scholarly journals Behavioral responses of tadpoles of Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Anura: Bufonidae) to cues of starved and fed dragonfly larvae

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-98
Author(s):  
Santosh M. Mogali ◽  
Srinivas K. Saidapur ◽  
Bhagyashri A. Shanbhag

Behavioral responses of tadpoles of Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Anura: Bufonidae) to cues of starved and fed dragonfly larvae. Tadpoles of Duttaphrynus melanostictus use chemoreception to detect kairomonal cues and excretory metabolites from predatory anuran tadpoles (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus) that consume them. We describe here the behavioral responses of tadpoles of D. melanostictus to predatory dragonfly larvae (Pantala flavescens). The predator’s kairomones (water conditioned by the starved predator) or its diet-derived metabolites released in excreta of predator after consumption of conspecific prey tadpoles were used to simulate predation risk. The tadpoles of D. melanostictus had no behavioral response to predator kairomones. However, the larvae reduced swimming movements and overall time spent in swimming, and had a higher burst speed/swimming velocity in response to water borne cues released from the excreta of predators fed conspecific prey. Thus, just the presence of dragonfly larvae does not elicit defense behaviors in tadpoles of D. melanostictus, but when predation risk is recognized as real (i.e., when tadpoles are exposed to excretory metabolites of predators fed conspecific tadpoles), defense behaviors are activated.

2013 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 669-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik J. Kleven ◽  
Mazhar Waseem

Abstract We develop a framework for nonparametrically identifying optimization frictions and structural elasticities using notches—discontinuities in the choice sets of agents—introduced by tax and transfer policies. Notches create excess bunching on the low-tax side and missing mass on the high-tax side of a cutoff, and they are often associated with a region of strictly dominated choice that would have zero mass in a frictionless world. By combining excess bunching (observed response attenuated by frictions) with missing mass in the dominated region (frictions), it is possible to uncover the structural elasticity that would govern behavior in the absence of frictions and arguably capture long-run behavior. We apply our framework to tax notches in Pakistan using rich administrative data. While observed bunching is large and sharp, optimization frictions are also very large as the majority of taxpayers in dominated ranges are unresponsive to tax incentives. The combination of large observed bunching and large frictions implies that the frictionless behavioral response to notches is extremely large, but the underlying structural elasticity driving this response is nevertheless modest. This highlights the inefficiency of notches: by creating extremely strong price distortions, they induce large behavioral responses even when structural elasticities are small.


1976 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 959-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry M. Dean ◽  
Frank N. Willis ◽  
James M. La Rocco

Reactions to the invasion of personal space in terms of age, sex, and race of the invaders were investigated. Children, grouped by sex (male and female), race (black and white), and age (5, 8, and 10 yr. old), invaded the personal space of 192 adults grouped by sex (male and female) and race (black and white). The six types of behavioral responses were: avoidance, aggression, exploratory behavior, facilitative behavior, excess motor activity, and failure to respond. Responses to personal space invasion were not affected by sex. Blacks responded more often than whites but did not differ with regard to any particular type of behavioral response. Age of the invader had a significant effect on type of response given by adults whose personal space was invaded. It was concluded that the age of the invader was much more important than race or sex in determining the response to invasion of personal space.


Ecosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e02141 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Gulsby ◽  
Michael J. Cherry ◽  
James T. Johnson ◽  
L. Mike Conner ◽  
Karl V. Miller

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kemal Jemal ◽  
Berhanu Senbeta Deriba ◽  
Tinsae Abeya Geleta

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant psychological impact on health care workers (HCWs). Therefore, this study inspects the mental health status, behavioral response, and perception among HCWs (nurses, physicians, and medical laboratory workers) during the COVID-19 pandemic in public health care facilities.Methods: A facilities-based cross-sectional study was conducted in July 2020. A simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data were collected by self-report administered questionnaires using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression, General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) for insomnia, Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) for psychological distress, Perceived Threat Scale for perception, and Behavioral Response Inquiry for the behavioral response. Moreover, bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions analysis was used to identify the association between dependent and independent variables at p-value <0.05.Results: A total of 417 (98.6%) HCWs responded to a self-administered questionnaire. The proportion of HCWs who had moderate to severe symptoms of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic were 58, 16.3, 30.7, and 15.9%, respectively. Three-fifth of the nurses, medical laboratory professionals (62.2%), and physicians (59.2%) had reported good behavioral responses toward the COVID-19 pandemic. More than three-fifths of the nurses had reported poor perception toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversely, 61.2% of physicians and three-fourths (75.5%) of medical laboratory professionals had reported good perception toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Female and married participants, those working in the emergency unit, those with poor behavioral responses, and those with poor perception toward the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly associated with symptoms of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.Conclusions: Psychological impacts among physicians, nurses, and medical laboratory professionals are high during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health should aim to protect all HCWs' psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic with appropriate interventions and accurate information response.


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul K. Abram ◽  
Antonino Cusumano ◽  
Katrina Abram ◽  
Stefano Colazza ◽  
Ezio Peri

BackgroundHabituation, a form of non-associative learning, has several well-defined characteristics that apply to a wide range of physiological and behavioral responses in many organisms. In classic patch time allocation models, habituation is considered to be a major mechanistic component of parasitoid behavioral strategies. However, parasitoid behavioral responses to host cues have not previously been tested for the known, specific characteristics of habituation.MethodsIn the laboratory, we tested whether the foraging behavior of the egg parasitoidTrissolcus basalisshows specific characteristics of habituation in response to consecutive encounters with patches of host (Nezara viridula) chemical contact cues (footprints), in particular: (i) a training interval-dependent decline in response intensity, and (ii) a training interval-dependent recovery of the response.ResultsAs would be expected of a habituated response, wasps trained at higher frequencies decreased their behavioral response to host footprints more quickly and to a greater degree than those trained at low frequencies, and subsequently showed a more rapid, although partial, recovery of their behavioral response to host footprints. This putative habituation learning could not be blocked by cold anesthesia, ingestion of an ATPase inhibitor, or ingestion of a protein synthesis inhibitor.DiscussionOur study provides support for the assumption that diminishing responses of parasitoids to chemical indicators of host presence constitutes habituation as opposed to sensory fatigue, and provides a preliminary basis for exploring the underlying mechanisms.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5744 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Carroll ◽  
Morgan B. Church ◽  
Christopher M. Finelli

The salt marsh periwinkle, Littorina irrorata, exhibits a spatial refuge from predation by climbing the stems of Spartina alterniflora in order to avoid benthic predators. Salt marsh periwinkles have a broad geographic distribution, and for many species, responses to predators also varies with biogeography. This study sought to determine if the geographical location of the home marsh influenced the response of periwinkles (climbing height) to blue crab predator cues both via air and water. Snails from Louisiana (LA) climbed higher in general than those from North Carolina (NC), regardless of chemical cue. However, LA snails climbed 11 cm higher in the presence of waterborne predators than control snails with no cue, while NC snails only climbed five cm higher in the same comparisons. Airborne chemical cue tended to have snails climbing at intermediate heights. These responses were significantly enhanced when both populations of snails were housed together. Periwinkle response to predator cues was stronger in LA than NC, and so it is possible that the behavioral response of these snails to predators varies with biogeography of the home marsh. Also interestingly, the results of this study also suggest that cue delivery is probably occurring via mechanisms other than water, and potentially via airborne cues. Therefore, salt marsh periwinkles likely respond to numerous cues that initiate behavioral responses, including airborne cues, and these responses may vary by home-marsh geography.


Ecology ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 1535-1545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. McPeek ◽  
Margaret Grace ◽  
Jean M. L. Richardson

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 3321-3334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle A. Duval ◽  
Angelica M. Calzetta ◽  
Dan Rittschof

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