Flexible energetics of cheetah hunting strategies provide resistance against kleptoparasitism

Science ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 346 (6205) ◽  
pp. 79-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Scantlebury ◽  
Michael G. L. Mills ◽  
Rory P. Wilson ◽  
John W. Wilson ◽  
Margaret E. J. Mills ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Viability ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Hunting Strategies ◽  
Direct Competition ◽  
Daily Energy ◽  
Balancing Energy ◽  
Individual Survival ◽  
Power Outputs ◽  
Wild Dogs ◽  
Increased Activity

Population viability is driven by individual survival, which in turn depends on individuals balancing energy budgets. As carnivores may function close to maximum sustained power outputs, decreased food availability or increased activity may render some populations energetically vulnerable. Prey theft may compromise energetic budgets of mesopredators, such as cheetahs and wild dogs, which are susceptible to competition from larger carnivores. We show that daily energy expenditure (DEE) of cheetahs was similar to size-based predictions and positively related to distance traveled. Theft at 25% only requires cheetahs to hunt for an extra 1.1 hour per day, increasing DEE by just 12%. Therefore, not all mesopredators are energetically constrained by direct competition. Other factors that increase DEE, such as those that increase travel, may be more important for population viability.

Conservation and health of Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi)

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Shima ◽  
Lee Berger ◽  
Lee F. Skerratt
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Animals ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Population Viability ◽  
Population Status ◽  
Far North ◽  
Wild Tree ◽  
Wild Dogs ◽  
Tick Paralysis ◽  
Dendrolagus Lumholtzi ◽  
Conservation And Management

Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) is an iconic species in far north Queensland yet little is known about its health or population status. Studies on this species have been conducted in a limited number of locations and focused primarily on ecology, habitat use and home-range size. The species is relatively common in the Atherton Tablelands but habitat loss, predation by domestic, feral and wild dogs, vehicle strike, low fecundity, and disease have been identified as threats to the population. We review knowledge of population ecology and threats for this species, and include a novel collation of disease reports on all tree-kangaroos with particular reference to Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo. Health of Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo appears to be impacted by the increase in humans and domestic animals in their range. There have been reports of melioidosis, toxoplasmosis, tick paralysis and blindness in wild tree-kangaroos. We identify where increased information on health and population viability will improve conservation and management of the species.

Winter energy expenditure and the distribution of southern flying squirrels

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2548-2555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Stapp ◽  
Peter J. Pekins ◽  
William W. Mautz
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Current Distribution ◽  
Basal Metabolism ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Daily Energy Expenditure ◽  
Flying Squirrels ◽  
Tree Cavities ◽  
Daily Energy

The southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) forms large aggregations inside nest-lined tree cavities to reduce exposure to winter temperatures. We measured oxygen consumption of individuals and grouped flying squirrels in Plexiglas and nest-box chambers in New Hampshire to determine savings provided by huddling and nest construction. Because G. volans breeds during late winter, we also measured energy expenditure of females during gestation and lactation. These data were used to construct daily energy budgets for flying squirrels during winter and to investigate the relationship between this species' cold tolerance and its current distribution. Flying squirrels had lower basal metabolism (0.95 cm3 O2∙g−1∙h−1) and rate of heat loss (0.11 cm3 O2∙g−1∙h−1∙ °C−1) than predicted according to mass. Peak reproductive costs (1 week postparturition) were 170% of nonbreeding requirements. At 9 °C, huddling in groups of three and six reduced energy expenditure by 27 and 36%, respectively. Compared with individuals without nests, nest insulation decreased heat loss by 37% for single squirrels and reduced lower critical temperature from 26.5 to 12.2 °C for groups of six. As estimated from our budget, aggregating reduces winter daily energy expenditure by 26–33%. At the northern range boundary, daily expenditure for squirrels using both aggregations and nests (2.5 times basal metabolism) and for females during peak lactation (3.9 times basal metabolism) was similar to estimates of maximal daily energy expenditure in the literature. We speculate that additional thermoregulatory costs and the decreased abundance of hard mast for winter caches prevent G. volans from occupying areas north of its current distribution.

Daily Energy Budgets in Environmental Fluids

1965 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 363-370
Author(s):  
Jacob Verduin
Keyword(s):  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Daily Energy

scholarly journals Daily Energy Budgets of Avian Embryos: The Paradox of the Plateau Phase in Egg Metabolic Rate

1998 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurine W. Dietz ◽  
Meep van Kampen ◽  
Marcel J. M. van Griensven ◽  
Sijmen van Mourik
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Plateau Phase ◽  
Avian Embryos ◽  
Daily Energy

scholarly journals Nocturnal torpor by superb fairy-wrens: a key mechanism for reducing winter daily energy expenditure

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 20190211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex B. Romano ◽  
Anthony Hunt ◽  
Justin A. Welbergen ◽  
Christopher Turbill
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Resting Metabolic Rate ◽  
Resting Energy Expenditure ◽  
Active Phase ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Specific Rate ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Daily Energy ◽  
Malurus Cyaneus

Many passerine birds are small and require a high mass-specific rate of resting energy expenditure, especially in the cold. The energetics of thermoregulation is, therefore, an important aspect of their ecology, yet few studies have quantified thermoregulatory patterns in wild passerines. We used miniature telemetry to record the skin temperature ( T skin ) of free-living superb fairy-wrens ( Malurus cyaneus , 8.6 g; n = 6 birds over N = 7–22 days) and determine the importance of controlled reductions in body temperature during resting to their winter energy budgets. Fairy-wrens routinely exhibited large daily fluctuations in T skin between maxima of 41.9 ± 0.6°C and minima of 30.4 ± 0.7°C, with overall individual minima of 27.4 ± 1.1°C (maximum daily range: 14.7 ± 0.9°C). These results provide strong evidence of nocturnal torpor in this small passerine, which we calculated to provide a 42% reduction in resting metabolic rate at a T a of 5°C compared to active-phase T skin . A capacity for energy-saving torpor has important consequences for understanding the behaviour and life-history ecology of superb fairy-wrens. Moreover, our novel field data suggest that torpor could be more widespread and important than previously thought within passerines, the most diverse order of birds.

scholarly journals Steve G. Fancy; Daily energy budgets of caribou: a simulation approach

Rangifer ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Sven Skjenneberg (ed.)
Keyword(s):  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Simulation Approach ◽  
Daily Energy ◽  
The University

S.G. Fancy successfully defended his Ph.D. Thesis, «Daily energy budgets of caribou: a simulation approach», at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, on March 12, 1986.

Diving costs as a component of daily energy budgets of aquatic birds and mammals: generalizing the inclusion of dive-recovery costs demonstrated in tufted ducks

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (12) ◽  
pp. 2131-2142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joep J. de Leeuw
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Energy Costs ◽  
Doubly Labelled Water ◽  
Usual Practice ◽  
Tufted Duck ◽  
Allometric Relations ◽  
Metabolic Costs ◽  
Daily Energy ◽  
Different Types

Metabolic studies on freely diving birds and mammals are reviewed and allometric relations of diving costs are presented. A distinction can be made between three different types of diving costs: (1) metabolic rate during submergence, relevant in estimating aerobic dive limits, (2) average metabolic rate during diving and breathing intervals (MRd), and (3) diving costs as the excess over resting costs (EDC). EDC is the most comprehensive measure, integrating energy costs over entire dive series with subsequent longer term recovery from heat loss or anaerobic metabolism. Respirometry experiments with tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) diving in a 5.7 m deep indoor tank demonstrated that in this species diving costs, expressed as EDC, increased at lower water temperatures. MRd was not significantly related to temperature, and probably reflects only the hydrodynamic and not the thermoregulatory component of diving costs. In general, the usual practice of measuring metabolic costs only during diving activity seems insufficient to estimate the total costs of diving. Studies that include longer term recovery (e.g., doubly labelled water measurements over entire foraging trips) yield more complete estimates of diving costs. To take diving costs into account in an animal's energy budget, estimates of EDC are more appropriate than MRd.

scholarly journals 31° South: Dietary niche of an arid-zone endemic passerine

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ângela M. Ribeiro ◽  
Ben Smit ◽  
M. Thomas P. Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Prey Availability ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Arid Ecosystems ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Sufficient Energy ◽  
Balancing Energy ◽  
Dietary Plasticity ◽  
Dietary Niche ◽  
Different Populations

ABSTRACTBalancing energy budgets is thought to be challenging for birds living in arid ecosystems because food supplies are low and unpredictable, and climatic conditions extreme. Thus, to ensure they obtain sufficient energy to fuel daily energetic budgets, birds may need to adjust their diets and become less selective (generalist) as conditions become harsher. To test this hypothesis, we used DNA metabarcoding to characterize both the prey availability and the dietary content of several conspecific populations of a semi- and arid-endemic insectivorous bird, the Karoo-scrub-robin (Cercotrichas coryphaeus) across a climatic gradient. Our results showed that Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, and Lepidoptera were the main prey. When accounting for their presence as available prey, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera were preferred in all regions, whereas robins avoided Orthoptera and Lepidoptera in all but the most arid region. Although the different populations live in regions that vary with regards to productivity and thermoregulatory demands, we found that the dietary niche breadth (Bs) of the three populations was intermediate to low, and did not differ significantly. As a whole, our findings show that regardless of environmental harshness these insectivores have similar dietary niches, suggesting that large dietary plasticity is fundamental for their survival in energy-depauperated ecosystems.

scholarly journals Nocturnal Behavior of the Common Loon, Gavia immer

2008 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Paruk
Keyword(s):  
Night Vision ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Single Pair ◽  
Gavia Immer ◽  
Complete Understanding ◽  
Large Lakes ◽  
Common Loons ◽  
Nocturnal Behavior ◽  
Daily Energy ◽  
The Common

Very little is known about nocturnal activity of Common Loons (Gavia immer). Knowledge of both diurnal and nocturnal behavior is needed to gain a complete understanding of their ecology. I used night vision light intensifiers to observe nocturnal behaviors of Common Loons. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that, as visual predators, loons would not forage at night and also that they would spend the majority of their time resting (92%). Loons, however, were just as active locomoting (patrolling) during the night as they were during the day. This suggests daily energy budgets need to be reexamined to incorporate this overlooked aspect of loon behavior. Lastly, loons on large lakes with multiple loon territories spent more time locomoting than loons on lakes that had just a single pair.

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