Mechanisms of Nutritional Resource Exploitation by Insects

Insects have evolved an extraordinary range of nutritional adaptations to exploit other animals, plants, bacteria, fungi and soils as resources in terrestrial and aquatic environments. This special issue provides some new insights into the mechanisms underlying these adaptations. Contributions comprise lab and field studies investigating the chemical, physiological, cognitive and behavioral mechanisms that enable resource exploitation and nutrient intake regulation in insects. The collection of papers highlights the need for more studies on the comparative sensory ecology, underlying nutritional quality assessment, cue perception and decision making to fully understand how insects adjust resource selection and exploitation in response to environmental heterogeneity and variability.

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Deer movement and resource selection during Hurricane Irma: implications for extreme climatic events and wildlife

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2019.2230 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 286 (1916) ◽

pp. 20192230 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

H. N. Abernathy ◽

D. A. Crawford ◽

E. P. Garrison ◽

R. B. Chandler ◽

M. L. Conner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Resource Selection ◽

Global Climate ◽

Field Studies ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Gps Collars ◽

Behavioural Responses ◽

Extreme Climatic Events ◽

Demographic Effect ◽

Hurricane Irma

Extreme climatic events (ECEs) are increasing in frequency and intensity and this necessitates understanding their influence on organisms. Animal behaviour may mitigate the effects of ECEs, but field studies are rare because ECEs are infrequent and unpredictable. Hurricane Irma made landfall in southwestern Florida where we were monitoring white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus seminolus ) with GPS collars. We report on an opportunistic case study of behavioural responses exhibited by a large mammal during an ECE, mitigation strategies for reducing the severity of the ECE effects, and the demographic effect of the ECE based on known-fate of individual animals. Deer altered resource selection by selecting higher elevation pine and hardwood forests and avoiding marshes. Most deer left their home ranges during Hurricane Irma, and the probability of leaving was inversely related to home range area. Movement rates increased the day of the storm, and no mortality was attributed to Hurricane Irma. We suggest deer mobility and refuge habitat allowed deer to behaviourally mitigate the negative effects of the storm, and ultimately, aid in survival. Our work contributes to the small but growing body of literature linking behavioural responses exhibited during ECEs to survival, which cumulatively will provide insight for predictions of a species resilience to ECEs and improve our understanding of how behavioural traits offset the negative impacts of global climate change.

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Manly, B.; L. McDonald; D. Thomas: Resource selection by Animals - Statistical design and analysis for field studies. Chapman & Hall, London-Glasgow-New York-Tokyo-Melbourne-Madras 1993, 177 pp., 17 figs., 44 tab., £ 27,95

Biometrical Journal ◽

10.1002/bimj.4710350719 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 35 (7) ◽

pp. 876-876

Author(s):

G. Herrendörfer

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Resource Selection ◽

Statistical Design ◽

Field Studies

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Paths to the unknown: dispersal during the early life of fishes

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2017-0536 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 75 (5) ◽

pp. 792-796

Author(s):

Hubert Keckeis ◽

Catriona Clemmesen ◽

Paul Humphries ◽

Su Sponaugle

Keyword(s):

Early Life ◽

Larval Fish ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Aquatic Environments ◽

Early Life Stages ◽

Special Issue ◽

Dispersal Patterns ◽

Patterns And Processes ◽

The University ◽

Management Issues

The special issue brings together selected contributions from the 39th Annual Larval Fish Conference hosted by the University of Vienna, Austria, and presents the latest research and understanding of dispersal patterns and processes of early life stages of fishes of various aquatic environments around the world (open ocean, coastal areas, estuaries, and rivers). An important component of this compendium is to indicate new approaches and to outline the importance of integration of information about movements and dispersal for recruitment, population dynamics, species conservation, and management issues.

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Impacts of Landscape Changes on Water Resources

Water ◽

10.3390/w12082244 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 2244

Author(s):

Manoj K. Jha

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Landscape Change ◽

Economic Structure ◽

Field Studies ◽

Landscape Changes ◽

Special Issue ◽

Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽

Long Term Monitoring ◽

Term Monitoring

Changes in land use and land cover can have many drivers, including population growth, urbanization, agriculture, demand for food, evolution of socio-economic structure, policy regulations, and climate variability. The impacts of these changes on water resources range from changes in water availability (due to changes in losses of water to evapotranspiration and recharge) to degradation of water quality (increased erosion, salinity, chemical loadings, and pathogens). The impacts are manifested through complex hydro-bio-geo-climate characteristics, which underscore the need for integrated scientific approaches to understand the impacts of landscape change on water resources. Several techniques, such as field studies, long-term monitoring, remote sensing technologies, and advanced modeling studies have been contributing to better understanding the modes and mechanisms by which landscape changes impact water resources. Such research studies can help unlock the complex interconnected influences of landscape on water resources for quantity and quality at multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this Special Issue, we published a set of eight peer-reviewed articles elaborating on some of the specific topics of landscape changes and associated impacts on water resources.

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