scholarly journals Piscivory by Hoplias aff. malabaricus (Bloch, 1794): a question of prey availability?

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Karla Araujo Montenegro ◽  
Ana Carolina Brito Vieira ◽  
Maria Marcolina Lima Cardoso ◽  
Jane Enisa Ribeiro Torelli de Souza ◽  
Maria Cristina Crispim

AIM: In order to understand the factors which influence the predatory activity of the Hoplias aff. malabaricus, the present study evaluated feeding habits of this species and its relation to prey availability, in addition to environmental variables. METHODS: Six samplings were conducted in the Taperoá II reservoir, semi-arid of Paraíba state, Brazil, between October 2005 and October 2006. Measures were taken: rainfall, the reservoir volume, transparency, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and phosphate. The activity, diet and feeding habits of H. aff. Malabaricus, from the method of frequency of occurrence of food items and point methods, conjugates in IAI (Alimentary Index). Spearman correlation analysis, a glm and CCA were performed between biotic and abiotic variables, and we used the CPUE as a measure of fish abundance. RESULTS: Eleven taxa of fish were recorded, four of which were predated by adult "trahira". Insects and other items were also common in the stomachs of juveniles. According to statistical analysis, it was observed that the highest consumption of cichlids was correlated with its increase in CPUE in the environment, while no relationship was observed for A. bimaculatus, C. bimaculatum and S. notonota abundances. The environmental factors as nutrients, transparency and water volumn were related to selection of species by trahira. CONCLUSIONS: Intrinsic characteristics of preys as swimming speed, food habit and the food preference of the predator possibly be the main factors to selection of species. Other mechanisms as heterogeneity of habitat and environmental factors can also influence the consumption of prey by trahira

Author(s):  
Rafael I. León ◽  
Wolfgang B. Stotz

Feeding dynamics of Cancer polyodon was studied, by comparing the diets of three size-classes of the crab to environmental abundance of prey species in three habitats in Tongoy Bay, Chile (30°S). In the sea grass and sand–gravel habitats cannibalism was observed, the small C. polydon being actively selected as the main prey in spite of their lower abundance compared with other crustaceans. In the mud habitat the scallop Argopecten purpuratus was the most important prey, being actively selected although occurring at low relative abundance. Cancer polyodon showed plasticity in feeding habits, adapting to differential prey availability, but always selecting certain species independently of their abundance in each habitat. Accessibility, more than the abundance of the prey, seem to be the main factors influencing prey selection.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-187
Author(s):  
Nick Dixon ◽  
Edward J. A. Drewitt

Abstract Until relatively recently Peregrines have been regarded as a rural bird. As their populations have increased over the past 20 years, Peregrines have increasingly become urban birds. One of the earliest locations to be occupied by Peregrines in the UK was on a church in Exeter, in the county of Devon. Over the past 20 years we have studied their diet, collecting prey remains on a regular basis. The results reveal that Feral Pigeons Columba livia comprise one third of the diet by frequency and just over half of the diet when measured by mass. The remainder of the diet comprises a wealth of other species including wading birds, other doves and pigeons, ducks, gulls and terns, and rails. A selection of species eaten by the Peregrines reveal that they are hunting at night, taking certain wading birds, rails and grebes, that would be difficult to catch by day and are known to migrate at night. This study is the most comprehensive to date and reveals that while the Feral Pigeon is an important part of the diet, contrary to public opinion, it is by no means the only species that Peregrines eat. In fact, the remaining half of the diet, by mass, comprised 101 other species of bird and three species of mammal. Such dietary studies help dispel myths about peregrines feeding habits and ensure that their conservation and protection is based on evidence.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2454
Author(s):  
Yue Sun ◽  
Yanze Yu ◽  
Jinhao Guo ◽  
Minghai Zhang

Single-scale frameworks are often used to analyze the habitat selections of species. Research on habitat selection can be significantly improved using multi-scale models that enable greater in-depth analyses of the scale dependence between species and specific environmental factors. In this study, the winter habitat selection of red deer in the Gogostaihanwula Nature Reserve, Inner Mongolia, was studied using a multi-scale model. Each selected covariate was included in multi-scale models at their “characteristic scale”, and we used an all subsets approach and model selection framework to assess habitat selection. The results showed that: (1) Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the response scale of red deer to environmental factors was different among different covariate. The optimal scale of the single covariate was 800–3200 m, slope (SLP), altitude (ELE), and ratio of deciduous broad-leaved forests were 800 m in large scale, except that the farmland ratio was 200 m in fine scale. The optimal scale of road density and grassland ratio is both 1600 m, and the optimal scale of net forest production capacity is 3200 m; (2) distance to forest edges, distance to cement roads, distance to villages, altitude, distance to all road, and slope of the region were the most important factors affecting winter habitat selection. The outcomes of this study indicate that future studies on the effectiveness of habitat selections will benefit from multi-scale models. In addition to increasing interpretive and predictive capabilities, multi-scale habitat selection models enhance our understanding of how species respond to their environments and contribute to the formulation of effective conservation and management strategies for ungulata.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago A. Barbini ◽  
Luis O. Lucifora

ABSTRACT The eyespot skate, Atlantoraja cyclophora, is an endemic species from the southwestern Atlantic, occurring from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to northern Patagonia, Argentina. The feeding habits of this species, from off Uruguay and north Argentina, were evaluated using a multiple hypothesis modelling approach. In general, the diet was composed mainly of decapod crustaceans, followed by teleost fishes. Molluscs, mysidaceans, amphipods, isopods, lancelets and elasmobranchs were consumed in lower proportion. The consumption of shrimps drecreased with increasing body size of A. cyclophora. On the other hand, the consumption of teleosts increased with body size. Mature individuals preyed more heavily on crabs than immature individuals. Teleosts were consumed more in the south region (34º - 38ºS) and crabs in the north region (38º - 41ºS). Shrimps were eaten more in the warm season than in the cold season. Prey size increased with increasing body size of A. cyclophora , but large individuals also consumed small teleosts and crabs. Atlantoraja cyclophora has demersal-benthic feeding habits, shifts its diet with increasing body size and in response to seasonal and regional changes in prey availability and distribution.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinsae Bahru Yifru ◽  
Berhane Kidane ◽  
Amsalu Tolessa

Abstract Background: In Ethiopia, about 92.3% of all the biomass energy is consumed by domestic households and the demand is growing from 10-14%. However, there are little/no practical experiences or documented indigenous knowledge on how traditional people identify and select high biomass producing plant species with short rotation periods at Boset District. Therefore, the present study was aimed at: (1) selecting and documenting high biomass energy producing plant species at Boset District; (2) identifying major predictor variables that influence the prioritization and selection of species; and (3) develop a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) to predict the selection of species. Methods: A total of 96 informants comprising 59 men and 37 women between the ages of 18 and 81 were sampled. Data were collected using structured interviews, guided field walk, discussions and field observations. Results: Collected data indicated that 88.5% of the informants involved in firewood collection, while 90% practiced charcoal making. A total of 1533.60 Birr per household on average was earned annually from this activity. A total of 25 firewood and/or charcoal plant species were identified and documented at Boset District. Of these, Acacia senegal, Acacia tortilis and Acacia robusta were the three best prioritized and selected indigenous high biomass producing species. Prosopis juliflora, Parthenium hysterophorus, Azadirachta indica, Calotropis procera, Cryptostegia grandiflora, Lantana camara and Senna occidentalis further grouped under introduced fuelwood species. Prediction of GLM assured sampled Kebeles and source of income generated from fuelwood species positively and significantly (p<0.001) related to selection of species. Higher efficiency to provide energy and heat; little or no smoke or soot; easier to cut and split the wood and easier availability were some of the main selection criteria. Conclusions: This study provides valuable information in selection and documenting of high biomass producing plant species for proper management and sustainable use at Boset District. The three most selected species (A. senegal, A. tortilis and A. robusta) should be further evaluated at laboratory to determine their energy values.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (SI1) ◽  
pp. SI151-SI156
Author(s):  
Le Khanh Tan ◽  
Tran Ngoc Huy ◽  
Pham Huy Hoang

Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) known, as a special purpose underwater research vehicle (SPURV) is really a pocket submarine that could be used in multipurpose such as meteorology, probing the pollution of stream, military spying, exploring an underwater tunnel or wrecked ships and other purposes. With the reason of the power of battery inside of AUV is limited, the aim of this paper is to represent an effect way of control the submerging and surfacing of an AUV in order to save energy for a longer time service or a deeper and further expedition under water. In fact, there are so many ways for saving energy of the battery of AUV and in this paper, the selection of keeping permanently the horizontal direction of the AUV in any operation as the situation of a real submarine is applied. The diving and surfacing of AUV are consigned to the motor of the pump that consumes a little of energy to keep the proportion of the weight and the Archimedes force by pumping water inside or outside of the AUV. The selection of volume of pumped water is considered as a dynamic ballast mass for maintaining the horizontal equilibrium of the AUV at the time of submerging and surfacing. In the other hand, the controlling of the gravity point of AUV for maintaining a fixed position of gravity of the AUV when submerging and surfacing are the main factors of the paper that is also investigated in this paper. Finally, the motor of the propeller or thruster that always spends a great energy has committed only for forward or backward motion of the AUV. In this measure, the motor of thruster does not confronted with a great consummation of energy when submerging and surfacing in an oblique direction as almost all popular measures of control of AUV.


2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
LR. Forti ◽  
ASO. Tissiani ◽  
T. Mott ◽  
C Strüssmann

The understanding of feeding habits is important for anurans in general, both from an ecological and a phylogenetic perspective. For diurnal poison frogs belonging to the Dendrobatidae family, diet aspects play a crucial role in their defense and survival. Herein, we investigated feeding habits, foraging behaviour, and overall effects of habitat, sex, and body size on the diet of individuals of Ameerega braccata, a poorly known dendrobatid species. Specimens were observed and collected in the type-locality, Chapada dos Guimarães, and in the neighbouring municipality of Cuiabá, both in the State of Mato Grosso, Midwestern Brazil. The most important prey categories for A. braccata were Formicidae, Isoptera, and Acari, whose representatives were caught during active foraging. Individuals from Chapada dos Guimarães population consumed more Acari but fewer Isoptera than individuals from Cuiabá. Despite this, niche breadth values were narrow and similar for the two populations. Individuals from two distinct habitats (campo sujo and cerrado stricto sensu) showed differences in their diet, probably as an effect of differential prey availability. Females consumed more Isoptera than males. The number of prey categories used as food was not influenced by the variation of body size of the target species. However, the abundance and the volume of consumed Acari were statistically correlated with body size. The main results suggest that Ameerega braccata has a narrow niche breadth, as well as a specialised diet in ants, termites, and mites, which reinforces the hypotheses of close association between Acari consumption and the presence of skin toxic alkaloids, already found in other species of Dendrobatidae. Although differences in prey consumption between sexes are uncommon among poisonous frogs, differences in the diet composition between age classes, which probably reduce intraspecific competition, are frequently reported.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.L. Maksimov

The paper considers modern approaches to the zoning of territories and the selection of people for life in extreme environmental conditions, taking into account modern geopolitical challenges. It is shown that it is possible, based on the allostasis concept, to conduct not only the selection of persons with a high level of nonspecific resistance, but also to quantify the degree of extremity of environmental factors using the standard represpiration test. Key words: adaptation, extreme conditions, selection, hypoxia, cold, rerespiration, allostatic load.


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