From carrion to Christmas beetles: the broad dietary niche of the red fox in a hybrid coastal ecosystem in south-eastern Queensland

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. O'Connor ◽  
Sanjeev K. Srivastava ◽  
Neil W. Tindale ◽  
Scott E. Burnett
Keyword(s):  
Food Item ◽  
Red Fox ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Terrestrial Arthropods ◽  
Ghost Crabs ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Crab Abundance ◽  
Dietary Niche ◽  
Important Food Item

The diet of the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) was investigated through analysis of 1185 scats collected between 2010 and 2014 from coastal south-east Queensland, Australia. By both frequency of occurrence and volume, its diet was dominated by terrestrial arthropods, marine arthropods, vegetation and birds, although the remains of the short-tailed shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris) consumed as carrion dominated the latter. Terrestrial arthropods, primarily insects of the order Coleoptera, were eaten all year (61% frequency of occurrence, FO) but varied seasonally (35–67%FO), mostly due to the consumption of large numbers of Christmas beetles (Anoplognathus spp.) in the summer months. Marine arthropods consisted almost entirely of ghost crabs (Ocypode spp.) and seasonal variation in consumption was evident (33–72%FO) and likely correlated with ghost crab abundance. Fruit and berries were an important food item for foxes all year but also varied seasonally (30–65%FO). The opportunistic diet of this fox population is discussed in the context of dietary differences, but common opportunism, reported in other Australian and overseas studies.

Feeding behaviour of the yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis) at the western edge of its range

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Carthew ◽  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
Darryl L. Funnell
Keyword(s):  
Sap Flow ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Food Item ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Ecological Requirements ◽  
South West ◽  
Petaurus Australis ◽  
Important Food Item

This study provides the first assessment of the diet of the yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis) in the south-west portion of its range near the Victorian–South Australian border. Examining its diet in this region is viewed as being fundamental to understanding the ecological requirements of the species. Observations were conducted over a five-year period on gliders from five distinct groups. Sap was the most important food item throughout the year and accounted for 83% of 407 feeding observations. Each group of gliders used up to 21 different trees for sap, but during any sample period only 1–8 trees were used. This represents a vastly different pattern of use of sap trees to that described in any earlier study. Some trees were visited more often than others, and these tended to be heavily scarred, indicating use over many years. Other food types were arthropods and honeydew and, to a lesser extent, nectar. This study also revealed that the yellow- bellied glider is not dependent on a diversity of tree species nor on a winter-flowering species. We provide a review of the diet of the yellow-bellied glider throughout its range. This shows that the yellow-bellied glider is reliant on sap as a food resource but particularly so at both ends of its geographic range. The reason for this is unclear, but there is definitely a need for further study of sap-flow patterns in eucalypts.

scholarly journals Recent declines in benthic macroinvertebrate densities in Lake Ontario

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J Lozano ◽  
Jill V Scharold ◽  
Thomas F Nalepa
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Macroinvertebrates ◽  
Food Item ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Benthic Food Web ◽  
Benthic Food ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Detrimental Impact ◽  
Important Food Item

Surveys of benthic macroinvertebrates conducted in Lake Ontario during 1994 and 1997 revealed recent declines in populations of three major taxonomic groups: Oligochaeta, Sphaeriidae, and Diporeia spp. (Amphipoda), with the most drastic reductions occurring in the latter. Results from sediment measurements were used to classify deepwater sediments into three habitat zones. Densities of all three taxa declined in the shallowest (12–88 m) of the sediment zones between 1994 and 1997; the greatest changes in density were observed for Diporeia, which declined from 3011 to 145 individuals·m–2, and for total benthic macroinvertebrates, which declined from 5831 to 1376 individuals· m–2. Mean densities of Dreissena spp. in 1997 were highest in the shallowest zone, and the areas of greatest densities corresponded to areas of largest reductions in Diporeia populations. We believe that dreissenids are competing with Diporeia by intercepting the supply of fresh algae essential for Diporeia survival. A decline in macroinvertebrate densities, especially populations of an important food item such as Diporeia, in Lake Ontario sediments at depths of 12–88 m may have a detrimental impact on the benthic food web.

scholarly journals Some Biological and Morphological Aspects for Coptodon Zillii(Gervais, 1848) Inhabiting at Al- Tharthar Arm-Tigris River North of Baghdad,Iraq

2021 ◽  
Vol 910 (1) ◽  
pp. 012070
Author(s):  
Nehad K. Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Food Item ◽  
Condition Factor ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Morphometric Measurements ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Tigris River ◽  
Morphological Aspects ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Important Food Item

Abstract Somebiological aspects and morphological for Coptodon zillii inhabiting at Al-Tharthar Arm-Tigris River were studied during the period from April to September 2016. The growth pattern was positive allometric with (b) values for males 3.392, females 3.192, and for combined sexes 3.30. Condition factor values were lower than one and increased with size rangesbetween1.265and1.984 with an average of 1.665for combined sexes.Fish considered as herbivorous, six food items found in the diet, filament algae was the most important food item that occupied 57.84% of the diet, followed by plants particles' and their seeds 27.08% and organic materials 12.38%. The percentage of food items by both methods differed between sexes. The research cover, the ratios of each of twenty morphometric measurements to total length, and each of four morphometric measurements to head length and their linear regression equations. All the length-length relationships between standard length and the others measurements were highly correlated.

scholarly journals Evidence of terrestrial feeding in the arboreal lizard Enyalius bilineatus (Sauria, Polychrotidae) of south-eastern Brazil

2001 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. ZAMPROGNO ◽  
M. das G. F. ZAMPROGNO ◽  
R. L. TEIXEIRA
Keyword(s):  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Food Item ◽  
Prey Type ◽  
Foraging Strategy ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Food Items ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Brazil ◽  
Important Food Item

The diet of the arboreal lizard E. bilineatus was assessed based on analysis of gut contents of specimens collected in the remnants of the Atlantic rainforest in Espírito Santo State, south-eastern Brazil. Stomachs of the lizards examined (SVL = 57.0-85.0 mm) contained nine arthropod orders. E. bilineatus utilizes a broad range of arthopodan prey type and sizes, and can be considered an arthropod generalist, which uses a sit-and-wait foraging strategy. Orthoptera represented the most important food item, followed by Dictyoptera and Hymenoptera. Hemiptera, Homoptera, Lepidoptera (larvae), Coleoptera, Araneae, and Diplopoda constituted the remainder of food items. The presence of Diplopoda, which are not generally found on tree trunks, provides particularly strong evidence the E. bilineatus forages in leaf litter on the ground.

Food habits of the freshwater catfish, Tandanus tandanus Mitchell, in the Gwydir River, Australia, and effects associated with inpoundment of this river by the Copeton Dam

1977 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 455 ◽  
Author(s):  
TLO Davis
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Food Habits ◽  
Food Item ◽  
Aquatic Invertebrates ◽  
Ontogenetic Changes ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Filling Phase ◽  
Important Food Item

The composition of the diet of T. tandanus was investigated in the Gwydir River before and during inundation of the river by the Copeton Dam. Decapods (Macrobrachiurn australiense and Chevax neopunctatus) were the most important component of the diet by weight, followed by chironomids, fish (Hypseleotris klunzingeri) and miscellaneous aquatic invertebrates. Although fish have not previously been recorded in the diet, they were found to be very important in the diet of small catfish (40% by weight). Ontogenetic changes in the diet were pronounced with a general progression: Entomostraca-Diptera-fish-Decapoda. There was a tendency for larger fish to prefer larger prey. A direct and significant relationship was observed between the size of catfish and the size of M. australiense and C. neopunctatus eaten. Investigation of the seasonal variation in the composition of the diet revealed that M. australiense was the most important food item in summer and chironomids were most abundant in winter. During the filling phase of the dam a high proportion of terrestrial organisms (up to 52%) were included in the diet. Successional blooms of species, not observed in the diet previously, accompanied stabilization of the water level; these included pulmonate snails and dipterans associated with a massive build-up of floating hydrophytes.

Bloody Cockles: a novel and important food item for Whimbrels in the Banc d’Arguin

Wader Study ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo Carneiro ◽  
Tómas G. Gunnarsson ◽  
José A. Alves
Keyword(s):  
Food Item ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Banc D’Arguin ◽  
Important Food Item ◽  
Banc D'arguin

scholarly journals Diet of Iheringichthys labrosus (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae) in the Ibicuí River, Southern Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila K. Fagundes ◽  
Everton R. Behr ◽  
Carla B. Kotzian
Keyword(s):  
Food Item ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Sampling Point ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Lotic Environment ◽  
Lotic Environments ◽  
Iheringichthys Labrosus ◽  
Uruguay River ◽  
Important Food Item

The diet of the benthic-feeding fish Iheringichthys labrosus (Lütken, 1874) was analyzed. Samples were taken bimonthly from December 1999 to January 2002, in three sites of the Ibicuí River, a tributary of Uruguay River basin (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). In each sampling point the specimens were collected in lentic and lotic environments. Gillnets and trammel nets were examined every 6 hours (6h, 12h, 18h and 24h). Diet description was based on the frequency of occurrence and the volume of each food item to obtain the Alimentary Index (IAi). The average stomach fullness was adopted to detect variations in the feeding activity according to the season, the circadian rhythm and the environment. Chironomids were the most important food item, followed by mollusks, and feeding activity was highest in summer, during daylight (6h and 12h), and in the lotic environment of the second sampling point.

PARTICIPAÇÃO COMUNITÁRIA NA PRESERVAÇÃO DE PRAIAS PARA REPRODUÇÃO DE QUELÔNIOS NA RESERVA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTÁVEL MAMIRAUÁ, AMAZONAS, BRASIL

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augusto Fachín Terán
Keyword(s):  
Food Item ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Political Support ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Podocnemis Expansa ◽  
Nesting Beaches ◽  
Important Food Item

At Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, river turtles are exploited by local traditional populations for decades. The nadequate use of this resource caused a striking decrease of the natural populations. Podocnemis expansa was the most affected species, followed by P. unifilis and P. sextuberculata. As a consequence, environmental authoryties introduced legal regulation, asm means to protect the most exploited species. At Mamirauá Reserve, the first step tow ards the participation of local population in the preservation of turtles was taken at the IV General Assembly of Mamirauá, where representatives of the nine sectors of villages that make Mamirauá Focal Area listed nesting beaches, and each sector selected at least one of them to be fully protected. In 1998 were recorded 272 nests at Horizonte beach: 261 of P. sextuberculata, 5 of P. unifilis and 6 of P. expansa; at Pirapucu beach 306 nests were recorded: 298 of P. sextuberculata and 8 of P. unifilis. Community participation can provide not only local political support, and lower costs for garding and enforcement of conservation rules, but also assures preservation of várzea biodiversity and maintenance of an important food item of local importance.

scholarly journals The Silent Forest: Impact of Bird Hunting by Prehistoric Polynesians on the Decline and Disappearance of Native Avifauna in Hawai’i

Geographies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-216
Author(s):  
Francisco L. Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Food Item ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Native Hawaiians ◽  
Geographical Range ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Forest Impact ◽  
Important Food Item

This research focuses on the historical demise of Hawaiian avifauna due to hunting by ancient Polynesians. Numerous documents, published since the early 1800s, were scrutinized and evaluated; these provided information on bird hunting and traditional Hawaiian practices. Hawaiians used birds as sources of feathers and food. Feathers were important symbols of power for Polynesians; in Hawai’i, feathers were more highly prized than other types of property. Feathers used for crafts were obtained from at least 24 bird species, however, the golden feathers of ‘ō‘ō and mamo birds made them primary targets for birdhunters; both birds became extinct by the late 1800s. Feathers were utilized for many items, including ‘ahu‘ula [cloaks], mahiole [war helmets], and kāhili [standards]. Most garments utilized a considerable number of feathers; a cloak for Kamehameha consumed the golden feathers of 80,000 mamo birds. Bird meat was an important food item for native Hawaiians. It is believed that most birds were killed after being plucked; historical sources mention ~30 bird species were consumed. The ‘ua‘u (Pterodroma sandwichensis), a currently endangered seabird, was ruthlessly hunted and avidly eaten. Its current geographical range is just a minute fraction of its former one; now, ‘ua‘us are largely restricted to inaccessible cliffs at Haleakalā Crater (Maui).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document