scholarly journals Going underwater: multiple origins and functional morphology of piercing-sucking feeding and tracheal system adaptations in water scavenger beetle larvae (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgina Rodriguez ◽  
Martin Fikáček ◽  
Yȗsuke N Minoshima ◽  
Miguel Archangelsky ◽  
Patricia L M Torres
Keyword(s):  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Sem Analysis ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Aquatic Habitats ◽  
Tracheal System ◽  
Multiple Origins ◽  
Key Innovation ◽  
Evolutionary Aspects ◽  
Character Mapping

Abstract Larvae of water scavenger beetles (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea) are adapted to a wide variety of aquatic habitats, but little is known about functional and evolutionary aspects of these adaptations. We review the functional morphology and evolution of feeding strategies of larvae of the families Hydrophilidae and Epimetopidae based on a detailed scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, analysis of video records of feeding behaviour and observations of living larvae. There are two main types of feeding mechanisms: chewing and piercing-sucking. The character mapping using the latest phylogenetic hypothesis for Hydrophiloidea infers the chewing system as the ancestral condition. The piercing-sucking mechanism evolved at least four times independently: once in Epimetopidae (Epimetopus) and three times in Hydrophilidae (Berosini: Berosus + Hemiosus; Laccobiini: Laccobius group; Hydrobiusini: Hybogralius). The piercing-sucking apparatus allows underwater extra-oral digestion and decreases the dependence of larvae on an aerial environment. A detailed study of the tracheal morphology of the piercing-sucking lineages reveals four independent origins of the apneustic respiratory system, all of them nested within lineages with piercing-sucking mouthparts. We conclude that piercing-sucking mouthparts represent a key innovation, which allows for the subsequent adaptation of the tracheal system, influences the diversification dynamics of the lineages and allows the shift to new adaptive zones.

Orofacial morphology and feeding behaviour of the dugong, Amazonian, West African and Antillean manatees (Mammalia: Sirenia): functional morphology of the muscular-vibrissal complex

2003 ◽  
Vol 259 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher D. Marshall ◽  
Hiroshi Maeda ◽  
Matsumitsu Iwata ◽  
Masami Furuta ◽  
Shiro Asano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
West African ◽  
Antillean Manatees

The influence of feeding strategies on the attendance of cows to an automatic milking system, and their effects on lying and feeding behaviour

1996 ◽  
Vol 1996 ◽  
pp. 78-78
Author(s):  
N.B. Prescott ◽  
T.T.F. Mottram ◽  
A.J.F. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
The Other ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Alternative Design ◽  
Milk Cows ◽  
Automatic Milking System ◽  
Automatic Milking ◽  
Effect Of Feeding

An automatic milking system (AMS) has the potential to milk cows when the cow chooses. However cows must attend the system at an appropriate frequency. The provision of food in the AMS is a robust, way of luring cows into the system. The system can be arranged such that the cows have to visit the AMS to access food in the exit area the other side. Here they can be fed forage or concentrate. It has been shown that feeding cows forage as a lure can result in modified forage feeding behaviour, and this may be to the detriment of the cows (Winter, 1993, Ketelaar-de-Lauwere, 1992). Feeding concentrate in the exit area may be an alternative design if the level of attendance generated is high enough. Cows can also be fed concentrate in the milking stall of the AMS. The aim of this experiment was to compare die effects of feeding forage or concentrate in the exit area and the effect of feeding or not feeding concentrate in the milking stall on attendances, and lying and feeding behaviour.

Electroreception and the feeding behaviour of platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus : Monotremata: Mammalia)

1995 ◽  
Vol 347 (1322) ◽  
pp. 359-381 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Electrical Pulse ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Directional Sensitivity ◽  
Electrical Noise ◽  
Faraday Cage ◽  
Electrical Fields ◽  
Ornithorhynchus Anatinus ◽  
First Time ◽  
Freshwater River

It has previously been shown that platypus are sensitive to small electrical fields. It was predicted that platypus use their electrosensitivity to locate the source of foodstuffs on the bottom of the freshwater river systems in which they live, because the platypus are nocturnal, and close their eyes, ears and nostrils while underwater. In this paper we demonstrate for the first time that platypus are indeed sensitive to electrical waveforms that imitate the electromyogenic potential’s of fleeing prey, and following stimulation show interest in area surrounding the electrodes. We also show that platypus respond with a reflex after stimulation with a square wave, and show that this reflex is directionally tuned to the origin of the electrical pulse, with a preferential sensitivity axis 40 times more sensitive than non-preferred axes. The strong directional sensitivity explains previous discrepancies in the lowest threshold for platypus electroreception, which we find to be 50 μV cm -1 . Platypus are also sensitive to galvanic fields. We present the data in the light of standardized feeding strategies of the platypus, and discuss the integration of the findings into these feeding strategies. We surrounded our platypus enclosure with a Faraday cage, thereby eliminating excess electrical noise, a suggested new addition to the husbandry regime of platypus.

scholarly journals Diurnal feeding strategies of the Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) in Lake Tonga (Northeastern Algeria)

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalil Draidi ◽  
Badis Bakhouche ◽  
Naouel Lahlah ◽  
Imed Djemadi ◽  
Mourad Bensouilah
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Time Budget ◽  
Search Time ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Northeastern Algeria ◽  
Foraging Time ◽  
Minor Activity

Abstract Although the Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) has thoroughly been studied, the foraging behaviour of this species is still not completely known. In the present paper we studied the diurnal feeding behaviour of ducks. We monitored the annual cycle of birds through two fieldtrips per month. The instantaneous behaviour of birds was recorded in regular 30-minute intervals from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., amounting a total of 456 observation hours. Food searching activity corresponds to a quarter of the total diurnal time budget of the Ferruginous Duck. Foraging behaviour was classified into five categories dominated by the “diving”, which is almost 45.61% of the total search time. Foraging activities at the water surface considered to be secondary activities, including feeding by “bill”, “neck and head”, and “beak and head” in a rate of 19.86%, 14.53%, and 13.98%, respectively. The “toggle” remains a minor activity and represents only 5.99% of foraging time. The feeding behaviour of this species correlated to several environmental parameters (rainfall, temperature and wind velocity), and linked to the group size of ducks visiting the lake. Regarding the food intensity, our results show the highest values for “bill and head” behaviour. “Diving” has the longest feeding interval (16.16±14.1 minutes), while foraging by “bill” has the shortest (0.69 ± 0.48 minutes).

All post- Cambrian ichnospecies of Psammichnites Torell, 1870 belong to Olivellites Fenton and Fenton, 1937a

2021 ◽  
pp. SP522-2021-102
Author(s):  
Pablo J. Pazos ◽  
Carolina Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Tidal Flat ◽  
Host Rock ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Late Ordovician ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Bathymetric Range ◽  
The Usa

AbstractThe ichnogenus Psammichnites herein restricted to Psammichnites gigas is based on comparison of morphology, feeding behaviour, contrast between the burrows and the host rock and possible producers. The record of siphonal activity as a “snorkel device” is discussed. The diagnosis of the ichnogenus Olivellites now is amended and includes all the records of Psammichnites in the post-Cambrian. Olivellites is now documented in successions other than the classical tidal flat deposits facies of the Carboniferous of the USA. We propose that the producer of Olivellites was an animal with capacity for displacement to different shallow infaunal levels for different feeding strategies. An interpretation of detritus feeding behavior with sediment displacement (pasichnia) is favoured here. The producer of Olivellites was likely to have been a bivalved mollusc that evolved after the Late Ordovician mass extinction. It was euryhaline and lived in a broad bathymetric range, and is recorded in temperate to glacially related successions. The material of Olivellites implexus from western Argentina is the youngest record of the ichnogegenus from Western Gondwana.

scholarly journals Comparative study of feeding behaviour of five Mugilidae species juveniles from two estuarine systems in the North Aegean Sea

2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioanna Salvarina ◽  
Emmanuil Koutrakis ◽  
Ioannis Leonardos
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Juvenile Fish ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Estuarine System ◽  
North Aegean ◽  
Estuarine Systems ◽  
North Aegean Sea

Food is an important factor for the survival of juvenile fish. Knowledge of the diet of co-existing species helps clarify their relationships with each other. A number of Mugilidae species are known to co-exist in estuarine systems, raising the question of whether they compete for food resources. The feeding behaviours of five juvenile Mugilidae species were studied in the estuaries of Strymonikos (North Aegean Sea) using stomach content analysis. It was found that the species Chelon labrosus, Liza saliens and Mugil cephalus presented high feeding activity during summer and autumn and L. ramada and L. aurata during winter and spring. The diet overlap between the species was generally moderate to low and the pair L. saliens – M. cephalus exhibited the highest overlap in Richios estuarine system. The species do not appear to compete for common resources, probably because there is not always a spatiotemporal overlap, enough food is available or they exploit different resources. Four out of the five species exhibited similar patterns of feeding strategies with varying levels of specialization at an individual level and a rather generalized pattern at the population level. This more generalized feeding strategy may permit them to co-exist. Only M. cephalus showed a more specialized feeding behaviour, with a strong preference for microalgae. The absence of a general pattern for the trophic levels according to seasons, sizes or locations, also imply the opportunistic character of the species. Both season and fish size influenced the variation in the diet composition.

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

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

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

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