scholarly journals Life-stage and sex influence Philornis ectoparasitism in a Neotropical woodpecker (Melanerpes striatus) with essential male parental care

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Burke LaPergola
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Sex Influence ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Overnight Incubation ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Host Life

The nestlings of many Neotropical bird species suffer from Philornis (Diptera: Muscidae) ectoparasitism. While nestlings are typically considered the intended targets, recent work indicates that Philornis infest adult birds more frequently than previously appreciated, yet few studies have concurrently surveyed nestlings and adults for Philornis in the same population. Over six field seasons (2012 to 2017), I documented the presence of current or recent subcutaneous Philornis infestations on adult and nestling Hispaniolan Woodpeckers (Melanerpes striatus) from the same population. I tested the following three non-mutually exclusive hypotheses regarding occurrence of Philornis on adult birds: (1) nestlings are more vulnerable to Philornis parasitism than adults, (2) nesting is associated with Philornis parasitism in adults, and (3) Philornis parasitism is associated with incubation and brooding investment. While nestling and adult woodpeckers exhibited similar prevalence of parasitism, parasitized nestlings hosted on average 3.5 times more Philornis wounds (larvae plus scars) than parasitized adults. Nesting per se was not significantly associated with parasitism among adults, as breeding and non-breeding adults showed similar prevalence and intensity. However, adult males, which perform overnight incubation and brooding, were significantly more likely to be parasitized than adult females. This last result supports the hypothesis that incubation and brooding investment increase the risk of Philornis parasitism for adults, but this conclusion is complicated by the lack of an association between parasitism and nesting status. Together, these results raise questions about the degree of host life-stage specialization and whether adult parasitism is incidental or part of an alternative parasitic strategy for Philornis.

scholarly journals Abundance, placement and sexual identity of the epizoic barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria relative to the size and species of host turtles in Mabul Island, Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (8) ◽  
pp. 1299-1309
Author(s):  
Kah Kheng Lim ◽  
Muhammad Ali Syed Hussein ◽  
Pushpa Palaniappan
Keyword(s):  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Chelonia Mydas ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Marine Fauna ◽  
Eretmochelys Imbricata ◽  
Acorn Barnacle ◽  
Host Life

AbstractSea turtles are partners in commensal relationships with a variety of epibionts, including barnacles. The acorn barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria is one species commonly found associated with sea turtles and other marine fauna throughout temperate to tropical waters including the Indo-Pacific. We conducted a study to assess the occurrence of this barnacle, relative to host life stage and species in a mixed foraging population of green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles (juvenile, sub-adult, adults (female and male)) in Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia (Celebes Sea). Expecting similar relative abundance by life stage, we found instead a significant effect between the combined dependent variables (abundance and size of barnacles) and the life stages of sea turtles in Mabul after controlling for the covariates of size and species of sea turtles (F(8, 428) = 5.77, P < 0.001, Pillai = 0.19). Among green turtles with barnacles, though adult males had larger barnacles compared with the female turtles, the mean barnacle abundance on adult females (43.4 individuals ± 5.19 SD) was higher than all other life stages. Most of the barnacles (85.6%; N = 1931) were found on the plastron of the sea turtles. The highest number of barnacle reacquisition was found among the juvenile turtles. In assessing the complemental males of the barnacles, we found they were consistently attached to the shells of the larger of the hermaphrodites from each region of the host's body despite average shell-size differences with each region.

Experimentally increased costs of parental care are shunted to offspring in species with extended care

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gretchen F. Wagner ◽  
Emeline Mourocq ◽  
Michael Griesser
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Total Duration ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Experimental Treatment ◽  
Cost Of Care ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Trade Offs

Biparental care systems are a valuable model to examine conflict, cooperation, and coordination between unrelated individuals, as the product of the interactions between the parents influences the fitness of both individuals. A common experimental technique for testing coordinated responses to changes in the costs of parental care is to temporarily handicap one parent, inducing a higher cost of providing care. However, dissimilarity in experimental designs of these studies has hindered interspecific comparisons of the patterns of cost distribution between parents and offspring. Here we apply a comparative experimental approach by handicapping a parent at nests of five bird species using the same experimental treatment. In some species, a decrease in care by a handicapped parent was compensated by its partner, while in others the increased costs of care were shunted to the offspring. Parental responses to an increased cost of care primarily depended on the total duration of care that offspring require. However, life history pace (i.e., adult survival and fecundity) did not influence parental decisions when faced with a higher cost of caring. Our study highlights that a greater attention to intergenerational trade-offs is warranted, particularly in species with a large burden of parental care. Moreover, we demonstrate that parental care decisions may be weighed more against physiological workload constraints than against future prospects of reproduction, supporting evidence that avian species may devote comparable amounts of energy into survival, regardless of life history strategy.

Two new species and taxonomic notes on the Neotropical spiny orb-weaving spi-ders Micrathena and Chaetacis (Araneae: Araneidae), with remarks on the development of Micrathena excavata IVAN L. F. MAGALHÃES & ADALBERTO J. SANTOS (Brazil)

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2983 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
IVAN L. F. MAGALHÃES ◽  
ADALBERTO J. SANTOS
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Junior Synonym ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
Brazilian Amazonia ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
Senior Synonym ◽  
First Time

In this paper, M. yanomami n. sp., from Brazilian Amazonia, Chaetacis bandeirante n. sp., from Central Brazil, and the males of M. gaujoni Simon, 1897 and M. ruschii (Mello-Leitão, 1945) n. comb. , respectively from Ecuador and Brazil, are described and illustrated for the first time. An ontogenetic series of the last development stages of both sexes of Micrathena excavata (C. L. Koch, 1836) is illustrated and briefly described. Adult females are larger and have longer legs and larger abdomens than adult males. Probably females undergo at least one additional moult before adulthood, compared to males. Micrathena ornata Mello-Leitão, 1932 is considered a junior synonym of M. plana (C. L. Koch, 1836), and M. mastonota Mello-Leitão 1940 is synonymized with M. horrida (Taczanowski, 1873). Acrosoma ruschii Mello-Leitão, 1945 is revalidated, transferred to Micrathena and considered a senior synonym of M. cicuta Gonzaga & Santos, 2004. Chaetacis necopinata (Chickering, 1960) is recorded for Brazil for the first time. Chaetacis incisa (Walckenaer, 1841) is considered a nomen dubium.

Spacing, movements, and habitat selection of the river otter in boreal Alberta

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 1314-1324 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Reid ◽  
T. E. Code ◽  
A. C. H. Reid ◽  
S. M. Herrero
Keyword(s):  
Lontra Canadensis ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Movement Rates ◽  
River Otters ◽  
Aquatic Mammal ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Bog Lakes ◽  
Selection Of

Seasonal spacing patterns, home ranges, and movements of river otters (Lontra canadensis) were studied in boreal Alberta by means of radiotelemetry. Adult males occupied significantly larger annual home ranges than adult females. Males' ranges overlapped those of females and also each other's. In winter, home ranges of males shrank and showed less overlap. Otters often associated in groups, the core members typically being adult females with young, or adult males. Otters tended to be more solitary in winter. In winter, movement rates of all sex and age classes were similar, and much reduced for males compared with those in other seasons. These data indicated a strong limiting effect of winter ice on behaviour and dispersion. We tested the hypothesis that otters select water bodies in winter on the basis of the suitability of shoreline substrate and morphology for dens with access both to air and to water under ice. Intensity of selection was greatest in winter, with avoidance of gradually sloping shorelines of sand or gravel. Adults selected bog lakes with banked shores containing semi-aquatic mammal burrows, and lakes with beaver lodges. Subadults selected beaver-impounded streams. Apart from human harvest, winter habitats and food availability in such habitats are likely the two factors most strongly limiting otter density in boreal Alberta.

Time-Budgets of Camargue Horses Ii. Time-Budgets of Adult Horses and Weaned Sub-Adults

Behaviour ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 72 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 26-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Social System ◽  
General Trend ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Time Budgets ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Young Horses

AbstractTime-budgets of adult and weaned sub-adult horses were studied in a small population of Camargue horses living in semi-liberty. The categories of activities used were: Standing resting, Lying flat, Lying up, Standing alert, Walking, Trotting, Galloping, Rolling and Foraging. The main differences in time-budgets were related to age and to sex : young horses spent more time lying (sleeping), males spent more time standing alert and in rapid movements (trot, gallop), while usually foraging less than did the adult females. During the three years of the study the population increased from 20 to 54 horses and there were considerable changes in social structure as the number of adult males increased. Associated with these developments there were some changes between years in the time-budgets: the most striking of which was a general trend for all horses to spend less time lying. Nonetheless the time-budgets showed a considerable constancy across years and age/sex-classes, especially with regard to time spent foraging. This conclusion may provide a clue as to why horses have an unusual social system based on long term relationships between a male and the females of his harem.

Extrinsic Inter- and Intra-specific Competition in Parasitoid Wasps

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Ode ◽  
Dhaval K. Vyas ◽  
Jeffrey A. Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Interference Competition ◽  
Apparent Competition ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Alternate Host ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Behavioral Mechanisms

The diverse ecology of parasitoids is shaped by extrinsic competition, i.e., exploitative or interference competition among adult females and males for hosts and mates. Adult females use an array of morphological, chemical, and behavioral mechanisms to engage in competition that may be either intra- or interspecific. Weaker competitors are often excluded or, if they persist, use alternate host habitats, host developmental stages, or host species. Competition among adult males for mates is almost exclusively intraspecific and involves visual displays, chemical signals, and even physical combat. Extrinsic competition influences community structure through its role in competitive displacement and apparent competition. Finally, anthropogenic changes such as habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, pollutants, and climate change result in phenological mismatches and range expansions within host–parasitoid communities with consequent changes to the strength of competitive interactions. Such changes have important ramifications not only for the success of managed agroecosystems, but also for natural ecosystem functioning. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Entomology, Volume 67 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

INFANTICIDE

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-90
Author(s):  
Martin Harris
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Population Control ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
American Museum ◽  
Relative Value ◽  
Demographic Survey ◽  
Female Children ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Per Se

According to a demographic survey of over 600 primitive populations carried out by William T. Divale of the American Museum of Natural History, there is an extraordinary consistent imbalance of boys over girls in the junior and infant age ranks (up to about 15 years old). [Divale says] that many primitive groups follow a practice of overt female infanticide. Female children are suffocated or simply left unattended in the bush. But more often infanticide is covert, and people usually deny that they practice it.... Warfare inverts the relative value of the contribution made by males and females to a group's prospects for survival. By placing a premium upon maximizing the number of combat-ready adult males, warfare obliges primitive societies to limit their nurturance of females. It is this, and not combat per se, that makes warfare an effective means of controlling population growth.... Lacking any safe and effective means of contraception or abortion, primitive peoples must focus their institutionalized means of population control on individuals who are already alive. Children are the logical victims of these efforts—the younger the better—since number one, they can't resist; number two, there is less of a social and material investment in them; and number three, the emotional ties to infants are easier to cut than those between adults. Anyone who finds my reasoning depraved or "uncivilized" should read about eighteenth-century England. Gin-soaked mothers by the tens of thousands regularly dropped their babies into the Thames or wrapped them in the clothing of smallpox victims, left them in trash barrels, rolled over on top of them during drunken stupors, and otherwise contrived to shorten their babies' lives by direct or indirect means.

Observations on social behaviour of Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus (L.)) during terrestrial haul-out

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Salter
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Age Composition ◽  
Body Contact ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Odobenus Rosmarus

Social interactions in walrus herds of mixed sex and age composition were recorded at a haul-out site on the east coast of Bathurst Island, N.W.T., during July–August 1977. Most walruses maintained body contact with at least one other walrus while hauled out on land; herds were usually circular in shape. Adult males, adult females, and immatures all displaced other walruses, and thus entered herds, by jabbing with the tusks. Dominance during agonistic interactions was related to relative tusk length and sex and age of interactants. Behaviour of walruses on land suggested an energetic advantage in mutual body contact, which would be maximized by occupation of interior positions within herds.

scholarly journals The Influence of Age, Sex, Pregnancy, Starvation, and Other Factors on the Cytoplasmic Ribonucleoproteins of Rat Liver

1958 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 771-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary L. Petermann ◽  
Mary G. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Rat Liver ◽  
Liver Tissue ◽  
Microsomal Protein ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Differential Centrifugation ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Analytical Ultracentrifuge ◽  
Total Rna ◽  
Adult Females

Rat liver was homogenized in 0.88 M sucrose. The DNA and total RNA were determined, and the homogenate was fractionated by differential centrifugation. The pellets obtained between 30 minutes at 20,000 g and 180 minutes at 105,000 g were analyzed for RNA and nitrogen. The ribonucleoproteins were determined in the analytical ultracentrifuge. The non-pellet RNA was calculated by difference. The results are reported as amounts per 6.7 x 10-9 mg. of DNA. In young, growing male rats the amounts of microsomal protein and ribonucleoprotein B (83S) increased with age. Non-pregnant adult females showed less non-pellet RNA and much more ribonucleoprotein C (63S) than did adult males. During pregnancy both of these cell constituents reverted to levels characteristic for male animals. Starvation for 5 days resulted in a reduction in the mass of liver tissue, the non-pellet RNA, the microsomal protein, and ribonucleoproteins B and C. During recovery from starvation the return of the liver to normal paralleled the rate at which body weight was restored. Treatment with cortisone, 25 mg. per rat per day for 5 days, caused an increase in microsomal protein and a decrease in ribonucleoprotein B. Treatment with 6-mercapto-purine, 50 mg. per kilo per day for 5 days, caused little change in liver composition in either males or females.

scholarly journals Population census and age category character of Stump-tailed macaque, Macaca arctoides, in Northern Peninsular Malaysia

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
SYAMIL ABD RAHMAN ◽  
MOHD-RIDWAN ABD RAHMAN ◽  
AMSAH MOHD ARIF ◽  
MUHAMMAD ABDUL-LATIFF ABU BAKAR ◽  
BADRUL MUNIR MD ZAIN
Keyword(s):  
Population Data ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Population Census ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Malay Peninsula ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Macaca Arctoides ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Pelage Coloration ◽  
Age Category

Abstract. Syamil AR, Mohd-Ridwan AR, Amsah MA, Abdul-Latiff MAB, Md-Zain BM. 2019. Population census and age category character of Stump-tailed macaque, Macaca arctoides, in Northern Peninsular Malaysia. Biodiversitas 20: 2446-2452. Macaca arctoides is reported to be distributed only in the northern part of Malay Peninsula. Intensive scientific observations have never been carried out before on this neglected macaque in the northern range. Thus, in this article, an estimation of population data on the Malaysian stump-tailed macaques that were found in Wang Kelian forest areas in Perlis State Park, Malaysia is presented. Intensive field observations were conducted from Sept 2018 to January 2019 with scanning sampling. The study revealed a total of 171-176 stump-tailed macaques, consisting of 44 (25%) adult males, 28 (16%) adult females, 19-22 (11%) sub-adult males, 16-19 (10%) sub-adult females, 43 (25%) juveniles, and 21-23 (13%) infants. Two main groups were observed, which were the Nomad and the Batat groups. Their ranging areas appear to sometimes overlap each other, while some Nomad members were observed in the Batat group. The age structure can be differentiated through body size and pelage coloration. The stump-tailed macaque populations in Wang Kelian are sensitive to human presence, while their habitat area is threatened by human illegal poaching activities. More conservation efforts are needed to conserve this neglected macaque from local extinction.

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