Effects of winter food supplementation on reproduction, body mass, and numbers of small mammals in montane Australia

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (10) ◽  
pp. 1775-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter B Banks ◽  
Chris R Dickman
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Interference Competition ◽  
Peanut Butter ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Additional Food ◽  
Winter Food ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii

We used a food-supplementation experiment to test the hypothesis that small-mammal populations are food-limited during winter in southeastern Australia. We trapped small mammals along 120- to 150-m transects at 12 creek and 12 ridgetop sites (representing high- and low-quality habitats) for 2 months prior to winter and 2 months during winter. High-quality food (peanut butter, honey, oats, and dried cat food) was provided ad libitum for 7 weeks during winter at four sites in each habitat. Eight sites were provided with empty feeding tubes and eight were untreated. Seven weeks of food supplementation caused numerical increases of 4.0- and 5.0-fold for the rodents Rattus fuscipes and Rattus lutreolus, respectively. Increases were due largely to immigration, and were only observed in the high-quality creek habitats (R. lutreolus were exclusively captured at creek sites). Food supplementation also led to an increase in body mass and reversed the hiatus in winter breeding for rodents. These results suggest that populations of both species are limited by winter food availability. However, survival rates (indexed from recapture rates) were not affected by food supplementation. Mean body mass of the marsupial Antechinus stuartii also increased with food supplementation, but other demographic parameters showed no response; numbers declined at creek sites after additional food was provided. Trapping-revealed measures of interspecific association showed that A. stuartii avoided areas of high rat numbers after additional food was provided. It is thus likely that interference competition from the much larger and more abundant rodents forced A. stuartii out of the food-supplemented creek sites, hence mediating the direct effects of food supplementation on this species.

scholarly journals Effects of Supplemental Food on Parental-Care Strategies and Juvenile Survival of Northern Goshawks

The Auk ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 352-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah R. Dewey ◽  
Patricia L. Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Adult Female ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Mortality Factor ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Juvenile Survival ◽  
Nest Attendance ◽  
Additional Food ◽  
Supplemental Food ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Northern Goshawks

Abstract Using food supplementation, we tested whether food limits juvenile survival in a population of Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) in northeastern Utah. The influence of additional food on female nest attendance also was investigated because those strategies may influence predation mortality rates of juveniles. We provided supplemental food near 13 nests from close to hatching until close to independence during the 1996 and 1997 breeding seasons. Thirteen additional nests served as controls and received no supplemental food. We compared the following variables at treatment and control nests: (1) adult female mass, (2) nestling mass and size, (3) female nest attendance, and (4) juvenile survival. Following supplemental feeding, adult females from treatment nests were heavier than their control counterparts, and remained closer to the nest during the latter part of the nestling period and throughout the postfledging period. Nestlings from supplemented nests were significantly heavier than those from unsupplemented nests, but results for size measurements were equivocal. Survival rates for treatment nestlings were significantly higher than controls in 1997, but not in 1996. Those results support the hypothesis that food does not limit avian reproductive success on an annual basis. Most deaths in 1997 were the result of starvation or sibling competition. That observation, and the fact that fed nestlings were heavier, is consistent with the idea that treatment nestlings were in improved nutritional condition. Overall patterns of mass and nest-attendance for adult female goshawks supports the hypothesis that female condition and behavior are adjusted in response to food supplies. However, it is less clear what role the females' presence in the nest stand plays in mediating juvenile deaths, because we did not document predation as a primary mortality factor during the two years of this study. The apparent flexibility in female nest attendance behavior suggests that such plasticity may be an adaptation to lower the risk of predation.

scholarly journals Correlation of Body Mass Index with Oncologic Outcomes in Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Large Population-Based Study

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3592
Author(s):  
Chong-Chi Chiu ◽  
Chung-Han Ho ◽  
Chao-Ming Hung ◽  
Chien-Ming Chao ◽  
Chih-Cheng Lai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
P Value ◽  
Administrative Claims ◽  
The Impact

It has been acknowledged that excess body weight increases the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC); however, there is little evidence on the impact of body mass index (BMI) on CRC patients’ long-term oncologic results in Asian populations. We studied the influence of BMI on overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and CRC-specific survival rates in CRC patients from the administrative claims datasets of Taiwan using the Kaplan–Meier survival curves and the log-rank test to estimate the statistical differences among BMI groups. Underweight patients (<18.50 kg/m2) presented higher mortality (56.40%) and recurrence (5.34%) rates. Besides this, they had worse OS (aHR:1.61; 95% CI: 1.53–1.70; p-value: < 0.0001) and CRC-specific survival (aHR:1.52; 95% CI: 1.43–1.62; p-value: < 0.0001) rates compared with those of normal weight patients (18.50–24.99 kg/m2). On the contrary, CRC patients belonging to the overweight (25.00–29.99 kg/m2), class I obesity (30.00–34.99 kg/m2), and class II obesity (≥35.00 kg/m2) categories had better OS, DFS, and CRC-specific survival rates in the analysis than the patients in the normal weight category. Overweight patients consistently had the lowest mortality rate after a CRC diagnosis. The associations with being underweight may reflect a reverse causation. CRC patients should maintain a long-term healthy body weight.

scholarly journals Diversity and Diet Differences of Small Mammals in Commensal Habitats

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 346
Author(s):  
Linas Balčiauskas ◽  
Laima Balčiauskienė ◽  
Andrius Garbaras ◽  
Vitalijus Stirkė
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Trophic Ecology ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Additional Food ◽  
Δ13c And Δ15n ◽  
Degree Of Separation ◽  
Kitchen Gardens ◽  
Dietary Plasticity ◽  
The Stability

The stability of diversity of syntopic (inhabiting the same habitat in the same time) small mammals in commensal habitats, such as farmsteads and kitchen gardens, and, as a proxy of their diet, their isotopic niches, was investigated in Lithuania in 2019–2020. We tested whether the separation of species corresponds to the trophic guilds, whether their diets are related to possibilities of getting additional food from humans, and whether their diets are subject to seasonal trends. We analyzed diversity, dominance and distribution of hair δ13C and δ15N values. Diversity and dominance was not stable and differed according to human influence. The highest small mammal species richness occurred in commensal habitats that provided additional food. The degree of separation of species was higher in homestead habitats than in kitchen gardens, where a 1.27 to 35.97% overlap of isotopic niches was observed between pairs of species. Temporal changes in δ13C and δ15N values in the hair of the mammals were not equally expressed in different species. The isotopic overlap may depend on dietary plasticity, minimizing interspecific competition and allowing co-existence of syntopic species. Thus, small mammal trophic ecology is likely related to intensity of agricultural activities in the limited space of commensal habitats.

Effects of logging and fire on small mammals in Mumbulla State Forest, near Bega, New South Wales

1987 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Lunney ◽  
B. Cullis ◽  
P. Eby
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
First Year ◽  
Severe Effect ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes

This study of the effects of logging on small mammals in Mumbulla State Forest on the south coast of New South Wales included the effects of a fire in November 1980 and a drought throughout the study period from June 1980 to June 1983. Rattus fuscipes was sensitive to change: logging had a significant impact on its numbers, response to ground cover, and recapture rate; fire had a more severe effect, and drought retarded the post-fire recovery of the population. The three species of dasyurid marsupials differed markedly in their response to ground cover, canopy cover, logging and fire. Antechinus stuartii was distributed evenly through all habitats and was not affected by logging, but fire had an immediate and adverse effect which was sustained by the intense drought. A. swainsonii markedly preferred the regenerating forest, and was not seen again after the fire, the failure of the population being attributed to its dependence on dense ground cover. Sminthopsis leucopus was found in low numbers, appeared to prefer forest with sparse ground cover, and showed no immediate response to logging or fire; its disappearance by the third year post-fire suggests that regenerating forest is inimical to the survival of this species. Mus musculus showed no response to logging. In the first year following the fire its numbers were still very low, but in the next year there was a short-lived plague which coincided with the only respite in the 3-year drought and, importantly, occurred in the intensely burnt parts of the forest. The options for managing this forest for the conservation of small mammals include minimising fire, retaining unlogged forest, extending the time over which alternate coupes are logged and minimising disturbance from heavy machinery.

Powerline Easements: Do They Promote Edge Effects in Eucalypt Forest for Small Mammals?

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
Robert J. Whelan
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Edge Effects ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Vegetative Cover ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
Hair Sampling ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii

The distribution and abundance of small terrestrial mammals were assessed in forest adjacent to powerline easements at three different sites in New South Wales. At each site, four transects of 300 m length extended into the forest from the edge of the easement. The abundances of two native species (Antechinus stuartii, Rattus fuscipes) did not differ significantly with distance from the easement but abundances differed markedly among sites. Mammals were captured in only one easement where dense vegetation was present. Feral carnivores, which may mediate edge effects on small mammals, were surveyed by using hair-sampling tubes. Cats and dogs were detected only 50–200 m inside the forest. Foxes were not detected by hair-tubes but were observed on two easements. These results suggest that powerline easements may not create edge effects in eucalypt forest for some native mammal species, although further studies are needed to determine the generality of this conclusion. We recommend that easement management should be more benign to native mammals, given the ubiquity of this form of habitat fragmentation. Promotion of dense vegetative cover and habitat linkages within easements could achieve this.

Parental allocation of additional food to own health and offspring growth in a variable environment

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Karell ◽  
Hannu Pietiäinen ◽  
Heli Siitari ◽  
Tuomo Pihlaja ◽  
Pekka Kontiainen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Blood Parasites ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Additional Food ◽  
Variable Environment ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Offspring Growth ◽  
Future Reproduction ◽  
Food Conditions

Life-history theory predicts increased investment in current reproduction when future reproduction is uncertain and a more balanced investment in current and future reproduction when prospects for both are good. The outcome of the balance in parental allocation depends on which life-history component maximizes the fitness benefits. In our study system, a 3-year vole cycle generates good prospects of current and future reproduction for Ural owls ( Strix uralensis Pallas, 1771) in increase vole phases and uncertain prospects in decrease vole phases. We supplementary-fed Ural owls during the nestling period in 2002 (an increase phase) and 2003 (a decrease phase), and measured offspring growth, parental effort, and physiological health by monitoring haematocrit, leucocyte profiles, intra- and inter-celluar blood parasites, and (in 2003) humoral antibody responsiveness. Food supplementation reduced parental feeding rate in both years, but improved a female parent’s health only in 2002 (an increase phase) and had no effects on males in either year. Nevertheless, supplementary-fed offspring reached higher asymptotic mass and fledged earlier in both years. Furthermore, early fledging reduced offspring exposure to blood-sucking black flies (Diptera, Simuliidae) in the nest. We discuss how parental allocation of resources to current and future reproduction may vary under variable food conditions.

scholarly journals Neuroprognostication of Cardiac Arrest Patients: Outcomes of Importance

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (06) ◽  
pp. 775-784
Author(s):  
Tobias Cronberg
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Arrest ◽  
Vegetative State ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Cognitive Difficulties ◽  
Cardiac Arrest Survivor ◽  
Chain Of Survival ◽  
Quality Decision ◽  
Improved Methods

AbstractDuring the last two decades, survival rates after cardiac arrest have increased while the fraction of patients surviving with a severe neurological disability or vegetative state has decreased in many countries. While improved survival is due to improvements in the whole “chain of survival,” improved methods for prognostication of neurological outcome may be of major importance for the lower disability rates. Patients who are resuscitated and treated in intensive care will die mainly from the withdrawal of life-sustaining (WLST) therapy due to presumed poor chances of meaningful neurological recovery. To ensure high-quality decision-making and to reduce the risk of premature withdrawal of care, implementation of local protocols is crucial and should be guided by international recommendations. Despite rigorous neurological prognostication, cognitive impairment and related psychological distress and reduced participation in society will still be relevant concerns for cardiac arrest survivors. The commonly used outcome measures are not designed to provide information on these domains. Follow-up of the cardiac arrest survivor needs to consider the cardiovascular burden as an important factor to prevent cognitive difficulties and future decline.

A new kind of surgery for a new kind of war: gunshot wounds and their treatment in the British Civil Wars

2018 ◽  
pp. 57-77
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Rutherford
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Gunshot Wounds ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Treatment Methods ◽  
Surgical Practice ◽  
The Way

This chapter examines the medical challenges posed by the increased number of gunshot wounds during the civil wars, and sets out the changes in the way these wounds were treated. The treatment of battlefield wounds expounded in surgeons’ manuals, is placed in context with what we now understand about the biology, pathology and effective treatment methods for wounds. The techniques used by the civil-war surgeon are compared with those of later periods. Despite a lack of understanding of microbiology, physiology and, in many cases, anatomy, many methods employed by civil-war military surgeons reflect good contemporary surgical practice. Despite the lack of antibiotics, anaesthetics, hygienic environments and high-quality surgical implements, survival rates from injuries on the field arrear to have been considerable, if treated. In developing treatments for the problems posed by gunshot wounds, some civil-war surgeons used an evidence-based approach, and laid the foundations for much modern surgical practice.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document