scholarly journals Orthopteran insects as potential and preferred preys of the Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus) in Hungary

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gergely Szövényi
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Management ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Prey Preference ◽  
Quantitative Composition ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Gryllus Campestris ◽  
Field Works ◽  
Preferred Species ◽  
Falco Vespertinus

Abstract Orthopterans play an important role in Red-footed Falcon diet, however, most studies focus only on its qualitative food composition, and less on quantitative composition and preferences of the taxa identified as prey. During the present research, an extensive orthopterological investigation was carried out in the Red-footed Falcon study area, Vásárhelyi Plain (SE-Hungary) between 2006 and 2008. Grasshoppers were sampled in their main habitats by sweep netting and pitfall trapping, and orthopterans were identified in the food remnants collected from the nests, both artificial and natural ones. 26 species were detected during the field works, 18 species from the food remnants. Altogether 32 species were identified. Prey preference values for all species for each year were calculated. More than two thirds of the identified preys were Decticus verrucivorus, and nearly 20% were Tettigonia viridissima. Other common prey species were Melanogryllus desertus, Platycleis affinis, Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, Calliptamus italicus and Gryllus campestris. Based on the prey preference analysis, the most preferred species was Decticus verrucivorus with extreme high values, and the other preferred ones, overlapping with the previous list, were Platycleis affinis, Bicolorana bicolor, Tettigonia viridissima, Calliptamus italicus and Roeseliana roeselii. These results may help in the development of Red-footed Falcon-friendly habitats through the application of habitat management favourable for the preferred prey species.

Prey preference of a wasp determined by nest size supports the role of natural selection in body size evolution in Cassidinae leaf beetles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadashi Shinohara ◽  
Yasuoki Takami
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Prey Preference ◽  
Nest Size ◽  
Large Prey ◽  
Leaf Beetles ◽  
Body Sizes

Abstract The prey preference of a predator can impose natural selection on prey phenotypes, including body size. Despite evidence that large body size protects against predation in insects, the determinants of body size variation in Cassidinae leaf beetles are not well understood. We examined the prey preference of the digger wasp Cerceris albofasciata, a specialist predator of adult Cassidinae leaf beetles, and found evidence for natural selection on prey body size. The wasp hunted prey smaller than the size of their nest entrance. However, the wasp preferred larger prey species among those that could be carried into their nest. Thus, the benefits of large prey and the cost associated with nest expansion might determine the prey size preference. As expected from the prey species preference, the wasp preferred small individuals of the largest prey species, Thlaspida biramosa, and large individuals of the smallest prey species, Cassida piperata, resulting in natural selection on body sizes. In intermediate-sized prey species, however, there was no evidence for selection on body size. Natural selection on body size might explain the variation of prey morphologies that increase body size, such as explanate margins, in this group.

scholarly journals Foraging opportunism and feeding frequency in the red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus) in Slovakia: case study from 2017

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jozef Chavko ◽  
Anton Krištín
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Feeding Frequency ◽  
Adverse Weather Conditions ◽  
Rainy Weather ◽  
Adverse Weather ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Unfavourable Weather ◽  
Falco Vespertinus

Abstract Foraging opportunism and feeding frequency are less studied parameters of behaviour in insectivorous falcons, many of which are endangered bird species. In this short study, prey composition and feeding frequency of red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus) nestlings were studied using the method of camera recordings during seven days in July 2017 in southwestern Slovakia. Camera recording analyses of 2–3 chicks (14–26 days old) in three nests revealed a significant preference for insects (97%, n = 305 prey items), of which the Italian locust (Calliptamus italicus) was highly predominant (54%). We also found very high average chick feeding frequency (9.9 feedings per hour, n = 29 hours 22 min of regular observations), whereby the females fed their young ones more frequently (64.9%, n = 305 feedings) than the males (35.1%). Analyses of food composition in adverse weather conditions showed that unfavourable weather had a negative effect on chick feeding frequency, and in rainy weather the males fed significantly less than the females.

Feeding habits of John Dory, Zeus faber, off the Portuguese continental coast

1999 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Silva
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Parallel Evolution ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Diet Shift ◽  
Feeding Intensity ◽  
Zeus Faber

The feeding habits of John Dory (Zeus faber) were studied, based on the analysis of stomach contents from fish sampled in five groundfish surveys. These surveys were carried out off the Portuguese coast during different seasons between 1990 and 1992. The main aspects of feeding biology analysed in this paper are: ontogenetic diet changes, temporal variations in food composition and feeding intensity. Multivariate methods were used to investigate ontogenetic diet shifts. Two main length groups were identified: 8.0–24.9 cm fish, feeding mainly on dragonets and silvery pout, and 25.0–55.9 cm fish whose diet was mainly composed of blue whiting and snipefish. A transitional phase (24.0–30.9 cm fish) with a mixed food composition was observed. This ontogenetic diet shift does not seem to correspond to any important change in body morphology but it does coincide with the onset of sexual maturity in the species.John Dory switched from a diet of small prey species with more pronounced benthic behaviour to a diet of larger schooling pelagic species. This suggests parallel evolution to more pelagic foraging behaviour. However, John Dory feeding habits appear to be largely controlled by the availability and accessibility of prey species: (i) the diet of adult John Dory is dominated by very abundant species; (ii) shifts in the main prey items between different times of the year and between different areas seem to be related both with their absolute and relative abundance in the environment and with the overlap between the depth distribution of predator and prey.

scholarly journals Spatial differences in prey preference by tigers across the Bangladesh Sundarbans reveal a need for customised strategies to protect prey populations

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 65-73
Author(s):  
MA Aziz ◽  
MA Islam ◽  
J Groombridge
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Prey Preference ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Spotted Deer ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Tiger Population ◽  
The Sundarbans ◽  
Wild Pig

The Sundarbans is the only mangrove habitat in the world to support tigers Panthera tigris, whose persistence there is believed to be dependent on a very limited number of prey species. Conservation managers therefore need to understand how tigers utilise available prey species on a spatial scale in order to formulate a prey-based protection strategy for this global-priority tiger landscape. A total of 512 scat samples were collected during a survey of 1984 km2 of forest across 4 sample blocks in the 6017 km2 of the Bangladesh Sundarbans. Analysis of scat composition and prey remains reliably identified 5 major prey species, of which spotted deer Axis axis and wild pig Sus scrofa contributed a cumulative biomass of 89% to tiger diet. Tiger preference for prey species was highly skewed towards spotted deer and wild pig, but the relative contribution of these 2 species differed significantly across the 4 study areas, which spanned the Sundarbans, demonstrating important spatial patterns of tiger prey preference across the Sundarbans landscape. Given the comparatively limited number of prey species available to support the dwindling tiger population, different strategies are needed in different parts of the Sundarbans to support tiger populations and to protect spotted deer and wild pig populations from unabated poaching.

scholarly journals Prey preferences of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra Bugir ◽  
Thomas Butynski ◽  
Matthew Hayward
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Prey Preference ◽  
Hunting Behavior ◽  
Prey Preferences ◽  
Prefer Prey ◽  
Index Value

Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes are the closest extant relative of modern humans, and are often used as a model organism to help understand prehistoric human behavior and ecology. Originally presumed herbivorous, chimpanzees have been observed hunting 24 species of birds, ungulates, rodents, monkeys, and other primates, using an array of techniques from tools to group cooperation. Using the literature on chimpanzee hunting behavior and diet from 13 studies, we aimed to determine the prey preferences of chimpanzees. We extracted data on prey-specific variables such as targeted species, their body weight, and their abundance within the prey community, and hunter-specific variables such as hunting method, and chimpanzee group size and sex ratio. We used these in a generalized linear model to determine what factors drive chimpanzee prey preference. We calculated a Jacobs’ Index value for each prey species killed at two sites in Uganda and two sites in Tanzania. Chimpanzees prefer prey with a body weight of 7.6 ± 0.4 kg or less, which corresponds to animals such as juvenile bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus and guereza colobus monkeys Colobus guereza. Sex ratio in chimpanzee groups appears to drive chimpanzee prey preference, where chimpanzees increasingly prefer prey when in male-dominated groups. Prey preference information from chimpanzee research can assist conservation management programs by identifying key prey species to manage, as well as contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of human hunting behavior.

Prey selection and the impact of cheetah predation on prey populations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.G.L. Mills ◽  
M.E.J. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Prey Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Late Pregnancy ◽  
Prey Preference ◽  
Regulatory Role ◽  
Density Dependent ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Preferred Species ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Prey Populations

Small springbok lambs were killed more frequently than expected and large lambs and subadults in more or less expected proportions. Adults were killed less frequently than expected, although old animals, females in late pregnancy, and males were vulnerable. A similar selection process was observed in steenbok, except medium-sized lambs, not small lambs, were usually killed, and there was no selection for sex. Cheetah predation was found to have an important density-dependent regulatory role on these two species. Analyses of prey preference using Jacob’s index showed that springbok were the most preferred species, although their distribution was limited, and springhares the most important avoided species, despite their prevalence in solitary cheetahs’ kills. Examples of diet flexibility in the cheetah occurred during an eland influx into the study area, when coalition males killed a number of calves, and when an emaciated female took to preying on unpalatable bat-eared foxes.

Diet composition of the scops owl (Otus scops) in central Romania

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Latková ◽  
Attila K. Sándor ◽  
Anton Krištín
Keyword(s):  
Diet Composition ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Insectivorous Birds ◽  
Northern Limit ◽  
The Family ◽  
Management Intensity ◽  
Gryllus Campestris ◽  
Bush Crickets ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Prey Items

Abstract Insect diversity correlates negatively with increasing management intensity of grasslands and with latitude. We supposed that similar patterns might be found in the diet spectra of insectivorous birds. The diet composition of the insectivorous scops owl was studied by analysing the prey remnants collected from 21 nests during 2008-2009 in an extensively cultivated rural area in the centre of the owl’s distribution range in Central Romania. Altogether 831 prey items belonging to 45 prey taxa were identified. Similarly to the other parts of the scops owl range, orthopterans were high dominant prey items (86.8%) - especially bush-crickets Tettigoniidae (78.6%). In food samles were found also beetles (Coleoptera, 5.7%) and rarely spiders Araneidea, moths Lepidoptera, mantids Mantodea, Hymenoptera and Neuroptera (<1 .5%). Vertebrates were rarely represented by rodents (2.5%) and passerines (1 .3%). The following diagnostic prey species were identified in 20 nests using the MDFM method: bush-crickets Tettigonia viridissima, Decticus verrucivorus, Metrioptera bicolor and other species of the family Tettigoniidae, the beetle Onthophagus spp., the cricket Gryllus campestris and other unidentified beetles Coleoptera g. sp. Furthermore, the scops owl’s diet in different parts of its range was compared. As expected, there were more Orthoptera and generally more prey taxa in food in the range centre than at its northern limit.

Diet selection by immature green turtles, Chelonia mydas, in subtropical Moreton Bay, south-east Queensland

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Brand-Gardner ◽  
C. J. Limpus ◽  
J. M. Lanyon
Keyword(s):  
Algal Species ◽  
Chelonia Mydas ◽  
Diet Selection ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Feeding Site ◽  
Nitrogen Levels ◽  
Green Turtles ◽  
Moreton Bay ◽  
Food Species ◽  
Preferred Species

Diet selection by immature green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Flathead Gutter, Moreton Bay, was determined by examining food ingested in relation to food availability (measured as vegetation composition and abundance within the feeding site). Food composition was sampled by oesophageal lavage. Turtles were repeatedly located over a 10-week period by means of sonic telemetry and visual identification. The number of resightings indicated that these turtles remained within their feeding grounds for at least short periods of time. Immature green turtles fed on both seagrass and algal species. However, most fed selectively on algae, primarily Gracilaria sp. Food items consumed frequently by these turtles were analysed for total nitrogen, gross energy and neutral detergent fibre levels. There was a negative correlation between fibre level and the preferred food species, where the more frequently selected species had lower levels of fibre. The preferred species also had higher nitrogen levels

Seasonal changes in food composition of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in the northern part of the "Záhorie" region

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Latková
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Microtus Arvalis ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Mean

Seasonal changes in food composition of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in the northern part of the "Záhorie" region 33 prey species (10 296 individuals) were recovered from pellets of the Barn Owl in northern part of the "Záhorie" region (Western Slovakia) during period 2002-2006. The family Arvicolidae constituted 65.68 % of recoveries, Soricidae 17.86 %, Muridae 16.64 %, Talpidae 0.04 %, Gliridae 0.02 %, Mustelidae 0.02 %, Vespertilionidae 0.04 % and Aves 4.7 %. Microtus arvalis was predominantly represented by 65.2 %. For evaluation of diet data "The marked differences from the mean method" was used. The results of pellet analyses provide, besides information about owl diet, also new data about occurrence and geographical distribution of small mammalian species and importance of predators in agricultural landscape.

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