Direct evidence of scavenging behaviour in the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)

Mammalia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 486-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Díaz-Ruiz ◽  
Noelia de Diego ◽  
Ana Eugenia Santamaría ◽  
Julio C. Domínguez ◽  
Alex Galgo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Garden Dormouse ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Eliomys Quercinus

Abstract It is known that the garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus includes meat in its diet, however, it is unclear if scavenging is a widespread behaviour, as it is difficult to observe in the wild. Here, we document scavenging behaviour for the species based on direct evidence. We captured five garden dormice with live traps using dead baits, which were partially or totally consumed. Additionally, a camera-trap recorded how at least one garden dormouse visited and actively consumed the bait on 12 occasions during the study. These observations suggest that carrion may play an important role in the garden dormouse’s diet, opening a new ecological unexplored topic for this species.

Prey tell: what quillback rockfish early life history traits reveal about their survival in encounters with juvenile coho salmon

2020 ◽  
Vol 650 ◽  
pp. 7-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
HW Fennie ◽  
S Sponaugle ◽  
EA Daly ◽  
RD Brodeur
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Early Life History ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Otolith Microstructure Analysis ◽  
Pelagic Juvenile

Predation is a major source of mortality in the early life stages of fishes and a driving force in shaping fish populations. Theoretical, modeling, and laboratory studies have generated hypotheses that larval fish size, age, growth rate, and development rate affect their susceptibility to predation. Empirical data on predator selection in the wild are challenging to obtain, and most selective mortality studies must repeatedly sample populations of survivors to indirectly examine survivorship. While valuable on a population scale, these approaches can obscure selection by particular predators. In May 2018, along the coast of Washington, USA, we simultaneously collected juvenile quillback rockfish Sebastes maliger from both the environment and the stomachs of juvenile coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch. We used otolith microstructure analysis to examine whether juvenile coho salmon were age-, size-, and/or growth-selective predators of juvenile quillback rockfish. Our results indicate that juvenile rockfish consumed by salmon were significantly smaller, slower growing at capture, and younger than surviving (unconsumed) juvenile rockfish, providing direct evidence that juvenile coho salmon are selective predators on juvenile quillback rockfish. These differences in early life history traits between consumed and surviving rockfish are related to timing of parturition and the environmental conditions larval rockfish experienced, suggesting that maternal effects may substantially influence survival at this stage. Our results demonstrate that variability in timing of parturition and sea surface temperature leads to tradeoffs in early life history traits between growth in the larval stage and survival when encountering predators in the pelagic juvenile stage.

scholarly journals A single nuclei transcriptomic analysis of the Atlantic salmon gill through smoltification and seawater transfer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander C. West ◽  
Yasutaka Mizoro ◽  
Shona H. Wood ◽  
Louise M. Ince ◽  
Marianne Iversen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Prior Work ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Freshwater Environments ◽  
Transcriptomic Studies

AbstractAnadromous salmonids begin life adapted to the freshwater environments of their natal streams before a developmental transition, known as smoltification, transforms them into marine-adapted fish. In the wild, the extending photoperiods of spring stimulates smoltification, typified by radical reprogramming of the gill from an ion-absorbing organ to ion-excreting organ. Prior work has highlighted the role of specialized “mitochondrion-rich” cells in delivering this phenotype. However, transcriptomic studies identify thousands of smoltification-driven differentially regulated genes, indicating that smoltification causes a multifaceted, multicellular change; but direct evidence of this is lacking.Here, we use single-nuclei RNAseq to characterize the Atlantic salmon gill during smoltification and seawater transfer. We identify 20 distinct clusters of nuclei, including known, but also novel gill cell types. These data allow us to isolate cluster-specific, smoltification-induced changes in gene expression. We also show how cellular make-up of the gill changes through smoltification. As expected, we noted an increase in the proportion of seawater mitochondrion-rich cells, however, we also identify a reduction of several immune-related cells. Overall, our results provide unrivaled detail of the cellular complexity in the gill and suggest that smoltification triggers unexpected immune reprogramming directly preceding seawater entry.

scholarly journals Dietary Lipids Affect the Onset of Hibernation in the Garden Dormouse (Eliomys quercinus): Implications for Cardiac Function

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Giroud ◽  
Gabrielle Stalder ◽  
Hanno Gerritsmann ◽  
Anna Kübber-Heiss ◽  
Jae Kwak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Function ◽  
Dietary Lipids ◽  
Garden Dormouse ◽  
Eliomys Quercinus

Extensive Distribution Decline of the Garden Dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) and the Probability of Losing the Intraspecific Taxonomic Diversity

2013 ◽  
Vol 92 (11) ◽  
pp. 1349-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. N. Orlov ◽  
D. M. Krivonogov ◽  
E. V. Cherepanova ◽  
O. G. Sazanova ◽  
A. I. Dmitriev
Keyword(s):  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Garden Dormouse ◽  
Eliomys Quercinus

Third lineage of rodent eimerians: morphology, phylogeny and re-description of Eimeria myoxi (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from Eliomys quercinus (Rodentia: Gliridae)

Parasitology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 138 (10) ◽  
pp. 1217-1223 ◽  
Author(s):  
JANA KVIČEROVÁ ◽  
VÁCLAV MIKEŠ ◽  
VÁCLAV HYPŠA
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Data ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Molecular Characteristics ◽  
Phylogenetic Information ◽  
Taxonomic Level ◽  
Unequivocal Identification ◽  
Garden Dormouse ◽  
Eliomys Quercinus ◽  
Exact Position

SUMMARYCoccidian oocysts from feces of 46 individuals of the garden dormouse, Eliomys quercinus (Rodentia: Gliridae), were morphologically and molecularly characterized. Both morphological and sequence data (18S rDNA and ORF 470) showed low variability, indicating that all samples represent a single species. By comparison with published morphological descriptions of coccidia from glirid rodents, we determined that the samples represent Eimeria myoxi. Molecular data suggest that this species does not fall within the 2 known rodent-specific groups but branches as a third independent lineage. However, its exact position in respect to other eimerian clusters could not be established due to the lack of phylogenetic information at this taxonomic level for the 18S rRNA and ORF 470 genes. Based on these results, we provide a re-description of Eimeria myoxi, which contains morphological and molecular characteristics sufficient for its further unequivocal identification.

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