Giraffe nursing behaviour reflects environmental conditions

Behaviour ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 154 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markéta Gloneková ◽  
Pavla Jůnková Vymyslická ◽  
Magdalena Žáčková ◽  
Karolína Brandlová
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Large Area ◽  
The Difference

Nursing behaviour is one component of mammalian life history strategy that demonstrates context-dependent flexibility within species. Wild giraffes live in groups and feed themselves over large area. In the zoo, giraffes are kept in enclosures with abundant food resources. We aimed to analyse whether the nursing behaviour of giraffes differs between the zoo and nature reserve and discuss which factor (food intake, presence of predators, population density) can explain the difference. We observed seven and four female–calf pairs in the Bandia reserve, Senegal, and in Prague Zoo, Czech Republic, respectively. Nursing bouts were less frequent and longer and calves were less successful in nursing solicitations in the reserve, as females there seemed to be more selective for nursing times and locations, likely due to presence of predators and differences in food intake. Allonursing occurred more frequently in the zoo which can be attributed to higher population density in captive conditions.

Life history strategy of Lepraria borealis at an Antarctic inland site, Coal Nunatak

2010 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas ENGELEN ◽  
Peter CONVEY ◽  
Sieglinde OTT
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Sequence Polymorphism ◽  
Internal Transcribed Spacer Region ◽  
The West ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Dna Sequence Polymorphism ◽  
Antarctic Continent ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractCoal Nunatak is an ice-free inland nunatak located on southern Alexander Island, adjacent to the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Situated close to the Antarctic continent, it is characterized by harsh environmental conditions. Macroscopic colonization is restricted to micro-niches offering suitable conditions for a small number of lichens and mosses. The extreme environmental conditions place particular pressures on colonizers. Lepraria borealis is the dominant crustose lichen species present on Coal Nunatak, and shows distinctive features in its life history strategy, in particular expressing unusually low selectivity of the mycobiont towards potential photobionts. To assess selectivity, we measured algal DNA sequence polymorphism in a region of 480–660 bp of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA. We identified three different photobiont species, belonging to two different genera. We interpret this strategy as being advantageous in facilitating the colonization and community dominance of L. borealis under the isolation and extreme environmental conditions of Coal Nunatak.

Smelling the future: subtle life-history adjustments in response to environmental conditions and perceived transmission opportunities in a trematode

Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. LAGRUE ◽  
R. RINNEVALLI ◽  
R. POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Definitive Host ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Host Density ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Priming Effects

SUMMARYA number of parasites with complex life cycles can abbreviate their life cycles to increase the likelihood of reproducing. For example, some trematodes can facultatively skip the definitive host and produce viable eggs while still inside their intermediate host. The resulting shorter life cycle is clearly advantageous when transmission probabilities to the definitive hosts are low. Coitocaecum parvum can mature precociously (progenesis), and produce eggs by selfing inside its amphipod second intermediate host. Environmental factors such as definitive host density and water temperature influence the life-history strategy adopted by C. parvum in their crustacean host. However, it is also possible that information about transmission opportunities gathered earlier in the life cycle (i.e. by cercariae-producing sporocysts in the first intermediate host) could have priming effects on the adoption of one or the other life strategy. Here we document the effects of environmental parameters (host chemical cues and temperature) on cercarial production within snail hosts and parasite life-history strategy in the amphipod host. We found that environmental cues perceived early in life have limited priming effects on life-history strategies later in life and probably account for only a small part of the variation among conspecific parasites. External cues gathered at the metacercarial stage seem to largely override potential effects of the environmental conditions experienced by early stages of the parasite.

scholarly journals Differences in spawning time of captive Atlantic cod from four regions of Norway, kept under identical conditions

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håkon Otterå ◽  
Ann-Lisbeth Agnalt ◽  
Knut E. Jørstad
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Genetic Control ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Spawning Period ◽  
Life History Parameters ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Spawning Time ◽  
The Difference

Abstract Several hundred Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) were collected from selected spawning grounds along the Norwegian coast in March 2002. Four areas or regions that represent a wide range of environmental conditions were chosen for our breeding experiments: Porsangerfjord, Tysfjord, Helgeland, and Øygarden. Cod were transported to Øygarden near Bergen, individually tagged, and kept in sea cages. In both 2003 and 2004, a total of 40 family groups (adult pairs) representing the four regions were monitored for their spawning performance in separate tanks. During the spawning period, the quantity and diameter of eggs were recorded. During 2003, the time of peak spawning differed among groups. It was evident that the broodstock from the Øygarden region spawned about one month earlier than the broodstock collected from the Helgeland region. This also occurred in 2004, two years after the cod were collected, suggesting that the difference has a genetic component. Differences in life history parameters between cod populations, such as spawning cycles as described here, could be adaptive and under genetic control. This must be taken into consideration when assessing precautionary means of overcoming the problem with escapees from future cod mariculture.

The crowded life is a slow life: Population density and life history strategy.

2017 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. 736-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Sng ◽  
Steven L. Neuberg ◽  
Michael E. W. Varnum ◽  
Douglas T. Kenrick
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Life History Strategy

Spatial structuring of an evolving life-history strategy under altered environmental conditions

Oecologia ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 172 (4) ◽  
pp. 1017-1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens C. Hegg ◽  
Brian P. Kennedy ◽  
Paul M. Chittaro ◽  
Richard W. Zabel
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Spatial Structuring

scholarly journals NATURAL SPECIFIES AND ECOLOGICAL TOURISM AT THE NATURE RESERVE “SLAVKOVSKIY LES” (forest named after Slavkovskiy)

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Bolshanik ◽  
Svetlana Kusnezova
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Agricultural Activities ◽  
The West ◽  
Anthropogenic Changes ◽  
Landscape Features ◽  
Natural Park ◽  
Protected Territory ◽  
Ecological Tourism

The summery. In this paper the environmental conditions, the sources, the landscape features of protected territory Slavkovskiy les are discussed. The territory is placed on the West of Czech Republic. The review of geographical researches of this region has been given. The main compounds which affect on natural complexes of Slavkovskiy Les formation have been characterized. Also a particular consideration is given to characterizing the vegetation and processes of anthropogenic changes of region landscapes. The main ways of vegetation transformation which had been caused by agricultural activities, plants introduction and changes of runoff pattern have been differentiated. The characteristic of natural areas of preferential protection is proposed. The necessity of nature reserve status preservation has been substantiated. A usage of Natural Park for ecological tourism (eco-tourism) is analyzed.

The biogeography of human diversity in life history strategy.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurelio José Figueredo ◽  
Steven C. Hertler ◽  
Mateo Peñaherrera-Aguirre
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Human Diversity
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