scholarly journals Summer Diet of Two White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, Populations Living at Low and High Density in Southern Québec

2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude Daigle ◽  
Michel Crête ◽  
Louis Lesage ◽  
Jean-Pierre Ouellet ◽  
Jean Huot
Keyword(s):  
Odocoileus Virginianus ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
High Density ◽  
Rumen Content ◽  
Régime Alimentaire ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Content Analyses ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Foraging Time

We investigated summer diets of two White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations through rumen content analyses. Samples from 93 deer were collected in a low density, LD (1 deer/km2) and a high density, HD (14 deer/km2) area of southern Québec during the growing seasons of 1997 and 1998. Availability of preferred forage in forests was greater in LD than in HD, whereas agriculture covered a larger proportion of the area in HD than LD. Rumen composition differed between the two populations. Deer from HD consumed less forbs and leaves of shrubs and trees than did LD deer, whereas they consumed more fruits, grasses and farm crops. The rarity in HD rumens of food items common in LD, as well as in many parts of the White-tailed Deer range (i.e., Lilliacae), indicated that deer could not compensate for the rarity of preferred forest forage by increasing foraging time and had to feed on cultivated crops. Rumen contents of LD deer had a higher level of cell solubles and lignin, which reflected their greater reliance on quality forage growing in forests. Feeding habits and forage quality can explain why deer body size decreased in HD between the 1970s and 1990s whereas LD deer remained large.Nous avons examiné le régime alimentaire estival de deux populations de cerf de Virginie (Odocoileus virginianus) par l’analyse du contenu des rumens. Des échantillons ont été prélevés sur 93 cerfs provenant d’un secteur à faible densité de cerfs, LD, (1 cerf/km2) et d’un secteur à haute densité, HD, (14 cerfs/km2) du sud du Québec durant la saison de croissance des végétaux de 1997 et 1998. La disponibilité des aliments forestiers préférés des cerfs était plus grande dans LD que dans HD alors que la proportion du territoire agricole était supérieure dans HD. La composition des rumens des cerfs de chacune des régions différait. Les cerfs de HD ont consommé de moins grandes proportions de plantes herbacées et de feuilles d’arbustes et d’arbres que ceux du secteur LD, mais de plus grandes proportions de fruits, de graminées et de plantes agricoles. La rareté dans les rumens du secteur HD d’aliments communs dans ceux du secteur LD et dans plusieurs autres régions de l’aire de répartition du cerf (e.g., Lilliacae), indique que les cerfs du secteur HD ne pouvaient compenser pour la rareté de leurs aliments préférés par un accroissement de la durée de la quête alimentaire, et qu’ils devaient consommer des plantes agricoles. Les cerfs de LD ont mangé des aliments contenant plus de solubles cellulaires et de lignine que ceux de HD, ce qui reflète une consommation de plantes forestières de bonne qualité. Le régime alimentaire et la qualité de la nourriture peuvent expliquer pourquoi la taille des cerfs de HD a diminué entre les années 1970 et 1990 alors que celle des cerfs de LD est demeurée grande.

scholarly journals Foraging behavior and diet of the vulnerable Cinereous Warbling-finch Poospiza cinerea (Aves, Emberizidae)

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 821-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
U Wischhoff ◽  
F Marques-Santos ◽  
M Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
Substrate Use ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Niche Specialization ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Central South

The Cinereous Warbling-finch Poospiza cinerea is a globally vulnerable Emberizidae passerine, patchily distributed and rare in the open savannah of central South America. Attributes of rare species include niche specificity such as feeding habits. To verify possible niche specialization in this species we aimed to describe its foraging habits related to substrate use, foraging and substrate height, attack maneuvers, and consumed food items. We monitored two groups at two study sites and sampled foraging events with intervals of 15 minutes. The substrates used in greater frequency were foliage and reproductive organs. Foraging and substrate height varied widely with study area. The attack maneuver adopted in greater frequency was glean. Most food items attacked were small invertebrates. Big invertebrates included Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Orthoptera. Poospiza cinerea was also recorded foraging in mixed bird flocks with seven other species. The generalist foraging behavior of the species cannot be associate to its rarity.

Trophic ecology and diet of Hydra vulgaris (Cnidaria; Hydrozoa)

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 287-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
María I. Deserti ◽  
Karina S. Esquius ◽  
Alicia H. Escalante ◽  
Fabián H. Acuña
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Trophic Ecology ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Hydra Vulgaris ◽  
Natural Diet ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Invertebrate Prey

Hydra is a genus of common, sessile, solitary freshwater cnidarians, which are defined as carnivorous and efficient predators. The purpose of this study was to obtain information on the feeding habits and diet of Hydra vulgaris collected from its natural habitat in Nahuel Rucá Lake (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). We found three categories of food items in the coelenteron: algae, fungi, and small invertebrates. Algae dominated the diet in terms of abundance and frequency of occurrence, but their volumetric contribution was almost negligible, as was their possible nutritional value. Invertebrate prey captured, using active predation, represented the major volumetric contribution, with four different taxa found. The detection of phytoplankton in the gastral cavities reveals the input of some organisms present in the surrounding waters in addition to the invertebrates. This information is novel, since studies on the natural diet of Hydra are very scarce.

scholarly journals Diet of Ameerega braccata (Steindachner, 1864) (Anura: Dendrobatidae) from Chapada dos Guimarães and Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil

2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
LR. Forti ◽  
ASO. Tissiani ◽  
T. Mott ◽  
C Strüssmann
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Niche Breadth ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Important Prey ◽  
Phylogenetic Perspective ◽  
Toxic Alkaloids ◽  
Two Populations

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.

scholarly journals Managing Chinese Privet for White-Tailed Deer

1998 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 227-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl A. K. Stromayer ◽  
Robert J. Warren ◽  
Timothy B. Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Protein Content ◽  
Odocoileus Virginianus ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Forest Understory ◽  
Crude Protein Content ◽  
Chinese Privet ◽  
Ligustrum Sinense ◽  
Growing Seasons

Abstract After cutting forest understory Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) stands to ground level in northwestern Georgia, we assessed privet regrowth production and use by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), 1 yr post-treatment. We then assessed privet browse availability and crude protein (CP) content 2 and 3 growing seasons post-treatment on cut and uncut plots. Privet regrew vigorously and was used heavily by deer the first winter after cutting, but privet browse availability and crude protein content did not differ between cut vs. uncut plots 2 and 3 growing seasons post-treatment. Although our sample sizes were too small to demonstrate an increase in privet browse availability after cutting, this practice may be a sustainable and inexpensive way of maintaining deer forage availability, as privet often grows out of reach of deer. South. J. Appl. For. 22(4):227-230.

scholarly journals Food Habits and Diet Relationship in the Redbelly Tilapia (Tilapia zillii) and Guenther’s Mouthbrooder (Chromidotilapia guntheri) from an Abandoned Gold Mine Reservoir, Southwestern Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-155
Author(s):  
Olusola Olaniyi KOMOLAFE ◽  
Timothy Olalekan AMOO ◽  
Michael Olufemi AWODIRAN
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Gold Mine ◽  
Southwestern Nigeria ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Tilapia Zillii ◽  
Gill Net ◽  
Food And Feeding ◽  
Index Value

The food and feeding habits of the redbelly Tilapia (Tilapia zillii) and Guenther’s mouthbrooder (Chromidotilapia guntheri) were investigated in an abandoned gold mine reservoir at Igun from June 2013 to May 2014. Using a cast net and gill-net fishing gears, 370 fish individuals were caught and their stomach contents were analysed by using the frequency of occurrence and numerical methods. Tilapia zillii comprised 53.78% (199 individuals), while Chromidotilapia guntheri covered up the remaining percentage (46.22%) which is made up of 171 individuals. Food items in the stomachs of T. zillii individuals predominantly consisted of detritus, mud and algae (77.97%), while those in C. guntheri individuals mostly consisted fish remains, detritus and algae (81.67%). T. zillii exploited more food items (23 of 27) as compared to C. guntheri (17 of 27). The Schoener’s index value for the species was 0.65. The study showed that T. zillii and C. guntheri exhibited benthopelagic exploitation and are mainly herbivorous and omnivorous respectively based on the food items observed in the stomach contents of these species. The fish species fed on related food items as confirmed by Schoener’s overlap index (0.65), suggesting that there was overlap in the dietary requirements of the two species. This index value, however, was probably not an indication of competition for food between these two species because they exploited abundant food sources.

Detailed comparative morphology of the peri-oral structures of the Mysidacea and Euphausiacea (Crustacea): an indication for the food preference

2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. De Jong-Moreau ◽  
B. Casanova ◽  
J.-P. Casanova
Keyword(s):  
Food Preference ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Comparative Morphology ◽  
Gut Content ◽  
Scanning Microscope ◽  
Content Analyses ◽  
Carnivorous Species ◽  
Meganyctiphanes Norvegica ◽  
Molar Process

Scanning microscope investigations were carried out on mandibles, labrum and paragnaths of several species of Mysidacea and Euphausiacea. Gut content analyses were in agreement with morphological observations. It appears that the morphology of the peri-oral structures and especially of the mandibles reflect the feeding habits, and that the well known relationships between the size of the molar process and the incisor one, i.e. a large molar process is associated with herbivorous feeding, is not always verified. Bacescomysis abyssalis and Bentheuphausia amblyops are believed to be mostly saprophagous, Boreomysis inermis and Meganyctiphanes norvegica are mostly phytophagous, Hemimysis speluncola is omnivorous, while Siriella armata and Thysanopoda orientalis are carnivorous species.

Problems with the taxonomy of Phytoptus tetratrichus Nalepa 1890 (Acari: Eriophyoidea) inhabiting Tilia spp.: Analysis based on morphological variation among individuals

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2988 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
GRAŻYNA SOIKA ◽  
MARCIN KOZAK
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Surface ◽  
Leaf Roll ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Canonical Variate ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Leaf Surfaces ◽  
Tilia Tomentosa ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Damage Symptoms

The purpose of this research was to investigate both the qualitative and quantitative morphological traits of Phytoptus tetratrichus Nalepa 1890 populations inhabiting three different lime tree species: Tilia cordata Mill., Tilia tomentosa Moench and Tilia americana L.. Morphological characters of two populations collected from T. cordata and T. tomentosa over three successive growing seasons were compared with the aid of canonical variate analysis. Additionally, individuals occurring on T. americana in a consecutive year were also studied. Protogyne and deutogyne females were differentiated using both qualitative and quantitative traits. For deutogyne females, individuals from all combinations of Tilia species × year (which constituted populations for comparison) clearly differed from each other. However, the differences between populations from T. cordata and T. tomentosa were less distinct. For protogyne females, observed differences were clearly visible. The between-season variation in morphological characters such as body size appeared to be quite large, indicating that morphological analysis based on observations from only a single season can be inaccurate. Deutogyne females of P. tetratrichus were observed to cause various types of damage symptoms: leaf-roll galls along the leaf edges of T. cordata; small round erinea on the lower leaf surface and small wart-like galls on the upper leaf surface of T. tomentosa; fingerlike galls on both leaf surfaces of T. americana.

scholarly journals Phenological study of populations of Cnidoscolus quercifolius in the Western Seridó, Paraiba state, Brazil

Rodriguésia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Érica Caldas S. de Oliveira ◽  
Everaldo O. Costa Júnior ◽  
Pedro D. Fernandes ◽  
Zelma Glebya M. Quirino
Keyword(s):  
Photosystem Ii ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Quantum Efficiency ◽  
Rainy Period ◽  
Intensity Index ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Precipitation Water ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Peak Phase ◽  
Activity Indices

Abstract The phenological patterns of two populations of Cnidoscolus quercifolius were evaluated in the western Seridó region of Paraiba state, Brazil, from March 2009 to February 2011, with data collected monthly. The evaluations have addressed the quantitative method of analysis that represents the activity indices for both populations growing seasons (fall and sprout) and reproductive (flowering and fruiting), and also studied the intensity index Borchert, who evaluated the flow leaves. The stages were evaluated with respect to variations in rainfall, water potential of plant and quantum efficiency of photosystem II. The bud in the two populations occurred in the late dry season and transition into the rainy season, with peak leafing in January and November 2010 and was negatively correlated with rainfall (rs = -0.54 p <0.05). Leaf fall showed the peak phase in October 2009 and 2010, showing a direct relationship with water potential and photosynthetic quantum efficiency. The flowering and fruiting had greater synchrony in the seasonal rainy period, fruit set was positively correlated with precipitation values during the study period (rs = 0.56 p <0.05). The phenological events of C. quercifolius show marked seasonality in relation to precipitation, water potential and the quantum efficiency of photosystem II.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal variations in resources affect activity and movement patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at high density

2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 252-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariane Massé ◽  
Steeve D. Côté
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Odocoileus Virginianus ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
High Density ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variations ◽  
Temporal Scales ◽  
Trade Offs

Although activity budget, movements, and habitat use of herbivores have been extensively studied, few studies have simultaneously examined these behaviors at several temporal scales. We investigated the influence of spatiotemporal variations in forage and climate on the activity and movement patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) at high density, in a predator-free ecosystem impacted by long-term browsing. We used GPS telemetry and activity sensors to monitor seasonal activity budgets, movements, and patterns of habitat use within the home ranges of 24 female deer at three temporal scales: (1) season, (2) within season, and (3) daily. At large temporal scale, deer were less active and moved less during winter than during summer. Within each season, deer reduced their activity and movements in areas where forage resources were abundant and when climatic conditions were more difficult. On a daily scale, summer and winter movements peaked at dusk, but habitat selection neither changed with period of the day nor activity (foraging vs. resting). These results provide empirical evidence on how environmental constraints can modulate the trade-offs between forage acquisition and exposure to limiting factors.

scholarly journals Feeding ecology of the crab Munida subrugosa (Decapoda: Anomura: Galatheidae) in the Beagle Channel, Argentina

2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Carolina Romero ◽  
Gustavo A. Lovrich ◽  
Federico Tapella ◽  
Sven Thatje
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Superficial Layer ◽  
Tierra Del Fuego ◽  
Crab Species ◽  
Monthly Basis ◽  
Beagle Channel ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Autumn And Winter

Munida subrugosa is the most abundant galatheid crab species in the Beagle Channel (55°S 68°W) off Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Samples of crabs and the epibenthic community were taken on a monthly basis at two different depth strata (<40 m and >70 m), by means of epibenthic trawling from 1998 to 1999. Stomach contents from 1582 crabs were analysed, out of which only 2% had empty stomachs. The quantity of food in the stomach contents was clearly seasonal and similar at both depths. The organic matter varied throughout the year and between both depths, being significantly higher in summer/spring than in autumn/winter. Munida subrugosa shows two different and simultaneous feeding habits: (1) as a predator M. subrugosa feeds on crustaceans, algae, and polychaetes; and (2) as a deposit feeder M. subrugosa consumes particulate organic matter and organisms associated with the superficial layer of the sediment. The composition of the diet of Munida subrugosa was similar for both years, and independent of depth, sex or season. Munida subrugosa selected crustaceans only in autumn and winter, whereas most food items were found according to their availability in the habitat.

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