Breeding behaviour of ectotherms at high latitudes: the case of the natterjack toad Epidalea calamita at its northern range limit

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Linda Saare ◽  
Riinu Rannap
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Breeding Behaviour ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Northern Range Limit

Abstract We explored the breeding behaviour of a threatened amphibian, the natterjack toad, at its northern range limit in Estonia, to determine the extent to which reproduction is affected by harsh and unstable climatic conditions. Using photo identification of specimens, we found that in optimal weather conditions males formed three breeding cohorts, while in adverse conditions only a single cohort occurred and under extreme conditions reproduction was skipped entirely. During the extended breeding season, larger males participated in reproduction throughout the breeding period, while smaller males appeared in later cohorts. Breeding success was related to the calling effort of a male, where larger males had greater mating success than smaller ones. We found that the natterjack toad males exhibit significant plasticity in reproductive behaviour at the northern range limit, which, given the energetic cost of reproduction and the increased risk of predation, allows them to increase their fitness at high latitudes.

scholarly journals Temporal and spatial differences in the post-breeding behaviour of a ubiquitous Southern Hemisphere seabird, the common diving petrel

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 200670
Author(s):  
Aymeric Fromant ◽  
Charles-André Bost ◽  
Paco Bustamante ◽  
Alice Carravieri ◽  
Yves Cherel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Breeding Behaviour ◽  
Southeastern Australia ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
The Common ◽  
Migration Pathways ◽  
Diving Petrel

The non-breeding period plays a major role in seabird survival and population dynamics. However, our understanding of the migratory behaviour, moulting and feeding strategies of non-breeding seabirds is still very limited, especially for small-sized species. The present study investigated the post-breeding behaviour of three distant populations (Kerguelen Archipelago, southeastern Australia, New Zealand) of the common diving petrel (CDP) ( Pelecanoides urinatrix ), an abundant, widely distributed zooplanktivorous seabird breeding throughout the southern Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. The timing, geographical destination and activity pattern of birds were quantified through geolocator deployments during the post-breeding migration, while moult pattern of body feathers was investigated using stable isotope analysis. Despite the high energetic cost of flapping flight, all the individuals quickly travelled long distances (greater than approx. 2500 km) after the end of the breeding season, targeting oceanic frontal systems. The three populations, however, clearly diverged spatially (migration pathways and destinations), and temporally (timing and duration) in their post-breeding movements, as well as in their period of moult. Philopatry to distantly separated breeding grounds, different breeding phenologies and distinct post-breeding destinations suggest that the CDP populations have a high potential for isolation, and hence, speciation. These results contribute to improving knowledge of ecological divergence and evolution between populations, and inform the challenges of conserving migratory species.

Green Turtles Nesting at Their Northern Range Limit in the United States Represent a Distinct Subpopulation

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M. Shamblin ◽  
Matthew H. Godfrey ◽  
S. Michelle Pate ◽  
William P. Thompson ◽  
Hope Sutton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Green Turtles ◽  
Distinct Subpopulation ◽  
Northern Range Limit

The population dynamics of bite-sized predators: prey dependence, territoriality, and mobility

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Lambin
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Biological Barrier ◽  
Reciprocal Interactions ◽  
Demographic Rates ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Rodent Prey ◽  
Small Mustelids

The dependency of mustelid demographic rates on prey abundance has the potential to cause a strong coupling between predator-prey populations. Data on mustelid dynamics show that such strong reciprocal interactions only materialise in some restricted conditions. Bite-size mustelid predators searching for scarce, depleted prey expose themselves to increased risk of predation by larger predators of small mammal that are themselves searching for similar prey species. As voles or muskrats become scarcer, weasels and mink searching for prey over larger areas become increasingly exposed to intra-guild predation, unless they operate in a habitat refuge such as the sub-nivean space. Where larger predators are sufficiently abundant or exert year-round predation pressure on small mustelids, their impact on mustelids may impose biological barrier to dispersal that are sufficient to weaken the coupling between small mustelids and their rodent prey, and thus impose a degree of top down limitation on mustelids.

The effects of moonlight on nocturnal activity in bushy-tailed wood rats (Neotoma cinerea)

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 480-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G Topping ◽  
John S Millar ◽  
James A Goddard
Keyword(s):  
Light Level ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
Nocturnal Activity ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Neotoma Cinerea ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Rocky Outcrops ◽  
Breeding Seasons

The nocturnal activity of bushy-tailed wood rats (Neotoma cinerea) was monitored for two breeding seasons (1993 and 1994) in the Canadian Rockies. Radiotelemetry was used under three levels of moonlight to assess two measures of nocturnal activity: (i) the proportion of animals crossing rocky outcrops and entering the surrounding forest to forage, search for mates, or both, and (ii) the distance moved from the den site while in the forest. Males and females exhibited significant differences among moonlight levels, with greater activity on nights of intermediate-level moonlight and less activity on nights with bright or dark moonlight. There was no difference in the proportions of males and females active at any moonlight level. The distances moved from the den did not differ among moonlight levels for either males or females. Having traversed the rocks and entered the forest, individuals moved similar distances regardless of light level. These results suggest that wood rats respond to moonlight only when making the decision to cross rocks and enter the forest. This behaviour presumably serves to counteract the increased risk of predation on bright nights.

scholarly journals Frontier mutualism: coevolutionary patterns at the northern range limit of the leaf-cutter ant–fungus symbiosis

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1721) ◽  
pp. 3050-3059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich G. Mueller ◽  
Alexander S. Mikheyev ◽  
Scott E. Solomon ◽  
Michael Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Range Limits ◽  
Peripheral Populations ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Dispersal Barrier ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Genetic Patterns ◽  
Northern Range Limit ◽  
Traditional Assumption ◽  
Ant Fungus

Tropical leaf-cutter ants cultivate the fungus Attamyces bromatificus in a many-to-one, diffuse coevolutionary relationship where ant and fungal partners re-associate frequently over time. To evaluate whether ant– Attamyces coevolution is more specific (tighter) in peripheral populations, we characterized the host-specificities of Attamyces genotypes at their northern, subtropical range limits (southern USA, Mexico and Cuba). Population-genetic patterns of northern Attamyces reveal features that have so far not been observed in the diffusely coevolving, tropical ant– Attamyces associations. These unique features include (i) cases of one-to-one ant– Attamyces specialization that tighten coevolution at the northern frontier; (ii) distributions of genetically identical Attamyces clones over large areas (up to 81 000 km 2 , approx. the area of Ireland, Austria or Panama); (iii) admixture rates between Attamyces lineages that appear lower in northern than in tropical populations; and (iv) long-distance gene flow of Attamyces across a dispersal barrier for leaf-cutter ants (ocean between mainland North America and Cuba). The latter suggests that Attamyces fungi may occasionally disperse independently of the ants, contrary to the traditional assumption that Attamyces fungi depend entirely on leaf-cutter queens for dispersal. Peripheral populations in Argentina or at mid-elevation sites in the Andes may reveal additional regional variants in ant– Attamyces coevolution. Studies of such populations are most likely to inform models of coextinctions of obligate mutualistic partners that are doubly stressed by habitat marginality and by environmental change.

Living on the edge: Fig tree phenology at the northern range limit of monoecious Ficus in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 135-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu-Shui Zhang ◽  
Stephen G. Compton ◽  
Hui Xiao ◽  
Qian Lu ◽  
Yan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Range Limit ◽  
Tree Phenology ◽  
Northern Range Limit ◽  
Fig Tree

scholarly journals Applicability and Hydrologic Substitutability of TMPA Satellite Precipitation Product in the Feilaixia Catchment, China

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1803
Author(s):  
Xiaoli Chen ◽  
Guoru Huang
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Swat Model ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Climate Trends ◽  
Runoff Simulation ◽  
Satellite Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Analysis ◽  
Water Assessment

The assessment of various precipitation products’ performances in extreme climatic conditions has become a topic of interest. However, little attention has been paid to the hydrological substitutability of these products. The objective of this study is to explore the performance of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) product in the Feilaixia catchment, China. To assess its applicability in extreme consecutive climates, several statistical indices are adopted to evaluate the TMPA performance both qualitatively and quantitatively. The Cox–Stuart test is used to investigate extreme climate trends. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is used to test the TMPA hydrological substitutability via three scenarios of runoff simulation. The results demonstrate that the overall TMPA performance is acceptable, except at high-latitudes and locations where the terrain changes greatly. Moreover, the accuracy of the SWAT model is high both in the semi-substitution and full-substitution scenarios. Based on the results, the TMPA product is a useful substitute for the gauged precipitation in obtaining acceptable hydrologic process information in areas where gauged sites are sparse or non-existent. The TMPA product is satisfactory in predicting the runoff process. Overall, it must be used with caution, especially at high latitudes and altitudes.

scholarly journals Variable habitat selection and movement patterns among Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi) populations in Saskatchewan

2019 ◽  
Vol 132 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tera L. Edkins ◽  
Christopher M. Somers ◽  
Mark C. Vanderwel ◽  
Miranda J. Sadar ◽  
Ray G. Poulin
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Northern Range Limit ◽  
Range Overlap ◽  
Conservation Concern ◽  
River Valleys

Pituophis catenifer sayi (Bullsnake) is a sparsely studied subspecies of conservation concern in Canada. Basic ecological information is lacking for P. c. sayi, which reaches its northern range limit in western Canada. To address this gap, we used radio-telemetry to examine space use and habitat selection in three populations of Bullsnakes in disjunct river valley systems (Frenchman, Big Muddy, and South Saskatchewan River Valleys) across their Saskatchewan range. Bullsnakes in two valleys used up to three times more space, travelled 2.5-times farther from overwintering sites, and had lower home range overlap than the third population. Landscape-level habitat selection was flexible, with snakes in all populations using both natural and human-modified habitats most frequently. Fine-scale habitat selection was also similar among populations, with Bullsnakes selecting sites within 1 m of refuges, regardless of whether they were natural or anthropogenic. Based on these results, Bullsnakes are flexible in their broad scale habitat use, as long as they are provided with fine scale refuge sites. The distribution of key seasonal resources appears to ultimately determine space use and habitat selection by Bullsnakes, regardless of the geographic location of the population.

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