Anthropogenic Food Utilization and Seasonal Difference in Diet of Cercopithecus lowei at a Community Protected Forest in Ghana

In recent times, the diet and foraging behaviors of wild animals are influenced by anthropogenic foods since they often share their natural habitats with humans. We investigated the composition, preferred food item, contribution of anthropogenic food at garbage dump sites, and the seasonal effects on the diet of Lowe’s monkeys (Cercopithecus lowei) in the Duasidan Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana. We found that Lowe’s monkeys fed on 13 plant species, as well as anthropogenic foods and invertebrates. The composition of plant diet changed seasonally: Lowe’s monkeys relied more on buds in the dry season while they consumed more fruits in the wet season. However, anthropogenic food was a major component of the diet for both wet (34.8%) and dry seasons (41.3%), suggesting that the monkeys consistently rely on anthropogenic food throughout the year. Nevertheless, we did not observe any conflict between monkeys and local people. The results suggest that Lowe’s monkeys heavily rely on anthropogenic food at human garbage dumps while they maintain a part of their foraging activities in the wild, indicating a need for the proper management of garbage as well as the protection of the natural habitats of Lowe’s monkeys in the Duasidan Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana.

Polar lipids are linked to nanoparticles in xylem sap of temperate angiosperm species

Xylem sap of angiosperm species has been found to include low concentrations of polar lipids and nanoparticles, including surfactant-coated nanobubbles. Although the nanoparticles have been suggested to consist of polar lipids, no attempt has been made to determine if nanoparticle and lipid concentrations are related. Here, we examined concentrations of nanoparticles and lipids in xylem sap and contamination control samples of six temperate angiosperm species with a NanoSight device and based on mass spectrometry. We found (1) that the concentration of nanoparticles and lipids were both diluted when an increasing amount of sap was extracted, (2) that their concentrations were significantly correlated in three species, (3) that their concentrations were affected by vessel anatomy, and (4) that concentrations of nanoparticles and lipids were very low in contamination-control samples. Moreover, there was little seasonal difference, no freezing-thawing effect on nanoparticles, and little seasonal variation in lipid composition. These findings indicate that lipids and nanoparticles are related to each other, and largely do not pass interconduit pit membranes. Further research is needed to examine the formation and stability of nanoparticles in xylem sap in relation to lipid composition, and the complicated interactions among the gas, liquid, and solid phases in xylem conduits.

Optimized Protocol for Cyanobacterial 16S rRNA Analysis in Danube Delta Lakes

Molecular biology protocols have been more and more accessible to researchers for ecological investigations. However, these protocols always require optimization steps for the analysis of specific types of samples. This study aimed to optimize a molecular protocol to analyze cyanobacterial 16S rRNA in Danube Delta shallows lakes. In this regard, several commercial DNA extraction kits were tested compared to the potassium ethyl xanthogenate extraction method on different matrices. The obtained DNA was further used for 16S rRNA PCR optimization. Finally, an optimized protocol is proposed for the molecular analysis of the cyanobacteria group in freshwater samples. The best DNA extraction method was the potassium xanthogenate extraction from dried cyanobacterial biomass. A dynamic in total genomic eDNA was observed, reflecting the seasonal difference in phytoplankton biomass from the studied lakes. The PCR protocol optimized by us can be successfully applied for the identification of a broad range of cyanobacterial genetic markers.

Optimized Protocol for Cyanobacterial 16S rRNA Analysis in Danube Delta Lakes

Molecular biology protocols have been more and more accessible to researchers for ecological investigations, however, these protocols always require optimization steps for the analysis of specific types of samples. The purpose of this study was to optimize a molecular protocol for the analysis of cyanobacterial 16S rRNA in Danube Delta shallows lakes. In this regard, several commercial DNA extraction kits were tested in comparison with potassium ethyl xanthogenate extraction method on different matrices. The obtained DNA was further used for 16S rRNA PCR optimization. Finally, an optimized protocol is proposed for the molecular analysis of cyanobacteria group in freshwater samples. The best DNA extraction method was the potassium xanthogenate extraction from dried cyanobacterial biomass. A dynamic in total genomic eDNA was observed, reflecting the seasonal difference in phytoplankton biomass from the studied lakes. The PCR protocol optimized by us can be successfully applied for the identification of a broad range of cyanobacterial genetic markers.

Characteristics of Sediment at Littoral Zone of Anoi Itam Beach (Eastern Weh Island, Indonesia) Based on Seasonal Changes

Anoi Itam Beach (AIB), located in the eastern part of Weh Island, has the sediment characteristic of dark-sand color. Climatologically, the beach is influenced by two seasons, i.e., south-west (SW) monsoon and northeast (NE) monsoon. Sediment data are collected in the upper and lower littoral zones that are divided into six stations alongshore. Data were collected on October 2016 and April 2017, representing post-SW monsoon and post-NE monsoon events. To examine the effect of seasonal, sediments statistics, e.g., mean, sorting, skewness, and kurtosis, have been calculated. AIB was characterized as well sorted to poorly sorted sediment. Sediments were identified as mesokurtic in October, varied to leptokurtic and platikurtic in upper littoral and lower littoral, respectively, in April. Grain size in both upper and lower littoral had increased from October to April. The impact on sediment sortation was minor due to the seasonal difference. Sediments in the upper littoral vary slightly skewed than lower littoral, which response to a more positively skewed during seasonal change from SW-monsoon to NE monsoon. The results suggested that lower littoral provide high variability of sediment characteristics depend on the season.

Flexibility in Migratory Behaviour of a Flight Generalist: Migrate Day and Night, Sprinting Across Ecological Barriers

Understanding what factors drive variation in movement patterns is a key challenge in current migration research. Environmental drivers such as landscape heterogeneity and weather strongly affect birds’ migration influencing daily travel schedules and flight speed. For strictly thermal-soaring migrants, typically large birds, weather explains most seasonal and regional differences in speed. In contrast, smaller-sized flight generalists, which alternate between soaring and flapping flight, may be less dependent on weather and thus more likely to be strongly influenced by landscape in daily travel schedules and internal drivers, such as sex. We GPS-tracked the migration performance of 70 lesser kestrels (Falco naumanni), to estimate the relative importance of environmental (wind and landscape), internal (e.g. sex) and seasonal drivers and to what extend do they explain variation in migratory performance, namely speed, distance, and travelling time. We found that tailwind strength explained most of the seasonal difference in migratory parameters. In both seasons lesser kestrels sprinted across ecological barriers and frequently extended migration into the night, while travelling at a slower pace and mainly during the day when not flying over barriers. Our results highlighted that environmental factors far outweighed internal and other seasonal drivers in explaining variation in migration performance of a flight generalist, despite the ability to switch between flight-modes.