific management of urban gardens would facilitate the creation of suitable habitats for A. cerana cerana and maintaining the wild population.

  8. Limited dietary overlap amongst resident Arctic herbivores in winter: complementary insights from complementary methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Niels M; Mosbacher, Jesper B; Vesterinen, Eero J; Roslin, Tomas; Michelsen, Anders

    2018-04-26

    Snow may prevent Arctic herbivores from accessing their forage in winter, forcing them to aggregate in the few patches with limited snow. In High Arctic Greenland, Arctic hare and rock ptarmigan often forage in muskox feeding craters. We therefore hypothesized that due to limited availability of forage, the dietary niches of these resident herbivores overlap considerably, and that the overlap increases as winter progresses. To test this, we analyzed fecal samples collected in early and late winter. We used molecular analysis to identify the plant taxa consumed, and stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen to quantify the dietary niche breadth and dietary overlap. The plant taxa found indicated only limited dietary differentiation between the herbivores. As expected, dietary niches exhibited a strong contraction from early to late winter, especially for rock ptarmigan. This may indicate increasing reliance on particular plant resources as winter progresses. In early winter, the diet of rock ptarmigan overlapped slightly with that of muskox and Arctic hare. Contrary to our expectations, no inter-specific dietary niche overlap was observed in late winter. This overall pattern was specifically revealed by combined analysis of molecular data and stable isotope contents. Hence, despite foraging in the same areas and generally feeding on the same plant taxa, the quantitative dietary overlap between the three herbivores was limited. This may be attributable to species-specific consumption rates of plant taxa. Yet, Arctic hare and rock ptarmigan may benefit from muskox opening up the snow pack, thereby allowing them to access the plants.

  9. Forage yield of berseem (Trifolium alaxandrium) as affected by ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jane

    2011-10-17

    Oct 17, 2011 ... wheat straw is traditionally fed during winter and spring. *Corresponding author. E-mail: ijaz132@yahoo.co.uk. In irrigated areas of Pakistan where although green. fodder is a traditional crop, only a few local fodder species and varieties are in widespread use. The ability of the given forage species to ...

  10. Spatial correlations between browsing on balsam fir by white-tailed deer and the nutritional value of neighboring winter forage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Champagne, Emilie; Moore, Ben D; Côté, Steeve D; Tremblay, Jean-Pierre

    2018-03-01

    Associational effects, that is, the influence of neighboring plants on herbivory suffered by a plant, are an outcome of forage selection. Although forage selection is a hierarchical process, few studies have investigated associational effects at multiple spatial scales. Because the nutritional quality of plants can be spatially structured, it might differently influence associational effects across multiple scales. Our objective was to determine the radius of influence of neighbor density and nutritional quality on balsam fir ( Abies balsamea ) herbivory by white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) in winter. We quantified browsing rates on fir and the density and quality of neighboring trees in a series of 10-year-old cutovers on Anticosti Island (Canada). We used cross-correlations to investigate relationships between browsing rates and the density and nutritional quality of neighboring trees at distances up to 1,000 m. Balsam fir and white spruce ( Picea glauca ) fiber content and dry matter in vitro true digestibility were correlated with fir browsing rate at the finest extra-patch scale (across distance of up to 50 m) and between cutover areas (300-400 m). These correlations suggest associational effects, that is, low nutritional quality of neighbors reduces the likelihood of fir herbivory (associational defense). Our results may indicate associational effects mediated by intraspecific variation in plant quality and suggest that these effects could occur at scales from tens to hundreds of meters. Understanding associational effects could inform strategies for restoration or conservation; for example, planting of fir among existing natural regeneration could be concentrated in areas of low nutritional quality.

  11. Temporal effects of hunting on foraging behavior of an apex predator: Do bears forego foraging when risk is high?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hertel, Anne G; Zedrosser, Andreas; Mysterud, Atle; Støen, Ole-Gunnar; Steyaert, Sam M J G; Swenson, Jon E

    2016-12-01

    Avoiding predators most often entails a food cost. For the Scandinavian brown bear (Ursus arctos), the hunting season coincides with the period of hyperphagia. Hunting mortality risk is not uniformly distributed throughout the day, but peaks in the early morning hours. As bears must increase mass for winter survival, they should be sensitive to temporal allocation of antipredator responses to periods of highest risk. We expected bears to reduce foraging activity at the expense of food intake in the morning hours when risk was high, but not in the afternoon, when risk was low. We used fine-scale GPS-derived activity patterns during the 2 weeks before and after the onset of the annual bear hunting season. At locations of probable foraging, we assessed abundance and sugar content, of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), the most important autumn food resource for bears in this area. Bears decreased their foraging activity in the morning hours of the hunting season. Likewise, they foraged less efficiently and on poorer quality berries in the morning. Neither of our foraging measures were affected by hunting in the afternoon foraging bout, indicating that bears did not allocate antipredator behavior to times of comparably lower risk. Bears effectively responded to variation in risk on the scale of hours. This entailed a measurable foraging cost. The additive effect of reduced foraging activity, reduced forage intake, and lower quality food may result in poorer body condition upon den entry and may ultimately reduce reproductive success.

  12. Hooded seal Cystophora cristata foraging areas in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean-Investigated using three complementary methods.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jade Vacquie-Garcia

    Full Text Available Identifying environmental characteristics that define the ecological niche of a species is essential to understanding how changes in physical conditions might affect its distribution and other aspects of its ecology. The present study used satellite relay data loggers (SRDLs to study habitat use by Northeast Atlantic hooded seals (N = 20; 9 adult females, 3 adult males, and 8 juveniles. Three different methods were used in combination to achieve maximum insight regarding key foraging areas for hooded seals in this region, which have decline by 85% in recent decades: 1 first passage time (FPT; 2 vertical transit rate and; 3 change in dive drift rate. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMM were applied to each method to determine whether specific habitat characteristics were associated with foraging. Separate models were run for the post-molting and the post-breeding seasons; sex and age classes were included in the GAMMs. All three methods highlighted a few common geographic areas as being important foraging zones; however, there were also some different areas identified by the different methods, which highlights the importance of using multiple indexes when analyzing tracking and diving data to study foraging behavior. Foraging occurred most commonly in relatively shallow areas with high Sea Surface Temperatures (SST, corresponding to continental shelf areas with Atlantic Water masses. All age and sex classes overlapped spatially to some extent, but the different age and sex groups showed differences in the bathymetry of their foraging areas as well as in their vertical use of the water column. When foraging, pups dove in the upper part of the water column in relatively deep areas. Adult females foraged relatively shallowly in deep water areas too, though in shallower areas than pups. Adult males foraged close to the bottom in shallower areas.

  13. Chinstrap penguin foraging area associated with a seamount in Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokubun, Nobuo; Lee, Won Young; Kim, Jeong-Hoon; Takahashi, Akinori

    2015-12-01

    Identifying marine features that support high foraging performance of predators is useful to determine areas of ecological importance. This study aimed to identify marine features that are important for foraging of chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus), an abundant upper-trophic level predator in the Antarctic Peninsula region. We investigated the foraging locations of penguins breeding on King George Island using GPS-depth loggers. Tracking data from 18 birds (4232 dives), 11 birds (2095 dives), and 19 birds (3947 dives) were obtained in 2007, 2010, and 2015, respectively. In all three years, penguins frequently visited an area near a seamount (Orca Seamount) in Bransfield Strait. The percentage of dives (27.8% in 2007, 36.1% in 2010, and 19.1% in 2015) and depth wiggles (27.1% in 2007, 37.2% in 2010, and 22.3% in 2015) performed in this area was higher than that expected from the size of the area and distance from the colony (8.4% for 2007, 14.7% for 2010, and 6.3% for 2015). Stomach content analysis showed that the penguins fed mainly on Antarctic krill. These results suggest that the seamount provided a favorable foraging area for breeding chinstrap penguins, with high availability of Antarctic krill, possibly related to local upwelling.

  14. Does Wyoming's Core Area Policy Protect Winter Habitats for Greater Sage-Grouse?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Kurt T.; Beck, Jeffrey L.; Pratt, Aaron C.

    2016-10-01

    Conservation reserves established to protect important habitat for wildlife species are used world-wide as a wildlife conservation measure. Effective reserves must adequately protect year-round habitats to maintain wildlife populations. Wyoming's Sage-Grouse Core Area policy was established to protect breeding habitats for greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus). Protecting only one important seasonal habitat could result in loss or degradation of other important habitats and potential declines in local populations. The purpose of our study was to identify the timing of winter habitat use, the extent which individuals breeding in Core Areas used winter habitats, and develop resource selection functions to assess effectiveness of Core Areas in conserving sage-grouse winter habitats in portions of 5 Core Areas in central and north-central Wyoming during winters 2011-2015. We found that use of winter habitats occured over a longer period than current Core Area winter timing stipulations and a substantial amount of winter habitat outside of Core Areas was used by individuals that bred in Core Areas, particularly in smaller Core Areas. Resource selection functions for each study area indicated that sage-grouse were selecting habitats in response to landscapes dominated by big sagebrush and flatter topography similar to other research on sage-grouse winter habitat selection. The substantial portion of sage-grouse locations and predicted probability of selection during winter outside small Core Areas illustrate that winter requirements for sage-grouse are not adequately met by existing Core Areas. Consequently, further considerations for identifying and managing important winter sage-grouse habitats under Wyoming's Core Area Policy are warranted.

  15. Mapping of QTLs for leaf area and the association with winter ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Variations in plant architecture are often associated with the ability of plants to survive cold stress during winter. In studies of winter hardiness in lentil, it appeared that small leaf area was associated with improved winter survival. Based on this observation, the inheritance of leaf area and the relationship with winter ...

  16. Seasonal variations in the diet and foraging behaviour of dunlins Calidris alpina in a south European estuary: improved feeding conditions for northward migrants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo C Martins

    Full Text Available During the annual cycle, migratory waders may face strikingly different feeding conditions as they move between breeding areas and wintering grounds. Thus, it is of crucial importance that they rapidly adjust their behaviour and diet to benefit from peaks of prey abundance, in particular during migration, when they need to accumulate energy at a fast pace. In this study, we compared foraging behaviour and diet of wintering and northward migrating dunlins in the Tagus estuary, Portugal, by video-recording foraging birds and analysing their droppings. We also estimated energy intake rates and analysed variations in prey availability, including those that were active at the sediment surface. Wintering and northward migrating dunlins showed clearly different foraging behaviour and diet. In winter, birds predominantly adopted a tactile foraging technique (probing, mainly used to search for small buried bivalves, with some visual surface pecking to collect gastropods and crop bivalve siphons. Contrastingly, in spring dunlins generally used a visual foraging strategy, mostly to consume worms, but also bivalve siphons and shrimps. From winter to spring, we found a marked increase both in the biomass of invertebrate prey in the sediment and in the surface activity of worms and siphons. The combination of these two factors, together with the availability of shrimps in spring, most likely explains the changes in the diet and foraging behaviour of dunlins. Northward migrating birds took advantage from the improved feeding conditions in spring, achieving 65% higher energy intake rates as compared with wintering birds. Building on these results and on known daily activity budgets for this species, our results suggest that Tagus estuary provides high-quality feeding conditions for birds during their stopovers, enabling high fattening rates. These findings show that this large wetland plays a key role as a stopover site for migratory waders within the East

  17. Prediction of digestibility and energy concentration of winter pasture forage and herbage of low-input grassland--a comparison of methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Opitz v Boberfeld, W; Theobald, P C; Laser, H

    2003-06-01

    Regarding the estimation of the energy concentration or digestibility of herb-dominated forage and plant samples from winter pastures, it could be expected that the estimation is only reliable when in vitro methods with rumen fluid as inoculum (= gas production techniques) are used. For the verification of this thesis based on logical reflections, an in vitro-method with rumen fluid added as inoculum, as well as chemical, and enzymatic methods were applied under consideration of existing estimating functions. As a possible reason for the observed divergence of the methods, effects of fungal infections or, respectively, secondary compounds in herbs are discussed. At the present state of knowledge, it is adequate to estimate the energy concentration in vitro by gas tests, as far as fattening types like suckler cows and beef cattle are concerned, maybe in contrast to the forage evaluation for dairy cows.

  18. Nutritional composition and in vitro digestibility of grass and legume winter (cover) crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, A N; Ferreira, G; Teets, C L; Thomason, W E; Teutsch, C D

    2018-03-01

    In dairy farming systems, growing winter crops for forage is frequently limited to annual grasses grown in monoculture. The objectives of this study were to determine how cropping grasses alone or in mixtures with legumes affects the yield, nutritional composition, and in vitro digestibility of fresh and ensiled winter crops and the yield, nutritional composition, and in vitro digestibility of the subsequent summer crops. Experimental plots were planted with 15 different winter crops at 3 locations in Virginia. At each site, 4 plots of each treatment were planted in a randomized complete block design. The 15 treatments included 5 winter annual grasses [barley (BA), ryegrass (RG), rye (RY), triticale (TR), and wheat (WT)] in monoculture [i.e., no legumes (NO)] or with 1 of 2 winter annual legumes [crimson clover (CC) and hairy vetch (HV)]. After harvesting the winter crops, corn and forage sorghum were planted within the same plots perpendicular to the winter crop plantings. The nutritional composition and the in vitro digestibility of winter and summer crops were determined for fresh and ensiled samples. Growing grasses in mixtures with CC increased forage dry matter (DM) yield (2.84 Mg/ha), but the yield of mixtures with HV (2.47 Mg/ha) was similar to that of grasses grown in monoculture (2.40 Mg/ha). Growing grasses in mixtures with legumes increased the crude protein concentration of the fresh forage from 13.0% to 15.5% for CC and to 17.3% for HV. For neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentrations, the interaction between grasses and legumes was significant for both fresh and ensiled forages. Growing BA, RY, and TR in mixtures with legumes decreased NDF concentrations, whereas growing RG and WT with legumes did not affect the NDF concentrations of either the fresh or the ensiled forages. Growing grasses in mixtures with legumes decreased the concentration of sugars of fresh forages relative to grasses grown in monoculture. Primarily, this decrease can be

  19. Estimating Radiological Doses to Predators Foraging in a Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    L.Soholt; G.Gonzales; P.Fresquez; K.Bennett; E.Lopez

    2003-01-01

    Since 1957, Los Alamos National Laboratory has operated Area G as its low-level, solid radioactive waste management and disposal area. Although the waste management area is developed, plants, small mammals, and avian and mammalian predators still occupy the less disturbed and revegetated portions of the land. For almost a decade, we have monitored the concentrations of selected radionuclides in soils, plants, and small mammals at Area G. The radionuclides tritium, plutonium-238, and plutonium-239 are regularly found at levels above regional background in all three media. Based on radionuclide concentrations in mice collected from 1994 to 1999, we calculated doses to higher trophic levels (owl, hawk, kestrel, and coyote) that forage on the waste management area. These predators play important functions in the regional ecosystems and are an important part of local Native American traditional tales that identify the uniqueness of their culture. The estimated doses are compared to Department of Energy's interim limit of 0.1 rad/day for the protection of terrestrial wildlife. We used exposure parameters that were derived from the literature for each receptor, including Environmental Protection Agency's exposure factors handbook. Estimated doses to predators ranged from 9E-06 to 2E-04 rad/day, assuming that they forage entirely on the waste management area. These doses are greater than those calculated for predators foraging exclusively in reference areas, but are still well below the interim dose limit. We believe that these calculated doses represent upper-bound estimates of exposure for local predators because the larger predators forage over areas that are much greater than the 63-acre waste management area. Based on these results, we concluded that predators foraging on this area do not face a hazard from radiological exposure under current site conditions

  20. Comparison of wet brewers' grains or dried distillers' grains as supplements to conserved bermudagrass forage as winter feeding options for beef cows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, M V; Hersom, M J; Thrift, T A; Yelich, J V

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the use of 2 byproduct supplements and conserved warm-season forage as winter feeding options for primiparous beef cows. Gestating Angus ( = 48) and Brangus ( = 24) 2-yr-old cows were stratified by BW and breed to 1 of 12 pens. Pens were randomly assigned 1 of 2 supplements, wet brewers' grains (WBG) or dried distillers' grains (DDG). Coastal bermudagrass hay or round bale silage (RBS) was fed free choice (6 pens each) and cows received WBG or DDG supplements at a daily rate of 0.05% BW (DM basis) prorated for feeding 3 d/wk. Total BW and BCS changes did not differ ( = 0.65 and = 0.93, respectively) between DDG- and WBG-supplemented cows. Total amount of forage DM offered and mean calculated daily forage DM offered did not differ ( = 0.59 and = 0.20, respectively) between supplement treatments. Estimated daily mean and total supplement DM offered was greater ( forage sources were used in an unbalanced 6 × 4 design to measure intake, digestibility, and rumen parameters in ruminally fistulated steers. Supplement did not affect forage DMI of hay ( = 0.31) or RBS ( = 0.63). Total DMI was not different ( = 0.37 and = 0.73) for hay-based and RBS-based diets, respectively. Total tract digestibility tended to be greater ( = 0.06) for DDG than for WBG in hay diets but was not different ( = 0.76) for RBS diets. Daily mean ruminal pH was greater ( = 0.03) for WBG than for DDG when supplemented to hay-based diets. In RBS diets, a supplement × hour interaction ( = 0.05) existed for ruminal pH. Daily mean ruminal ammonia N concentration was greater ( forage. High-moisture forage sources can be coupled with high-moisture byproduct supplements.

  1. Effects of mowing utilization on forage yield and quality in five oat ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Oat (Avena sativa) is grown to provide feed in winter for livestock production in the alpine area of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The effect of early cutting (T1), late cutting (T2) as well as once cutting and twice cutting (T3) on forage yields and qualities were investigated for five oat varieties (YTA, CNC, B3, Q473 and Q444).

  2. Experimental log hauling through a traditional caribou wintering area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harold G. Cumming

    1998-03-01

    Full Text Available A 3-year field experiment (fall 1990-spring 1993 showed that woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou altered their dispersion when logs were hauled through their traditional wintering area. Unlike observations in control years 1 and 3, radio-collared caribou that had returned to the study area before the road was plowed on January 6 of the experimental year 2, moved away 8-60 km after logging activities began. Seasonal migration to Lake Nipigon islands usually peaked in April, but by February 22 of year 2, 4 of the 6 had returned. The islands provide summer refuge from predation, but not when the lake is frozen. Tracks in snow showed that some caribou remained but changed locations. They used areas near the road preferentially in year 1, early year 2, and year 3, but moved away 2-5 km after the road was plowed in year 2. In a nearby undisturbed control area, no such changes occurred. Caribou and moose partitioned habitat on a small scale; tracks showed gray wolf (Canis lupus remote from caribou but close to moose tracks. No predation on caribou was observed within the wintering area; 2 kills were found outside it. Due to the possibility of displacing caribou from winter refugia to places with higher predation risk, log hauling through important caribou winter habitat should be minimized.

  3. Migration and wintering sites of Pelagic Cormorants determined by satellite telemetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatch, Shyla A.; Gill, V.A.; Mulcahy, D.M.

    2011-01-01

    Factors affecting winter survival may be key determinants of status and population trends of seabirds, but connections between breeding sites and wintering areas of most populations are poorly known. Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus; N= 6) surgically implanted with satellite transmitters migrated from a breeding colony on Middleton Island, northern Gulf of Alaska, to wintering sites in southeast Alaska and northern British Columbia. Winter locations averaged 920 km (range = 600-1190 km) from the breeding site. Migration flights in fall and spring lasted ???5 d in four instances. After reaching wintering areas, cormorants settled in narrowly circumscribed inshore locations (~10-km radius) and remained there throughout the nonbreeding period (September- March). Two juveniles tagged at the breeding colony as fledglings remained at their wintering sites for the duration of the tracking interval (14 and 22 mo, respectively). Most cormorants used multiple sites within their winter ranges for roosting and foraging. Band recoveries show that Pelagic Cormorants in southern British Columbia and Washington disperse locally in winter, rather than migrating like the cormorants in our study. Radio-tagging and monitoring cormorants and other seabirds from known breeding sites are vital for understanding migratory connectivity and improving conservation strategies for local populations. ?? 2011 The Authors. Journal of Field Ornithology ?? 2011 Association of Field Ornithologists.

  4. Effects of winter road grooming on bison in YNP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjornlie, Daniel D.; Garrott, R.A.

    2001-01-01

    The effects of winter recreation—specifically snowmobiling—on wildlife in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have become high-profile management issues. The road grooming needed to support oversnow travel in YNP is also being examined for its effects on bison (Bison bison) ecology. Data were collected from November 1997 through May 1998 and from December 1998 through May 1999 on the effects of road grooming on bison in Madison–Gibbon–Firehole (MGF) area of YNP Peak bison numbers occurred during late March—early April and were strongly correlated with the snow water equivalent measurements in the Hayden Valley area (1997–1998: r* = 0.62, p:0.001: 1998–1999: r2 = 0.64, P-0.001). Data from an infrared trail monitor on the Mary Mountain trail between the Hayden and Firehole valleys suggest that this trail is the sole corridor for major bison distributional shifts between these locations. Of the 28,293 observations of individual bison made during the study, 8% were traveling and 69% were foraging. These percentages were nearly identical during the period of winter road grooming (7% and 68%, respectively). During this period, 77% of bison foraging activity and 12% of bison traveling activity involved displacing snow. Most travel took place off roads (Pgrooming, with peak use in April and lowest use during the road-grooming period. Bison in the MGF area of YNF neither seek out nor avoid groomed roads. The minimal use of roads compared to off-road areas, the short distances traveled on the roads, the decreased use of roads during the over snow vehicle (OSV) season, and the increased costs of negative interactions with OSVs suggest that grooming roads during winter does not have a major influence on bison ecology.

  5. Kleptoparasitism by bald eagles wintering in south-central Nebraska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorde, Dennis G.; Lingle, G.R.

    1988-01-01

    Kleptoparasitism on other raptors was one means by which Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) secured food along the North Platte and Platte rivers during the winters of 1978-1980. Species kelptoparasitized were Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis), Red-tailed Hawk (B. jamaicensis), Rough-legged Hawk (B. lagopus), Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and Bald Eagle. Stealing of prey occurred more often during the severe winter of 1978-1979 when ice cover restricted eagles from feeding on fish than during the milder winter of 1979-1980. Kleptoparasitism occurred principally in agricultural habitats where large numbers of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) were foraging. Subadults watched adults steal food and participated in food-stealing with adults, which indicated interspecific kleptoparasitism may be a learned behavior. We suggest factors that may favor interspecific kleptoparasitism as a foraging strategy of Bald Eagles in obtaining waterfowl during severe winters.

  6. Forage production in mixed grazing systems of elephant grass with arrowleaf clover or forage peanut

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daiane Cristine Seibt

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Most dairy production systems are pasture-based, usually consisting of sole grass species. This system facilitates pasture management, but results in high production costs, mainly because of nitrogen fertilizers. An alternative to making forage systems more sustainable is to introduce legumes into the pasture. Mixed pastures allow better forage distribution over time and reduce fertilization costs. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate, throughout the year, three forage systems (FS: FS1 (control - elephant grass (EG, ryegrass (RG, and spontaneous species (SS; FS2 - EG + RG + SS + arrowleaf clover; and FS3 - EG + RG + SS + forage peanut. Elephant grass was planted in rows spaced 4 m apart. Ryegrass was sown between the EG lines, in the winter. Arrowleaf clover was sown according to the respective treatments and forage peanut was preserved. Evaluation was carried out using Holstein cows. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design, with three treatments (FS, and three repetitions (paddocks with repeated measurements (grazing cycles. Forage mass achieved 3.46, 3.80, and 3.91 t ha-1 for the treatments FS1, FS2 and FS3, respectively. The forage systems intercropped with legumes produced the best results.

  7. Composição florística de pastagem natural afetada por fontes de fósforo, calagem e introdução de espécies forrageiras de estação fria Botanical composition of natural pasture as afected by phosphorus sources, lime and introduction of winter forage species

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    Duilio Guerra Bandinelli

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Uma das características das pastagens naturais do Rio Grande do Sul é a baixa produtividade de forragem no período do outono-inverno. Uma das alternativas para melhorar os sistemas de produção baseados nessas pastagens é a introdução de espécies forrageiras de crescimento inverno-primaveril e a fertilização e correção da acidez do solo. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o efeito de fontes de fósforo, calcário e introdução de espécies forrageiras de inverno na dinâmica das espécies de uma pastagem natural. Os tratamentos testados foram: T1 - superfosfato simples + calcário + introdução de espécies; T2 - superfosfato triplo + calcário + introdução de espécies; T3 - superfosfato triplo + introdução de espécies; T4 - hiperfosfato de Gafsa + introdução de espécies; T5 - introdução de espécies sem fósforo ou calagem; T6 - testemunha com pastagem natural. Para a avaliação da composição florística da pastagem foram realizados levantamentos botânicos periódicos, durante vinte e dois meses, utilizando-se o método BOTANAL. Os resultados mostraram que os tratamentos testados não provocaram mudanças na composição botânica das espécies nativas no período de tempo avaliado.Natural pastures of Rio Grande do Sul State, South of Brazil, have low forage productivity in the autumn-winter. An alternative to improve systems based on these pastures is introduction of winter forage species, fertilization and liming of soil. The present work had the objective of evaluating the effect of phosphorus sources, lime and introduction of winter forage species in the pasture botanical composition dynamics. The treatments used were: T1 - simple superphosphate + lime + winter forage species introduction; T2 - triple superphosphate + lime + winter forage species introduction; T3 - triple superphosphate + winter forage species introduction; T4 - Gafsa rock phosphate + winter forage species introduction; T5 - winter

  8. Foraging strategy switch of a top marine predator according to seasonal resource differences

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    Malcolm Daniel O'Toole

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The spatio-temporal variability in marine resources influences the foraging behaviour and success of top marine predators. However, little is known about the links between these animals and ocean productivity, specifically, how plankton density influences their foraging behaviour. Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina have two annual at-sea foraging trips: a two month post-breeding foraging trip (Nov – Jan that coincides with elevated summer productivity; and an eight month post-moulting foraging trip (Feb – Oct over winter, when productivity is low. Physical parameters are often used to describe seal habitat, whereas information about important biological parameters is lacking. We used electronic tags deployed on elephant seals during both trips to determine their movement and foraging behaviour. The tags also recorded light, which measured the bio-optical properties of the water column, the bulk of which is presumably influenced by phytoplankton. We investigated the relationship between plankton density and seal foraging behaviour; comparing trends between summer and winter trips. We found a positive relationship between plankton density and foraging behaviour, which did not vary seasonally. We propose that profitable concentrations of seal prey are more likely to coincide with planktonic aggregations, but we also acknowledge that trophic dynamics may shift in response to seasonal trends in productivity. Seal prey (mid-trophic level and plankton (lower-trophic level are expected to overlap in space and time during summer trips when peak phytoplankton blooms occur. In contrast, aggregated patches of lower trophic levels are likely to be more dispersed during winter trips when plankton density is considerably lower and heterogeneous. These results show that southern elephant seals are able to exploit prey resources in different ways throughout the year as demonstrated by the variation observed between seal foraging behaviour and trophic

  9. Testing Optimal Foraging Theory Using Bird Predation on Goldenrod Galls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yahnke, Christopher J.

    2006-01-01

    All animals must make choices regarding what foods to eat, where to eat, and how much time to spend feeding. Optimal foraging theory explains these behaviors in terms of costs and benefits. This laboratory exercise focuses on optimal foraging theory by investigating the winter feeding behavior of birds on the goldenrod gall fly by comparing…

  10. Lambs Fed Fresh Winter Forage Rape (Brassica napus L.) Emit Less Methane than Those Fed Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), and Possible Mechanisms behind the Difference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xuezhao; Henderson, Gemma; Cox, Faith; Molano, German; Harrison, Scott J.; Luo, Dongwen; Janssen, Peter H.; Pacheco, David

    2015-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to examine long-term effects of feeding forage rape (Brassica napus L.) on methane yields (g methane per kg of feed dry matter intake), and to propose mechanisms that may be responsible for lower emissions from lambs fed forage rape compared to perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). The lambs were fed fresh winter forage rape or ryegrass as their sole diet for 15 weeks. Methane yields were measured using open circuit respiration chambers, and were 22-30% smaller from forage rape than from ryegrass (averages of 13.6 g versus 19.5 g after 7 weeks, and 17.8 g versus 22.9 g after 15 weeks). The difference therefore persisted consistently for at least 3 months. The smaller methane yields from forage rape were not related to nitrate or sulfate in the feed, which might act as alternative electron acceptors, or to the levels of the potential inhibitors glucosinolates and S-methyl L-cysteine sulfoxide. Ruminal microbial communities in forage rape-fed lambs were different from those in ryegrass-fed lambs, with greater proportions of potentially propionate-forming bacteria, and were consistent with less hydrogen and hence less methane being produced during fermentation. The molar proportions of ruminal acetate were smaller and those of propionate were greater in forage rape-fed lambs, consistent with the larger propionate-forming populations and less hydrogen production. Forage rape contained more readily fermentable carbohydrates and less structural carbohydrates than ryegrass, and was more rapidly degraded in the rumen, which might favour this fermentation profile. The ruminal pH was lower in forage rape-fed lambs, which might inhibit methanogenic activity, shifting the rumen fermentation to more propionate and less hydrogen and methane. The significance of these two mechanisms remains to be investigated. The results suggest that forage rape is a potential methane mitigation tool in pastoral-based sheep production systems. PMID:25803688

  11. Longitudinal effects of supplemental forage on the honey bee (Apis 1 mellifera) microbiota and inter- and intra-colony variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honey bee colonies obtain much of their gut bacteria (gut microbiota) from fresh nectar and pollen collected from flowering plants (forage). Honey bee colonies often go for long periods of time without fresh forage during winter and early spring. We examined the effects of mid-winter supplemental fo...

  12. The Importance of Supratidal Habitats for Wintering Shorebirds and the Potential Impacts of Shrimp Aquaculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasué, M.; Dearden, P.

    2009-06-01

    Intensive black tiger shrimp ( Penaeus monodon) aquaculture ponds have replaced significant areas of coastal wetlands throughout tropical Asia. Few studies have assessed potential impacts on avian foraging habitats. At Khao Sam Roi Yod National Park, Thailand, seminatural wetlands have been converted to either shrimp ponds or to salinization ponds that provide saline water for shrimp aquaculture. Although shorebirds cannot feed in aquaculture ponds, hypersaline ponds can provide productive foraging areas. Thus, the overall impact of the shrimp industry on shorebirds depends partly on the relative quality of the salt ponds compared to seminatural wetlands. In this study, we examined wintering shorebird use of tidal ( N = 5 sites) and supratidal areas (four wetland sites, four salt pond sites) and compared the shorebird community (14 species), prey availability, profitability, and disturbance rates between wetlands and salt ponds. Two shorebird species fed in higher densities in wetlands, whereas seven species were more abundant in salt ponds. Large juvenile fish and dragonfly larvae were more abundant in wetlands, whereas there were more small Chironomid midge and fly larvae in salt ponds. We conclude that salt ponds might provide higher-quality foraging habitats compared to wetlands for small shorebirds species because of the abundance of small larvae. However, the shrimp aquaculture industry reduces habitat availability for shorebirds feeding on larger prey. This study demonstrates a comprehensive, multispecies approach to assess the impacts of a large-scale change in coastal habitats for wintering shorebirds.

  13. Potential Foraging Decisions by a Desert Ungulate to Balance Water and Nutrient Intake in a Water-Stressed Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gedir, Jay V; Cain, James W; Krausman, Paul R; Allen, Jamison D; Duff, Glenn C; Morgart, John R

    2016-01-01

    Arid climates have unpredictable precipitation patterns, and wildlife managers often provide supplemental water to help desert ungulates endure the hottest, driest periods. When surface water is unavailable, the only source of water for ungulates comes from the forage they consume, and they must make resourceful foraging decisions to meet their requirements. We compared two desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) populations in Arizona, USA: a treatment population with supplemental water removed during treatment, and a control population. We examined whether sheep altered their seasonal diets without supplemental water. We calculated water and nutrient intake and metabolic water production from dry matter intake and forage moisture and nitrogen content, to determine whether sheep could meet their seasonal daily water and nutrient requirements solely from forage. Diets of sheep were higher in protein (all seasons) and moisture (autumn and winter) during treatment compared to pretreatment. During treatment, sheep diet composition was similar between the treatment and control populations, which suggests, under the climatic conditions of this study, water removal did not influence sheep diets. We estimated that under drought conditions, without any surface water available (although small ephemeral potholes would contain water after rains), female and male sheep would be unable to meet their daily water requirements in all seasons, except winter, when reproductive females had a nitrogen deficit. We determined that sheep could achieve water and nutrient balances in all seasons by shifting their total diet proportions by 8-55% from lower to higher moisture and nitrogen forage species. We elucidate how seasonal forage quality and foraging decisions by desert ungulates allow them to cope with their xeric and uncertain environment, and suggest that, with the forage conditions observed in our study area during this study period, providing supplemental water during

  14. Potential foraging decisions by a desert ungulate to balance water and nutrient intake in a water-stressed environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gedir, Jay V.; Cain, James W.; Krausman, Paul R.; Allen, Jamison D.; Duff, Glenn C.; Morgart, John R.

    2016-01-01

    Arid climates have unpredictable precipitation patterns, and wildlife managers often provide supplemental water to help desert ungulates endure the hottest, driest periods. When surface water is unavailable, the only source of water for ungulates comes from the forage they consume, and they must make resourceful foraging decisions to meet their requirements. We compared two desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) populations in Arizona, USA: a treatment population with supplemental water removed during treatment, and a control population. We examined whether sheep altered their seasonal diets without supplemental water. We calculated water and nutrient intake and metabolic water production from dry matter intake and forage moisture and nitrogen content, to determine whether sheep could meet their seasonal daily water and nutrient requirements solely from forage. Diets of sheep were higher in protein (all seasons) and moisture (autumn and winter) during treatment compared to pretreatment. During treatment, sheep diet composition was similar between the treatment and control populations, which suggests, under the climatic conditions of this study, water removal did not influence sheep diets. We estimated that under drought conditions, without any surface water available (although small ephemeral potholes would contain water after rains), female and male sheep would be unable to meet their daily water requirements in all seasons, except winter, when reproductive females had a nitrogen deficit. We determined that sheep could achieve water and nutrient balances in all seasons by shifting their total diet proportions by 8–55% from lower to higher moisture and nitrogen forage species. We elucidate how seasonal forage quality and foraging decisions by desert ungulates allow them to cope with their xeric and uncertain environment, and suggest that, with the forage conditions observed in our study area during this study period, providing supplemental water during

  15. Potential Foraging Decisions by a Desert Ungulate to Balance Water and Nutrient Intake in a Water-Stressed Environment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay V Gedir

    Full Text Available Arid climates have unpredictable precipitation patterns, and wildlife managers often provide supplemental water to help desert ungulates endure the hottest, driest periods. When surface water is unavailable, the only source of water for ungulates comes from the forage they consume, and they must make resourceful foraging decisions to meet their requirements. We compared two desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni populations in Arizona, USA: a treatment population with supplemental water removed during treatment, and a control population. We examined whether sheep altered their seasonal diets without supplemental water. We calculated water and nutrient intake and metabolic water production from dry matter intake and forage moisture and nitrogen content, to determine whether sheep could meet their seasonal daily water and nutrient requirements solely from forage. Diets of sheep were higher in protein (all seasons and moisture (autumn and winter during treatment compared to pretreatment. During treatment, sheep diet composition was similar between the treatment and control populations, which suggests, under the climatic conditions of this study, water removal did not influence sheep diets. We estimated that under drought conditions, without any surface water available (although small ephemeral potholes would contain water after rains, female and male sheep would be unable to meet their daily water requirements in all seasons, except winter, when reproductive females had a nitrogen deficit. We determined that sheep could achieve water and nutrient balances in all seasons by shifting their total diet proportions by 8-55% from lower to higher moisture and nitrogen forage species. We elucidate how seasonal forage quality and foraging decisions by desert ungulates allow them to cope with their xeric and uncertain environment, and suggest that, with the forage conditions observed in our study area during this study period, providing supplemental

  16. Sex-related differences in habitat associations of wintering American Kestrels in California's Central Valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandolfino, E.R.; Herzog, M.P.; Smith, Z.

    2011-01-01

    We used roadside survey data collected from 19 routes over three consecutive winters from 200708 to 200910 to compare habitat associations of male and female American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) in the Central Valley of California to determine if segregation by sex was evident across this region. As a species, American Kestrels showed positive associations with alfalfa and other forage crops like hay and winter wheat, as well as grassland, irrigated pasture, and rice. Habitat associations of females were similar, with female densities in all these habitats except rice significantly higher than average. Male American Kestrels showed a positive association only with grassland and were present at densities well below those of females in alfalfa, other forage crops, and grassland. Males were present in higher densities than females in most habitats with negative associations for the species, such as orchards, urbanized areas, and oak savannah. The ratio of females to males for each route was positively correlated with the overall density of American Kestrels on that route. Our findings that females seem to occupy higher quality habitats in winter are consistent with observations from elsewhere in North America. ?? 2011 The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.

  17. Forage quantity and quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorgenson, Janet C.; Udevitz, Mark S.; Felix, Nancy A.; Douglas, David C.; Reynolds, Patricia E.; Rhode, E.B.

    2002-01-01

    The Porcupine caribou herd has traditionally used the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, for calving. Availability of nutritious forage has been hypothesized as one of the reasons the Porcupine caribou herd migrates hundreds of kilometers to reach the coastal plain for calving (Kuropat and Bryant 1980, Russell et al. 1993).Forage quantity and quality and the chronology of snowmelt (which determines availability and phenological stages of forage) have been suggested as important habitat attributes that lead calving caribou to select one area over another (Lent 1980, White and Trudell 1980, Eastland et al. 1989). A major question when considering the impact of petroleum development is whether potential displacement of the caribou from the 1002 Area to alternate calving habitat will limit access to high quantity and quality forage.Our study had the following objectives: 1) quantify snowmelt patterns by area; 2) quantify relationships among phenology, biomass, and nutrient content of principal forage species by vegetation type; and 3) determine if traditional concentrated calving areas differ from adjacent areas with lower calving densities in terms of vegetation characteristics.

  18. Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) increasingly select for grazed areas with increasing distance-to-nest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heldbjerg, Henning; Fox, Anthony D; Thellesen, Peder V; Dalby, Lars; Sunde, Peter

    2017-01-01

    The abundant and widespread Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is currently declining across much of Europe due to landscape changes caused by agricultural intensification. The proximate mechanisms causing adverse effects to breeding Starlings are unclear, hampering our ability to implement cost-efficient agri-environmental schemes to restore populations to former levels. This study aimed to show how this central foraging farmland bird uses and selects land cover types in general and how use of foraging habitat changes in relation to distance from the nest. We attached GPS-loggers to 17 breeding Starlings at a Danish dairy cattle farm in 2015 and 2016 and analysed their use of different land cover types as a function of distance intervals from the nest and their relative availability. As expected for a central place forager, Starlings increasingly avoided potential foraging areas with greater distance-to-nest: areas ≥ 500 m were selected > 100 times less frequently than areas within 100 m. On average, Starlings selected the land cover category Grazed most frequently, followed by Short Grass, Bare Ground, Meadow and Winter Crops. Starlings compensated for elevated travel costs by showing increasing habitat selection the further they foraged from the nest. Our results highlight the importance of Grazed foraging habitats close to the nest site of breeding Starlings. The ecological capacity of intensively managed farmlands for insectivorous birds like the Starling is decreasing through conversion of the most strongly selected land cover type (Grazed) to the least selected (Winter Crops) which may be further exacerbated through spatial segregation of foraging and breeding habitats.

  19. Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris increasingly select for grazed areas with increasing distance-to-nest.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henning Heldbjerg

    Full Text Available The abundant and widespread Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris is currently declining across much of Europe due to landscape changes caused by agricultural intensification. The proximate mechanisms causing adverse effects to breeding Starlings are unclear, hampering our ability to implement cost-efficient agri-environmental schemes to restore populations to former levels. This study aimed to show how this central foraging farmland bird uses and selects land cover types in general and how use of foraging habitat changes in relation to distance from the nest. We attached GPS-loggers to 17 breeding Starlings at a Danish dairy cattle farm in 2015 and 2016 and analysed their use of different land cover types as a function of distance intervals from the nest and their relative availability. As expected for a central place forager, Starlings increasingly avoided potential foraging areas with greater distance-to-nest: areas ≥ 500 m were selected > 100 times less frequently than areas within 100 m. On average, Starlings selected the land cover category Grazed most frequently, followed by Short Grass, Bare Ground, Meadow and Winter Crops. Starlings compensated for elevated travel costs by showing increasing habitat selection the further they foraged from the nest. Our results highlight the importance of Grazed foraging habitats close to the nest site of breeding Starlings. The ecological capacity of intensively managed farmlands for insectivorous birds like the Starling is decreasing through conversion of the most strongly selected land cover type (Grazed to the least selected (Winter Crops which may be further exacerbated through spatial segregation of foraging and breeding habitats.

  20. Sympatric cattle grazing and desert bighorn sheep foraging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrison, Kyle R.; Cain, James W.; Rominger, Eric M.; Goldstein, Elise J.

    2015-01-01

    Foraging behavior affects animal fitness and is largely dictated by the resources available to an animal. Understanding factors that affect forage resources is important for conservation and management of wildlife. Cattle sympatry is proposed to limit desert bighorn population performance, but few studies have quantified the effect of cattle foraging on bighorn forage resources or foraging behavior by desert bighorn. We estimated forage biomass for desert bighorn sheep in 2 mountain ranges: the cattle-grazed Caballo Mountains and the ungrazed San Andres Mountains, New Mexico. We recorded foraging bout efficiency of adult females by recording feeding time/step while foraging, and activity budgets of 3 age-sex classes (i.e., adult males, adult females, yearlings). We also estimated forage biomass at sites where bighorn were observed foraging. We expected lower forage biomass in the cattle-grazed Caballo range than in the ungrazed San Andres range and lower biomass at cattle-accessible versus inaccessible areas within the Caballo range. We predicted bighorn would be less efficient foragers in the Caballo range. Groundcover forage biomass was low in both ranges throughout the study (Jun 2012–Nov 2013). Browse biomass, however, was 4.7 times lower in the Caballo range versus the San Andres range. Bighorn in the Caballo range exhibited greater overall daily travel time, presumably to locate areas of higher forage abundance. By selecting areas with greater forage abundance, adult females in the Caballo range exhibited foraging bout efficiency similar to their San Andres counterparts but lower overall daily browsing time. We did not find a significant reduction in forage biomass at cattle-accessible areas in the Caballo range. Only the most rugged areas in the Caballo range had abundant forage, potentially a result of intensive historical livestock use in less rugged areas. Forage conditions in the Caballo range apparently force bighorn to increase foraging effort by

  1. Adaptive Lévy processes and area-restricted search in human foraging.

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    Thomas T Hills

    Full Text Available A considerable amount of research has claimed that animals' foraging behaviors display movement lengths with power-law distributed tails, characteristic of Lévy flights and Lévy walks. Though these claims have recently come into question, the proposal that many animals forage using Lévy processes nonetheless remains. A Lévy process does not consider when or where resources are encountered, and samples movement lengths independently of past experience. However, Lévy processes too have come into question based on the observation that in patchy resource environments resource-sensitive foraging strategies, like area-restricted search, perform better than Lévy flights yet can still generate heavy-tailed distributions of movement lengths. To investigate these questions further, we tracked humans as they searched for hidden resources in an open-field virtual environment, with either patchy or dispersed resource distributions. Supporting previous research, for both conditions logarithmic binning methods were consistent with Lévy flights and rank-frequency methods-comparing alternative distributions using maximum likelihood methods-showed the strongest support for bounded power-law distributions (truncated Lévy flights. However, goodness-of-fit tests found that even bounded power-law distributions only accurately characterized movement behavior for 4 (out of 32 participants. Moreover, paths in the patchy environment (but not the dispersed environment showed a transition to intensive search following resource encounters, characteristic of area-restricted search. Transferring paths between environments revealed that paths generated in the patchy environment were adapted to that environment. Our results suggest that though power-law distributions do not accurately reflect human search, Lévy processes may still describe movement in dispersed environments, but not in patchy environments-where search was area-restricted. Furthermore, our results

  2. Deer Wintering Areas

    Data.gov (United States)

    Vermont Center for Geographic Information — Deer winter habitat is critical to the long term survival of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Vermont. Being near the northern extreme of the...

  3. Energetic solutions of Rock Sandpipers to harsh winter conditions rely on prey quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruthrauff, Daniel R.; Dekinga, Anne; Gill, Robert E.; Piersma, Theunis

    2018-01-01

    Rock Sandpipers Calidris ptilocnemis have the most northerly non-breeding distribution of any shorebird in the Pacific Basin (upper Cook Inlet, Alaska; 61°N, 151°W). In terms of freezing temperatures, persistent winds and pervasive ice, this site is the harshest used by shorebirds during winter. We integrated physiological, metabolic, behavioural and environmental aspects of the non-breeding ecology of Rock Sandpipers at the northern extent of their range to determine the relative importance of these factors in facilitating their unique non-breeding ecology. Not surprisingly, estimated daily energetic demands were greatest during January, the coldest period of winter. These estimates were greatest for foraging birds, and exceeded basal metabolic rates by a factor of 6.5, a scope of increase that approaches the maximum sustained rate of energetic output by shorebirds during periods of migration, but far exceeds these periods in duration. We assessed the quality of their primary prey, the bivalve Macoma balthica, to determine the daily foraging duration required by Rock Sandpipers to satisfy such energetic demands. Based on size-specific estimates of M. balthica quality, Rock Sandpipers require over 13 h/day of foraging time in upper Cook Inlet in January, even when feeding on the highest quality prey. This range approaches the average daily duration of mudflat availability in this region (c. 18 h), a maximum value that annually decreases due to the accumulation of shore-fast ice. Rock Sandpipers are likely to maximize access to foraging sites by following the exposure of ice-free mudflats across the upper Cook Inlet region and by selecting smaller, higher quality M. balthica to minimize foraging times. Ultimately, this unusual non-breeding ecology relies on the high quality of their prey resources. Compared with other sites across their range, M. balthica from upper Cook Inlet have relatively light shells, potentially the result of the region

  4. Yantarnaya is a new variety of fodder winter rye

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    Bezgodov A.V.

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available the article has evaluation of four years observation of the prospective varieties of winter rye Yantarnaya in comparison with the standard in the nursery of the competitive variety trial of the Ural Scientific Research Institute for Agriculture in Yekaterinburg and the results of a two year test in the system of FGBU «Gossortkomissiya». A winter rye is widely used for bread baking mainly. This culture has resistance from negative environmental factors. The main cause of limited use of a winter rye grain for forage is high content water-soluble pentosans over 1.5%. They reduce availability of nutrients to an organism. Creation of varieties with low content of water-soluble pentosans is the rational solution of increase in use of parts of grain of a winter rye in forage production. Together with VIR, a variety with the required characteristics was transferred to the state grade testing. The observation took place in 2013–2017, with contrasts on the weather conditions. According to FGBU «Gossorgkomissiya», the variety has high potential productivity and significantly exceeds same low pentosan variety in the yield.

  5. Effects of abiotic factors on the foraging activity of Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 in inflorescences of Vernonia polyanthes Less (Asteraceae

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    Luis Henrique Soares Alves

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge on the foraging activity of Apis mellifera under the influence of abiotic factors has not been fully elucidated. Knowing the interactions between bees and plants with beekeeping relevance is fundamental to develop management strategies aimed at improving the beekeeping productivity. In this way, this study aimed to determine the foraging schedule of A. mellifera and to assess the influence of environmental factors on the foraging on inflorescences of Vernonia polyanthes. The study was conducted in the rural area of Valença, Rio de Janeiro State. Visits of A. mellifera workers to V. polyanthes inflorescences occurred from 9 am to 4 pm, especially between 11 am and 3 pm. Among the abiotic variables, relative humidity (rs = -0.691; p < 0.0001 and temperature (rs = 0.531; p < 0.0001 were correlated with foraging activity. Increase in temperature and decrease in humidity resulted in increased frequency in bee foraging activity, accounting for 46.9% of the activity in A. mellifera. This study provides subsidies to the development of apiculture, emphasizing the importance of V. polyanthes as a food resource during winter, representing a good alternative to increase the productivity, especially in areas of grasslands or abandoned crops, where ‘Assa-peixe’ is abundant.

  6. Brood pheromone effects on colony protein supplement consumption and growth in the honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a subtropical winter climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pankiw, Tanya; Sagili, Ramesh R; Metz, Bradley N

    2008-12-01

    Fatty acid esters extractable from the surface of honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), larvae, called brood pheromone, significantly increase rate of colony growth in the spring and summer when flowering plant pollen is available in the foraging environment. Increased colony growth rate occurs as a consequence of increased pollen intake through mechanisms such as increasing number of pollen foragers and pollen load weights returned. Here, we tested the hypothesis that addition of brood pheromone during the winter pollen dearth period of a humid subtropical climate increases rate of colony growth in colonies provisioned with a protein supplement. Experiments were conducted in late winter (9 February-9 March 2004) and mid-winter (19 January-8 February 2005). In both years, increased brood area, number of bees, and amount of protein supplement consumption were significantly greater in colonies receiving daily treatments of brood pheromone versus control colonies. Amount of extractable protein from hypopharyngeal glands measured in 2005 was significantly greater in bees from pheromone-treated colonies. These results suggest that brood pheromone may be used as a tool to stimulate colony growth in the southern subtropical areas of the United States where the package bee industry is centered and a large proportion of migratory colonies are overwintered.

  7. Learning at old age: a study on winter bees

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    Andreas Behrends

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Ageing is often accompanied by a decline in learning and memory abilities across the animal kingdom. Understanding age-related changes in cognitive abilities is therefore a major goal of current research. The honey bee is emerging as a novel model organism for age-related changes in brain function, because learning and memory can easily be studied in bees under controlled laboratory conditions. In addition, genetically similar workers naturally display life expectancies from six weeks (summer bees to six months (winter bees. We studied whether in honey bees, extreme longevity leads to a decline in cognitive functions. Six-month-old winter bees were conditioned either to odours or to tactile stimuli. Afterwards, long-term memory and discrimination abilities were analysed. Winter bees were kept under different conditions (flight /no flight opportunity to test for effects of foraging activity on learning performance. Despite their extreme age, winter bees did not display an age-related decline in learning or discrimination abilities, but had a slightly impaired olfactory long-term memory. The opportunity to forage indoors led to a slight decrease in learning performance. This suggests that in honey bees, unlike in most other animals, age per se does not impair associative learning. Future research will show which mechanisms protect winter bees from age-related deficits in learning.

  8. Characteristics of Urban Natural Areas Influencing Winter Bird Use in Southern Ontario, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Paul G. R.

    2007-03-01

    Characteristics of urban natural areas and surrounding landscapes were identified that best explain winter bird use for 28 urban natural areas in southern Ontario, Canada. The research confirms for winter birds the importance of area (size) and natural vegetation, rather than managed, horticultural parkland, within urban natural areas as well as percent urban land use and natural habitat in surrounding landscapes. Alien bird density and percent ground feeding species increased with percent surrounding urban land use. Higher percent forest cover was associated with higher percentages of forest, bark feeding, small (species. Natural area size (ha) was related to higher species richness, lower evenness and higher percentages of insectivorous, forest interior, area-sensitive, upper canopy, bark feeding, and non-resident species. Higher number of habitat types within natural areas and percent natural habitat in surrounding landscapes were also associated with higher species richness. Common, resident bird species dominated small areas (20 ha start to support some area-sensitive species. Areas similar to rural forests had >25% insectivores, >25% forest interior species, >25% small species, and species. Indicator species separated urban natural areas from rural habitats and ordination placed urban natural areas along a gradient between urban development and undisturbed, rural forests. More attention is needed on issues of winter bird conservation in urban landscapes.

  9. Blood lead concentrations in Alaskan tundra swans: linking breeding and wintering areas with satellite telemetry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ely, Craig R; Franson, J Christian

    2014-04-01

    Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) like many waterfowl species are susceptible to lead (Pb) poisoning, and Pb-induced mortality has been reported from many areas of their wintering range. Little is known however about Pb levels throughout the annual cycle of tundra swans, especially during summer when birds are on remote northern breeding areas where they are less likely to be exposed to anthropogenic sources of Pb. Our objective was to document summer Pb levels in tundra swans throughout their breeding range in Alaska to determine if there were population-specific differences in blood Pb concentrations that might pose a threat to swans and to humans that may consume them. We measured blood Pb concentrations in tundra swans at five locations in Alaska, representing birds that winter in both the Pacific Flyway and Atlantic Flyway. We also marked swans at each location with satellite transmitters and coded neck bands, to identify staging and wintering sites and determine if winter site use correlated with summer Pb concentrations. Blood Pb levels were generally low (<0.2 μg/ml) in swans across all breeding areas. Pb levels were lower in cygnets than adults, suggesting that swans were likely exposed to Pb on wintering areas or on return migration to Alaska, rather than on the summer breeding grounds. Blood Pb levels varied significantly across the five breeding areas, with highest concentrations in birds on the North Slope of Alaska (wintering in the Atlantic Flyway), and lowest in birds from the lower Alaska Peninsula that rarely migrate south for winter.

  10. Morphological characteristics, dry matter production, and nutritional value of winter forage and grains under grazing and split nitrogen fertilization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loreno Egidio Taffarel

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Morphological characteristics, dry matter production, and nutritional values of winter forage and grains were evaluated. This study was conducted from April 24, 2012 to November 7, 2013 in the Western Paraná State University (UNIOESTE, Marechal Cândido Rondon, Brazil. Pastures under one grazing and non-grazing conditions were evaluated under 120 kg N ha-1 fertilization split into two 60 kg N ha-1 treatments. Two pastures received 40 kg N ha-1 three times. IPR 126 oat, BRS Tarumã wheat, and IPR 111 triticale were the test crops. Topdressing with 40 or 60 kg N ha-1 did not change morphological characteristics until 60 d after sowing. Pastures under non-grazing that received 120 kg N ha-1 treatments were taller than the controls, whereas those under grazing that received 80 or 120 kg N ha-1 presented with higher leaf production than did the controls. Total average dry matter (DM production in 2012 and 2013 was, respectively, 5,275 kg ha-1 and 6,270 kg ha-1 for oat, 3,166 kg ha-1 and 7,423 kg ha-1 for wheat, and 4,552 kg ha-1 and 7,603 kg ha-1 for triticale. Split N fertilization did not cause differences in the levels of crude protein (CP, neutral detergent fiber (NDF, and acid detergent fiber (ADF in the forage. Nevertheless, increases in in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD were observed in oat and wheat receiving 60 kg N ha-1 during the first graze. IVDMD did not change in oat, wheat, and triticale forages receiving 80 or 120 kg N ha-1 during the second graze. Grazing did not affect the nutritional values of wheat and triticale grains, but reduced those of oat. Therefore, the results of the present study suggest that grazing lengthens the crop cycles, and so allow the staggered sowing of summer crops.

  11. Forage yield and nutritive value of Elephant grass, Italian ryegrass and spontaneous growing species mixed with forage peanut or red clover

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle Schalemberg Diehl

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research was to evaluate of three grazing systems (GS with elephant grass (EG, Italian ryegrass (IR + spontaneous growing species (SGS; EG + IR + SGS + forage peanut (FP; and EG + IR + SGS + red clover (RC, during the winter and summer periods in rotational grazing with dairy cattle. Experimental design was completely randomized with three treatments, two replicates with repeated measures. Lactating Holstein cows receiving 1% BW-daily feed supplement with concentrate were used in the evaluation. Eight grazing cycles were performed during the experimental period. The values of pre forage mass and stocking rate were 2.52, 2.60 and 2.99 t ha-1 and 2.64, 2.77 and 3.14 animal unit ha-1, respectively for GS. Samples of forage were collected by hand-plucking technique to analyze the crude protein (CP, neutral detergent fiber (NDF, in situ dry matter digestibility (ISDMD, in situ organic matter digestibility (ISOMD of forage present between rows of elephant grass, in the rows of elephant grass and the legumes. Higher value of CP, ISOMD and lower of NDF were observed for the grazing systems mixed with legumes forage.

  12. Depletion of rice as food of waterfowl wintering in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greer, Danielle M.; Dugger, Bruce D.; Reinecke, Kenneth J.; Petrie, Mark J.

    2009-01-01

    Waterfowl habitat conservation strategies in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) and several other wintering areas assume carrying capacity is limited by available food, and increasing food resources is an effective conservation goal. Because existing research on winter food abundance and depletion is insufficient to test this hypothesis, we used harvested rice fields as model foraging habitats to determine if waste rice seed is depleted before spring migration. We sampled rice fields (n = 39 [winter 2000-2001], n = 69 [2001-2002]) to estimate seed mass when waterfowl arrived in late autumn and departed in late winter. We also placed exclosures in subsets of fields in autumn (n = 8 [2000-2001], n = 20 [2001-2002]) and compared seed mass inside and outside exclosures in late winter to estimate rice depletion attributable to waterfowl and other processes. Finally, we used an experiment to determine if the extent of rice depletion differed among fields of varying initial abundance and if the seed mass at which waterfowl ceased foraging or abandoned fields differed from a hypothesized giving-up value of 50 kg/ha. Mean seed mass was greater in late autumn 2000 than 2001 (127.0 vs. 83.9 kg/ha; P = 0.018) but decreased more during winter 2000-2001 than 2001-2002 (91.3 vs. 55.7 kg/ha) and did not differ at the end of winter (35.8 vs. 28.3 kg/ha; P = 0.651). Assuming equal loss to deterioration inside and outside exclosures, we estimated waterfowl consumed 61.3 kg/ha (48.3%) of rice present in late autumn 2000 and 21.1 kg/ha (25.1%) in 2001. When we manipulated late-autumn rice abundance, mean giving-up mass of rice seed was similar among treatments (48.7 kg/ha; P = 0.205) and did not differ from 50 kg/ha (P = 0.726). We integrated results by constructing scenarios in which waterfowl consumed rice at different times in winter, consumption and deterioration were competing risks, and consumption occurred only above 50 kg/ha. Results indicated waterfowl likely consumed

  13. Changes in the status of harvested rice fields in the Sacramento Valley, California: Implications for wintering waterfowl.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Michael R.; Garr, Jay D.; Coates, Peter S.

    2010-01-01

    Harvested rice fields provide critical foraging habitat for wintering waterfowl in North America, but their value depends upon post-harvest treatments. We visited harvested ricefields in the Sacramento Valley, California, during the winters of 2007 and 2008 (recent period) and recorded their observed status as harvested (standing or mechanically modified stubble), burned, plowed, or flooded. We compared these data with those from identical studies conducted during the 1980s (early period). We documented substantial changes in field status between periods. First, the area of flooded rice increased 4-5-fold, from about 15% to >40% of fields, because of a 3-4-fold increase in the percentage of fields flooded coupled with a 37-41% increase in the area of rice produced. Concurrently, the area of plowed fields increased from 35% of fields, burned fields declined from about 40% to 1%, and fields categorized as harvested declined from 22-54% to rice field status survey in the Sacramento Valley and other North American rice growing regions as appropriate to support long-term monitoring programs and wetland habitat conservation planning for wintering waterfowl.

  14. Deep diving odontocetes foraging strategies and their prey field as determined by acoustic techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giorli, Giacomo

    Deep diving odontocetes, like sperm whales, beaked whales, Risso's dolphins, and pilot whales are known to forage at deep depths in the ocean on squid and fish. These marine mammal species are top predators and for this reason are very important for the ecosystems they live in, since they can affect prey populations and control food web dynamics through top-down effects. The studies presented in this thesis investigate deep diving odontocetes. foraging strategies, and the density and size of their potential prey in the deep ocean using passive and active acoustic techniques. Ecological Acoustic Recorders (EAR) were used to monitor the foraging activity of deep diving odontocetes at three locations around the world: the Josephine Seamount High Sea Marine Protected Area (JHSMPA), the Ligurian Sea, and along the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii. In the JHSMPA, sperm whales. and beaked whales. foraging rates do not differ between night-time and day-time. However, in the Ligurian Sea, sperm whales switch to night-time foraging as the winter approaches, while beaked whales alternate between hunting mainly at night, and both at night and at day. Spatial differences were found in deep diving odontocetes. foraging activity in Hawaii where they forage most in areas with higher chlorophyll concentrations. Pilot whales (and false killer whales, clustered together in the category "blackfishes") and Risso's dolphins forage mainly at night at all locations. These two species adjust their foraging activity with the length of the night. The density and size of animals living in deep sea scattering layers was studied using a DIDSON imaging sonar at multiple stations along the Kona coast of Hawaii. The density of animals was affected by location, depth, month, and the time of day. The size of animals was influenced by station and month. The DIDSON proved to be a successful, non-invasive technique to study density and size of animals in the deep sea. Densities were found to be an

  15. Short-term winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cover crop grazing influence on calf growth, grain yield, and soil properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winter cover cropping has many agronomic benefits and can provide forages base for spring livestock grazing. Winter cover crop grazing has shown immediate economic benefits through increased animal production. Winter wheat pasture grazing is common in beef cow-calf production and stocker operations....

  16. Corn in consortium with forages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cássia Maria de Paula Garcia

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The basic premises for sustainable agricultural development with focus on rural producers are reducing the costs of production and aggregation of values through the use crop-livestock system (CLS throughout the year. The CLS is based on the consortium of grain crops, especially corn with tropical forages, mainly of the genus Panicum and Urochloa. The study aimed to evaluate the grain yield of irrigated corn crop intercropped with forage of the genus Panicum and Urochloa. The experiment was conducted at the Fazenda de Ensino, Pesquisa e Extensão – FEPE  of the Faculdade de Engenharia - UNESP, Ilha Solteira in an Oxisol in savannah conditions and in the autumn winter of 2009. The experimental area was irrigated by a center pivot and had a history of no-tillage system for 8 years. The corn hybrid used was simple DKB 390 YG at distances of 0.90 m. The seeds of grasses were sown in 0.34 m spacing in the amount of 5 kg ha-1, they were mixed with fertilizer minutes before sowing  and placed in a compartment fertilizer seeder and fertilizers were mechanically deposited in the soil at a depth of 0.03 m. The experimental design used was a randomized block with four replications and five treatments: Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania sown during the nitrogen fertilization (CTD of the corn; Panicum maximum cv. Mombaça sown during the nitrogen fertilization (CMD of the corn; Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraés sown during the occasion of nitrogen fertilization (CBD of the corn; Urochloa ruziziensis cv. Comumsown during the nitrogen fertilization (CRD of the corn and single corn (control. The production components of corn: plant population per hectare (PlPo, number of ears per hectare (NE ha-1, number of rows per ear (NRE, number of kernels per row on the cob (NKR, number of grain in the ear (NGE and mass of 100 grains (M100G were not influenced by consortium with forage. Comparing grain yield (GY single corn and maize intercropped with forage of the genus Panicum

  17. Trapline foraging by bumble bees: VII. Adjustments for foraging success following competitor removal

    OpenAIRE

    Kazuharu Ohashi; Alison Leslie; James D. Thomson

    2013-01-01

    Animals collecting food from renewable resource patches scattered in space often establish small foraging areas to which they return faithfully. Such area fidelity offers foraging advantages through selection of profitable patches, route minimization, and regular circuit visits to these patches (“trapline foraging”). Resource distribution under field conditions may often vary in time, however, especially when competitors suddenly vanish and a number of patches become available for their neigh...

  18. Effect of urbanization on the winter precipitation distribution in Beijing area

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2009-01-01

    According to the urbanization extent of Beijing area, and with 1980 as a turning point, the duration from 1961 to 2000 is divided into two periods: one is defined as the slow urbanization period from 1961 to 1980, and other one as the fast urbanization period from 1981 to 2000. Based on the 40-year’s precipi-tation data of 14 standard weather stations in Beijing area, the effect of urbanization on precipitation distribution is studied. It is found that there has been a noticeable and systematic change of winter precipitation distribution pattern between these two periods in Beijing area: in the slow urbanization period, the precipitation in the southern part of Beijing is more than that in the northern part; but in the fast urbanization period, the precipitation distribution pattern is reverse, i.e. the precipitation in the southern part is less than that in the northern part; But in other seasons, the precipitation distribution pattern did not change remarkably in general. The possible cause resulting in the change of winter precipitation distribution pattern, might be that with urban area extension, the effects of "urban heat island" and "urban dry island" become more and more intensified, and increase hydrometeors evapo-ration below precipitable cloud, and then cause less precipitation received on the ground surface in the downtown and the southern part. It is also noteworthy to further research why the precipitation distri-bution pattern does not change systematically in other seasons except winter after intense urbaniza-tion in Beijing area.

  19. Effects of growth stage on quality characteristics of triticale forages

    Science.gov (United States)

    The use of triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) in dairy-cropping systems has expanded greatly in recent years, partly to improve land stewardship by providing winter ground cover. Our objectives were to relate the nutritive value of triticale forages grown in central Wisconsin with plant growth sta...

  20. Effects of winter flooding on mass and gross energy of bottomland hardwood acorns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alan G. Leach; Jacob N. Straub; Richard M. Kaminski; Andrew W. Ezell; Tracy S. Hawkins; Theodor D. Leininger

    2012-01-01

    Decomposition of red oak acorns (Quercus spp.; Section Erythrobalanus) could decrease forage biomass and gross energy (GE) available to wintering ducks from acorns. We estimated changes in mass and GE for 3 species of red oak acorns in flooded and non-flooded bottomland hardwood forests in Mississippi during winter 2009–2010. Mass...

  1. Variability in foraging behaviour and prey of the Common Fiscal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aspects of the foraging behaviour along an altitudinal gradient of four subpopulations Durban, Merrivale, Estcourt and Harrismith) of colour-banded Common Fiscals (Lanius collaris) were analysed in summer and winter in South Africa. ... items can be taken with little opportunity cost while waiting for better items to appear.

  2. Time-lapse imagery of Adélie penguins reveals differential winter strategies and breeding site occupation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Caitlin; Southwell, Colin; Emmerson, Louise; Lunn, Daniel; Hart, Tom

    2018-01-01

    Polar seabirds adopt different over-wintering strategies to survive and build condition during the critical winter period. Penguin species either reside at the colony during the winter months or migrate long distances. Tracking studies and survey methods have revealed differences in winter migration routes among penguin species and colonies, dependent on both biotic and abiotic factors present. However, scan sampling methods are rarely used to reveal non-breeding behaviors during winter and little is known about presence at the colony site over this period. Here we show that Adélie penguins on the Yalour Islands in the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) are present year-round at the colony and undergo a mid-winter peak in abundance during winter. We found a negative relationship between daylight hours and penguin abundance when either open water or compact ice conditions were present, suggesting that penguins return to the breeding colony when visibility is lowest for at-sea foraging and when either extreme low or high levels of sea ice exist offshore. In contrast, Adélie penguins breeding in East Antarctica were not observed at the colonies during winter, suggesting that Adélie penguins undergo differential winter strategies in the marginal ice zone on the WAP compared to those in East Antarctica. These results demonstrate that cameras can successfully monitor wildlife year-round in areas that are largely inaccessible during winter.

  3. Foraging parameters influencing the detection and interpretation of area-restricted search behaviour in marine predators: a case study with the masked booby.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Sommerfeld

    Full Text Available Identification of Area-restricted search (ARS behaviour is used to better understand foraging movements and strategies of marine predators. Track-based descriptive analyses are commonly used to detect ARS behaviour, but they may be biased by factors such as foraging trip duration or non-foraging behaviours (i.e. resting on the water. Using first-passage time analysis we tested if (I daylight resting at the sea surface positions falsely increase the detection of ARS behaviour and (II short foraging trips are less likely to include ARS behaviour in Masked Boobies Sula dactylatra. We further analysed whether ARS behaviour may be used as a proxy to identify important feeding areas. Depth-acceleration and GPS-loggers were simultaneously deployed on chick-rearing adults to obtain (1 location data every 4 minutes and (2 detailed foraging activity such as diving rates, time spent sitting on the water surface and in flight. In 82% of 50 foraging trips, birds adopted ARS behaviour. In 19.3% of 57 detected ARS zones, birds spent more than 70% of total ARS duration resting on the water, suggesting that these ARS zones were falsely detected. Based on generalized linear mixed models, the probability of detecting false ARS zones was 80%. False ARS zones mostly occurred during short trips in close proximity to the colony, with low or no diving activity. This demonstrates the need to account for resting on the water surface positions in marine animals when determining ARS behaviour based on foraging locations. Dive rates were positively correlated with trip duration and the probability of ARS behaviour increased with increasing number of dives, suggesting that the adoption of ARS behaviour in Masked Boobies is linked to enhanced foraging activity. We conclude that ARS behaviour may be used as a proxy to identify important feeding areas in this species.

  4. Avoiding competition? Site use, diet and foraging behaviours in two similarly sized geese wintering in China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhao, Meijuan; Cao, Lei; Klaassen, Marcel

    2015-01-01

    at Shengjin Lake, China. To examine the potential for coexistence and possible avoidance strategies, we studied (1) their habitat use, (2) foraging behaviours and (3) diets of birds foraging in mixed- and single-species flocks. Both species extensively exploited sedge meadows, where they showed considerable...

  5. Valor nutritivo da forragem de genótipos de cereais de inverno de duplo propósito Nutritive value of forage of genotypes of double purpose winter cereals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilmar Roberto Meinerz

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Esta pesquisa foi conduzida com o objetivo de avaliar o valor nutritivo da forragem de 12 genótipos de seis espécies de cereais de inverno de duplo propósito (forragem e grãos, submetidos ao corte, na região da Depressão Central do Rio Grande do Sul. As espécies e genótipos testados foram: trigo (BRS 277, BRS Guatambu, BRS Tarumã, BRS Umbu; aveia-preta (Agro Zebu, UPFA 21 - Moreninha e Comum; aveia-branca (UPF 18; centeio (BR 1 e BRS Serrano; Cevada (BRS Marciana e triticale (BRS 148.Os genótipos foram distribuídos em 36 parcelas experimentais, num delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, com 12 tratamentos e três repetições. As análises de valor nutritivo e composição mineral foram feitas pelo método da reflectância do infravermelho proximal (NIRS, em amostras do estrato superior a 10 cm de altura da forragem. Os genótipos de aveia e o trigo BRS Umbu apresentaram os melhores resultados de valor nutritivo. A composição mineral apresentou pequena variabilidade entre os genótipos testados. Os resultados demonstram que os cereais de inverno produzem forragem de elevado valor nutritivo.The objective of this research was to evaluate the nutritive value of the forage of 12 genotypes of six double purpose (forage and grains winter cereal species submitted to harvest in the region of Depressão Central in Rio Grande do Sul state. The species and genotypes tested were: wheat (BRS 277, BRS Guatambu, BRS Tarumã and BRS Umbu; black oat (Agro Zebu, UPFA 21 - Moreninha and Commom black-oat; white-oat (UPF 18; rye (BR 1 and BRS Serrano; barley (BRS Marciana; and triticale (BRS 148. The genotypes were distributed in 36 experimental plots in completely randomized experimental design, with 12 treatments and three replications. Analysis of nutritive value and mineral composition were performed by the near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS in samples of stratum greater than 10 cm height of forage. Oat genotypes and BRS Umbu wheat

  6. Spatial overlaps of foraging and resting areas of black-legged kittiwakes breeding in the English Channel with existing marine protected areas

    OpenAIRE

    Ponchon, A.; Aulert, C.; Le Guillou, G.; Gallien, F.; Peron, Clara; Gremillet, D.

    2017-01-01

    The English Channel is one of the most anthropized marine ecosystems due to increasing human pressures, both along the coasts and at sea. Numerous marine protected areas (MPAs) have been created in this area but their ecological relevance still needs to be demonstrated for mobile species such as seabirds. Here, we identified the at-sea foraging and resting areas of black-legged kittiwakes to quantify their spatial overlap with existing neighbouring MPAs. Using solar-powered GPS-UHF, we tracke...

  7. Foraging and metabolic consequences of semi-anadromy for an endangered estuarine fish.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruce G Hammock

    Full Text Available Diadromy affords fish access to productive ecosystems, increasing growth and ultimately fitness, but it is unclear whether these advantages persist for species migrating within highly altered habitat. Here, we compared the foraging success of wild Delta Smelt-an endangered, zooplanktivorous, annual, semi-anadromous fish that is endemic to the highly altered San Francisco Estuary (SFE-collected from freshwater (<0.55 psu and brackish habitat (≥0.55 psu. Stomach fullness, averaged across three generations of wild Delta Smelt sampled from juvenile through adult life stages (n = 1,318, was 1.5-fold higher in brackish than in freshwater habitat. However, salinity and season interacted, with higher fullness (1.7-fold in freshwater than in brackish habitat in summer, but far higher fullness in brackish than freshwater habitat during fall/winter and winter/spring (1.8 and 2.0-fold, respectively. To examine potential causes of this interaction we compared mesozooplankton abundance, collected concurrently with the Delta Smelt, in freshwater and brackish habitat during summer and fall/winter, and the metabolic rate of sub-adult Delta Smelt acclimated to salinities of 0.4, 2.0, and 12.0 psu in a laboratory experiment. A seasonal peak in mesozooplankton density coincided with the summer peak in Delta Smelt foraging success in freshwater, and a pronounced decline in freshwater mesozooplankton abundance in the fall coincided with declining stomach fullness, which persisted for the remainder of the year (fall, winter and spring. In brackish habitat, greater foraging 'efficiency' (prey items in stomachs/mesozooplankton abundance led to more prey items per fish and generally higher stomach fullness (i.e., a higher proportion of mesozooplankton detected in concurrent trawls were eaten by fish in brackish habitat. Delta Smelt exhibited no difference in metabolic rate across the three salinities, indicating that metabolic responses to salinity are unlikely to have

  8. [Winter wheat area estimation with MODIS-NDVI time series based on parcel].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Le; Zhang, Jin-shui; Zhu, Wen-quan; Hu, Tan-gao; Hou, Dong

    2011-05-01

    Several attributes of MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectrometer) data, especially the short temporal intervals and the global coverage, provide an extremely efficient way to map cropland and monitor its seasonal change. However, the reliability of their measurement results is challenged because of the limited spatial resolution. The parcel data has clear geo-location and obvious boundary information of cropland. Also, the spectral differences and the complexity of mixed pixels are weak in parcels. All of these make that area estimation based on parcels presents more advantage than on pixels. In the present study, winter wheat area estimation based on MODIS-NDVI time series has been performed with the support of cultivated land parcel in Tongzhou, Beijing. In order to extract the regional winter wheat acreage, multiple regression methods were used to simulate the stable regression relationship between MODIS-NDVI time series data and TM samples in parcels. Through this way, the consistency of the extraction results from MODIS and TM can stably reach up to 96% when the amount of samples accounts for 15% of the whole area. The results shows that the use of parcel data can effectively improve the error in recognition results in MODIS-NDVI based multi-series data caused by the low spatial resolution. Therefore, with combination of moderate and low resolution data, the winter wheat area estimation became available in large-scale region which lacks completed medium resolution images or has images covered with clouds. Meanwhile, it carried out the preliminary experiments for other crop area estimation.

  9. Habitat selection by female northern pintails wintering in the Grassland Ecological Area, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleskes, Joseph P.; Gilmer, David S.; Jarvis, Robert L.

    2004-01-01

    To determine relative importance of habitats available in the Grassland Ecological Area (GEA) to wintering female northern pintails, Anas acuta, we studied habitat use relative to availability (i.e., habitat selection) in the GEA during September through March, 1991-94 for 196 Hatch-Year (HY) and 221 After-Hatch-Year (AHY) female pintails that were radio tagged during August-early October in the GEA (n = 239), other San Joaquin Valley areas (n = 132), or other Central Valley areas (n = 46). Habitat availability and use varied among seasons and years, but pintails always selected shallow and, except on hunting days, open habitats. Swamp timothy, Heleochloa schoenoides, marsh was the most available, used, and selected habitat. Watergrass, Echinochloa crusgalli, marsh in the GEA was used less than available at night in contrast to previous studies in other SJV areas. Preferred late-winter habitats were apparently lacking in the GEA, at least relative to in the Sacramento Valley and Delta where most pintails moved to in December each year. Impacts on pintails of the increasing practice of managing marshes for increased emergent vegetation to attract other species should be monitored. Shallow, open habitats that produce seeds and invertebrates available to pintails in late winter would help maintain pintail abundance in the GEA.

  10. Alaska northern fur seal migration and foraging strategies telemetry and environmental data, 2009-2010

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set was used for the analysis of adult male and female northern fur seal winter migration and foraging behavior published by Sterling et al. (2014)....

  11. Preliminary investigations of the winter ecology of Long-billed Curlews in coastal Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodin, Marc C.; Skoruppa, Mary Kay; Edwardson, Jeremy W.; Austin, Jane E.

    2012-01-01

    Since the early 1900s, the distribution of the Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) has contracted dramatically in the eastern one-half of its historic range. The species has been designated as a "Bird of Conservation Concern" and focal species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a species of concern by several states, and a "Highly Imperiled" species in the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan. The uncertain outlook for this species has contributed to a plethora of research on Long-billed Curlews, most of which have focused on breeding and nesting ecology of the species. Gaps remain in information about factors affecting population dynamics on the winter grounds and the linkages between Long-billed Curlew populations on the breeding range, migration routes, and winter range. To begin filling those gaps, a pilot study was done to evaluate (1) curlew use of nocturnal roost sites, (2) use of public outreach to locate curlews and contribute to preliminary assessment of foraging habitat use, (3) six different methods to capture curlews, and (4) movements by curlews on wintering areas. The study area includes the lower Texas coast, which harbors the eastern-most dense populations of Long-billed Curlews in North America.

  12. Time-lapse imagery of Adélie penguins reveals differential winter strategies and breeding site occupation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Southwell, Colin; Emmerson, Louise; Lunn, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    Polar seabirds adopt different over-wintering strategies to survive and build condition during the critical winter period. Penguin species either reside at the colony during the winter months or migrate long distances. Tracking studies and survey methods have revealed differences in winter migration routes among penguin species and colonies, dependent on both biotic and abiotic factors present. However, scan sampling methods are rarely used to reveal non-breeding behaviors during winter and little is known about presence at the colony site over this period. Here we show that Adélie penguins on the Yalour Islands in the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) are present year-round at the colony and undergo a mid-winter peak in abundance during winter. We found a negative relationship between daylight hours and penguin abundance when either open water or compact ice conditions were present, suggesting that penguins return to the breeding colony when visibility is lowest for at-sea foraging and when either extreme low or high levels of sea ice exist offshore. In contrast, Adélie penguins breeding in East Antarctica were not observed at the colonies during winter, suggesting that Adélie penguins undergo differential winter strategies in the marginal ice zone on the WAP compared to those in East Antarctica. These results demonstrate that cameras can successfully monitor wildlife year-round in areas that are largely inaccessible during winter. PMID:29561876

  13. Food habits of bald eagles wintering in northern Arizona

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teryl G. Grubb; Roy G. Lopez

    2000-01-01

    We used pellets collected from roosts to supplement incidental foraging observations to identify prey species of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucoughalus) and to evaluate spatial and temporal trends in their food habits while wintering in northern Arizona between 1994-96. We analyzed 1057 pellets collected from 14 roosts, and identified five mammal and...

  14. Winter distribution and use of high elevation caves as foraging sites by the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus semotus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonaccorso, Frank; Montoya-Aiona, Kristina; Pinzari, Corinna A.; Todd, Christopher M.

    2016-01-01

    We examine altitudinal movements involving unusual use of caves by Hawaiian hoary bats, Lasiurus cinereus semotus, during winter and spring in the Mauna Loa Forest Reserve (MLFR), Hawai‘i Island. Acoustic detection of hoary bat vocalizations, were recorded with regularity outside 13 lava tube cave entrances situated between 2,200 to 3,600 m asl from November 2012 to April 2013. Vocalizations were most numerous in November and December with the number of call events and echolocation pulses decreasing through the following months. Bat activity was positively correlated with air temperature and negatively correlated with wind speed. Visual searches found no evidence of hibernacula nor do Hawaiian hoary bats appear to shelter by day in these caves. Nevertheless, bats fly deep into caves as evidenced by numerous carcasses found in cave interiors. The occurrence of feeding buzzes around cave entrances and visual observations of bats flying in acrobatic fashion in cave interiors point to the use of these spaces as foraging sites. Peridroma moth species (Noctuidae), the only abundant nocturnal, flying insect sheltering in large numbers in rock rubble and on cave walls in the MLFR, apparently serve as the principal prey attracting hoary bats during winter to lava tube caves in the upper MLFR. Caves above 3,000 m on Mauna Loa harbor temperatures suitable for Pseudogymnoascus destructansfungi, the causative agent of White-nose Syndrome that is highly lethal to some species of North American cave-dwelling bats. We discuss the potential for White-nose Syndrome to establish and affect Hawaiian hoary bats.

  15. Impact of grazing dairy steers on winter rye (Secale cereale versus winter wheat (Triticum aestivum and effects on meat quality, fatty acid and amino acid profiles, and consumer acceptability of organic beef.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannah N Phillips

    Full Text Available Meat from Holstein and crossbred organic dairy steers finished on winter rye and winter wheat pastures was evaluated and compared for meat quality, fatty acid and amino acid profiles, and consumer acceptability. Two adjacent 4-ha plots were established with winter rye or winter wheat cover crops in September 2015 at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (Morris, MN. During spring of 2015, 30 steers were assigned to one of three replicate breed groups at birth. Breed groups were comprised of: Holstein (HOL; n = 10, crossbreds comprised of Montbéliarde, Viking Red, and HOL (MVH; n = 10, and crossbreds comprised of Normande, Jersey, and Viking Red (NJV; n = 10. Dairy steers were maintained in their respective replicate breed group from three days of age until harvest. After weaning, steers were fed an organic total mixed ration of organic corn silage, alfalfa silage, corn, soybean meal, and minerals until spring 2016. Breed groups were randomly assigned to winter rye or winter wheat and rotationally grazed from spring until early summer of 2016. For statistical analysis, independent variables were fixed effects of breed, forage, and the interaction of breed and forage, with replicated group as a random effect. Specific contrast statements were used to compare HOL versus crossbred steers. Fat from crossbreds had 13% greater omega-3 fatty acids than HOL steers. Furthermore, the omega-6/3 ratio was 14% lower in fat from crossbreds than HOL steers. For consumer acceptability, steaks from steers grazed on winter wheat had greater overall liking than steers grazed on winter rye. Steak from crossbreeds had greater overall liking than HOL steers. The results suggest improvement in fatty acids and sensory attributes of beef from crossbred dairy steers compared to HOL steers, as well as those finished on winter wheat compared to winter rye.

  16. Impact of grazing dairy steers on winter rye (Secale cereale) versus winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) and effects on meat quality, fatty acid and amino acid profiles, and consumer acceptability of organic beef.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Hannah N; Heins, Bradley J; Delate, Kathleen; Turnbull, Robert

    2017-01-01

    Meat from Holstein and crossbred organic dairy steers finished on winter rye and winter wheat pastures was evaluated and compared for meat quality, fatty acid and amino acid profiles, and consumer acceptability. Two adjacent 4-ha plots were established with winter rye or winter wheat cover crops in September 2015 at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (Morris, MN). During spring of 2015, 30 steers were assigned to one of three replicate breed groups at birth. Breed groups were comprised of: Holstein (HOL; n = 10), crossbreds comprised of Montbéliarde, Viking Red, and HOL (MVH; n = 10), and crossbreds comprised of Normande, Jersey, and Viking Red (NJV; n = 10). Dairy steers were maintained in their respective replicate breed group from three days of age until harvest. After weaning, steers were fed an organic total mixed ration of organic corn silage, alfalfa silage, corn, soybean meal, and minerals until spring 2016. Breed groups were randomly assigned to winter rye or winter wheat and rotationally grazed from spring until early summer of 2016. For statistical analysis, independent variables were fixed effects of breed, forage, and the interaction of breed and forage, with replicated group as a random effect. Specific contrast statements were used to compare HOL versus crossbred steers. Fat from crossbreds had 13% greater omega-3 fatty acids than HOL steers. Furthermore, the omega-6/3 ratio was 14% lower in fat from crossbreds than HOL steers. For consumer acceptability, steaks from steers grazed on winter wheat had greater overall liking than steers grazed on winter rye. Steak from crossbreeds had greater overall liking than HOL steers. The results suggest improvement in fatty acids and sensory attributes of beef from crossbred dairy steers compared to HOL steers, as well as those finished on winter wheat compared to winter rye.

  17. Fire, grazing history, lichen abundance, and winter distribution of caribou in Alaska's taiga

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, William B.; Dale, Bruce W.; Adams, Layne G.; McElwain, Darien E.; Joly, Kyle

    2011-01-01

    In the early 1990s the Nelchina Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) Herd (NCH) began a dramatic shift to its current winter range, migrating at least an additional 100 km beyond its historic range. We evaluated the impacts of fire and grazing history on lichen abundance and subsequent use and distribution by the NCH. Historic (prior to 1990) and current (2002) winter ranges of the NCH had similar vascular vegetation, lichen cover (P = 0.491), and fire histories (P = 0.535), but the former range had significantly less forage lichen biomass as a result of grazing by caribou. Biomass of forage lichens was twice as great overall (P = 0.031) and 4 times greater in caribou selected sites on the current range than in the historic range, greatly increasing availability to caribou. Caribou on the current range selected for stands with >20% lichen cover (P lichen biomass and stands older than 80 yr postfire (P lichen cover and biomass seldom recovered sufficiently to attract caribou grazing until after ≥60 yr, and, as a group, primary forage lichen species did not reach maximum abundance until 180 yr postfire. Recovery following overgrazing can occur much more quickly because lichen cover, albeit mostly fragments, and organic substrates remain present. Our results provide benchmarks for wildlife managers assessing condition of caribou winter range and predicting effects of fires on lichen abundance and caribou distribution. Of our measurements of cover and biomass by species, densities and heights of trees, elevation, slope and aspect, only percentage cover by Cladonia amaurocraea, Cladina rangiferina, Flavocetraria cuculata, and lowbush cranberry (Vaccinium vitis‐idaea) were necessary for predicting caribou use of winter range.

  18. Simulating the influences of various fire regimes on caribou winter habitat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rupp, T. Scott; Olson, Mark; Adams, Layne G.; Dale, Bruce W.; Joly, Kyle; Henkelman, Jonathan; Collins, William B.; Starfield, Anthony M.

    2006-01-01

    Caribou are an integral component of high‐latitude ecosystems and represent a major subsistence food source for many northern people. The availability and quality of winter habitat is critical to sustain these caribou populations. Caribou commonly use older spruce woodlands with adequate terrestrial lichen, a preferred winter forage, in the understory. Changes in climate and fire regime pose a significant threat to the long‐term sustainability of this important winter habitat. Computer simulations performed with a spatially explicit vegetation succession model (ALFRESCO) indicate that changes in the frequency and extent of fire in interior Alaska may substantially impact the abundance and quality of winter habitat for caribou. We modeled four different fire scenarios and tracked the frequency, extent, and spatial distribution of the simulated fires and associated changes to vegetation composition and distribution. Our results suggest that shorter fire frequencies (i.e., less time between recurring fires) on the winter range of the Nelchina caribou herd in eastern interior Alaska will result in large decreases of available winter habitat, relative to that currently available, in both the short and long term. A 30% shortening of the fire frequency resulted in a 3.5‐fold increase in the area burned annually and an associated 41% decrease in the amount of spruce–lichen forest found on the landscape. More importantly, simulations with more frequent fires produced a relatively immature forest age structure, compared to that which currently exists, with few stands older than 100 years. This age structure is at the lower limits of stand age classes preferred by caribou from the Nelchina herd. Projected changes in fire regime due to climate warming and/or additional prescribed burning could substantially alter the winter habitat of caribou in interior Alaska and lead to changes in winter range use and/or population dynamics.

  19. Spatially explicit modeling of conflict zones between wildlife and snow sports: prioritizing areas for winter refuges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braunisch, Veronika; Patthey, Patrick; Arlettaz, Raphaël

    2011-04-01

    Outdoor winter recreation exerts an increasing pressure upon mountain ecosystems, with unpredictable, free-ranging activities (e.g., ski mountaineering, snowboarding, and snowshoeing) representing a major source of stress for wildlife. Mitigating anthropogenic disturbance requires the spatially explicit prediction of the interference between the activities of humans and wildlife. We applied spatial modeling to localize conflict zones between wintering Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix), a declining species of Alpine timberline ecosystems, and two free-ranging winter sports (off-piste skiing [including snow-boarding] and snowshoeing). Track data (snow-sports and birds' traces) obtained from aerial photographs taken over a 585-km transect running along the timberline, implemented within a maximum entropy model, were used to predict the occurrence of snow sports and Black Grouse as a function of landscape characteristics. By modeling Black Grouse presence in the theoretical absence of free-ranging activities and ski infrastructure, we first estimated the amount of habitat reduction caused by these two factors. The models were then extrapolated to the altitudinal range occupied by Black Grouse, while the spatial extent and intensity of potential conflict were assessed by calculating the probability of human-wildlife co-occurrence. The two snow-sports showed different distribution patterns. Skiers' occurrence was mainly determined by ski-lift presence and a smooth terrain, while snowshoers' occurrence was linked to hiking or skiing routes and moderate slopes. Wintering Black Grouse avoided ski lifts and areas frequented by free-ranging snow sports. According to the models, Black Grouse have faced a substantial reduction of suitable wintering habitat along the timberline transect: 12% due to ski infrastructure and another 16% when adding free-ranging activities. Extrapolating the models over the whole study area results in an overall habitat loss due to ski infrastructure of

  20. Winter habitat selection by caribou in relation to lichen abundance, wildfires, grazing, and landscape characteristics in northwest Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyle Joly; F. Stuart III Chapin; David R. Klein

    2010-01-01

    Lichens are an important winter forage for large, migratory herds of caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) that can influence population dynamics through effects on body condition and in turn calf recruitment and survival. We investigated the vegetative and physiographic characteristics of winter range of the Western Arctic Herd in northwest Alaska, one...

  1. Evidence for foraging -site fidelity and individual foraging behavior of pelagic cormorants rearing chicks in the gulf of Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotzerka, J.; Hatch, Shyla A.; Garthe, S.

    2011-01-01

    The Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) is the most widespread cormorant in the North Pacific, but little is known about its foraging and diving behavior. However, knowledge of seabirds' foraging behavior is important to understanding their function in the marine environment. In 2006, using GPS dataloggers, we studied the foraging behavior of 14 male Pelagic Cormorants rearing chicks on Middleton Island, Alaska. For foraging, the birds had high fidelity to a small area 8 km north of the colony. Within that area, the cormorants' diving activity was of two distinct kinds-near-surface dives (1-6 m) and benthic dives (28-33 m). Individuals were consistent in the depths of their dives, either mostly shallow or mostly deep. Few showed no depth preference. Dive duration, time at maximum depth, and pauses at the water surface between consecutive dives were shorter for shallow dives than for deep dives. The cormorants made dives of both types throughout the day, but the frequency of deep dives increased toward evening. Maximum foraging range was 9 km; maximum total distance traveled per trip was 43.4 km. Trip durations ranged from 0.3 to 7.7 hr. Maximum depth of a dive was 42.2 m, and duration of dives ranged from 4 to 120 sec. We found that Pelagic Cormorants at Middleton Island were faithful to one particular foraging area and individuals dived in distinct patterns. Distinct, specialized foraging behavior may be advantageous in reducing intra- and interspecific competition but may also render the species vulnerable to changing environmental conditions. Copyright ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2011.

  2. Ways to be different: Foraging adaptations that facilitate higher intake rates in a northerly wintering shorebird compared with a low-latitude conspecific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruthrauff, Daniel R.; Dekinga, Anne; Gill, Robert E.; van Gils, Jan A.; Piersma, Theunis

    2015-01-01

    At what phenotypic level do closely related subspecies that live in different environments differ with respect to food detection, ingestion and processing? This question motivated an experimental study on rock sandpipers (Calidris ptilocnemis). The species' nonbreeding range spans 20 deg of latitude, the extremes of which are inhabited by two subspecies: C. p. ptilocnemis that winters primarily in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska (61°N) and C. p. tschuktschorum that overlaps slightly with C. p. ptilocnemis but whose range extends much farther south (∼40°N). In view of the strongly contrasting energetic demands of their distinct nonbreeding distributions, we conducted experiments to assess the behavioral, physiological and sensory aspects of foraging and we used the bivalve Macoma balthica for all trials. C. p. ptilocnemis consumed a wider range of prey sizes, had higher maximum rates of energy intake, processed shell waste at higher maximum rates and handled prey more quickly. Notably, however, the two subspecies did not differ in their abilities to find buried prey. The subspecies were similar in size and had equally sized gizzards, but the more northern ptilocnemis individuals were 10–14% heavier than their same-sex tschuktschorum counterparts. The higher body mass in ptilocnemis probably resulted from hypertrophy of digestive organs (e.g. intestine, liver) related to digestion and nutrient assimilation. Given the previously established equality of the metabolic capacities of the two subspecies, we propose that the high-latitude nonbreeding range of ptilocnemis rock sandpipers is primarily facilitated by digestive (i.e. physiological) aspects of their foraging ecology rather than behavioral or sensory aspects.

  3. Foraging Activity in Plebeia remota, a Stingless Bees Species, Is Influenced by the Reproductive State of a Colony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrícia Nunes-Silva

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Colonies of the Brazilian stingless bee Plebeia remota show a reproductive diapause in autumn and winter. Therefore, they present two distinct reproductive states, during which colony needs are putatively different. Consequently, foraging should be adapted to the different needs. We recorded the foraging activity of two colonies for 30 days in both phases. Indeed, it presented different patterns during the two phases. In the reproductive diapause, the resource predominantly collected by the foragers was nectar. The majority of the bees were nectar foragers, and the peak of collecting activity occurred around noon. Instead, in the reproductive phase, the predominantly collected resource was pollen, and the peak of activity occurred around 10:00 am. Although the majority of the foragers were not specialized in this phase, there were a larger number of pollen foragers compared to the phase of reproductive diapause. The temperature and relative humidity also influenced the foraging activity.

  4. Foraging Behavior of Odontomachus bauri on Barro Colorado Island, Panama

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Birgit Ehmer

    1995-01-01

    Full Text Available Foraging behavior and partitioning of foraging areas of Odonomachus bauri were investigated on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. The activity of the ants did not show any daily pattern; foragers were active day and night. The type of prey captured by O. bauri supports the idea that in higher Odontomachus and Anochetus species, the high speed of mandible closure serves more for generating power than capturing elusive prey. Polydomous nests may enable O. bauri colonies to enlarge their foraging areas.

  5. Temperature Impact on the Forage Quality of Two Wheat Cultivars with Contrasting Capacity to Accumulate Sugars

    OpenAIRE

    Máximo Lorenzo; Silvia G. Assuero; Jorge A. Tognetti

    2015-01-01

    Wheat is increasingly used as a dual-purpose crop (for forage and grain production) worldwide. Plants encounter low temperatures in winter, which commonly results in sugar accumulation. High sugar levels might have a positive impact on forage digestibility, but may also lead to an increased risk of bloat. We hypothesized that cultivars with a lower capacity to accumulate sugars when grown under cold conditions may have a lower bloat risk than higher sugar-accumulating genotypes, without showi...

  6. Possible over-wintering of bluetongue virus in Culicoides populations in the Onderstepoort area, Gauteng, South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jumari Steyn

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Several studies have demonstrated the ability of certain viruses to overwinter in arthropod vectors. The over-wintering mechanism of bluetongue virus (BTV is unknown. One hypothesis is over-wintering within adult Culicoides midges (Diptera; Ceratopogonidae that survive mild winters where temperatures seldom drop below 10 °C. The reduced activity of midges and the absence of outbreaks during winter may create the impression that the virus has disappeared from an area. Light traps were used in close association with horses to collect Culicoides midges from July 2010 to September 2011 in the Onderstepoort area, in Gauteng Province, South Africa. More than 500 000 Culicoides midges were collected from 88 collections and sorted to species level, revealing 26 different Culicoides species. Culicoides midges were present throughout the 15 month study. Nine Culicoides species potentially capable of transmitting BTV were present during the winter months. Midges were screened for the presence of BTV ribonucleic acid (RNA with the aid of a real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR assay. In total 91.2% of midge pools tested positive for BTV RNA. PCR results were compared with previous virus isolation results (VI that demonstrated the presence of viruses in summer and autumn months. The results indicate that BTV-infected Culicoides vectors are present throughout the year in the study area. Viral RNA-positive midges were also found throughout the year with VI positive midge pools only in summer and early autumn. Midges that survive mild winter temperatures could therefore harbour BTV but with a decreased vector capacity. When the population size, biting rate and viral replication decrease, it could stop BTV transmission. Over-wintering of BTV in the Onderstepoort region could therefore result in re-emergence because of increased vector activity rather than reintroduction from outside the region.

  7. Produção animal e vegetal em pastagem nativa manejada sob diferentes ofertas de forragem por bovinos Animal and vegetal production of a natural pasture under different forage allowances for cattle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean Carlos Mezzalira

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Neste trabalho avaliou-se a influência de diferentes ofertas de forragem e suas combinações ao longo do ano sobre a dinâmica do crescimento da pastagem e o desempenho animal. O experimento foi conduzido em área de pastagem natural com novilhas de sobreano mantidas em pastejo contínuo com taxa de lotação variável. Os tratamentos foram ofertas de forragem fixas ao longo do ano: 4; 8; 12 e 16kg de matéria seca 100kg de peso vivo-1 por dia e combinações de 8 na primavera e 12 no outono-inverno-verão (8-12%; 12 na primavera e 8 no outono-inverno-verão (12-8%; 16 na primavera e 12 no outono-inverno-verão (16-12%, constituindo um delineamento experimental de blocos casualizados com duas repetições. A produção de forragem e o ganho de peso animal foram medidos na estação de crescimento de 2007-2008. Os resultados comprovaram que o uso de oferta de forragem muito baixa, como 4%, prejudica o desempenho animal individual e por área. O manejo combinado de ofertas 8-12% promoveu aumento de 35% no desempenho individual (0,345kg animal-1 aumento de 20% na produção por área (209kg ha-1 de PV em comparação ao manejo 12% ao longo do ano.In this research it was evaluated the influence of different forage allowances and combinations of forage allowances along the year on the pasture accumulation dynamic and animal performance. The experiment was conducted in a natural pasture area with yearling beef heifers maintained in continuous grazing with variable stocking rate. The treatments utilized with fixed forage allowances during the year were 4; 8; 12 e 16kg 100kg-1 of live weight; and the treatments of forage allowance combinations were 8 on Spring and 12 on Autumn-Winter-Summer (8-12%; 12 on Spring and 8 on Autumn-Winter-Summer (12-8%; 16 on Spring and 12 on Autumn-Winter-Summer (16-12%, constituting a experimental design in randomized blocks with two replicates of area. The primary and secondary productions were evaluated on the

  8. Utilization of 15N in the sequence of mineral fertilizer - forage - animal - slurry - forage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peschke, H.

    1981-01-01

    After systematic application of 15 N-ammonium nitrate, the change of the dinuclidic composition and 15 N quantity was studied by isotope analysis of several open systems in the sequence mineral fertilizer - (soil) - forage - (animal) - slurry - (soil) - forage. The relative 15 N isotope frequency of 50 atom% in the mineral fertilizer declined to 12.2 to 21.4 atom% in the forage (beet, oats, hay) and went down to 3.15 atom% in the slurry of a dairy cow fed on this forage. Silage maize manured with the slurry of the dairy cow only showed 1.98 atom %, green oats grown after the silage maize on the same area was found to have 0.45 atom%. The 15 N quantity of 104.5 g N in the fertilizer gradually decreased to 41.6 g N in the forage, 30.5 g N in the slurry and 22.6 g N in the silage maize. The causes discussed are 15 N isotope dilution as qualitative factor and productive and unproductive N losses as quantitative factors. (author)

  9. Is there an endogenous tidal foraging rhythm in marine iguanas?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wikelski, M; Hau, M

    1995-12-01

    As strictly herbivorous reptiles, Galápagos marine iguanas graze on algae in the intertidal areas during low tide. Daily foraging rhythms were observed on two islands during 3 years to determine the proximate factors underlying behavioral synchrony with the tides. Marine iguanas walked to their intertidal foraging grounds from far-off resting areas in anticipation of the time of low tide. Foraging activity was restricted to daytime, resulting in a complex bitidal rhythm including conspicuous switches from afternoon foraging to foraging during the subsequent morning when low tide occurred after dusk. The animals anticipated the daily low tide by a maximum of 4 h. The degree of anticipation depended on environmental parameters such as wave action and food supply. "Early foragers" survived in greater numbers than did animals arriving later at foraging sites, a result indicating selection pressure on the timing of anticipation. The timing of foraging trips was better predicted by the daily changes in tabulated low tide than it was by the daily changes in actual exposure of the intertidal foraging flats, suggesting an endogenous nature of the foraging rhythms. Endogenous rhythmicity would also explain why iguanas that had spontaneously fasted for several days nevertheless went foraging at the "right" time of day. A potential lunar component of the foraging rhythmicity of marine iguanas showed up in their assemblage on intertidal rocks during neap tide nights. This may indicate that iguanas possessed information on the semi-monthly rhythms in tide heights. Enclosure experiments showed that bitidal foraging rhythms of iguanas may free run in the absence of direct cues from the intertidal areas and operate independent of the light:dark cycle and social stimuli. Therefore, the existence of a circatidal oscillator in marine iguanas is proposed. The bitidal foraging pattern may result from an interaction of a circadian system with a circatidal system. Food intake or related

  10. Variations in plant forage quality in the range of the Porcupine caribou herd

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jill Johnstone

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available Understanding potential impacts of vegetation change on caribou energetics requires information on variations in forage quality among different plant types and over time. We synthesized data on forage quality (nitrogen, neutral detergent fiber and dry matter digestibility for 10 plant growth forms from existing scientific literature and from field research in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. These data describe forage quality of plant species in habitats found within the summer and winter range of the Porcupine caribou herd in northwestern Canada and northern Alaska, U.S.A. We compared mean levels of summer forage quality among growth forms and, where possible, estimated seasonal changes in forage quality. Preferred forage groups (deciduous shrubs, forbs, and cottongrass flowers had higher nitrogen and digestibility, and lower fiber content, than other growth forms. Nitrogen concentration in green biomass peaked at the onset of the growing season in forbs and deciduous shrubs, whereas graminoids reached peak nitrogen concentrations approximately 15-30 days after growth initiation. In vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD and concentration of neutral detergent fiber (NDF of green biomass differed among growth forms, but did not show strong seasonal changes. IVDMD and NDF concentrations were correlated with nitrogen concentrations in studies that had paired sampling.

  11. Terrestrial lichen response to partial cutting in lodgepole pine forests on caribou winter range in west-central British Columbia

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    Michaela J. Waterhouse

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available In west-central British Columbia, terrestrial lichens located in older, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta forests are important winter forage for woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou. Clearcut harvesting effectively removes winter forage habitat for decades, so management approaches based on partial cutting were designed to maintain continuous lichen-bearing habitat for caribou. This study tested a group selection system, based on removal of 33% of the forest every 80 years in small openings (15 m diameter, and two irregular shelterwood treatments (whole-tree and stem-only harvesting methods where 50% of the stand area is cut every 70 years in 20 to 30 m diameter openings. The abundance of common terrestrial lichens among the partial cutting and no-harvest treatments was compared across five replicate blocks, pre-harvest (1995 and post-harvest (1998, 2000 and 2004. The initial loss of preferred forage lichens (Cladonia, Cladina, Cetraria and Stereocaulon was similar among harvesting treatments, but there was greater reduction in these lichens in the openings than in the residual forest. After eight years, forage lichens in the group selection treatment recovered to pre-harvest amounts, while lichen in the shelterwood treatments steadily increased from 49 to 57% in 1998 to about 70% of pre-harvest amounts in 2004. Although not part of the randomized block design, there was substantially less lichen in three adjacent clearcut blocks than in the partial cuts. Regression analysis pre- and post-harvest indicated that increased cover of trees, shrubs, herbs, woody debris and logging slash corresponded with decreased forage lichen abundance. In the short-term, forestry activities that minimize inputs of woody debris, control herb and shrub development, and moderate the changes in light and temperatures associated with canopy removal will lessen the impact on lichen. Implementation of stand level prescriptions is only one aspect of caribou habitat

  12. Winter predation by insectivorous birds and consequences for arthropods and plants in summer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barber, Nicholas A; Wouk, Jennifer

    2012-12-01

    Top-down effects of predators can have important consequences for ecosystems. Insectivorous birds frequently have strong predation effects on herbivores and other arthropods, as well as indirect effects on herbivores' host plants. Diet studies have shown that birds in temperate ecosystems consume arthropods in winter as well as in summer, but experimental studies of bird predation effects have not attempted to quantitatively separate winter predation impacts from those in summer. To understand if winter foraging by insectivorous birds has consequences for arthropods or plants, we performed a meta-analysis of published bird exclusion studies in temperate forest and shrubland habitats. We categorized 85 studies from 41 publications by whether birds were excluded year-round or only in summer, and analyzed arthropod and plant response variables. We also performed a manipulative field experiment in which we used a factorial design to exclude birds from Quercus velutina Lam. saplings in winter and summer, and censused arthropods and herbivore damage in the following growing season. In the meta-analysis, birds had stronger negative effects on herbivores in studies that included winter exclusion, and this effect was not due to study duration. However, this greater predation effect did not translate to a greater impact on plant damage or growth. In the field experiment, winter exclusion did not influence herbivore abundance or their impacts on plants. We have shown that winter feeding by temperate insectivorous birds can have important consequences for insect herbivore populations, but the strength of these effects may vary considerably among ecosystems. A full understanding of the ecological roles of insectivorous birds will require explicit consideration of their foraging in the non-growing season, and we make recommendations for how future studies can address this.

  13. Adaptive Bacterial Foraging Optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanning Chen

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Bacterial Foraging Optimization (BFO is a recently developed nature-inspired optimization algorithm, which is based on the foraging behavior of E. coli bacteria. Up to now, BFO has been applied successfully to some engineering problems due to its simplicity and ease of implementation. However, BFO possesses a poor convergence behavior over complex optimization problems as compared to other nature-inspired optimization techniques. This paper first analyzes how the run-length unit parameter of BFO controls the exploration of the whole search space and the exploitation of the promising areas. Then it presents a variation on the original BFO, called the adaptive bacterial foraging optimization (ABFO, employing the adaptive foraging strategies to improve the performance of the original BFO. This improvement is achieved by enabling the bacterial foraging algorithm to adjust the run-length unit parameter dynamically during algorithm execution in order to balance the exploration/exploitation tradeoff. The experiments compare the performance of two versions of ABFO with the original BFO, the standard particle swarm optimization (PSO and a real-coded genetic algorithm (GA on four widely-used benchmark functions. The proposed ABFO shows a marked improvement in performance over the original BFO and appears to be comparable with the PSO and GA.

  14. Utilization of /sup 15/N in the sequence of mineral fertilizer - forage - animal - slurry - forage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peschke, H [Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin (German Democratic Republic). Sektion Pflanzenproduktion

    1981-12-01

    After systematic application of /sup 15/N-ammonium nitrate, the change of the dinuclidic composition and /sup 15/N quantity was studied by isotope analysis of several open systems in the sequence mineral fertilizer - (soil) - forage - (animal) - slurry - (soil) - forage. The relative /sup 15/N isotope frequency of 50 atom% in the mineral fertilizer declined to 12.2 to 21.4 atom% in the forage (beet, oats, hay) and went down to 3.15 atom% in the slurry of a dairy cow fed on this forage. Silage maize manured with the slurry of the dairy cow only showed 1.98 atom %, green oats grown after the silage maize on the same area was found to have 0.45 atom%. The /sup 15/N quantity of 104.5 g N in the fertilizer gradually decreased to 41.6 g N in the forage, 30.5 g N in the slurry and 22.6 g N in the silage maize. The causes discussed are /sup 15/N isotope dilution as qualitative factor and productive and unproductive N losses as quantitative factors.

  15. Foraging range, habitat use and minimum flight distances of East Atlantic Light-bellied Brent Geese Branta bernicla hrota in their spring staging areas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Kevin Kuhlmann; Clausen, Preben; Hounisen, Jens Peder

    2013-01-01

    Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite telemetry was used to determine the foraging range, habitat use and minimum flight distances for individual East Atlantic Light-bellied Brent Geese Branta bernicla hrota at two spring staging areas in Denmark. Foraging ranges (mean ± s.d. = 53.0 ± 23.4 km...

  16. Effect of Cover Crops and Nitrogen Fertilizer on Total Production of Forage Corn and Dry Weight of Weeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Fakhari

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available To evaluate the effect of cover crops, split application of nitrogen and control weeds on forage corn and weed biomass a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications and three factors was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station of Ardabil (Iran during 2012 crop year. The first factor was cover crops (consisting of winter rye, hairy vetch, berseem clover, with and without weeding as controls. The second factor was two levels of split application of 225 kg.ha-1 urea at two growth stages forage corn: the first level (N1= 1/2 at planting and 1/2 at 8-10 leaf stage, second level (N2= 1/3 at planting, 1/3 at 8-10 leaf and 1/3 one week before tasselling stage. The third factor consisted of two levels of weed control: weeding at 8 leaves and weeding one week before tasselling. Results showed that winter rye, hairy vetch and berseem clover cover crops decreased total weed dry weights up to 87, 82 and 65 % respectively as compared to control (without weeding. Cover crops and nitrogen application time had a significant effect on yield of fresh forage corn and cover crops. Based on the advantages of effective weed control and higher forage production of hairy vetch it can be recommended as proper cover crop.

  17. Body-mass, survival, and pairing consequences of winter-diet restriction in wood ducks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demarest, D.W.; Kaminski, R.M.; Brennan, L.A.; Boyle, C.R.

    1997-01-01

    We conducted feeding experiments with captive, wild-strain wood ducks (Aix sponsa) during winters 1990-91 and 1991-92 to test effects of increasing levels of food restriction on body mass dynamics, mortality, and pair formation. Male and female wood ducks fed restricted diets (i.e., 5, 10, 15, or 20% less food [g] than consumed on the previous day by a control group fed ad libitum) weighed less (P ??? 0.037) than birds fed ad libitum; those on 15 and 20% restricted diets weighed least. Increased mortality and decreased pair formation occurred only within the 20% restricted group (P ??? 0.049). We concluded that food restriction ranging between 15 and 20% of ad libitum intake may signify a threshold above which survival and reproduction of captive wood ducks may be impaired. Because energy costs of free living are greater than in captivity, a lower threshold may exist for wild wood ducks. Research is needed to validate the threshold theory for free-ranging wood ducks and other waterfowl, and to evaluate its potential application for conservation of winter foraging habitat. Conservation of bottomland hardwood ecosystems, which provide important foraging habitat for migrating and wintering wood ducks, should be encouraged to prevent potential negative effects on wood duck life-cycle events.

  18. The Role of Non-Foraging Nests in Polydomous Wood Ant Colonies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Samuel; Robinson, Elva J H

    2015-01-01

    A colony of red wood ants can inhabit more than one spatially separated nest, in a strategy called polydomy. Some nests within these polydomous colonies have no foraging trails to aphid colonies in the canopy. In this study we identify and investigate the possible roles of non-foraging nests in polydomous colonies of the wood ant Formica lugubris. To investigate the role of non-foraging nests we: (i) monitored colonies for three years; (ii) observed the resources being transported between non-foraging nests and the rest of the colony; (iii) measured the amount of extra-nest activity around non-foraging and foraging nests. We used these datasets to investigate the extent to which non-foraging nests within polydomous colonies are acting as: part of the colony expansion process; hunting and scavenging specialists; brood-development specialists; seasonal foragers; or a selfish strategy exploiting the foraging effort of the rest of the colony. We found that, rather than having a specialised role, non-foraging nests are part of the process of colony expansion. Polydomous colonies expand by founding new nests in the area surrounding the existing nests. Nests founded near food begin foraging and become part of the colony; other nests are not founded near food sources and do not initially forage. Some of these non-foraging nests eventually begin foraging; others do not and are abandoned. This is a method of colony growth not available to colonies inhabiting a single nest, and may be an important advantage of the polydomous nesting strategy, allowing the colony to expand into profitable areas.

  19. Diverse habitat use during two life stages of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi: community structure, foraging, and social interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa R. Price

    2017-06-01

    aspects of foraging (vegetation features, food-gleaning behavior, and food items were similar for the two age classes. Older Bahama Orioles exhibited relatively higher rates of social interactions (intraspecific and interspecific pooled in anthropogenic areas, and won more interaction outcomes compared to younger adults. Our findings concur with those of other studies indicating dry broadleaf forest is vitally important to migrating, wintering, and resident birds, including the critically endangered Bahama Oriole, which appears to depend heavily on this vegetation type during certain life stages.

  20. Influence of Mowing Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis on Winter Habitat for Wildlife

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Kirk W.; Bates, Jonathan D.; Johnson, Dustin D.; Nafus, Aleta M.

    2009-07-01

    Mowing is commonly implemented to Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis (Beetle & A. Young) S.L. Welsh (Wyoming big sagebrush) plant communities to improve wildlife habitat, increase forage production for livestock, and create fuel breaks for fire suppression. However, information detailing the influence of mowing on winter habitat for wildlife is lacking. This information is crucial because many wildlife species depended on A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis plant communities for winter habitat and consume significant quantities of Artemisia during this time . Furthermore, information is generally limited describing the recovery of A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis to mowing and the impacts of mowing on stand structure. Stand characteristics and Artemisia leaf tissue crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentrations were measured in midwinter on 0-, 2-, 4-, and 6-year-old fall-applied mechanical (mowed at 20 cm height) treatments and compared to adjacent untreated (control) areas. Mowing compared to the control decreased Artemisia cover, density, canopy volume, canopy elliptical area, and height ( P < 0.05), but all characteristics were recovering ( P < 0.05). Mowing A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis plant communities slightly increases the nutritional quality of Artemisia leaves ( P < 0.05), but it simultaneously results in up to 20 years of decrease in Artemisia structural characteristics. Because of the large reduction in A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis for potentially 20 years following mowing, mowing should not be applied in Artemisia facultative and obligate wildlife winter habitat. Considering the decline in A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis-dominated landscapes, we caution against mowing these communities.

  1. Interference from adults forces young red knots to forage for longer and in dangerous places

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Hout, P.J.; van Gils, J.A.; Robin, F.; van der Geest, M.; Dekinga, A.; Piersma, T.

    2014-01-01

    In birds and mammals, juvenile and adult foragers are often found apart from each other. In this study, we found this is also true for red knots, Calidris canutus canutus, wintering on the intertidal flats of Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania. Not only did juveniles feed separately from adults, they also

  2. Seasonal Variation in Parental Care Drives Sex-Specific Foraging by a Monomorphic Seabird.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Chantelle M; Montevecchi, William A; Regular, Paul M

    2015-01-01

    Evidence of sex-specific foraging in monomorphic seabirds is increasing though the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We investigate differential parental care as a mechanism for sex-specific foraging in monomorphic Common Murres (Uria aalge), where the male parent alone provisions the chick after colony departure. Using a combination of geolocation-immersion loggers and stable isotopes, we assess two hypotheses: the reproductive role specialization hypothesis and the energetic constraint hypothesis. We compare the foraging behavior of females (n = 15) and males (n = 9) during bi-parental at the colony, post-fledging male-only parental care and winter when parental care is absent. As predicted by the reproductive role specialization hypothesis, we found evidence of sex-specific foraging during post-fledging only, the stage with the greatest divergence in parental care roles. Single-parenting males spent almost twice as much time diving per day and foraged at lower quality prey patches relative to independent females. This implies a potential energetic constraint for males during the estimated 62.8 ± 8.9 days of offspring dependence at sea. Contrary to the predictions of the energetic constraint hypothesis, we found no evidence of sex-specific foraging during biparental care, suggesting that male parents did not forage for their own benefit before colony departure in anticipation of post-fledging energy constraints. We hypothesize that unpredictable prey conditions at Newfoundland colonies in recent years may limit male parental ability to allocate additional time and energy to self-feeding during biparental care, without compromising chick survival. Our findings support differential parental care as a mechanism for sex-specific foraging in monomorphic murres, and highlight the need to consider ecological context in the interpretation of sex-specific foraging behavior.

  3. Seasonal Variation in Parental Care Drives Sex-Specific Foraging by a Monomorphic Seabird.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chantelle M Burke

    Full Text Available Evidence of sex-specific foraging in monomorphic seabirds is increasing though the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We investigate differential parental care as a mechanism for sex-specific foraging in monomorphic Common Murres (Uria aalge, where the male parent alone provisions the chick after colony departure. Using a combination of geolocation-immersion loggers and stable isotopes, we assess two hypotheses: the reproductive role specialization hypothesis and the energetic constraint hypothesis. We compare the foraging behavior of females (n = 15 and males (n = 9 during bi-parental at the colony, post-fledging male-only parental care and winter when parental care is absent. As predicted by the reproductive role specialization hypothesis, we found evidence of sex-specific foraging during post-fledging only, the stage with the greatest divergence in parental care roles. Single-parenting males spent almost twice as much time diving per day and foraged at lower quality prey patches relative to independent females. This implies a potential energetic constraint for males during the estimated 62.8 ± 8.9 days of offspring dependence at sea. Contrary to the predictions of the energetic constraint hypothesis, we found no evidence of sex-specific foraging during biparental care, suggesting that male parents did not forage for their own benefit before colony departure in anticipation of post-fledging energy constraints. We hypothesize that unpredictable prey conditions at Newfoundland colonies in recent years may limit male parental ability to allocate additional time and energy to self-feeding during biparental care, without compromising chick survival. Our findings support differential parental care as a mechanism for sex-specific foraging in monomorphic murres, and highlight the need to consider ecological context in the interpretation of sex-specific foraging behavior.

  4. PERFORMANCE OF ‘NANICÃO JANGADA’ BANANA PLANTS INTERCROPPED WITH WINTER COVER CROPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RICARDO SFEIR DE AGUIAR

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The use of cover crops species may be an important strategy in the pursuit of sustainability of agroecosystems, considering benefits to soil, such as improvements of physical and chemical characteristics, and weed control. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of winter cover crops and other soil managements on chemical soil properties, on the cycle, on the production of the first cycle and on the fruit quality of banana cv. Nanicão Jangada in Andirá – PR, Brazil. The experiment was carried out in a commercial. Planting of banana suckers from the grower area occurred in the first half of March 2011, with a spacing of 2.40 m between rows and 1.90 m between plants. The experiment was designed in randomized blocks with four replications and six plants per plot. The six treatments were: black oat (Avenastrigosa Schreb, forage turnip (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus, consortium of black oat and forage turnip, chicken litter, residues of banana plants, and bare ground. The evaluations were vegetative development and life cycle of banana plants, yield and quality of fruits, soil chemical characterstics, and fresh and dry mass of green manures. The results were submitted to ANOVA (F Test, and Tukey test at 5 % probability. Black oat and black oat with forage turnip consortium were superior in biomass production. Systems of soil management had no effect on the variables, except in the periods between planting and flowering and between planting and harvest, which were shorter in the treatment of soil management with crop residues, longer in the treatment with forage turnip, and intermediate in the other treatments.

  5. Food availability and foraging near human developments by black bears

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merkle, Jerod A.; Robinson, Hugh S.; Krausman, Paul R.; Alaback, Paul B.

    2013-01-01

    Understanding the relationship between foraging ecology and the presence of human-dominated landscapes is important, particularly for American black bears (Ursus americanus), which sometimes move between wildlands and urban areas to forage. The food-related factors influencing this movement have not been explored, but can be important for understanding the benefits and costs to black bear foraging behavior and the fundamental origins of bear conflicts. We tested whether the scarcity of wildland foods or the availability of urban foods can explain when black bears forage near houses, examined the extent to which male bears use urban areas in comparison to females, and identified the most important food items influencing bear movement into urban areas. We monitored 16 collared black bears in and around Missoula, Montana, during 2009 and 2010, while quantifying the rate of change in green vegetation and the availability of 5 native berry-producing species outside the urban area, the rate of change in green vegetation, and the availability of apples and garbage inside the urban area. We used parametric time-to-event models in which an event was a bear location collected within 100 m of a house. We also visited feeding sites located near houses and quantified food items bears had eaten. The probability of a bear being located near a house was 1.6 times higher for males, and increased during apple season and the urban green-up. Fruit trees accounted for most of the forage items at urban feeding sites (49%), whereas wildland foods composed fruit trees, appear to be more important than the availability of garbage in influencing when bears forage near houses.

  6. Subalpine bumble bee foraging distances and densities in relation to flower availability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Susan E

    2009-06-01

    Bees feed almost exclusively on nectar and pollen from flowers. However, little is known about how food availability limits bee populations, especially in high elevation areas. Foraging distances and relationships between forager densities and resource availability can provide insights into the potential for food limitation in mobile consumer populations. For example, if floral resources are limited, bee consumers should fly farther to forage, and they should be more abundant in areas with more flowers. I estimated subalpine bumble bee foraging distances by calculating forager recapture probabilities at increasing distances from eight marking locations. I measured forager and flower densities over the flowering season in six half-hectare plots. Because subalpine bumble bees have little time to build their colonies, they may forage over short distances and forager density may not be constrained by flower density. However, late in the season, when floral resources dwindle, foraging distances may increase, and there may be stronger relationships between forager and flower densities. Throughout the flowering season, marked bees were primarily found within 100 m (and never >1,000 m) from their original marking location, suggesting that they typically did not fly far to forage. Although the density of early season foraging queens increased with early-season flower density, the density of mid- and late-season workers and males did not vary with flower density. Short foraging distances and no relationships between mid- and late-season forager and flower densities suggest that high elevation bumble bees may have ample floral resources for colony growth reproduction.

  7. Forage plants of an Arctic-nesting herbivore show larger warming response in breeding than wintering grounds, potentially disrupting migration phenology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lameris, T.K.; Jochems, Femke; van der Graaf, A.J.; Andersson, M.; Limpens, J.; Nolet, B.A.

    2017-01-01

    During spring migration, herbivorous waterfowl breeding in the Arctic depend on peaks in the supply of nitrogen-rich forage plants, following a “green wave” of grass growth along their flyway to fuel migration and reproduction. The effects of climate warming on forage plant growth are expected to be

  8. Smaller beaks for colder winters: Thermoregulation drives beak size evolution in Australasian songbirds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Nicholas R; Harmáčková, Lenka; Economo, Evan P; Remeš, Vladimír

    2017-08-01

    Birds' beaks play a key role in foraging, and most research on their size and shape has focused on this function. Recent findings suggest that beaks may also be important for thermoregulation, and this may drive morphological evolution as predicted by Allen's rule. However, the role of thermoregulation in the evolution of beak size across species remains largely unexplored. In particular, it remains unclear whether the need for retaining heat in the winter or dissipating heat in the summer plays the greater role in selection for beak size. Comparative studies are needed to evaluate the relative importance of these functions in beak size evolution. We addressed this question in a clade of birds exhibiting wide variation in their climatic niche: the Australasian honeyeaters and allies (Meliphagoidea). Across 158 species, we compared species' climatic conditions extracted from their ranges to beak size measurements in a combined spatial-phylogenetic framework. We found that winter minimum temperature was positively correlated with beak size, while summer maximum temperature was not. This suggests that while diet and foraging behavior may drive evolutionary changes in beak shape, changes in beak size can also be explained by the beak's role in thermoregulation, and winter heat retention in particular. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  9. Visual field shape and foraging ecology in diurnal raptors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potier, Simon; Duriez, Olivier; Cunningham, Gregory B; Bonhomme, Vincent; O'Rourke, Colleen; Fernández-Juricic, Esteban; Bonadonna, Francesco

    2018-05-18

    Birds, particularly raptors, are believed to forage primarily using visual cues. However, raptor foraging tactics are highly diverse - from chasing mobile prey to scavenging - which may reflect adaptations of their visual systems. To investigate this, we studied the visual field configuration of 15 species of diurnal Accipitriformes that differ in such tactics, first focusing on the binocular field and blind area by using a single traits approach, and then exploring the shape of the binocular field with morphometric approaches. While the maximum binocular field width did not differ in species of different foraging tactics, the overall shape of their binocular fields did. In particular, raptors chasing terrestrial prey (ground predators) had a more protruding binocular field and a wider blind area above the head than did raptors chasing aerial or aquatic prey and obligate scavengers. Ground predators that forage on mammals from above have a wide but short bill - which increases ingestion rate - and large suborbital ridge to avoid sun glare. This may explain the protruding binocular field and the wide blind area above the head. By contrast, species from the two other groups have long but narrow bills used to pluck, flake or tear food and may need large visual coverage (and reduced suborbital ridges) to increase their foraging efficiency ( e.g. using large visual coverage to follow the escaping prey in three dimensions or detect conspecifics). We propose that binocular field shape is associated with bill and suborbital ridge shape and, ultimately, foraging strategies. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  10. Foraging behavior of pileated woodpeckers in partial cut and uncut bottomland hardwood forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newell, P.; King, Sammy L.; Kaller, Michael D.

    2009-01-01

    In bottomland hardwood forests, partial cutting techniques are increasingly advocated and used to create habitat for priority wildlife like Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and Neotropical migrants. Although partial cutting may be beneficial to some species, those that use dead wood may be negatively affected since large diameter and poor quality trees (deformed, moribund, or dead) are rare, but normally targeted for removal. On the other hand, partial cutting can create dead wood if logging slash is left on-site. We studied foraging behavior of pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) in one- and two-year-old partial cuts designed to benefit priority species and in uncut forest during winter, spring, and summer of 2006 and 2007 in Louisiana. Males and females did not differ in their use of tree species, dbh class, decay class, foraging height, use of foraging tactics or substrate types; however, males foraged on larger substrates than females. In both partial cut and uncut forest, standing live trees were most frequently used (83% compared to 14% for standing dead trees and 3% for coarse woody debris); however, dead trees were selected (i.e. used out of proportion to availability). Overcup oak (Quercus lyrata) and bitter pecan (Carya aquatica) were also selected and sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) avoided. Pileated woodpeckers selected trees >= 50 cm dbh and avoided trees in smaller dbh classes (10-20 cm). Density of selected foraging substrates was the same in partial cut and uncut forest. Of the foraging substrates, woodpeckers spent 54% of foraging time on live branches and boles, 37% on dead branches and boles, and 9% on vines. Of the foraging tactics, the highest proportion of foraging time was spent excavating (58%), followed by pecking (14%), gleaning (14%), scaling (7%), berry-eating (4%), and probing (3%). Woodpecker use of foraging tactics and substrates, and foraging height and substrate

  11. Seasonal foraging ecology of non-migratory cougars in a system with migrating prey.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L Mark Elbroch

    Full Text Available We tested for seasonal differences in cougar (Puma concolor foraging behaviors in the Southern Yellowstone Ecosystem, a multi-prey system in which ungulate prey migrate, and cougars do not. We recorded 411 winter prey and 239 summer prey killed by 28 female and 10 male cougars, and an additional 37 prey items by unmarked cougars. Deer composed 42.4% of summer cougar diets but only 7.2% of winter diets. Males and females, however, selected different proportions of different prey; male cougars selected more elk (Cervus elaphus and moose (Alces alces than females, while females killed greater proportions of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis, pronghorn (Antilocapra americana, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus and small prey than males. Kill rates did not vary by season or between males and females. In winter, cougars were more likely to kill prey on the landscape as: 1 elevation decreased, 2 distance to edge habitat decreased, 3 distance to large bodies of water decreased, and 4 steepness increased, whereas in summer, cougars were more likely to kill in areas as: 1 elevation decreased, 2 distance to edge habitat decreased, and 3 distance from large bodies of water increased. Our work highlighted that seasonal prey selection exhibited by stationary carnivores in systems with migratory prey is not only driven by changing prey vulnerability, but also by changing prey abundances. Elk and deer migrations may also be sustaining stationary cougar populations and creating apparent competition scenarios that result in higher predation rates on migratory bighorn sheep in winter and pronghorn in summer. Nevertheless, cougar predation on rare ungulates also appeared to be influenced by individual prey selection.

  12. Pollen foraging in colonies of Melipona bicolor (Apidae, Meliponini): effects of season, colony size and queen number.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilário, S D; Imperatriz-Fonseca, V L

    2009-01-01

    We evaluated the ratio between the number of pollen foragers and the total number of bees entering colonies of Melipona bicolor, a facultative polygynous species of stingless bees. The variables considered in our analysis were: seasonality, colony size and the number of physogastric queens in each colony. The pollen forager ratios varied significantly between seasons; the ratio was higher in winter than in summer. However, colony size and number of queens per colony had no significant effect. We conclude that seasonal differences in pollen harvest are related to the production of sexuals and to the number of individuals and their body size.

  13. forage systems mixed with forage legumes grazed by lactating cows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clair Jorge Olivo

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Current research evaluates productivity, stocking and nutritional rates of three forage systems with Elephant Grass (EG + Italian Ryegrass (IR + Spontaneous Growth Species (SGS, without forage legumes; EG + IR + SGS + Forage Peanut (FP, mixed with FP; and EG + IR + SGS + Red Clover (RC, mixed with RC, in rotational grazing method by lactating cows. IR developed between rows of EG. FP was maintained, whilst RC was sow to respective forage systems. The experimental design was completely randomized, with three treatments and two replication, subdivided into parcels over time. Mean rate for forage yield and average stocking rate were 10.6, 11.6 and 14.4 t ha-1; 3.0, 2.8 and 3.1 animal unit ha-1 day-1, for the respective systems. Levels of crude protein and total digestible nutrients were 17.8, 18.7 and 17.5%; 66.5, 66.8 and 64.8%, for the respective forage systems. The presence of RC results in better and higher forage yield in the mixture, whilst FP results in greater control of SGS. The inclusion of forage legumes in pasture systems provides better nutritional rates.

  14. In vitro bacterial growth and in vivo ruminal microbiota populations associated with bloat in steers grazing wheat forage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, B R; Pinchak, W E; Anderson, R C; Hume, M E

    2006-10-01

    The role of ruminal bacteria in the frothy bloat complex common to cattle grazing winter wheat has not been previously determined. Two experiments, one in vitro and another in vivo, were designed to elucidate the effects of fresh wheat forage on bacterial growth, biofilm complexes, rumen fermentation end products, rumen bacterial diversity, and bloat potential. In Exp. 1, 6 strains of ruminal bacteria (Streptococcus bovis strain 26, Prevotella ruminicola strain 23, Eubacterium ruminantium B1C23, Ruminococcus albus SY3, Fibrobacter succinogenes ssp. S85, and Ruminococcus flavefaciens C94) were used in vitro to determine the effect of soluble plant protein from winter wheat forage on specific bacterial growth rate, biofilm complexes, VFA, and ruminal H2 and CH4 in mono or coculture with Methanobrevibacter smithii. The specific growth rate in plant protein medium containing soluble plant protein (3.27% nitrogen) was measured during a 24-h incubation at 39 degrees C in Hungate tubes under a CO2 gas phase. A monoculture of M. smithii was grown similarly, except under H2:CO2 (1:1), in a basal methanogen growth medium supplemented likewise with soluble plant protein. In Exp. 2, 6 ruminally cannulated steers grazing wheat forage were used to evaluate the influence of bloat on the production of biofilm complexes, ruminal microbial biodiversity patterns, and ruminal fluid protein fractions. In Exp. 1, cultures of R. albus (P bloated than for nonbloated steers when grazing wheat forage. The molecular analysis of the 16S rDNA showed that 2 different ruminal microbiota populations developed between bloated and nonbloated animals grazing wheat forage. Bloat in cattle grazing wheat pastures may be caused by increased production of biofilm, resulting from a diet-influenced switch in the rumen bacterial population.

  15. Effect of sociality and season on gray wolf (Canis lupus) foraging behavior: implications for estimating summer kill rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metz, Matthew C; Vucetich, John A; Smith, Douglas W; Stahler, Daniel R; Peterson, Rolf O

    2011-03-01

    Understanding how kill rates vary among seasons is required to understand predation by vertebrate species living in temperate climates. Unfortunately, kill rates are only rarely estimated during summer. For several wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park, we used pairs of collared wolves living in the same pack and the double-count method to estimate the probability of attendance (PA) for an individual wolf at a carcass. PA quantifies an important aspect of social foraging behavior (i.e., the cohesiveness of foraging). We used PA to estimate summer kill rates for packs containing GPS-collared wolves between 2004 and 2009. Estimated rates of daily prey acquisition (edible biomass per wolf) decreased from 8.4±0.9 kg (mean ± SE) in May to 4.1±0.4 kg in July. Failure to account for PA would have resulted in underestimating kill rate by 32%. PA was 0.72±0.05 for large ungulate prey and 0.46±0.04 for small ungulate prey. To assess seasonal differences in social foraging behavior, we also evaluated PA during winter for VHF-collared wolves between 1997 and 2009. During winter, PA was 0.95±0.01. PA was not influenced by prey size but was influenced by wolf age and pack size. Our results demonstrate that seasonal patterns in the foraging behavior of social carnivores have important implications for understanding their social behavior and estimating kill rates. Synthesizing our findings with previous insights suggests that there is important seasonal variation in how and why social carnivores live in groups. Our findings are also important for applications of GPS collars to estimate kill rates. Specifically, because the factors affecting the PA of social carnivores likely differ between seasons, kill rates estimated through GPS collars should account for seasonal differences in social foraging behavior.

  16. A new way of assessing foraging behaviour at the individual level using faeces marking and satellite telemetry.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Andrée Giroux

    Full Text Available Heterogeneity in foraging behaviour can profoundly influence ecological processes shaping populations. To scale-up from individual foraging behaviour to processes occurring at the population scale, one needs to sample foraging behaviour at the individual level, and over large temporal scales or during critical seasons known to influence life-history traits. We developed an innovative technique to monitor foraging behaviour at the individual level in secretive species, a technique that can be ultimately used to investigate the links between foraging behaviour and life-history traits. First, the technique used a novel approach, namely the combination of telemetry tracking and biomarking of faeces with food dyes to locate fresh signs of presence left by individuals equipped with GPS collars. Second, the technique is based on the simultaneous or successive sampling of life-history traits and individual foraging behaviour, using tracks with high probabilities of recovery of dyed faeces. We first describe our methodological approach, using a case study of a large herbivore, and then provide recommendations and guidelines for its use. Sampling single snow tracks of individuals equipped with a GPS collar was a reliable way to assess individual winter foraging behaviour in a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann population. During that period, the probability of recovery of dyed faeces within the range of the collar precision was very high for single snow tracks of equipped deer (97%. Our approach is well suited to study individual foraging behaviour, and could ultimately be used to investigate the interplay between intra-population heterogeneity in foraging behaviour, life-history traits, and demographic processes.

  17. Nitrate leaching from sandy loam soils under a double-cropping forage system estimated from suction-probe measurements.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trindade, H.; Coutinho, J.; Beusichem, van M.L.; Scholefield, D.; Moreira, N.

    1997-01-01

    Nitrate leaching from a double-cropping forage system was measured over a 2-year period (June 1994–May 1996) in the Northwest region of Portugal using ceramic cup samplers. The crops were grown for silage making and include maize (from May to September) and a winter crop (rest of the year)

  18. Receptivity of winter flounder larvae to artificial diet from the yolk-sac stage to metamorphosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Butts, Ian; Ben Khemis, I.; Litvak, Matthew Kenneth

    2015-01-01

    In the period from 4 days post-hatching to metamorphosis, winter flounder that were naïve to artificial feed were exposed to an artificial diet and allowed to forage for 8 min. The presence or absence of artificial diet in the gut was used as an indicator of acceptance. The relationship between...

  19. Identifying Hot Spots of Critical Forage Supply in Dryland Nomadic Pastoralist Areas: A Case Study for the Afar Region, Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sonneveld, B.G.J.S.; Keyzer, M.A.; van Wesenbeeck, C.F.A.; Georgis, Kidane; Beyene, Fekadu; Urbano, Ferdinando; Meroni, Michele; Leo, Olivier; Yimer, Merkebu; Abdullatif, Mohammed

    2017-01-01

    This study develops a methodology to identify hot spots of critical forage supply in nomadic pastoralist areas, using the Afar Region, Ethiopia, as a special case. It addresses two main problems. First, it makes a spatially explicit assessment of fodder supply and demand extracted from a data poor

  20. Foraging strategy of little auks during chick rearing in northwest Greenland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mosbech, Anders; Møller, Eva Friis; Johansen, Kasper Lambert

    of the ongoing warming of the Arctic. Here we present the first results from GPS tracking of breeding little auks in northwest Greenland, involving data from four different breeding colonies. We examine time budgets, foraging trip patterns and habitat preferences at foraging areas, including comparison......Foraging strategy of little auks during chick rearing in northwest Greenland Anders Mosbech, Kasper Johansen, Eva Friis Møller & Peter Lyngs Department of Biology and Arctic Center, Aarhus University, Denmark An estimated 80 % of the global little auk population breeds in the coastal landscape...... bordering the north water polynya in high Arctic northwest Greenland, and from this main breeding area very little is known on foraging behavior. Little auks are feeding on lipid-rich copepods associated with cold artic waters, and are potentially important for monitoring and assessing the impact...

  1. Winter weather demand considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-04-01

    Winter weather has varied effects on travel behavior. Using 418 survey responses from the Northern Virginia : commuting area of Washington, D.C. and binary logit models, this study examines travel related changes under : different types of winter wea...

  2. Agonistic asymmetries and the foraging ecology of Bald Eagles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Richard L.; Skagen, Susan Knight

    1988-01-01

    We investigated the effects of both asymmetries and differing food levels on contest outcomes of wintering Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) feeding on chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) carcasses. Large eagles, regardless of age, were more successful in pirating than smaller eagles. Small pirating eagles were usually unsuccessful unless they were adults attempting to supplant other small eagles. Feeding eagles were more successful in defeating pirating eagles according to (1) whether their heads were up to prior to a pirating attempt, (2) how long their heads had been up, and (3) whether they displayed. During periods of food scarcity pirating eagles were less successful, a fact attributed in a proximate sense to the increase incidence of retaliation by feeding birds. When food was scarce and eagles had a choice between scavenging the pirating, they chose to scavenge more often. Body size appears to be an important factor in determining social dominance and influencing differences in foraging modes of wintering Bald Eagles.

  3. Lichen forage ingestion rates of free-roaming caribou estimated with fallout cesium-137

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanson, W.C.; Whicker, F.W.; Lipscomb, J.F.

    1975-01-01

    Lichen forage ingestion rates of free-roaming caribou herds in northern Alaska during 1963 to 1970 were estimated by applying a two-compartment, eight parameter cesium-137 kinetics model to measured fallout 137 Cs concentrations in lichen and caribou. Estimates for winter equilibrium periods (January to April) for each year ranged from 3.7 to 6.9 kg dry weight lichens per day for adult female caribou. Further refinement of these estimations were obtained by calculating probabilistic distributions of intake rates by stochastic processes based upon the mean and standard error intervals of the eight parameters during 1965 and 1968. A computer program generated 1,000 randomly sampled values within each of the eight parameter distributions. Results substantiate the contention that lichen forage ingestion rates by free-roaming caribou are significantly greater than previously held

  4. Heat Damaged Forages: Effects on Forage Quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traditionally, heat damage in forages has been associated with alterations in forage protein quality as a result of Maillard reactions, and most producers and nutritionists are familiar with this concept. However, this is not necessarily the most important negative consequence of spontaneous heating...

  5. Foraging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ydenberg, R.C.; Prins, H.H.T.

    2012-01-01

    This chapter describes the role played by behavioural adjustments to foraging behaviour in accommodating rapid environmental change. It looks into the adjustments of foraging behaviour to predation danger as a result of changes in the type and array of food available. It investigates the effects of

  6. [Prediction model of meteorological grade of wheat stripe rust in winter-reproductive area, Sichuan Basin, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Xiang; Wang, Ming Tian; Zhang, Guo Zhi

    2017-12-01

    The winter reproductive areas of Puccinia striiformis var. striiformis in Sichuan Basin are often the places mostly affected by wheat stripe rust. With data on the meteorological condition and stripe rust situation at typical stations in the winter reproductive area in Sichuan Basin from 1999 to 2016, this paper classified the meteorological conditions inducing wheat stripe rust into 5 grades, based on the incidence area ratio of the disease. The meteorological factors which were biologically related to wheat stripe rust were determined through multiple analytical methods, and a meteorological grade model for forecasting wheat stripe rust was created. The result showed that wheat stripe rust in Sichuan Basin was significantly correlated with many meteorological factors, such as the ave-rage (maximum and minimum) temperature, precipitation and its anomaly percentage, relative humidity and its anomaly percentage, average wind speed and sunshine duration. Among these, the average temperature and the anomaly percentage of relative humidity were the determining factors. According to a historical retrospective test, the accuracy of the forecast based on the model was 64% for samples in the county-level test, and 89% for samples in the municipal-level test. In a meteorological grade forecast of wheat stripe rust in the winter reproductive areas in Sichuan Basin in 2017, the prediction was accurate for 62.8% of the samples, with 27.9% error by one grade and only 9.3% error by two or more grades. As a result, the model could deliver satisfactory forecast results, and predicate future wheat stripe rust from a meteorological point of view.

  7. Chemical composition of douglas-fir foliage on mule deer winter range. Research report No. RR 91003-CA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Waterhouse, M J; Armleder, H M; Dawson, R J

    1991-01-01

    In the interior of British Columbia, Douglas-fir litterfall is a major source of mule deer winter food. An earlier study found that preference for Douglas-fir foliage was correlated with tree diameter. This study identified the underlying factors of selection so that wildlife managers might have a wider range of forage enhancement options on mule deer winter range. Samples of Douglas-fir foliage were collected from trees at Knife Creek and Big Lake, and analyzed for minerals, tannins, and in vitro digestible dry matter.

  8. Migratory geese foraging on grassland:Case study in the region of Flanders (Belgium)

    OpenAIRE

    Van Gils, Bert; De Vliegher, Alex; Huysentruyt, Frank; Casaer, Jim; Devos, Koen

    2012-01-01

    Every winter nearly 100 000 migratory geese visit Northwestern Flanders (Belgium), including several protected species such as the pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus). The geese mainly forage on agricultural grassland, where they remove all the green parts and leave substantial amounts of droppings. In 2009 several farmers’ concerns about this phenomenon were thoroughly investigated. The main findings revealed that grass production on grazed parcels is reduced by 450 kg DM/ha on average ...

  9. Optimally frugal foraging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bénichou, O.; Bhat, U.; Krapivsky, P. L.; Redner, S.

    2018-02-01

    We introduce the frugal foraging model in which a forager performs a discrete-time random walk on a lattice in which each site initially contains S food units. The forager metabolizes one unit of food at each step and starves to death when it last ate S steps in the past. Whenever the forager eats, it consumes all food at its current site and this site remains empty forever (no food replenishment). The crucial property of the forager is that it is frugal and eats only when encountering food within at most k steps of starvation. We compute the average lifetime analytically as a function of the frugality threshold and show that there exists an optimal strategy, namely, an optimal frugality threshold k* that maximizes the forager lifetime.

  10. Ungulate exclusion, conifer thinning and mule deer forage in northeastern New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, David W.; Sorensen, Grant E.; Taylor, Chase A.; Cox, Robert D.; Gipson, Philip S.; Cain, James W.

    2015-01-01

    The southwestern United States has experienced expansion of conifer species (Juniperus spp. and Pinus ponderosa) into areas of semi-arid grassland over the past century. The expansion of conifers can limit palatable forage and reduce grass and forb communities. Conifer species are sometimes thinned through hydraulic mulching or selective cutting. We assessed the effects of these treatments on mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) habitat in northeastern New Mexico to determine if conifer thinning improved cover of preferred forage species for mule deer in areas with and without ungulates. We measured plant cover and occurrence of preferred forage species in the summers of 2011 and 2012. An ongoing regional drought probably reduced vegetation response, with preferred forage species and herbaceous cover responding to conifer thinning or ungulate exclusion immediately following treatment, but not the following year. In 2011, areas that received thinning treatments had a higher abundance of preferred forage when compared to sites with no treatment. Grass coverage exhibited an immediate response in 2011, with ungulate exclosures containing 8% more coverage than areas without exclosures. The results suggest that conifer thinning and ungulate exclusion may elicit a positive response, however in the presence of drought; the positive effects are only short-term.

  11. A foraging cost of migration for a partially migratory cyprinid fish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chapman, Ben B; Eriksen, Anders; Baktoft, Henrik

    2013-01-01

    Rutilus rutilus, which migrates from shallow lakes to streams during winter. By sampling fish from stream and lake habitats in the autumn and spring and measuring their stomach fullness and diet composition, we tested if migrating roach pay a cost of reduced foraging when migrating. Resident fish had...... fuller stomachs containing more high quality prey items than migrant fish. Hence, we document a feeding cost to migration in roach, which adds additional support for the validity of the p/g model of migration in freshwater systems....

  12. Utilization of Swamp Forages from South Kalimantan on Local Goat Performances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Rostini

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Forages in swamp area consist of grass and legumes that have good productivity and nutrient quality. This research was aimed to evaluate the potency of swamp forage on digestibility and performance of goats. There were 24 local male goats aged 10-12 months with initial body weight of 13.10±1.55 kg, allocated into 6 treatments. Those were control (R0: 60% grass and 40% legumes; (R1: 60% swamp forages and 40% concentrate; (R2: 100% swamp forages; (R3: 100% swamp forage hay; (R4: 100% swamp forage silage; (R5: 100% haylage swamp forages. Results showed that silage treatment significantly increased (P<0.05 consumption and digestibility. Swamp forages could be utilized well by preservation (silage, hay, and haylage. Ensilage of swamp forages increased protein content from 13.72% to 14.02%, protein intake (74.62 g/d, dry matter intake (532.11 g/d, nitrogen free extract intake (257.39 g/d, with total body weight gain (3.5 kg in eight weeks and average daily gain (62.60 g/d. It is concluded that ensilage of swamp forages (R4 is very potential to be utilized as forage source for ruminants such as goats.

  13. Linkage of the king eider population in Northeast Greenland: Migration, moult and discovery of a new offshore wintering area at Spitsbergenbanken

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mosbech, Anders; Johansen, Kasper Lambert; Sonne, Christian

    In late July 2009, two female king eiders were caught on the breeding grounds in Myggbukta, Northeast Greenland and equipped with satellite transmitters. Both individuals were tracked for approximately two years. The birds remained in the Myggbukta area until the onset of the autumn migration...... arrival 6 April) where they stayed for some time before returning on the spring migration to Greenland. During a ship-based survey in the offshore winter location at Spitsbergenbanken in April 2013, a previously unknown wintering ground with approximately 10.000 king eiders was discovered. The birds were...... concentrated in a partly ice-covered area 79 km from shore and of about 20 m depth. The number of king eiders indicated that Spitsbergenbanken is a wintering area for both the East Greenland and the Svalbard breeding populations. The discovery has important conservation implications due to the expanding...

  14. Stable Isotopic Insights into the Foraging Ecology of an Endangered Marine Predator, the Hawaiian Petrel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiley, A. E.; Ostrom, P. H.; James, H. F.

    2010-12-01

    Seabirds play vital roles in their ecosystems, both as predators in their oceanic foraging grounds and conduits of marine nutrients to island nesting sites. Despite growing evidence that food availability limits seabird populations, characterization of the diet and even foraging locations of some seabird species remains elusive. Here, we use stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes to study the foraging ecology of an endangered and poorly known seabird, the Hawaiian petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis). This species nests solely on the main Hawaiian Islands but forages widely across the NE Pacific, sometimes traveling over 10,000km on single foraging trips. δ13C and δ15N values vary with trophic level and at the base of food webs throughout the marine range of the Hawaiian petrel. Thus, we are able to use isotope signatures in modern and ancient petrel tissues to track spatial and temporal variation in foraging location and diet. We find strong evidence of foraging segregation between populations, with hatch-year birds from the island of Hawaii exhibiting feather δ15N and δ13C values over 3‰ and 1 ‰ higher, respectively, than those found in Maui and Kauai hatch-year birds. There is also significant variation in δ15N values between feathers from Kauai, Hawaii, and Maui adults, indicating additional foraging segregation during the winter molt. To distinguish between the effects of trophic level and foraging location, we relate our data to those from seabirds with known diet and foraging location, as well as to previous characterizations of isoscapes in the NE Pacific and at-sea observations of our study species. Finally, we track Hawaiian petrel foraging ecology back in time through examination of stable isotope values in historical feathers and ancient bone collagen. We find that, despite a species-wide decline in δ15N values (consistent with trophic level decline), populations have maintained divergent isotopic niches through at least the past 1

  15. Black-tailed Godwits in West African winter staging areas : habitat use and hunting-related mortality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kleijn, D.; Kamp, van der J.; Monteiro, H.; Ndiaye, I.; Wymenga, E.; Zwarts, L.

    2010-01-01

    The persistence of the Dutch Black-tailed Godwit population depends largely on high adult survival. Adult survival may be influenced by hunting pressure and land use change in the wintering area, the West African coastal zone. Here we examine hunting pressure on and habitat use of Black-tailed

  16. Group foraging increases foraging efficiency in a piscivorous diver, the African penguin

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGeorge, Cuan; Ginsberg, Samuel; Pichegru, Lorien; Pistorius, Pierre A.

    2017-01-01

    Marine piscivores have evolved a variety of morphological and behavioural adaptations, including group foraging, to optimize foraging efficiency when targeting shoaling fish. For penguins that are known to associate at sea and feed on these prey resources, there is nonetheless a lack of empirical evidence to support improved foraging efficiency when foraging with conspecifics. We examined the hunting strategies and foraging performance of breeding African penguins equipped with animal-borne video recorders. Individuals pursued both solitary as well as schooling pelagic fish, and demonstrated independent as well as group foraging behaviour. The most profitable foraging involved herding of fish schools upwards during the ascent phase of a dive where most catches constituted depolarized fish. Catch-per-unit-effort was significantly improved when targeting fish schools as opposed to single fish, especially when foraging in groups. In contrast to more generalist penguin species, African penguins appear to have evolved specialist hunting strategies closely linked to their primary reliance on schooling pelagic fish. The specialist nature of the observed hunting strategies further limits the survival potential of this species if Allee effects reduce group size-related foraging efficiency. This is likely to be exacerbated by diminishing fish stocks due to resource competition and environmental change. PMID:28989785

  17. The Role of Proanthocyanidins Complex in Structure and Nutrition Interaction in Alfalfa Forage

    OpenAIRE

    Jonker, Arjan; Yu, Peiqiang

    2016-01-01

    Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the main forages grown in the world. Alfalfa is a winter hardy, drought tolerant, N-fixing legume with a good longevity, high yield, high nutrient levels, high digestibility, unique structural to non-structural components ratio, high dry matter intake, and high animal productivity per hectare. However, its main limitation is its excessively rapid initial rate of protein degradation in the rumen, which results in pasture bloat and inefficient use of prote...

  18. Dynamics of foraging trails in the Neotropical termite Velocitermes heteropterus (Isoptera: Termitidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haifig, Ives; Jost, Christian; Fourcassié, Vincent; Zana, Yossi; Costa-Leonardo, Ana Maria

    2015-09-01

    Foraging behavior in termites varies with the feeding habits of each species but often occurs through the formation of well-defined trails that connect the nest to food sources in species that build structured nests. We studied the formation of foraging trails and the change in caste ratio during foraging in the termite Velocitermes heteropterus. This species is widespread in Cerrado vegetation where it builds epigeal nests and forages in open-air at night. Our aim was to understand the processes involved in the formation of foraging trails, from the exploration of new unmarked areas to the recruitment of individuals to food and the stabilization of traffic on the trails, as well as the participation of the different castes during these processes. Foraging trails were videotaped in the laboratory and the videos were then analyzed both manually and automatically to assess the flow of individuals and the caste ratio on the trails as well as to examine the spatial organization of traffic over time. Foraging trails were composed of minor workers, major workers, and soldiers. The flow of individuals on the trails gradually increased from the beginning of the exploration of new areas up to the discovery of the food. The caste ratio remained constant throughout the foraging excursion: major workers, minor workers and soldiers forage in a ratio of 8:1:1, respectively. The speed of individuals was significantly different among castes, with major workers and soldiers being significantly faster than minor workers. Overall, our results show that foraging excursions in V. heteropterus may be divided in three different phases, characterized by individual speeds, differential flows and lane segregation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Forage accumulation in brachiaria grass under continuous grazing with single or variable height during the seasons of the year

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manoel Eduardo Rozalino Santos

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate grazing management strategies of Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk managed with different heights under continuous grazing with cattle. Two grazing management strategies were evaluated: maintenance of pasture with an average height of 25 cm throughout the experimental period and maintenance of pasture on the average of 15 cm in height during winter, up to 25 cm from the beginning of spring. The split-plot scheme and the randomized block design with four replications were adopted. The grazing management strategies corresponded to the primary factor, while the seasons (winter, spring and summer corresponded to secondary factor. The reduction of the average sward height to 15 cm in the winter resulted, when compared with pasture maintained at 25 cm, in overall higher growth rates (95 kg/ha.day DM and leaf blade (66.1 kg/ha.day DM, as well as higher rates of total accumulation (81.5 kg/ha.day DM and leaf blade (52.6 kg/ha.day DM. The accumulated forage production (from winter to summer was higher in the pasture lowered to 15 cm in winter (25.6 t/ha DM compared with that managed with an average height of 25 cm (22.2 t/ha DM. Regarding the seasons of the year, in the winter, there were lower rates of overall growth (6.4 kg/ha.day DM, leaf blade (5.6 kg/ha.day DM and pseudostem (0.8 kg/ha.day DM, and also lower total (-6.6 kg/ha.day DM and leaf blade (-7.5 kg/ha.day DM accumulation rates. In the spring there was a higher rate of leaf senescence (22.4 kg/ha.day DM. The accumulation of forage is incremented when the pasture of B. decumbens is lowered to 15 cm during the winter, and in the spring and summer, its average height is increased to 25 cm.

  20. Season and landscape composition affect pollen foraging distances and habitat use of honey bees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danner, Nadja; Molitor, Anna Maria; Schiele, Susanne; Härtel, Stephan; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf

    2016-09-01

    Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) show a large variation in foraging distances and use a broad range of plant species as pollen resources, even in regions with intensive agriculture. However, it is unknown how increasing areas of mass-flowering crops like oilseed rape (Brassica napus; OSR) or a decrease of seminatural habitats (SNH) change the temporal and spatial availability of pollen resources for honey bee colonies, and thus foraging distances and frequency in different habitat types. We studied pollen foraging of honey bee colonies in 16 agricultural landscapes with independent gradients of OSR and SNH area within 2 km and used waggle dances and digital geographic maps with major land cover types to reveal the distance and visited habitat type on a landscape level. Mean pollen foraging distance of 1347 decoded bee dances was 1015 m (± 26 m; SEM). In spring, increasing area of flowering OSR within 2 km reduced mean pollen foraging distances from 1324 m to only 435 m. In summer, increasing cover of SNH areas close to the colonies (within 200 m radius) reduced mean pollen foraging distances from 846 to 469 m. Frequency of pollen foragers per habitat type, measured as the number of dances per hour and hectare, was equally high for SNH, grassland, and OSR fields, but lower for other crops and forests. In landscapes with a small proportion of SNH a significantly higher density of pollen foragers on SNH was observed, indicating that pollen resources in such simple agricultural landscapes are more limited. Overall, we conclude that SNH and mass-flowering crops can reduce foraging distances of honey bee colonies at different scales and seasons with possible benefits for the performance of honey bee colonies. Further, mixed agricultural landscapes with a high proportion of SNH reduce foraging densities of honey bees in SNH and thus possible competition for pollen resources. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

  1. The regulation of ant colony foraging activity without spatial information.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Balaji Prabhakar

    Full Text Available Many dynamical networks, such as the ones that produce the collective behavior of social insects, operate without any central control, instead arising from local interactions among individuals. A well-studied example is the formation of recruitment trails in ant colonies, but many ant species do not use pheromone trails. We present a model of the regulation of foraging by harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus colonies. This species forages for scattered seeds that one ant can retrieve on its own, so there is no need for spatial information such as pheromone trails that lead ants to specific locations. Previous work shows that colony foraging activity, the rate at which ants go out to search individually for seeds, is regulated in response to current food availability throughout the colony's foraging area. Ants use the rate of brief antennal contacts inside the nest between foragers returning with food and outgoing foragers available to leave the nest on the next foraging trip. Here we present a feedback-based algorithm that captures the main features of data from field experiments in which the rate of returning foragers was manipulated. The algorithm draws on our finding that the distribution of intervals between successive ants returning to the nest is a Poisson process. We fitted the parameter that estimates the effect of each returning forager on the rate at which outgoing foragers leave the nest. We found that correlations between observed rates of returning foragers and simulated rates of outgoing foragers, using our model, were similar to those in the data. Our simple stochastic model shows how the regulation of ant colony foraging can operate without spatial information, describing a process at the level of individual ants that predicts the overall foraging activity of the colony.

  2. How predictability of feeding patches affects home range and foraging habitat selection in avian social scavengers?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie Monsarrat

    Full Text Available Feeding stations are commonly used to sustain conservation programs of scavengers but their impact on behaviour is still debated. They increase the temporal and spatial predictability of food resources while scavengers have supposedly evolved to search for unpredictable resources. In the Grands Causses (France, a reintroduced population of Griffon vultures Gyps fulvus can find carcasses at three types of sites: 1. "light feeding stations", where farmers can drop carcasses at their farm (spatially predictable, 2. "heavy feeding stations", where carcasses from nearby farms are concentrated (spatially and temporally predictable and 3. open grasslands, where resources are randomly distributed (unpredictable. The impact of feeding stations on vulture's foraging behaviour was investigated using 28 GPS-tracked vultures. The average home range size was maximal in spring (1272 ± 752 km(2 and minimal in winter (473 ± 237 km(2 and was highly variable among individuals. Analyses of home range characteristics and feeding habitat selection via compositional analysis showed that feeding stations were always preferred compared to the rest of the habitat where vultures can find unpredictable resources. Feeding stations were particularly used when resources were scarce (summer or when flight conditions were poor (winter, limiting long-ranging movements. However, when flight conditions were optimal, home ranges also encompassed large areas of grassland where vultures could find unpredictable resources, suggesting that vultures did not lose their natural ability to forage on unpredictable resources, even when feeding stations were available. However during seasons when food abundance and flight conditions were not limited, vultures seemed to favour light over heavy feeding stations, probably because of the reduced intraspecific competition and a pattern closer to the natural dispersion of resources in the landscape. Light feeding stations are interesting tools

  3. How predictability of feeding patches affects home range and foraging habitat selection in avian social scavengers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monsarrat, Sophie; Benhamou, Simon; Sarrazin, François; Bessa-Gomes, Carmen; Bouten, Willem; Duriez, Olivier

    2013-01-01

    Feeding stations are commonly used to sustain conservation programs of scavengers but their impact on behaviour is still debated. They increase the temporal and spatial predictability of food resources while scavengers have supposedly evolved to search for unpredictable resources. In the Grands Causses (France), a reintroduced population of Griffon vultures Gyps fulvus can find carcasses at three types of sites: 1. "light feeding stations", where farmers can drop carcasses at their farm (spatially predictable), 2. "heavy feeding stations", where carcasses from nearby farms are concentrated (spatially and temporally predictable) and 3. open grasslands, where resources are randomly distributed (unpredictable). The impact of feeding stations on vulture's foraging behaviour was investigated using 28 GPS-tracked vultures. The average home range size was maximal in spring (1272 ± 752 km(2)) and minimal in winter (473 ± 237 km(2)) and was highly variable among individuals. Analyses of home range characteristics and feeding habitat selection via compositional analysis showed that feeding stations were always preferred compared to the rest of the habitat where vultures can find unpredictable resources. Feeding stations were particularly used when resources were scarce (summer) or when flight conditions were poor (winter), limiting long-ranging movements. However, when flight conditions were optimal, home ranges also encompassed large areas of grassland where vultures could find unpredictable resources, suggesting that vultures did not lose their natural ability to forage on unpredictable resources, even when feeding stations were available. However during seasons when food abundance and flight conditions were not limited, vultures seemed to favour light over heavy feeding stations, probably because of the reduced intraspecific competition and a pattern closer to the natural dispersion of resources in the landscape. Light feeding stations are interesting tools for managing

  4. Winter habitat use of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina fitted with Fastloc™GPS/GSM tags in two tidal bays in France

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cécile Vincent

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Winter movements and habitat use of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina were investigated in two tidal bays in France, at the southern limit of their species range in the Northeast Atlantic. We fitted 15 seals with Fastloc™GPS/GSMtags in the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel (BMSM and the Baie des Veys (BDV. Tags relayed 20.6±7.1 GPS locations per seal-day, 81% of all dives performed by the seals and 87% of haulouts, during an average tracking duration of 108±56 days. One seal travelled 380 km away from the BMSM but the other seals remained stationary, with 95% and 55% of at-sea locations ≤ 5 km from the haulout sites in BMSM and BDV respectively. Home range sizes were 137 and 161 km² in BMSM and BDV, and core areas’ sizes, 35 and 22 km² respectively. The seals remained very coastally in both sites with 93% and 71% of at-sea locations located in the intertidal zone of BMSM and BDV respectively. Accordingly, dives were shallow with 63% and 61% of dive maximum depths <4 m and 94% and 88% <10 m (in BMSM and BDV respectively. Preferred foraging areas were located in tidal channels in BMSM, sometimes in the vicinity of rocks or mussel farms. In BDV one seal made foraging trips 10-15 km offshore but all other seals repeatedly used coastal areas, often foraging around mussel farms, shipwrecks or intertidal rocks in tidal currents. We suggest that the importance of the tides combined with local features of the topography allow seals to predict prey availability, driving their foraging strategies towards a number of specific coastal areas. These results further illustrate the behavioural plasticity of the species according to habitat and environmental conditions. Fastloc™ GPS/GSM telemetry is particularly well adapted for the study of seals’ habitat use at a fine geographical and temporal scale, as long as they occasionally come close to shore within GSM coverage.

  5. Behaviour of wintering Tundra Swans Cygnus columbianus columbianus at the Eel River delta and Humboldt Bay, California, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Jeffrey M.; Gress, Carol; Byers, Jacob W.; Jennings, Emily; Ely, Craig R.

    2010-01-01

    Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus columbinanus phenology and behaviour at the Eel River delta and southern Humboldt Bay in northern California, USA, is described. Counts made each January from 1963 onwards peaked at 1,502 swans in 1988. Monthly counts recorded during the 2006/07 and 2008/09 winters peaked in February, at 1,033 and 772 swans respectively. Swans roosted on ephemeral ponds at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, on ephemeral ponds within grassland pastures in the vicinity of the Refuge, and perhaps also used the Eel River as a roost. Flights between Refuge roosts and the pastures and ponds occurred in the two hours after sunrise and before dark. In winters 2008/09 and 2009/10, the percentage of cygnets in the flocks was 10.6% and 21.4% respectively, and increased to =31% cygnets each year after most swans had departed from the area in March. Average brood size in 2009/10 was 2.1 cygnets. Daily activities consisted of foraging (44.9% of activities recorded), comfort behaviour (22.1%), locomotion (16.2%) and vigilance (15.5%). Eight neck-collared swans identified in the wintering flock were marked at four locations in different parts of Alaska, up to 1,300 km apart.

  6. Individual foraging strategies reveal niche overlap between endangered galapagos pinnipeds.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stella Villegas-Amtmann

    Full Text Available Most competition studies between species are conducted from a population-level approach. Few studies have examined inter-specific competition in conjunction with intra-specific competition, with an individual-based approach. To our knowledge, none has been conducted on marine top predators. Sympatric Galapagos fur seals (Arctocephalus galapagoensis and sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki share similar geographic habitats and potentially compete. We studied their foraging niche overlap at Cabo Douglas, Fernandina Island from simultaneously collected dive and movement data to examine spatial and temporal inter- and intra-specific competition. Sea lions exhibited 3 foraging strategies (shallow, intermediate and deep indicating intra-specific competition. Fur seals exhibited one foraging strategy, diving predominantly at night, between 0-80 m depth and mostly at 19-22 h. Most sea lion dives also occurred at night (63%, between 0-40 m, within fur seals' diving depth range. 34% of sea lions night dives occurred at 19-22 h, when fur seals dived the most, but most of them occurred at dawn and dusk, when fur seals exhibited the least amount of dives. Fur seals and sea lions foraging behavior overlapped at 19 and 21 h between 0-30 m depths. Sea lions from the deep diving strategy exhibited the greatest foraging overlap with fur seals, in time (19 h, depth during overlapping time (21-24 m, and foraging range (37.7%. Fur seals foraging range was larger. Cabo Douglas northwest coastal area, region of highest diving density, is a foraging "hot spot" for both species. Fur seals and sea lions foraging niche overlap occurred, but segregation also occurred; fur seals primarily dived at night, while sea lions exhibited night and day diving. Both species exploited depths and areas exclusive to their species. Niche breadth generally increases with environmental uncertainty and decreased productivity. Potential competition between these species could be greater during

  7. Geographic profiling and animal foraging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Comber, Steven C; Nicholls, Barry; Rossmo, D Kim; Racey, Paul A

    2006-05-21

    Geographic profiling was originally developed as a statistical tool for use in criminal cases, particularly those involving serial killers and rapists. It is designed to help police forces prioritize lists of suspects by using the location of crime scenes to identify the areas in which the criminal is most likely to live. Two important concepts are the buffer zone (criminals are less likely to commit crimes in the immediate vicinity of their home) and distance decay (criminals commit fewer crimes as the distance from their home increases). In this study, we show how the techniques of geographic profiling may be applied to animal data, using as an example foraging patterns in two sympatric colonies of pipistrelle bats, Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus, in the northeast of Scotland. We show that if model variables are fitted to known roost locations, these variables may be used as numerical descriptors of foraging patterns. We go on to show that these variables can be used to differentiate patterns of foraging in these two species.

  8. Effect of sociality and season on gray wolf (Canis lupus foraging behavior: implications for estimating summer kill rate.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew C Metz

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Understanding how kill rates vary among seasons is required to understand predation by vertebrate species living in temperate climates. Unfortunately, kill rates are only rarely estimated during summer. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: For several wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park, we used pairs of collared wolves living in the same pack and the double-count method to estimate the probability of attendance (PA for an individual wolf at a carcass. PA quantifies an important aspect of social foraging behavior (i.e., the cohesiveness of foraging. We used PA to estimate summer kill rates for packs containing GPS-collared wolves between 2004 and 2009. Estimated rates of daily prey acquisition (edible biomass per wolf decreased from 8.4±0.9 kg (mean ± SE in May to 4.1±0.4 kg in July. Failure to account for PA would have resulted in underestimating kill rate by 32%. PA was 0.72±0.05 for large ungulate prey and 0.46±0.04 for small ungulate prey. To assess seasonal differences in social foraging behavior, we also evaluated PA during winter for VHF-collared wolves between 1997 and 2009. During winter, PA was 0.95±0.01. PA was not influenced by prey size but was influenced by wolf age and pack size. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrate that seasonal patterns in the foraging behavior of social carnivores have important implications for understanding their social behavior and estimating kill rates. Synthesizing our findings with previous insights suggests that there is important seasonal variation in how and why social carnivores live in groups. Our findings are also important for applications of GPS collars to estimate kill rates. Specifically, because the factors affecting the PA of social carnivores likely differ between seasons, kill rates estimated through GPS collars should account for seasonal differences in social foraging behavior.

  9. A systems approach for the evaluation of ethanol production based on forages

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alvo, P. [McGill Univ., Ste. Anne de Bellevue, PQ (Canada). Macdonald Coll.; Savoie, P. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec, PQ (Canada). Saine-Foy Research Centre; Tremblay, D. [Laval Univ., Quebec, PQ (Canada). Dept. de Genie Rural; Emond, J.-P.; Turcotte, G. [Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). Dept. de Sciences et Technologie des Aliments

    1996-04-01

    A systems approach is proposed to simultaneously consider the agronomic aspects of forage production and the processing aspects related to the extraction of a glucose or xylose substrate, its fermentation into ethanol and the optimal utilization of co-products (protein meal, fibrous residue). The energy to produce and transport forage on the farm was estimated to be only 375 MJ/t dry matter (DM) when liquid manure was used and 1165 MJ/t DM when mineral fertilizer was used. An additional 126 MJ/t DM would be required to transport it to a processing plant. In contrast, whole-plant corn production using mineral fertilizer required about 3211 MJ/t DM, but it had a potential ethanol yield 3.2 times greater per unit area than perennial forage. A forage system with mechanical juice extraction resulted in 8-20% of the original forage dry matter available in a liquid substrate with subsequent protein meal separation and the fermentation of soluble sugars into ethanol. Another forage system with relatively complete conversion of cellulose and hemicellulose into simple sugars by thermal, acidic and enzymatic treatments was estimated to produce 12-28 times more ethanol per unit area than the mechanically extracted juice. Complete conversion of perennial forages would meet the petroleum industry`s needs more consistently than simple extraction of soluble components. (Author)

  10. Foraging behavioral of Phylloscartes ventralis (Aves, Tyrannidae in native and planted forests of southern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André de Mendonça-Lima

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Few studies have related the effects of silviculture practices to the behavior of bird species in the Neotropics. The present study examined the foraging behavior of Phylloscartes ventralis (Temminck, 1824 in a native forest and in silviculture areas of Pinus elliotti and Araucaria angustifolia with different structures and ages. We tested two general hypotheses: (1 areas of commercial forest plantation change the foraging behavior of P. ventralis in relation to native forest, and (2 the foraging behavior of P. ventralis in silviculture areas with understories (complex structures is different from its behavior in areas without understory. The results showed that P. ventralis changed its foraging behavior depending on the type of forest, and on the presence of an understory in silviculture areas. Main changes involved the height and angle of substrate where the prey was captured. Phylloscartes ventralis showed the same set of attack maneuvers, with more maneuvers type in young Pinus planted without understory. The frequency of use of attack maneuvers was more similar in areas of silviculture with understory and in the native forest. The results highlight the importance of an understory structure and the utilization of native plant species in silviculture practices, to the foraging behavior of native bird species.

  11. Winter is losing its cool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, S.

    2017-12-01

    Winter seasons have significant societal impacts across all sectors ranging from direct human health to ecosystems, transportation, and recreation. This study quantifies the severity of winter and its spatial-temporal variations using a newly developed winter severity index and daily temperature, snowfall and snow depth. The winter severity and the number of extreme winter days are decreasing across the global terrestrial areas during 1901-2015 except the southeast United States and isolated regions in the Southern Hemisphere. These changes are dominated by winter warming, while the changes in daily snowfall and snow depth played a secondary role. The simulations of multiple CMIP5 climate models can well capture the spatial and temporal variations of the observed changes in winter severity and extremes during 1951-2005. The models are consistent in projecting a future milder winter under various scenarios. The winter severity is projected to decrease 60-80% in the middle-latitude Northern Hemisphere under the business-as-usual scenario. The winter arrives later, ends earlier and the length of winter season will be notably shorter. The changes in harsh winter in the polar regions are weak, mainly because the warming leads to more snowfall in the high latitudes.

  12. Herbage intake and animal performance of cattle grazing dwarf elaphant grass with two access times to a forage peanut area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Melo de Liz

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Relatively short grazing periods in a pure legume pasture can be an alternative for increasing animal performance in medium-quality tropical pastures. Thus, the aim was to evaluate the herbage intake and animal performance of steers grazing dwarf elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum. cv. BRS Kurumi with two access times [2 h (07:00 - 9:00 and 6 h (07:00 - 13:00] to an area of forage peanut (Arachis pintoi cv. Amarillo. Twelve steers (219 ± 28.8 kg LW were divided into four groups and assessed during three consecutive grazing cycles, from January to March 2013. The crude protein and neutral detergent fiber contents were 158 and 577 g/kg dry matter (DM for dwarf elephant grass and 209 and 435 g/kg DM for forage peanut, respectively. The pre-grazing height and leaf mass of dwarf elephant grass and forage peanut were 94 cm and 2782 kg DM/ha and 15 cm and 1751 kg DM/ha, respectively. The herbage intake (mean = 2.7 ± 0.06% LW and average daily weight gain (mean = 1.16 ± 0.31 kg/day were similar for both treatments. However, animals with 2-h access to the legume paddock grazed for 71% of the time, whereas those with 6-h access grazed for 48% of the time. The performance of the steers that were allowed to graze forage peanut pasture for 2 h is similar to that of those that were allowed to graze the legume pasture for 6 h.

  13. Roosting and foraging social structure of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Silvis

    Full Text Available Social dynamics are an important but poorly understood aspect of bat ecology. Herein we use a combination of graph theoretic and spatial approaches to describe the roost and social network characteristics and foraging associations of an Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis maternity colony in an agricultural landscape in Ohio, USA. We tracked 46 bats to 50 roosts (423 total relocations and collected 2,306 foraging locations for 40 bats during the summers of 2009 and 2010. We found the colony roosting network was highly centralized in both years and that roost and social networks differed significantly from random networks. Roost and social network structure also differed substantially between years. Social network structure appeared to be unrelated to segregation of roosts between age classes. For bats whose individual foraging ranges were calculated, many shared foraging space with at least one other bat. Compared across all possible bat dyads, 47% and 43% of the dyads showed more than expected overlap of foraging areas in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Colony roosting area differed between years, but the roosting area centroid shifted only 332 m. In contrast, whole colony foraging area use was similar between years. Random roost removal simulations suggest that Indiana bat colonies may be robust to loss of a limited number of roosts but may respond differently from year to year. Our study emphasizes the utility of graphic theoretic and spatial approaches for examining the sociality and roosting behavior of bats. Detailed knowledge of the relationships between social and spatial aspects of bat ecology could greatly increase conservation effectiveness by allowing more structured approaches to roost and habitat retention for tree-roosting, socially-aggregating bat species.

  14. Fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bryan P Wallace

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Remote tracking of migratory species and statistical modeling of behaviors have enabled identification of areas that are of high ecological value to these widely distributed taxa. However, direct observations at fine spatio-temporal scales are often needed to correctly interpret behaviors. In this study, we combined GPS-derived locations and archival dive records (1 sec sampling rate with animal-borne video footage from foraging leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea in Nova Scotia, Canada (Northwest Atlantic Ocean to generate the most highly detailed description of natural leatherback behavior presented to date. Turtles traveled shorter distances at slower rates and increased diving rates in areas of high prey abundance, which resulted in higher prey capture rates. Increased foraging effort (e.g., dive rate, dive duration, prey handling time, number of bites was not associated with increased time at the surface breathing to replenish oxygen stores. Instead, leatherbacks generally performed short, shallow dives in the photic zone to or above the thermocline, where they disproportionately captured prey at bottoms of dives and during ascents. This foraging strategy supports visual prey detection, allows leatherbacks to exploit physically structured prey at relatively shallow depths (typically <30m, and increases time turtles spend in warmer water temperatures, thus optimizing net energy acquisition. Our results demonstrate that leatherbacks appear to be continuously foraging during daylight hours while in continental shelf waters of Nova Scotia, and that leatherback foraging behavior is driven by prey availability, not by whether or not a turtle is in a resource patch characterized by a particular size or prey density. Our study demonstrates the fundamental importance of obtaining field-based, direct observations of true behaviors at fine spatial and temporal scales to enhance our efforts to both study and manage migratory species.

  15. Estimating Winter Annual Biomass in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts with Satellite- and Ground-Based Observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bradley C. Reed

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Winter annual plants in southwestern North America influence fire regimes, provide forage, and help prevent erosion. Exotic annuals may also threaten native species. Monitoring winter annuals is difficult because of their ephemeral nature, making the development of a satellite monitoring tool valuable. We mapped winter annual aboveground biomass in the Desert Southwest from satellite observations, evaluating 18 algorithms using time-series vegetation indices (VI. Field-based biomass estimates were used to calibrate and evaluate each algorithm. Winter annual biomass was best estimated by calculating a base VI across the period of record and subtracting it from the peak VI for each winter season (R2 = 0.92. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI derived from 8-day reflectance data provided the best estimate of winter annual biomass. It is important to account for the timing of peak vegetation when relating field-based estimates to satellite VI data, since post-peak field estimates may indicate senescent biomass which is inaccurately represented by VI-based estimates. Images generated from the best-performing algorithm show both spatial and temporal variation in winter annual biomass. Efforts to manage this variable resource would be enhanced by a tool that allows the monitoring of changes in winter annual resources over time.

  16. Under the sea ice: Exploring the relationship between sea ice and the foraging behaviour of southern elephant seals in East Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labrousse, Sara; Sallée, Jean-Baptiste; Fraser, Alexander D.; Massom, Robert A.; Reid, Phillip; Sumner, Michael; Guinet, Christophe; Harcourt, Robert; McMahon, Clive; Bailleul, Frédéric; Hindell, Mark A.; Charrassin, Jean-Benoit

    2017-08-01

    Investigating ecological relationships between predators and their environment is essential to understand the response of marine ecosystems to climate variability and change. This is particularly true in polar regions, where sea ice (a sensitive climate variable) plays a crucial yet highly dynamic and variable role in how it influences the whole marine ecosystem, from phytoplankton to top predators. For mesopredators such as seals, sea ice both supports a rich (under-ice) food resource, access to which depends on local to regional coverage and conditions. Here, we investigate sex-specific relationships between the foraging strategies of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) in winter and spatio-temporal variability in sea ice concentration (SIC) and coverage in East Antarctica. We satellite-tracked 46 individuals undertaking post-moult trips in winter from Kerguelen Islands to the peri-Antarctic shelf between 2004 and 2014. These data indicate distinct general patterns of sea ice usage: while females tended to follow the sea ice edge as it extended northward, the males remained on the continental shelf despite increasing sea ice. Seal hunting time, a proxy of foraging activity inferred from the diving behaviour, was longer for females in late autumn in the outer part of the pack ice, ∼150-370 km south of the ice edge. Within persistent regions of compact sea ice, females had a longer foraging activity (i) in the highest sea ice concentration at their position, but (ii) their foraging activity was longer when there were more patches of low concentration sea ice around their position (either in time or in space; 30 days & 50 km). The high spatio-temporal variability of sea ice around female positions is probably a key factor allowing them to exploit these concentrated patches. Despite lack of information on prey availability, females may exploit mesopelagic finfishes and squids that concentrate near the ice-water interface or within the water column (from

  17. Multidimensional differentiation in foraging resource use during breeding of two sympatric top predators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedemann, Guilad; Leshem, Yossi; Kerem, Lior; Shacham, Boaz; Bar-Massada, Avi; McClain, Krystaal M.; Bohrer, Gil; Izhaki, Ido

    2016-10-01

    Ecologically-similar species were found to develop specific strategies to partition their resources, leading to niche differentiation and divergence, in order to avoid interspecific competition. Our study determines multi-dimensional differentiation of two sympatric top-predators, long-legged buzzards (LLB) and short-toed eagles (STE), which recently became sympatric during their breeding season in the Judean Foothills, Israel. By combining information from comprehensive diet and movement analyses we found four dimensions of differentiation: (1) Geographic foraging area: LLB tended to forage relatively close to their nests (2.35 ± 0.62 km), while STE forage far from their nest (13.03 ± 2.20 km) (2) Foraging-habitat type: LLBs forage at low natural vegetation, avoiding cultivated fields, whereas STEs forage in cultivated fields, avoiding low natural vegetation; (3) Diurnal dynamics of foraging: LLBs are uniformly active during daytime, whereas STEs activity peaks in the early afternoon; and (4) Food-niche: while both species largely rely on reptiles (47.8% and 76.3% for LLB and STE, respectively), LLB had a more diverse diet and consumed significantly higher percentages of lizards, while STE consumed significantly higher percentages of snakes. Our results suggest that this multidimensional differentiation allows the spatial coexistence of these two dense populations in the study area.

  18. Forage-based dairying in a water-limited future: use of models to investigate farming system adaptation in southern Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, D F; Dassanayake, K; Hill, J O; Cullen, B R; Lane, N

    2012-07-01

    The irrigated dairy industry in southern Australia has experienced significant restrictions in irrigation water allocations since 2005, consistent with climate change impact predictions for the region. Simulation models of pasture growth (DairyMod), crop yield (Agricultural Production Systems Simulator, APSIM), and dairy system management and production (UDDER) were used in combination to investigate a range of forage options that may be capable of sustaining dairy business profitability under restricted water-allocation scenarios in northern Victoria, Australia. A total of 23 scenarios were simulated and compared with a base farm system (100% of historical water allocations, grazed perennial ryegrass pasture with supplements; estimated operating surplus $A2,615/ha at a milk price of $A4.14/kg of milk solids). Nine simulations explored the response of the base farm to changes in stocking rate or the implementation of a double cropping rotation on 30% of farm area, or both. Five simulations explored the extreme scenario of dairying without any irrigation water. Two general responses to water restrictions were investigated in a further 9 simulations. Annual ryegrass grazed pasture, complemented by a double cropping rotation (maize grown in summer for silage, followed by either brassica forage crop and annual ryegrass for silage in winter and spring) on 30% of farm area, led to an estimated operating surplus of $A1746/ha at the same stocking rate as the base farm when calving was moved to autumn (instead of late winter, as in the base system). Estimated total irrigation water use was 2.7ML/ha compared with 5.4ML/ha for the base system. Summer-dormant perennial grass plus double cropping (30% of farm area) lifted operating surplus by a further $A100/ha if associated with autumn calving (estimated total irrigation water use 3.1ML/ha). Large shifts in the forage base of dairy farms could sustain profitability in the face of lower, and fluctuating, water allocations

  19. Food and foraging preferences of three pteropodid bats in southern India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.R Sudhakaran

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A study on the food, foraging and flight height in three species of pteropodid bats, namely Cynopterus sphinx, Rousettus leschenaultii and Pteropus giganteus was conducted in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts of southern Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 37 species of plants were identified as potential food plants of the pteropodid bats. The preference for fruits by pteropodids varied according to the developmental stages of fruits namely, immature, unripe and ripe. There is a relationship between the foraging activities of bats and the moon phase. Bats exhibit a varied foraging pattern and flight height. A variation in the foraging flight height was observed in C. sphinx and R. leschenaultii. R. leschenaultii was observed to have a higher foraging echelon than that of the C. sphinx. In our study we found that the C. sphinx forages normally at canopy level (up to 3.5m, R. leschenaultii forages at upper canopy levels (up to 9m and P. giganteus at a height above the canopy area (>9m.

  20. PRODUCTIVE IMPACT OF THE GREEN FORAGE SUPPLY USAGE AT THE DAIRY FARMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LAVINIA MOISE

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the importance of the crop structure as a tool to maximize efficiency in the conceiving of the green forage supply scheme in a dairy farm. Several apects are necessary to consider for proper green forage utilization by the cattle, as follows: climatic conditions, proper field operations for each crop, optimal harvest date, and farm technical and economical resources. With a high degree of succulence, green forage and derived products (silage, haylage, present addvantages as compared to hay, having superior indices of nutritive value and palatability. A green forage supply scheme was applied on an area of 188 ha taking into account dairy cattle biological traits. Crop structure was as follows: forage maize, Sudan grass, Italian ryegrass, new lucern and old lucerne, and orchardgrass. Insuring the required superior green forage for the dairy cattle according to forage rations, represents one of the main techniques to maximize milk production and to minimize milk production cost.

  1. 36 CFR 1002.19 - Winter activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... RECREATION § 1002.19 Winter activities. (a) Skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, sledding, innertubing, tobogganing and similar winter sports are prohibited on Presidio Trust roads and in parking areas open to...

  2. Application of a rising plate meter to estimate forage yield on dairy farms in Pennsylvania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Accurately assessing pasture forage yield is necessary for producers who want to budget feed expenses and make informed pasture management decisions. Clipping and weighing forage from a known area is a direct method to measure pasture forage yield, however it is time consuming. The rising plate mete...

  3. A New Strategy for Utilizing Rice Forage Production Using a No-Tillage System to Enhance the Self-Sufficient Feed Ratio of Small Scale Dairy Farming in Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Windi Al Zahra

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Rice forage systems can increase the land use efficiency in paddy fields, improve the self-sufficient feed ratio, and provide environmental benefits for agro-ecosystems. This system often decreased economic benefits compared with those through imported commercial forage feed, particularly in Japan. We observed the productivities of winter forage after rice harvest between conventional tillage (CT and no-tillage (NT in a field experiment. An on-farm evaluation was performed to determine the self-sufficient ratio of feed and forage production costs based on farm evaluation of the dairy farmer and the rice grower, who adopted a rice forage system. The field experiment detected no significant difference in forage production and quality between CT and NT after rice harvest. However, the production cost was dramatically decreased by 28.1% in NT compared with CT. The self-sufficient ratio was 5.4% higher when dairy farmers adopted the rice forage system compared with those using the current management system. Therefore, this study demonstrated the positive benefits for dairy farmers and rice growers in Japan when adopting a rice forage system with NT, which could improve the self-sufficient feed ratio and reduce production costs.

  4. Bird foraging on incense-cedar and incense-cedar scale during winter in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael L. Morrison; Donald L. Dahlsten; Susan M. Tait; Robert C. Heald; Kathleen A. Milne; David L. Rowney

    1989-01-01

    Seasonal differences in use of food and habitat have been shown for numerous bird species. Especially during winter, when insect food is often at its lowest availability, birds may be unable to secure enough food for survival. In earlier work in the mixed-conifer zone of the western Sierra Nevada (Blodgett Forest, El Dorado County), observers found that many birds...

  5. Comparative sucrose responsiveness in Apis mellifera and A. cerana foragers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Wenchao; Kuang, Haiou; Wang, Shanshan; Wang, Jie; Liu, Wei; Wu, Zhenhong; Tian, Yuanyuan; Huang, Zachary Y; Miao, Xiaoqing

    2013-01-01

    In the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, pollen foragers have a higher sucrose responsiveness than nectar foragers when tested using a proboscis extension response (PER) assay. In addition, Africanized honey bees have a higher sucrose responsiveness than European honey bees. Based on the biology of the Eastern honey bee, A. cerana, we hypothesized that A. cerana should also have a higher responsiveness to sucrose than A. mellifera. To test this hypothesis, we compared the sucrose thresholds of pollen foragers and nectar foragers in both A. cerana and A. mellifera in Fujian Province, China. Pollen foragers were more responsive to sucrose than nectar foragers in both species, consistent with previous studies. However, contrary to our hypothesis, A. mellifera was more responsive than A. cerana. We also demonstrated that this higher sucrose responsiveness in A. mellifera was not due to differences in the colony environment by co-fostering two species of bees in the same mixed-species colonies. Because A. mellifera foragers were more responsive to sucrose, we predicted that their nectar foragers should bring in less concentrated nectar compared to that of A. cerana. However, we found no differences between the two species. We conclude that A. cerana shows a different pattern in sucrose responsiveness from that of Africanized bees. There may be other mechanisms that enable A. cerana to perform well in areas with sparse nectar resources.

  6. Comparative sucrose responsiveness in Apis mellifera and A. cerana foragers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenchao Yang

    Full Text Available In the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, pollen foragers have a higher sucrose responsiveness than nectar foragers when tested using a proboscis extension response (PER assay. In addition, Africanized honey bees have a higher sucrose responsiveness than European honey bees. Based on the biology of the Eastern honey bee, A. cerana, we hypothesized that A. cerana should also have a higher responsiveness to sucrose than A. mellifera. To test this hypothesis, we compared the sucrose thresholds of pollen foragers and nectar foragers in both A. cerana and A. mellifera in Fujian Province, China. Pollen foragers were more responsive to sucrose than nectar foragers in both species, consistent with previous studies. However, contrary to our hypothesis, A. mellifera was more responsive than A. cerana. We also demonstrated that this higher sucrose responsiveness in A. mellifera was not due to differences in the colony environment by co-fostering two species of bees in the same mixed-species colonies. Because A. mellifera foragers were more responsive to sucrose, we predicted that their nectar foragers should bring in less concentrated nectar compared to that of A. cerana. However, we found no differences between the two species. We conclude that A. cerana shows a different pattern in sucrose responsiveness from that of Africanized bees. There may be other mechanisms that enable A. cerana to perform well in areas with sparse nectar resources.

  7. Comparative Sucrose Responsiveness in Apis mellifera and A. cerana Foragers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Wenchao; Kuang, Haiou; Wang, Shanshan; Wang, Jie; Liu, Wei; Wu, Zhenhong; Tian, Yuanyuan; Huang, Zachary Y.; Miao, Xiaoqing

    2013-01-01

    In the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, pollen foragers have a higher sucrose responsiveness than nectar foragers when tested using a proboscis extension response (PER) assay. In addition, Africanized honey bees have a higher sucrose responsiveness than European honey bees. Based on the biology of the Eastern honey bee, A. cerana, we hypothesized that A. cerana should also have a higher responsiveness to sucrose than A. mellifera. To test this hypothesis, we compared the sucrose thresholds of pollen foragers and nectar foragers in both A. cerana and A. mellifera in Fujian Province, China. Pollen foragers were more responsive to sucrose than nectar foragers in both species, consistent with previous studies. However, contrary to our hypothesis, A. mellifera was more responsive than A. cerana. We also demonstrated that this higher sucrose responsiveness in A. mellifera was not due to differences in the colony environment by co-fostering two species of bees in the same mixed-species colonies. Because A. mellifera foragers were more responsive to sucrose, we predicted that their nectar foragers should bring in less concentrated nectar compared to that of A. cerana. However, we found no differences between the two species. We conclude that A. cerana shows a different pattern in sucrose responsiveness from that of Africanized bees. There may be other mechanisms that enable A. cerana to perform well in areas with sparse nectar resources. PMID:24194958

  8. Foraging behaviour of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) during spring migration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chudzińska, Magda Ewa

    and their energetic consequences are therefore of great importance to these birds. In this thesis, I have aimed to address some aspects of the foraging decisions and behaviour of pink-footed geese during their spring migration to the Arctic breeding area. I combined field techniques with telemetry technology as well...... as modelling tools to address questions about how geese forage and fuel during their spring migration. The first three presented manuscripts focus on changes in goose foraging behaviour and energetics over the course of the day, a stopover season and the entire migration. They also focus on variety of factors...... the question: which foraging decision do geese make at the Mid-Norway stopover site....

  9. Frequent arousals from winter torpor in Rafinesque's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Joseph S; Lacki, Michael J; Thomas, Steven C; Grider, John F

    2012-01-01

    Extensive use of torpor is a common winter survival strategy among bats; however, data comparing various torpor behaviors among species are scarce. Winter torpor behaviors are likely to vary among species with different physiologies and species inhabiting different regional climates. Understanding these differences may be important in identifying differing susceptibilities of species to white-nose syndrome (WNS) in North America. We fitted 24 Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) with temperature-sensitive radio-transmitters, and monitored 128 PIT-tagged big-eared bats, during the winter months of 2010 to 2012. We tested the hypothesis that Rafinesque's big-eared bats use torpor less often than values reported for other North American cave-hibernators. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that Rafinesque's big-eared bats arouse on winter nights more suitable for nocturnal foraging. Radio-tagged bats used short (2.4 d ± 0.3 (SE)), shallow (13.9°C ± 0.6) torpor bouts and switched roosts every 4.1 d ± 0.6. Probability of arousal from torpor increased linearly with ambient temperature at sunset (Pdata show Rafinesque's big-eared bat is a shallow hibernator and is relatively active during winter. We hypothesize that winter activity patterns provide Corynorhinus species with an ecological and physiological defense against the fungus causing WNS, and that these bats may be better suited to withstand fungal infection than other cave-hibernating bat species in eastern North America.

  10. Long bone cross-sectional geometric properties of Later Stone Age foragers and herder�foragers

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    Michelle E. Cameron

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Diaphyseal cross-sectional geometry can be used to infer activity patterns in archaeological populations. We examined the cross-sectional geometric (CSG properties of adult Later Stone Age (LSA herder-forager long bones from the inland lower Orange River Valley of South Africa (n=5 m, 13 f. We then compared their CSG properties to LSA forager adults from the coastal fynbos (n=23 m, 14 f and forest (n=17 m, 19 f regions, building on a previous report (Stock and Pfeiffer, 2004. The periosteal mould method was used to quantify total subperiosteal area, torsional strength, bilateral asymmetry and diaphyseal circularity (Imax/Imin at the mid-distal (35% location of upper arms (humeri and the mid-shaft (50% location of upper legs (femora. Maximum humerus and femur lengths were similar among the three samples, suggesting that adult stature was similar in all three regions. When compared to the previous study, CSG property values obtained using the periosteal mould method correlated well, and there were no significant differences between data collected using the different methods. No statistically significant differences were found among the humerus or femur CSG properties from the different regions. This finding suggests that all individuals undertook similar volitional habitual activities in regard to their upper limbs, and also had similar degrees of terrestrial mobility. These results indicate relative behavioural homogeneity among LSA foragers and herder foragers from South Africa. The small degree of regional variation apparent among the three samples may reflect local ecology and the subsistence demands affecting populations in these different regions.

  11. Increased Foraging in Outdoor Organic Pig Production—Modeling Environmental Consequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malene Jakobsen

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Consumers’ motivations for buying organic products include a wish of acquiring healthy, environmentally friendly products from production systems that also ensure a high level of animal welfare. However, the current Danish organic pig production faces important challenges regarding environmental impact of the system. High ammonia emissions arise from outdoor concrete areas with growing pigs and sows on pasture possess an increased risk of nitrogen (N leaching. Direct foraging in the range area is suggested as a way to improve the nutrient efficiency at farm level and to support a more natural behavior of the pig. Thus, by modeling, we investigated the environmental consequences of two alternative scenarios with growing pigs foraging in the range area and different levels of crops available for foraging—grass–clover or a combination of Jerusalem artichokes and lucerne. It was possible to have growing pigs on free-range without increasing N leaching compared to the current practice. The alternative system with Jerusalem artichokes and lucerne (high integration of forage showed the lowest carbon foot print with 3.12 CO2 eq kg−1 live weight pig compared to the current Danish pasture based system with 3.69 kg CO2 eq kg−1 live weight pig. Due to positive impact on soil carbon sequestration, the second alternative system based on grass-clover (low integration of forage showed a similar carbon foot print compared to current practice with 3.68 kg CO2 eq kg−1 live weight pig. It is concluded that in practice there is room for development of organic farming systems where direct foraging plays a central role.

  12. Field margins, foraging distances and their impacts on nesting pollinator success.

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    Sean A Rands

    Full Text Available The areas of wild land around the edges of agricultural fields are a vital resource for many species. These include insect pollinators, to whom field margins provide both nest sites and important resources (especially when adjacent crops are not in flower. Nesting pollinators travel relatively short distances from the nest to forage: most species of bee are known to travel less than two kilometres away. In order to ensure that these pollinators have sufficient areas of wild land within reach of their nests, agricultural landscapes need to be designed to accommodate the limited travelling distances of nesting pollinators. We used a spatially-explicit modelling approach to consider whether increasing the width of wild strips of land within the agricultural landscape will enhance the amount of wild resources available to a nesting pollinator, and if it would impact differently on pollinators with differing foraging strategies. This was done both by creating field structures with a randomised geography, and by using landscape data based upon the British agricultural landscape. These models demonstrate that enhancing field margins should lead to an increase in the availability of forage to pollinators that nest within the landscape. With the exception of species that only forage within a very short range of their nest (less than 125 m, a given amount of field margin manipulation should enhance the proportion of land available to a pollinator for foraging regardless of the distance over which it normally travels to find food. A fixed amount of field edge manipulation should therefore be equally beneficial for both longer-distance nesting foragers such as honeybees, and short-distance foragers such as solitary bees.

  13. Migratory flows and foraging habitat selection by shorebirds along the northeastern coast of Brazil: The case of Baía de Todos os Santos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lunardi, Vitor O.; Macedo, Regina H.; Granadeiro, José P.; Palmeirim, Jorge M.

    2012-01-01

    Large numbers of Nearctic shorebirds migrate and winter along the coast of northeastern Brazil, but there is little information on their migratory flows, foraging ecology, and on the structure of the species assemblages that they form with resident shorebirds. We studied these issues on intertidal flats of Baía de Todos os Santos (Bahia), the second largest bay in Brazil. During a full year cycle we carried out weekly bird counts in an intertidal area of 280 ha divided in sectors, where we also measured environmental parameters. The analyses of weekly counts resulted in a detailed phenology of use of the area by shorebirds. Five species were resident and ten were Nearctic migrants. Several of the latter had clear peaks in numbers in March and October, revealing the use of the bay as a stopover during both the north-bound and south-bound migration flows. A canonical correspondence analysis of the relationship between environmental parameters and bird numbers indicated that the foraging bird assemblage could be divided into five main groups, occupying distinct ecological gradients in the study area. The most important factors driving this structure were invertebrate prey abundance, percentage of fine sediments, area of mangrove cover and distance to channels. Our findings imply that maintenance of the diversity of intertidal habitats in this bay is crucial to satisfy the particular habitat requirements of resident and migrant shorebirds using the northeastern coastal regions of Brazil.

  14. Human disturbance provides foraging opportunities for birds in primary subalpine forest

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    DuBay, Shane G.; Hart Reeve, Andrew; Wu, Yongjie

    2017-01-01

    or Cettia major, and Heteroxenicus stellatus. This behavior is likely a modification of pre-existing interspecific foraging associations with pheasants and large mammals in the region. These larger animals disturb the earth and lower vegetation layers upon passage and while foraging, exposing previously...... opportunities. We cut and cleared small swaths of dense bamboo growth for an unrelated study. Multiple insectivorous species were recruited to the cleared areas, foraging extensively in the disturbed earth, often within 1 m of us. These species included Tarsiger chrysaeus, Tarsiger indicus, Cettia brunnifrons...

  15. Validation of a limited area model over Dome C, Antarctic Plateau, during winter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gallee, Hubert; Gorodetskaya, Irina V. [Laboratoire de Glaciologie et de Geophysique de l' Environnement, CNRS, 54, rue Moliere, BP. 96, St Martin d' Heres Cedex (France)

    2010-01-15

    The limited area model MAR (Modele Atmospherique Regional) is validated over the Antarctic Plateau for the period 2004-2006, focussing on Dome C during the cold season. MAR simulations are made by initializing the model once and by forcing it through its lateral and top boundaries by the ECMWF operational analyses. Model outputs compare favourably with observations from automatic weather station (AWS), radiometers and atmospheric soundings. MAR is able to simulate the succession of cold and warm events which occur at Dome C during winter. Larger longwave downwelling fluxes (LWD) are responsible for higher surface air temperatures and weaker surface inversions during winter. Warm events are better simulated when the small Antarctic precipitating snow particles are taken into account in radiative transfer computations. MAR stratosphere cools during the cold season, with the coldest temperatures occurring in conjunction with warm events at the surface. The decrease of saturation specific humidity associated with these coldest temperatures is responsible for the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) especially in August-September. PSCs then contribute to the surface warming by increasing the surface downwelling longwave flux. (orig.)

  16. Comparison of hay and haylage from permanent Alpine meadows in winter dairy cow diets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borreani, G; Giaccone, D; Mimosi, A; Tabacco, E

    2007-12-01

    In an Alpine environment, diets based on local forage resources are needed to maintain the link with the territory and confer special characteristics to typical cheeses. Harvesting at a late stage of maturity, high mechanical losses, and frequent rainfall often make the hay that is harvested of a poor quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of 2 different conservation methods (late hay, LH, vs. early haylage, ES) of natural permanent meadows on milk production in dairy cows, on the chemical and microbiological characteristics of the milk, and on the quality of the cheese over the winter period. Haylage and hay were harvested from the same permanent meadow at the Vittorino Vezzani experimental farm in Sauze d'Oulx (45 degrees 02'N, 6 degrees 53'E, Italy). The ES forage was cut 4 wk earlier than traditional hay, wilted for 30 h, baled at a dry matter (DM) content of about 50%, wrapped with 6 layers of stretch film, and stored in a protected area. The LH forage was harvested later, when the weather conditions were favorable and, after a 3-d wilting, it was baled and stored indoors. After an 8-mo storage period, the ES had a greater crude protein concentration, organic matter digestibility, and net energy for lactation than LH and a lower neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber. Forty multiparous lactating Aosta Red Pied cows were used in a 19-d period crossover design to assess the nutritional value of the stored forages. The diets included ES fed ad libitum and 3.5 kg of DM per cow of concentrate or LH fed ad libitum and 5.1 kg of DM per cow of concentrate. The dietary DM was 90.1% for the LH and 59.9% for the ES. The diets contained 12.6 and 13.0% crude protein and 48.6 and 48.0% neutral detergent fiber, for the LH and ES, respectively. The forage intake was greater in the ES treatment than in the LH treatment. The ES treatment produced more milk (1.7 kg/d) and more 3.5% fat-corrected milk (1.5 kg/d) than the cows on the LH treatment. The

  17. Foraging behavior of stingless bee Heterotrigona itama (Cockerell, 1918) (Hymenoptera : Apidae : Meliponini)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaapar, Mohd Fahimee; Jajuli, Rosliza; Mispan, Muhamad Radzali; Ghani, Idris Abd

    2018-04-01

    A study to investigate the foraging behavior of Heterotrigona itama (Cockerell, 1918) was conducted on three colonies between January 2016 and June 2016. A digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) with macro lens attached, and action camera (SJCAM) was used to record foraging behavior of H. itama in its colonies for 5 min per hour between 0800 to 1700 h for a day per 6 months. In addition, three data loggers (Watchdog B100 2K) has been installed adjacent to the observation nest for collect temperature and humidity in the study areas. Result showed that the numbers of return foragers was significantly different from January to June also with outgoing forager. The returning forager between hours showed significant different from 8 am to 5 pm also for outgoing forager. The ideal temperature related to foraging behavior for H. itama was 29°C to 32 °C Our finding also, helps to guide researcher to expand the knowledge in foraging behavior by stingless bee as well as encouraging more small farmers to start rearing at least for their own consumption. In addition, these findings also guide the farmers to manage their chemical toxic inside the meliponiculture.

  18. The Reclamation of Tailing Area Reclamation in The Mining Area with Forages, is it Possible?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N D Purwantari

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Tailings are what’s left over from mining. The rock where copper, gold, silver and other minerals found is ground up into fine particles so that the valuable material can be taken out and refined. The solid waste would affect the environment physically and biologically. Characteristics of tailing are high porosity with low water holding capacity, poor organic matter, poor macro and micro nutrients and no microorganism activity. Therefore, it takes time and requires strategy to manage and change them to a more productive area. Many technologies have been applied to rehabilitate tailing for agriculture. The technologies including the use of manure, compost, mulch, biosolid, chemical fertilizer, microorganism (bacteria, mycorhiza and phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is the use of plants to remediate selected contaminants in the contaminated soil, sludge, sediment, water (ground, surface, waste water. Phytoremediation encompasses a number of different methods that can lead to contaminant degradation, removal or immobilization. Those methods including phytodegradation/rhizodegradation, phytoextraction, phytovolatilization and phytostabilization. The phytoextraction is inexpensive compared with the conventional technology. Some forages have been used for phytoremediation such as Paspalum notatum (Bahia grass, Vetiveria zizonoides (Vetiver grass, Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass, since they have been known as heavy metal hyperaccumulator plant.

  19. Winter diets of immature green turtles (Chelonia mydas) on a northern feeding ground: integrating stomach contents and stable isotope analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Natalie C.; Bjorndal, Karen A.; Lamont, Margaret M.; Carthy, Raymond R.

    2015-01-01

    The foraging ecology and diet of the green turtle, Chelonia mydas, remain understudied, particularly in peripheral areas of its distribution. We assessed the diet of an aggregation of juvenile green turtles at the northern edge of its range during winter months using two approaches. Stomach content analyses provide a single time sample, and stable isotope analyses integrate diet over a several-month period. We evaluated diet consistency in prey choice over time by comparing the results of these two approaches. We examined stomach contents from 43 juvenile green turtles that died during cold stunning events in St. Joseph Bay, Florida, in 2008 and 2011. Stomach contents were evaluated for volume, dry mass, percent frequency of occurrence, and index of relative importance of individual diet items. Juvenile green turtles were omnivorous, feeding primarily on seagrasses and tunicates. Diet characterizations from stomach contents differed from those based on stable isotope analyses, indicating the turtles are not feeding consistently during winter months. Evaluation of diets during warm months is needed.

  20. Isotope analysis reveals foraging area dichotomy for atlantic leatherback turtles.

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    Stéphane Caut

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea has undergone a dramatic decline over the last 25 years, and this is believed to be primarily the result of mortality associated with fisheries bycatch followed by egg and nesting female harvest. Atlantic leatherback turtles undertake long migrations across ocean basins from subtropical and tropical nesting beaches to productive frontal areas. Migration between two nesting seasons can last 2 or 3 years, a time period termed the remigration interval (RI. Recent satellite transmitter data revealed that Atlantic leatherbacks follow two major dispersion patterns after nesting season, through the North Gulf Stream area or more eastward across the North Equatorial Current. However, information on the whole RI is lacking, precluding the accurate identification of feeding areas where conservation measures may need to be applied. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using stable isotopes as dietary tracers we determined the characteristics of feeding grounds of leatherback females nesting in French Guiana. During migration, 3-year RI females differed from 2-year RI females in their isotope values, implying differences in their choice of feeding habitats (offshore vs. more coastal and foraging latitude (North Atlantic vs. West African coasts, respectively. Egg-yolk and blood isotope values are correlated in nesting females, indicating that egg analysis is a useful tool for assessing isotope values in these turtles, including adults when not available. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results complement previous data on turtle movements during the first year following the nesting season, integrating the diet consumed during the year before nesting. We suggest that the French Guiana leatherback population segregates into two distinct isotopic groupings, and highlight the urgent need to determine the feeding habitats of the turtle in the Atlantic in order to protect this species from incidental take by

  1. Mercury in Forage Fish from Mexico and Central America: Implications for Fish-Eating Birds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, John E; Kirk, David A; Elliott, Kyle H; Dorzinsky, Jessica; Lee, Sandi; Inzunza, Ernesto Ruelas; Cheng, Kimberly M T; Scheuhammer, Tony; Shaw, Patrick

    2015-11-01

    Mercury (Hg) is a global contaminant of aquatic food chains. Aquatic birds, such as the osprey (Pandion haliaetus), with migratory populations breeding in Canada and the northern United States and wintering in the Central and South America, can be exposed to mercury on both the breeding and wintering ranges. We examined Hg levels in 14 fish taxa from 24 osprey wintering sites identified from satellite telemetry. Our main goal was to determine whether fish species that feature in the diet of overwintering and resident fish-eating birds reached toxicity thresholds for Hg. Mean Hg levels in fish whole carcasses ranged from a high of 0.18 µg g(-1) (wet weight) in Scomberomorus sierra to a low of 0.009 µg g(-1) in Catostomidae. Average Hg levels were within published toxicity threshold values in forage fish for only two sites in Mexico (Puerto Vallarta and San Blas Estuary), and all were marine species, such as mackerel (Scomberomorus sierra), sea catfish (Ariopus spp.), and sardinas species (Centropomus spp.). Except for one sample from Nicaragua, sea catfish from Puerto Morazan, none of the fish from sites in Central America had Hg levels which exceeded the thresholds. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling revealed geographical differences in Hg levels with significant pairwise differences between sites along the Pacific Ocean (Mexico) versus the Bay of Campeche, partly due to differences in species composition of sampled fish (and species distributions). Hg increased with trophic level, as assessed by nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ(15)N but not δ(13)C), in freshwater and marine, but not estuarine, environments. Hg concentrations in forage fish do not account for the elevated Hg reported for many osprey populations on the breeding grounds, thus primary sources of contamination appear to be in the north.

  2. Composition, diversity and foraging guilds of avifauna in a suburban area of southern West Bengal, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mukhopadhyay Shiladitya

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Avian communities are very good indicators of any ecosystem. Despite the alarming consequences of rapid urbanization, studies of avian diversity in the human-dominated landscapes of India are very few. Therefore, we studied the avian assemblage of Bongaon in southern West Bengal, India, a suburban area whose avifauna has thus far remained undocumented. Bird surveys were carried out from June 2015 to May 2016, following the fixed-radius (25 m point count method together with opportunistic observations. We recorded 119 avian species belonging to 53 families. Ardeidae was the most diverse avian family in the study area (RDi value = 5.882. Among the recorded avifauna, 89 species were resident, 26 species were winter visitors, three species were summer visitors, and one species was a passage migrant. Species richness of the resident and passage migrant species did not vary seasonally, while the winter and summer visitors displayed significant seasonal variation. In this suburban area, the species richness of feeding guilds varied significantly. Most birds were insectivorous (41.2%, followed by carnivorous (24.4%, omnivorous (18.5%, granivorous (7.6%, frugivorous (3.4%, nectarivorous (3.4% and herbivorous species (1.7%. Maximum species richness was recorded in November and minimum species richness in July. Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus and Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria are two near-threatened species found in this region. Interestingly, six species having a globally declining trend are still very common in the study area. Long-term studies are required to monitor any change in the avian communities of this suburban landscape resulting from urbanization.

  3. Effect of forage quality in faeces from different ruminant species fed high and low quality forage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jalali, A R; Nørgaard, P; Nielsen, M O

    2010-01-01

    Effect of forage quality in faeces from different ruminant species fed high and low quality forage......Effect of forage quality in faeces from different ruminant species fed high and low quality forage...

  4. Seasonal variation in specific leaf area, epicuticular wax and pigments in 15 woody species from northeastern mexico during summer and winter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, H.G.; Maiti, R.; Kumari, A.

    2017-01-01

    The present study has been undertaken on the variability in specific leaf area, epicuticular wax and pigment content of 15 native woody species in northeastern Mexico. The species showed considerable variability in responses of these leaf traits. Majority of the species showed a decline in specific leaf area and epicuticular wax content. With respect to pigments, only few species showed a decrease, but some species showed an increase in pigments (chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll (a+b)) showing mechanism of adaptation to winter season.However, in few species there was a decline in pigment contents showing susceptibility to winter. (author)

  5. Development of groundwater pesticide exposure modeling scenarios for vulnerable spring and winter wheat-growing areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padilla, Lauren; Winchell, Michael; Peranginangin, Natalia; Grant, Shanique

    2017-11-01

    Wheat crops and the major wheat-growing regions of the United States are not included in the 6 crop- and region-specific scenarios developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for exposure modeling with the Pesticide Root Zone Model conceptualized for groundwater (PRZM-GW). The present work augments the current scenarios by defining appropriately vulnerable PRZM-GW scenarios for high-producing spring and winter wheat-growing regions that are appropriate for use in refined pesticide exposure assessments. Initial screening-level modeling was conducted for all wheat areas across the conterminous United States as defined by multiple years of the Cropland Data Layer land-use data set. Soil, weather, groundwater temperature, evaporation depth, and crop growth and management practices were characterized for each wheat area from publicly and nationally available data sets and converted to input parameters for PRZM. Approximately 150 000 unique combinations of weather, soil, and input parameters were simulated with PRZM for an herbicide applied for postemergence weed control in wheat. The resulting postbreakthrough average herbicide concentrations in a theoretical shallow aquifer were ranked to identify states with the largest regions of relatively vulnerable wheat areas. For these states, input parameters resulting in near 90 th percentile postbreakthrough average concentrations corresponding to significant wheat areas with shallow depth to groundwater formed the basis for 4 new spring wheat scenarios and 4 new winter wheat scenarios to be used in PRZM-GW simulations. Spring wheat scenarios were identified in North Dakota, Montana, Washington, and Texas. Winter wheat scenarios were identified in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Colorado. Compared to the USEPA's original 6 scenarios, postbreakthrough average herbicide concentrations in the new scenarios were lower than all but Florida Potato and Georgia Coastal Peanuts of the original scenarios and better

  6. Does greed help a forager survive?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhat, U.; Redner, S.; Bénichou, O.

    2017-06-01

    We investigate the role of greed on the lifetime of a random-walking forager on an initially resource-rich lattice. Whenever the forager lands on a food-containing site, all the food there is eaten and the forager can hop S more steps without food before starving. Upon reaching an empty site, the forager comes one time unit closer to starvation. The forager is also greedy—given a choice to move to an empty or to a food-containing site in its local neighborhood, the forager moves preferentially toward food. Surprisingly, the forager lifetime varies nonmonotonically with greed, with different senses of the nonmonotonicity in one and two dimensions. Also unexpectedly, the forager lifetime in one dimension has a huge peak for very negative greed where the forager is food averse.

  7. Foraging in maize field areas: A risky business?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boily, Monique; Aras, Philippe; Jumarie, Catherine

    2017-12-01

    In Quebec, Canada, the cultivation of maize dominates the agricultural territory. This crop requires a sustained supply of fertilizers from different sources: chemical, natural or from residual materials (sludge). These amendments contain metallic trace elements, which may lead to metal-contaminated maize pollen, a possible source of prooxidants for the foraging bees. Our objective was to determine whether maize fields environment influences the oxidation processes and the accumulation of metals in bees. A few days prior to pollen shedding, beehives were installed in maize fields: one organically grown (site A) and three conventionally grown (sites B, C and D). Soil, maize pollen and bees were analyzed for metal content. Every 15days, bees were collected and analyzed for peroxidation of lipids, metallothionein-like proteins (MTLPs), proteins, retinoids and lipophilic antioxidants (carotenoids and α-tocopherol). The compound β-carotene was the most abundant in bees from all sites, followed by α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, α-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein. Retinaldehyde and retinol varied according to times and sites without demonstrating clear trends. However, significant differences between sites were noted in 13-cis-retinoic acid and two retinoic acid metabolites measured in bees, suggesting alteration in the reduction-oxidation processes. In line with these results, the level of lipid peroxidation was globally higher in sites B, C and D compared with the organic site. Higher concentrations of metals were observed in soil and pollen from the field A, but bees metal contents were equal or less than those measured in bees from other sites. Higher bee MTLP levels were measured in sites B, C and D. For most sampling times, the discriminant analysis revealed that the conditions were distinguished by the oxidation processes in bees. Our data suggest that bees foraging in conventionally grown maize fields are at risk of increased oxidative damages which can

  8. Modelling Pasture-based Automatic Milking System Herds: Grazeable Forage Options

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. R. Islam

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available One of the challenges to increase milk production in a large pasture-based herd with an automatic milking system (AMS is to grow forages within a 1-km radius, as increases in walking distance increases milking interval and reduces yield. The main objective of this study was to explore sustainable forage option technologies that can supply high amount of grazeable forages for AMS herds using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM model. Three different basic simulation scenarios (with irrigation were carried out using forage crops (namely maize, soybean and sorghum for the spring-summer period. Subsequent crops in the three scenarios were forage rape over-sown with ryegrass. Each individual simulation was run using actual climatic records for the period from 1900 to 2010. Simulated highest forage yields in maize, soybean and sorghum- (each followed by forage rape-ryegrass based rotations were 28.2, 22.9, and 19.3 t dry matter/ha, respectively. The simulations suggested that the irrigation requirement could increase by up to 18%, 16%, and 17% respectively in those rotations in El-Niño years compared to neutral years. On the other hand, irrigation requirement could increase by up to 25%, 23%, and 32% in maize, soybean and sorghum based rotations in El-Nino years compared to La-Nina years. However, irrigation requirement could decrease by up to 8%, 7%, and 13% in maize, soybean and sorghum based rotations in La-Nina years compared to neutral years. The major implication of this study is that APSIM models have potentials in devising preferred forage options to maximise grazeable forage yield which may create the opportunity to grow more forage in small areas around the AMS which in turn will minimise walking distance and milking interval and thus increase milk production. Our analyses also suggest that simulation analysis may provide decision support during climatic uncertainty.

  9. Modelling Pasture-based Automatic Milking System Herds: Grazeable Forage Options.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, M R; Garcia, S C; Clark, C E F; Kerrisk, K L

    2015-05-01

    One of the challenges to increase milk production in a large pasture-based herd with an automatic milking system (AMS) is to grow forages within a 1-km radius, as increases in walking distance increases milking interval and reduces yield. The main objective of this study was to explore sustainable forage option technologies that can supply high amount of grazeable forages for AMS herds using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model. Three different basic simulation scenarios (with irrigation) were carried out using forage crops (namely maize, soybean and sorghum) for the spring-summer period. Subsequent crops in the three scenarios were forage rape over-sown with ryegrass. Each individual simulation was run using actual climatic records for the period from 1900 to 2010. Simulated highest forage yields in maize, soybean and sorghum- (each followed by forage rape-ryegrass) based rotations were 28.2, 22.9, and 19.3 t dry matter/ha, respectively. The simulations suggested that the irrigation requirement could increase by up to 18%, 16%, and 17% respectively in those rotations in El-Niño years compared to neutral years. On the other hand, irrigation requirement could increase by up to 25%, 23%, and 32% in maize, soybean and sorghum based rotations in El-Nino years compared to La-Nina years. However, irrigation requirement could decrease by up to 8%, 7%, and 13% in maize, soybean and sorghum based rotations in La-Nina years compared to neutral years. The major implication of this study is that APSIM models have potentials in devising preferred forage options to maximise grazeable forage yield which may create the opportunity to grow more forage in small areas around the AMS which in turn will minimise walking distance and milking interval and thus increase milk production. Our analyses also suggest that simulation analysis may provide decision support during climatic uncertainty.

  10. Wintering area DDE source to migratory white-faced ibis revealed by satellite telemetry and prey sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, M.A.; Fuller, M.R.; Henny, C.J.; Seegar, W.S.; Garcia, Jorge H.

    2010-01-01

    Locations of contaminant exposure for nesting migratory species are difficult to fully understand because of possible additional sources encountered during migration or on the wintering grounds. A portion of the migratory white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) nesting at Carson Lake, Nevada continues to be exposed to dichloro-diphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE) with no change, which is unusual, observed in egg concentrations between 1985 and 2000. About 45-63% of the earliest nesting segment shows reduced reproductive success correlated with elevated egg concentrations of >4 ??g/g wet weight (ww). Local prey (primarily earthworms) near nests contained little DDE so we tracked the migration and wintering movements of 20 adult males during 2000-2004 to determine the possible source. At various wintering sites, we found a correlation (r 2 = 0.518, P = 0.0125, N = 11) between DDE in earthworm composites and DDE in blood plasma of white-faced ibis wintering there, although the plasma was collected on their breeding grounds soon after arrival. The main source of DDE was wintering areas in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California Norte, Mexico, and probably the adjacent Imperial Valley, California, USA. This unusual continuing DDE problem for white-faced ibis is associated with: the long-term persistence in soil of DDE; the earthworms' ability to bioconcentrate DDE from soil; the proclivity of white-faced ibis to feed on earthworms in agricultural fields; the species's extreme sensitivity to DDE in their eggs; and perhaps its life history strategy of being a "capital breeder". We suggest surveying and sampling white-faced ibis eggs at nesting colonies, especially at Carson Lake, to monitor the continuing influence of DDE. ?? 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

  11. Wintering area DDE source to migratory white-faced ibis revealed by satellite telemetry and prey sampling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, Michael A; Fuller, Mark R; Henny, Charles J; Seegar, William S; Garcia, Jaqueline

    2010-01-01

    Locations of contaminant exposure for nesting migratory species are difficult to fully understand because of possible additional sources encountered during migration or on the wintering grounds. A portion of the migratory white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) nesting at Carson Lake, Nevada continues to be exposed to dichloro-diphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE) with no change, which is unusual, observed in egg concentrations between 1985 and 2000. About 45-63% of the earliest nesting segment shows reduced reproductive success correlated with elevated egg concentrations of >4 microg/g wet weight (ww). Local prey (primarily earthworms) near nests contained little DDE so we tracked the migration and wintering movements of 20 adult males during 2000-2004 to determine the possible source. At various wintering sites, we found a correlation (r (2) = 0.518, P = 0.0125, N = 11) between DDE in earthworm composites and DDE in blood plasma of white-faced ibis wintering there, although the plasma was collected on their breeding grounds soon after arrival. The main source of DDE was wintering areas in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California Norte, Mexico, and probably the adjacent Imperial Valley, California, USA. This unusual continuing DDE problem for white-faced ibis is associated with: the long-term persistence in soil of DDE; the earthworms' ability to bioconcentrate DDE from soil; the proclivity of white-faced ibis to feed on earthworms in agricultural fields; the species's extreme sensitivity to DDE in their eggs; and perhaps its life history strategy of being a "capital breeder". We suggest surveying and sampling white-faced ibis eggs at nesting colonies, especially at Carson Lake, to monitor the continuing influence of DDE.

  12. Foraging behavior and success of a mesopelagic predator in the northeast Pacific Ocean: insights from a data-rich species, the northern elephant seal.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick W Robinson

    Full Text Available The mesopelagic zone of the northeast Pacific Ocean is an important foraging habitat for many predators, yet few studies have addressed the factors driving basin-scale predator distributions or inter-annual variability in foraging and breeding success. Understanding these processes is critical to reveal how conditions at sea cascade to population-level effects. To begin addressing these challenging questions, we collected diving, tracking, foraging success, and natality data for 297 adult female northern elephant seal migrations from 2004 to 2010. During the longer post-molting migration, individual energy gain rates were significant predictors of pregnancy. At sea, seals focused their foraging effort along a narrow band corresponding to the boundary between the sub-arctic and sub-tropical gyres. In contrast to shallow-diving predators, elephant seals target the gyre-gyre boundary throughout the year rather than follow the southward winter migration of surface features, such as the Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front. We also assessed the impact of added transit costs by studying seals at a colony near the southern extent of the species' range, 1,150 km to the south. A much larger proportion of seals foraged locally, implying plasticity in foraging strategies and possibly prey type. While these findings are derived from a single species, the results may provide insight to the foraging patterns of many other meso-pelagic predators in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

  13. The biology of flowering of winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis (L. Salisb.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krystyna Rysiak

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Eranthis hyemalis belongs to the Ranunculaceae family whose representatives enrich early spring pollen flow and nectar for pollinating insects. Flowering biology and morphological characteristics flowers of winter aconite were studied. The forage value was estimated as the rate of nectar production. Observations were carried out between 2008 and 2011 in the Botanical Garden of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University located in the Lublin area. In the conditions of Lublin, flowering of winter aconite plants started at the beginning of February and lasted until the end of March. The seasonal bloom dynamics was strongly affected by maximum temperatures, which intensified flower blooming, and snowfalls which hampered this process. During the day, flowers opened between 8.00 am and 3.00 pm, but the highest intensity was between 10.00 am and 12.00 am. The process of pollen release, with the average number of 29 stamens shedding pollen in the flowers, lasted from 2 to 3 days. During the day the largest number of anthers opened at noon hours, between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm, though a certain rise in this number was also observed in the morning hours between 8.00 and 9.00 am. Eranthis hyemalis flowers develop funnel-shaped nectaries, on average 3-6 per flower. The determined amount of nectar per flower was 1.23 mg, while the concentration of sugars in it averaged 72.11%. The weight of nectar sugar per flower was 0.88 mg.

  14. Dispersal of solitary bees and bumblebees in a winter oilseed rape field

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calabuig, Isabel

    2000-01-01

    Dispersal distributions of solitary bees and bumblebees were studied in a winter oilseed rape field. Window-traps were placed in the rape field along a line transect perpendicular to the field edge. 19 species of solitary bees were recorded and all but four species are polylectic, including...... Brassicaceae as host-plant family. Through non-linear regression, the decline in solitary bee individuals versus distance from field edge significantly fitted a steep two-parameter exponential decay function. Activity of solitary bees was clearly highest within 30 metres from the field edge. Apparently......, solitary bees do not play any noteworthy role in the pollination of winter oilseed rape in Denmark. The traps yielded ten species of bumblebees, and a significant linear correlation was found between numbers of individuals and distance from the field edge. This result is attributed to bumblebee foraging...

  15. Winter forage quality of oats (avena sativa), barley (hordeum vulgare) and vetch (vicia sativa) in pure stand and cereal legume mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ullah, Z.

    2015-01-01

    A field study was carried out for two consecutive years in subtropical rainfed conditions of Rawalpindi, Pakistan to evaluate the forage quality of oats, barley and vetch grown in pure stands and cereal-legume mixtures. Treatments comprised oats pure stand, oats in oats-vetch mixture, barley pure stand, barley in barley-vetch mixture, vetch pure stand, vetch in oats-vetch mixture and vetch in barley-vetch mixture. Forage yield and quality of oats and barley were improved in oats-vetch and barley-vetch mixtures than their respective pure stands. The higher values of crude protein (CP) and lower values of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) reflected quality forage. CP for oats in oats-vetch -1 -1 mixture and barley in barley-vetch mixture was 175 g kg and 170 g kg, -1 respectively. NDF and ADF for oats in oats-vetch mixture were 494 g kg /sup -1/ and 341 g kg, respectively; while these values for barley in barley-vetch -1 -1 mixture were 340 g kg and 176 g kg, respectively. (author)

  16. Space use and resource selection by foraging Indiana bats at the northern edge of their distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jachowski, David S.; Johnson, Joshua B.; Dobony, Christopher A.; Edwards, John W.; Ford, W. Mark

    2014-01-01

    Despite 4 decades of conservation concern, managing endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) populations remains a difficult wildlife resource issue facing natural resource managers in the eastern United States. After small signs of population recovery, the recent emergence of white-nose syndrome has led to concerns of local and/or regional extirpation of the species. Where Indiana bats persist, retaining high-quality foraging areas will be critical to meet physiological needs and ensure successful recruitment and overwinter survival. However, insight into foraging behavior has been lacking in the Northeast of the USA. We radio-tracked 12 Indiana bats over 2 summers at Fort Drum, New York, to evaluate factors influencing Indiana bat resource selection during night-time foraging. We found that foraging space use decreased 2% for every 100 m increase in distance to water and 6% for every 100 m away from the forest edge. This suggests high use of riparian areas in close proximity to forest and is somewhat consistent with the species’ foraging ecology in the Midwest and upper South. Given the importance of providing access to high-quality foraging areas during the summer maternity season, Indiana bat conservation at the northern extent of the species’ range will be linked to retention of forested habitat in close proximity to riparian zones. 

  17. Defining winter trophic habitat of juvenile Gulf Sturgeon in the Suwannee and Apalachicola rivermouth estuaries, acoustic telemetry investigations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulak, K.J.; Randall, M.T.; Edwards, R.E.; Summers, T.M.; Luke, K.E.; Smith, W.T.; Norem, A.D.; Harden, William M.; Lukens, R.H.; Parauka, F.; Bolden, S.; Lehnert, R.

    2009-01-01

    Three automated listening post-telemetry studies were undertaken in the Suwannee and Apalachicola estuaries to gain knowledge of habitats use by juvenile Gulf Sturgeons (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) on winter feeding grounds. A simple and reliable method for external attachment of small acoustic tags to the dorsal fin base was developed using shrink-tubing. Suspending receivers on masts below anchored buoys improved reception and facilitated downloading; a detection range of 500–2500 m was realized. In the Apalachicola estuary, juvenile GS stayed in shallow water (days at a time. For juvenile sturgeons, the stress and metabolic cost of enduring high salinity (Jarvis et al., 2001; McKenzie et al., 2001; Singer and Ballantyne, 2002) for short periods in deep offshore waters seems adaptively advantageous relative to the risk of cold-event mortality in shallow inshore waters of lower salinity. Thus, while juveniles can tolerate high salinities for days to weeks to escape cold events, they appear to make only infrequent use of open polyhaline waters. Throughout the winter foraging period, juvenile GS stayed primarily within the core area of Suwannee River mouth influence, extending about 12 km north and south of the river mouth, and somewhat seaward of Suwannee Reef (< 5 km offshore). None were detected departing the core area past either of the northern or southern acoustic gates, located 66 and 52 km distant from the river mouth, respectively.

  18. Winter-to-winter variations in indoor radon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mose, D.G.; Mushrush, G.W.; Kline, S.W.

    1989-01-01

    Indoor radon concentrations in northern Virginia and central Maryland show a strong dependence on weather. Winter tends to be associated with higher than average indoor radon, and summer with lower than average. However, compared to the winter of 1986-1987, the winter of 1987-1988 was warmer and drier. Consequently, winter-to-winter indoor radon decreased by about 25%. This winter-to-winter decrease is unexpectedly large, and simulates winter-to-summer variations that have been reported

  19. Three-dimensional foraging habitat use and niche partitioning in two sympatric seabird species, Phalacrocorax auritus and P. penicillatus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peck-Richardson, Adam G.; Lyons, Donald E.; Roby, Daniel D.; Cushing, Daniel A.; Lerczak, James A.

    2018-01-01

    Ecological theory predicts that co-existing, morphologically similar species will partition prey resources when faced with resource limitations. We investigated local movements, foraging dive behavior, and foraging habitat selection by breeding adults of 2 closely related cormorant species, double-crested cormorants Phalacrocorax auritus and Brandt’s cormorants P. penicillatus. These species nest sympatrically at East Sand Island in the Columbia River estuary at the border of Oregon and Washington states, USA. Breeding individuals of each species were tracked using GPS tags with integrated temperature and depth data-loggers. The overall foraging areas and core foraging areas (defined as the 95% and 50% kernel density estimates of dive locations, respectively) of double-crested cormorants were much larger and covered a broader range of riverine, mixed-estuarine, and nearshore marine habitats. Brandt’s cormorant foraging areas were less expansive, were exclusively marine, and mostly overlapped with double-crested cormorant foraging areas. Within these areas of overlap, Brandt’s cormorants tended to dive deeper (median depth = 6.48 m) than double-crested cormorants (median depth = 2.67 m), and selected dive locations where the water was deeper. Brandt’s cormorants also utilized a deeper, more benthic portion of the water column than did double-crested cormorants. Nevertheless, the substantial overlap in foraging habitat between the 2 cormorant species in the Columbia River estuary, particularly for Brandt’s cormorants, suggests that superabundant prey resources allow these 2 large and productive cormorant colonies to coexist on a single island near the mouth of the Columbia River.

  20. Quitting time: When do honey bee foragers decide to stop foraging on natural resources?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael eRivera

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Honey bee foragers may use both personal and social information when making decisions about when to visit resources. In particular, foragers may stop foraging at resources when their own experience indicates declining resource quality, or when social information, namely the delay to being able to unload nectar to receiver bees, indicates that the colony has little need for the particular resource being collected. Here we test the relative importance of these two factors in a natural setting, where colonies are using many dynamically changing resources. We recorded detailed foraging histories of individually marked bees, and identified when they appeared to abandon any resources (such as flower patches that they had previously been collecting from consistently. As in previous studies, we recorded duration of trophallaxis events (unloading nectar to receiver bees as a proxy for resource quality and the delays before returning foragers started trophallaxis as a proxy for social need for the resource. If these proxy measures accurately reflect changes in resource quality and social need, they should predict whether bees continue foraging or not. However, neither factor predicted when individuals stopped foraging on a particular resource, nor did they explain changes in colony-level foraging activity. This may indicate that other, as yet unstudied processes also affect individual decisions to abandon particular resources.

  1. Seasonal variation in orthopedic health services utilization in Switzerland: the impact of winter sport tourism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matter-Walstra, Klazien; Widmer, Marcel; Busato, André

    2006-03-03

    Climate- or holiday-related seasonality in hospital admission rates is well known for many diseases. However, little research has addressed the impact of tourism on seasonality in admission rates. We therefore investigated the influence of tourism on emergency admission rates in Switzerland, where winter and summer leisure sport activities in large mountain regions can generate orthopedic injuries. Using small area analysis, orthopedic hospital service areas (HSAo) were evaluated for seasonality in emergency admission rates. Winter sport areas were defined using guest bed accommodation rate patterns of guest houses and hotels located above 1000 meters altitude that show clear winter and summer peak seasons. Emergency admissions (years 2000-2002, n = 135'460) of local and nonlocal HSAo residents were evaluated. HSAo were grouped according to their area type (regular or winter sport area) and monthly analyses of admission rates were performed. Of HSAo within the defined winter sport areas 70.8% show a seasonal, summer-winter peak hospital admission rate pattern and only 1 HSAo outside the defined winter sport areas shows such a pattern. Seasonal hospital admission rates in HSAo in winter sport areas can be up to 4 times higher in winter than the intermediate seasons, and they are almost entirely due to admissions of nonlocal residents. These nonlocal residents are in general -and especially in winter- younger than local residents, and nonlocal residents have a shorter length of stay in winter sport than in regular areas. The overall geographic distribution of nonlocal residents admitted for emergencies shows highest rates during the winter as well as the summer in the winter sport areas. Small area analysis using orthopedic hospital service areas is a reliable method for the evaluation of seasonality in hospital admission rates. In Switzerland, HSAo defined as winter sport areas show a clear seasonal fluctuation in admission rates of only nonlocal residents, whereas

  2. Saptial and Temporal in Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Ratios of Juvenile Winter Flounder Otoliths From Selected Nursery Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) populations have supported large commercial and recreational fisheries along the coast of New England. In recent years, however, the population of this important species has declined precipitously in some areas, especially Narragan...

  3. Wintering ecology of sympatric subspecies of Sandhill Crane: Correlations between body size, site fidelity, and movement patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivey, Gary L.; Dugger, Bruce D.; Herziger, Caroline P.; Casazza, Michael L.; Fleskes, Joseph P.

    2015-01-01

    Body size is known to correlate with many aspects of life history in birds, and this knowledge can be used to manage and conserve bird species. However, few studies have compared the wintering ecology of sympatric subspecies that vary significantly in body size. We used radiotelemetry to examine the relationship between body size and site fidelity, movements, and home range in 2 subspecies of Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) wintering in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta of California, USA. Both subspecies showed high interannual return rates to the Delta study area, but Greater Sandhill Cranes (G. c. tabida) showed stronger within-winter fidelity to landscapes in our study region and to roost complexes within landscapes than did Lesser Sandhill Cranes (G. c. canadensis). Foraging flights from roost sites were shorter for G. c. tabida than for G. c. canadensis (1.9 ± 0.01 km vs. 4.5 ± 0.01 km, respectively) and, consequently, the mean size of 95% fixed-kernel winter home ranges was an order of magnitude smaller for G. c. tabida than for G. c. canadensis (1.9 ± 0.4 km2 vs. 21.9 ± 1.9 km2, respectively). Strong site fidelity indicates that conservation planning to manage for adequate food resources around traditional roost sites can be effective for meeting the habitat needs of these cranes, but the scale of conservation efforts should differ by subspecies. Analysis of movement patterns suggests that conservation planners and managers should consider all habitats within 5 km of a known G. c. tabida roost and within 10 km of a G. c. canadensis roost when planning for habitat management, mitigation, acquisition, and easements.

  4. Incorporating Yearly Derived Winter Wheat Maps Into Winter Wheat Yield Forecasting Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skakun, S.; Franch, B.; Roger, J.-C.; Vermote, E.; Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C.; Santamaría-Artigas, A.

    2016-01-01

    Wheat is one of the most important cereal crops in the world. Timely and accurate forecast of wheat yield and production at global scale is vital in implementing food security policy. Becker-Reshef et al. (2010) developed a generalized empirical model for forecasting winter wheat production using remote sensing data and official statistics. This model was implemented using static wheat maps. In this paper, we analyze the impact of incorporating yearly wheat masks into the forecasting model. We propose a new approach of producing in season winter wheat maps exploiting satellite data and official statistics on crop area only. Validation on independent data showed that the proposed approach reached 6% to 23% of omission error and 10% to 16% of commission error when mapping winter wheat 2-3 months before harvest. In general, we found a limited impact of using yearly winter wheat masks over a static mask for the study regions.

  5. Hibernation in an antarctic fish: on ice for winter.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamish A Campbell

    Full Text Available Active metabolic suppression in anticipation of winter conditions has been demonstrated in species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, but not fish. This is because the reduction in metabolic rate in fish is directly proportional to the decrease in water temperature and they appear to be incapable of further suppressing their metabolic rate independently of temperature. However, the Antarctic fish (Notothenia coriiceps is unusual because it undergoes winter metabolic suppression irrespective of water temperature. We assessed the seasonal ecological strategy by monitoring swimming activity, growth, feeding and heart rate (f(H in N. coriiceps as they free-ranged within sub-zero waters. The metabolic rate of wild fish was extrapolated from f(H recordings, from oxygen consumption calibrations established in the laboratory prior to fish release. Throughout the summer months N. coriiceps spent a considerable proportion of its time foraging, resulting in a growth rate (G(w of 0.18 +/- 0.2% day(-1. In contrast, during winter much of the time was spent sedentary within a refuge and fish showed a net loss in G(w (-0.05 +/- 0.05% day(-1. Whilst inactive during winter, N. coriiceps displayed a very low f(H, reduced sensory and motor capabilities, and standard metabolic rate was one third lower than in summer. In a similar manner to other hibernating species, dormancy was interrupted with periodic arousals. These arousals, which lasted a few hours, occurred every 4-12 days. During arousal activity, f(H and metabolism increased to summer levels. This endogenous suppression and activation of metabolic processes, independent of body temperature, demonstrates that N. coriiceps were effectively 'putting themselves on ice' during winter months until food resources improved. This study demonstrates that at least some fish species can enter a dormant state similar to hibernation that is not temperature driven and presumably provides seasonal energetic

  6. Longitudinal Effects of Supplemental Forage on the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Microbiota and Inter- and Intra-Colony Variability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothman, Jason A; Carroll, Mark J; Meikle, William G; Anderson, Kirk E; McFrederick, Quinn S

    2018-02-03

    Honey bees (Apis mellifera) provide vital pollination services for a variety of agricultural crops around the world and are known to host a consistent core bacterial microbiome. This symbiotic microbial community is essential to many facets of bee health, including likely nutrient acquisition, disease prevention and optimal physiological function. Being that the bee microbiome is likely involved in the digestion of nutrients, we either provided or excluded honey bee colonies from supplemental floral forage before being used for almond pollination. We then used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine the effects of forage treatment on the bees' microbial gut communities over four months. In agreement with previous studies, we found that the honey bee gut microbiota is quite stable over time. Similarly, we compared the gut communities of bees from separate colonies and sisters sampled from within the same hive over four months. Surprisingly, we found that the gut microbial communities of individual sisters from the same colony can exhibit as much variation as bees from different colonies. Supplemental floral forage had a subtle effect on the composition of the microbiome during the month of March only, with strains of Gilliamella apicola, Lactobacillus, and Bartonella being less proportionally abundant in bees exposed to forage in the winter. Collectively, our findings show that there is unexpected longitudinal variation within the gut microbial communities of sister honey bees and that supplemental floral forage can subtly alter the microbiome of managed honey bees.

  7. Detection of damaged areas caused by the oil extraction in a steppe region using winter landsat imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mjachina, Ksenya; Hu, Zhiyong; Chibilyev, Alexander

    2018-01-01

    Oil production in a steppe region disturbs the landscape and damages the steppe ecosystem. The objective of this research was to detect areas damaged by oil production in an oil field within the Russian Volga-Ural steppe region using winter Landsat imagery. We developed a practicable and effective approach using winter snow season multispectral Landsat satellite imagery. To this end, we applied seven algorithms of spectral or texture-based transformation: K-means, maximum likelihood estimation, topsoil grain size index, soil brightness, normalized differential snow index, tasselled cap, and co-occurrence measures. The co-occurrence texture measure variance shows the optimal result of identifying damaged areas. The unique feature of our method is that it can differentiate damaged areas from the bare soil of cropland within a cold steppe region where the area damaged by oil production is mixed with bare (fallow) croplands that have a polygonal shape similar to well pads. Such similarities can lead to confusion in object-based classification. Using the co-occurrence measures, we found that from 1988 to 2015, damaged area is nearly three times as big in the peak period of the oil field development (2001 and 2009) as in 1988. Landscape fragmentation also peaked in 2001 and 2009. Our approach for this project is useful and cost effective regular monitoring of damages from oil production for both the Volga-Ural steppe region and other cold steppe regions.

  8. Scavengers on the move: behavioural changes in foraging search patterns during the annual cycle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pascual López-López

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Optimal foraging theory predicts that animals will tend to maximize foraging success by optimizing search strategies. However, how organisms detect sparsely distributed food resources remains an open question. When targets are sparse and unpredictably distributed, a Lévy strategy should maximize foraging success. By contrast, when resources are abundant and regularly distributed, simple brownian random movement should be sufficient. Although very different groups of organisms exhibit Lévy motion, the shift from a Lévy to a brownian search strategy has been suggested to depend on internal and external factors such as sex, prey density, or environmental context. However, animal response at the individual level has received little attention. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used GPS satellite-telemetry data of Egyptian vultures Neophron percnopterus to examine movement patterns at the individual level during consecutive years, with particular interest in the variations in foraging search patterns during the different periods of the annual cycle (i.e. breeding vs. non-breeding. Our results show that vultures followed a brownian search strategy in their wintering sojourn in Africa, whereas they exhibited a more complex foraging search pattern at breeding grounds in Europe, including Lévy motion. Interestingly, our results showed that individuals shifted between search strategies within the same period of the annual cycle in successive years. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Results could be primarily explained by the different environmental conditions in which foraging activities occur. However, the high degree of behavioural flexibility exhibited during the breeding period in contrast to the non-breeding period is challenging, suggesting that not only environmental conditions explain individuals' behaviour but also individuals' cognitive abilities (e.g., memory effects could play an important role. Our results support the growing

  9. Influence of age and sex on winter site fidelity of sanderlings Calidris alba

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro M. Lourenço

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Many migratory bird species show high levels of site fidelity to their wintering sites, which confers advantages due to prior knowledge, but may also limit the ability of the individual to move away from degrading sites or to detect alternative foraging opportunities. Winter site fidelity often varies among age groups, but sexual differences have seldom been recorded in birds. We studied a population of individually colour-marked sanderlings wintering in and around the Tejo estuary, a large estuarine wetland on the western coast of Portugal. For 160 individuals, sighted a total of 1,249 times between November 2009 and March 2013, we calculated the probability that they moved among five distinct wintering sites and how this probability is affected by distance between them. To compare site fidelity among age classes and sexes, as well as within the same winter and over multiple winters, we used a Site Fidelity Index (SFI. Birds were sexed using a discriminant function based on biometrics of a large set of molecularly sexed sanderlings (n = 990. The vast majority of birds were observed at one site only, and the probability of the few detected movements between sites was negatively correlated with the distance among each pair of sites. Hardly any movements were recorded over more than 15 km, suggesting small home ranges. SFI values indicated that juveniles were less site-faithful than adults which may reflect the accumulated knowledge and/or dominance of older animals. Among adults, females were significantly less site faithful than males. A sexual difference in winter site fidelity is unusual in shorebirds. SFI values show site-faithfulness is lower when multiple winters were considered, and most birds seem to chose a wintering site early in the season and use that site throughout the winter. Sanderlings show a very limited tendency to explore alternative wintering options, which might have implications for their survival when facing habitat change

  10. Winter and spring diving behavior of bowhead whales relative to prey

    KAUST Repository

    Heide-Jørgensen, Mads

    2013-10-23

    Background Little is known about bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) foraging behavior and what concentrations of prey are required to balance the energetic trade-offs of feeding. We used satellite telemetry, archival depth recorders, and water column echo sounding data to study bowhead whale diving behavior relative to prey depth and concentration in Disko Bay, West Greenland. Results Between March and May 2008 to 2011, nine bowhead whales were tagged in Disko Bay, West Greenland with instruments that collected data on location and diving over a period of 1 to 33 days. The frequency of U-dives (presumed to be foraging dives) was low during winter months but more than doubled in spring concurrent with a decrease in diving depth. The mean speed of the horizontal bottom phase of the U-dives was 0.9 ms-1 and on average, whales spent 37% of their time at the bottom phase of the dive. In March, bowhead whales presumably fed on copepods (Calanus spp.) close to the seabed (between 100 and 400 m). In April and May, after the copepods ascended to shallower depths, bowhead whales also dove to shallower depths (approximately 30 m) more often. However, echo sounding surveys in the vicinity of feeding whales in early May indicated that patches of copepods could still be found close to the seabed. Conclusions There was a marked change in diving behavior from winter through spring and this was likely in response to the changes in sea ice conditions, primary production and potential copepod abundance in the upper part of the water column. Depth and duration of dives changed significantly during this period; however, other dive parameters (for example the proportion of time spent feeding on the bottom of U-dives) remained fairly constant indicating a constant feeding effort. Bowhead whales target copepods at or close to the seabed in winter months in Disko Bay and continue feeding on copepods when they migrate to the surface. However, bowhead whales leave West Greenland before peak

  11. Leaf Area Index (LAI Estimation of Boreal Forest Using Wide Optics Airborne Winter Photos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pauline Stenberg

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available A new simple airborne method based on wide optics camera is developed for leaf area index (LAI estimation in coniferous forests. The measurements are carried out in winter, when the forest floor is completely snow covered and thus acts as a light background for the hemispherical analysis of the images. The photos are taken automatically and stored on a laptop during the flights. The R2 value of the linear regression of the airborne and ground based LAI measurements was 0.89.

  12. Wintering Waterbirds and Recreationists in Natural Areas: A Sociological Approach to the Awareness of Bird Disturbance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Corre, Nicolas; Peuziat, Ingrid; Brigand, Louis; Gélinaud, Guillaume; Meur-Férec, Catherine

    2013-10-01

    Disturbance to wintering birds by human recreational activities has become a major concern for managers of many natural areas. Few studies have examined how recreationists perceive their effects on birds, although this impacts their behavior on natural areas. We surveyed 312 users on two coastal ornithological sites in Brittany, France, to investigate their perception of the effects of human activities on wintering birds. The results show that the awareness of environmental issues and knowledge of bird disturbance depends on the socioeconomic characteristics of each user group, both between the two sites and within each site. Results also indicate that, whatever the site and the user group, the vast majority of the respondents (77.6 %) believed that their own presence had no adverse effects on the local bird population. Various arguments were put forward to justify the users' own harmlessness. Objective information on recreationists' awareness of environmental issues, and particularly on their own impact on birds, is important to guide managers in their choice of the most appropriate visitor educational programs. We recommend developing global but also specific educational information for each type of user to raise awareness of their own impact on birds.

  13. Wetland selection by breeding and foraging black terns in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steen, Valerie A.; Powell, Abby N.

    2012-01-01

    We examined wetland selection by the Black Tern (Chlidonias niger), a species that breeds primarily in the prairie pothole region, has experienced population declines, and is difficult to manage because of low site fidelity. To characterize its selection of wetlands in this region, we surveyed 589 wetlands throughout North and South Dakota. We documented breeding at 5% and foraging at 17% of wetlands. We created predictive habitat models with a machine-learning algorithm, Random Forests, to explore the relative role of local wetland characteristics and those of the surrounding landscape and to evaluate which characteristics were important to predicting breeding versus foraging. We also examined area-dependent wetland selection while addressing the passive sampling bias by replacing occurrence of terns in the models with an index of density. Local wetland variables were more important than landscape variables in predictions of occurrence of breeding and foraging. Wetland size was more important to prediction of foraging than of breeding locations, while floating matted vegetation was more important to prediction of breeding than of foraging locations. The amount of seasonal wetland in the landscape was the only landscape variable important to prediction of both foraging and breeding. Models based on a density index indicated that wetland selection by foraging terns may be more area dependent than that by breeding terns. Our study provides some of the first evidence for differential breeding and foraging wetland selection by Black Terns and for a more limited role of landscape effects and area sensitivity than has been previously shown.

  14. Hybrid value foraging: How the value of targets shapes human foraging behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, Jeremy M; Cain, Matthew S; Alaoui-Soce, Abla

    2018-04-01

    In hybrid foraging, observers search visual displays for multiple instances of multiple target types. In previous hybrid foraging experiments, although there were multiple types of target, all instances of all targets had the same value. Under such conditions, behavior was well described by the marginal value theorem (MVT). Foragers left the current "patch" for the next patch when the instantaneous rate of collection dropped below their average rate of collection. An observer's specific target selections were shaped by previous target selections. Observers were biased toward picking another instance of the same target. In the present work, observers forage for instances of four target types whose value and prevalence can vary. If value is kept constant and prevalence manipulated, participants consistently show a preference for the most common targets. Patch-leaving behavior follows MVT. When value is manipulated, observers favor more valuable targets, though individual foraging strategies become more diverse, with some observers favoring the most valuable target types very strongly, sometimes moving to the next patch without collecting any of the less valuable targets.

  15. Starvation dynamics of a greedy forager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhat, U.; Redner, S.; Bénichou, O.

    2017-07-01

    We investigate the dynamics of a greedy forager that moves by random walking in an environment where each site initially contains one unit of food. Upon encountering a food-containing site, the forager eats all the food there and can subsequently hop an additional S steps without food before starving to death. Upon encountering an empty site, the forager goes hungry and comes one time unit closer to starvation. We investigate the new feature of forager greed; if the forager has a choice between hopping to an empty site or to a food-containing site in its nearest neighborhood, it hops preferentially towards food. If the neighboring sites all contain food or are all empty, the forager hops equiprobably to one of these neighbors. Paradoxically, the lifetime of the forager can depend non-monotonically on greed, and the sense of the non-monotonicity is opposite in one and two dimensions. Even more unexpectedly, the forager lifetime in one dimension is substantially enhanced when the greed is negative; here the forager tends to avoid food in its local neighborhood. We also determine the average amount of food consumed at the instant when the forager starves. We present analytic, heuristic, and numerical results to elucidate these intriguing phenomena.

  16. Foraging and feeding ecology of the gray wolf (Canis lupus): lessons from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahler, Daniel R; Smith, Douglas W; Guernsey, Debra S

    2006-07-01

    The foraging and feeding ecology of gray wolves is an essential component to understanding the role that top carnivores play in shaping the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems. In Yellowstone National Park (YNP), predation studies on a highly visible, reintroduced population of wolves are increasing our understanding of this aspect of wolf ecology. Wolves in YNP feed primarily on elk, despite the presence of other ungulate species. Patterns of prey selection and kill rates in winter have varied seasonally each year from 1995 to 2004 and changed in recent years as the wolf population has become established. Wolves select elk based on their vulnerability as a result of age, sex, and season and therefore kill primarily calves, old cows, and bulls that have been weakened by winter. Summer scat analysis reveals an increased variety in diet compared with observed winter diets, including other ungulate species, rodents, and vegetation. Wolves in YNP hunt in packs and, upon a successful kill, share in the evisceration and consumption of highly nutritious organs first, followed by major muscle tissue, and eventually bone and hide. Wolves are adapted to a feast-or-famine foraging pattern, and YNP packs typically kill and consume an elk every 2-3 d. However, wolves in YNP have gone without fresh meat for several weeks by scavenging off old carcasses that consist mostly of bone and hide. As patterns of wolf density, prey density, weather, and vulnerability of prey change, in comparison with the conditions of the study period described here, we predict that there will also be significant changes in wolf predation patterns and feeding behavior.

  17. Forage digestibility and intake by lesser snow geese: effects of dominance and resource heterogeneity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hupp, Jerry W.; White, Robert G.; Sedinger, James S.; Robertson, Donna G.

    1996-01-01

    We measured forage intake, digestibility, and retention time for 11 free-ranging, human-imprinted lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) as they consumed underground stembases of tall cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium) on an arctic staging area in northeastern Alaska. Geese fed in small patches (x̄=21.5 m2) of forage that made up ≤3% of the study area and consisted of high-quality “aquatic graminoid” and intermediate-quality “wet sedge” vegetation types. Dominant geese spent more time feeding in aquatic graminoid areas (r=0.61), but less total time feeding and more time resting than subdominant geese. Subdominant geese were displaced to areas of wet sedge where cotton-grass was a smaller proportion of underground biomass. Geese metabolized an average of 48% of the organic matter in stembases and there was a positive correlation between dominance and organic matter metabolizability (r=0.61). Total mean retention time of forage was 1.37 h and dry matter intake was 14.3 g/h. Snow geese that stage on the coastal plain of the Beaufort Sea likely use an extensive area because they consume a large mass of forage and exploit habitats that are patchily distributed and make up a small percentage of the landscape. Individual variation in nutrient absorption may result from agonistic interactions in an environment where resources are heterogeneously distributed.

  18. New Developments in Forage Varieties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forage crops harvested for hay or haylage or grazed support dairy, beef, sheep and horse production. Additional livestock production from reduced forage acreage supports the need for forage variety improvement. The Consortium for Alfalfa Improvement is a partnership model of government, private no...

  19. Dynamic oceanography determines fine scale foraging behavior of Masked Boobies in the Gulf of Mexico.

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    Caroline L Poli

    Full Text Available During breeding, foraging marine birds are under biological, geographic, and temporal constraints. These contraints require foraging birds to efficiently process environmental cues derived from physical habitat features that occur at nested spatial scales. Mesoscale oceanography in particular may change rapidly within and between breeding seasons, and findings from well-studied systems that relate oceanography to seabird foraging may transfer poorly to regions with substantially different oceanographic conditions. Our objective was to examine foraging behavior of a pan-tropical seabird, the Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra, in the understudied Caribbean province, a moderately productive region driven by highly dynamic currents and fronts. We tracked 135 individuals with GPS units during May 2013, November 2013, and December 2014 at a regionally important breeding colony in the southern Gulf of Mexico. We measured foraging behavior using characteristics of foraging trips and used area restricted search as a proxy for foraging events. Among individual attributes, nest stage contributed to differences in foraging behavior whereas sex did not. Birds searched for prey at nested hierarchical scales ranging from 200 m-35 km. Large-scale coastal and shelf-slope fronts shifted position between sampling periods and overlapped geographically with overall foraging locations. At small scales (at the prey patch level, the specific relationship between environmental variables and foraging behavior was highly variable among individuals but general patterns emerged. Sea surface height anomaly and velocity of water were the strongest predictors of area restricted search behavior in random forest models, a finding that is consistent with the characterization of the Gulf of Mexico as an energetic system strongly influenced by currents and eddies. Our data may be combined with tracking efforts in the Caribbean province and across tropical regions to advance

  20. Dynamic oceanography determines fine scale foraging behavior of Masked Boobies in the Gulf of Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poli, Caroline L.; Harrison, Autumn-Lynn; Vallarino, Adriana; Gerard, Patrick D.; Jodice, Patrick G.R.

    2017-01-01

    During breeding, foraging marine birds are under biological, geographic, and temporal constraints. These contraints require foraging birds to efficiently process environmental cues derived from physical habitat features that occur at nested spatial scales. Mesoscale oceanography in particular may change rapidly within and between breeding seasons, and findings from well-studied systems that relate oceanography to seabird foraging may transfer poorly to regions with substantially different oceanographic conditions. Our objective was to examine foraging behavior of a pan-tropical seabird, the Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra), in the understudied Caribbean province, a moderately productive region driven by highly dynamic currents and fronts. We tracked 135 individuals with GPS units during May 2013, November 2013, and December 2014 at a regionally important breeding colony in the southern Gulf of Mexico. We measured foraging behavior using characteristics of foraging trips and used area restricted search as a proxy for foraging events. Among individual attributes, nest stage contributed to differences in foraging behavior whereas sex did not. Birds searched for prey at nested hierarchical scales ranging from 200 m—35 km. Large-scale coastal and shelf-slope fronts shifted position between sampling periods and overlapped geographically with overall foraging locations. At small scales (at the prey patch level), the specific relationship between environmental variables and foraging behavior was highly variable among individuals but general patterns emerged. Sea surface height anomaly and velocity of water were the strongest predictors of area restricted search behavior in random forest models, a finding that is consistent with the characterization of the Gulf of Mexico as an energetic system strongly influenced by currents and eddies. Our data may be combined with tracking efforts in the Caribbean province and across tropical regions to advance understanding of seabird

  1. USE OF GUACIMO (Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. AS A FORAGE SOURCE FOR EXTENSIVE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN A TROPICAL AREA OF MEXICO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha Elena Nava-Tablada

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available The objective was to study the traditional uses of guacimo (Guazuma ulmifolia Lam, compared to other local forage resources for livestock. The expectative of farmers on the use of trees as alternative sources of forage in Angostillo, Paso de Ovejas, Veracruz, Mexico was also investigated. Data was collected through interviews and direct observation. All farmers practice ranching and 85% combine animal production with crop cultivation; allocating 40% of their land to corn and 60% to dual purpose cattle production. The principal uses of guacimo are as forage, firewood, timber, shade, and living fence posts. Guacimo has the highest value as forage compared to other local fodder trees such as guaje de indio (Leucaena lanceolata S. Watson, espino (Acacia cavenia Mol. and huizache (A. farnesiana Willd.. Farmers showed interest in establishing silvopastoral systems including forage banks using guacimo. However, they foresaw limitations due to a lack of consulting, agronomic training and financial support to establish the crops.

  2. Dry matter intake, body condition score, and grazing behavior of nonlactating, pregnant dairy cows fed kale or grass once versus twice daily during winter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rugoho, I; Edwards, G R

    2018-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the effect of wintering pregnant, nonlactating dairy cows outdoors on either kale or grass, fed in 1 [11 kg dry matter (DM) of kale or grass + 3 kg DM of baled barley straw offered in the morning] or 2 allocations (5.5 kg DM of kale or grass grazed + 1.5 kg DM of barley straw offered morning and afternoon) per day. The body condition score (BCS) gain over the 47-d winter feeding period was higher for grass-fed (0.5 BCS units) than kale-fed cows (0.3 BCS units), but was unaffected by feeding frequency. Forage DM utilization was higher for kale-fed (97%) than grass-fed cows (76%), leading to higher estimated dry matter intake (DMI) in kale-fed (10.7 kg of DM/cow per day) than grass-fed cows (7.7 kg of DM/cow per day). Forage DM utilization and estimated DMI were not affected by feeding frequency. Prehension bite rate was greater for grass-fed (37.3 bites/min) than kale-fed cows (7.6 bites/min), but more mastication bites were required for kale-fed cows. Cumulative DMI after 2, 3, and 6 h was greater in cows allocated forage once than twice a day and for kale than grass after 3 and 6 h. Mean eating time was greater for cows offered forage once (477 min) than twice (414 min) per day. In conclusion, increasing feeding frequency from once to twice per day decreased the intake rate within the first 6 h after allocation, but did not affect total daily DMI, DM utilization or BCS gain. Thus, moving cows more frequently would not have any significant advantage. It may increase labor requirements, thereby creating a more challenging wintering management than feeding once per day. Copyright © 2018 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Geography and end use drive the diversification of worldwide winter rye populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parat, Florence; Schwertfirm, Grit; Rudolph, Ulrike; Miedaner, Thomas; Korzun, Viktor; Bauer, Eva; Schön, Chris-Carolin; Tellier, Aurélien

    2016-01-01

    To meet the current challenges in human food production, improved understanding of the genetic diversity of crop species that maximizes the selection efficacy in breeding programs is needed. The present study offers new insights into the diversity, genetic structure and demographic history of cultivated rye (Secale cereale L.). We genotyped 620 individuals from 14 global rye populations with a different end use (grain or forage) at 32 genome-wide simple sequence repeat markers. We reveal the relationships among these populations, their sizes and the timing of domestication events using population genetics and model-based inference with approximate Bayesian computation. Our main results demonstrate (i) a high within-population variation and genetic diversity, (ii) an unexpected absence of reduction in diversity with an increasing improvement level and (iii) patterns suggestive of multiple domestication events. We suggest that the main drivers of diversification of winter rye are the end use of rye in two early regions of cultivation: rye forage in the Mediterranean area and grain in northeast Europe. The lower diversity and stronger differentiation of eastern European populations were most likely due to more intensive cultivation and breeding of rye in this region, in contrast to the Mediterranean region where it was considered a secondary crop or even a weed. We discuss the relevance of our results for the management of gene bank resources and the pitfalls of inference methods applied to crop domestication due to violation of model assumptions and model complexity. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Nutritive value of pastures of Cynodon mixed with forage peanut in southwestern Paraná State

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    Magnos Fernando Ziech

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the nutritive value of pastures of Coastcross-1 and Tifton 85 mixed with increasing inclusion of forage peanut (0, 25, 50, 75% occupancy area, subjected to cuts, over two study years in Southwestern Paraná State. The experimental design was factorial (three factors distributed in randomized block. The factors were cultivars (2, the occupancy area of forage peanut (4 and seasons of cuts (5, with three replications. It was evaluated the percentage of crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and in vitro digestibility of dry matter of leaf blades, stem + sheath of grasses and available forage mass of pastures. Values of crude protein ranged from 17.0 to 20.4% and from 16.8 to 19.3% for the forage mass available of Coastcross-1 and Tifton 85, respectively. Higher digestibility values were found at the beginning of evaluations. On average, the Coastcross-1 showed better nutritive value compared to Tifton 85, and, the inclusion of forage peanut increased crude protein content in leaf blades of grasses studied, in the second year after planted.

  5. EXPLORATION UNDER SHADE PLANTS OF CASSAVA AND IT’S POTENTIAL AS FORAGE

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    Novia Qomariyah

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Utilization of forage plants growing among cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz is not optimal. Potential for development of integration of both very large and mutually beneficial. Purpose of this study is to explore and identify types of forage that grows in shade of the cassava plant and potential for development as a source of forage. This study took place in March 2014 Month held at IPB Sinar Sari Complex Dramaga. This research method to define area of cassava plants as treatments that cassava plants were planted separately with another crop (monoculture and cassava crops are planted among crops and horticultural crops such as pariah plants, beans, squash and corn (polyculture. Furthermore, observed and forage samples taken were grown in both location and made herbarium and identified its kind. Results: forage crops are grown between cassava monoculture is more diverse than polyculture. Types of forage crops grown on cassava monoculture is Echinochloa colona, Setaria barbata, Family Juncaceae, Cyperus sp., Conjugatum paspalum, Cynodon dactylon, Stenotaphrum secundatum, Axonophus compressus (Swartz P. Beauv, Eleusine indica and Panicum maximum. Types of forage crops grown on cassava polyculture is colona Echinochloa, Setaria barbata, Family Juncaceae, Cyperus sp., Stenotaphrum secundatum, Eleusine indica and Leucaena leucephala.

  6. Evaluation some Forage Legumes in Limited Irrigation Condition

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    Hassan Moniri Far

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Forage legumes respond differently to limited irrigation regimes. Their evaluation may, thus, help to select drought tolerant types for limited irrigation conditions. In this study four type of forage legume were studied for two years in Tikma-Dash Research Station of East Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural Research Center, Tabriz, Iran, in a randomized complete block design using split-plot experiment in 2011-2013 years. Irrigation regimes (without irrigation, one irrigation and two irrigations were assigned to main plots and four forage types (hairy vetch, grass pea, Pannonica sativa and lathyrus were assigned to subplots. The results of analysis of variance showed that the effect of irrigation on plant height, number of shoots, leaf area and plant fresh and dry weights were not significant. Howere, legume types affected these traits significantly (P≤0.01. The effect of irrigation levels and legume types on protein content of hay were significant (P

  7. Sage-grouse habitat selection during winter in Alberta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Jennifer L.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Boyce, Mark S.

    2010-01-01

    Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are dependent on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) for food and shelter during winter, yet few studies have assessed winter habitat selection, particularly at scales applicable to conservation planning. Small changes to availability of winter habitats have caused drastic reductions in some sage-grouse populations. We modeled winter habitat selection by sage-grouse in Alberta, Canada, by using a resource selection function. Our purpose was to 1) generate a robust winter habitat-selection model for Alberta sage-grouse; 2) spatially depict habitat suitability in a Geographic Information System to identify areas with a high probability of selection and thus, conservation importance; and 3) assess the relative influence of human development, including oil and gas wells, in landscape models of winter habitat selection. Terrain and vegetation characteristics, sagebrush cover, anthropogenic landscape features, and energy development were important in top Akaike's Information Criterionselected models. During winter, sage-grouse selected dense sagebrush cover and homogenous less rugged areas, and avoided energy development and 2-track truck trails. Sage-grouse avoidance of energy development highlights the need for comprehensive management strategies that maintain suitable habitats across all seasons. ?? 2010 The Wildlife Society.

  8. Forage selection by Royle's pika (Ochotona roylei) in the western Himalaya, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharyya, Sabuj; Adhikari, Bhupendra S; Rawat, Gopal S

    2013-10-01

    Forage selection decisions of herbivores are often complex and dynamic; they are modulated by multiple cues, such as quality, accessibility and abundance of forage plants. To advance the understanding of plant-herbivore interactions, we explored foraging behavior of the alpine lagomorph Royle's pika (Ochotona roylei) in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, India. Pika bite counts on food plants were recorded through focal sampling in three permanently marked plots. Food plant abundance was recorded by traditional quadrat procedures; forage selection was estimated with Jacob's selection index. Multiple food-choice experiments were conducted to determine whether forage selection criteria would change with variation in food plant composition. We also analyzed leaf morphology and nutrient content in both major food plants and abundantly available non-food plants. Linear regression models were used to test competing hypotheses in order to identify factors governing forage selection. Royle's pika fed primarily on 17 plant species and each forage selection decision was positively modulated by leaf area and negatively modulated by contents of avoided substances (neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin and tannin) in food plants. Furthermore, significance of the interaction term "leaf size × avoided substance" indicates that plants with large leaves were selected only when they had low avoided substance content. The forage selection criteria did not differ between field and laboratory experiments. The parameter estimates of best fit models indicate that the influence of leaf size or amount of avoided substance on pika forage selection was modulated by the magnitude of predation risk. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  9. Comparison of three techniques for estimating the forage intake of lactating dairy cows on pasture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macoon, B; Sollenberger, L E; Moore, J E; Staples, C R; Fike, J H; Portier, K M

    2003-09-01

    Quantifying DMI is necessary for estimation of nutrient consumption by ruminants, but it is inherently difficult on grazed pastures and even more so when supplements are fed. Our objectives were to compare three methods of estimating forage DMI (inference from animal performance, evaluation from fecal output using a pulse-dose marker, and estimation from herbage disappearance methods) and to identify the most useful approach or combination of approaches for estimating pasture intake by lactating dairy cows. During three continuous 28-d periods in the winter season, Holstein cows (Bos taurus; n = 32) grazed a cool-season grass or a cool-season grass-clover mixture at two stocking rates (SR; 5 vs. 2.5 cows/ha) and were fed two rates of concentrate supplementation (CS; 1 kg of concentrate [as-fed] per 2.5 or 3.5 kg of milk produced). Animal response data used in computations for the animal performance method were obtained from the latter 14 d of each period. For the pulse-dose marker method, chromium-mordanted fiber was used. Pasture sampling to determine herbage disappearance was done weekly throughout the study. Forage DMI estimated by the animal performance method was different among periods (P forage mass. The pulse-dose marker method generally provided greater estimates of forage DMI (as much as 11.0 kg/d more than the animal performance method) and was not correlated with the other methods. Estimates of forage DMI by the herbage disappearance method were correlated with the animal performance method. The difference between estimates from these two methods, ranging from -4.7 to 5.4 kg/d, were much lower than their difference from pulse-dose marker estimates. The results of this study suggest that, when appropriate for the research objectives, the animal performance or herbage disappearance methods may be useful and less costly alternatives to using the pulse-dose method.

  10. Optimal Foraging in Semantic Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hills, Thomas T.; Jones, Michael N.; Todd, Peter M.

    2012-01-01

    Do humans search in memory using dynamic local-to-global search strategies similar to those that animals use to forage between patches in space? If so, do their dynamic memory search policies correspond to optimal foraging strategies seen for spatial foraging? Results from a number of fields suggest these possibilities, including the shared…

  11. Weeds occurrence in areas submitted to distinct winter crops Ocorrência de plantas daninhas em áreas submetidas a manejos de inverno

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Concenço

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In the Western Region of Brazil, it is usual to have two agricultural harvests in the same cropping season. Usually the first crop is soybean, followed by corn. In areas where corn is not planted due to a delayed harvest of soybean, farmers generally do not use winter crops. For these areas, the planting of winter oilseed crops aiming at the production of bio-fuels is one of the best alternatives; in addition, this would help in reducing the occurrence of weed species at the following summer crop. This study aimed to assessing the weed community in distinct winter crops post soybean crop, in terms of species composition, level of infestation and severity of occurrence. The following treatments were evaluated: agriculture under a no-till system with winter fallow, winter oilseed crops (crambe, radish, rapeseed with no-till agriculture in the summer, and agriculture under a conventional tillage system with winter fallow. Phytosociological evaluations of all treatments were carried out 75 DAE of the oilseed crops, and the diversity indexes of Margalef, Menhinick, Simpson, and Shannon-Weiner were determined. Areas were also grouped by cluster analysis based on UPGMA applied at Jaccard's similarity matrix. Among the treatments with winter coverage, radish was the most efficient crop in suppressing the occurrence of weed species. The area with conventional tillage agriculture and winter fallow allowed for a higher occurrence of troublesome weeds. On the other hand, the area under fallow showed the highest absolute level of infestation. Overall, oilseed crops in the winter contribute to lower levels of infestation by weed species in these areas.Na região Centro-Oeste do Brasil, é usual a obtenção de duas colheitas na mesma safra agrícola. Normalmente o primeiro cultivo é de soja, seguida por milho. Em áreas onde o milho não é cultivado devido à colheita tardia da soja, os produtores normalmente não utilizam culturas ou coberturas no per

  12. Effects of tidal cycles on shorebird distribution and foraging behaviour in a coastal tropical wetland: Insights for carrying capacity assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonseca, Juanita; Basso, Enzo; Serrano, David; Navedo, Juan G.

    2017-11-01

    Wetland loss has driven negative effects on biodiversity by a reduction in potential available habitats, directly impacting wetland-dependent species such as migratory shorebirds. At coastal areas where tidal cycles can restrict food access, the degree to which density of foraging birds is mediated by conspecific abundance or by the available areas is crucial to understanding patterns of bird distribution and wetland carrying capacity. We used the bathymetry of two sectors modeled with two numerical matrices to determine the availability of intertidal foraging areas in relation to tidal level (spring and neap tides), and this information was used to estimate shorebird density and foraging activity throughout the low-tide cycle in a tropical coastal lagoon in northwestern Mexico. Relative to spring tides, an 80% reduction in available foraging areas occurred during neap tides. Overall shorebird abundance was significantly reduced during neap tide periods, with differences between species. Densities of shorebirds increased during neap tides, particularly in one sector, and remained similar throughout the low-tide period (i.e. 4 h) either during spring or neap tides. Time spent foraging was consistently lower during neap-tides relative to spring-tides, especially for Long-billed curlew (44% reduction), Willet (37% reduction) and Black-necked stilt (29% reduction). These decreases in foraging activity when available habitats became reduced can hamper the opportunities of migratory shorebirds to reach their daily energy requirements to survive during the non-breeding season. This study shows that when intertidal habitats are severely reduced an important fraction of shorebird populations would probably be forced to find alternative areas to forage or increase foraging time during the night. Serving an essential function as top-predators, these results can have important implications on carrying capacity assessment for shorebirds at coastal wetlands.

  13. An Observational Study of Honey Bee Colony Winter Losses and Their Association with Varroa destructor, Neonicotinoids and Other Risk Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Zee, Romée; Gray, Alison; Pisa, Lennard; de Rijk, Theo

    2015-01-01

    This article presents results of an analysis of honey bee losses over the winter of 2011-2012 in the Netherlands, from a sample of 86 colonies, located at 43 apiaries. The apiaries were selected using spatially stratified random sampling. Colony winter loss data were collected and related to various measures of colony strength recorded in summer, as well as data from laboratory analysis of sample material taken from two selected colonies in each of the 43 apiaries. The logistic regression model which best explained the risk of winter loss included, in order of statistical importance, the variables (1) Varroa destructor mite infestation rate in October 2011, (2) presence of the cyano-substituted neonicotinoids acetamiprid or thiacloprid in the first 2 weeks of August 2011 in at least one of the honey bee matrices honey, bees or bee bread (pollen), (3) presence of Brassica napus (oilseed rape) or Sinapis arvensis (wild mustard) pollen in bee bread in early August 2011, and (4) a measure of the unexplained winter losses for the postal code area where the colonies were located, obtained from a different dataset. We consider in the discussion that reduced opportunities for foraging in July and August because of bad weather may have added substantially to the adverse effects of acetamiprid and thiacloprid. A novel feature of this work is its use of postal code random effects from two other independent datasets collected in the annual national monitoring by questionnaires of winter losses of honey bees in the Netherlands. These were used to plan the sample selection and also in the model fitting of the data in this study. It should however be noted that the results of the present pilot study are based on limited data, which may consequently reveal strong factors but fail to demonstrate possible interaction effects. PMID:26154346

  14. An Observational Study of Honey Bee Colony Winter Losses and Their Association with Varroa destructor, Neonicotinoids and Other Risk Factors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romée van der Zee

    Full Text Available This article presents results of an analysis of honey bee losses over the winter of 2011-2012 in the Netherlands, from a sample of 86 colonies, located at 43 apiaries. The apiaries were selected using spatially stratified random sampling. Colony winter loss data were collected and related to various measures of colony strength recorded in summer, as well as data from laboratory analysis of sample material taken from two selected colonies in each of the 43 apiaries. The logistic regression model which best explained the risk of winter loss included, in order of statistical importance, the variables (1 Varroa destructor mite infestation rate in October 2011, (2 presence of the cyano-substituted neonicotinoids acetamiprid or thiacloprid in the first 2 weeks of August 2011 in at least one of the honey bee matrices honey, bees or bee bread (pollen, (3 presence of Brassica napus (oilseed rape or Sinapis arvensis (wild mustard pollen in bee bread in early August 2011, and (4 a measure of the unexplained winter losses for the postal code area where the colonies were located, obtained from a different dataset. We consider in the discussion that reduced opportunities for foraging in July and August because of bad weather may have added substantially to the adverse effects of acetamiprid and thiacloprid. A novel feature of this work is its use of postal code random effects from two other independent datasets collected in the annual national monitoring by questionnaires of winter losses of honey bees in the Netherlands. These were used to plan the sample selection and also in the model fitting of the data in this study. It should however be noted that the results of the present pilot study are based on limited data, which may consequently reveal strong factors but fail to demonstrate possible interaction effects.

  15. An Observational Study of Honey Bee Colony Winter Losses and Their Association with Varroa destructor, Neonicotinoids and Other Risk Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Zee, Romée; Gray, Alison; Pisa, Lennard; de Rijk, Theo

    2015-01-01

    This article presents results of an analysis of honey bee losses over the winter of 2011-2012 in the Netherlands, from a sample of 86 colonies, located at 43 apiaries. The apiaries were selected using spatially stratified random sampling. Colony winter loss data were collected and related to various measures of colony strength recorded in summer, as well as data from laboratory analysis of sample material taken from two selected colonies in each of the 43 apiaries. The logistic regression model which best explained the risk of winter loss included, in order of statistical importance, the variables (1) Varroa destructor mite infestation rate in October 2011, (2) presence of the cyano-substituted neonicotinoids acetamiprid or thiacloprid in the first 2 weeks of August 2011 in at least one of the honey bee matrices honey, bees or bee bread (pollen), (3) presence of Brassica napus (oilseed rape) or Sinapis arvensis (wild mustard) pollen in bee bread in early August 2011, and (4) a measure of the unexplained winter losses for the postal code area where the colonies were located, obtained from a different dataset. We consider in the discussion that reduced opportunities for foraging in July and August because of bad weather may have added substantially to the adverse effects of acetamiprid and thiacloprid. A novel feature of this work is its use of postal code random effects from two other independent datasets collected in the annual national monitoring by questionnaires of winter losses of honey bees in the Netherlands. These were used to plan the sample selection and also in the model fitting of the data in this study. It should however be noted that the results of the present pilot study are based on limited data, which may consequently reveal strong factors but fail to demonstrate possible interaction effects.

  16. Postharvest tillage reduces Downy Brome infestations in winter wheat

    Science.gov (United States)

    In the Pacific Northwest, downy brome continues to infest winter wheat producing regions especially in low-rainfall areas where the winter wheat-summer fallow rotation is the dominate production system. In Washington, a study was conducted for 2 years at each of two locations in the winter wheat -su...

  17. Importance of new winter pea genotyp in production of the milk on family farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gordana Županac

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Forage pea (Pisum sativum L. is becoming more represented gorage leguminoza on the fields Republic of Croatia. Three year field trials (2003-2005 were carried out to determine the effect of seed winter pea inoculation and nitrogen top-dressing on productivity of new winter pea genotype G3 in production of milk on family farms. Just before sowing the inoculation of pea seed was performed by the variety of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 1001 which is part of the microbiological collection of the Department of Microbiology at the Faculty of Agriculture University of Zagreb. The results of the research showed that the highest total nodule number on pea root (39.7 nodule/plant as well as nodule dry matter weight (0.203 g/plant was determined on the inoculated variant. Average highest yield of winter pea dry matter was, once more, determined on the inoculated variant (4.33 t ha-1. Total dry matter yield of winter pea and wheat mixture were ranging from 8.92 t ha-1 (control up to 10.64 t ha-1 (nitrogen top-dressing. Average highest yield of winter pea crude protein was, once more, determined on the inoculated variant (266 kg ha-1 in 2003, (672 kg ha-1 in 2004 and (853 kg ha-1 in 2005. The conclusion of this research is that the highest dry matter yield (4.33 t ha-1 and crude protein yield was obtained with the inoculation of new genotype winter pea G3.

  18. Effects of marsh pond terracing on coastal wintering waterbirds before and after Hurricane Rita.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connell, Jessica L; Nyman, John A

    2011-11-01

    From February to March 2005-2006, we surveyed wintering waterbirds to test effects of terracing on coastal pond use before and after Hurricane Rita. Marsh terracing is intended to slow coastal marsh loss in the Chenier Plain by slowing marsh erosion and encouraging vegetation expansion. Terraces also increase marsh edge in ponds, possibly benefiting waterbirds. We monitored paired terraced and unterraced ponds in three sites within southwestern Louisiana's Chenier Plain. Waterbirds were 75% more numerous in terraced than unterraced ponds. Waterbird richness was similar among ponds when corrected for number of individuals, suggesting terracing increased bird density but did not provide habitat unique from unterraced ponds. Birds were 93% more numerous following Hurricane Rita, mostly due to an influx of migrating waterfowl. Year round residents were similar in number before and after Hurricane Rita. Resident richness did not differ among years after correcting for number of observed individuals. Wading and dabbling foragers were more abundant in terraced ponds and these two guilds represented 74% of birds observed. We detected no difference among ponds for other guilds, i.e., probing, aerial, and diving foragers. Increasing proportion of mash edge increased bird density disproportionately: On average ponds with 10% edge had 6 birds observed and ponds with 30% edge had 16 birds observed. Terraces increased habitat interspersion and were an effective tool for increasing numbers of wintering waterfowl and wading birds. The extent to which terraces were sustainable following hurricane forces is unknown.

  19. Effects of Marsh Pond Terracing on Coastal Wintering Waterbirds Before and After Hurricane Rita

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connell, Jessica L.; Nyman, John A.

    2011-11-01

    From February to March 2005-2006, we surveyed wintering waterbirds to test effects of terracing on coastal pond use before and after Hurricane Rita. Marsh terracing is intended to slow coastal marsh loss in the Chenier Plain by slowing marsh erosion and encouraging vegetation expansion. Terraces also increase marsh edge in ponds, possibly benefiting waterbirds. We monitored paired terraced and unterraced ponds in three sites within southwestern Louisiana's Chenier Plain. Waterbirds were 75% more numerous in terraced than unterraced ponds. Waterbird richness was similar among ponds when corrected for number of individuals, suggesting terracing increased bird density but did not provide habitat unique from unterraced ponds. Birds were 93% more numerous following Hurricane Rita, mostly due to an influx of migrating waterfowl. Year round residents were similar in number before and after Hurricane Rita. Resident richness did not differ among years after correcting for number of observed individuals. Wading and dabbling foragers were more abundant in terraced ponds and these two guilds represented 74% of birds observed. We detected no difference among ponds for other guilds, i.e., probing, aerial, and diving foragers. Increasing proportion of mash edge increased bird density disproportionately: On average ponds with 10% edge had 6 birds observed and ponds with 30% edge had 16 birds observed. Terraces increased habitat interspersion and were an effective tool for increasing numbers of wintering waterfowl and wading birds. The extent to which terraces were sustainable following hurricane forces is unknown.

  20. Ecological correlates of variable organ sizes and fat loads in the most northerly-wintering shorebirds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruthrauff, Daniel R.; Dekinga, Anne; Gill, R.E.; Summers, R.W.; Piersma, Theunis

    2013-01-01

    Shorebirds at northern latitudes during the nonbreeding season typically carry relatively large lipid stores and exhibit an up-regulation of lean tissues associated with digestion and thermogenesis. Intraspecific variation in these tissues across sites primarily reflects differences in environmental conditions. Rock (Calidris ptilocnemis (Coues, 1873)) and Purple (Calidris maritima (Brünnich, 1764)) sandpipers are closely related species having the most northerly nonbreeding distributions among shorebirds, living at latitudes up to 61°N in Cook Inlet, Alaska, and up to 71°N in northern Norway, respectively. Cook Inlet is the coldest known site used by nonbreeding shorebirds, and the region’s mudflats annually experience extensive coverage of foraging sites by sea and shore-fast ice. Accordingly, Rock Sandpipers increase their fat stores to nearly 20% of body mass during winter. In contrast, Purple Sandpipers exploit predictably ice-free rocky intertidal foraging sites and maintain low (food resources.

  1. Winter temperatures in the second half of the sixteenth century in the central area of the Iberian Peninsula

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Bullón

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the winter temperatures of the second part of the sixteenth century in the central area of the Iberian Peninsula. A large number of historical documents that are stored in many different Spanish archives were consulted in order to carry out this research. The data was first arranged and weighted according to the intensity and significance of the meteorological phenomena described and, subsequently, these values were assigned an ordinal index ranging from +4 to −4. The statistical treatment applied is based on the reconstruction of temperatures equivalent to this ordinal index, expressed as anomalies of the 1961–1990 period, belonging to a reference station located at the approximate geographical center of the area under study. The results show winter thermal conditions different from current ones that, for the most part, stay below the reference average and that occurred with a wide range of variability. The influence that thermal conditions had on the evolution of some environmental aspects are considered based on the forest exploitation problem information and on the wine harvest production.

  2. Frequent arousals from winter torpor in Rafinesque's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph S Johnson

    Full Text Available Extensive use of torpor is a common winter survival strategy among bats; however, data comparing various torpor behaviors among species are scarce. Winter torpor behaviors are likely to vary among species with different physiologies and species inhabiting different regional climates. Understanding these differences may be important in identifying differing susceptibilities of species to white-nose syndrome (WNS in North America. We fitted 24 Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii with temperature-sensitive radio-transmitters, and monitored 128 PIT-tagged big-eared bats, during the winter months of 2010 to 2012. We tested the hypothesis that Rafinesque's big-eared bats use torpor less often than values reported for other North American cave-hibernators. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that Rafinesque's big-eared bats arouse on winter nights more suitable for nocturnal foraging. Radio-tagged bats used short (2.4 d ± 0.3 (SE, shallow (13.9°C ± 0.6 torpor bouts and switched roosts every 4.1 d ± 0.6. Probability of arousal from torpor increased linearly with ambient temperature at sunset (P<0.0001, and 83% (n=86 of arousals occurred within 1 hr of sunset. Activity of PIT-tagged bats at an artificial maternity/hibernaculum roost between November and March was positively correlated with ambient temperature at sunset (P<0.0001, with males more active at the roost than females. These data show Rafinesque's big-eared bat is a shallow hibernator and is relatively active during winter. We hypothesize that winter activity patterns provide Corynorhinus species with an ecological and physiological defense against the fungus causing WNS, and that these bats may be better suited to withstand fungal infection than other cave-hibernating bat species in eastern North America.

  3. Winter Bottom Trawl Survey

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The standardized NEFSC Winter Bottom Trawl Survey was initiated in 1992 and covered offshore areas from the Mid-Atlantic to Georges Bank. Inshore strata were covered...

  4. Feeding ecology of waterfowl wintering on evaporation ponds in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Euliss, N.H.; Jarvis, R.L.; Gilmer, D.S.

    1991-01-01

    We examined the feeding ecology of Northern Pintails (Anas acuta), Northern Shovelers (A. clypeata), and Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) wintering on drainwater evaporation ponds in California from 1982 through 1984. Pintails primarily consumed midges (Chironomidae) (39.3%) and widegeongrass (Ruppia maritima) nutlets (34.6%). Shovelers and Ruddy Ducks consumed 92.5% and 90.1% animal matter, respectively. Water boatmen (Corixidae) (51.6%), rotifers (Rotatoria) (20.4%), and copepods (Copepoda) (15.2%) were the most important Shoveler foods, and midges (49.7%) and water boatmen (36.0%) were the most important foods of Ruddy Ducks. All three species were opportunistic foragers, shifting their diets seasonally to the most abundant foods given their behavioral and morphological attributes.

  5. Characterizing pinniped use of offshore oil and gas platforms as haulouts and foraging areas in waters off southern California from 2013-01-01 to 2015-01-31 (NCEI Accession 0138984)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) use offshore oil and gas platforms as resting and foraging areas. Both...

  6. Growth Indicators of a 48-Clone Sugar Cane Population (Saccharum spp. with Forage Potential

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoslen Fernández Gálvez

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to determine growth indicators in a 48-clone sugar cane population, with promising phenotypical features for forage production. The following indicators were assessed: leaf area (A, leaf area index (LA1; leaf area ratio (LAR; specific leaf area (SLA; leaf weight ratio (LWR; crop growth rate (CGR; net assimilation rate (NAR; relative growth rate in weight (RGR; biomass production speed (G; leaf area duration (LAD; and biomass duration (Z, monthly (187 - 370 days. The minimum, the mean, the maximum values, and the population variance were determined for all cutting ages and the variables assessed. The results achieved have provided quantitative values that can be used as reference for selection and assessment of forage genotypes for ruminant nutrition.

  7. Combined influence of meso-scale circulation and bathymetry on the foraging behaviour of a diving predator, the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheffer, Annette; Trathan, Philip N.; Edmonston, Johnnie G.; Bost, Charles-André

    2016-02-01

    Investigating the responses of marine predators to environmental features is of key importance for understanding their foraging behaviour and reproductive success. In this study we examined the foraging behaviour of king penguins breeding at Kerguelen (southern Indian Ocean) in relation to oceanographic and bathymetric features within their foraging ambit. We used ARGOS and Global Positioning System tracking together with Time-Depth-Temperature-Recorders (TDR) to follow the at-sea movements of incubating and brooding king penguins. Combining the penguin behaviour with oceanographic data at the surface through satellite data and at depth through in-situ recordings by the TDRs enabled us to explore how these predators adjusted their horizontal and vertical foraging movements in response to their physical environment. Relating the observed behaviour and oceanographic patterns to local bathymetry lead to a comprehensive picture of the combined influence of bathymetry and meso-scale circulation on the foraging behaviour of king penguins. During both breeding stages king penguins foraged in the area to the south-east of Kerguelen, where they explored an influx of cold waters of southern origin interacting with the Kerguelen Plateau bathymetry. Foraging in the Polar Front and at the thermocline was associated with high prey capture rates. However, foraging trip orientation and water mass utilization suggested that bathymetrically entrained cold-water features provided the most favourable foraging locations. Our study explicitly reports the exploration of bathymetry-related oceanographic features by foraging king penguins. It confirms the presence of Areas of Ecological Significance for marine predators on the Kerguelen Plateau, and suggests the importance of further areas related to the cold-water flow along the shelf break of the Kerguelen Plateau.

  8. Culicoides species abundance and potential over-wintering of African horse sickness virus in the Onderstepoort area, Gauteng, South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gert J. Venter

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In South Africa, outbreaks of African horse sickness (AHS occur in summer; no cases are reported in winter, from July to September. The AHS virus (AHSV is transmitted almost exclusively by Culicoides midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae, of which Culicoides imicola is considered to be the most important vector. The over-wintering mechanism of AHSV is unknown. In this study, more than 500 000 Culicoides midges belonging to at least 26 species were collected in 88 light traps at weekly intervals between July 2010 and September 2011 near horses in the Onderstepoort area of South Africa. The dominant species was C. imicola. Despite relatively low temperatures and frost, at least 17 species, including C. imicola, were collected throughout winter (June–August. Although the mean number of midges per night fell from > 50 000 (March to < 100 (July and August, no midge-free periods were found. This study, using virus isolation on cell cultures and a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR assay, confirmed low infection prevalence in field midges and that the detection of virus correlated to high numbers. Although no virus was detected during this winter period, continuous adult activity indicated that transmission can potentially occur. The absence of AHSV in the midges during winter can be ascribed to the relatively low numbers collected coupled to low infection prevalence, low virus replication rates and low virus titres in the potentially infected midges. Cases of AHS in susceptible animals are likely to start as soon as Culicoides populations reach a critical level.

  9. Nutrient cycling in a cropping system with potato, spring wheat, sugar beet, oats and nitrogen catch crops. II. Effect of catch crops on nitrate leaching in autumn and winter

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vos, J.; Putten, van der P.E.L.

    2004-01-01

    The Nitrate Directive of the European Union (EU) forces agriculture to reduce nitrate emission. The current study addressed nitrate emission and nitrate-N concentrations in leachate from cropping systems with and without the cultivation of catch crops (winter rye: Secale cereale L. and forage rape:

  10. Small Winter Thunderstorm with Sprites and Strong Positive Discharge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Tomoyuki; Hayakawa, Masashi; Michimoto, Koichiro

    A sprite campaign was conducted in the Hokuriku area of Japan during a winter of 2004/2005. On the basis of a combined analysis of the data from various instruments (CCD cameras, radar, VHF/LF∼MF lightning mapping system, field mill network, and ELF detector), we studied meteorological and electrical structures for winter thunderstorms and sprite-producing positive discharge. Typical winter sprite parent thunderstorms had a meso-scale cloud area with embedded small convective cells. Some small winter thunderstorms accompanied by the most frequent sprite events were found to cause 2∼3 sprite events during a short interval of about 3∼5 min. When the sprites were observed, the extent of the convective cells at 20 dBZ counter was atmost ∼20 × 20 km. The VHF sources associated with sprites were located near south of the convective cell and were mapped within very small areas of at most ∼10 × 10 km. This fact shows that some small winter thunderstorms can generate large positive charge associated with sprites. We will present the analysis of such a small thunderstorms with sprites and positive lightning discharges.

  11. Factors influencing elk recruitment across ecotypes in the Western United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukacs, Paul M.; Mitchell, Michael S.; Hebblewhite, Mark; Johnson, Bruce K.; Johnson, Heather; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Proffitt, Kelly M.; Zager, Peter; Brodie, Jedediah; Hersey, Kent R.; Holland, A. Andrew; Hurley, Mark; McCorquodale, Scott; Middleton, Arthur; Nordhagen, Matthew; Nowak, J. Joshua; Walsh, Daniel P.; White, P.J.

    2018-01-01

    Ungulates are key components in ecosystems and economically important for sport and subsistence harvest. Yet the relative importance of the effects of weather conditions, forage productivity, and carnivores on ungulates are not well understood. We examined changes in elk (Cervus canadensis) recruitment (indexed as age ratios) across 7 states and 3 ecotypes in the northwestern United States during 1989–2010, while considering the effects of predator richness, forage productivity, and precipitation. We found a broad‐scale, long‐term decrease in elk recruitment of 0.48 juveniles/100 adult females/year. Weather conditions (indexed as summer and winter precipitation) showed small, but measurable, influences on recruitment. Forage productivity on summer and winter ranges (indexed by normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI] metrics) had the strongest effect on elk recruitment relative to other factors. Relationships between forage productivity and recruitment varied seasonally and regionally. The productivity of winter habitat was more important in southern parts of the study area, whereas annual variation in productivity of summer habitat had more influence on recruitment in northern areas. Elk recruitment varied by up to 15 juveniles/100 adult females across the range of variation in forage productivity. Areas with more species of large carnivores had relatively low elk recruitment, presumably because of increased predation. Wolves (Canis lupus) were associated with a decrease of 5 juveniles/100 adult females, whereas grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) were associated with an additional decrease of 7 juveniles/100 adult females. Carnivore species can have a critical influence on ungulate recruitment because their influence rivals large ranges of variation in environmental conditions. A more pressing concern, however, stems from persistent broad‐scale decreases in recruitment across the distribution of elk in the northwestern United States, irrespective of

  12. Use of geolocators reveals previously unknown Chinese and Korean scaly-sided merganser wintering sites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soloveyva, Diana; Afanasiev, Vsevolod; Fox, James W.

    2012-01-01

    areas in successive years, suggesting winter fidelity to catchments if not specific sites. A single female from the adjacent Avvakumovka catchment wintered on saltwater in Korea, at least 1300 km east of Chinese wintering birds. Most sea duck species (Tribe Mergini) form pairs away from breeding areas......, suggesting that this high level of winter dispersal amongst close-nesting females is a potential mechanism to maintain gene flow in this threatened species that has specialist habitat requirements. Hence, female scaly-sided mergansers disperse widely from breeding areas, but show fidelity to nesting areas...

  13. Evidence of trapline foraging in honeybees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buatois, Alexis; Lihoreau, Mathieu

    2016-08-15

    Central-place foragers exploiting floral resources often use multi-destination routes (traplines) to maximise their foraging efficiency. Recent studies on bumblebees have showed how solitary foragers can learn traplines, minimising travel costs between multiple replenishing feeding locations. Here we demonstrate a similar routing strategy in the honeybee (Apis mellifera), a major pollinator known to recruit nestmates to discovered food resources. Individual honeybees trained to collect sucrose solution from four artificial flowers arranged within 10 m of the hive location developed repeatable visitation sequences both in the laboratory and in the field. A 10-fold increase of between-flower distances considerably intensified this routing behaviour, with bees establishing more stable and more efficient routes at larger spatial scales. In these advanced social insects, trapline foraging may complement cooperative foraging for exploiting food resources near the hive (where dance recruitment is not used) or when resources are not large enough to sustain multiple foragers at once. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  14. Simulation modeling to understand how selective foraging by beaver can drive the structure and function of a willow community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peinetti, H.R.; Baker, B.W.; Coughenour, M.B.

    2009-01-01

    Beaver-willow (Castor-Salix) communities are a unique and vital component of healthy wetlands throughout the Holarctic region. Beaver selectively forage willow to provide fresh food, stored winter food, and construction material. The effects of this complex foraging behavior on the structure and function of willow communities is poorly understood. Simulation modeling may help ecologists understand these complex interactions. In this study, a modified version of the SAVANNA ecosystem model was developed to better understand how beaver foraging affects the structure and function of a willow community in a simulated riparian ecosystem in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado (RMNP). The model represents willow in terms of plant and stem dynamics and beaver foraging in terms of the quantity and quality of stems cut to meet the energetic and life history requirements of beaver. Given a site where all stems were equally available, the model suggested a simulated beaver family of 2 adults, 2 yearlings, and 2 kits required a minimum of 4 ha of willow (containing about10 stems m-2) to persist in a steady-state condition. Beaver created a willow community where the annual net primary productivity (ANPP) was 2 times higher and plant architecture was more diverse than the willow community without beaver. Beaver foraging created a plant architecture dominated by medium size willow plants, which likely explains how beaver can increase ANPP. Long-term simulations suggested that woody biomass stabilized at similar values even though availability differed greatly at initial condition. Simulations also suggested that willow ANPP increased across a range of beaver densities until beaver became food limited. Thus, selective foraging by beaver increased productivity, decreased biomass, and increased structural heterogeneity in a simulated willow community.

  15. Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor): foraging behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorrell, G.G.; Boback, M.S.; Reed, R.N.; Green, S.; Montgomery, Chad E.; DeSouza, L.S.; Chiaraviglio, M.

    2011-01-01

    Boa constrictor is often referred to as a sit-and-wait or ambush forager that chooses locations to maximize the likelihood of prey encounters (Greene 1983. In Janzen [ed.], Costa Rica Natural History, pp. 380-382. Univ. Chicago Press, Illinois). However, as more is learned about the natural history of snakes in general, the dichotomy between active versus ambush foraging is becoming blurred. Herein, we describe an instance of diurnal active foraging by a B. constrictor, illustrating that this species exhibits a range of foraging behaviors.

  16. Visual Foraging With Fingers and Eye Gaze

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ómar I. Jóhannesson

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available A popular model of the function of selective visual attention involves search where a single target is to be found among distractors. For many scenarios, a more realistic model involves search for multiple targets of various types, since natural tasks typically do not involve a single target. Here we present results from a novel multiple-target foraging paradigm. We compare finger foraging where observers cancel a set of predesignated targets by tapping them, to gaze foraging where observers cancel items by fixating them for 100 ms. During finger foraging, for most observers, there was a large difference between foraging based on a single feature, where observers switch easily between target types, and foraging based on a conjunction of features where observers tended to stick to one target type. The pattern was notably different during gaze foraging where these condition differences were smaller. Two conclusions follow: (a The fact that a sizeable number of observers (in particular during gaze foraging had little trouble switching between different target types raises challenges for many prominent theoretical accounts of visual attention and working memory. (b While caveats must be noted for the comparison of gaze and finger foraging, the results suggest that selection mechanisms for gaze and pointing have different operational constraints.

  17. Habitat-specific foraging strategies in Australasian gannets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melanie R. Wells

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge of top predator foraging adaptability is imperative for predicting their biological response to environmental variability. While seabirds have developed highly specialised techniques to locate prey, little is known about intraspecific variation in foraging strategies with many studies deriving information from uniform oceanic environments. Australasian gannets (Morus serrator typically forage in continental shelf regions on small schooling prey. The present study used GPS and video data loggers to compare habitat-specific foraging strategies at two sites of contrasting oceanographic regimes (deep water near the continental shelf edge, n=23; shallow inshore embayment, n=26, in south-eastern Australia. Individuals from the continental shelf site exhibited pelagic foraging behaviours typical of gannet species, using local enhancement to locate and feed on small schooling fish; in contrast only 50% of the individuals from the inshore site foraged offshore, displaying the typical pelagic foraging strategy. The remainder adopted a strategy of searching sand banks in shallow inshore waters in the absence of conspecifics and other predators for large, single prey items. Furthermore, of the individuals foraging inshore, 93% were male, indicating that the inshore strategy may be sex-specific. Large inter-colony differences in Australasian gannets suggest strong plasticity in foraging behaviours, essential for adapting to environmental change.

  18. Do bigger bats need more time to forage?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CEL. Esbérard

    Full Text Available We test the hypothesis is that bats using the same area and at the same time would be using similar preys, but they would have different foraging times due to specific differences in biomass. A total of 730 captures was analyzed 13 species of Vespertilionidae and Molossidae bats netted over a small dam in southeastern Brazil from 1993 and 1999. The relationship between the average time of captures and the biomass of the species of Vespertilinidae and Molossidae most frequent (captures > 4 was positive and significant (r = 0.83, p = 0.022, N = 7. Two lines are discussed to answer the longer foraging time for bigger bats: 1 larger insectivorous bats don't consume proportionally larger preys and 2 larger insects are less available.

  19. Foraging modality and plasticity in foraging traits determine the strength of competitive interactions among carnivorous plants, spiders and toads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennings, David E; Krupa, James J; Rohr, Jason R

    2016-07-01

    Foraging modalities (e.g. passive, sit-and-wait, active) and traits are plastic in some species, but the extent to which this plasticity affects interspecific competition remains unclear. Using a long-term laboratory mesocosm experiment, we quantified competition strength and the plasticity of foraging traits in a guild of generalist predators of arthropods with a range of foraging modalities. Each mesocosm contained eight passively foraging pink sundews, and we employed an experimental design where treatments were the presence or absence of a sit-and-wait foraging spider and actively foraging toad crossed with five levels of prey abundance. We hypothesized that actively foraging toads would outcompete the other species at low prey abundance, but that spiders and sundews would exhibit plasticity in foraging traits to compensate for strong competition when prey were limited. Results generally supported our hypotheses. Toads had a greater effect on sundews at low prey abundances, and toad presence caused spiders to locate webs higher above the ground. Additionally, the closer large spider webs were to the ground, the greater the trichome densities produced by sundews. Also, spider webs were larger with than without toads and as sundew numbers increased, and these effects were more prominent as resources became limited. Finally, spiders negatively affected toad growth only at low prey abundance. These findings highlight the long-term importance of foraging modality and plasticity of foraging traits in determining the strength of competition within and across taxonomic kingdoms. Future research should assess whether plasticity in foraging traits helps to maintain coexistence within this guild and whether foraging modality can be used as a trait to reliably predict the strength of competitive interactions. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2016 British Ecological Society.

  20. Sewage-treatment under substantial load variations in winter tourism areas--a full case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winkler, S; Matsché, N; Gamperer, T; Dum, M

    2004-01-01

    The sewage-load variations in winter tourism areas are characterized by sudden increases--in the range of a factor two to three--within only a few days at the start and the end of the tourist season, especially at Christmas. The sudden load increases occur during periods of low wastewater temperatures, which is an additional demanding factor with respect to nitrogen removal. A full case study was carried out at WWTP Saalfelden, which is located near one of Austria's largest skiing resorts. The plant is designed for 80,000 PE and built according to the HYBRID-concept, which is a special two stage activated sludge process for extensive nutrient removal.

  1. Latitudinal range influences the seasonal variation in the foraging behavior of marine top predators.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stella Villegas-Amtmann

    Full Text Available Non-migratory resident species should be capable of modifying their foraging behavior to accommodate changes in prey abundance and availability associated with a changing environment. Populations that are better adapted to change will have higher foraging success and greater potential for survival in the face of climate change. We studied two species of resident central place foragers from temperate and equatorial regions with differing population trends and prey availability associated to season, the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus (CSL whose population is increasing and the endangered Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki (GSL whose population is declining. To determine their response to environmental change, we studied and compared their diving behavior using time-depth recorders and satellite location tags and their diet by measuring C and N isotope ratios during a warm and a cold season. Based on latitudinal differences in oceanographic productivity, we hypothesized that the seasonal variation in foraging behavior would differ for these two species. CSL exhibited greater seasonal variability in their foraging behavior as seen in changes to their diving behavior, foraging areas and diet between seasons. Conversely, GSL did not change their diving behavior between seasons, presenting three foraging strategies (shallow, deep and bottom divers during both. GSL exhibited greater dive and foraging effort than CSL. We suggest that during the warm and less productive season a greater range of foraging behaviors in CSL was associated with greater competition for prey, which relaxed during the cold season when resource availability was greater. GSL foraging specialization suggests that resources are limited throughout the year due to lower primary production and lower seasonal variation in productivity compared to CSL. These latitudinal differences influence their foraging success, pup survival and population growth reflected in

  2. [Algal community structure and water quality assessment on drawdown area of Kaixian waters in Three Gorges Reservoir during winter storage period].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Jing-Song; Xie, Dan; Li, Zhe; Chen, Yuan; Sun, Zhi-Yu; Chen, Yong-Bo; Long, Man

    2012-04-01

    The old town area of Kaixian county was flooded and showed reservoir characteristics after the water level of Three Gorges Reservoir got 172. 8 m in December 2008. The aquatic ecology and nutritional status of Kaixian drawdown area after water storage are still rarely reported. To understand the current water environment and changes in algal community structure of Kaixian drawdown area after 172.8 m water level, the algal composition, abundance, biomass distribution and changes of its sampling spots including Hanfeng Lake were observed twice during winter storage period in January and December 2009. The trends in phytoplankton community structure were analyzed and the water quality assessment of nutritional status was carried out. The results indicated that 6 phylums, 37 genera, 69 species of phytoplankton in total were identified in the two sampling, and the dominant species were Dinophyta and Cryptophyta. The cell density and biomass in December 2009 were lower than those in January 2009. The evaluation results of algal population structure and pollution indicators showed that the nutrition level of Kaixian drawdown area during the winter storage period was mesotrophic to eutrophic type, while diversity analysis result indicated moderate pollution.

  3. Interactions Increase Forager Availability and Activity in Harvester Ants.

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    Evlyn Pless

    Full Text Available Social insect colonies use interactions among workers to regulate collective behavior. Harvester ant foragers interact in a chamber just inside the nest entrance, here called the 'entrance chamber'. Previous studies of the activation of foragers in red harvester ants show that an outgoing forager inside the nest experiences an increase in brief antennal contacts before it leaves the nest to forage. Here we compare the interaction rate experienced by foragers that left the nest and ants that did not. We found that ants in the entrance chamber that leave the nest to forage experienced more interactions than ants that descend to the deeper nest without foraging. Additionally, we found that the availability of foragers in the entrance chamber is associated with the rate of forager return. An increase in the rate of forager return leads to an increase in the rate at which ants descend to the deeper nest, which then stimulates more ants to ascend into the entrance chamber. Thus a higher rate of forager return leads to more available foragers in the entrance chamber. The highest density of interactions occurs near the nest entrance and the entrances of the tunnels from the entrance chamber to the deeper nest. Local interactions with returning foragers regulate both the activation of waiting foragers and the number of foragers available to be activated.

  4. Data-Foraging-Oriented Reconnaissance Based on Bio-Inspired Indirect Communication for Aerial Vehicles

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    Josué Castañeda Cisneros

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, aerial vehicles have allowed exploring scenarios with harsh conditions. These can conduct reconnaissance tasks in areas that change periodically and have a high spatial and temporal resolution. The objective of a reconnaissance task is to survey an area and retrieve strategic information. The aerial vehicles, however, have inherent constraints in terms of energy and transmission range due to their mobility. Despite these constraints, the Data Foraging problem requires the aerial vehicles to exchange information about profitable data sources. In Data Foraging, establishing a single path is not viable because of dynamic conditions of the environment. Thus, reconnaissance must be focused on periodically searching profitable environmental data sources, as some animals perform foraging. In this work, a data-foraging-oriented reconnaissance algorithm based on bio-inspired indirect communication for aerial vehicles is presented. The approach establishes several paths that overlap to identify valuable data sources. Inspired by the stigmergy principle, the aerial vehicles indirectly communicate through artificial pheromones. The aerial vehicles traverse the environment using a heuristic algorithm that uses the artificial pheromones as feedback. The solution is formally defined and mathematically evaluated. In addition, we show the viability of the algorithm by simulations which have been tested through various statistical hypothesis.

  5. Winter fidelity and apparent survival of lesser snow goose populations in the Pacific flyway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C.K.; Samuel, M.D.; Baranyuk, Vasily V.; Cooch, E.G.; Kraege, Donald K.

    2008-01-01

    The Beringia region of the Arctic contains 2 colonies of lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) breeding on Wrangel Island, Russia, and Banks Island, Canada, and wintering in North America. The Wrangel Island population is composed of 2 subpopulations from a sympatric breeding colony but separate wintering areas, whereas the Banks Island population shares a sympatric wintering area in California, USA, with one of the Wrangel Island subpopulations. The Wrangel Island colony represents the last major snow goose population in Russia and has fluctuated considerably since 1970, whereas the Banks Island population has more than doubled. The reasons for these changes are unclear, but hypotheses include independent population demographics (survival and recruitment) and immigration and emigration among breeding or wintering populations. These demographic and movement patterns have important ecological and management implications for understanding goose population structure, harvest of admixed populations, and gene flow among populations with separate breeding or wintering areas. From 1993 to 1996, we neckbanded molting birds at their breeding colonies and resighted birds on the wintering grounds. We used multistate mark-recapture models to evaluate apparent survival rates, resighting rates, winter fidelity, and potential exchange among these populations. We also compared the utility of face stain in Wrangel Island breeding geese as a predictor of their wintering area. Our results showed similar apparent survival rates between subpopulations of Wrangel Island snow geese and lower apparent survival, but higher emigration, for the Banks Island birds. Males had lower apparent survival than females, most likely due to differences in neckband loss. Transition between wintering areas was low (exchange between the Banks and northern Wrangel Island populations. Face staining was an unreliable indicator of wintering area. Our findings suggest that northern and southern

  6. Social Learning in Vespula Germanica Wasps: Do They Use Collective Foraging Strategies?

    OpenAIRE

    Lozada, Mariana; D? Adamo, Paola; Buteler, Micaela; Kuperman, Marcelo N.

    2016-01-01

    Vespula germanica is a social wasp that has become established outside its native range in many regions of the world, becoming a major pest in the invaded areas. In the present work we analyze social communication processes used by V. germanica when exploiting un-depleted food sources. For this purpose, we investigated the arrival pattern of wasps at a protein bait and evaluated whether a forager recruited conspecifics in three different situations: foragers were able to return to the nest (f...

  7. Search paths of swans foraging on spatially autocorrelated tubers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nolet, B.A.; Mooij, W.M.

    2002-01-01

    1. Tundra swans forage on below-ground pondweed tubers that are heterogeneously distributed in space. The swans have no visual cues to delineate patches. It was tested whether swans employ an area-restricted search tactic. Theory predicts that swans should alternate between an intensive (low-speed,

  8. Predation risk and optimal foraging trade-off in the demography and spacing of the George River Herd, 1958 to 1993

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arthur T. Bergerud

    2003-04-01

    Full Text Available The behavior options of feeding animals lie on a continuum between energy maximization and minimization of predation risk. We studied the distribution, mobility, and energy budgets of the George River herd, Ungava from 1974 to 1993. We arranged the annual cycle into 6 phases where we argue that the importance between the priorities of optimal foraging and predation risk change between periods. At calving, risk is more important than foraging for females but males take more risk to optimally forage. During the mosquito season, insect avoidance takes priority over risk and for¬aging. Optimal foraging takes precedent over risk in the late summer and fall and it is at this time that the herd expanded its range relative to numbers and forage abundance. In the winter (December to mid-March animals sought restricted localized ranges with low snow cover to reduce predation risk. The spring migration of females may have increased risk during the interval the females were moving back to the tundra to give birth to their neonates on the low risk calv¬ing ground. In May, females sought early greens near treeline, which may have increased risk in order to provide maximum nutrition to their fetuses in the last weeks of pregnancy. The ancestors of the George River Herd during the Pleistocene, 18 000 yr. BP may have reduced predation risk by spacing-out in the Appalachian Mountains, removed from the major specie of the megafauna in the lowlands. With global warming, it is argued the major problem for caribou will be increased wolf predation rather than changing forage and nutritional regimes. It is essential that First Nation residents of the North maintain their option to manage wolf numbers if excessive predation in the future adversely affects the migratory herds of the Northwest Territories and Ungava.

  9. Spatiotemporal heterogeneity in prey abundance and vulnerability shapes the foraging tactics of an omnivore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rayl, Nathaniel; Bastille-Rousseau, Guillaume; Organ, John F.; Mumma, Matthew; Mahoney, Shane P.; Soulliere, Colleen; Lewis, Keith; Otto, Robert; Murray, Dennis; Waits, Lisette; Fuller, Todd

    2018-01-01

    Prey abundance and prey vulnerability vary across space and time, but we know little about how they mediate predator–prey interactions and predator foraging tactics. To evaluate the interplay between prey abundance, prey vulnerability and predator space use, we examined patterns of black bear (Ursus americanus) predation of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) neonates in Newfoundland, Canada using data from 317 collared individuals (9 bears, 34 adult female caribou, 274 caribou calves).During the caribou calving season, we predicted that landscape features would influence calf vulnerability to bear predation, and that bears would actively hunt calves by selecting areas associated with increased calf vulnerability. Further, we hypothesized that bears would dynamically adjust their foraging tactics in response to spatiotemporal changes in calf abundance and vulnerability (collectively, calf availability). Accordingly, we expected bears to actively hunt calves when they were most abundant and vulnerable, but switch to foraging on other resources as calf availability declined.As predicted, landscape heterogeneity influenced risk of mortality, and bears displayed the strongest selection for areas where they were most likely to kill calves, which suggested they were actively hunting caribou. Initially, the per‐capita rate at which bears killed calves followed a type‐I functional response, but as the calving season progressed and calf vulnerability declined, kill rates dissociated from calf abundance. In support of our hypothesis, bears adjusted their foraging tactics when they were less efficient at catching calves, highlighting the influence that predation phenology may have on predator space use. Contrary to our expectations, however, bears appeared to continue to hunt caribou as calf availability declined, but switched from a tactic of selecting areas of increased calf vulnerability to a tactic that maximized encounter rates with calves.Our results reveal that

  10. Reproductive success and failure: the role of winter body mass in reproductive allocation in Norwegian moose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milner, Jos M; van Beest, Floris M; Solberg, Erling J; Storaas, Torstein

    2013-08-01

    A life history strategy that favours somatic growth over reproduction is well known for long-lived iteroparous species, especially in unpredictable environments. Risk-sensitive female reproductive allocation can be achieved by a reduced reproductive effort at conception, or the subsequent adjustment of investment during gestation or lactation in response to unexpected environmental conditions or resource availability. We investigated the relative importance of reduced investment at conception compared with later in the reproductive cycle (i.e. prenatal, perinatal or neonatal mortality) in explaining reproductive failure in two high-density moose (Alces alces) populations in southern Norway. We followed 65 multiparous, global positioning system (GPS)-collared females throughout the reproductive cycle and focused on the role of maternal nutrition during gestation in determining reproductive success using a quasi-experimental approach to manipulate winter forage availability. Pregnancy rates in early winter were normal (≥0.8) in all years while spring calving rates ranged from 0.4 to 0.83, with prenatal mortality accounting for most of the difference. Further losses over summer reduced autumn recruitment rates to 0.23-0.69, despite negligible predation. Over-winter mass loss explained variation in both spring calving and autumn recruitment success better than absolute body mass in early or late winter. Although pregnancy was related to body mass in early winter, overall reproductive success was unrelated to pre-winter body condition. We therefore concluded that reproductive success was limited by winter nutritional conditions. However, we could not determine whether the observed reproductive allocation adjustment was a bet-hedging strategy to maximise reproduction without compromising survival or whether females were simply unable to invest more resources in their offspring.

  11. Early Season Large-Area Winter Crop Mapping Using MODIS NDVI Data, Growing Degree Days Information and a Gaussian Mixture Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skakun, Sergii; Franch, Belen; Vermote, Eric; Roger, Jean-Claude; Becker-Reshef, Inbal; Justice, Christopher; Kussul, Nataliia

    2017-01-01

    Knowledge on geographical location and distribution of crops at global, national and regional scales is an extremely valuable source of information applications. Traditional approaches to crop mapping using remote sensing data rely heavily on reference or ground truth data in order to train/calibrate classification models. As a rule, such models are only applicable to a single vegetation season and should be recalibrated to be applicable for other seasons. This paper addresses the problem of early season large-area winter crop mapping using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time-series and growing degree days (GDD) information derived from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) product. The model is based on the assumption that winter crops have developed biomass during early spring while other crops (spring and summer) have no biomass. As winter crop development is temporally and spatially non-uniform due to the presence of different agro-climatic zones, we use GDD to account for such discrepancies. A Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is applied to discriminate winter crops from other crops (spring and summer). The proposed method has the following advantages: low input data requirements, robustness, applicability to global scale application and can provide winter crop maps 1.5-2 months before harvest. The model is applied to two study regions, the State of Kansas in the US and Ukraine, and for multiple seasons (2001-2014). Validation using the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Crop Data Layer (CDL) for Kansas and ground measurements for Ukraine shows that accuracies of greater than 90% can be achieved in mapping winter crops 1.5-2 months before harvest. Results also show good correspondence to official statistics with average coefficients of determination R(exp. 2) greater than 0.85.

  12. Environmental variability drives shifts in the foraging behaviour and reproductive success of an inshore seabird.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kowalczyk, Nicole D; Reina, Richard D; Preston, Tiana J; Chiaradia, André

    2015-08-01

    Marine animals forage in areas that aggregate prey to maximize their energy intake. However, these foraging 'hot spots' experience environmental variability, which can substantially alter prey availability. To survive and reproduce animals need to modify their foraging in response to these prey shifts. By monitoring their inter-annual foraging behaviours, we can understand which environmental variables affect their foraging efficiency, and can assess how they respond to environmental variability. Here, we monitored the foraging behaviour and isotopic niche of little penguins (Eudyptula minor), over 3 years (2008, 2011, and 2012) of climatic and prey variability within Port Phillip Bay, Australia. During drought (2008), penguins foraged in close proximity to the Yarra River outlet on a predominantly anchovy-based diet. In periods of heavy rainfall, when water depth in the largest tributary into the bay (Yarra River) was high, the total distance travelled, maximum distance travelled, distance to core-range, and size of core- and home-ranges of penguins increased significantly. This larger foraging range was associated with broad dietary diversity and high reproductive success. These results suggest the increased foraging range and dietary diversity of penguins were a means to maximize resource acquisition rather than a strategy to overcome local depletions in prey. Our results demonstrate the significance of the Yarra River in structuring predator-prey interactions in this enclosed bay, as well as the flexible foraging strategies of penguins in response to environmental variability. This plasticity is central to the survival of this small-ranging, resident seabird species.

  13. Turbidity interferes with foraging success of visual but not chemosensory predators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lunt, Jessica; Smee, Delbert L

    2015-01-01

    Predation can significantly affect prey populations and communities, but predator effects can be attenuated when abiotic conditions interfere with foraging activities. In estuarine communities, turbidity can affect species richness and abundance and is changing in many areas because of coastal development. Many fish species are less efficient foragers in turbid waters, and previous research revealed that in elevated turbidity, fish are less abundant whereas crabs and shrimp are more abundant. We hypothesized that turbidity altered predatory interactions in estuaries by interfering with visually-foraging predators and prey but not with organisms relying on chemoreception. We measured the effects of turbidity on the predation rates of two model predators: a visual predator (pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides) and a chemosensory predator (blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus) in clear and turbid water (0 and ∼100 nephelometric turbidity units). Feeding assays were conducted with two prey items, mud crabs (Panopeus spp.) that rely heavily on chemoreception to detect predators, and brown shrimp (Farfantepenaus aztecus) that use both chemical and visual cues for predator detection. Because turbidity reduced pinfish foraging on both mud crabs and shrimp, the changes in predation rates are likely driven by turbidity attenuating fish foraging ability and not by affecting prey vulnerability to fish consumers. Blue crab foraging was unaffected by turbidity, and blue crabs were able to successfully consume nearly all mud crab and shrimp prey. Turbidity can influence predator-prey interactions by reducing the feeding efficiency of visual predators, providing a competitive advantage to chemosensory predators, and altering top-down control in food webs.

  14. Amygdala Signaling during Foraging in a Hazardous Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amir, Alon; Lee, Seung-Chan; Headley, Drew B; Herzallah, Mohammad M; Pare, Denis

    2015-09-23

    We recorded basolateral amygdala (BL) neurons in a seminaturalistic foraging task. Rats had to leave their nest to retrieve food in an elongated arena inhabited by a mechanical predator. There were marked trial-to-trial variations in behavior. After poking their head into the foraging arena and waiting there for a while, rats either retreated to their nest or initiated foraging. Before initiating foraging, rats waited longer on trials that followed failed than successful trials indicating that prior experience influenced behavior. Upon foraging initiation, most principal cells (Type-1) reduced their firing rate, while in a minority (Type-2) it increased. When rats aborted foraging, Type-1 cells increased their firing rates, whereas in Type-2 cells it did not change. Surprisingly, the opposite activity profiles of Type-1 and Type-2 units were also seen in control tasks devoid of explicit threats or rewards. The common correlate of BL activity across these tasks was movement velocity, although an influence of position was also observed. Thus depending on whether rats initiated movement or not, the activity of BL neurons decreased or increased, regardless of whether threat or rewards were present. Therefore, BL activity not only encodes threats or rewards, but is closely related to behavioral output. We propose that higher order cortical areas determine task-related changes in BL activity as a function of reward/threat expectations and internal states. Because Type-1 and Type-2 cells likely form differential connections with the central amygdala (controlling freezing), this process would determine whether movement aimed at attaining food or exploration is suppressed or facilitated. Significance statement: For decades, amygdala research has been dominated by pavlovian and operant conditioning paradigms. This work has led to the view that amygdala neurons signal threats or rewards, in turn causing defensive or approach behaviors. However, the artificial circumstances of

  15. Levy Foraging in a Dynamic Environment – Extending the Levy Search

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincenzo Fioriti

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available A common task for robots is the patrolling of an unknown area with inadequate information about target locations. Under these circumstances it has been suggested that animal foraging could provide an optimal or at least sub-optimal search methodology, namely the Levy flight search. Although still in debate, it seems that predators somehow follow this search pattern when foraging, because it avoids being trapped in a local search if the food is beyond the sensory range. A Levy flight is a particular case of the random walk. Its displacements on a 2-D surface are drawn from the Pareto-Levy probability distribution, characterized by power law tails. The Levy flight search has many applications in optical material, ladars, optics, large database search, earthquake data analysis, location of DNA sites, human mobility, stock return analysis, online auctions, astronomy, ecology and biology. Almost all studies and simulations concerning the Levy flight foraging examine static or slowly moving (with respect to the forager uniformly distributed resources. Moreover, in recent works a small swarm of underwater autonomous vehicles has been used to test the standard Levy search in the underwater environment, with good results. In this paper we extend the classical Levy foraging framework taking into consideration a moving target allocated on a 2-D surface according to a radial probability distribution and comparing its performance with the random walk search. The metric used in the numerical simulations is the detection rate. Simulations include the sensor resolution, intended as the maximum detection distance of the forager from the target. Furthermore, contrarily to the usual Levy foraging framework, we use only one target. Results show that Levy flight outperforms the random walk if the sensor detection radius is not too small or too large. We also find the Levy flight in the velocity of the center of mass model of a fish school according the Kuramoto

  16. Foraging at wastewater treatment works increases the potential for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Wastewater treatment works (WWTWs) are known to provide profitable foraging areas for insectivorous bats in Europe and the New World because of their association with high abundance of pollution-tolerant midges (Diptera). However, bats that feed on these insects may also accumulate metal pollutants such as cadmium ...

  17. Systematics, diversity and forage value of indigenous legumes of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A map representing the collection intensity for the study area showed that the majority of legumes species were collected in the Fynbos, Savanna and Grassland Biome. It is concluded that indigenous South African legumes are extremely diverse and this denotes the importance of further investigating their forage potential ...

  18. Nutritional characteristics of forages from Niger

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Infascelli

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available In the production systems of the semi-arid areas low quality forages are commonly used as the basal diet (Wilkins, 2000 and, as a consequence, the nutritional status of ruminants depends mainly on the ability of rumen fermentation to yield nutrients such as the short chain fatty acids and microbial biomass (Preston and Leng, 1987. The forages browsed by the livestock can be classified into two main groups: ephemeral annual plants, which germinate and remain green for only a few weeks after rain, perennial shrubs and tree fodders. Despite their potential as feeds, little research has determined their nutritive value. In vivo evaluation is the best estimation method of feed’s nutritional value, however it is very laborious and difficult to standardize with browsing animals. O the contrary, in vitro methods are less expensive, less time consuming and allow a better control of experimental conditions than in vivo experiments. The in vitro gas production technique (IVGPT appears to be the most suitable method for use in developing countries where resources may be limited (Makkar, 2004. Increased interest in use of non-conventional feed resources has led to an increase in use of this technique, since IVGPT can provide useful data on digestion kinetics of both the soluble and insoluble fractions of feedstuffs. The aim of the present research was to evaluate twelve forages from the arid zone of Niger using the IVGPT.

  19. Overhead irrigation increased winter chilling and floral bud ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Eucalyptus nitens requires a sufficiently cold winter to produce flower buds. In areas in South Africa where E. nitens commercial plantations as well as breeding and production seed orchards are located, winter chilling is often insufficient for floral bud initiation. Hence, under such conditions, E. nitens floral bud and seed ...

  20. Food limitation of sea lion pups and the decline of forage off central and southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClatchie, Sam; Field, John; Thompson, Andrew R.; Gerrodette, Tim; Lowry, Mark; Fiedler, Paul C.; Watson, William; Nieto, Karen M.; Vetter, Russell D.

    2016-01-01

    California sea lions increased from approximately 50 000 to 340 000 animals in the last 40 years, and their pups are starving and stranding on beaches in southern California, raising questions about the adequacy of their food supply. We investigated whether the declining sea lion pup weight at San Miguel rookery was associated with changes in abundance and quality of sardine, anchovy, rockfish and market squid forage. In the last decade off central California, where breeding female sea lions from San Miguel rookery feed, sardine and anchovy greatly decreased in biomass, whereas market squid and rockfish abundance increased. Pup weights fell as forage food quality declined associated with changes in the relative abundances of forage species. A model explained 67% of the variance in pup weights using forage from central and southern California and 81% of the variance in pup weights using forage from the female sea lion foraging range. A shift from high to poor quality forage for breeding females results in food limitation of the pups, ultimately flooding animal rescue centres with starving sea lion pups. Our study is unusual in using a long-term, fishery-independent dataset to directly address an important consequence of forage decline on the productivity of a large marine predator. Whether forage declines are environmentally driven, are due to a combination of environmental drivers and fishing removals, or are due to density-dependent interactions between forage and sea lions is uncertain. However, declining forage abundance and quality was coherent over a large area (32.5–38° N) for a decade, suggesting that trends in forage are environmentally driven. PMID:27069651

  1. Stable Isotopes Reveal Long-Term Fidelity to Foraging Grounds in the Galapagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimiliano Drago

    Full Text Available Most otariids have colony-specific foraging areas during the breeding season, when they behave as central place foragers. However, they may disperse over broad areas after the breeding season and individuals from different colonies may share foraging grounds at that time. Here, stable isotope ratios in the skull bone of adult Galapagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki were used to assess the long-term fidelity of both sexes to foraging grounds across the different regions of the Galapagos archipelago. Results indicated that the stable isotope ratios (δ(13C and δ(15N of sea lion bone significantly differed among regions of the archipelago, without any significant difference between sexes and with a non significant interaction between sex and region. Moreover, standard ellipses, estimated by Bayesian inference and used as a measure of the isotopic resource use area at the population level, overlapped widely for the sea lions from the southern and central regions, whereas the overlap of the ellipses for sea lions from the central and western regions was small and non-existing for those from the western and southern regions. These results suggest that males and females from the same region within the archipelago use similar foraging grounds and have similar diets. Furthermore, they indicate that the exchange of adults between regions is limited, thus revealing a certain degree of foraging philopatry at a regional scale within the archipelago. The constraints imposed on males by an expanded reproductive season (~ 6 months, resulting from the weak reproductive synchrony among females, and those imposed on females by a very long lactation period (at least one year but up to three years, may explain the limited mobility of adult Galapagos sea lions of both sexes across the archipelago.

  2. Trophic ecology and foraging behavior of Tropidurus hispidus and Tropidurus semitaeniatus (Squamata, Tropiduridae in a caatinga area of northeastern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo B. Ribeiro

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to analyze the seasonal variation in diet composition and foraging behavior of Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825 and T. semitaeniatus (Spix, 1825, as well as measurement of the foraging intensity (number of moves, time spent stationary, distance traveled and number of attacks on prey items in a caatinga patch on the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Hymenoptera/Formicidae and Isoptera predominated in the diet of both species during the dry season. Opportunistic predation on lepidopteran larvae, coleopteran larvae and adults, and orthopteran nymphs and adults occurred in the wet season; however, hymenopterans/Formicidae were the most important prey items. The number of food items was similar between lizard species in both seasons; however the overlap for number of prey was smaller in the wet season. Preys ingested by T. hispidus during the wet season were also larger than those consumed by T. semitaeniatus. Seasonal comparisons of foraging intensity between the two species differed, mainly in the wet season, when T. hispidus exhibited less movement and fewer attacks on prey, and more time spent stationary if compared to T. semitaeniatus. Although both lizards are sit-and-wait foragers, T. semitaeniatus is more active than T. hispidus. The diet and foraging behavior of T. hispidus and T. semitaeniatus overlap under limiting conditions during the dry season, and are segregative factors that may contribute to the coexistence of these species in the wet season.

  3. Does Zoning Winter Recreationists Reduce Recreation Conflict?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Aubrey D.; Vaske, Jerry J.; Squires, John R.; Olson, Lucretia E.; Roberts, Elizabeth K.

    2017-01-01

    Parks and protected area managers use zoning to decrease interpersonal conflict between recreationists. Zoning, or segregation, of recreation—often by non-motorized and motorized activity—is designed to limit physical interaction while providing recreation opportunities to both groups. This article investigated the effectiveness of zoning to reduce recreation conflict in the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area in Colorado, USA. Despite a zoning management system, established groomed travel routes were used by both non-motorized recreationists (backcountry skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers) and motorized recreationists (snowmobilers). We hypothesized that persistent recreation conflict reported by non-motorized recreationists was the result of recreation occurring in areas of mixed non-motorized and motorized use, mostly along groomed routes. We performed a geospatial analysis of recreation [from Global Positioning System (GPS) points, n = 1,233,449] in the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area to identify areas of mixed non-motorized and motorized use. We then surveyed non-motorized recreationists ( n = 199) to test whether reported conflict is higher for respondents who traveled in areas of mixed-use, compared with respondents traveling outside areas of mixed-use. Results from the geospatial analysis showed that only 0.7 % of the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area contained recreation from both groups, however that area contained 14.8 % of all non-motorized recreation and 49.1 % of all motorized recreation. Survey analysis results showed higher interpersonal conflict for all five standard conflict variables among non-motorized respondents who traveled in areas of mixed-use, compared with those traveling outside mixed-use areas. Management implications and recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of zoning are provided.

  4. Individual lifetime pollen and nectar foraging preferences in bumble bees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagbery, Jessica; Nieh, James C.

    2012-10-01

    Foraging specialization plays an important role in the ability of social insects to efficiently allocate labor. However, relatively little is known about the degree to which individual bumble bees specialize on collecting nectar or pollen, when such preferences manifest, and if individuals can alter their foraging preferences in response to changes in the colony workforce. Using Bombus impatiens, we monitored all foraging visits made by every bee in multiple colonies and showed that individual foragers exhibit consistent lifetime foraging preferences. Based upon the distribution of foraging preferences, we defined three forager types (pollen specialists, nectar specialists, and generalists). In unmanipulated colonies, 16-36 % of individuals specialized (≥90 % of visits) on nectar or pollen only. On its first day of foraging, an individual's foraging choices (nectar only, pollen only, or nectar and pollen) significantly predicted its lifetime foraging preferences. Foragers that only collected pollen on their first day of foraging made 1.61- to 1.67-fold more lifetime pollen foraging visits (as a proportion of total trips) than foragers that only collected nectar on their first foraging day. Foragers were significantly larger than bees that stayed only in the nest. We also determined the effect of removing pollen specialists at early (brood present) or later (brood absent) stages in colony life. These results suggest that generalists can alter their foraging preferences in response to the loss of a small subset of foragers. Thus, bumble bees exhibit individual lifetime foraging preferences that are established early in life, but generalists may be able to adapt to colony needs.

  5. Maize forage aptitude: Combining ability of inbred lines and stability of hybrids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Máximo Bertoia

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Breeding of forage maize should combine improvement achieved for grain with the specific needs of forage hybrids. Production stability is important when maize is used for silage if the planting area is not in the ideal agronomic environment. The objectives of the present research were: (i to quantify environmental and genetic and their interaction effects on maize silage traits; (ii to identify possible heterotic groups for forage aptitude and suggest the formation of potential heterotic patterns, and (iii to identify suitable inbred line combinations for producing hybrids with forage aptitude. Forty-five hybrids derived from diallelic crosses (without reciprocals among ten inbred lines of maize were evaluated in this study. Combined ANOVA over environments showed differences between genotypes (G, environments (E, and their interactions (GEI. Heritability (H2, and genotypic and phenotypic correlations were estimated to evaluate the variation in and relationships between forage traits. Postdictive and predictive AMMI models were fitted to determine the importance of each source of variation, G, E, and GEI, and to select genotypes simultaneously on yield, quality and stability. A predominance of additive effects was found in the evaluated traits. The heterotic pattern Reid-BSSS × Argentine flint was confirmed for ear yield (EY and harvest index (HI. High and broad genetic variation was found for stover and whole plant traits. Some inbred lines had genes with differential breeding aptitude for ear and stover. Stover and ear yield should be the main breeding objectives in maize forage breeding.

  6. Dynamical Models of Interactions between Herds Forage and Water Resources in Sahelian Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean Jules Tewa

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Optimal foraging is one of the capital topics nowadays in Sahelian region. The vast majority of feed consumed by ruminants in Sahelian region is still formed by natural pastures. Pastoral constraints are the high variability of available forage and drinking water in space and especially in time (highly seasonal, interannual variability and the scarcity of water resources. The mobility is the main functional and opportunistic adaptation to these constraints. Our goal in this paper is to formalize two dynamical models for interactions between a herd of domesticate animals, forage resources, and water resources inside a given Sahelian area, in order to confirm, explain, and predict by mathematical models some observations about pastoralism in Sahelian region. These models in some contexts can be similar to predator-prey models as forage and water resources can be considered as preys and herd’s animals as predators. These models exhibit very rich dynamics, since it predicts abrupt changes in consumer behaviour and disponibility of forage or water resources. The dynamics exhibits a possible coexistence between herd, resources, and water with alternative peaks in their trajectories.

  7. Características Agronômicas, Massa de Forragem e Valor Nutritivo de Brachiaria decumbens em Sistema Silvipastoril Agronomics Characteristics, Forage Mass and Nutritional Value of Brachiaria decumbens in a Silvopastoral System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Renato Tavares Castro

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available

    Avaliaram-se os efeitos de três porcentagens de sombreamento (0, 29% e 45%, proporcionado pelas leguminosas arbóreas Acacia angustissima, A. mangium, A. auriculiformis, Albizia lebbek e Gliricidia sepium, sobre características agronômicas, e o valor nutritivo do pasto de Brachiaria decumbens, durante o inverno, a primavera e o verão. Foi adotado o delineamento experimental de blocos casualizados, com três repetições. O sombreamento influenciou positivamente a massa de forragem, na primavera e no verão. No inverno, a maior massa de forragem foi obtida sob sol pleno. Os teores de proteína bruta aumentaram com o sombreamento, na primavera, mas não se modificaram em função das porcentagens de sombra, no inverno e no verão. Pelo produto da massa de forragem e o teor de proteína bruta, obtiveram-se as quantidades de proteína bruta por área, que foram maiores sob sombreamento mais intenso, na primavera e no verão. Os teores de fibra em detergente neutro e a digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca não apresentaram tendência consistente com as porcentagens de sombreamento, em função da forte interação deste tratamento com a estação do ano.

     

    doi: 10.4336/2009.pfb.60.19

    The agronomic traits and nutritive value of Brachiaria decumbens pasture were evaluated under three shade percentages (0.29% and 45%, provided by leguminous trees (Acacia angustissima, A. mangium, A. auriculiformis, Albizia lebbek e Gliricidia sepium, during winter, spring and summer seasons. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with three replications. The forage mass was positively influenced by shading, in spring and summer seasons. In winter, the higher forage mass was observed in full sunlight condition. The values of crude protein increased in spring with shading, but did not vary with shade percentage in winter and summer seasons. The crude protein quantity per area, obtained by product between forage mass and crude protein

  8. Foraging range movements of the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus semotus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonaccorso, Frank J.; Todd, Christopher M.; Miles, Adam C.; Gorresen, P. Marcos

    2015-01-01

    We documented nightly movements of Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) on the island of Hawai’i. Based on data from 28 radiotagged individuals mean foraging range (FR) was 230.7±72.3 ha, core-use area (CUA) was 25.5±6.9 ha (or 11.1% of mean FR), and the mean long axis (LAX) across the FR was 3,390.8±754.3 m. There was almost no overlap in CUAs among 4 adult males having overlapping foraging areas and tracked simultaneously or within a 90-day window of each other. CUAs of subadults partially overlapped with multiple adult males or with one other subadult. High variance in FRs, cores use areas, and LAX across the FR perhaps reflect localized stochastic variables such as weather, habitat, and food resources. Hawaiian hoary bats use moderately large FRs among insectivorous bats studied with comparable methodologies; however, foraging activity indicated by documentation of acoustic feeding buzzes is concentrated within one or a few disjunct areas cumulatively forming the 50% fixed kernel of CUA. The concentration of feeding activity, low values of individual overlap, and agonistic chasing behavior within CUAs all demonstrate a structured use of individual space by Hawaiian hoary bats.

  9. Forage management to improve on-farm feed production, nitrogen fluxes and greenhouse gas emissions from dairy systems in a wet temperate region

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Doltra, J; Villar, A.; Moros, R

    2018-01-01

    characteristic forage systems according to field management based on grazing, zero-grazing, conserved forages and growth of maize. The semi-dynamic whole farm model FarmAC was used to characterize a model farm representing an average farm in each of the forage systems including field area and use, number of cows...

  10. Agronomic and forage characteristics of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam.

    OpenAIRE

    Manríquez-Mendoza, Leonor Yalid; López-Ortíz, Silvia; Pérez-Hernández, Ponciano; Ortega- Jiménez, Eusebio; López-Tecpoyotl, Zenón Gerardo; Villarruel-Fuentes, Manuel

    2011-01-01

    Native trees are an important source of forage for livestock, particularly in regions having prolonged dry periods. Some tree species have fast growth rates, good nutritional quality, and the ability to produce forage during dry periods when the need for forage is greater. Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. is a tree native to tropical America that has a high forage potential. This species is mentioned in a number of studies assessing the forage potential of trees in a diverse array of environments and v...

  11. Habitat use and foraging patterns of molting male Long-tailed Ducks in lagoons of the central Beaufort Sea, Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flint, Paul L.; Reed, John; Deborah Lacroix,; Richard Lanctot,

    2016-01-01

    From mid-July through September, 10 000 to 30 000 Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis) use the lagoon systems of the central Beaufort Sea for remigial molt. Little is known about their foraging behavior and patterns of habitat use during this flightless period. We used radio transmitters to track male Long-tailed Ducks through the molt period from 2000 to 2002 in three lagoons: one adjacent to industrial oil field development and activity and two in areas without industrial activity. We found that an index to time spent foraging generally increased through the molt period. Foraging, habitat use, and home range size showed similar patterns, but those patterns were highly variable among lagoons and across years. Even with continuous daylight during the study period, birds tended to use offshore areas during the day for feeding and roosted in protected nearshore waters at night. We suspect that variability in behaviors associated with foraging, habitat use, and home range size are likely influenced by availability of invertebrate prey. Proximity to oil field activity did not appear to affect foraging behaviors of molting Long-tailed Ducks.

  12. Nuisance ecology: do scavenging condors exact foraging costs on pumas in Patagonia?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elbroch, L Mark; Wittmer, Heiko U

    2013-01-01

    Predation risk describes the energetic cost an animal suffers when making a trade off between maximizing energy intake and minimizing threats to its survival. We tested whether Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) influenced the foraging behaviors of a top predator in Patagonia, the puma (Puma concolor), in ways comparable to direct risks of predation for prey to address three questions: 1) Do condors exact a foraging cost on pumas?; 2) If so, do pumas exhibit behaviors indicative of these risks?; and 3) Do pumas display predictable behaviors associated with prey species foraging in risky environments? Using GPS location data, we located 433 kill sites of 9 pumas and quantified their kill rates. Based upon time pumas spent at a carcass, we quantified handling time. Pumas abandoned >10% of edible meat at 133 of 266 large carcasses after a single night, and did so most often in open grasslands where their carcasses were easily detected by condors. Our data suggested that condors exacted foraging costs on pumas by significantly decreasing puma handling times at carcasses, and that pumas increased their kill rates by 50% relative to those reported for North America to compensate for these losses. Finally, we determined that the relative risks of detection and associated harassment by condors, rather than prey densities, explained puma "giving up times" (GUTs) across structurally variable risk classes in the study area, and that, like many prey species, pumas disproportionately hunted in high-risk, high-resource reward areas.

  13. Leadership of Winter Mixed-Species Flocks by Tufted Titmice (Baeolophus bicolor: Are Titmice Passive Nuclear Species?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas A. Contreras

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor, TUTI is a nuclear species in winter foraging flocks whose antipredator calls are used to manage predation risk by diverse heterospecifics. We hypothesized that satellite species in mixed flocks follow TUTI (not vice versa, thereby defining the role of TUTI as a “passive” nuclear species. We followed 20 winter mixed-species flocks in North-Central Florida and assessed angular-angular correlations between overall flock, TUTI, and satellite species movement directions. We observed significant correlations between overall flock movement directions and those of TUTI, confirming our central prediction. Within flocks, however, fine-scale movement directions of satellite species were often more highly correlated with those of other satellites than with TUTI movements. We conclude that TUTI are passive nuclear species whose movements define flock paths, but within flocks, TUTI movements may have less influence on satellite movements than do other factors.

  14. Subterranean termite open-air foraging and tolerance to desiccation: Comparative water relation of two sympatric Macrotermes spp. (Blattodea: Termitidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jian; Neoh, Kok-Boon; Appel, Arthur G; Lee, Chow-Yang

    2012-02-01

    The foraging patterns of termites are strongly related to physiological limits in overcoming desiccation stress. In this study, we examined moisture preferences and physiological characteristics of Macrotermes carbonarius (Hagen) and M. gilvus (Hagen) as both exhibit conspicuous patterns of foraging activity. Despite both species showing no significant differences in calculated cuticular permeability, and percentage of total body water, they differed greatly in rate of water loss and surface area to volume ratio. For example, M. carbonarius which had a lower surface area to volume ratio (29.26-53.66) showed lower rate of water loss and percentage of total body water loss. This also resulted in higher LT(50) when exposed to extreme conditions (≈2% RH). However, contrasting observations were made in M. gilvus that has smaller size with higher surface area to volume ratio of 40.28-69.75. It is likely that the standard equation for calculating insect surface areas is inadequate for these termite species. The trend was further supported by the result of a moisture preference bioassay that indicated M. carbonarius had a broader range of moisture preference (between 5% and 20%) than M. gilvus which had a relatively narrow moisture preference (only 20%). These results explain why M. carbonarius can tolerate desiccation stress for a longer period foraging above-ground in the open air; while M. gilvus only forages below ground or concealed within foraging mud tubes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. The use of edge habitats by commuting and foraging bats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verboom, B.

    1998-01-01

    Travelling routes and foraging areas of many bat species are mainly along edge habitats, such as treelines, hedgerows, forest edges, and canal banks. This thesis deals with the effects of density, configuration, and structural features of edge habitats on the occurrence of bats. Four

  16. BEE FORAGE MAPPING BASED ON MULTISPECTRAL IMAGES LANDSAT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Moskalenko

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Possibilities of bee forage identification and mapping based on multispectral images have been shown in the research. Spectral brightness of bee forage has been determined with the use of satellite images. The effectiveness of some methods of image classification for mapping of bee forage is shown. Keywords: bee forage, mapping, multispectral images, image classification.

  17. Forage grasses with lower uptake of caesium and strontium could provide 'safer' crops for radiologically contaminated areas.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beth Penrose

    Full Text Available Substitution of a species or cultivar with higher uptake of an element by one with lower uptake has been proposed as a remediation strategy following accidental releases of radioactivity. However, despite the importance of pasture systems for radiological dose, species/cultivar substitution has not been thoroughly investigated for forage grasses. 397 cultivars from four forage grass species; hybrid ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. x Lolium multiflorum Lam., perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L., Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam. and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Shreb.; were sampled from 19 field-based breeding experiments in Aberystwyth and Edinburgh (UK in spring 2013 and analysed for caesium (Cs and strontium (Sr concentrations. In order to calculate concentration ratios (CRs; the concentration of an element in a plant in relation to the concentration in the soil, soils from the experiments were also analysed to calculate extractable concentrations of Cs and Sr. To test if cultivars have consistently low Cs and Sr concentration ratios, 17 hybrid ryegrass cultivars were sampled from both sites again in summer 2013 and spring and summer 2014. Tall fescue cultivars had lower Cs and Sr CRs than the other species. Three of the selected 17 hybrid ryegrass cultivars had consistently low Cs CRs, two had consistently low Sr CRs and one had consistently low Cs and Sr CRs. Cultivar substitution could reduce Cs CRs by up to 14-fold and Sr CRs by 4-fold in hybrid ryegrass. The identification of species and cultivars with consistently low CRs suggests that species or cultivar substitution could be an effective remediation strategy for contaminated areas.

  18. Winter precipitation and fire in the Sonoran Desert

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rogers, G.F.; Vint, M.K.

    1987-01-01

    Historical fire and climate records from the Arizona Upland portion of the Tonto National forest were used to test the hypothesis that fires burn larger areas in the Sonoran Desert after two wet winters than after one. We found that many more hectares burn in years following two winters that are wetter than normal, than during any other years. We agree with other ecologists, that desert fire occurrence is probably related to increased production of winter annual plants, and we suggest ways that the relationship may be clarified.

  19. Breeding success of a marine central place forager in the context of climate change: A modeling approach.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lauriane Massardier-Galatà

    Full Text Available In response to climate warming, a southward shift in productive frontal systems serving as the main foraging sites for many top predator species is likely to occur in Subantarctic areas. Central place foragers, such as seabirds and pinnipeds, are thus likely to cope with an increase in the distance between foraging locations and their land-based breeding colonies. Understanding how central place foragers should modify their foraging behavior in response to changes in prey accessibility appears crucial. A spatially explicit individual-based simulation model (Marine Central Place Forager Simulator (MarCPFS, including bio-energetic components, was built to evaluate effects of possible changes in prey resources accessibility on individual performances and breeding success. The study was calibrated on a particular example: the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella, which alternates between oceanic areas in which females feed and the land-based colony in which they suckle their young over a 120 days rearing period. Our model shows the importance of the distance covered to feed and prey aggregation which appeared to be key factors to which animals are highly sensitive. Memorization and learning abilities also appear to be essential breeding success traits. Females were found to be most successful for intermediate levels of prey aggregation and short distance to the resource, resulting in optimal female body length. Increased distance to resources due to climate warming should hinder pups' growth and survival while female body length should increase.

  20. Foraging Habitat Distributions Affect Territory Size and Shape in the Tuamotu Kingfisher

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dylan C. Kesler

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available I studied factors influencing territory configuration in the Tuamotu kingfisher (Todiramphus gambieri. Radiotelemetry data were used to define territory boundaries, and I tested for effects on territory size and shape of landscape habitat composition and foraging patch configuration. Tuamotu kingfisher territories were larger in areas with reduced densities of coconut plantation foraging habitat, and territories were less circular in the study site that had a single slender patch of foraging habitat. Maximum territory length did not differ between study sites, however, which suggested that the size of Tuamotu kingfisher territories might be bounded by the combined influence of maximum travel distances and habitat configurations. Results also suggested that birds enlarge territories as they age. Together, results supported previous work indicating that territory configurations represent a balance between the costs of defending a territory and gains from territory ownership.

  1. Analysis of forest stands used by wintering woodland caribou in Ontario

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Antoniak

    1998-03-01

    Full Text Available Two summers' field surveys at 9 locations in northwestern Ontario showed that woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou wintering areas supported jack pine and black spruce stands with low tree densities (mean 1552 trees/ ha, 39% of a fully stocked stand, low basal areas (mean 14.14 m2/ha, low volumes (mean 116 mVha, 68% of Normal Yield Tables and short heights (95% of stands 12 m or less. Ecologically, most sights were classed V30. Significantly more lichen (averaging 39% lichen ground cover was found on plots used by caribou. Three measured areas showed few shrubs, possibly enhancing escape possibilities and reducing browse attractive to moose. An HIS model predicted known locations of caribou winter habitat from FRI data with 76% accuracy. Landsat imagery theme 3 (open conifer produced 74% accuracy. Combining these methods permitted prediction of all 50 test sites. The low volumes of timber found in caribou wintering areas suggest that setting aside reserves for caribou winter habitat would not sacrifice as much wood product value as might at first appear.

  2. Foraging behaviour of juvenile female New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri in contrasting environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elaine S Leung

    Full Text Available Foragers can show adaptive responses to changes within their environment through morphological and behavioural plasticity. We investigated the plasticity in body size, at sea movements and diving behaviour of juvenile female New Zealand (NZ sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri in two contrasting environments. The NZ sea lion is one of the rarest pinnipeds in the world. Most of the species is based at the subantarctic Auckland Islands (AI; considered to be marginal foraging habitat, with a recolonizing population on the Otago Peninsula, NZ mainland (considered to be more optimal habitat. We investigated how juvenile NZ sea lions adjust their foraging behaviour in contrasting environments by deploying satellite-linked platform transmitting terminals (PTTs and time-depth recorders (TDRs on 2-3 year-old females at AI (2007-2010 and Otago (2009-2010. Juvenile female NZ sea lions exhibited plasticity in body size and behaviour. Otago juveniles were significantly heavier than AI juveniles. Linear mixed effects models showed that study site had the most important effect on foraging behaviour, while mass and age had little influence. AI juveniles spent more time at sea, foraged over larger areas, and dove deeper and longer than Otago juveniles. It is difficult to attribute a specific cause to the observed contrasts in foraging behaviour because these differences may be driven by disparities in habitat/prey characteristics, conspecific density levels or interseasonal variation. Nevertheless, the smaller size and increased foraging effort of AI juveniles, combined with the lower productivity in this region, support the hypothesis that AI are less optimal habitat than Otago. It is more difficult for juveniles to forage in suboptimal habitats given their restricted foraging ability and lower tolerance for food limitation compared to adults. Thus, effective management measures should consider the impacts of low resource environments, along with changes that can

  3. Genetic differentiation between sympatric and allopatric wintering populations of Snow Geese

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humphries, E.M.; Peters, J.L.; Jonsson, J.E.; Stone, R.; Afton, A.D.; Omland, K.E.

    2009-01-01

    Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the Delmarva Peninsula, Maryland, USA has been the wintering area of a small population of Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens; LSGO) since the 1930s. Snow Geese primarily pair in wintering areas and gene flow could be restricted between this and other LSGO wintering populations. Winter pair formation also could facilitate interbreeding with sympatric but morphologically differentiated Greater Snow Geese (C. c. atlantica; GSGO).We sequenced 658 bp of the mitochondrial DNA control region for 68 Snow Geese from East Coast and Louisiana wintering populations to examine the level of genetic differentiation among populations and subspecies. We found no evidence for genetic differentiation between LSGO populations but, consistent with morphological differences, LSGO and GSGO were significantly differentiated. We also found a lack of genetic differentiation between different LSGO morphotypes from Louisiana. We examined available banding data and found the breeding range of Delmarva LSGO overlaps extensively with LSGO that winter in Louisiana, and documented movements between wintering populations. Our results suggest the Delmarva population of LSGO is not a unique population unit apart from Mid-Continent Snow Geese. ?? 2009 by the Wilson Ornithological Society.

  4. Forage grasses with lower uptake of caesium and strontium could provide ‘safer’ crops for radiologically contaminated areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beresford, Nicholas A.; Crout, Neil M. J.; Lovatt, J. Alan; Thomson, Russell; Broadley, Martin R.

    2017-01-01

    Substitution of a species or cultivar with higher uptake of an element by one with lower uptake has been proposed as a remediation strategy following accidental releases of radioactivity. However, despite the importance of pasture systems for radiological dose, species/cultivar substitution has not been thoroughly investigated for forage grasses. 397 cultivars from four forage grass species; hybrid ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. x Lolium multiflorum Lam.), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Shreb.); were sampled from 19 field-based breeding experiments in Aberystwyth and Edinburgh (UK) in spring 2013 and analysed for caesium (Cs) and strontium (Sr) concentrations. In order to calculate concentration ratios (CRs; the concentration of an element in a plant in relation to the concentration in the soil), soils from the experiments were also analysed to calculate extractable concentrations of Cs and Sr. To test if cultivars have consistently low Cs and Sr concentration ratios, 17 hybrid ryegrass cultivars were sampled from both sites again in summer 2013 and spring and summer 2014. Tall fescue cultivars had lower Cs and Sr CRs than the other species. Three of the selected 17 hybrid ryegrass cultivars had consistently low Cs CRs, two had consistently low Sr CRs and one had consistently low Cs and Sr CRs. Cultivar substitution could reduce Cs CRs by up to 14-fold and Sr CRs by 4-fold in hybrid ryegrass. The identification of species and cultivars with consistently low CRs suggests that species or cultivar substitution could be an effective remediation strategy for contaminated areas. PMID:28459808

  5. Heavy metal concentration in forage grasses and extractability from some acid mine spoils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taylor, R.W.; Ibeabuchi, I.O.; Sistani, K.R.; Shuford, J.W. (Alabama A and M University, Normal (United States). Department of Plant and Soil Science)

    1993-06-01

    Laboratory and greenhouse studies were conducted on several forage grasses, bermudagrass ([ital Cynodon dactylon]), creeping red fescue ([ital Festuca rubra]), Kentucky 31-tall fescue ([ital Festuca arundinacea]), oat ([ital Avena sativa]), orchardgrass ([ital Dactylis glomerata]), perennial ryegrass ([ital Lolium perenne]), sorghum ([ital Sorghum bicolor]), triticale (X. [ital triticosecale Wittmack]), and winter wheat ([ital Triticum aestivum]) grown on three Alabama acid mine spoils to study heavy metal accumulation, dry matter yield and spoil metal extractability by three chemical extractants (Mehlich 1, DTPA, and 0.1 M HCl). Heavy metals removed by these extractants were correlated with their accumulation by several forage grasses. Among the forages tested, creeping red fescue did not survive the stressful conditions of any of the spoils, while orchard grass and Kentucky 31-tall fescue did not grow in Mulberry spoil. Sorghum followed by bermudagrass generally produced the highest dry matter yield. However, the high yielding bermudagrass was most effective in accumulating high tissue levels of Mn and Zn from all spoils (compared to the other grasses) but did not remove Ni. On the average, higher levels of metals were extracted from spoils in the order of 0.1 M HCl[gt] Mehlich 1[gt] DTPA. However, DTPA extracted all the metals from spoils while Mehlich 1 did not extract Pb and 0.1 M HCl did not extract detectable levels of Ni. All of the extractants were quite effective in determining plant available Zn from the spoils. For the other metals, the effective determination of plant availability depended on the crop, the extractant, and the metal in concert. 20 refs., 6 tabs.

  6. Transport infrastructure shapes foraging habitat in a raptor community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Planillo, Aimara; Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie; Malo, Juan E

    2015-01-01

    Transport infrastructure elements are widespread and increasing in size and length in many countries, with the subsequent alteration of landscapes and wildlife communities. Nonetheless, their effects on habitat selection by raptors are still poorly understood. In this paper, we analyzed raptors' foraging habitat selection in response to conventional roads and high capacity motorways at the landscape scale, and compared their effects with those of other variables, such as habitat structure, food availability, and presence of potential interspecific competitors. We also analyzed whether the raptors' response towards infrastructure depends on the spatial scale of observation, comparing the attraction or avoidance behavior of the species at the landscape scale with the response of individuals observed in the proximity of the infrastructure. Based on ecological hypotheses for foraging habitat selection, we built generalized linear mixed models, selected the best models according to Akaike Information Criterion and assessed variable importance by Akaike weights. At the community level, the traffic volume was the most relevant variable in the landscape for foraging habitat selection. Abundance, richness, and diversity values reached their maximum at medium traffic volumes and decreased at highest traffic volumes. Individual species showed different degrees of tolerance toward traffic, from higher abundance in areas with high traffic values to avoidance of it. Medium-sized opportunistic raptors increased their abundance near the traffic infrastructures, large scavenger raptors avoided areas with higher traffic values, and other species showed no direct response to traffic but to the presence of prey. Finally, our cross-scale analysis revealed that the effect of transport infrastructures on the behavior of some species might be detectable only at a broad scale. Also, food availability may attract raptor species to risky areas such as motorways.

  7. Influence of winter sea-ice motion on summer ice cover in the Arctic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noriaki Kimura

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Summer sea-ice cover in the Arctic varies largely from year to year owing to several factors. This study examines one such factor, the relationship between interannual difference in winter ice motion and ice area in the following summer. A daily-ice velocity product on a 37.5-km resolution grid is prepared using the satellite passive microwave sensor Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer—Earth Observing System data for the nine years of 2003–2011. Derived daily-ice motion reveals the dynamic modification of the winter ice cover. The winter ice divergence/convergence is strongly related to the summer ice cover in some regions; the correlation coefficient between the winter ice convergence and summer ice area ranges between 0.5 and 0.9 in areas with high interannual variability. This relation implies that the winter ice redistribution controls the spring ice thickness and the summer ice cover.

  8. Modelling foraging movements of diving predators: a theoretical study exploring the effect of heterogeneous landscapes on foraging efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianna Chimienti

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Foraging in the marine environment presents particular challenges for air-breathing predators. Information about prey capture rates, the strategies that diving predators use to maximise prey encounter rates and foraging success are still largely unknown and difficult to observe. As well, with the growing awareness of potential climate change impacts and the increasing interest in the development of renewable sources it is unknown how the foraging activity of diving predators such as seabirds will respond to both the presence of underwater structures and the potential corresponding changes in prey distributions. Motivated by this issue we developed a theoretical model to gain general understanding of how the foraging efficiency of diving predators may vary according to landscape structure and foraging strategy. Our theoretical model highlights that animal movements, intervals between prey capture and foraging efficiency are likely to critically depend on the distribution of the prey resource and the size and distribution of introduced underwater structures. For multiple prey loaders, changes in prey distribution affected the searching time necessary to catch a set amount of prey which in turn affected the foraging efficiency. The spatial aggregation of prey around small devices (∼ 9 × 9 m created a valuable habitat for a successful foraging activity resulting in shorter intervals between prey captures and higher foraging efficiency. The presence of large devices (∼ 24 × 24 m however represented an obstacle for predator movement, thus increasing the intervals between prey captures. In contrast, for single prey loaders the introduction of spatial aggregation of the resources did not represent an advantage suggesting that their foraging efficiency is more strongly affected by other factors such as the timing to find the first prey item which was found to occur faster in the presence of large devices. The development of this theoretical model

  9. Foraging strategies of the ant Ectatomma vizottoi (Hymenoptera, Formicidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luan D. Lima

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Foraging strategies of the ant Ectatomma vizottoi (Hymenoptera, Formicidae. Foraging activity may be limited by temperature, humidity, radiation, wind, and other abiotic factors, all of which can affect energy costs during foraging. Ectatomma vizottoi's biology has only recently been studied, and no detailed information is available on its foraging patterns or diet in the field. For this reason, and because foraging activity is an important part of the ecological success of social insects, the present study aimed to investigate E. vizottoi's foraging strategies and dietary habits. First, we determined how abiotic factors constrained E. vizottoi's foraging patterns in the field by monitoring the foraging activity of 16 colonies on eight different days across two seasons. Second, we characterized E. vizottoi's diet by monitoring another set of 26 colonies during peak foraging activity. Our results show that E. vizottoi has foraging strategies that are similar to those of congeneric species. In spite of having a low efficiency index, colonies adopted strategies that allowed them to successfully obtain food resources while avoiding adverse conditions. These strategies included preying on other ant species, a foraging tactic that could arise if a wide variety of food items are not available in the environment or if E. vizottoi simply prefers, regardless of resource availability, to prey on other invertebrates and especially on other ant species.

  10. Spatiotemporal heterogeneity in prey abundance and vulnerability shapes the foraging tactics of an omnivore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rayl, Nathaniel D; Bastille-Rousseau, Guillaume; Organ, John F; Mumma, Matthew A; Mahoney, Shane P; Soulliere, Colleen E; Lewis, Keith P; Otto, Robert D; Murray, Dennis L; Waits, Lisette P; Fuller, Todd K

    2018-05-01

    Prey abundance and prey vulnerability vary across space and time, but we know little about how they mediate predator-prey interactions and predator foraging tactics. To evaluate the interplay between prey abundance, prey vulnerability and predator space use, we examined patterns of black bear (Ursus americanus) predation of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) neonates in Newfoundland, Canada using data from 317 collared individuals (9 bears, 34 adult female caribou, 274 caribou calves). During the caribou calving season, we predicted that landscape features would influence calf vulnerability to bear predation, and that bears would actively hunt calves by selecting areas associated with increased calf vulnerability. Further, we hypothesized that bears would dynamically adjust their foraging tactics in response to spatiotemporal changes in calf abundance and vulnerability (collectively, calf availability). Accordingly, we expected bears to actively hunt calves when they were most abundant and vulnerable, but switch to foraging on other resources as calf availability declined. As predicted, landscape heterogeneity influenced risk of mortality, and bears displayed the strongest selection for areas where they were most likely to kill calves, which suggested they were actively hunting caribou. Initially, the per-capita rate at which bears killed calves followed a type-I functional response, but as the calving season progressed and calf vulnerability declined, kill rates dissociated from calf abundance. In support of our hypothesis, bears adjusted their foraging tactics when they were less efficient at catching calves, highlighting the influence that predation phenology may have on predator space use. Contrary to our expectations, however, bears appeared to continue to hunt caribou as calf availability declined, but switched from a tactic of selecting areas of increased calf vulnerability to a tactic that maximized encounter rates with calves. Our results reveal that generalist

  11. Cooperative Bacterial Foraging Optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanning Chen

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Bacterial Foraging Optimization (BFO is a novel optimization algorithm based on the social foraging behavior of E. coli bacteria. This paper presents a variation on the original BFO algorithm, namely, the Cooperative Bacterial Foraging Optimization (CBFO, which significantly improve the original BFO in solving complex optimization problems. This significant improvement is achieved by applying two cooperative approaches to the original BFO, namely, the serial heterogeneous cooperation on the implicit space decomposition level and the serial heterogeneous cooperation on the hybrid space decomposition level. The experiments compare the performance of two CBFO variants with the original BFO, the standard PSO and a real-coded GA on four widely used benchmark functions. The new method shows a marked improvement in performance over the original BFO and appears to be comparable with the PSO and GA.

  12. Comparison of bloat potential between a variety of soft-red versus a variety of hard-red winter wheat forage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akins, M S; Kegley, E B; Coffey, K P; Caldwell, J D; Lusby, K S; Moore, J C; Coblentz, W K

    2009-10-01

    Some aspects of wheat pasture bloat have been researched extensively, but few studies have evaluated the effect of wheat type or variety on bloat. Eight Gelbvieh x Angus ruminally cannulated heifers (515 +/- 49 kg of BW) and 48 Angus heifers (238 +/- 12 kg of BW) grazed 1-ha pastures of hard-red or soft-red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to evaluate the effect of wheat variety on bloat potential. In Exp. 1, cattle grazed from November 11 to 22 and from November 26 to December 7, 2006, in a crossover design. In Exp. 2, cattle were shrunk for 20 h and then grazed from December 19 to 20, 2006, and from January 19 to 20, 2007. In both experiments, bloat was scored at 1000 and 1600 h daily. Rumen samples were collected at 0600, 1200, and 1800 h during each of the last 2 d of each period in Exp. 1 and during both days of each period of Exp. 2. Rumen samples were evaluated for pH, foam production and strength, and viscosity. In Exp. 1, cannulated heifers grazing soft-red had a greater (P bloat (21.9 vs. 5.6%) than those grazing hard-red winter wheat, but bloat incidence was low (2.1%) for the stocker cattle, with no difference between hard-red and soft-red winter wheat (P = 0.52). Viscosity of the rumen fluid was affected (P = 0.03) by the wheat variety x time interaction, with soft-red at 1200 and 1800 h being more viscous than soft-red at 0600 h and hard-red at all times. Foam strength, as determined by bubbling CO(2) gas through rumen fluid, had a wheat variety x time interaction (P = 0.02) with both wheat varieties similar at 0600 h but soft-red having greater foam strength at 1200 and 1800 h. In Exp. 2, no bloat was observed, and no differences between wheat varieties were observed for any of the rumen foam measures. Therefore, for these 2 varieties, the soft-red winter wheat had a greater bloat potential than the hard-red winter wheat based on results from the cannulated heifers, but no differences were observed in the frequency of bloat in stocker cattle. In

  13. Temperature Impact on the Forage Quality of Two Wheat Cultivars with Contrasting Capacity to Accumulate Sugars

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    Máximo Lorenzo

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Wheat is increasingly used as a dual-purpose crop (for forage and grain production worldwide. Plants encounter low temperatures in winter, which commonly results in sugar accumulation. High sugar levels might have a positive impact on forage digestibility, but may also lead to an increased risk of bloat. We hypothesized that cultivars with a lower capacity to accumulate sugars when grown under cold conditions may have a lower bloat risk than higher sugar-accumulating genotypes, without showing significantly lower forage digestibility. This possibility was studied using two wheat cultivars with contrasting sugar accumulation at low temperature. A series of experiments with contrasting temperatures were performed in controlled-temperature field enclosures (three experiments and growth chambers (two experiments. Plants were grown at either cool (8.1 °C–9.3 °C or warm (15.7 °C–16.5 °C conditions in field enclosures, and at either 5 °C or 25 °C in growth chambers. An additional treatment consisted of transferring plants from cool to warm conditions in the field enclosures and from 5 °C to 25 °C in the growth chambers. The plants in the field enclosure experiments were exposed to higher irradiances (i.e., 30%–100% than those in the growth chambers. Our results show that (i low temperatures led to an increased hemicellulose content, in parallel with sugar accumulation; (ii low temperatures produced negligible changes in in vitro dry matter digestibility while leading to a higher in vitro rumen gas production, especially in the higher sugar-accumulating cultivar; (iii transferring plants from cool to warm conditions led to a sharp decrease in in vitro rumen gas production in both cultivars; and (iv light intensity (in contrast to temperature appeared to have a lower impact on forage quality.

  14. The effect of prey density on foraging mode selection in juvenile lumpfish: balancing food intake with the metabolic cost of foraging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Killen, Shaun S; Brown, Joseph A; Gamperl, A Kurt

    2007-07-01

    1. In many species, individuals will alter their foraging strategy in response to changes in prey density. However, previous work has shown that prey density has differing effects on the foraging mode decisions of ectotherms as compared with endotherms. This is likely due to differences in metabolic demand; however, the relationship between metabolism and foraging mode choice in ectotherms has not been thoroughly studied. 2. Juvenile lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus forage using one of two modes: they can actively search for prey while swimming, or they can 'sit-and-wait' for prey while clinging to the substrate using a ventral adhesive disk. The presence of these easily distinguishable foraging modes makes juvenile lumpfish ideal for the study of foraging mode choice in ectotherms. 3. Behavioural observations conducted during laboratory experiments showed that juvenile lumpfish predominantly use the 'cling' foraging mode when prey is abundant, but resort to the more costly 'swim' mode to seek out food when prey is scarce. The metabolic cost of active foraging was also quantified for juvenile lumpfish using swim-tunnel respirometry, and a model was devised to predict the prey density at which lumpfish should switch between the swim and cling foraging modes to maximize energy intake. 4. The results of this model do not agree with previous observations of lumpfish behaviour, and thus it appears that juvenile lumpfish do not try to maximize their net energetic gain. Instead, our data suggest that juvenile lumpfish forage in a manner that reduces activity and conserves space in their limited aerobic scope. This behavioural flexibility is of great benefit to this species, as it allows young individuals to divert energy towards growth as opposed to activity. In a broader context, our results support previous speculation that ectotherms often forage in a manner that maintains a minimum prey encounter rate, but does not necessarily maximize net energy gain.

  15. Neural Mechanisms of Foraging

    OpenAIRE

    Kolling, Nils; Behrens, Timothy EJ; Mars, Rogier B; Rushworth, Matthew FS

    2012-01-01

    Behavioural economic studies, involving limited numbers of choices, have provided key insights into neural decision-making mechanisms. By contrast, animals’ foraging choices arise in the context of sequences of encounters with prey/food. On each encounter the animal chooses to engage or whether the environment is sufficiently rich that searching elsewhere is merited. The cost of foraging is also critical. We demonstrate humans can alternate between two modes of choice, comparative decision-ma...

  16. Winter storm intensity, hazards, and property losses in the New York tristate area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimkus, Cari E; Ting, Mingfang; Booth, James F; Adamo, Susana B; Madajewicz, Malgosia; Kushnir, Yochanan; Rieder, Harald E

    2017-07-01

    Winter storms pose numerous hazards to the Northeast United States, including rain, snow, strong wind, and flooding. These hazards can cause millions of dollars in damages from one storm alone. This study investigates meteorological intensity and impacts of winter storms from 2001 to 2014 on coastal counties in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York and underscores the consequences of winter storms. The study selected 70 winter storms on the basis of station observations of surface wind strength, heavy precipitation, high storm tide, and snow extremes. Storm rankings differed between measures, suggesting that intensity is not easily defined with a single metric. Several storms fell into two or more categories (multiple-category storms). Following storm selection, property damages were examined to determine which types lead to high losses. The analysis of hazards (or events) and associated damages using the Storm Events Database of the National Centers for Environmental Information indicates that multiple-category storms were responsible for a greater portion of the damage. Flooding was responsible for the highest losses, but no discernible connection exists between the number of storms that afflict a county and the damage it faces. These results imply that losses may rely more on the incidence of specific hazards, infrastructure types, and property values, which vary throughout the region. © 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.

  17. Central-place foraging and ecological effects of an invasive predator across multiple habitats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benkwitt, Cassandra E

    2016-10-01

    Cross-habitat foraging movements of predators can have widespread implications for predator and prey populations, community structure, nutrient transfer, and ecosystem function. Although central-place foraging models and other aspects of optimal foraging theory focus on individual predator behavior, they also provide useful frameworks for understanding the effects of predators on prey populations across multiple habitats. However, few studies have examined both the foraging behavior and ecological effects of nonnative predators across multiple habitats, and none has tested whether nonnative predators deplete prey in a manner predicted by these foraging models. I conducted behavioral observations of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) to determine whether they exhibit foraging movements similar to other central-place consumers. Then, I used a manipulative field experiment to test whether their effects on prey populations are consistent with three qualitative predictions from optimal foraging models. Specifically, I predicted that the effects of invasive lionfish on native prey will (1) occur at central sites first and then in surrounding habitats, (2) decrease with increasing distance away from their shelter site, and (3) extend to greater distances when prey patches are spaced closer together. Approximately 40% of lionfish exhibited short-term crepuscular foraging movements into surrounding habitats from the coral patch reefs where they shelter during daylight hours. Over the course of 7 weeks, lionfish depleted native fish populations on the coral patch reefs where they reside, and subsequently on small structures in the surrounding habitat. However, their effects did not decrease with increasing distance from the central shelter site and the influence of patch spacing was opposite the prediction. Instead, lionfish always had the greatest effects in areas with the highest prey densities. The differences between the predicted and observed effects of lionfish

  18. WATER DEFICIT EFFECT ON YIELD AND FORAGE QUALITY OF MEDICAGO SATIVA POPULATIONS UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS IN MARRAKESH AREA (MOROCCO

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    Mohamed FARISSI

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The present study focused the effect of water deficit on agronomic potential and some traits related to forage quality in plants of Moroccan Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. populations (Taf 1, Taf 2, Dem and Tata originated from Oasis and High Atlas of Morocco and an introduced variety from Australia (Siriver. The experiment was conducted under field conditions in experimental station of INRA-Marrakech and under two irrigation treatments. The first treatment was normal irrigation, providing an amount of water corresponding to the potential evapo-transpiration of the crop, and the second treatment was water deficit stress (one irrigation per cut. For each treatment, the experiment was conducted as a split plot based on a randomized complete block design with four replications. The plants were measured and analyzed over three cuts. Some agronomic traits as, plant height, fresh and dry forage yields were measured. The forage quality was evaluated by leaf:stem ratio and the contents of plants in proteins and nitrogen. The results indicated that the water deficit has negatively affected the plant height and forage yield. The decrease in leaf:stem ratio was observed under water deficit conditions. However, the proteins and nitrogen contents were unaffected. The behavior of tested alfalfa genotypes was significantly different. The Moroccan alfalfa populations were more adapted to water deficit conditions comparatively to Siriver variety and the Tata population was the most adapted one.

  19. The Effects of Forage Policy on Feed Costs in Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jae Bong Chang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Feeding operations are substantial on livestock farms, besides being potentially expensive. Feeding efficiency has been considered a major influence on profits in the livestock industry. Indeed, feed costs are shown to be the largest single item of production cost in Korea. To promote production and use of domestic forage, the Korean government has enforced the forage base expansion program that strengthens the competitiveness of the livestock industry by reducing the production cost. The forage base expansion program includes three main policies: subsidized forage production, support for processing and distribution, and expanding land for forage production. This paper investigates the influence of the government’s policies often conjectured to have pronounced effects on forage production. To evaluate the forage policies, this paper uses a path-analysis approach linking government spending on forage base expansion programs and feed costs. Results indicate that the Korean government’s spending on supporting domestic forage production results in a decrease in the ratio of forage expenses to total feed cost.

  20. Variability of snow line elevation, snow cover area and depletion in the main Slovak basins in winters 2001–2014

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    Krajčí Pavel

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Spatial and temporal variability of snow line (SL elevation, snow cover area (SCA and depletion (SCD in winters 2001–2014 is investigated in ten main Slovak river basins (the Western Carpathians. Daily satellite snow cover maps from MODIS Terra (MOD10A1, V005 and Aqua (MYD10A1, V005 with resolution 500 m are used.

  1. The Physiological Suppressing Factors of Dry Forage Intake and the Cause of Water Intake Following Dry Forage Feeding in Goats — A Review

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    Katsunori Sunagawa

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The goats raised in the barn are usually fed on fresh grass. As dry forage can be stored for long periods in large amounts, dry forage feeding makes it possible to feed large numbers of goats in barns. This review explains the physiological factors involved in suppressing dry forage intake and the cause of drinking following dry forage feeding. Ruminants consume an enormous amount of dry forage in a short time. Eating rates of dry forage rapidly decreased in the first 40 min of feeding and subsequently declined gradually to low states in the remaining time of the feeding period. Saliva in large-type goats is secreted in large volume during the first hour after the commencement of dry forage feeding. It was elucidated that the marked suppression of dry forage intake during the first hour was caused by a feeding-induced hypovolemia and the loss of NaHCO3 due to excessive salivation during the initial stages of dry forage feeding. On the other hand, it was indicated that the marked decrease in feed intake observed in the second hour of the 2 h feeding period was related to ruminal distension caused by the feed consumed and the copious amount of saliva secreted during dry forage feeding. In addition, results indicate that the marked decreases in dry forage intake after 40 min of feeding are caused by increases in plasma osmolality and subsequent thirst sensations produced by dry forage feeding. After 40 min of the 2 h dry forage feeding period, the feed salt content is absorbed into the rumen and plasma osmolality increases. The combined effects of ruminal distension and increased plasma osmolality accounted for 77.6% of the suppression of dry forage intake 40 min after the start of dry forage feeding. The results indicate that ruminal distension and increased plasma osmolality are the main physiological factors in suppression of dry forage intake in large-type goats. There was very little drinking behavior observed during the first hour of the 2 h

  2. Measuring Motivation for Appetitive Behaviour: Food-Restricted Broiler Breeder Chickens Cross a Water Barrier to Forage in an Area of Wood Shavings without Food

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Laura M.; Brocklehurst, Sarah; Sandilands, Vicky; Bateson, Melissa; Tolkamp, Bert J.; D'Eath, Rick B.

    2014-01-01

    Broiler breeders (parents of meat chickens) are selected for fast growth and become obese if fed ad libitum. To avoid this and maintain good health and reproductive ability, they are feed restricted to about 1/3 of what they would eat ad libitum. As a result, they experience chronic hunger and exhibit abnormal behaviour patterns that may indicate stress and frustration. One approach to measuring hunger is to observe how much birds will work, such as pecking a key, for access to more or different types of food. However, the sight, smell, and feedback from consumption of the feed reward changes the context and may artificially raise feeding motivation. To avoid this, we tested broiler breeders in an apparatus in which they could work for access to a wooden platform covered in wood shavings by crossing a water runway which increased in length and depth in 8 successive tests. In the wood shavings area, they could perform exploratory and foraging behaviour (the appetitive phase of feeding) but were never rewarded with feed. Sixty birds were divided into three feed quantity treatments: commercial restriction (R), and twice (2R) or three times (3R) this amount. Overall, birds fed R worked harder to reach the wood shavings area (reached it in a larger number of tests) than 2R and 3R birds (P2R>3R). This indicates that restricted-fed birds were hungry and willing to work for the opportunity to forage even though food was never provided, suggesting that their motivation to perform the appetitive component of feeding behaviour (foraging/food searching) was sufficient to sustain their response. Thus food restriction in broiler breeders is a welfare concern. However these methods could be used to test alternative feeding regimes to attempt to find ways of alleviating hunger while still maintaining healthy growth and reproduction in these birds. PMID:25068283

  3. Forage evaluation by analysis after

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    by forages, can be estimated by amino acid analysis of the products of fermentation in vitro. Typical results of such analyses are presented in Table 1. These results indicate that after fermentation the amino acid balance of forages is not optimal for either milk or meat production, with histidine usually being the first limiting.

  4. A Breath of Fresh Air in Foraging Theory: The Importance of Wind for Food Size Selection in a Central-Place Forager.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alma, Andrea Marina; Farji-Brener, Alejandro G; Elizalde, Luciana

    2017-09-01

    Empirical data about food size carried by central-place foragers do not often fit with the optimum predicted by classical foraging theory. Traditionally, biotic constraints such as predation risk and competition have been proposed to explain this inconsistency, leaving aside the possible role of abiotic factors. Here we documented how wind affects the load size of a central-place forager (leaf-cutting ants) through a mathematical model including the whole foraging process. The model showed that as wind speed at ground level increased from 0 to 2 km/h, load size decreased from 91 to 30 mm 2 , a prediction that agreed with empirical data from windy zones, highlighting the relevance of considering abiotic factors to predict foraging behavior. Furthermore, wind reduced the range of load sizes that workers should select to maintain a similar rate of food intake and decreased the foraging rate by ∼70% when wind speed increased 1 km/h. These results suggest that wind could reduce the fitness of colonies and limit the geographic distribution of leaf-cutting ants. The developed model offers a complementary explanation for why load size in central-place foragers may not fit theoretical predictions and could serve as a basis to study the effects of other abiotic factors that influence foraging.

  5. Optimal Foraging by Birds: Experiments for Secondary & Postsecondary Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pecor, Keith W.; Lake, Ellen C.; Wund, Matthew A.

    2015-01-01

    Optimal foraging theory attempts to explain the foraging patterns observed in animals, including their choice of particular food items and foraging locations. We describe three experiments designed to test hypotheses about food choice and foraging habitat preference using bird feeders. These experiments can be used alone or in combination and can…

  6. Trans-equatorial migration routes, staging sites and wintering areas of a high-Arctic avian predator: the long-tailed Skua (Stercorarius longicaudus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilg, Olivier; Moe, Børge; Hanssen, Sveinn Are; Schmidt, Niels Martin; Sittler, Benoît; Hansen, Jannik; Reneerkens, Jeroen; Sabard, Brigitte; Chastel, Olivier; Moreau, Jérôme; Phillips, Richard A; Oudman, Thomas; Biersma, Elisabeth M; Fenstad, Anette A; Lang, Johannes; Bollache, Loïc

    2013-01-01

    The Long-tailed Skua, a small (summer, but little is known about its migration and winter distribution. We used light-level geolocators to track the annual movements of eight adult birds breeding in north-east Greenland (n = 3) and Svalbard (n = 5). All birds wintered in the Southern Hemisphere (mean arrival-departure dates on wintering grounds: 24 October-21 March): five along the south-west coast of Africa (0-40°S, 0-15°E), in the productive Benguela upwelling, and three further south (30-40°S, 0-50°E), in an area extending into the south-west Indian Ocean. Different migratory routes and rates of travel were documented during post-breeding (345 km d(-1) in late August-early September) and spring migrations (235 km d(-1) in late April) when most birds used a more westerly flyway. Among the different staging areas, a large region off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland appears to be the most important. It was used in autumn by all but one of the tracked birds (from a few days to three weeks) and in spring by five out of eight birds (from one to more than six weeks). Two other staging sites, off the Iberian coast and near the Azores, were used by two birds in spring for five to six weeks. Over one year, individuals travelled between 43,900 and 54,200 km (36,600-45,700 when excluding staging periods) and went as far as 10,500-13,700 km (mean 12,800 km) from their breeding sites. This study has revealed important marine areas in both the south and north Atlantic Ocean. Sustainable management of these ocean basins will benefit Long-tailed Skuas as well as other trans-equatorial migrants from the Arctic.

  7. Climate-driven Sympatry does not Lead to Foraging Competition Between Adélie and Gentoo Penguins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cimino, M. A.; Moline, M. A.; Fraser, W.; Patterson-Fraser, D.; Oliver, M. J.

    2016-02-01

    Climate-driven sympatry may lead to competition for food resources between species, population shifts and changes in ecosystem structure. Rapid warming in the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is coincident with increasing gentoo penguin and decreasing Adélie penguin populations, suggesting that competition for food may exacerbate the Adélie penguin decline. At Palmer Station, we tested for foraging competition between these species by comparing their prey, Antarctic krill, distributions and penguin foraging behaviors on fine scales. To study these predator-prey dynamics, we simultaneously deployed penguin satellite transmitters, and a REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle that acoustically detected krill aggregations and measured physical and biological properties of the water column. We detected krill aggregations within the horizontal and vertical foraging ranges of Adélie and gentoo penguin. In the upper 100 m of the water column, the distribution of krill aggregations were mainly associated with CHL and light, suggesting that krill selected for habitats that balance the need to consume food and avoid predation. Adélie and gentoo penguins mainly had spatially segregated foraging areas but in areas of overlap, gentoo penguins switched foraging behavior by foraging at deeper depths, a strategy which limits competition with Adélie penguins. This suggests that climate-driven sympatry does not necessarily result in competitive exclusion. Contrary to a recent theory, which suggests that increased competition for krill is the major driver of Adélie penguin population declines, we suggest that declines in Adélie penguins along the WAP are more likely due to direct and indirect climate impacts on their life histories.

  8. Trophic ecology and foraging behavior of Tropidurus hispidus and Tropidurus semitaeniatus (Squamata, Tropiduridae) in a caatinga area of northeastern Brazil

    OpenAIRE

    Ribeiro,Leonardo B.; Freire,Eliza M. X.

    2011-01-01

    This study aimed to analyze the seasonal variation in diet composition and foraging behavior of Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825) and T. semitaeniatus (Spix, 1825), as well as measurement of the foraging intensity (number of moves, time spent stationary, distance traveled and number of attacks on prey items) in a caatinga patch on the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Hymenoptera/Formicidae and Isoptera predominated in the diet of both species during the dry season. Opportunistic predation...

  9. African Journal of Range and Forage Science - Vol 11, No 1 (1976)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Journal of Range and Forage Science. ... Changes of biomass in some perennial grass species. ... The use of shoot dimensions to estimate the leaf mass or shoot area of certain indigenous ... Italian ryegrass as a perennial fodder crop.

  10. Evaluation of growth traits and yield of new forage corn (Zea mays L. single cross combinations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Khavari Khorasani

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study 18 forage corn (Zea mays L. hybrid varieties were evaluated based on RCBD with four replications in Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Centre, Iran, on 2008-2009. Result of analysis of variance showed that there was significantly difference between hybrids in forage yield, ear weight and ear to biomass ratio. Results of hybrids mean comparison with Duncan’s multiple range test showed that SC700 was higher than other investigated hybrids in forage yield trait. But hybrid 3 with 85.31 forage yield was the best hybrid in weight of ear and ear to biomass ratio. Though the SC704 hybrid was better than others for stem dry weight, ear dry weight and leaf area but there was not any significant difference between this hybrid and hybrid 3.

  11. Acúmulo de forragem em pastos de Brachiaria decumbens adubados com nitrogênio Biomass of the forage in Brachiaria decumbens pastures fertilized with nitrogen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jailson Lara Fagundes

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available A dinâmica de crescimento de plantas forrageiras tem sido foco de estudo nos últimos anos, visando aprimorar o conhecimento do processo de produção de forragem em pastagens. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o acúmulo de forragem em pastos de Brachiaria decumbens Stapf. adubados com nitrogênio e submetidos a uma mesma intensidade de pastejo. Os tratamentos consistiram de 75, 150, 225 e 300 kg ha-1 ano-1 de N, aplicados antes do início das avaliações experimentais, as quais foram realizadas durante as estações de verão, outono, inverno e primavera de 2002. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos completos casualizados com duas repetições. O capim-braquiária apresentou incremento de produção de matéria seca proporcional às doses de nitrogênio. Observaram-se maiores valores de taxa de acúmulo de folha, colmo e forragem nas estações primavera-verão e valores menores no inverno. As variações nas condições climáticas com as estações do ano alteraram as taxas de acúmulo de folha e colmo, senescência e de produção de forragem em Brachiaria decumbens.In the last years, the growth dynamics of forage plants has been focused, in order to improve the knowledge of forage yield and distribution process in pasture. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen fertilization on accumulation of the forage in Brachiaria decumbens Stapf. pastures submitted to the same stocking rate. Treatments consisted of 75, 150, 225 and 300 kg ha-1 yr-1 N applied before the beginning of experimental evaluations, which were performed during summer, autumn, winter and spring of 2002. A randomized block experimental design was used with two replicates. Brachiaria grass showed an increase in the dry matter yield proportionally to nitrogen doses, with higher rates for daily accumulation of leaves, stems and forage yield in summer-spring seasons, while lower rates were shown in the winter. The variation of

  12. 46 CFR 42.30-10 - Southern Winter Seasonal Zone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Island; thence the rhumb line to Black Rock Point on Stewart Island; thence the rhumb line to the point... BY SEA Zones, Areas, and Seasonal Periods § 42.30-10 Southern Winter Seasonal Zone. (a) The northern boundary of the Southern Winter Seasonal Zone is the rhumb line from the east coast of the American...

  13. Multiple-stage decisions in a marine central-place forager.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedlaender, Ari S; Johnston, David W; Tyson, Reny B; Kaltenberg, Amanda; Goldbogen, Jeremy A; Stimpert, Alison K; Curtice, Corrie; Hazen, Elliott L; Halpin, Patrick N; Read, Andrew J; Nowacek, Douglas P

    2016-05-01

    Air-breathing marine animals face a complex set of physical challenges associated with diving that affect the decisions of how to optimize feeding. Baleen whales (Mysticeti) have evolved bulk-filter feeding mechanisms to efficiently feed on dense prey patches. Baleen whales are central place foragers where oxygen at the surface represents the central place and depth acts as the distance to prey. Although hypothesized that baleen whales will target the densest prey patches anywhere in the water column, how depth and density interact to influence foraging behaviour is poorly understood. We used multi-sensor archival tags and active acoustics to quantify Antarctic humpback whale foraging behaviour relative to prey. Our analyses reveal multi-stage foraging decisions driven by both krill depth and density. During daylight hours when whales did not feed, krill were found in deep high-density patches. As krill migrated vertically into larger and less dense patches near the surface, whales began to forage. During foraging bouts, we found that feeding rates (number of feeding lunges per hour) were greatest when prey was shallowest, and feeding rates decreased with increasing dive depth. This strategy is consistent with previous models of how air-breathing diving animals optimize foraging efficiency. Thus, humpback whales forage mainly when prey is more broadly distributed and shallower, presumably to minimize diving and searching costs and to increase feeding rates overall and thus foraging efficiency. Using direct measurements of feeding behaviour from animal-borne tags and prey availability from echosounders, our study demonstrates a multi-stage foraging process in a central place forager that we suggest acts to optimize overall efficiency by maximizing net energy gain over time. These data reveal a previously unrecognized level of complexity in predator-prey interactions and underscores the need to simultaneously measure prey distribution in marine central place forager

  14. Multiple-stage decisions in a marine central-place forager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedlaender, Ari S.; Johnston, David W.; Tyson, Reny B.; Kaltenberg, Amanda; Goldbogen, Jeremy A.; Stimpert, Alison K.; Curtice, Corrie; Hazen, Elliott L.; Halpin, Patrick N.; Read, Andrew J.; Nowacek, Douglas P.

    2016-05-01

    Air-breathing marine animals face a complex set of physical challenges associated with diving that affect the decisions of how to optimize feeding. Baleen whales (Mysticeti) have evolved bulk-filter feeding mechanisms to efficiently feed on dense prey patches. Baleen whales are central place foragers where oxygen at the surface represents the central place and depth acts as the distance to prey. Although hypothesized that baleen whales will target the densest prey patches anywhere in the water column, how depth and density interact to influence foraging behaviour is poorly understood. We used multi-sensor archival tags and active acoustics to quantify Antarctic humpback whale foraging behaviour relative to prey. Our analyses reveal multi-stage foraging decisions driven by both krill depth and density. During daylight hours when whales did not feed, krill were found in deep high-density patches. As krill migrated vertically into larger and less dense patches near the surface, whales began to forage. During foraging bouts, we found that feeding rates (number of feeding lunges per hour) were greatest when prey was shallowest, and feeding rates decreased with increasing dive depth. This strategy is consistent with previous models of how air-breathing diving animals optimize foraging efficiency. Thus, humpback whales forage mainly when prey is more broadly distributed and shallower, presumably to minimize diving and searching costs and to increase feeding rates overall and thus foraging efficiency. Using direct measurements of feeding behaviour from animal-borne tags and prey availability from echosounders, our study demonstrates a multi-stage foraging process in a central place forager that we suggest acts to optimize overall efficiency by maximizing net energy gain over time. These data reveal a previously unrecognized level of complexity in predator-prey interactions and underscores the need to simultaneously measure prey distribution in marine central place forager

  15. 75 FR 47755 - Black Hills National Forest, Mystic Ranger District, South Dakota, Pactola Project Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-09

    ... fuels, and to increase the quantity and quality of forage for big game and other wildlife resources... the subject. Electronic comments must be readable in Word, Rich Text or PDF formats. FOR FURTHER...,755 acres); MA 5.3A; MA 5.4--Big Game Winter Range Emphasis (~12,201 acres); and MA 8.2 Developed...

  16. Factors influencing local ecological knowledge of forage resources: Ethnobotanical evidence from West Africa's savannas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naah, John-Baptist S N; Guuroh, Reginald T

    2017-03-01

    Recording local ecological knowledge (LEK) is a useful approach to understanding interactions of the complex social-ecological systems. In spite of the recent growing interest in LEK studies on the effects of climate and land use changes, livestock mobility decisions and other aspects of agro-pastoral systems, LEK on forage plants has still been vastly under-documented in the West African savannas. Using a study area ranging from northern Ghana to central Burkina Faso, we thus aimed at exploring how aridity and socio-demographic factors drive the distributional patterns of forage-related LEK among its holders. With stratified random sampling, we elicited LEK among 450 informants in 15 villages (seven in Ghana and eight in Burkina Faso) via free list tasks coupled with ethnobotanical walks and direct field observations. We performed generalized linear mixed-effects models (aridity- and ethnicity-based models) and robust model selection procedures. Our findings revealed that LEK for woody and herbaceous forage plants was strongly influenced by the ethnicity-based model, while aridity-based model performed better for LEK on overall forage resources and crop-related forage plants. We also found that climatic aridity had negative effect on the forage-related LEK across gender and age groups, while agro- and floristic diversity had positive effect on the body of LEK. About 135 species belonging to 95 genera and 52 families were cited. Our findings shed more light on how ethnicity and environmental harshness can markedly shape the body of LEK in the face of global climate change. Better understanding of such a place-based knowledge system is relevant for sustainable forage plants utilization and livestock production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Assessing winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency using a water quality simulation model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeo, In-Young; Lee, Sangchui; Sadeghi, Ali M.; Beeson, Peter C.; Hively, W. Dean; McCarty, Greg W.; Lang, Megan W.

    2013-01-01

    Winter cover crops are an effective conservation management practice with potential to improve water quality. Throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW), which is located in the Mid-Atlantic US, winter cover crop use has been emphasized and federal and state cost-share programs are available to farmers to subsidize the cost of winter cover crop establishment. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effect of planting winter cover crops at the watershed scale and to identify critical source areas of high nitrate export. A physically-based watershed simulation model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was calibrated and validated using water quality monitoring data and satellite-based estimates of winter cover crop species performance to simulate hydrological processes and nutrient cycling over the period of 1991–2000. Multiple scenarios were developed to obtain baseline information on nitrate loading without winter cover crops planted and to investigate how nitrate loading could change with different winter cover crop planting scenarios, including different species, planting times, and implementation areas. The results indicate that winter cover crops had a negligible impact on water budget, but significantly reduced nitrate leaching to groundwater and delivery to the waterways. Without winter cover crops, annual nitrate loading was approximately 14 kg ha−1, but it decreased to 4.6–10.1 kg ha−1 with winter cover crops resulting in a reduction rate of 27–67% at the watershed scale. Rye was most effective, with a potential to reduce nitrate leaching by up to 93% with early planting at the field scale. Early planting of winter cover crops (~30 days of additional growing days) was crucial, as it lowered nitrate export by an additional ~2 kg ha−1 when compared to late planting scenarios. The effectiveness of cover cropping increased with increasing extent of winter cover crop implementation. Agricultural fields with well-drained soils

  18. Early Visual Foraging in Relationship to Familial Risk for Autism and Hyperactivity/Inattention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gliga, Teodora; Smith, Tim J; Likely, Noreen; Charman, Tony; Johnson, Mark H

    2015-12-04

    Information foraging is atypical in both autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and ADHD; however, while ASD is associated with restricted exploration and preference for sameness, ADHD is characterized by hyperactivity and increased novelty seeking. Here, we ask whether similar biases are present in visual foraging in younger siblings of children with a diagnosis of ASD with or without additional high levels of hyperactivity and inattention. Fifty-four low-risk controls (LR) and 50 high-risk siblings (HR) took part in an eye-tracking study at 8 and 14 months and at 3 years of age. At 8 months, siblings of children with ASD and low levels of hyperactivity/inattention (HR/ASD-HI) were more likely to return to previously visited areas in the visual scene than were LR and siblings of children with ASD and high levels of hyperactivity/inattention (HR/ASD+HI). We show that visual foraging is atypical in infants at-risk for ASD. We also reveal a paradoxical effect, in that additional family risk for ADHD core symptoms mitigates the effect of ASD risk on visual information foraging. © The Author(s) 2015.

  19. Breeding limits foraging time : Evidence of interrupted foraging response from body mass variation in a tropical environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nwaogu, Chima J.; Dietz, Maurine W.; Tieleman, B. Irene; Cresswell, Will

    Birds should store body reserves if starvation risk is anticipated; this is known as an ‘interrupted foraging response’. If foraging remains unrestricted, however, body mass should remain low to limit the predation risk that gaining and carrying body reserves entails. In temperate environments mass

  20. Social Learning in Vespula Germanica Wasps: Do They Use Collective Foraging Strategies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lozada, Mariana; D' Adamo, Paola; Buteler, Micaela; Kuperman, Marcelo N

    2016-01-01

    Vespula germanica is a social wasp that has become established outside its native range in many regions of the world, becoming a major pest in the invaded areas. In the present work we analyze social communication processes used by V. germanica when exploiting un-depleted food sources. For this purpose, we investigated the arrival pattern of wasps at a protein bait and evaluated whether a forager recruited conspecifics in three different situations: foragers were able to return to the nest (full communication), foragers were removed on arrival (communication impeded), or only one forager was allowed to return to the nest (local enhancement restricted). Results demonstrated the existence of recruitment in V. germanica, given that very different patterns of wasp arrivals and a higher frequency of wasp visits to the resource were observed when communication flow between experienced and naive foragers was allowed. Our findings showed that recruitment takes place at a distance from the food source, in addition to local enhancement. When both local enhancement and distant recruitment were occurring simultaneously, the pattern of wasp arrival was exponential. When recruitment occurred only distant from the feeder, the arrival pattern was linear, but the number of wasps arriving was twice as many as when neither communication nor local enhancement was allowed. Moreover, when return to the nest was impeded, wasp arrival at the bait was regular and constant, indicating that naive wasps forage individually and are not spatially aggregated. In conclusion, this is the first study to demonstrate recruitment in V. germanica at a distance from the food source by modelling wasps' arrival to a protein-based resource. In addition, the existence of correlations when communication was allowed and reflected in tandem arrivals indicates that we were not in the presence of random processes.

  1. Social Learning in Vespula Germanica Wasps: Do They Use Collective Foraging Strategies?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Lozada

    Full Text Available Vespula germanica is a social wasp that has become established outside its native range in many regions of the world, becoming a major pest in the invaded areas. In the present work we analyze social communication processes used by V. germanica when exploiting un-depleted food sources. For this purpose, we investigated the arrival pattern of wasps at a protein bait and evaluated whether a forager recruited conspecifics in three different situations: foragers were able to return to the nest (full communication, foragers were removed on arrival (communication impeded, or only one forager was allowed to return to the nest (local enhancement restricted. Results demonstrated the existence of recruitment in V. germanica, given that very different patterns of wasp arrivals and a higher frequency of wasp visits to the resource were observed when communication flow between experienced and naive foragers was allowed. Our findings showed that recruitment takes place at a distance from the food source, in addition to local enhancement. When both local enhancement and distant recruitment were occurring simultaneously, the pattern of wasp arrival was exponential. When recruitment occurred only distant from the feeder, the arrival pattern was linear, but the number of wasps arriving was twice as many as when neither communication nor local enhancement was allowed. Moreover, when return to the nest was impeded, wasp arrival at the bait was regular and constant, indicating that naive wasps forage individually and are not spatially aggregated. In conclusion, this is the first study to demonstrate recruitment in V. germanica at a distance from the food source by modelling wasps' arrival to a protein-based resource. In addition, the existence of correlations when communication was allowed and reflected in tandem arrivals indicates that we were not in the presence of random processes.

  2. An Automated Approach to Map Winter Cropped Area of Smallholder Farms across Large Scales Using MODIS Imagery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meha Jain

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Fine-scale agricultural statistics are an important tool for understanding trends in food production and their associated drivers, yet these data are rarely collected in smallholder systems. These statistics are particularly important for smallholder systems given the large amount of fine-scale heterogeneity in production that occurs in these regions. To overcome the lack of ground data, satellite data are often used to map fine-scale agricultural statistics. However, doing so is challenging for smallholder systems because of (1 complex sub-pixel heterogeneity; (2 little to no available calibration data; and (3 high amounts of cloud cover as most smallholder systems occur in the tropics. We develop an automated method termed the MODIS Scaling Approach (MSA to map smallholder cropped area across large spatial and temporal scales using MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI satellite data. We use this method to map winter cropped area, a key measure of cropping intensity, across the Indian subcontinent annually from 2000–2001 to 2015–2016. The MSA defines a pixel as cropped based on winter growing season phenology and scales the percent of cropped area within a single MODIS pixel based on observed EVI values at peak phenology. We validated the result with eleven high-resolution scenes (spatial scale of 5 × 5 m2 or finer that we classified into cropped versus non-cropped maps using training data collected by visual inspection of the high-resolution imagery. The MSA had moderate to high accuracies when validated using these eleven scenes across India (R2 ranging between 0.19 and 0.89 with an overall R2 of 0.71 across all sites. This method requires no calibration data, making it easy to implement across large spatial and temporal scales, with 100% spatial coverage due to the compositing of EVI to generate cloud-free data sets. The accuracies found in this study are similar to those of other studies that map crop production using automated methods

  3. Forage mass and the nutritive value of pastures mixed with forage peanut and red clover

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Lima de Azevedo Junior

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research was to estimate three pasture-based systems mixed with elephantgrass + spontaneous growth species, annual ryegrass, for pasture-based system 1; elephantgrass + spontaneous growth species + forage peanut, for pasture-based system 2; and elephantgrass + spontaneous growth species + annual ryegrass + red clover, for pasture-based system 3. Elephantgrass was planted in rows 4 m apart from each other. During the cool-season, annual ryegrass was sown in the alleys between the rows of elephantgrass; forage peanut and red clover were sown in the alleys between the elephantgrass according to the respective treatment. The experimental design was totally randomized in the three treatments (pasture-based systems, two replicates (paddocks in completely split-plot time (grazing cycles. Holstein cows receiving 5.5 kg-daily complementary concentrate feed were used in the evaluation. Pre-grazing forage mass, botanical composition and stocking rate were evaluated. Samples of simulated grazing were collected to analyze organic matter (OM, neutral detergent fiber (NDF, crude protein (CP and organic matter in situ digestibility (OMISD. Nine grazing cycles were performed during the experimental period (341 days. The average dry matter values for pre-grazing and stocking rate were 3.34; 3.46; 3.79 t/ha, and 3.28; 3.34; 3.60 AU/ha for each respective pasture-based system. Similar results were observed between the pasture-based systems for OM, NDF, CP and OMISD. Considering forage mass, stocking rate and nutritive value, the pasture-based system intercropped with forage legumes presented better performance.

  4. Feed intake and activity level of two broiler genotypes foraging different types of vegetation in the finishing period

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    de Almeida, Gustavo Fonseca; Hinrichsen, Lena Karina; Horsted, Klaus

    2012-01-01

    A study was performed with 2 broiler genotypes (slow and medium growth) restricted in supplementary feed and foraging 2 different mixed vegetations (grass/clover or chicory) to identify possible benefits of herbage on nutrition during the finishing period (80 to 113 d of age). Three hundred birds...... were included in a 2 × 2 factorial design with groups of 25 birds replicated 3 times. The use of outdoor areas, performance, and forage intake were investigated. To identify possible differences in foraging activity, the use of the range was monitored one day per week at 4 different times of the day...

  5. Walrus areas of use in the Chukchi Sea during sparse sea ice cover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jay, Chadwick V.; Fischbach, Anthony S.; Kochnev, Anatoly A.

    2012-01-01

    The Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens feeds on benthic invertebrates on the continental shelf of the Chukchi and Bering Seas and rests on sea ice between foraging trips. With climate warming, ice-free periods in the Chukchi Sea have increased and are projected to increase further in frequency and duration. We radio-tracked walruses to estimate areas of walrus foraging and occupancy in the Chukchi Sea from June to November of 2008 to 2011, years when sea ice was sparse over the continental shelf in comparison to historical records. The earlier and more extensive sea ice retreat in June to September, and delayed freeze-up of sea ice in October to November, created conditions for walruses to arrive earlier and stay later in the Chukchi Sea than in the past. The lack of sea ice over the continental shelf from September to October caused walruses to forage in nearshore areas instead of offshore areas as in the past. Walruses did not frequent the deep waters of the Arctic Basin when sea ice retreated off the shelf. Walruses foraged in most areas they occupied, and areas of concentrated foraging generally corresponded to regions of high benthic biomass, such as in the northeastern (Hanna Shoal) and southwestern Chukchi Sea. A notable exception was the occurrence of concentrated foraging in a nearshore area of northwestern Alaska that is apparently depauperate in walrus prey. With increasing sea ice loss, it is likely that walruses will increase their use of coastal haul-outs and nearshore foraging areas, with consequences to the population that are yet to be understood.

  6. Bat guilds, a concept to classify the highly diverse foraging and echolocation behaviors of microchiropteran bats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annette eDenzinger

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Throughout evolution the foraging and echolocation behaviors as well as the motor systems of bats have been adapted to the tasks they have to perform while searching and acquiring food. When bats exploit the same class of environmental resources in a similar way, they perform comparable tasks and thus share similar adaptations independent of their phylogeny. Species with similar adaptations are assigned to guilds or functional groups. Habitat type and foraging mode mainly determine the foraging tasks and thus the adaptations of bats. Therefore we use habitat type and foraging mode to define seven guilds. The habitat types open, edge and narrow space are defined according to the bats’ echolocation behavior in relation to the distance between bat and background or food item and background. Bats foraging in the aerial, trawling, flutter detecting, or active gleaning mode use only echolocation to acquire their food. When foraging in the passive gleaning mode bats do not use echolocation but rely on sensory cues from the food item to find it. Bat communities often comprise large numbers of species with a high diversity in foraging areas, foraging modes, and diets. The assignment of species living under similar constraints into guilds identifies pattern of community structure and helps to understand the factors that underlie the organization of highly diverse bat communities. Bat species from different guilds do not compete for food as they differ in their foraging behavior and in the environmental resources they use. However, sympatric living species belonging to the same guild often exploit the same class of resources. To avoid competition they should differ in their niche dimensions. The fine grain structure of bat communities below the rather coarse classification into guilds is determined by mechanisms that result in niche partitioning.

  7. Modelling Pasture-based Automatic Milking System Herds: System Fitness of Grazeable Home-grown Forages, Land Areas and Walking Distances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. R. Islam

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available To maintain a predominantly pasture-based system, the large herd milked by automatic milking rotary would be required to walk significant distances. Walking distances of greater than 1-km are associated with an increased incidence of undesirably long milking intervals and reduced milk yield. Complementary forages can be incorporated into pasture-based systems to lift total home grown feed in a given area, thus potentially ‘concentrating’ feed closer to the dairy. The aim of this modelling study was to investigate the total land area required and associated walking distance for large automatic milking system (AMS herds when incorporating complementary forage rotations (CFR into the system. Thirty-six scenarios consisting of 3 AMS herds (400, 600, 800 cows, 2 levels of pasture utilisation (current AMS utilisation of 15.0 t dry matter [DM]/ha, termed as moderate; optimum pasture utilisation of 19.7 t DM/ha, termed as high and 6 rates of replacement of each of these pastures by grazeable CFR (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% were investigated. Results showed that AMS cows were required to walk greater than 1-km when the farm area was greater than 86 ha. Insufficient pasture could be produced within a 1 km distance (i.e. 86 ha land with home-grown feed (HGF providing 43%, 29%, and 22% of the metabolisable energy (ME required by 400, 600, and 800 cows, respectively from pastures. Introduction of pasture (moderate: CFR in AMS at a ratio of 80:20 can feed a 400 cow AMS herd, and can supply 42% and 31% of the ME requirements for 600 and 800 cows, respectively with pasture (moderate: CFR at 50:50 levels. In contrast to moderate pasture, 400 cows can be managed on high pasture utilisation (provided 57% of the total ME requirements. However, similar to the scenarios conducted with moderate pasture, there was insufficient feed produced within 1-km distance of the dairy for 600 or 800 cows. An 800 cow herd required 140 and 130 ha on moderate and high pasture

  8. Modelling Pasture-based Automatic Milking System Herds: System Fitness of Grazeable Home-grown Forages, Land Areas and Walking Distances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, M. R.; Garcia, S. C.; Clark, C. E. F.; Kerrisk, K. L.

    2015-01-01

    To maintain a predominantly pasture-based system, the large herd milked by automatic milking rotary would be required to walk significant distances. Walking distances of greater than 1-km are associated with an increased incidence of undesirably long milking intervals and reduced milk yield. Complementary forages can be incorporated into pasture-based systems to lift total home grown feed in a given area, thus potentially ‘concentrating’ feed closer to the dairy. The aim of this modelling study was to investigate the total land area required and associated walking distance for large automatic milking system (AMS) herds when incorporating complementary forage rotations (CFR) into the system. Thirty-six scenarios consisting of 3 AMS herds (400, 600, 800 cows), 2 levels of pasture utilisation (current AMS utilisation of 15.0 t dry matter [DM]/ha, termed as moderate; optimum pasture utilisation of 19.7 t DM/ha, termed as high) and 6 rates of replacement of each of these pastures by grazeable CFR (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%) were investigated. Results showed that AMS cows were required to walk greater than 1-km when the farm area was greater than 86 ha. Insufficient pasture could be produced within a 1 km distance (i.e. 86 ha land) with home-grown feed (HGF) providing 43%, 29%, and 22% of the metabolisable energy (ME) required by 400, 600, and 800 cows, respectively from pastures. Introduction of pasture (moderate): CFR in AMS at a ratio of 80:20 can feed a 400 cow AMS herd, and can supply 42% and 31% of the ME requirements for 600 and 800 cows, respectively with pasture (moderate): CFR at 50:50 levels. In contrast to moderate pasture, 400 cows can be managed on high pasture utilisation (provided 57% of the total ME requirements). However, similar to the scenarios conducted with moderate pasture, there was insufficient feed produced within 1-km distance of the dairy for 600 or 800 cows. An 800 cow herd required 140 and 130 ha on moderate and high pasture-based AMS

  9. Estimating Rangeland Forage Production Using Remote Sensing Data from a Small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, H.; Jin, Y.; Devine, S.; Dahlgren, R. A.; Covello, S.; Larsen, R.; O'Geen, A. T.

    2017-12-01

    whole study area during the 2017 growing season. The forage maps captured similar seasonal and spatial patterns of forage production as ground measured dry biomass. This study demonstrated a near real-time monitoring tool for ranchers to estimate forage production with sUAS technology and improved watershed-scale rangeland management.

  10. Autecology of Astragalus arpilobus Kar. & Kir, a promised species for restoration of the winter rangelands in the northeast of Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Jankju

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Studying the autecology of range plants provides the basic information on their ecological requirements, cultivation methods and the interactions with the prevailing environment. Such information is necessary for a proper range management. Some ecological characteristics of Astragalus arpilobus Kar. & Kir., were studied in the winter rangelands of Northern Khorasan province. It was naturally growing in Jargalan, Bojnourd, where the altitudinal range varied 500-600 a.s.l, slope 20-100%, and the average annual rainfall 236.85 mm. Soil properties were: loamy texture, average organic matter, low fertility, pH 7.32 and EC 2.30 ds.m-1. A. aripilobus started vegetative growth at the early March, flowering during early May, seed production during June, and terminated its yearly growth at early July. The highest nutritive values and forage quality were at the beginning of growth, which was gradually decreased towards the end of growth season. Crude protein (CP, and ash were decreased whereas acid detergent fiber (ADF, natural detergent fiber (NDF, and dry matter (DM increased by the growing season. Seeds were easily established within pots; however, seed germination rate was low (24%, which by sand paper scarification was increased up to 51%. In conclusion, feasibility of seedling establishment, high nutritive value, and concurrence of plant phenology with the time of maximum need to fodder, by livestocks, propose A. arpilobus as a promising forage plant species for restoration of the winter rangelands in Northern Khorasan province.

  11. Traplining in bumblebees (Bombus impatiens): a foraging strategy's ontogeny and the importance of spatial reference memory in short-range foraging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saleh, Nehal; Chittka, Lars

    2007-04-01

    To test the relative importance of long-term and working spatial memories in short-range foraging in bumblebees, we compared the performance of two groups of bees. One group foraged in a stable array of six flowers for 40 foraging bouts, thereby enabling it to establish a long-term memory of the array, and adjust its spatial movements accordingly. The other group was faced with an array that changed between (but not within) foraging bouts, and thus had only access to a working memory of the flowers that had been visited. Bees in the stable array started out sampling a variety of routes, but their tendency to visit flowers in a repeatable, stable order ("traplining") increased drastically with experience. These bees used shorter routes and converged on four popular paths. However, these routes were mainly formed through linking pairs of flowers by near-neighbour movements, rather than attempting to minimize overall travel distance. Individuals had variations to a primary sequence, where some bees used a major sequence most often, followed by a minor less used route, and others used two different routes with equal frequency. Even though bees foraging in the spatially randomized array had access to both spatial working memory and scent marks, this manipulation greatly disrupted foraging efficiency, mainly via an increase in revisitation to previously emptied flowers and substantially longer search times. Hence, a stable reference frame greatly improves foraging even for bees in relatively small arrays of flowers.

  12. Examining short-term nutritional status among BaAka foragers in transitional economies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remis, Melissa J; Jost Robinson, Carolyn A

    2014-07-01

    Foragers in transitioning economies are at an increased risk of negative health outcomes as they undergo changes in subsistence patterns and diet. Here, we provide anthropometric data and examine the nutrition and health of adult BaAka foragers in relationship to declining wildlife and economic change in the Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas (APDS), Central African Republic. From June to August 2012, we collected biological data and dietary recall surveys from individuals in Mossapoula (MS) and Yandoumbé (YDBE) villages using standard anthropometric techniques and a single capillary blood finger prick. In our analysis, we identified variation in anthropometric measurements and hemoglobin levels by village (MS = 66, YDBE = 75) and gender (64 men, 77 women). Immigration, increased gun hunting and wildlife trades have reduced forager reliance on forest resources. These changes are evidenced in the marginal health of contemporary BaAka foragers of APDS. Although anthropometric measures of nutritional status do not significantly differ between communities, hemoglobin data highlight inequities in access to forest products between villages with different proximity to community hunting zones. Further, poor dietary diversity and low frequency of purchased foods in the diet indicate that the transition to a market economy has not been fully realized and diets are impoverished. Economic changes appear to have had the most impact at MS village, where forest use is most restricted and consumption of meat and forest products was reduced. This work highlights the nutritional and health needs of foragers in rapidly transitioning economies; especially those impacted by conservation management and zoning policies. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Migration and habitat preferences of Swainson's Hawks at an autumn stopover site in northwestern Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Littlefield, Carroll D.; Johnson, Douglas H.

    2013-01-01

    Unlike most raptors, the Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) migrates long distances between breeding and wintering ranges, which elevates the importance of stopover sites for foraging. We conducted three years of fall surveys in the Southern High Plains of Texas. Migrant Swainson's Hawks moved through the area mostly between July and mid-October, peaking in September. Subadults tended to migrate earlier than adults, and light morphs before dark morphs. Favored foraging habitats included silage corn, green beans, and alfalfa, but the hawks foraged primarily where ongoing agricultural activities disturbed prey and made them more available.

  14. Change of Landscape Structure before and after Winter Olympic Games in Nagano City

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujii, Yoshio; Takeda, Toshiharu

    Recently it is desirable to realize the conservation of biodiversity and to create the city with symbiosis with nature even in local city. In this study, we chose Nagano City which was the site of the Winter Olympic Games as the subject of study, investigated the change of land cover by using Landsat TM data of the year 1985 and 1999 which were before and after the Winter Olympic Games, and grasped the change of landscape structure quantitatively by using landscape indices. As a result, we obtained the following conclusions. The expansion of urban area proceeded rapidly before and after the Winter Olympic Games. The area of artificial land cover in the city planning area has increased by 57%. In the meantime the areas of upland field and paddy field have decreased by 45% and 50% respectively. Therefore, agricultural land changed into urban area remarkably. It was found that the shape of paches of paddy field and upland field especially became small and the inequality of the paches decreased before and after the Winter Olympic Games. It became clear that the fragmentation has occurred in agricultural land such as paddy field, upland field and orchard.

  15. Metabolizable protein supply while grazing dormant winter forage during heifer development alters pregnancy and subsequent in-herd retention rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulliniks, J T; Hawkins, D E; Kane, K K; Cox, S H; Torell, L A; Scholljegerdes, E J; Petersen, M K

    2013-03-01

    Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of postweaning management of British crossbred heifers on growth and reproduction. In Exp. 1, 239 spring-born, crossbred heifers were stratified by weaning BW (234 ± 1 kg) and allotted randomly to 1 of 2 treatments. Treatments were fed at a rate equivalent to 1.14 kg/d while grazing dormant forage (6.5% CP and 80% NDF, DM basis) and were 1) 36% CP containing 36% RUP (36RUP) or 2) 36% CP containing 50% RUP (50RUP). Supplementation was initiated in February (1995 and 1996) or November (1997 and 1998) and terminated at the onset of breeding season (mid May). Heifers were weighed monthly up to breeding and again at time of palpation. After timed AI, heifers were exposed to breeding bulls for 42 ± 8 d. In Exp. 2, 191 spring-born, crossbred heifers were stratified by weaning BW to treatments. Heifer development treatments were 1) pasture developed and fed 0.9 kg/day of a 36% CP supplement containing 36% RUP (36RUP), 2) pasture developed and fed 0.9 kg/day of a 36% CP supplement containing 50% RUP (50RUP), and 3) corn silage-based growing diet in a drylot (DRYLOT). Heifers receiving 36RUP and 50RUP treatments were developed on dormant forage. Treatments started in February and ended at the onset of a 45-d breeding season in May. Heifer BW and hip height were taken monthly from initiation of supplementation until breeding and at pregnancy diagnosis. In Exp. 1, BW was not different (P ≥ 0.27) for among treatments at all measurement times. However, 50RUP heifers had greater (P = 0.02; 80 and 67%) pregnancy rates than 36RUP heifers. In Exp. 2, DRYLOT heifers had greater (P RUP or 50RUP developed heifers. However, BW at pregnancy diagnosis was not different (P = 0.24) for between treatments. Pregnancy rates tended to be greater (P = 0.10) for 50RUP heifers than 36RUP and DRYLOT. Net return per heifer was US$99.71 and $87.18 greater for 50RUP and 36RUP heifers, respectively, compared with DRYLOT heifers due to differences

  16. Risso's dolphins plan foraging dives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arranz, Patricia; Benoit-Bird, Kelly J; Southall, Brandon L; Calambokidis, John; Friedlaender, Ari S; Tyack, Peter L

    2018-02-28

    Humans remember the past and use that information to plan future actions. Lab experiments that test memory for the location of food show that animals have a similar capability to act in anticipation of future needs, but less work has been done on animals foraging in the wild. We hypothesized that planning abilities are critical and common in breath-hold divers who adjust each dive to forage on prey varying in quality, location and predictability within constraints of limited oxygen availability. We equipped Risso's dolphins with sound-and-motion recording tags to reveal where they focus their attention through their externally observable echolocation and how they fine tune search strategies in response to expected and observed prey distribution. The information from the dolphins was integrated with synoptic prey data obtained from echosounders on an underwater vehicle. At the start of the dives, whales adjusted their echolocation inspection ranges in ways that suggest planning to forage at a particular depth. Once entering a productive prey layer, dolphins reduced their search range comparable to the scale of patches within the layer, suggesting that they were using echolocation to select prey within the patch. On ascent, their search range increased, indicating that they decided to stop foraging within that layer and started searching for prey in shallower layers. Information about prey, learned throughout the dive, was used to plan foraging in the next dive. Our results demonstrate that planning for future dives is modulated by spatial memory derived from multi-modal prey sampling (echoic, visual and capture) during earlier dives. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  17. Migratory timing, rate, routes and wintering areas of White-crested Elaenia (Elaenia albiceps chilensis, a key seed disperser for Patagonian forest regeneration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susana Patricia Bravo

    Full Text Available Migratory animals often play key ecological roles within the communities they visit throughout their annual journeys. As a consequence of the links between biomes mediated by migrants, changes in one biome could affect remote areas in unpredictable ways. Migratory routes and timing of most Neotropical austral migrants, which breed at south temperate latitudes of South America and overwinter closer to or within tropical latitudes of South America, have yet to be described in detail. As a result, our understanding about how these birds provide links between South American biomes is almost non-existent. White-crested Elaenia (Elaenia albiceps chilensis is a long-distance austral migrant that breeds in the Patagonian Forest biome and overwinters in tropical South America. Because this small flycatcher plays a key role in the regeneration of this ecosystem, our objective was to describe the annual cycle of White-crested elaenias to evaluate the degree of migratory connectivity between breeding and wintering areas and therefore to determine if there are specific biomes of northern South America linked by elaenias to Patagonian forests. Fifteen individuals were successfully tracked throughout a complete migration cycle using miniature light-level geolocators. All individuals resided and moved through the same general regions. During fall (March-April-May, elaenias were located in the Caatinga and the Atlantic Forest biomes, from Rio de Janeiro to the region near Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. During winter (June-July-Aug., birds were located further inland, within the Cerrado biome. Birds used three different routes during fall migration. Our results indicate that some individuals use a direct route, flying between 500-600 km/day, crossing desert and grasslands, while others took a detour, flying 100-200 km/day through forested areas with refueling opportunities. All birds used the Yunga forest during spring migration, with ten out of 15 individuals

  18. Terrestrial and Marine Foraging Strategies of an Opportunistic Seabird Species Breeding in the Wadden Sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Garthe

    Full Text Available Lesser black-backed gulls Larus fuscus are considered to be mainly pelagic. We assessed the importance of different landscape elements (open sea, tidal flats and inland by comparing marine and terrestrial foraging behaviours in lesser black-backed gulls breeding along the coast of the southern North Sea. We attached GPS data loggers to eight incubating birds and collected information on diet and habitat use. The loggers recorded data for 10-19 days to allow flight-path reconstruction. Lesser black-backed gulls foraged in both offshore and inland areas, but rarely on tidal flats. Targets and directions were similar among all eight individuals. Foraging trips (n = 108 lasted 0.5-26.4 h (mean 8.7 h, and ranges varied from 3.0-79.9 km (mean 30.9 km. The total distance travelled per foraging trip ranged from 7.5-333.6 km (mean 97.9 km. Trips out to sea were significantly more variable in all parameters than inland trips. Presence in inland areas was closely associated with daylight, whereas trips to sea occurred at day and night, but mostly at night. The most common items in pellets were grass (48%, insects (38%, fish (28%, litter (26% and earthworms (20%. There was a significant relationship between the carbon and nitrogen isotope signals in blood and the proportional time each individual spent foraging at sea/land. On land, gulls preferentially foraged on bare ground, with significantly higher use of potato fields and significantly less use of grassland. The flight patterns of lesser black-backed gulls at sea overlapped with fishing-vessel distribution, including small beam trawlers fishing for shrimps in coastal waters close to the colony and large beam-trawlers fishing for flatfish at greater distances. Our data show that individuals made intensive use of the anthropogenic landscape and seascape, indicating that lesser black-backed gulls are not a predominantly marine species during the incubation period.

  19. Puffins reveal contrasting relationships between forage fish and ocean climate in the North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sydeman, William J.; Piatt, John F.; Thompson, Sarah Ann; Garcia-Reyes, Marisol; Hatch, Scott A.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Slater, Leslie; Williams, Jeffrey C.; Rojek, Nora A.; Zador, Stephani G.; Renner, Heather M.

    2017-01-01

    Long-term studies of predator food habits (i.e., ‘predator-based sampling’) are useful for identifying patterns of spatial and temporal variability of forage nekton in marine ecosystems. We investigated temporal changes in forage fish availability and relationships to ocean climate by analyzing diet composition of three puffin species (horned puffin Fratercula corniculata, tufted puffin Fratercula cirrhata, and rhinoceros auklet Cerorhinca monocerata) from five sites in the North Pacific from 1978–2012. Dominant forage species included squids and hexagrammids in the western Aleutians, gadids and Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus) in the eastern Aleutians and western Gulf of Alaska (GoA), and sand lance and capelin (Mallotus villosus) in the northern and eastern GoA. Interannual fluctuations in forage availability dominated variability in the western Aleutians, whereas lower-frequency shifts in forage fish availability dominated elsewhere. We produced regional multivariate indicators of sand lance, capelin, and age-0 gadid availability by combining data across species and sites using Principal Component Analysis, and related these indices to environmental factors including sea level pressure (SPL), winds, and sea surface temperature (SST). There was coherence in the availability of sand lance and capelin across the study area. Sand lance availability increased linearly with environmental conditions leading to warmer ocean temperatures, whereas capelin availability increased in a non-linear manner when environmental changes led to lower ocean temperatures. Long-term studies of puffin diet composition appear to be a promising tool for understanding the availability of these difficult-to-survey forage nekton in remote regions of the North Pacific.

  20. Road salt application planning tool for winter de-icing operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trenouth, William R.; Gharabaghi, Bahram; Perera, Nandana

    2015-05-01

    Road authorities, who are charged with the task of maintaining safe, driveable road conditions during severe winter storm events are coming under increasing pressure to protect salt vulnerable areas (SVAs). For the purpose of modelling urban winter hydrology, the temperature index method was modified to incorporate ploughing and salting considerations and was calibrated using winter field data from two sites in Southern Ontario and validated using data collected from a section of Highway 401 - Canada's busiest highway. The modified temperature index model (MTIM) accurately predicted salt-induced melt (R2 = 0.98 and 0.99, RMSE = 19.9 and 282.4 m3, CRM = -0.003 and 0.006 for calibration and validation sites respectively), and showed a demonstrable ability to calculate the Bare Pavement Regain Time (BPRT). The BPRT is a key factor on road safety and the basis for many winter maintenance performance standards for different classes of highways. Optimizing salt application rate scenarios can be achieved using the MTIM with only two meteorological forecast inputs for the storm event - readily available on-line through the Road Weather Information System (RWIS) - and can serve as a simple yet effective tool for winter road maintenance practitioners seeking to optimize salt application rates for a given storm event in salt vulnerable areas.

  1. The foraging behaviour of herons and egrets on the Magela Creek flood plain, Northern Territory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Recher, H.F.; Holmes, R.T.

    1982-03-01

    Five species of diurnal herons are common on the Magela Creek flood plain and forage along the edges of natural and artifical waterbodies both inside and outside the Ranger Uranium Project Area. The species of heron differ in the kinds and sizes of prey they take, their foraging location, degree of sociality and foraging behaviour. Because it takes relatively large fish, the Great Egret, E. alba, is most likely to be affected by any contamination of the aquatic environment by heavy metals or radionuclides. The Nankeen Night Heron, Nycticorax caledonicus is also abundant on the flood plain and probably feeds on large fish and frogs. The other herons take smaller or immature prey or hunt mostly in terrestrial habitats and are therefore less likely to be affected by contamination of the aquatic environment

  2. Resource diversity and landscape-level homogeneity drive native bee foraging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jha, Shalene; Kremen, Claire

    2013-01-08

    Given widespread declines in pollinator communities and increasing global reliance on pollinator-dependent crops, there is an acute need to develop a mechanistic understanding of native pollinator population and foraging biology. Using a population genetics approach, we determine the impact of habitat and floral resource distributions on nesting and foraging patterns of a critical native pollinator, Bombus vosnesenskii. Our findings demonstrate that native bee foraging is far more plastic and extensive than previously believed and does not follow a simple optimal foraging strategy. Rather, bumble bees forage further in pursuit of species-rich floral patches and in landscapes where patch-to-patch variation in floral resources is less, regardless of habitat composition. Thus, our results reveal extreme foraging plasticity and demonstrate that floral diversity, not density, drives bee foraging distance. Furthermore, we find a negative impact of paved habitat and a positive impact of natural woodland on bumble bee nesting densities. Overall, this study reveals that natural and human-altered landscapes can be managed for increased native bee nesting and extended foraging, dually enhancing biodiversity and the spatial extent of pollination services.

  3. Information Foraging in Nuclear Power Plant Control Rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boring, R.L.

    2011-01-01

    nformation foraging theory articulates the role of the human as an 'informavore' that seeks information and follows optimal foraging strategies (i.e., the 'information scent') to find meaningful information. This paper briefly reviews the findings from information foraging theory outside the nuclear domain and then discusses the types of information foraging strategies operators employ for normal and off-normal operations in the control room. For example, operators may employ a predatory 'wolf' strategy of hunting for information in the face of a plant upset. However, during routine operations, the operators may employ a trapping 'spider' strategy of waiting for relevant indicators to appear. This delineation corresponds to information pull and push strategies, respectively. No studies have been conducted to determine explicitly the characteristics of a control room interface that is optimized for both push and pull information foraging strategies, nor has there been empirical work to validate operator performance when transitioning between push and pull strategies. This paper explores examples of control room operators as wolves vs. spiders and con- cludes by proposing a set of research questions to investigate information foraging in control room settings.

  4. Information Foraging in Nuclear Power Plant Control Rooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    R.L. Boring

    2011-09-01

    nformation foraging theory articulates the role of the human as an 'informavore' that seeks information and follows optimal foraging strategies (i.e., the 'information scent') to find meaningful information. This paper briefly reviews the findings from information foraging theory outside the nuclear domain and then discusses the types of information foraging strategies operators employ for normal and off-normal operations in the control room. For example, operators may employ a predatory 'wolf' strategy of hunting for information in the face of a plant upset. However, during routine operations, the operators may employ a trapping 'spider' strategy of waiting for relevant indicators to appear. This delineation corresponds to information pull and push strategies, respectively. No studies have been conducted to determine explicitly the characteristics of a control room interface that is optimized for both push and pull information foraging strategies, nor has there been empirical work to validate operator performance when transitioning between push and pull strategies. This paper explores examples of control room operators as wolves vs. spiders and con- cludes by proposing a set of research questions to investigate information foraging in control room settings.

  5. Long-term changes in winter distribution of Danish ringed Great Cormorants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bregnballe, Thomas; Herrmann, Christof; Wendt, Juliane

    2017-01-01

    in the geographical origin of cormorants recovered in Croatia confirmed the suspicion that declines in numbers of recoveries of Danish-ringed cormorants in the south-eastern wintering area reflected a true westward shift in winter distribution. The composition of recoveries in Croatia revealed that the south...

  6. Improving the Yield and Nutritional Quality of Forage Crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola M. Capstaff

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Despite being some of the most important crops globally, there has been limited research on forages when compared with cereals, fruits, and vegetables. This review summarizes the literature highlighting the significance of forage crops, the current improvements and some of future directions for improving yield and nutritional quality. We make the point that the knowledge obtained from model plant and grain crops can be applied to forage crops. The timely development of genomics and bioinformatics together with genome editing techniques offer great scope to improve forage crops. Given the social, environmental and economic importance of forage across the globe and especially in poorer countries, this opportunity has enormous potential to improve food security and political stability.

  7. Risk management model of winter navigation operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valdez Banda, Osiris A.; Goerlandt, Floris; Kuzmin, Vladimir; Kujala, Pentti; Montewka, Jakub

    2016-01-01

    The wintertime maritime traffic operations in the Gulf of Finland are managed through the Finnish–Swedish Winter Navigation System. This establishes the requirements and limitations for the vessels navigating when ice covers this area. During winter navigation in the Gulf of Finland, the largest risk stems from accidental ship collisions which may also trigger oil spills. In this article, a model for managing the risk of winter navigation operations is presented. The model analyses the probability of oil spills derived from collisions involving oil tanker vessels and other vessel types. The model structure is based on the steps provided in the Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and adapted into a Bayesian Network model. The results indicate that ship independent navigation and convoys are the operations with higher probability of oil spills. Minor spills are most probable, while major oil spills found very unlikely but possible. - Highlights: •A model to assess and manage the risk of winter navigation operations is proposed. •The risks of oil spills in winter navigation in the Gulf of Finland are analysed. •The model assesses and prioritizes actions to control the risk of the operations. •The model suggests navigational training as the most efficient risk control option.

  8. Determinants of spatial behavior of a tropical forest seed predator: The roles of optimal foraging, dietary diversification, and home range defense.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palminteri, Suzanne; Powell, George V N; Peres, Carlos A

    2016-05-01

    Specialized seed predators in tropical forests may avoid seasonal food scarcity and interspecific feeding competition but may need to diversify their daily diet to limit ingestion of any given toxin. Seed predators may, therefore, adopt foraging strategies that favor dietary diversity and resource monitoring, rather than efficient energy intake, as suggested by optimal foraging theory. We tested whether fine-scale space use by a small-group-living seed predator-the bald-faced saki monkey (Pithecia irrorata)-reflected optimization of short-term foraging efficiency, maximization of daily dietary diversity, and/or responses to the threat of territorial encroachment by neighboring groups. Food patches across home ranges of five adjacent saki groups were widely spread, but areas with higher densities of stems or food species were not allocated greater feeding time. Foraging patterns-specifically, relatively long daily travel paths that bypassed available fruiting trees and relatively short feeding bouts in undepleted food patches-suggest a strategy that maximizes dietary diversification, rather than "optimal" foraging. Travel distance was unrelated to the proportion of seeds in the diet. Moreover, while taxonomically diverse, the daily diets of our study groups were no more species-rich than randomly derived diets based on co-occurring available food species. Sakis preferentially used overlapping areas of their HRs, within which adjacent groups shared many food trees, yet the density of food plants or food species in these areas was no greater than in other HR areas. The high likelihood of depletion by neighboring groups of otherwise enduring food sources may encourage monitoring of peripheral food patches in overlap areas, even if at the expense of immediate energy intake, suggesting that between-group competition is a key driver of fine-scale home range use in sakis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Prescribed burning effects on summer elk forage availability in the subalpine zone, Banff National Park, Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sachro, L L; Strong, W L; Gates, C C

    2005-11-01

    The effects of prescribed burning on forage abundance and suitability for elk (Cervus elaphus) during the snow-free season was evaluated in east-central Banff National Park, Canada. Six coniferous forest and mixed shrub-herb plant communities (n=144 plots), and 5223ha of burned (n=131) vegetation Burning coniferous forest stands reduced woody biomass, and increased herbaceous forage from 146 to 790 kg/ha. Increases commonly occurred in the percent cover of hairy wild rye (Leymus innovatus (Beal) Pigler) and fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium (L.) Holub.). The herbaceous components of mixed shrub-herb communities increased from 336-747 kg/ha to 517-1104 kg/ha in response to burning (Por=220% (Pburned vegetation-types were assessed as low and moderate, respectively. Potential summer carrying capacity, based on forage availability, increased from eight to 28 elk/100 km2 within burned areas, whereas spring grazing potential rose from 13 to 45 elk/100 km2. Most of the increase (73%) was attributable to changes within burned Engelmann Spruce stands, which composed 58% of the burned area.

  10. Urban gardens promote bee foraging over natural habitats and plantations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaluza, Benjamin F; Wallace, Helen; Heard, Tim A; Klein, Alexandra-Maria; Leonhardt, Sara D

    2016-03-01

    Increasing human land use for agriculture and housing leads to the loss of natural habitat and to widespread declines in wild bees. Bee foraging dynamics and fitness depend on the availability of resources in the surrounding landscape, but how precisely landscape related resource differences affect bee foraging patterns remains unclear. To investigate how landscape and its interaction with season and weather drive foraging and resource intake in social bees, we experimentally compared foraging activity, the allocation of foragers to different resources (pollen, nectar, and resin) and overall resource intake in the Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria (Apidae, Meliponini). Bee colonies were monitored in different seasons over two years. We compared foraging patterns and resource intake between the bees' natural habitat (forests) and two landscapes differently altered by humans (suburban gardens and agricultural macadamia plantations). We found foraging activity as well as pollen and nectar forager numbers to be highest in suburban gardens, intermediate in forests and low in plantations. Foraging patterns further differed between seasons, but seasonal variations strongly differed between landscapes. Sugar and pollen intake was low in plantations, but contrary with our predictions, it was even higher in gardens than in forests. In contrast, resin intake was similar across landscapes. Consequently, differences in resource availability between natural and altered landscapes strongly affect foraging patterns and thus resource intake in social bees. While agricultural monocultures largely reduce foraging success, suburban gardens can increase resource intake well above rates found in natural habitats of bees, indicating that human activities can both decrease and increase the availability of resources in a landscape and thus reduce or enhance bee fitness.

  11. Fearful foragers: honey bees tune colony and individual foraging to multi-predator presence and food quality.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ken Tan

    Full Text Available Fear can have strong ecosystem effects by giving predators a role disproportionate to their actual kill rates. In bees, fear is shown through foragers avoiding dangerous food sites, thereby reducing the fitness of pollinated plants. However, it remains unclear how fear affects pollinators in a complex natural scenario involving multiple predator species and different patch qualities. We studied hornets, Vespa velutina (smaller and V. tropica (bigger preying upon the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana in China. Hornets hunted bees on flowers and were attacked by bee colonies. Bees treated the bigger hornet species (which is 4 fold more massive as more dangerous. It received 4.5 fold more attackers than the smaller hornet species. We tested bee responses to a three-feeder array with different hornet species and varying resource qualities. When all feeders offered 30% sucrose solution (w/w, colony foraging allocation, individual visits, and individual patch residence times were reduced according to the degree of danger. Predator presence reduced foraging visits by 55-79% and residence times by 17-33%. When feeders offered different reward levels (15%, 30%, or 45% sucrose, colony and individual foraging favored higher sugar concentrations. However, when balancing food quality against multiple threats (sweeter food corresponding to higher danger, colonies exhibited greater fear than individuals. Colonies decreased foraging at low and high danger patches. Individuals exhibited less fear and only decreased visits to the high danger patch. Contrasting individual with emergent colony-level effects of fear can thus illuminate how predators shape pollination by social bees.

  12. 7 CFR 457.117 - Forage production crop insurance provisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... INSURANCE CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COMMON CROP INSURANCE REGULATIONS § 457.117 Forage..., or a mixture thereof, or other species as shown in the Actuarial Documents. Harvest—Removal of forage... different price elections by type, in which case you may select one price election for each forage type...

  13. Utility of stable isotope analysis in studying foraging ecology of herbivores: Examples from moose and caribou

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-David, Merav; Shochat, Einav; Adams, Layne G.

    2001-01-01

    Recently, researchers emphasized that patterns of stable isotope ratios observed at the individual level are a result of an interaction between ecological, physiological, and biochemical processes. Isotopic models for herbivores provide additional complications because those mammals consume foods that have high variability in nitrogen concentrations. In addition, distribution of amino acids in plants may differ greatly from that required by a herbivore. At northern latitudes, where the growing season of vegetation is short, isotope ratios in herbivore tissues are expected to differ between seasons. Summer ratios likely reflect diet composition, whereas winter ratios would reflect diet and nutrient recycling by the animals. We tested this hypothesis using data collected from blood samples of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces) in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. Stable isotope ratios of moose and caribou were significantly different from each other in late summer-autumn and winter. Also, late summer-autumn and winter ratios differed significantly between seasons in both species. Nonetheless, we were unable to evaluate whether differences in seasonal isotopic ratios were a result of diet selection or a response to nutrient recycling. We believe that additional studies on plant isotopic ratios as related to ecological factors in conjunction with investigations of diet selection by the herbivores will enhance our understanding of those interactions. Also, controlled studies investigating the relation between diet and physiological responses in herbivores will increase the utility of isotopic analysis in studying foraging ecology of herbivores.

  14. Winter barley mutants created in the Ukraine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zayats, O.M.

    2001-01-01

    Full text: Increasing fodder and protein production is one of the objectives of the development of agriculture in Ukraine. Higher productivity of fodder crops, due to new highly productive varieties, is the means to meet this aim. Winter barley is an important crop for fodder purposes. The climate of the Ukraine is favourable for growing this crop. The areas used for the growth of winter barley are however, small (500,000-550,000 ha) and there is a shortage of good quality varieties. The main aim of the work was therefore to create new varieties of highly productive winter barley, of good quality. The new varieties and mutation lines of winter barley were created under the influence of water solutions of N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMH - 0,012, 0,005%), N-nitroso-N-ethylurea (NEH - 0,05; 0.025; 0,012%) ethyleneimine (EI - 0,02; 0,01; 0,005%) on winter barley seeds of the varieties of local and foreign selections. On the basis of many years of investigations (1984-94) the following mutations were described: hard-grained, winter-hardiness, earliness, middle-maturity, late-maturity, wide and large leaves, narrow leaves, multinodal, great number of leaves, great number of flowers, strong stem (lodging resistant), tallness, semi-dwarfness, dwarfness, and high productivity. Particularly valuable are mutants with high productivity of green bulk. Their potential yield is 70 t/ha. As a result of the work two varieties of winter barley 'Shyrokolysty' and 'Kormovy' were released into the State register of plant varieties of the Ukraine. The other valuable mutant genotypes are used in cross breeding programmes. (author)

  15. Invasion of Winter Moth in New England: Effects of Defoliation and Site Quality on Tree Mortality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael J. Simmons

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Widespread and prolonged defoliation by the European winter moth, Operophtera brumata L., has occurred in forests of eastern Massachusetts for more than a decade and populations of winter moth continue to invade new areas of New England. This study characterized the forests of eastern Massachusetts invaded by winter moth and related the duration of winter moth defoliation estimated using dendrochronology to observed levels of tree mortality and understory woody plant density. Quercus basal area mortality in mixed Quercus and mixed Quercus—Pinus strobus forests in eastern Massachusetts ranged from 0–30%; mortality of Quercus in these forests was related to site quality and the number of winter moth defoliation events. In addition, winter moth defoliation events lead to a subsequent increase in understory woody plant density. Our results indicate that winter moth defoliation has been an important disturbance in New England forests that may have lasting impacts.

  16. Inductive foraging: improving the diagnostic yield of primary care consultations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donner-Banzhoff, Norbert; Hertwig, Ralph

    2014-03-01

    Physicians attempting to make a diagnosis arrive at specific hypotheses early in their encounter with patients. Further data are collected in the light of these early hypotheses. While this hypothetico-deductive model has been accepted as both a description of physicians' data gathering and a norm, little attention has been paid to the preceding stage of the consultation. It is suggested that 'inductive foraging' is a relevant and appropriate mode of data acquisition for the first part of the patient encounter. Research evidence from cognitive psychology and medical reasoning research is discussed. With inductive foraging, 'pattern failure' rather than 'pattern recognition' is the mode of discovery. Largely, guidance should be left to the patient to lead the clinician into areas where departures from normality are to be found. This is in contrast to active and focused 'deductive inquiry,' which should be used only after most aetiologies, but a few have eliminated. Especially when the prevalence of serious disease is low, and a wide range of diagnoses must be evaluated, such as in General Practice, inductive foraging is a rational and efficient diagnostic strategy. Previously, too little attention has been paid to the initial stage of the consultation. Premature closure at this point may result in diagnostic error.

  17. Metal exposure and accumulation patterns in free-range cows (Bos taurus) in a contaminated natural area: Influence of spatial and social behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roggeman, Saskia; Brink, Nico van den; Van Praet, Nander; Blust, Ronny; Bervoets, Lieven

    2013-01-01

    Possible effects of spatial metal distribution, seasonal-, ecological- and ethological parameters, on the metal exposure of cows were investigated. Therefore the habitat use, vegetation selection and foraging behavior of two free ranging Galloway herds in a metal polluted nature reserve were observed. Metal concentrations in soil, vegetation, hair, blood and feces were measured. Although both herds lived in the same reserve, their metal exposure differed significantly. A high consumption of soft rush by herd 1 during winter for instance was responsible for a large increase in daily Cd intake. The results of this study suggest that the exposure and health risks of large grazers can probably not only be predicted by a general monitoring of soil and vegetation pollution. Also detailed information about the occurring vegetation types, spatial habitat use together with the social- and foraging behavior and diet selection of the species need to be studied. - Highlights: ► Vegetation selection, social behavior, and seasonal variation determine exposure. ► Soft rush consumption highly increased daily Cd intake during winter. ► Most Cd and Pb levels in vegetation exceeded the maximum tolerable feed levels. - This study reveals that spatial heterogeneity and foraging behavior play a more important role in the metal exposure pattern of large grazers than generally is presumed.

  18. Complex scaling behavior in animal foraging patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premachandra, Prabhavi Kaushalya

    This dissertation attempts to answer questions from two different areas of biology, ecology and neuroscience, using physics-based techniques. In Section 2, suitability of three competing random walk models is tested to describe the emergent movement patterns of two species of primates. The truncated power law (power law with exponential cut off) is the most suitable random walk model that characterizes the emergent movement patterns of these primates. In Section 3, an agent-based model is used to simulate search behavior in different environments (landscapes) to investigate the impact of the resource landscape on the optimal foraging movement patterns of deterministic foragers. It should be noted that this model goes beyond previous work in that it includes parameters such as spatial memory and satiation, which have received little consideration to date in the field of movement ecology. When the food availability is scarce in a tropical forest-like environment with feeding trees distributed in a clumped fashion and the size of those trees are distributed according to a lognormal distribution, the optimal foraging pattern of a generalist who can consume various and abundant food types indeed reaches the Levy range, and hence, show evidence for Levy-flight-like (power law distribution with exponent between 1 and 3) behavior. Section 4 of the dissertation presents an investigation of phase transition behavior in a network of locally coupled self-sustained oscillators as the system passes through various bursting states. The results suggest that a phase transition does not occur for this locally coupled neuronal network. The data analysis in the dissertation adopts a model selection approach and relies on methods based on information theory and maximum likelihood.

  19. Winters fuels report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    The outlook for distillate fuel oil this winter is for increased demand and a return to normal inventory patterns, assuming a resumption of normal, cooler weather than last winter. With industrial production expected to grow slightly from last winter's pace, overall consumption is projected to increase 3 percent from last winter, to 3.4 million barrels per day during the heating season (October 1, 1995-March 31, 1996). Much of the supply win come from stock drawdowns and refinery production. Estimates for the winter are from the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) 4th Quarter 1995 Short-Tenn Energy Outlook (STEO) Mid-World Oil Price Case forecast. Inventories in place on September 30, 1995, of 132 million barrels were 9 percent below the unusually high year-earlier level. Inventories of high-sulfur distillate fuel oil, the principal type used for heating, were 13 percent lower than a year earlier. Supply problems are not anticipated because refinery production and the ready availability of imports should be adequate to meet demand. Residential heating off prices are expected to be somewhat higher than last winter's, as the effects of lower crude oil prices are offset by lower distillate inventories. Heating oil is forecast to average $0.92 per gallon, the highest price since the winter of 1992-93. Diesel fuel (including tax) is predicted to be slightly higher than last year at $1.13 per gallon. This article focuses on the winter assessment for distillate fuel oil, how well last year's STEO winter outlook compared to actual events, and expectations for the coming winter. Additional analyses include regional low-sulfur and high-sulfur distillate supply, demand, and prices, and recent trends in distillate fuel oil inventories

  20. Selection of foraging habitat and diet of the Hoopoe Upupa epops in the mosaic-like cultural landscape of Goričko (NE Slovenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Podletnik Mojca

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In 2012 and 2013, the selection of foraging habitats and the diet of the Hoopoe Upupa epops were studied in the Goričko area, where a significant population decline of the species has been recorded in the past 15 years. Goričko is an area with a well-preserved traditional mosaic-like agricultural landscape very rich in biodiversity which, however, is disappearing. The diet was determined using automatic camera recordings of prey brought to chicks by parents. Mole crickets Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa were the most dominant prey (35.4% frequency and 81.3% biomass of prey, followed by Scarab beetles larvae Scarabaeidae, caterpillars Lepidoptera larvae and True flies Diptera. Feeding frequency was highest in the period of most intensive chick growth (between 8 and 21 days of age. Selection of foraging habitat was researched by observation of birds during foraging. Hoopoes foraged mostly in mown meadows and grassy courtyards and, to a lesser extent, on sandy cart tracks and road edges. These habitats were characterized by low vegetation and patches of bare ground that enabled Hoopoes to forage efficiently. Home range size was determined using minimum convex polygons. The maximum home range size was between 42.9 and 57.7 ha, while the percentage of foraging habitats within the home range did not exceed 18%. Based on our results, we propose the following measures for effective Hoopoe conservation in the area: maintaining the present range of existing unimproved meadows, stopping the conversion of meadows into fields, restoring fields to meadows, prohibiting the use of pesticides targeting Mole crickets.

  1. Review: Feeding conserved forage to horses: recent advances and recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, P A; Ellis, A D; Fradinho, M J; Jansson, A; Julliand, V; Luthersson, N; Santos, A S; Vervuert, I

    2017-06-01

    The horse is a non-ruminant herbivore adapted to eating plant-fibre or forage-based diets. Some horses are stabled for most or the majority of the day with limited or no access to fresh pasture and are fed preserved forage typically as hay or haylage and sometimes silage. This raises questions with respect to the quality and suitability of these preserved forages (considering production, nutritional content, digestibility as well as hygiene) and required quantities. Especially for performance horses, forage is often replaced with energy dense feedstuffs which can result in a reduction in the proportion of the diet that is forage based. This may adversely affect the health, welfare, behaviour and even performance of the horse. In the past 20 years a large body of research work has contributed to a better and deeper understanding of equine forage needs and the physiological and behavioural consequences if these are not met. Recent nutrient requirement systems have incorporated some, but not all, of this new knowledge into their recommendations. This review paper amalgamates recommendations based on the latest understanding in forage feeding for horses, defining forage types and preservation methods, hygienic quality, feed intake behaviour, typical nutrient composition, digestion and digestibility as well as health and performance implications. Based on this, consensual applied recommendations for feeding preserved forages are provided.

  2. GPS tracking devices reveal foraging strategies of black-legged kittiwakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotzerka, Jana; Garthe, Stefan; Hatch, Scott A.

    2010-01-01

    The Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla is the most abundant gull species in the world, but some populations have declined in recent years, apparently due to food shortage. Kittiwakes are surface feeders and thus can compensate for low food availability only by increasing their foraging range and/or devoting more time to foraging. The species is widely studied in many respects, but long-distance foraging and the limitations of conventional radio telemetry have kept its foraging behavior largely out of view. The development of Global Positioning System (GPS) loggers is advancing rapidly. With devices as small as 8 g now available, it is possible to use this technology for tracking relatively small species of oceanic birds like kittiwakes. Here we present the first results of GPS telemetry applied to Black-legged Kittiwakes in 2007 in the North Pacific. All but one individual foraged in the neritic zone north of the island. Three birds performed foraging trips only close to the colony (within 13 km), while six birds had foraging ranges averaging about 40 km. The maximum foraging range was 59 km, and the maximum distance traveled was 165 km. Maximum trip duration was 17 h (mean 8 h). An apparently bimodal distribution of foraging ranges affords new insight on the variable foraging behaviour of Black-legged Kittiwakes. Our successful deployment of GPS loggers on kittiwakes holds much promise for telemetry studies on many other bird species of similar size and provides an incentive for applying this new approach in future studies.

  3. Developing Cyber Foraging Applications for Portable Devices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Mads Darø; Bouvin, Niels Olof

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents the Locusts cyber foraging framework. Cyber foraging is the opportunistic use of computing resources available in the nearby environment, and using such resources thus fall into the category of distributed computing. Furthermore, for the resources to be used efficiently, paral...

  4. Influence of landscape structure and human modifications on insect biomass and bat foraging activity in an urban landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Threlfall, Caragh G; Law, Bradley; Banks, Peter B

    2012-01-01

    Urban landscapes are often located in biologically diverse, productive regions. As such, urbanization may have dramatic consequences for this diversity, largely due to changes in the structure and function of urban communities. We examined the influence of landscape productivity (indexed by geology), housing density and vegetation clearing on the spatial distribution of nocturnal insect biomass and the foraging activity of insectivorous bats in the urban landscape of Sydney, Australia. Nocturnal insect biomass (g) and bat foraging activity were sampled from 113 sites representing backyard, open space, bushland and riparian landscape elements, across urban, suburban and vegetated landscapes within 60 km of Sydney's Central Business District. We found that insect biomass was at least an order of magnitude greater within suburban landscapes in bushland and backyard elements located on the most fertile shale influenced geologies (both plandscapes. Similarly, the feeding activity of bats was greatest in bushland, and riparian elements within suburbs on fertile geologies (p = 0.039). Regression tree analysis indicated that the same three variables explained the major proportion of the variation in insect biomass and bat foraging activity. These were ambient temperature (positive), housing density (negative) and the percent of fertile shale geologies (positive) in the landscape; however variation in insect biomass did not directly explain bat foraging activity. We suggest that prey may be unavailable to bats in highly urbanized areas if these areas are avoided by many species, suggesting that reduced feeding activity may reflect under-use of urban habitats by bats. Restoration activities to improve ecological function and maintain the activity of a diversity of bat species should focus on maintaining and restoring bushland and riparian habitat, particularly in areas with fertile geology as these were key bat foraging habitats.

  5. Influence of landscape structure and human modifications on insect biomass and bat foraging activity in an urban landscape.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caragh G Threlfall

    Full Text Available Urban landscapes are often located in biologically diverse, productive regions. As such, urbanization may have dramatic consequences for this diversity, largely due to changes in the structure and function of urban communities. We examined the influence of landscape productivity (indexed by geology, housing density and vegetation clearing on the spatial distribution of nocturnal insect biomass and the foraging activity of insectivorous bats in the urban landscape of Sydney, Australia. Nocturnal insect biomass (g and bat foraging activity were sampled from 113 sites representing backyard, open space, bushland and riparian landscape elements, across urban, suburban and vegetated landscapes within 60 km of Sydney's Central Business District. We found that insect biomass was at least an order of magnitude greater within suburban landscapes in bushland and backyard elements located on the most fertile shale influenced geologies (both p<0.001 compared to nutrient poor sandstone landscapes. Similarly, the feeding activity of bats was greatest in bushland, and riparian elements within suburbs on fertile geologies (p = 0.039. Regression tree analysis indicated that the same three variables explained the major proportion of the variation in insect biomass and bat foraging activity. These were ambient temperature (positive, housing density (negative and the percent of fertile shale geologies (positive in the landscape; however variation in insect biomass did not directly explain bat foraging activity. We suggest that prey may be unavailable to bats in highly urbanized areas if these areas are avoided by many species, suggesting that reduced feeding activity may reflect under-use of urban habitats by bats. Restoration activities to improve ecological function and maintain the activity of a diversity of bat species should focus on maintaining and restoring bushland and riparian habitat, particularly in areas with fertile geology as these were key bat

  6. Migration, foraging, and residency patterns for Northern Gulf loggerheads: implications of local threats and international movements.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristen M Hart

    Full Text Available Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGoM loggerheads (Caretta caretta make up one of the smallest subpopulations of this threatened species and have declining nest numbers. We used satellite telemetry and a switching state-space model to identify distinct foraging areas used by 59 NGoM loggerheads tagged during 2010-2013. We tagged turtles after nesting at three sites, 1 in Alabama (Gulf Shores; n = 37 and 2 in Florida (St. Joseph Peninsula; n = 20 and Eglin Air Force Base; n = 2. Peak migration time was 22 July to 9 August during which >40% of turtles were in migration mode; the mean post-nesting migration period was 23.0 d (±13.8 d SD. After displacement from nesting beaches, 44 turtles traveled to foraging sites where they remained resident throughout tracking durations. Selected foraging locations were variable distances from tagging sites, and in 5 geographic regions; no turtles selected foraging sites outside the Gulf of Mexico (GoM. Foraging sites delineated using 50% kernel density estimation were located a mean distance of 47.6 km from land and in water with mean depth of -32.5 m; other foraging sites, delineated using minimum convex polygons, were located a mean distance of 43.0 km from land and in water with a mean depth of -24.9 m. Foraging sites overlapped with known trawling activities, oil and gas extraction activities, and the footprint of surface oiling during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (n = 10. Our results highlight the year-round use of habitats in the GoM by loggerheads that nest in the NGoM. Our findings indicate that protection of females in this subpopulation requires both international collaborations and management of threats that spatially overlap with distinct foraging habitats.

  7. Forage: a sensitive indicator of airborne radioactivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jackson, W.M.; Noakes, J.E.; Spaulding, J.D.

    1981-01-01

    This paper presents the results of using Ge(Li) γ-ray spectroscopy to measure radioactivity concentration of forage in the vicinity of the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Houston County, AL., over a 31/2 yr period. The report period includes 2 yr of pre-operational and 11/2 yr of operational sampling. Although the objective of forage sampling was the measurement of manmade airborne fallout radioactivity, several natural radioisotopes were also found to be present. A summary of natural radioactivity data for all samples measured during the period from August 1975 to December 1978 is given. Approximately 10 days after each of four Chinese atmospheric nuclear tests conducted during the sampling period fresh fission product fallout was measured on the forage. The information from these nuclear tests shows forage sampling to be a convenient and sensitive monitoring tool for airborne fallout radioactivity. (author)

  8. Comparative Effect of Sole Forage and Mixed Concentrate-Forage ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There was no statistical (P>0.05) difference in average intake of forage between the two treatment groups. Economically, Treatment 1 proves to be better for the enhancement of body weight in growing rabbits than Treatment 2. Key words: Weaner rabbits,Poultry grower mesh, Tridax procumbens, Feed intake,Body weight ...

  9. Deep-diving by narwhals Monodon monoceros: differences in foraging behavior between wintering areas?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laidre, K. L.; Heide-Jørgensen, M. P.; Dietz, R.

    2003-01-01

    Variation in resource selection among sub-populations may elucidate differences in fitness and life history strategies. Specifically for top marine predators, differences in movements and behavior may result from responses to variation in a patchy, dynamic environment. Satellite-linked time...

  10. Hive Relocation Does Not Adversely Affect Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae Foraging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fiona C. Riddell Pearce

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Honey bees, Apis mellifera, face major challenges including diseases and reduced food availability due to agricultural intensification. Additionally, migratory beekeeping may subject colonies to a moving stress, both during the move itself and after the move, from the bees having to forage in a novel environment where they have no knowledge of flower locations. This study investigated the latter. We moved three colonies housed in observation hives onto the campus from a site 26 km away and compared their foraging performance to three similarly sized colonies at the same location that had not been moved. We obtained data on (1 foraging performance by calculating distance by decoding waggle dances, (2 hive foraging rate by counting forager departure rate, (3 forage quality by assessing sugar content of nectar from returning foragers, and (4 forager success by calculating the proportion of bees returning to the nest entrance with nectar in their crop. We repeated this 3 times (August 2010, October 2010, and June 2011 to encompass any seasonal effects. The data show no consistent difference in foraging performance of moved versus resident hives. Overall the results suggest that moving to a new location does not adversely affect the foraging success of honey bees.

  11. Pronounced Seasonal Changes in the Movement Ecology of a Highly Gregarious Central-Place Forager, the African Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jakob Fahr

    Full Text Available Straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum migrate over vast distances across the African continent, probably following seasonal bursts of resource availability. This causes enormous fluctuations in population size, which in turn may influence the bats' impact on local ecosystems. We studied the movement ecology of this central-place forager with state-of-the-art GPS/acceleration loggers and concurrently monitored the seasonal fluctuation of the colony in Accra, Ghana. Habitat use on the landscape scale was assessed with remote sensing data as well as ground-truthing of foraging areas.During the wet season population low (~ 4000 individuals, bats foraged locally (3.5-36.7 km in urban areas with low tree cover. Major food sources during this period were fruits of introduced trees. Foraging distances almost tripled (24.1-87.9 km during the dry season population peak (~ 150,000 individuals, but this was not compensated for by reduced resting periods. Dry season foraging areas were random with regard to urban footprint and tree cover, and food consisted almost exclusively of nectar and pollen of native trees.Our study suggests that straw-coloured fruit bats disperse seeds in the range of hundreds of meters up to dozens of kilometres, and pollinate trees for up to 88 km. Straw-coloured fruit bats forage over much larger distances compared to most other Old World fruit bats, thus providing vital ecosystem services across extensive landscapes. We recommend increased efforts aimed at maintaining E. helvum populations throughout Africa since their keystone role in various ecosystems is likely to increase due to the escalating loss of other seed dispersers as well as continued urbanization and habitat fragmentation.

  12. Pronounced Seasonal Changes in the Movement Ecology of a Highly Gregarious Central-Place Forager, the African Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fahr, Jakob; Abedi-Lartey, Michael; Esch, Thomas; Machwitz, Miriam; Suu-Ire, Richard; Wikelski, Martin; Dechmann, Dina K N

    2015-01-01

    Straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) migrate over vast distances across the African continent, probably following seasonal bursts of resource availability. This causes enormous fluctuations in population size, which in turn may influence the bats' impact on local ecosystems. We studied the movement ecology of this central-place forager with state-of-the-art GPS/acceleration loggers and concurrently monitored the seasonal fluctuation of the colony in Accra, Ghana. Habitat use on the landscape scale was assessed with remote sensing data as well as ground-truthing of foraging areas. During the wet season population low (~ 4000 individuals), bats foraged locally (3.5-36.7 km) in urban areas with low tree cover. Major food sources during this period were fruits of introduced trees. Foraging distances almost tripled (24.1-87.9 km) during the dry season population peak (~ 150,000 individuals), but this was not compensated for by reduced resting periods. Dry season foraging areas were random with regard to urban footprint and tree cover, and food consisted almost exclusively of nectar and pollen of native trees. Our study suggests that straw-coloured fruit bats disperse seeds in the range of hundreds of meters up to dozens of kilometres, and pollinate trees for up to 88 km. Straw-coloured fruit bats forage over much larger distances compared to most other Old World fruit bats, thus providing vital ecosystem services across extensive landscapes. We recommend increased efforts aimed at maintaining E. helvum populations throughout Africa since their keystone role in various ecosystems is likely to increase due to the escalating loss of other seed dispersers as well as continued urbanization and habitat fragmentation.

  13. 7 CFR 407.13 - Group risk plan for forage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... acres of hay in the county, as specified in the actuarial documents. The actuarial documents will... a period for forage regrowth. 2. Crop Insured The insured crop will be the forage types shown on the... the Group Risk Plan Common Policy, acreage seeded to forage after July 1 of the previous crop year...

  14. Foraging niche segregation in Malaysian babblers (Family: Timaliidae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Saiful Mansor

    Full Text Available Tropical rainforests are considered as hotspots for bird diversity, yet little is known about the system that upholds the coexistence of species. Differences in body size that are associated with foraging strategies and spatial distribution are believed to promote the coexistence of closely related species by reducing competition. However, the fact that many babbler species do not differ significantly in their morphology has challenged this view. We studied the foraging ecology of nine sympatric babbler species (i.e., Pellorneum capistratum, P. bicolor, P. malaccense, Malacopteron cinereum, M. magnum, Stachyris nigriceps, S. nigricollis, S. maculata, and Cyanoderma erythropterum in the Krau Wildlife Reserve in Peninsular Malaysia. We investigated; i how these babblers forage in the wild and use vegetation to obtain food, and ii how these trophically similar species differ in spatial distribution and foraging tactics. Results indicated that most babblers foraged predominantly on aerial leaf litter and used gleaning manoeuvre in intermediate-density foliage but exhibited wide ranges of vertical strata usage, thus reducing interspecific competition. The principal component analysis indicated that two components, i.e., foraging height and substrate are important as mechanisms to allow the coexistence of sympatric babblers. The present findings revealed that these bird species have unique foraging niches that are distinct from each other, and this may apply to other insectivorous birds inhabiting tropical forests. This suggests that niche separation does occur among coexisting birds, thus following Gause' law of competitive exclusion, which states two species occupying the same niche will not stably coexist.

  15. Foraging niche segregation in Malaysian babblers (Family: Timaliidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansor, Mohammad Saiful; Ramli, Rosli

    2017-01-01

    Tropical rainforests are considered as hotspots for bird diversity, yet little is known about the system that upholds the coexistence of species. Differences in body size that are associated with foraging strategies and spatial distribution are believed to promote the coexistence of closely related species by reducing competition. However, the fact that many babbler species do not differ significantly in their morphology has challenged this view. We studied the foraging ecology of nine sympatric babbler species (i.e., Pellorneum capistratum, P. bicolor, P. malaccense, Malacopteron cinereum, M. magnum, Stachyris nigriceps, S. nigricollis, S. maculata, and Cyanoderma erythropterum) in the Krau Wildlife Reserve in Peninsular Malaysia. We investigated; i) how these babblers forage in the wild and use vegetation to obtain food, and ii) how these trophically similar species differ in spatial distribution and foraging tactics. Results indicated that most babblers foraged predominantly on aerial leaf litter and used gleaning manoeuvre in intermediate-density foliage but exhibited wide ranges of vertical strata usage, thus reducing interspecific competition. The principal component analysis indicated that two components, i.e., foraging height and substrate are important as mechanisms to allow the coexistence of sympatric babblers. The present findings revealed that these bird species have unique foraging niches that are distinct from each other, and this may apply to other insectivorous birds inhabiting tropical forests. This suggests that niche separation does occur among coexisting birds, thus following Gause' law of competitive exclusion, which states two species occupying the same niche will not stably coexist.

  16. Foraging niche segregation in Malaysian babblers (Family: Timaliidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansor, Mohammad Saiful; Ramli, Rosli

    2017-01-01

    Tropical rainforests are considered as hotspots for bird diversity, yet little is known about the system that upholds the coexistence of species. Differences in body size that are associated with foraging strategies and spatial distribution are believed to promote the coexistence of closely related species by reducing competition. However, the fact that many babbler species do not differ significantly in their morphology has challenged this view. We studied the foraging ecology of nine sympatric babbler species (i.e., Pellorneum capistratum, P. bicolor, P. malaccense, Malacopteron cinereum, M. magnum, Stachyris nigriceps, S. nigricollis, S. maculata, and Cyanoderma erythropterum) in the Krau Wildlife Reserve in Peninsular Malaysia. We investigated; i) how these babblers forage in the wild and use vegetation to obtain food, and ii) how these trophically similar species differ in spatial distribution and foraging tactics. Results indicated that most babblers foraged predominantly on aerial leaf litter and used gleaning manoeuvre in intermediate-density foliage but exhibited wide ranges of vertical strata usage, thus reducing interspecific competition. The principal component analysis indicated that two components, i.e., foraging height and substrate are important as mechanisms to allow the coexistence of sympatric babblers. The present findings revealed that these bird species have unique foraging niches that are distinct from each other, and this may apply to other insectivorous birds inhabiting tropical forests. This suggests that niche separation does occur among coexisting birds, thus following Gause’ law of competitive exclusion, which states two species occupying the same niche will not stably coexist. PMID:28253284

  17. Variation in nutritional quality of plants for deer in relation to sunny versus shady environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas A. Hanley; Jeffrey C. Barnard

    2014-01-01

    Variation in nutritional quality of natural forages for black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus) was studied in summer and winter in southeast Alaska. Freeze-dried samples of 17 summer forages collected in early July and 10 winter forages collected in February from three replicate sites each of shady forest understory and open, sunny habitat were...

  18. Geographic variation in migration chronology and winter distribution of midcontinent greater white-fronted geese

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ely, Craig R.; Nieman, Daniel J.; Alisauskas, Ray T.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Hines, James E.

    2013-01-01

    We evaluated spatial and temporal differences in migratory behavior among different breeding groups of midcontinent greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) using band-recovery data and observations of neck collared geese during migration and winter. Birds from different breeding areas were initially delineated by geographic distance into 6 banding reference areas (BRAs): 1) interior Alaska, 2) North Slope of Alaska, 3) western Northwest Territories (NWT), 4) western Nunavut, 5) central Nunavut, and 6) eastern Nunavut. The banding groups also differed by breeding habitat, with geese from interior Alaska nesting in the boreal forest (taiga), and all other groups breeding in tundra habitats. Geese from interior Alaska migrated earlier during autumn, and were more likely to winter farther south (in Mexico) than geese from other breeding areas. Geese banded in central and eastern Nunavut (Queen Maud Gulf and Inglis River) wintered farther east (in Louisiana) than geese from other breeding areas. Small-scale (within-state) geographic segregation of wintering flocks was evidenced by the recent (post-1990) nearly exclusive use of a new wintering area in north central Texas by geese from interior Alaska. Segregation among BRAs was also apparent in Mexico, where taiga geese were found predominantly in the central Highlands (states of Zacatecas and Durango), whereas tundra geese mostly used states along the Gulf Coast (primarily Tamaulipas). Interior Alaska birds initiated spring migration earlier than geese from other areas, and were more likely than others to stop in the Rainwater Basin of Nebraska, a region where cholera outbreaks periodically kill thousands of geese. Geese from interior Alaska were the first to arrive at spring staging areas in prairie Canada where BRAs exhibited spatial delineation (a longitudinal cline) in relation to breeding areas. Our results show significant geographic and temporal variation among taiga and tundra breeding cohorts during

  19. Winter to winter recurrence of atmospheric circulation anomalies over East Asia and its impact on winter surface air temperature anomalies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xia; Yang, Guang

    2017-01-01

    The persistence of atmospheric circulation anomalies over East Asia shows a winter to winter recurrence (WTWR) phenomenon. Seasonal variations in sea level pressure anomalies and surface wind anomalies display significantly different characteristics between WTWR and non-WTWR years. The WTWR years are characterized by the recurrence of both a strong (weak) anomalous Siberian High and an East Asian winter monsoon over two successive winters without persistence through the intervening summer. However, anomalies during the non-WTWR years have the opposite sign between the current and ensuing winters. The WTWR of circulation anomalies contributes to that of surface air temperature anomalies (SATAs), which is useful information for improving seasonal and interannual climate predictions over East Asia and China. In the positive (negative) WTWR years, SATAs are cooler (warmer) over East Asia in two successive winters, but the signs of the SATAs are opposite in the preceding and subsequent winters during the non-WTWR years.

  20. Coping with the cold: an ecological context for the abundance and distribution of rock sandpipers during winter in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruthrauff, Daniel R.; Gill, Robert E.; Tibbitts, T. Lee

    2013-01-01

    Shorebirds are conspicuous and abundant at high northern latitudes during spring and summer, but as seasonal conditions deteriorate, few remain during winter. To the best of our knowledge, Cook Inlet, Alaska (60.6˚ N, 151.6˚ W), is the world’s coldest site that regularly supports wintering populations of shorebirds, and it is also the most northerly nonbreeding location for shorebirds in the Pacific Basin. During the winters of 1997–2012, we conducted aerial surveys of upper Cook Inlet to document the spatial and temporal distribution and number of Rock Sandpipers (Calidris ptilocnemis) using the inlet. The average survey total was 8191 ± 6143 SD birds, and the average of each winter season’s highest single-day count was 13 603 ± 4948 SD birds. We detected only Rock Sandpipers during our surveys, essentially all of which were individuals of the nominate subspecies (C. p. ptilocnemis). Survey totals in some winters closely matched the population estimate for this subspecies, demonstrating the region’s importance as a nonbreeding resource to the subspecies. Birds were most often found at only a handful of sites in upper Cook Inlet, but shifted their distribution to more southerly locations in the inlet during periods of extreme cold. Two environmental factors allow Rock Sandpipers to inhabit Cook Inlet during winter: 1) an abundant bivalve (Macoma balthica) food source and 2) current and tidal dynamics that keep foraging substrates accessible during all but extreme periods of cold and ice accretion. C. p. ptilocnemis is a subspecies of high conservation concern for which annual winter surveys may serve as a relatively inexpensive population-monitoring tool that will also provide insight into adaptations that allow these birds to exploit high-latitude environments in winter.

  1. Foraging Habitat and Chick Diets of Roseate Tern, Sterna dougallii, Breeding on Country Island, Nova Scotia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer C. Rock

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Breeding seabirds are threatened by human activities that affect nesting and foraging habitat. In Canada, one of the seabirds most at risk of extirpation is the Roseate Tern, Sterna dougallii. Although critical nesting habitat has been identified for the Roseate Tern in Canada, its foraging locations and the diet of its chicks are unknown. Therefore, our goal was to determine the foraging locations and diet of chicks of Roseate Tern breeding on Country Island, Nova Scotia, which is one of Canada's two main breeding colonies. In 2003 and 2004, we radio-tracked the Roseate Tern by plane to locate foraging areas and conducted feeding watches to determine the diet of chicks. Roseate Tern foraged approximately 7 km from the breeding colony over shallow water < 5 m deep. In both years, sand lance, Ammodytes spp., was the most common prey item delivered to chicks, followed by hake, Urophycis spp. Our results are consistent with previous work at colonies in the northeastern United States, suggesting that throughout its range, this species may be restricted in both habitat use and prey selection. The reliance on a specific habitat type and narrow range of prey species makes the Roseate Tern generally susceptible to habitat perturbations and reductions in the availability of prey.

  2. Ecomorphology of eye shape and retinal topography in waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes: Anatidae) with different foraging modes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisney, Thomas J; Stecyk, Karyn; Kolominsky, Jeffrey; Schmidt, Brian K; Corfield, Jeremy R; Iwaniuk, Andrew N; Wylie, Douglas R

    2013-05-01

    Despite the large body of literature on ecomorphological adaptations to foraging in waterfowl, little attention has been paid to their sensory systems, especially vision. Here, we compare eye shape and retinal topography across 12 species representing 4 different foraging modes. Eye shape was significantly different among foraging modes, with diving and pursuit-diving species having relatively smaller corneal diameters compared to non-diving species. This may be associated with differences in ambient light intensity while foraging or an ability to tightly constrict the pupil in divers in order to facilitate underwater vision. Retinal topography was similar across all species, consisting of an oblique visual streak, a central area of peak cell density, and no discernible fovea. Because the bill faces downwards when the head is held in the normal posture in waterfowl, the visual streak will be held horizontally, allowing the horizon to be sampled with higher visual acuity. Estimates of spatial resolving power were similar among species with only the Canada goose having a higher spatial resolution. Overall, we found no evidence of ecomorphological adaptations to different foraging modes in the retinal ganglion cell layer in waterfowl. Rather, retinal topography in these birds seems to reflect the 'openness' of their habitats.

  3. Bread-Making Quality of Standard Winter Wheat Cultivars

    OpenAIRE

    Ćurić, Duška; Novotni, Dubravka; Bauman, Ingrid; Krička, Tajana; Jukić, Željko; Voća, Neven; Kiš, Darko

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to define an impact of the cultivar, year and cultivation area of the standard Croatian winter wheat on the bread-making quality. The bread-making quality of cultivars ‘Divana’, ‘Žitarka’ and ‘Sana’ from the crop years 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006, and from Zagreb and Osijek location was analyzed. Wheat from the cultivar tests cultivated under the same agro technological conditions was used for this testing. The tested winter wheat bread-making quality primari...

  4. SILAGE QUALITY OF CORN AND SORGHUM ADDED WITH FORAGE PEANUTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    WALKÍRIA GUIMARÃES CARVALHO

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Corn and sorghum are standard silage crops because of their fermentative characteristics. While corn and sorghum silages have lower crude protein (CP contents than other crops, intercropping with legumes can increase CP content. Furthermore, one way to increase CP content is the addition of legumes to silage. Consequently, the research objective was to evaluate the fermentative and bromatological characteristics of corn (Zea mays and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor silages added with forage peanuts (Arachis pintoi. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replicates. The treatments consisted of corn silage, sorghum silage, forage peanut silage, corn silage with 30% forage peanut, and sorghum silage with 30% forage peanut. The results showed that the corn and sorghum added with peanut helped to improve the silage fermentative and bromatological characteristics, proving to be an efficient technique for silage quality. The forage peanut silage had lower fermentative characteristics than the corn and sorghum silages. However, the forage peanut silage had a greater CP content, which increased the protein contents of the corn and sorghum silages when intercropped with forage peanuts.

  5. The impact of winter heating on air pollution in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Qingyang; Ma, Zongwei; Li, Shenshen; Liu, Yang

    2015-01-01

    Fossil-fuel combustion related winter heating has become a major air quality and public health concern in northern China recently. We analyzed the impact of winter heating on aerosol loadings over China using the MODIS-Aqua Collection 6 aerosol product from 2004-2012. Absolute humidity (AH) and planetary boundary layer height (PBL) -adjusted aerosol optical depth (AOD*) was constructed to reflect ground-level PM2.5 concentrations. GIS analysis, standard statistical tests, and statistical modeling indicate that winter heating is an important factor causing increased PM2.5 levels in more than three-quarters of central and eastern China. The heating season AOD* was more than five times higher as the non-heating season AOD*, and the increase in AOD* in the heating areas was greater than in the non-heating areas. Finally, central heating tend to contribute less to air pollution relative to other means of household heating.

  6. The Relationships between Morphological Characteristics and Foraging Behavior in Four Selected Species of Shorebirds and Water Birds Utilizing Tropical Mudflats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nor Atiqah Norazlimi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the physical morphology of shorebirds and water birds (i.e., Lesser adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus, Common redshank (Tringa totanus, Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus, and Little heron (Butorides striata and their foraging behavior in the mudflats area of Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia, from August 2013 to July 2014 by using direct observation techniques (using binoculars and a video recorder. The actively foraging bird species were watched, and their foraging activities were recorded for at least 30 seconds for up to a maximum of five minutes. A Spearman Rank Correlation highlighted a significant relationship between bill size and foraging time (R=0.443, p<0.05, bill size and prey size (R=-0.052, p<0.05, bill size and probing depth (R=0.42, p=0.003, and leg length and water/mud depth (R=0.706, p<0.005. A Kruskal-Wallis Analysis showed a significant difference between average estimates of real probing depth of the birds (mm and species (H=15.96, p=0.0012. Three foraging techniques were recorded: pause-travel, visual-feeding, and tactile-hunting. Thus, morphological characteristics of bird do influence their foraging behavior and strategies used when foraging.

  7. Establishing Winter Origins of Migrating Lesser Snow Geese Using Stable Isotopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viviane Hénaux

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Increases in Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens populations and large-scale habitat changes in North America have contributed to the concentration of migratory waterfowl on fewer wetlands, reducing resource availability, and enhancing risks of disease transmission. Predicting wintering locations of migratory individuals is critical to guide wildlife population management and habitat restoration. We used stable carbon (δ13C, nitrogen (δ15N, and hydrogen (δ2H isotope ratios in muscle tissue of wintering Snow Geese to discriminate four major wintering areas, the Playa Lake Region, Texas Gulf Coast, Louisiana Gulf Coast, and Arkansas, and infer the wintering locations of individuals collected later during the 2007 and 2008 spring migrations in the Rainwater Basin (RWB of Nebraska. We predicted the wintering ground derivation of migrating Snow Geese using a likelihood-based approach. Our three-isotope analysis provided an efficient discrimination of the four wintering areas. The assignment model predicted that 53% [95% CI: 37-69] of our sample of Snow Geese from the RWB in 2007 had most likely originated in Louisiana, 38% [23-54] had wintered on Texas Gulf Coast, and 9% [0-20] in Arkansas; the assessment suggested that 89% [73-100] of our 2008 sample had most likely come from Texas Gulf Coast, 9% [0-27] from Louisiana Gulf Coast, and 2% [0-9] from Arkansas. Further segregation of wintering grounds and additional sampling of spring migrating Snow Geese would refine overall assignment and help explain interannual variations in migratory connectivity. The ability to distinguish origins of northbound geese can support the development of spatially-adaptive management strategies for the midcontinent Snow Goose population. Establishing migratory connectivity using isotope assignment techniques can be extended to other waterfowl species to determine critical habitat, evaluate population energy requirements, and inform waterfowl conservation and management

  8. The power situation in winter 2010/2011; Kraftsituasjonen vinteren 2010/2011

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pettersen, Finn Erik Ljaastad (ed.)

    2011-07-15

    At the beginning of winter, the reservoir level was record low. Very cold weather before the end of the year contributed to the further tapping. Mild weather and early snow melt caused a rapid increase in water levels in beginning of April. On average, the Norwegian power prices was higher last winter compared with the previous winter. High prices are necessary to get high Norwegian imports and keep consumption down, and thus saving water in the reservoirs. Limitations in transmission capacity between market areas affected the prices and power flow last winter. In the night and weekend hours contributed network problems in southern Sweden to the reduced transmission capacity to Southern Norway. This dampened the Norwegian imports, and Norwegian hydropower producers tapped more of the magazined water than they otherwise would. This emphasizes the need to continue NVE's efforts to explore possibilities for a better utilization of transmission capacities in the network. There were several events that had an impact on the operation of the power system and security of supply last winter. Error events led to interruption for many grid customers, in addition to significant risk of further extensive dark laying of large areas if another failure should occur. (AG

  9. Mercury bioaccumulation and risk to three waterbird foraging guilds is influenced by foraging ecology and breeding stage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Ackerman, Joshua T.; De La Cruz, Susan E.W.; Takekawa, John Y.

    2009-01-01

    We evaluated mercury (Hg) in five waterbird species representing three foraging guilds in San Francisco Bay, CA. Fish-eating birds (Forster's and Caspian terns) had the highest Hg concentrations in thier tissues, but concentrations in an invertebrate-foraging shorebird (black-necked stilt) were also elevated. Foraging habitat was important for Hg exposure as illustrated by within-guild differences, where species more associated with marshes and salt ponds had higher concentrations than those more associated with open-bay and tidal mudflats. Importantly, Hg concentrations increased with time spent in the estuary. Surf scoter concentrations tripled over six months, whereas Forster's terns showed an up to 5-fold increase between estuary arrival and breeding. Breeding waterbirds were at elevated risk of Hg-induced reproductive impairment, particularly Forster's terns, in which 48% of breeding birds were at high risk due to their Hg levels. Our results highlight the importance of habitat and exposure timing, in addition to trophic position, on waterbird Hg bioaccumulation and risk. - The influence of foraging habitat, trophic position, and exposure timing on mercury bioaccumulation and risk to reproduction is evaluated in three waterbird guilds.

  10. Native red deer and introduced chamois: foraging habits and competition in a subalpine meadow-spruce forest area

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Homolka, Miloslav; Heroldová, Marta

    2001-01-01

    Roč. 50, č. 2 (2001), s. 89-98 ISSN 0139-7893 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA206/97/0172; GA AV ČR KSK6005114 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z6093917 Keywords : Cervus elaphus * Rupicapra rupicapra * foraging strategy Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 0.287, year: 2001

  11. Effects of forage:concentrate ratio and forage type on apparent digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and microbial growth in goats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantalapiedra-Hijar, G; Yáñez-Ruiz, D R; Martín-García, A I; Molina-Alcaide, E

    2009-02-01

    The effects of forage type and forage:concentrate ratio (F:C) on apparent nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and microbial growth were investigated in goats. A comparison between liquid (LAB) and solid (SAB)-associated bacteria to estimate microbial N flow (MNF) from urinary purine derivative excretion was also examined. Treatments were a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of forage type (grass hay vs. alfalfa hay) and high vs. low F:C (70:30 and 30:70, respectively). Four ruminally cannulated goats were fed, at maintenance intake, 4 experimental diets according to a 4 x 4 Latin square design. High-concentrate diets resulted in greater (P 0.05) when diets included alfalfa hay. Total protozoa numbers and holotricha proportion were greater and less (P forage used. The MNF measured in goats fed different diets was influenced by the bacterial pellet (LAB or SAB). In addition, the purine bases:N ratio values found were different from those reported in the literature, which underlines the need for these variables to be analyzed directly in pellets isolated from specific animals and experimental conditions.

  12. Mountain big sagebrush age distribution and relationships on the northern Yellowstone Winter Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carl L. Wambolt; Trista L. Hoffman

    2001-01-01

    This study was conducted within the Gardiner Basin, an especially critical wintering area for native ungulates utilizing the Northern Yellowstone Winter Range. Mountain big sagebrush plants on 33 sites were classified as large (≥22 cm canopy cover), small (

  13. Distribution and abundance of bee forage flora across an agricultural landscape – railway embankments vs. road verges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Małgorzata Wrzesień

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we evaluated if railway embankments and road verges create refuge habitats for bee flora across agricultural landscape. The survey was conducted in 2009–2012, in the Lublin Province, SE Poland. Data on the bee forage flora were obtained while making floristic charts along 60 transect plots × 300 m, with a total length of 18 000 m, for each type of linear structure. Forage bee flora was compared with respect to species richness, diversity, and evenness indices. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA was used to characterize relationship between species composition and environmental variables. The bee forage species richness and abundance were significantly greater on railway embankments than on road verges. The composition of species varied considerably; the number of bee forage species common to both habitats was only approximately 38% in entire data set. Most good-value bee forage species were recorded along the embankments of railways with an intermediate traffic volume. Bee forage species diversity benefits from the location of habitat elements (forests or meadows, primarily if the distance is <50 m. The lack of dense patches of valuable bee forage species in the road verges was related to the high density of non-nectariferous graminoids. Our results demonstrate how the value of man-made areas in an agricultural ecosystem can vary with respect to floral resources across the landscape, suggesting that it is inappropriate to generalize about agricultural systems as a whole without first addressing differences among habitats.

  14. Lifetime Stable isotopes profiles in whale earplug: assessment of foraging and migrations in the Northern Hemisphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansouri, F.; Crain, D.; Winfield, Z.; Trumble, S.; Usenko, S.

    2017-12-01

    Whale earplugs, historically used for aging, were used to reconstruct lifetime stable isotope profiles for carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) for individual whales by delaminating lamina within the earplug. These stable isotope profile, which provide Continuous lifetime records of feeding, foraging ecology, and migration, were determined for 20 individuals from 4 baleen species including fin, minke, humpback, and blue whales spanning more than a century (1869 - 2014) using stable isotope analysis. Approximately 1 mg tissue from each lamina (n=1200) was analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope using continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer (CF-IRMS). This research using whale earplugs have combined age estimates with stable isotope measurements to reconstruct lifetime foraging profiles with a 6-month resolution, providing an unprecedented opportunity to assess periods and trends in dietary fluctuations as well as migration between different foraging area which have distinct isotope values. Trends with these profiles suggest long-term changing in migration, while annual variability highlights seasonal fasting and feeding. Isotopic ratios were also used to identify subpopulations of Atlantic fin whales, which enabled us to assign unidentified humpback and minke whales to the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. This historical archive of data provides us an unprecedented tool to assess long term marine ecosystem and subsequently marine organism transition to alternate foraging area and shed light on the whale's population status in the Northern hemisphere.

  15. Work or sleep? : honeybee foragers opportunistically nap during the day when forage is not available

    OpenAIRE

    Klein, Barrett; Seeley, Thomas D.

    2011-01-01

    Shifts in work schedules test humans’ capacity to be flexible in the timing of both work and sleep. Honeybee, Apis mellifera, foragers also shift their work schedules, but how flexible they are in the timing of sleep as they shift the timing of work is unknown, despite the importance of colony-level plasticity in the face of a changing environment. We hypothesized that sleep schedules of foragers are not fixed and instead vary depending on the time when food is available. We trained bees to v...

  16. Determining spatio-temporal distribution of bee forage species of Al-Baha region based on ground inventorying supported with GIS applications and Remote Sensed Satellite Image analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nuru Adgaba

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In arid zones, the shortage of bee forage is critical and usually compels beekeepers to move their colonies in search of better forages. Identifying and mapping the spatiotemporal distribution of the bee forages over given area is important for better management of bee colonies. In this study honey bee plants in the target areas were inventoried following, ground inventory work supported with GIS applications. The study was conducted on 85 large plots of 50 × 50 m each. At each plot, data on species name, height, base diameter, crown height, crown diameter has been taken for each plant with their respective geographical positions. The data were stored, and processed using Trimble GPS supported with ArcGIS10 software program. The data were used to estimate the relative frequency, density, abundance and species diversity, species important value index and apicultural value of the species. In addition, Remotely Sensed Satellite Image of the area was obtained and processed using Hopfield Artificial Neural Network techniques. During the study, 182 species from 49 plant families were identified as bee forages of the target area. From the total number of species; shrubs, herbs and trees were accounting for 61%, 27.67%, and 11.53% respectively. Of which Ziziphus spina-christi, Acacia tortilis, Acacia origina, Acacia asak, Lavandula dentata, and Hypoestes forskaolii were the major nectar source plants of the area in their degree of importance. The average vegetation cover values of the study areas were low (<30% with low Shannon’s species diversity indices (H′ of 0.5–1.52 for different sites. Based on the eco-climatological factors and the variations in their flowering period, these major bee forage species were found to form eight distinct spatiotemporal categories which allow beekeepers to migrate their colonies to exploit the resources at different seasons and place. The Remote Sensed Satellite Image analysis confirmed the spatial

  17. 'Lufkin Red' and 'Lufkin White' winter-hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus x laevis All.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    USDA ARS announces the release of ‘Lufkin Red’ and ‘Lufkin White’ winter-hardy native hibiscuses.Both clones have desirable horticultural traits in combination with demonstrated high levels of field resistance to the leaf spot complex that is problematic on winter-hardy hibiscus clones in areas wit...

  18. Scheduling and development support in the Scavenger cyber foraging system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Mads Darø; Bouvin, Niels Olof

    2010-01-01

    Cyber foraging is a pervasive computing technique where small mobile devices offload resource intensive tasks to stronger computing machinery in the vicinity. One of the main challenges within cyber foraging is that it is very difficult to develop cyber foraging enabled applications. An applicati...

  19. Nutritional status influences socially regulated foraging ontogeny in honey bees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toth, Amy L; Kantarovich, Sara; Meisel, Adam F; Robinson, Gene E

    2005-12-01

    In many social insects, including honey bees, worker energy reserve levels are correlated with task performance in the colony. Honey bee nest workers have abundant stored lipid and protein while foragers are depleted of these reserves; this depletion precedes the shift from nest work to foraging. The first objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that lipid depletion has a causal effect on the age at onset of foraging in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). We found that bees treated with a fatty acid synthesis inhibitor (TOFA) were more likely to forage precociously. The second objective of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between social interactions, nutritional state and behavioral maturation. Since older bees are known to inhibit the development of young bees into foragers, we asked whether this effect is mediated nutritionally via the passage of food from old to young bees. We found that bees reared in social isolation have low lipid stores, but social inhibition occurs in colonies in the field, whether young bees are starved or fed. These results indicate that although social interactions affect the nutritional status of young bees, social and nutritional factors act independently to influence age at onset of foraging. Our findings suggest that mechanisms linking internal nutritional physiology to foraging in solitary insects have been co-opted to regulate altruistic foraging in a social context.

  20. Seasonal Food Scarcity Prompts Long-Distance Foraging by a Wild Social Bee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pope, Nathaniel S; Jha, Shalene

    2018-01-01

    Foraging is an essential process for mobile animals, and its optimization serves as a foundational theory in ecology and evolution; however, drivers of foraging are rarely investigated across landscapes and seasons. Using a common bumblebee species from the western United States (Bombus vosnesenskii), we ask whether seasonal decreases in food resources prompt changes in foraging behavior and space use. We employ a unique integration of population genetic tools and spatially explicit foraging models to estimate foraging distances and rates of patch visitation for wild bumblebee colonies across three study regions and two seasons. By mapping the locations of 669 wild-caught individual foragers, we find substantial variation in colony-level foraging distances, often exhibiting a 60-fold difference within a study region. Our analysis of visitation rates indicates that foragers display a preference for destination patches with high floral cover and forage significantly farther for these patches, but only in the summer, when landscape-level resources are low. Overall, these results indicate that an increasing proportion of long-distance foraging bouts take place in the summer. Because wild bees are pollinators, their foraging dynamics are of urgent concern, given the potential impacts of global change on their movement and services. The behavioral shift toward long-distance foraging with seasonal declines in food resources suggests a novel, phenologically directed approach to landscape-level pollinator conservation and greater consideration of late-season floral resources in pollinator habitat management.

  1. Movement pathways and habitat selection by woodland caribou during spring migration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Joanne Saher

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou are a threatened species throughout Canada. Special management is therefore required to ensure habitat needs are met, particularly because much of their current distribution is heavily influenced by resource extraction activities. Although winter habitat is thought to be limiting and is the primary focus of conservation efforts, maintaining connectivity between summer and winter ranges has received little attention. We used global positioning system data from an interprovincial, woodland caribou herd to define migratory movements on a relatively pristine range. Non-linear models indicated that caribou movement during migration was punctuated; caribou traveled for some distance (movement phase followed by a pause (resting/foraging phase. We then developed resource selection functions (RSFs, using case-controlled logistic regression, to describe resting/foraging sites and movement sites, at the landscape scale. The RSFs indicated that caribou traveled through areas that were less rugged and closer to water than random and that resting/foraging sites were associated with older forests that have a greater component of pine, and are further from water than were random available locations. This approach to analyzing animal location data allowed us to identify two patterns of habitat selection (travel and foraging/resting for caribou during the migratory period. Resultant models are important tools for land use planning to ensure that connectivity between caribou summer and winter ranges is maintained.

  2. Foraging task specialisation and foraging labour allocation in stingless bees

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hofstede, Frouke Elisabeth

    2006-01-01

    Social bees collect nectar and pollen from flowering plants for energy of the adult bees and for feeding the larvae in the colony. The flowering patterns of plants imply that periods of high food availability are often followed by periods of meagre foraging conditions. Being dependent on such a

  3. Project CONVERGE: Impacts of local oceanographic processes on Adélie penguin foraging ecology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohut, J. T.; Bernard, K. S.; Fraser, W.; Oliver, M. J.; Statscewich, H.; Patterson-Fraser, D.; Winsor, P.; Cimino, M. A.; Miles, T. N.

    2016-02-01

    During the austral summer of 2014-2015, project CONVERGE deployed a multi-platform network to sample the Adélie penguin foraging hotspot associated with Palmer Deep Canyon along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. The focus of CONVERGE was to assess the impact of prey-concentrating ocean circulation dynamics on Adélie penguin foraging behavior. Food web links between phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance and penguin behavior were examined to better understand the within-season variability in Adélie foraging ecology. Since the High Frequency Radar (HFR) network installation in November 2014, the radial component current data from each of the three sites were combined to provide a high resolution (0.5 km) surface velocity maps. These hourly maps have revealed an incredibly dynamic system with strong fronts and frequent eddies extending across the Palmer Deep foraging area. A coordinated fleet of underwater gliders were used in concert with the HFR fields to sample the hydrography and phytoplankton distributions associated with convergent and divergent features. Three gliders mapped the along and across canyon variability of the hydrography, chlorophyll fluorescence and acoustic backscatter in the context of the observed surface currents and simultaneous penguin tracks. This presentation will highlight these synchronized measures of the food web in the context of the observed HFR fronts and eddies. The location and persistence of these features coupled with ecological sampling through the food web offer an unprecedented view of the Palmer Deep ecosystem. Specific examples will highlight how the vertical structure of the water column beneath the surface features stack the primary and secondary producers relative to observed penguin foraging behavior. The coupling from the physics through the food web as observed by our multi-platform network gives strong evidence for the critical role that distribution patterns of lower trophic levels have on Adélie foraging.

  4. Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Occurrence and Foraging Activity of Coastal Dolphins in Menai Bay, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew J Temple

    Full Text Available Understanding temporal patterns in distribution, occurrence and behaviour is vital for the effective conservation of cetaceans. This study used cetacean click detectors (C-PODs to investigate spatial and temporal variation in occurrence and foraging activity of the Indo-Pacific bottlenose (Tursiops aduncus and Indian Ocean humpback (Sousa plumbea dolphins resident in the Menai Bay Conservation Area (MBCA, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Occurrence was measured using detection positive minutes. Inter-click intervals were used to identify terminal buzz vocalisations, allowing for analysis of foraging activity. Data were analysed in relation to spatial (location and temporal (monsoon season, diel phase and tidal phase variables. Results showed significantly increased occurrence and foraging activity of dolphins in southern areas and during hours of darkness. Higher occurrence at night was not explained by diel variation in echolocation rate and so were considered representative of occurrence patterns. Both tidal phase and monsoon season influenced occurrence but results varied among sites, with no general patterns found. Foraging activity was greatest during hours of darkness, High water and Flood tidal phases. Comparisons of echolocation data among sites suggested differences in the broadband click spectra of MBCA dolphins, possibly indicative of species differences. These dolphin populations are threatened by unsustainable fisheries bycatch and tourism activities. The spatial and temporal patterns identified in this study have implications for future conservation and management actions with regards to these two threats. Further, the results indicate future potential for using passive acoustics to identify and monitor the occurrence of these two species in areas where they co-exist.

  5. Extreme Effects of Season on the Foraging Activities and Colony Productivity of a Stingless Bee (Melipona asilvai Moure, 1971 in Northeast Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Lima do Nascimento

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This study reports the influence of season on foraging activities and internal colonial parameters of Melipona asilvai in an Atlantic forest area of northeast Brazil. We used video cameras connected to a PC to monitor all departures and returns of foragers and the types of materials they carried. Foraging activities decreased almost 90% from dry to rainy seasons, but temperature and humidity were not the main factors influencing departures. Observed honey storage and an extreme cutback in activities during the rainy period suggest a seasonal diapause in this species.

  6. Increased stress in Asiatic black bears relates to food limitation, crop raiding, and foraging beyond nature reserve boundaries in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karl D. Malcolm

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus are declining throughout much of their range. In China they are partially protected by a nature reserve system and rely heavily on hard mast as a food source prior to winter denning. Bears may compensate for mast shortages by raiding agricultural crops and killing livestock, mainly outside reserves where they are exposed to increased threats of poaching. We hypothesized that stress would vary with availability of high-quality refugia and fluctuations in mast abundance. We collected fecal samples from free-ranging bears in and around nature reserves in southwestern China, recorded habitat characteristics at each fecal sample location, and quantified abundance of hard mast. We used feces for genetic and endocrine analysis and identified 106 individuals. Feces collected outside reserves, or in agricultural fields within reserves, contained elevated concentrations of glucocorticoid metabolites compared to samples collected in intact, mast-producing forests within reserves. Relationships with habitat variables indicated that the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA axis of the Asiatic black bear is responsive to human activity, abundance of hard mast, extent of forest cover, and quality of diet. Our findings demonstrate biological reactions of a large mammal to variable forest quality, human threats, and foraging relative to boundaries of protected areas. Keywords: Agriculture, Fecal glucocorticoids, Mast, Poaching, Protected areas, Stress

  7. Nutrient balance affects foraging behaviour of a trap-building predator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mayntz, David; Toft, Søren; Vollrath, Fritz

    2009-01-01

    Predator foraging may be affected by previous prey capture, but it is unknown how nutrient balance affects foraging behaviour. Here, we use a trap-building predator to test whether nutrients from previous prey captures affect foraging behaviour. We fed orb-weaving spiders (Zygiella x-notata) prey...

  8. Information Foraging Theory: A Framework for Intelligence Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    oceanographic information, human intelligence (HUMINT), open-source intelligence ( OSINT ), and information provided by other governmental departments [1][5...Human Intelligence IFT Information Foraging Theory LSA Latent Semantic Similarity MVT Marginal Value Theorem OFT Optimal Foraging Theory OSINT

  9. Intra-seasonal variation in foraging behavior among Adélie penguins (Pygocelis adeliae) breeding at Cape Hallett, Ross Sea, Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyver, P.O.B.; MacLeod, C.J.; Ballard, G.; Karl, B.J.; Barton, K.J.; Adams, J.; Ainley, D.G.; Wilson, P.R.

    2011-01-01

    We investigated intra-seasonal variation in foraging behavior of chick-rearing Adélie penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae, during two consecutive summers at Cape Hallett, northwestern Ross Sea. Although foraging behavior of this species has been extensively studied throughout the broad continental shelf region of the Ross Sea, this is the first study to report foraging behaviors and habitat affiliations among birds occupying continental slope waters. Continental slope habitat supports the greatest abundances of this species throughout its range, but we lack information about how intra-specific competition for prey might affect foraging and at-sea distribution and how these attributes compare with previous Ross Sea studies. Foraging trips increased in both distance and duration as breeding advanced from guard to crèche stage, but foraging dive depth, dive rates, and vertical dive distances travelled per hour decreased. Consistent with previous studies within slope habitats elsewhere in Antarctic waters, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) dominated chick meal composition, but fish increased four-fold from guard to crèche stages. Foraging-, focal-, and core areas all doubled during the crèche stage as individuals shifted distribution in a southeasterly direction away from the coast while simultaneously becoming more widely dispersed (i.e., less spatial overlap among individuals). Intra-specific competition for prey among Adélie penguins appears to influence foraging behavior of this species, even in food webs dominated by Antarctic krill.

  10. Assessing winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency using a water quality simulation model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeo, I.-Y.; Lee, S.; Sadeghi, A. M.; Beeson, P. C.; Hively, W. D.; McCarty, G. W.; Lang, M. W.

    2014-12-01

    Winter cover crops are an effective conservation management practice with potential to improve water quality. Throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW), which is located in the mid-Atlantic US, winter cover crop use has been emphasized, and federal and state cost-share programs are available to farmers to subsidize the cost of cover crop establishment. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effect of planting winter cover crops to improve water quality at the watershed scale (~ 50 km2) and to identify critical source areas of high nitrate export. A physically based watershed simulation model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was calibrated and validated using water quality monitoring data to simulate hydrological processes and agricultural nutrient cycling over the period of 1990-2000. To accurately simulate winter cover crop biomass in relation to growing conditions, a new approach was developed to further calibrate plant growth parameters that control the leaf area development curve using multitemporal satellite-based measurements of species-specific winter cover crop performance. Multiple SWAT scenarios were developed to obtain baseline information on nitrate loading without winter cover crops and to investigate how nitrate loading could change under different winter cover crop planting scenarios, including different species, planting dates, and implementation areas. The simulation results indicate that winter cover crops have a negligible impact on the water budget but significantly reduce nitrate leaching to groundwater and delivery to the waterways. Without winter cover crops, annual nitrate loading from agricultural lands was approximately 14 kg ha-1, but decreased to 4.6-10.1 kg ha-1 with cover crops resulting in a reduction rate of 27-67% at the watershed scale. Rye was the most effective species, with a potential to reduce nitrate leaching by up to 93% with early planting at the field scale. Early planting of cover crops (~ 30

  11. Giant panda foraging and movement patterns in response to bamboo shoot growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Mingchun; Zhang, Zhizhong; Li, Zhong; Hong, Mingsheng; Zhou, Xiaoping; Zhou, Shiqiang; Zhang, Jindong; Hull, Vanessa; Huang, Jinyan; Zhang, Hemin

    2018-03-01

    Diet plays a pivotal role in dictating behavioral patterns of herbivorous animals, particularly specialist species. The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is well-known as a bamboo specialist. In the present study, the response of giant pandas to spatiotemporal variation of bamboo shoots was explored using field surveys and GPS collar tracking. Results show the dynamics in panda-bamboo space-time relationships that have not been previously articulated. For instance, we found a higher bamboo stump height of foraged bamboo with increasing elevation, places where pandas foraged later in spring when bamboo shoots become more fibrous and woody. The time required for shoots to reach optimum height for foraging was significantly delayed as elevation increased, a pattern which corresponded with panda elevational migration patterns beginning from the lower elevational end of Fargesia robusta distribution and gradually shifting upward until the end of the shooting season. These results indicate that giant pandas can respond to spatiotemporal variation of bamboo resources, such as available shoots. Anthropogenic interference of low-elevation F. robusta habitat should be mitigated, and conservation attention and increased monitoring should be given to F. robusta areas at the low- and mid-elevation ranges, particularly in the spring shooting season.

  12. Annual elk calf survival in a multiple carnivore system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eacker, Daniel R.; Hebblewhite, Mark; Proffitt, Kelly M.; Jimenez, Benjamin S.; Mitchell, Michael S.; Robinson, Hugh S.

    2016-01-01

    The realized effect of multiple carnivores on juvenile ungulate recruitment may depend on the carnivore assemblage as well as compensation from forage and winter weather severity, which may mediate juvenile vulnerability to predation in ungulates. We used a time-to-event approach to test for the effects of risk factors on annual elk (Cervus canadensis) calf survival and to estimate cause-specific mortality rates for 2 elk populations in adjacent study areas in the southern Bitterroot Valley, Montana, USA, during 2011–2014. We captured and radio-tagged 286 elk calves: 226 neonates, and 60 6-month-old calves. Summer survival probability was less variable than winter (P = 0.12) and averaged 0.55 (95% CI = 0.47–0.63), whereas winter survival varied more than summer and significantly across study years (P = 0.003) and averaged 0.73 (95% CI = 0.64–0.81). During summer, elk calf survival increased with biomass of preferred forage biomass, and was slightly lower following winters with high precipitation; exposure to mountain lion (Puma concolor) predation risk was unimportant. In contrast, during winter, we found that exposure to mountain lion predation risk influenced survival, with a weak negative effect of winter precipitation. We found no evidence that forage availability or winter weather severity mediated vulnerability to mountain lion predation risk in summer or winter (e.g., an interaction), indicating that the effect of mountain lion predation was constant regardless of spatial variation in forage or weather. Mountain lions dominated known causes of elk calf mortality in summer and winter, with estimated cause-specific mortality rates of 0.14 (95% CI = 0.09–0.20) and 0.12 (95% CI = 0.07–0.18), respectively. The effect of carnivores on juvenile ungulate recruitment varies across ecological systems depending on relative carnivore densities. Mountain lions may be the most important carnivore for ungulates, especially where grizzly

  13. Effects of pasture renovation on hydrology, nutrient runoff, and forage yield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Koff, J P; Moore, P A; Formica, J; Van Eps, M; DeLaune, P B

    2011-01-01

    Proper pasture management is important in promoting optimal forage growth and reducing runoff and nutrient loss. Pasture renovation is a management tool that improves aeration by mechanically creating holes or pockets within the soil. Pasture renovation was performed before manure application (poultry litter or swine slurry) on different pasture soils and rainfall simulations were conducted to identify the effects of pasture renovation on nutrient runoff and forage growth. Renovation of small plots resulted in significant and beneficial hydrological changes. During the first rainfall simulation, runoff volumes were 45 to 74% lower for seven out of eight renovated treatments, and infiltration rates increased by 3 to 87% for all renovated treatments as compared with nonrenovated treatments. Renovation of pasture soils fertilized with poultry litter led to significant reductions in dissolved reactive P (DRP) (74-87%), total P (TP) (76-85%), and total nitrogen (TN) (72-80%) loads in two of the three soils studied during the first rainfall simulation. Renovation did not result in any significant differences in forage yields. Overall, beneficial impacts of renovation lasted up to 3 mo, the most critical period for nutrient runoff following manure application. Therefore, renovation could be an important best management practice in these areas.

  14. Multi-Robot Item Delivery and Foraging: Two Sides of a Coin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Somchaya Liemhetcharat

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Multi-robot foraging has been widely studied in the literature, and the general assumption is that the robots are simple, i.e., with limited processing and carrying capacity. We previously studied continuous foraging with slightly more capable robots, and in this article, we are interested in using similar robots for item delivery. Interestingly, item delivery and foraging are two sides of the same coin: foraging an item from a location is similar to satisfying a demand. We formally define the multi-robot item delivery problem and show that the continuous foraging problem is a special case of it. We contribute distributed multi-robot algorithms that solve the item delivery and foraging problems and describe how our shared world model is synchronized across the multi-robot team. We performed extensive experiments on simulated robots using a Java simulator, and we present our results to demonstrate that we outperform benchmark algorithms from multi-robot foraging.

  15. Determining spatio-temporal distribution of bee forage species of Al-Baha region based on ground inventorying supported with GIS applications and Remote Sensed Satellite Image analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adgaba, Nuru; Alghamdi, Ahmed; Sammoud, Rachid; Shenkute, Awraris; Tadesse, Yilma; Ansari, Mahammad J; Sharma, Deepak; Hepburn, Colleen

    2017-07-01

    In arid zones, the shortage of bee forage is critical and usually compels beekeepers to move their colonies in search of better forages. Identifying and mapping the spatiotemporal distribution of the bee forages over given area is important for better management of bee colonies. In this study honey bee plants in the target areas were inventoried following, ground inventory work supported with GIS applications. The study was conducted on 85 large plots of 50 × 50 m each. At each plot, data on species name, height, base diameter, crown height, crown diameter has been taken for each plant with their respective geographical positions. The data were stored, and processed using Trimble GPS supported with ArcGIS10 software program. The data were used to estimate the relative frequency, density, abundance and species diversity, species important value index and apicultural value of the species. In addition, Remotely Sensed Satellite Image of the area was obtained and processed using Hopfield Artificial Neural Network techniques. During the study, 182 species from 49 plant families were identified as bee forages of the target area. From the total number of species; shrubs, herbs and trees were accounting for 61%, 27.67%, and 11.53% respectively. Of which Ziziphus spina-christi , Acacia tortilis , Acacia origina , Acacia asak , Lavandula dentata , and Hypoestes forskaolii were the major nectar source plants of the area in their degree of importance. The average vegetation cover values of the study areas were low (GIS and satellite image processing techniques could be an important tool for characterizing and mapping the available bee forage resources leading to their efficient and sustainable utilization.

  16. Life history and status of shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in the Potomac River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kieffer, Micah

    2009-01-01

    We collected the first life history information on shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in any of the rivers to Chesapeake Bay, the geographic center of the species range. In the Potomac River, two telemetry-tagged adult females used 124 km of river: a saltwater/freshwater reach at river km (rkm) 63-141 was the foraging-wintering concentration area, and one female migrated to spawn at rkm 187 in Washington, DC. The spawning migration explained the life history context of an adult captured 122 years ago in Washington, DC, supporting the idea that a natal population once lived in the river. Repeated homing migrations to foraging and wintering areas suggested the adults were residents, not transient coastal migrants. All habitats that adults need to complete life history are present in the river. The Potomac River shortnose sturgeon offers a rare opportunity to learn about the natural rebuilding of a sturgeon population.

  17. Nearshore hydrography off Visakhapatnam, East coast of India, during winter

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Rao, B.P.; RameshBabu, V.

    . The near bottom region in the offshore area, rather than the nearshore area, seems to be promising dumping ground for industrial waste material during winter period when the thermal inversion in the water column are major mechanisms of vertical mixing...

  18. Using non-invasive molecular spectroscopic techniques to detect unique aspects of protein Amide functional groups and chemical properties of modeled forage from different sourced-origins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Cuiying; Zhang, Xuewei; Yu, Peiqiang

    2016-03-05

    The non-invasive molecular spectroscopic technique-FT/IR is capable to detect the molecular structure spectral features that are associated with biological, nutritional and biodegradation functions. However, to date, few researches have been conducted to use these non-invasive molecular spectroscopic techniques to study forage internal protein structures associated with biodegradation and biological functions. The objectives of this study were to detect unique aspects and association of protein Amide functional groups in terms of protein Amide I and II spectral profiles and chemical properties in the alfalfa forage (Medicago sativa L.) from different sourced-origins. In this study, alfalfa hay with two different origins was used as modeled forage for molecular structure and chemical property study. In each forage origin, five to seven sources were analyzed. The molecular spectral profiles were determined using FT/IR non-invasive molecular spectroscopy. The parameters of protein spectral profiles included functional groups of Amide I, Amide II and Amide I to II ratio. The results show that the modeled forage Amide I and Amide II were centered at 1653 cm(-1) and 1545 cm(-1), respectively. The Amide I spectral height and area intensities were from 0.02 to 0.03 and 2.67 to 3.36 AI, respectively. The Amide II spectral height and area intensities were from 0.01 to 0.02 and 0.71 to 0.93 AI, respectively. The Amide I to II spectral peak height and area ratios were from 1.86 to 1.88 and 3.68 to 3.79, respectively. Our results show that the non-invasive molecular spectroscopic techniques are capable to detect forage internal protein structure features which are associated with forage chemical properties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Winter chilling speeds spring development of temperate butterflies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stålhandske, Sandra; Gotthard, Karl; Leimar, Olof

    2017-07-01

    Understanding and predicting phenology has become more important with ongoing climate change and has brought about great research efforts in the recent decades. The majority of studies examining spring phenology of insects have focussed on the effects of spring temperatures alone. Here we use citizen-collected observation data to show that winter cold duration, in addition to spring temperature, can affect the spring emergence of butterflies. Using spatial mixed models, we disentangle the effects of climate variables and reveal impacts of both spring and winter conditions for five butterfly species that overwinter as pupae across the UK, with data from 1976 to 2013 and one butterfly species in Sweden, with data from 2001 to 2013. Warmer springs lead to earlier emergence in all species and milder winters lead to statistically significant delays in three of the five investigated species. We also find that the delaying effect of winter warmth has become more pronounced in the last decade, during which time winter durations have become shorter. For one of the studied species, Anthocharis cardamines (orange tip butterfly), we also make use of parameters determined from previous experiments on pupal development to model the spring phenology. Using daily temperatures in the UK and Sweden, we show that recent variation in spring temperature corresponds to 10-15 day changes in emergence time over UK and Sweden, whereas variation in winter duration corresponds to 20 days variation in the south of the UK versus only 3 days in the south of Sweden. In summary, we show that short winters delay phenology. The effect is most prominent in areas with particularly mild winters, emphasising the importance of winter for the response of ectothermic animals to climate change. With climate change, these effects may become even stronger and apply also at higher latitudes. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2017 British Ecological Society.

  20. Forage based animal production systems and sustainability, an invited keynote

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Forages are essential for the successful operation of animal production systems. This is more relevant to ruminants which are heavily dependant upon forages for their health and production in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. While forages are an economical source of nutrients for animal production, they also help conserve the soil integrity, water supply and air quality. Although the role of these forages for animal production could vary depending upon the regional preferences for the animal and forage species, climate and resources, their importance in the success of ruminant production is acknowledged. However with the increasing global human population and urbanisation, the sustainability of forage based animal production systems is sometimes questioned due to the interrelationship between animal production and the environment. It is therefore vital to examine the suitability of these systems for their place in the future to supply quality food which is safe for human consumption and available at a competitive price to the growing human population. Grassland and forage crops are recognised for their contribution to the environment, recreation and efficiency of meat and milk production,. To maintain sustainability, it is crucial that such farming systems remain profitable and environmentally friendly while producing nutritious foods of high economical value. Thus, it is pertinent to improve the nutritive value of grasses and other forage plants in order to enhance animal production to obtain quality food. It is also vital to develop new forages which are efficiently utilised and wasted less by involving efficient animals. A combination of forage legumes, fresh or conserved grasses, crop residues and other feeds could help develop an animal production system which is economically efficient, beneficial and viable. Also, it is crucial to use efficient animals, improved forage conservation methods, better manure handling, and minimum

  1. The winter diet of elephant in Eastern Cape Subtropical Thicket, Addo Elephant National Park

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R.G.T. Paley

    1998-07-01

    Full Text Available Direct observational methods were used to establish the winter diet of elephants in Eastern Cape Subtropical Thicket in the Addo Elephant National Park, thereby determining which plant species were most at risk from elephant herbivory. A total of 70 species were identified as food plants for elephants, with the grass Cynodon dactylon and the succulents Portulacaria afra and Platythyra haeckeliana dominating, both in terms of frequency of feeding events and volume consumed. In view of the fact that elephants represent 78 of the herbivore biomass in the park, it appears likely that elephant feeding restricts the availability of forage for other browsers. Due to the limited time frame of this study, further research is needed to provide a comprehensive record of the elephant diet for all seasons of the year.

  2. Landscape simulation of foraging by elk, mule deer, and cattle on summer range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alan A. Ager; Bruce K. Johnson; Priscilla K. Coe; Michael J. Wisdom

    2004-01-01

    Cattle, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and elk (Cervus elaphus) share more area of spring, summer and fall range than any other combination of wild and domestic ungulates in western North America (Wisdom and Thomas 1996). Not surprisingly, conflicts over perceived competition for forage have a long history, yet knowledge about...

  3. Application of genomics to forage crop breeding for quality traits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lübberstedt, Thomas

    2007-01-01

    Forage quality depends on the digestibility of fodder, and can be directly measured by the intake and metabolic conversion in animal trials. However, animal trials are time-consuming, laborious, and thus expensive. It is not possible to study thousands of plant genotypes, as required in breeding...... studied in detail and sequence motifs with likely effect on forage quality have been identified by association studies. Moreover, transgenic approaches substantiated the effect of several of these genes on forage quality. Perspectives and limitations of these findings for forage crop breeding...

  4. Variability in the Foraging Distribution and Diet of Cape Gannets between the Guard and Post-guard Phases of the Breeding Cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan A. Botha

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available During breeding, seabirds are central place foragers and are sensitive to changes in local prey availability. As the breeding season progresses, foraging behavior and distribution is expected to change in response to possible changes in local prey availability. In addition, adult gender, and the increasing nutritional demands of a growing chick may also influence the foraging behavior of individuals. At present, relatively few studies have assessed the foraging behavior of adult birds during the late post-guard stages of chick rearing. Through a combination of GPS tracking and diet sampling we investigated the foraging distances, spatial distribution, and prey composition of adult Cape gannets (Morus capensis during the guard and post-guard stages of chick rearing. We found no clear evidence for consistent sex-specific differences in foraging distances and spatial distribution during the guard stage, although marginal differences in the location of core foraging areas during the post-guard stage were apparent. Results, however, revealed a clear increase in foraging range from the early guard to the late post-guard stage of chick rearing. During December the diet was comprised almost exclusively of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus, the proportion of which had decreased significantly in the diet by January. This was mirrored by a substantial increase in the proportion of saury (Scomberesox saurus. These results suggest that Cape gannets show flexibility in the foraging behavior and diet, which may be related to changes in the abundance and distribution of prey or may reflect changes in the energetic requirements of the growing offspring. This study provides the first assessment of Cape gannet foraging behavior and spatial distribution during the post-guard stage of chick rearing. The importance of considering intra-annual variability in foraging distribution when using seabird tracking data in trophic and marine spatial planning studies are

  5. Floral odor learning within the hive affects honeybees' foraging decisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arenas, Andrés; Fernández, Vanesa M.; Farina, Walter M.

    2007-03-01

    Honeybees learn odor cues quickly and efficiently when visiting rewarding flowers. Memorization of these cues facilitates the localization and recognition of food sources during foraging flights. Bees can also use information gained inside the hive during social interactions with successful foragers. An important information cue that can be learned during these interactions is food odor. However, little is known about how floral odors learned in the hive affect later decisions of foragers in the field. We studied the effect of food scent on foraging preferences when this learning is acquired directly inside the hive. By using in-hive feeders that were removed 24 h before the test, we showed that foragers use the odor information acquired during a 3-day stimulation period with a scented solution during a food-choice situation outside the nest. This bias in food preference is maintained even 24 h after the replacement of all the hive combs. Thus, without being previously collected outside by foragers, food odors learned within the hive can be used during short-range foraging flights. Moreover, correct landings at a dual-choice device after replacing the storing combs suggests that long-term memories formed within the colony can be retrieved while bees search for food in the field.

  6. Is Bumblebee Foraging Efficiency Mediated by Morphological Correspondence to Flowers?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ikumi Dohzono

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Preference for certain types of flowers in bee species may be an adaptation for efficient foraging, and they often prefer flowers whose shape fits their mouthparts. However, it is unclear whether such flowers are truly beneficial for them. We address this issue by experimentally measuring foraging efficiency of bumblebees, the volume of sucrose solution consumed over handling time (μL/second, using long-tongued Bombus diversus Smith and short-tongued B. honshuensis Tkalcu that visit Clematis stans Siebold et Zuccarini. The corolla tube length of C. stans decreases during a flowering period, and male flowers are longer than female flowers. Long- and short-tongued bumblebees frequently visited longer and shorter flowers, respectively. Based on these preferences, we hypothesized that bumblebee foraging efficiency is higher when visiting flowers that show a good morphological fit between the proboscis and the corolla tube. Foraging efficiency of bumblebees was estimated using flowers for which nectar quality and quantity were controlled, in an experimental enclosure. We show that 1 the foraging efficiency of B. diversus was enhanced when visiting younger, longer flowers, and that 2 the foraging efficiency of B. honshuensis was higher when visiting shorter female flowers. This suggests that morphological correspondence between insects and flowers is important for insect foraging efficiency. However, in contradiction to our prediction, 3 short-tongued bumblebees B. honshuensis sucked nectar more efficiently when visiting younger, longer flowers, and 4 there was no significant difference in the foraging efficiency of B. diversus between flower sexes. These results suggest that morphological fit between the proboscis and the corolla tube is not a sole determinant of foraging efficiency. Bumblebees may adjust their sucking behavior in response to available rewards, and competition over rewards between bumblebee species might change visitation patterns

  7. Memory Effects on Movement Behavior in Animal Foraging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bracis, Chloe; Gurarie, Eliezer; Van Moorter, Bram; Goodwin, R Andrew

    2015-01-01

    An individual's choices are shaped by its experience, a fundamental property of behavior important to understanding complex processes. Learning and memory are observed across many taxa and can drive behaviors, including foraging behavior. To explore the conditions under which memory provides an advantage, we present a continuous-space, continuous-time model of animal movement that incorporates learning and memory. Using simulation models, we evaluate the benefit memory provides across several types of landscapes with variable-quality resources and compare the memory model within a nested hierarchy of simpler models (behavioral switching and random walk). We find that memory almost always leads to improved foraging success, but that this effect is most marked in landscapes containing sparse, contiguous patches of high-value resources that regenerate relatively fast and are located in an otherwise devoid landscape. In these cases, there is a large payoff for finding a resource patch, due to size, value, or locational difficulty. While memory-informed search is difficult to differentiate from other factors using solely movement data, our results suggest that disproportionate spatial use of higher value areas, higher consumption rates, and consumption variability all point to memory influencing the movement direction of animals in certain ecosystems.

  8. Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus winter mortality in The Netherlands : The effect of severe weather and food supply

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Camphuysen, CJ; Ens, B.J.; Heg, Dierik; Hulscher, JB; VanderMeer, J; Smit, CJ

    1996-01-01

    Wintering Oystercatchers in The Netherlands are concentrated in the Wadden Sea (c. 200 000), with substantial numbers in the Delta area (c. 90 000). Only 1% of the total wintering population is normally found along the North Sea coast. Cold-rushes under severe winter conditions lead to a reduction

  9. Stochasticity in Natural Forage Production Affects Use of Urban Areas by Black Bears: Implications to Management of Human-Bear Conflicts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baruch-Mordo, Sharon; Wilson, Kenneth R.; Lewis, David L.; Broderick, John; Mao, Julie S.; Breck, Stewart W.

    2014-01-01

    The rapid expansion of global urban development is increasing opportunities for wildlife to forage and become dependent on anthropogenic resources. Wildlife using urban areas are often perceived dichotomously as urban or not, with some individuals removed in the belief that dependency on anthropogenic resources is irreversible and can lead to increased human-wildlife conflict. For American black bears (Ursus americanus), little is known about the degree of bear urbanization and its ecological mechanisms to guide the management of human-bear conflicts. Using 6 years of GPS location and activity data from bears in Aspen, Colorado, USA, we evaluated the degree of bear urbanization and the factors that best explained its variations. We estimated space use, activity patterns, survival, and reproduction and modeled their relationship with ecological covariates related to bear characteristics and natural food availability. Space use and activity patterns were dependent on natural food availability (good or poor food years), where bears used higher human density areas and became more nocturnal in poor food years. Patterns were reversible, i.e., individuals using urban areas in poor food years used wildland areas in subsequent good food years. While reproductive output was similar across years, survival was lower in poor food years when bears used urban areas to a greater extent. Our findings suggest that bear use of urban areas is reversible and fluctuates with the availability of natural food resources, and that removal of urban individuals in times of food failures has the potential to negatively affect bear populations. Given that under current predictions urbanization is expected to increase by 11% across American black bear range, and that natural food failure years are expected to increase in frequency with global climate change, alternative methods of reducing urban human-bear conflict are required if the goal is to prevent urban areas from becoming population sinks

  10. Stochasticity in natural forage production affects use of urban areas by black bears: implications to management of human-bear conflicts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharon Baruch-Mordo

    Full Text Available The rapid expansion of global urban development is increasing opportunities for wildlife to forage and become dependent on anthropogenic resources. Wildlife using urban areas are often perceived dichotomously as urban or not, with some individuals removed in the belief that dependency on anthropogenic resources is irreversible and can lead to increased human-wildlife conflict. For American black bears (Ursus americanus, little is known about the degree of bear urbanization and its ecological mechanisms to guide the management of human-bear conflicts. Using 6 years of GPS location and activity data from bears in Aspen, Colorado, USA, we evaluated the degree of bear urbanization and the factors that best explained its variations. We estimated space use, activity patterns, survival, and reproduction and modeled their relationship with ecological covariates related to bear characteristics and natural food availability. Space use and activity patterns were dependent on natural food availability (good or poor food years, where bears used higher human density areas and became more nocturnal in poor food years. Patterns were reversible, i.e., individuals using urban areas in poor food years used wildland areas in subsequent good food years. While reproductive output was similar across years, survival was lower in poor food years when bears used urban areas to a greater extent. Our findings suggest that bear use of urban areas is reversible and fluctuates with the availability of natural food resources, and that removal of urban individuals in times of food failures has the potential to negatively affect bear populations. Given that under current predictions urbanization is expected to increase by 11% across American black bear range, and that natural food failure years are expected to increase in frequency with global climate change, alternative methods of reducing urban human-bear conflict are required if the goal is to prevent urban areas from

  11. Stochasticity in natural forage production affects use of urban areas by black bears: implications to management of human-bear conflicts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baruch-Mordo, Sharon; Wilson, Kenneth R; Lewis, David L; Broderick, John; Mao, Julie S; Breck, Stewart W

    2014-01-01

    The rapid expansion of global urban development is increasing opportunities for wildlife to forage and become dependent on anthropogenic resources. Wildlife using urban areas are often perceived dichotomously as urban or not, with some individuals removed in the belief that dependency on anthropogenic resources is irreversible and can lead to increased human-wildlife conflict. For American black bears (Ursus americanus), little is known about the degree of bear urbanization and its ecological mechanisms to guide the management of human-bear conflicts. Using 6 years of GPS location and activity data from bears in Aspen, Colorado, USA, we evaluated the degree of bear urbanization and the factors that best explained its variations. We estimated space use, activity patterns, survival, and reproduction and modeled their relationship with ecological covariates related to bear characteristics and natural food availability. Space use and activity patterns were dependent on natural food availability (good or poor food years), where bears used higher human density areas and became more nocturnal in poor food years. Patterns were reversible, i.e., individuals using urban areas in poor food years used wildland areas in subsequent good food years. While reproductive output was similar across years, survival was lower in poor food years when bears used urban areas to a greater extent. Our findings suggest that bear use of urban areas is reversible and fluctuates with the availability of natural food resources, and that removal of urban individuals in times of food failures has the potential to negatively affect bear populations. Given that under current predictions urbanization is expected to increase by 11% across American black bear range, and that natural food failure years are expected to increase in frequency with global climate change, alternative methods of reducing urban human-bear conflict are required if the goal is to prevent urban areas from becoming population sinks.

  12. New winter hardy winter bread wheat cultivar (Triticum aestivum L. Voloshkova

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Л. М. Голик

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Creation of Initial raw for breeding of winter wheat by change of the development type under low temperatures influence was described. Seeds of spring wheat were vernalized in aluminum weighting bottle. By using low temperatures at sawing of M2-6 at the begin ind of optimal terms of sawing of winter wheat, new winter-hardy variety of Voloshkova was bred.

  13. Physiology, phenology and behavioural strategies of forage fish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frisk, Christina

    Forage fish are small individuals, and are very abundant in numbers and can form dense schools. Forage fish are important within the food webs of the oceans, as they are at the lower trophic levels. Forage fish prey on zooplankton and they are themselves preyed on by piscivore fish. The individual...... forage fish and its growth dynamics are governed by an interplay between physiological rates, e.g. metabolism and consumption and the ambient environment as the rates are temperature dependent. The topic of this thesis is to describe the strong link between the individual and the environment through....... The model includes an additional structure pool; gonads, to which energy is transferred during the spawning season. During periods of poor feeding, energy to cover metabolic costs are firstly taken from the reserve pool and secondly, if the reserves are depleted, from the somatic tissue pool. The model...

  14. Blue Oak Canopy Effect on Seasonal Forage Production and Quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    William E. Frost; Neil K. McDougald; Montague W. Demment

    1991-01-01

    Forage production and forage quality were measured seasonally beneath the canopy of blue oak (Quercus douglasii) and in open grassland at the San Joaquin Experimental Range. At the March and peak standing crop sampling dates forage production was significantly greater (p=.05) beneath blue oak compared to open grassland. At most sampling dates, the...

  15. The ecological economics of kleptoparasitism: pay-offs from self-foraging versus kleptoparasitism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flower, Tom P; Child, Matthew F; Ridley, Amanda R

    2013-01-01

    Animals commonly steal food from other species, termed interspecific kleptoparasitism, but why animals engage in kleptoparasitism compared with alternate foraging tactics, and under what circumstances they do so, is not fully understood. Determining what specific benefits animals gain from kleptoparasitism could provide valuable insight into its evolution. Here, we investigate the benefits of kleptoparasitism for a population of individually recognizable and free-living fork-tailed drongos (Dicrurus adsimilis) in the southern Kalahari Desert. Drongos engaged in two foraging behaviours: self-foraging for small insects or following other species which they kleptoparasitized for larger terrestrial prey that they could not capture themselves. Kleptoparasitism consequently enabled drongos to exploit a new foraging niche. Kleptoparasitism benefitted drongos most in the morning and on colder days because at these times pay-offs from kleptoparasitism remained stable, while those from self-foraging declined. However, drongos engaged in kleptoparasitism less than expected given the overall high (but more variable) pay-offs from this behaviour, suggesting that kleptoparasitism is a risky foraging tactic and may incur additional foraging costs compared with self-foraging. This is the first study to comprehensively investigate the benefits of facultatively engaging in kleptoparasitism, demonstrating that animals may switch to kleptoparasitism to exploit a new foraging niche when pay-offs exceed those from alternate foraging behaviours. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2012 British Ecological Society.

  16. 33 CFR 100.109 - Winter Harbor Lobster Boat Race, Winter Harbor, ME.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Winter Harbor Lobster Boat Race, Winter Harbor, ME. 100.109 Section 100.109 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY REGATTAS AND MARINE PARADES SAFETY OF LIFE ON NAVIGABLE WATERS § 100.109 Winter Harbor...

  17. Unravelling trophic subsidies of agroecosystems for biodiversity conservation: Food consumption and nutrient recycling by waterbirds in Mediterranean rice fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Navedo, Juan G.; Hahn, Steffen; Parejo, Manuel; Abad-Gómez, José M.; Gutiérrez, Jorge S.; Villegas, Auxiliadora; Sánchez-Guzmán, Juan M.; Masero, José A.

    2015-01-01

    Waterbirds can reallocate a considerable amount of nutrients within agricultural fields and between agriculture sites and wetlands. However their effects on biogeochemical cycles have rarely been quantified. We estimated bird numbers, diet (from stable isotope analysis), food supply, and the food consumption on rice fields by overwintering waterbirds in one of the most important areas for rice production in southwestern Europe and a key area for various migrating and resident waterbird species. Herein, we modelled the nutrient (N and P) recycling in rice fields, and their transport to reservoirs. The energy consumption by waterbirds (96,605 ± 18,311 individuals) on rice fields during winter averaged at 89.9 ± 39.0 kJ·m −2 , with its majority (89.9%) belonging to foraging on rice seeds. Thus, the birds removed about 26% of rice seeds leftover after harvest (estimated in 932.5 ± 504.7 seeds·m −2 in early winter) wherein common cranes and dabbling ducks (four species) were the most important consumers. Waterbirds foraging and roosting in the rice fields recycled more than 24.1 (1.0 kg·ha −1 ) of N and an additional 5.0 tons (0.2 kg·ha −1 ) of P in the Extremadura's rice fields during winter. Additionally, we estimated that 2.3 tons of N and 550 kg of P were removed from rice fields and transported to reservoirs. The seasonal foraging of wildlife should result in a direct benefit for rice farmers by improving nutrient recycling through defecation by waterbirds with respect to artificial fertilisation. Additionally, rice fields located in the cranes' core wintering areas can provide sufficient food supply to induce habitat shift from their traditional wintering habitat in ‘dehesas’ to rice fields, which causes indirect socioeconomic benefit through reduced acorn consumption by cranes. Our modelling approach may thus be especially helpful for management decisions regarding rice agroecosystems in areas which are also important for the

  18. Unravelling trophic subsidies of agroecosystems for biodiversity conservation: Food consumption and nutrient recycling by waterbirds in Mediterranean rice fields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Navedo, Juan G., E-mail: jgnavedo@uach.cl [Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus Isla Teja, 5090000 Valdivia (Chile); Conservation Biology Research Group, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Elvas s/n, 06002 Badajoz (Spain); Hahn, Steffen [Department Bird Migration, Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, 6204 Sempach (Switzerland); Parejo, Manuel; Abad-Gómez, José M. [Conservation Biology Research Group, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Elvas s/n, 06002 Badajoz (Spain); Gutiérrez, Jorge S. [Conservation Biology Research Group, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Elvas s/n, 06002 Badajoz (Spain); Department of Marine Ecology, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel (Netherlands); Villegas, Auxiliadora; Sánchez-Guzmán, Juan M.; Masero, José A. [Conservation Biology Research Group, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Elvas s/n, 06002 Badajoz (Spain)

    2015-04-01

    Waterbirds can reallocate a considerable amount of nutrients within agricultural fields and between agriculture sites and wetlands. However their effects on biogeochemical cycles have rarely been quantified. We estimated bird numbers, diet (from stable isotope analysis), food supply, and the food consumption on rice fields by overwintering waterbirds in one of the most important areas for rice production in southwestern Europe and a key area for various migrating and resident waterbird species. Herein, we modelled the nutrient (N and P) recycling in rice fields, and their transport to reservoirs. The energy consumption by waterbirds (96,605 ± 18,311 individuals) on rice fields during winter averaged at 89.9 ± 39.0 kJ·m{sup −2}, with its majority (89.9%) belonging to foraging on rice seeds. Thus, the birds removed about 26% of rice seeds leftover after harvest (estimated in 932.5 ± 504.7 seeds·m{sup −2} in early winter) wherein common cranes and dabbling ducks (four species) were the most important consumers. Waterbirds foraging and roosting in the rice fields recycled more than 24.1 (1.0 kg·ha{sup −1}) of N and an additional 5.0 tons (0.2 kg·ha{sup −1}) of P in the Extremadura's rice fields during winter. Additionally, we estimated that 2.3 tons of N and 550 kg of P were removed from rice fields and transported to reservoirs. The seasonal foraging of wildlife should result in a direct benefit for rice farmers by improving nutrient recycling through defecation by waterbirds with respect to artificial fertilisation. Additionally, rice fields located in the cranes' core wintering areas can provide sufficient food supply to induce habitat shift from their traditional wintering habitat in ‘dehesas’ to rice fields, which causes indirect socioeconomic benefit through reduced acorn consumption by cranes. Our modelling approach may thus be especially helpful for management decisions regarding rice agroecosystems in areas which are also important

  19. Evaluation of nutritional value some forage species available in Iran ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Novin

    2012-07-17

    Jul 17, 2012 ... and chemical composition of forage species was estimated. MATERIALS AND METHODS ... head per day at 8.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. Forage samples (2 g DM with 2 mm screen ) were weighed into nylon bags ..... methods to study the kinetics of degradation of forage species, instead of the in situ technique, ...

  20. The forager oral tradition and the evolution of prolonged juvenility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scalise Sugiyama, Michelle

    2011-01-01

    The foraging niche is characterized by the exploitation of nutrient-rich resources using complex extraction techniques that take a long time to acquire. This costly period of development is supported by intensive parental investment. Although human life history theory tends to characterize this investment in terms of food and care, ethnographic research on foraging skill transmission suggests that the flow of resources from old-to-young also includes knowledge. Given the adaptive value of information, parents may have been under selection pressure to invest knowledge - e.g., warnings, advice - in children: proactive provisioning of reliable information would have increased offspring survival rates and, hence, parental fitness. One way that foragers acquire subsistence knowledge is through symbolic communication, including narrative. Tellingly, oral traditions are characterized by an old-to-young transmission pattern, which suggests that, in forager groups, storytelling might be an important means by which adults transfer knowledge to juveniles. In particular, by providing juveniles with vicarious experience, storytelling may expand episodic memory, which is believed to be integral to the generation of possible future scenarios (i.e., planning). In support of this hypothesis, this essay reviews evidence that: mastery of foraging knowledge and skill sets takes a long time to acquire; foraging knowledge is transmitted from parent to child; the human mind contains adaptations specific to social learning; full assembly of learning mechanisms is not complete in early childhood; and forager oral traditions contain a wide range of information integral to occupation of the foraging niche. It concludes with suggestions for tests of the proposed hypothesis.

  1. The forager oral tradition and the evolution of prolonged juvenility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle Scalise Sugiyama

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The foraging niche is characterized by the exploitation of nutrient-rich resources using complex extraction techniques that take a long time to acquire. This costly period of development is supported by intensive parental investment. Although human life history theory tends to characterize this investment in terms of food and care, ethnographic research on foraging skill transmission suggests that the flow of resources from old to young also includes knowledge. Given the adaptive value of information, parents may have been under selection pressure to invest knowledge—e.g., warnings, advice--in children: proactive provisioning of reliable information would have increased offspring survival rates and, hence, parental fitness. One way that foragers acquire subsistence knowledge is through symbolic communication, including narrative. Tellingly, oral traditions are characterized by an old-to-young transmission pattern, which suggests that, in forager groups, storytelling might be an important means by which adults transfer knowledge to juveniles. In particular, by providing juveniles with vicarious experience, storytelling may expand episodic memory, which is believed to be integral to the generation of possible future scenarios (i.e., planning. In support of this hypothesis, this essay reviews evidence that: mastery of foraging knowledge and skill sets takes a long time to acquire; foraging knowledge is transmitted from parent to child; the human mind contains adaptations specific to social learning; full assembly of learning mechanisms is not complete in early childhood; and forager oral traditions contain a wide range of information integral to occupation of the foraging niche. It concludes with suggestions for tests of the proposed hypothesis.

  2. European Geothermal Drilling Experience. Problem Areas and Case Studies L'expérience du forage géothermique en Europe. Nature des problèmes et études de cas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baron G.

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Geothermal drilling has long been restricted in Western Europe solely to the dry steam field of Larderello in Italy. In the last few years wider experience has been gained as the consequence of intensified exploration and development programs carried out for evaluation and production of both low- and high-enthalpy geothermal resources. A sample of some 40 boreholes indicates the following problem areas. 1 Low-enthalpy drilling Due to similar settings -hot water system f lowing in sedi-mentary units at temperatures and depths ranging from 40° to 140°C (104° to 284°F and from 1,000 to 3,500 metres (3,281 to 11,484 feet, respectively - the technology here is strongly dependent on oil and gas drilling practice. Still, specific problems remain in the areas of multiple-reservoir reconnaissance and well completion at production and reinjection levels, particularly in poorly consolidated fluvio-deltaic sequences leading to sand control and clay swelling problems. Expertise needs to be developed to minimize costs, secure high production capacities, long lifetimes, and minimum maintenance compatible with the economics and the lack of suitable workover facilities. 2 High-enthalpy drilling Exploratory drilling is currently combining wildcatting and deeper investigations of known fields. Lost circulation, drill string corrosion, tubulars, mud, cementing, and deviation control are the most frequently encountered difficulties while drilling in hostile water-dominated environments. Formation temperatures in excess of 300°C (572°F are often the rule, and recent drilling conducted in voleanic areas have hit fluids approaching the supercritical state. Whenever these problems do not remain under control, they result in rig standby and extra costs which severely penalize an industry which needs sharp improve-ments to be fully reliable and cost effective. Geothermal well stimulation is therefore a field of growing interest, but it lacks adequate procedures

  3. Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Winter Tourism: Challenges for Ski Area Operators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damm, A.; Köberl, J.; Prettenthaler, F.; Töglhofer, C.

    2012-04-01

    Increasing temperatures and snow scarce winter seasons pose a big challenge for the winter tourism industry. Changing natural snow reliability influences tourism demand and ski area operators are faced with an enhanced need of technical snow production. The goal of the present research work is to analyze the economic effects of technical snow production under future climate conditions. Snowmaking as an adaptation strategy to climate change impacts on the ski tourism industry is already taken into consideration in several studies from a scientific perspective concerning snowmaking potentials under future climate conditions and the impacts on ski season length (e.g. Scott et al. 2003; Scott & McBoyle 2007; Hennessy et al. 2008; Steiger 2010). A few studies considered economic aspects of technical snowmaking (e.g. Teich et al. 2007; Gonseth 2008). However, a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits of snowmaking under future climate and snow conditions based on sophisticated climate and snow models has not been carried out yet. The present study addresses the gap of knowledge concerning the economic profitability of prospective snowmaking requirements under future climate scenarios. We carry out a detailed cost-revenue analysis of snowmaking under current and future climate conditions for a case study site in Styria (Austria) using dynamic investment models. The starting point of all economic calculations is the daily demand for artificial snow that determines the requirements for additional snowmaking investments and additional operating costs. The demand for artificial snow is delivered by the snow cover model AMUNDSEN (see Strasser et al. 2011) and is driven by four climate scenarios. Apart from future climate conditions the profitability of snowmaking depends on changes in costs and visitor numbers. The results of a ski tourism demand model analyzing daily visitor numbers and their dependencies of prevailing weather conditions enter the cost-revenue analysis of

  4. Mountain pine beetles and emerging issues in the management of woodland caribou in Westcentral British Columbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deborah Cichowski

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available The Tweedsmuir—Entiako caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou herd summers in mountainous terrain in the North Tweedsmuir Park area and winters mainly in low elevation forests in the Entiako area of Westcentral British Columbia. During winter, caribou select mature lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta forests on poor sites and forage primarily by cratering through snow to obtain terrestrial lichens. These forests are subject to frequent large-scale natural disturbance by fire and forest insects. Fire suppression has been effective in reducing large-scale fires in the Entiako area for the last 40—50 years, resulting in a landscape consisting primarily of older lodgepole pine forests, which are susceptible to mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae attack. In 1994, mountain pine beetles were detected in northern Tweedsmuir Park and adjacent managed forests. To date, mountain pine beetles have attacked several hundred thousand hectares of caribou summer and winter range in the vicinity of Tweedsmuir Park, and Entiako Park and Protected Area. Because an attack of this scale is unprecedented on woodland caribou ranges, there is no information available on the effects of mountain pine beetles on caribou movements, habitat use or terrestrial forage lichen abundance. Implications of the mountain pine beetle epidemic to the Tweedsmuir—Entiako woodland caribou population include effects on terrestrial lichen abundance, effects on caribou movement (reduced snow interception, blowdown, and increased forest harvesting outside protected areas for mountain pine beetle salvage. In 2001 we initiated a study to investigate the effects of mountain pine beetles and forest harvesting on terrestrial caribou forage lichens. Preliminary results suggest that the abundance of Cladina spp. has decreased with a corresponding increase in kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi and other herbaceous plants. Additional studies are required to determine caribou movement and

  5. Carryover effects associated with winter location affect fitness, social status, and population dynamics in a long-distance migrant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedinger, James S; Schamber, Jason L; Ward, David H; Nicolai, Christopher A; Conant, Bruce

    2011-11-01

    We used observations of individually marked female black brant geese (Branta bernicla nigricans; brant) at three wintering lagoons on the Pacific coast of Baja California-Laguna San Ignacio (LSI), Laguna Ojo de Liebre (LOL), and Bahía San Quintín (BSQ)-and the Tutakoke River breeding colony in Alaska to assess hypotheses about carryover effects on breeding and distribution of individuals among wintering areas. We estimated transition probabilities from wintering locations to breeding and nonbreeding by using multistratum robust-design capture-mark-recapture models. We also examined the effect of breeding on migration to wintering areas to assess the hypothesis that individuals in family groups occupied higher-quality wintering locations. We used 4,538 unique female brant in our analysis of the relationship between winter location and breeding probability. All competitive models of breeding probability contained additive effects of wintering location and the 1997-1998 El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event on probability of breeding. Probability of breeding in non-ENSO years was 0.98 ± 0.02, 0.68 ± 0.04, and 0.91 ± 0.11 for females wintering at BSQ, LOL, and LSI, respectively. After the 1997-1998 ENSO event, breeding probability was between 2% (BSQ) and 38% (LOL) lower than in other years. Individuals that bred had the highest probability of migrating the next fall to the wintering area producing the highest probability of breeding.

  6. Carryover effects associated with winter location affect fitness, social status, and population dynamics in a long-distance migrant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedinger, James S.; Schamber, Jason L.; Ward, David H.; Nicolai, Christopher A.; Conant, Bruce

    2011-01-01

    We used observations of individually marked female black brant geese (Branta bernicla nigricans; brant) at three wintering lagoons on the Pacific coast of Baja California—Laguna San Ignacio (LSI), Laguna Ojo de Liebre (LOL), and Bahía San Quintín (BSQ)—and the Tutakoke River breeding colony in Alaska to assess hypotheses about carryover effects on breeding and distribution of individuals among wintering areas. We estimated transition probabilities from wintering locations to breeding and nonbreeding by using multistratum robust-design capture-mark-recapture models. We also examined the effect of breeding on migration to wintering areas to assess the hypothesis that individuals in family groups occupied higher-quality wintering locations. We used 4,538 unique female brant in our analysis of the relationship between winter location and breeding probability. All competitive models of breeding probability contained additive effects of wintering location and the 1997–1998 El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event on probability of breeding. Probability of breeding in non-ENSO years was 0.98 ± 0.02, 0.68 ± 0.04, and 0.91 ± 0.11 for females wintering at BSQ, LOL, and LSI, respectively. After the 1997–1998 ENSO event, breeding probability was between 2% (BSQ) and 38% (LOL) lower than in other years. Individuals that bred had the highest probability of migrating the next fall to the wintering area producing the highest probability of breeding.

  7. Addressing challenges for youths with mobility devices in winter conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales, Ernesto; Lindsay, Sally; Edwards, Geoffrey; Howell, Lori; Vincent, Claude; Yantzi, Nicole; Gauthier, Véronique

    2018-01-01

    Winter-related research about the experience of navigating in the urban context has mostly focused on the elderly population with physical disabilities. The aim of this project was to explore potential design solutions to enhance young people's mobility devices and the built environment to improve accessibility and participation in winter. A multi-method qualitative design process included the following steps: (1) in-depth interviews; (2) photo elicitation; (3) individual co-design sessions; and (4) group co-design sessions (i.e., focus group). The participants were 13 youths (nine males and four females), aged 12-21, who used a wheelchair (12 power chair users and one manual wheelchair), for some with their parents, others without their parents, according to the parents' willingness to participate or not in the study (n = 13). The first two authors conducted group co-design sessions with mechanical engineers and therapists/clinicians in two Canadian cities to discuss the feasibility of the designs. Results (findings): The youths and their parents reported different winter-related challenges and proposed specific design solutions to enhance their participation and inclusion in winter activities. Seven of these designs were presented at two group co-design sessions of therapists/clinicians and engineers. Two designs were found to be feasible: (1) a traction device for wheelchairs in snow and (2) a mat made of rollers to clean snow and dirt from tires. The results of this research highlight the frustrations and challenges youths who use wheelchairs encounter in winter and a need for new solutions to ensure greater accessibility in winter. Therapists/clinicians and designers should address winter-related accessibility problems in areas with abundant snow. Implications for Rehabilitation Several studies show that current urban contexts do not necessarily respond accurately to the needs of individuals with limited mobility. Winter-related research about the

  8. Scavenger: Transparent Development of Efficient Cyber Foraging Applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Mads Darø

    2010-01-01

    delivering efficient, mobile use of remote computing resources through the use of a custom built mobile code execution environment and a new dual-profiling scheduler. One of the main difficulties within cyber foraging is that it is very challenging for application programmers to develop cyber foraging...

  9. Spirit's Winter Work Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-01-01

    [figure removed for brevity, see original site] Annotated Version This portion of an image acquired by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera shows the Spirit rover's winter campaign site. Spirit was parked on a slope tilted 11 degrees to the north to maximize sunlight during the southern winter season. 'Tyrone' is an area where the rover's wheels disturbed light-toned soils. Remote sensing and in-situ analyses found the light-toned soil at Tyrone to be sulfate rich and hydrated. The original picture is catalogued as PSP_001513_1655_red and was taken on Sept. 29, 2006. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo.

  10. Evidence of Levy walk foraging patterns in human hunter-gatherers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raichlen, David A; Wood, Brian M; Gordon, Adam D; Mabulla, Audax Z P; Marlowe, Frank W; Pontzer, Herman

    2014-01-14

    When searching for food, many organisms adopt a superdiffusive, scale-free movement pattern called a Lévy walk, which is considered optimal when foraging for heterogeneously located resources with little prior knowledge of distribution patterns [Viswanathan GM, da Luz MGE, Raposo EP, Stanley HE (2011) The Physics of Foraging: An Introduction to Random Searches and Biological Encounters]. Although memory of food locations and higher cognition may limit the benefits of random walk strategies, no studies to date have fully explored search patterns in human foraging. Here, we show that human hunter-gatherers, the Hadza of northern Tanzania, perform Lévy walks in nearly one-half of all foraging bouts. Lévy walks occur when searching for a wide variety of foods from animal prey to underground tubers, suggesting that, even in the most cognitively complex forager on Earth, such patterns are essential to understanding elementary foraging mechanisms. This movement pattern may be fundamental to how humans experience and interact with the world across a wide range of ecological contexts, and it may be adaptive to food distribution patterns on the landscape, which previous studies suggested for organisms with more limited cognition. Additionally, Lévy walks may have become common early in our genus when hunting and gathering arose as a major foraging strategy, playing an important role in the evolution of human mobility.

  11. Variation in predator foraging behavior changes predator-prey spatio-temporal dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    1. Foraging underlies the ability of all animals to acquire essential resources and, thus, provides a critical link to understanding population dynamics. A key issue is how variation in foraging behavior affects foraging efficiency and predator-prey interactions in spatially-heterogeneous environmen...

  12. Macronutrients leaf contents of corn in intercropping with forages of genus Panicum and Urochloa in simultaneous seeding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denise Tsuzukibashi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The planting of crops in degraded pasture areas is a formula used for decades by farmers to recover the productive capacity of pastures and soils. The integrated crop-livestock (ICL consists of different production systems of grains, fibers, wood, meat, milk and agro-deployed in the same area, in intercrop, rotation or succession. Typically this integration mainly involves the planting of grain and pasture in the recovery or deployment. This work aimed to evaluate the macronutrients leaf contents of irrigated corn intercropped with forages of the genus Panicum and Urochloa simultaneously to sown corn. The experiment was conducted at the Farm for Teaching, Research and Extension, Faculty of Engineering - UNESP, Ilha Solteira in an Oxisol in Savannah conditions, in experimental area that had a history of no-tillage to 8 years (previous crop corn. The experimental design used was randomized blocks with four replications and five treatments: Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania sown simultaneously (CTS corn; Panicum maximum cv. Mombaça sown simultaneously (CMS to corn; Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraes sown simultaneously (CBS corn; Urochloa ruziziensis sown simultaneously (CRS to corn, and corn without intercropping (CWI. The seeds of grasses were sown in spacing of 0.34 m, being sown with a seed drill with disc coulters mounted mechanism for no-tillage system at a depth of 0.03 m. There was no significant difference between the single corn tillage and intercropping with different modalities of forage genus Panicum and Urochloa to the leaf contents of N, P, K, Ca and Mg, demonstrating the non-compete forages with corn in a intercrop on the absorption of these nutrients. In respect to S, CTS presented higher content of S foliar when compared to CWI (Table 1. The absorption of nutrients by corn are not affect by the intercrop with forages of the genus Panicum and Urochloa, in simultaneously sown.

  13. Foraging behavior analysis of swarm robotics system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sakthivelmurugan E.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Swarm robotics is a number of small robots that are synchronically works together to accomplish a given task. Swarm robotics faces many problems in performing a given task. The problems are pattern formation, aggregation, Chain formation, self-assembly, coordinated movement, hole avoidance, foraging and self-deployment. Foraging is most essential part in swarm robotics. Foraging is the task to discover the item and get back into the shell. The researchers conducted foraging experiments with random-movement of robots and they have end up with unique solutions. Most of the researchers have conducted experiments using the circular arena. The shell is placed at the centre of the arena and environment boundary is well known. In this study, an attempt is made to different strategic movements like straight line approach, parallel line approach, divider approach, expanding square approach, and parallel sweep approach. All these approaches are to be simulated by using player/stage open-source simulation software based on C and C++ programming language in Linux operating system. Finally statistical comparison will be done with task completion time of all these strategies using ANOVA to identify the significant searching strategy.

  14. NAA: metals in surface waters, margin sediments, forage and cattle hair in flood plains of the Rio Doce basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vasconcelos, Maria Adelaide R.V., E-mail: madelaide@fumec.br [Universidade Fundacao Mineira de Educacao e Cultura (FUMEC), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Mestrado em Construcao Civil, Meio Ambiente; Barbosa, Ana Flavia S.; Ruckert, Gabriela V., E-mail: mariavasc@unilestemg.br [Centro Universitario do Leste de Minas Gerais (UnilesteMG), Coronel Fabriciano, MG (Brazil). Mestrado em Engenharia Industrial; Menezes, Maria Angela B.C.; Silva, Maria Aparecida, E-mail: menezes@cdtn.br, E-mail: cida@cdtn.br [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Oliveira, Arno H. de, E-mail: heeren@nuclear.ufmg.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

    2011-07-01

    Metals are toxic and can cause damage to human health when they accumulate in the food chain. The aim of this study was to determine Al, As, Ba, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Ta, Th, Ti, U, V and Zn in different samples: surface waters, margin sediments, forages and cattle hairs in the region of the Rio Doce basin. The metals were analyzed by Neutron Activation Analysis - NAA at the Centre for Development of Nuclear Technology of the National Commission of Nuclear Energy - CDTN / CNEN. The sampling sites were taken at two points: P1- (Pingo D'agua - city, Ponte Queimada, in a no industrial area) and P2 - (Santana do Paraiso city, industrial and pasture areas, subject to frequent floods). The samples were collected in different seasons: July 2009 (dry season - winter) and February 2010 (rainy season - summer). These points were strategically chosen because P1 is located into the Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, considered a no industrial pollution region. Contrariwise, P2 is located in a region of high concentration of industries. In (P2) the Doce River receives its most polluted affluent upstream the Piracicaba River which is charged of several pollutants of industries of Steel Valley region, Brazil. In general, the results showed higher concentrations of the elements in P2 riverside area of livestock production and subject to flood. (author)

  15. NAA: metals in surface waters, margin sediments, forage and cattle hair in flood plains of the Rio Doce basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasconcelos, Maria Adelaide R.V.; Oliveira, Arno H. de

    2011-01-01

    Metals are toxic and can cause damage to human health when they accumulate in the food chain. The aim of this study was to determine Al, As, Ba, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Ta, Th, Ti, U, V and Zn in different samples: surface waters, margin sediments, forages and cattle hairs in the region of the Rio Doce basin. The metals were analyzed by Neutron Activation Analysis - NAA at the Centre for Development of Nuclear Technology of the National Commission of Nuclear Energy - CDTN / CNEN. The sampling sites were taken at two points: P1- (Pingo D'agua - city, Ponte Queimada, in a no industrial area) and P2 - (Santana do Paraiso city, industrial and pasture areas, subject to frequent floods). The samples were collected in different seasons: July 2009 (dry season - winter) and February 2010 (rainy season - summer). These points were strategically chosen because P1 is located into the Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, considered a no industrial pollution region. Contrariwise, P2 is located in a region of high concentration of industries. In (P2) the Doce River receives its most polluted affluent upstream the Piracicaba River which is charged of several pollutants of industries of Steel Valley region, Brazil. In general, the results showed higher concentrations of the elements in P2 riverside area of livestock production and subject to flood. (author)

  16. Genetic resources of perennial forage grasses in Serbia: Current state, broadening and evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sokolović Dejan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to historical background of vegetation development, geographical position, climate and relief, Serbia represents one of the 158 world biodiversity centres, based upon the number of plant species and territory size (biodiversity index 0.72. Large areas in Serbia are under natural grasslands and pastures, composed of forage grass species, and important as source of natural plant genetic diversity and germplasm for breeding. These eco-systems represent basic prerequisites for sustainable forage production, but very low potential of them is utilized and genetic resources are not protected. Family Poaceae is present in Serbia flora with 70 genera and among them from the aspect of forage production and quality, the most important are perennial Festuca, Lolium, Dactylis, Phleum, Bromus, Arrhenatherum, Poa and Agrostis species. Most of these grasses have been bred in Serbia and lot of cultivars were released. These cultivars contain autochthonous Serbian material and represent great and important resource of genetic variability. Therefore, collecting of new samples which are acclimatised to local eco-geographical conditions and including them in plant ex situ gene bank is of exceptional importance for further utilization in different plant breeding programmes as well as genetic resources protection. These autochthonous populations have natural variability and very often have satisfactory yielding performance in comparison with introduced cultivars, which referred them for direct phenotypic selection for cultivars release. Broadening of forage grasses genotypes collection is permanent objective of Serbian scientists. Collected accessions are being characterized and evaluated for important phenological, morphological and agronomical traits. In this paper genetic resources of forage grass species, their diversity and potentials, state of the grasses gene banks, as well as possibility for breeding of new cultivars has been analysed.

  17. Why on the snow? Winter emergence strategies of snow-active Chironomidae (Diptera) in Poland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soszyńska-Maj, Agnieszka; Paasivirta, Lauri; Giłka, Wojciech

    2016-10-01

    A long-term study of adult non-biting midges (Chironomidae) active in winter on the snow in mountain areas and lowlands in Poland yielded 35 species. The lowland and mountain communities differed significantly in their specific composition. The mountain assemblage was found to be more diverse and abundant, with a substantial contribution from the subfamily Diamesinae, whereas Orthocladiinae predominated in the lowlands. Orthocladius wetterensis Brundin was the most characteristic and superdominant species in the winter-active chironomid communities in both areas. Only a few specimens and species of snow-active chironomids were recorded in late autumn and early winter. The abundance of chironomids peaked in late February in the mountain and lowland areas with an additional peak in the mountain areas in early April. However, this second peak of activity consisted mainly of Orthocladiinae, as Diamesinae emerged earliest in the season. Most snow-active species emerged in mid- and late winter, but their seasonal patterns differed between the 2 regions as a result of the different species composition and the duration of snow cover in these regions. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient tests yielded positive results between each season and the number of chironomid individuals recorded in the mountain area. A positive correlation between air temperature, rising to +3.5 °C, and the number of specimens recorded on the snow in the mountain community was statistically significant. The winter emergence and mate-searching strategies of chironomids are discussed in the light of global warming, and a brief compilation of most important published data on the phenomena studied is provided. © 2015 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  18. Nutritional Characteristics of Forage Grown in South of Benin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadia Musco

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to provide recommendations on the most useful forage species to smallholder farmers, eleven grass and eleven legume forages grown in Abomey-Calavi in Republic of Benin were investigated for nutritive value (i.e. chemical composition and energy content and fermentation characteristics (i.e. gas and volatile fatty acid production, organic matter degradability. The in vitro gas production technique was used, incubating the forages for 120 h under anaerobic condition with buffalo rumen fluid. Compared to legume, tropical grass forages showed lower energy (8.07 vs 10.57 MJ/kg dry matter [DM] and crude protein level (16.10% vs 19.91% DM and higher cell wall content (neutral detergent fiber: 63.8% vs 40.45% DM, respectively. In grass forages, the chemical composition showed a quite high crude protein content; the in vitro degradability was slightly lower than the range of tropical pasture. The woody legumes were richer in protein and energy and lower in structural carbohydrates than herbaceous plants, however, their in vitro results are influenced by the presence of complex compounds (i.e. tannins. Significant correlations were found between chemical composition and in vitro fermentation characteristics. The in vitro gas production method appears to be a suitable technique for the evaluation of the nutritive value of forages in developing countries.

  19. Effects of Wintering Environment and Parasite-Pathogen Interactions on Honey Bee Colony Loss in North Temperate Regions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suresh D Desai

    Full Text Available Extreme winter losses of honey bee colonies are a major threat to beekeeping but the combinations of factors underlying colony loss remain debatable. We monitored colonies in two environments (colonies wintered indoors or outdoors and characterized the effects of two parasitic mites, seven viruses, and Nosema on honey bee colony mortality and population loss over winter. Samples were collected from two locations within hives in fall, mid-winter and spring of 2009/2010. Although fall parasite and pathogen loads were similar in outdoor and indoor-wintered colonies, the outdoor-wintered colonies had greater relative reductions in bee population score over winter. Seasonal patterns in deformed wing virus (DWV, black queen cell virus (BQCV, and Nosema level also differed with the wintering environment. DWV and Nosema levels decreased over winter for indoor-wintered colonies but BQCV did not. Both BQCV and Nosema concentration increased over winter in outdoor-wintered colonies. The mean abundance of Varroa decreased and concentration of Sacbrood virus (SBV, Kashmir bee virus (KBV, and Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV increased over winter but seasonal patterns were not affected by wintering method. For most viruses, either entrance or brood area samples were reasonable predictors of colony virus load but there were significant season*sample location interactions for Nosema and BQCV, indicating that care must be taken when selecting samples from a single location. For Nosema spp., the fall entrance samples were better predictors of future infestation levels than were fall brood area samples. For indoor-wintered colonies, Israeli acute paralysis virus IAPV concentration was negatively correlated with spring population size. For outdoor-wintered hives, spring Varroa abundance and DWV concentration were positively correlated with bee loss and negatively correlated with spring population size. Multivariate analyses for fall collected samples indicated

  20. Breeding for genetic improvement of forage plants in relation to increasing animal production with reduced environmental footprint.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kingston-Smith, A H; Marshall, A H; Moorby, J M

    2013-03-01

    Animal production is a fundamental component of the food supply chain, and with an increasing global population production levels are set to increase. Ruminant animals in particular are valuable in their ability to convert a fibre-rich forage diet into a high-quality protein product for human consumption, although this benefit is offset by inefficiencies in rumen fermentation that contribute to emission of significant quantities of methane and nitrogenous waste. Through co-operation between plant and animal sciences, we can identify how the nutritional requirements of ruminants can be satisfied by high-quality forages for the future. Selective forage plant breeding has supported crop improvement for nearly a century. Early plant breeding programmes were successful in terms of yield gains (4% to 5% per decade), with quality traits becoming increasingly important breeding targets (e.g. enhanced disease resistance and digestibility). Recently, demands for more sustainable production systems have required high yielding, high-quality forages that enable efficient animal production with minimal environmental impact. Achieving this involves considering the entire farm system and identifying opportunities for maximising nutrient use efficiency in both forage and animal components. Forage crops of the future must be able to utilise limited resources (water and nutrients) to maximise production on a limited land area and this may require us to consider alternative plant species to those currently in use. Furthermore, new breeding targets will be identified as the interactions between plants and the animals that consume them become better understood. This will ensure that available resources are targeted at delivering maximum benefits to the animal through enhanced transformation efficiency.