Hidden in the Heart of Borneo-shedding light on Some Mysteries of an Enigmatic Lizard: First Records of Habitat Use, Behavior, and Food Items of Lanthanotus borneensis Steindachner, 1878 in Its Natural Habitat

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Georg Langner
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Use Behavior

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.

Interactions between habitat use, behavior, and the trophic niche of lacertid lizards

2010 ◽  
pp. 427-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bieke Vanhooydonck ◽  
Anthony Herrel ◽  
Raoul Van Damme
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Lacertid Lizards ◽  
Use Behavior

scholarly journals Habitat Use by Nuttall’s Cottontails (Sylvilagus nuttallii nuttallii) at their Northern Range Edge (British Columbia, Canada)

2017 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-140
Author(s):  
Emily J. Herdman ◽  
Karen E. Hodges
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Fragmented Habitats ◽  
Native Habitat ◽  
Range Edge ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Northern Edge

in Canada, Nuttall’s Cottontails (Sylvilagus nuttallii nuttallii) occur in southcentral British Columbia (BC), where they are federally listed as a species of special Concern due to their presumed small populations and limited distribution in fragmented habitats. Their habitat use and movement patterns are poorly known at this northern edge of their distribution. We used livetrapping, radio-collaring, and fecal pellet surveys to examine Nuttall’s Cottontails’ use of remaining patches of native habitat as well as use of human-impacted areas. Cottontails were present in low densities and only about half of presumably suitable patches of native sagebrush-steppe were occupied. Cottontails were more likely to occur in shrubby habitat, but at a fine scale cottontails used areas that had a lower density of shrubs and finer substrates. movement patterns differed significantly between areas of varying habitat quality, with longer movements in natural habitat. one radio-collared male cottontail used anthropogenic habitats adjacent to native habitat; this use corresponds with landowner reports. However, it is not clear whether Nuttall’s Cottontails are able to use anthropogenically-impacted areas to maintain populations or in areas where such habitats are not near native habitats. our results suggest that these animals are rare and occur primarily in remnant patches of shrub-steppe within BC.

scholarly journals Habitat use by an endemic and a non-native gecko: natural habitat provides a last refuge for the Barbados Leaf-Toed gecko

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-137
Author(s):  
Robert J. Williams ◽  
Julia A. Horrocks ◽  
Angelo P. Pernetta
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Natural Habitat

Ontogenetic Differences in Morphology, Habitat Use, Behavior, and Sprinting Capacity in Two West Indian Anolis Lizards

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan J. Irschick ◽  
Thomas E. Macrini ◽  
Stephan Koruba ◽  
Jon Forman
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
West Indian ◽  
Use Behavior

Diet and habitat use of two sympatric species of Philodryas (Colubridae), in south Brazil

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otávio Marques ◽  
Paulo Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Food Type ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
South Brazil

AbstractFeeding habits and habitat use of the colubrid snakes Philodryas olfersii and P. patagoniensis in southern Brazil are presented here. Philodryas olfersii and P. patagoniensis are sympatric in the study area and both dwell in open and forested areas. Specimens preserved in collections and observations of snakes in the field yielded the data. Both species are diet generalists, feeding on small vertebrates, mainly frogs. Philodryas patagoniensis has a broader diet, a less variable frequency of food items, and fed on heavier prey than P. olfersii. Seasonal variation in diet occurs in both species. The semiarboreal Philodryas olfersii is more slender and has a longer tail than the terrestrial P. patagoniensis, characters that may reflect differences in microhabitat use. There are a strong relationship between habitat use and frequency of a given food type. Differences in the use of food resources between P. olfersii and P. patagoniensis seem to reflect differences in foraging microhabitats used by each species.

scholarly journals Optimal diet strategy of a large-bodied psittacine: food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the Military Macaw

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Margarita de la Parra-Martínez ◽  
Luis Guillermo Muñoz-Lacy ◽  
Alejandro Salinas-Melgoza ◽  
Katherine Renton
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Oak Forest ◽  
Nutritional Content ◽  
Optimal Diet ◽  
Dietary Specialization ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Dietary Niche

Abstract Background Dietary specialization should arise when there is a relatively high abundance of a particular resource, where animals may select food items to obtain an optimal diet that maximizes energy intake. Large-bodied psittacines frequently exhibit a narrow dietary niche with specific habitat use, but few studies have determined whether psittacines select food resources, and how this influences habitat use. Methods We established fruiting phenology transects to evaluate food resource availability for the large-bodied Military Macaw (Ara militaris) in semi-deciduous, deciduous, and pine-oak forest at two sites along the coast of Jalisco, during the dry season when macaws are nesting. We also determined Military Macaw diet by observations of foraging macaws along transect routes, and conducted bromatological analysis of the nutritional content of the most consumed resource. Results Military Macaws used six plant species as food items during the dry season, and had a narrow dietary niche (Levins’ B = 0.28), with 56% of foraging macaws consuming the seeds of Hura polyandra. No food resources were recorded in pine-oak forest during the dry season, with food resources and foraging by macaws concentrated in tropical deciduous and semi-deciduous forest, where H. polyandra was the most abundant fruiting tree species. When considering the proportional availability of food resources, we determined a broad Hurlbert dietary niche breadth of H = 0.67, indicating that Military Macaws consumed food resources according to their availability. Furthermore, the seeds of H. polyandra were an important source of protein, carbohydrates, minerals and moisture, and the hard fruit-casing means that these seeds are exclusively available for macaws. Conclusions By concentrating their diet on the most abundant resources, Military Macaws may increase foraging efficiency in the dry season. The high nutrient content also means that concentrating the diet on seeds of H. polyandra may be an optimal foraging strategy for Military Macaws to meet their energy requirements during the breeding season.

scholarly journals Mammals Make Use of Cashew Plantations in a Mixed Forest–Cashew Landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anushka Rege ◽  
Girish Arjun Punjabi ◽  
Devcharan Jathanna ◽  
Ajith Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Mixed Forest ◽  
Grid Cell ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Crested Porcupine ◽  
Trail Cameras ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Wild Pig

Heterogeneous landscapes harboring mosaics of natural habitat and agriculture are increasingly gaining conservation focus in the tropics. While research on cash crops such as coffee, rubber, and oil palm has led to an understanding of their role as supplementary habitats, such has remained limited in cashew plantations despite it being a cash crop of global significance. We conducted a study to understand the occurrence of terrestrial mammal species in a mixed forest–cashew landscape in the northern Western Ghats, India. During January to April 2016, we used trail cameras to sample a total area of 25 km2 divided into 100 grid cells of 0.25 km2 each. We deployed six trail cameras for a 24 h period in each grid cell and obtained photo-captures of 11 species in forests, of which nine were detected in cashew plantations, but most species showed low capture rates. For three of these species—Indian crested porcupine, sambar, and wild pig—we modeled habitat use as a function of site-specific attributes. Wild pig showed a higher probability of use of cashew than forest, while porcupine and sambar did not show any pronounced differences between the two land uses. The probability of habitat use by sambar and porcupine was positively influenced by undergrowth but not for the wild pig. Wild pig habitat use was positively related to increased proximity of human settlements and increasing distance to forests, but the pattern was unreliable for sambar and porcupine. Our preliminary study demonstrates that a subset of terrestrial mammals in the forest makes use of cashew plantations and highlights the need for further research in forest–cashew landscapes to assess conservation opportunities.

Spatiotemporal ecology of the striped hog-nosed skunk Conepatus semistriatus (Carnivora, Mephitidae) in a seasonally dry forest of northeastern Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas de Matos Dias
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Biological Information ◽  
Geographic Ranges

Many carnivorous mammals have been forced to contract their distribution due to anthropogenic activities that cause fragmentation and loss of their natural habitat. The striped hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus semistriatus, has a marked population disjunction in the Neotropics and one of the largest geographic ranges in the genus. However, there is a huge lack of biological information about this species. The present study aimed at assessing habitat use and activity pattern of C. semistriatus and at identifying abiotic factors that influence them. The study was carried out in Serra das Almas Natural Reserve in Brazil with camera traps distributed over 40 sampling stations during 26 months, from 2013 to 2015. Environmental seasonality significantly influenced the detectability of C. semistriatus, as most records were obtained in the dry season. Although C. semistriatus was more frequently seen in open habitats, this difference in habitat use was not significant. The species was found to be predominantly nocturnal with higher activity in bright nights. In general, C. semistriatus occupied all habitats of Serra das Almas, with a preference for open areas. In the dry season, habitat use by the species was more restricted, and was influenced mainly by proximity to water sources. The predominantly nocturnal activity is consistent with the literature, and can be influenced by a behavioral response to avoid high diurnal temperatures.

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