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147 results for “foraging behavior”
Data from: Mark-recapture experiments reveal foraging behavior and plant fidelity of native bees in plant nurseries
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Data from: The enemy within: how does a bacterium inhibit the foraging aptitude and risk management behavior of Allenby's gerbils?
<p>Microbes inhabiting multi-cellular organisms have complex, often subtle effects on their hosts. <i>Gerbillus andersoni allenbyi </i>are commonly infected with the <i>Mycoplasma haemomuris-</i>like bacteria, which may cause mild nutrient (choline, arginine) deficiencies. However, are there more serious ecological consequences of infection such as effects on foraging aptitudes and risk management? We tested alternatives: 1) <i>nutrient compensation hypothesis</i>, does nutrient deficiency induce infected gerbils to make up for the shortfall by foraging more and taking greater risks? or 2) <i>lethargy hypothesis</i>, do sick gerbils forage less, and are they compromised in their ability to detect predators or risky microhabitats? We compared the foraging and risk management behavior of infected and non-infected gerbils. We experimentally infected gerbils with the bacteria, which allowed us to compare between non-infected, acutely infected (peak infection loads), and chronically infected (low infection loads) individuals. Our findings supported the <i>lethargy hypothesis </i>over the <i>nutrient compensation hypothesis. </i>Infected individuals incurred dramatically elevated foraging costs, including less efficient foraging, diminished "quality" of time spent vigilant, and increased owl predation. Interestingly, gerbils that were chronically infected (lower bacteria load) experienced larger ecological costs than acutely infected individuals (i.e. peak infection loads). This suggests that the debilitating effects of infection occur gradually, with a progressive decline in the quality of time gerbils allocated to foraging and managing risk. These increased long-term costs of infection demonstrate how small direct physiological costs of infection can lead to large indirect ecological costs. The indirect ecological costs of this parasite appear much greater than the direct physiological costs.</p>
Foraging behavior and extended phenotype independently affect foraging success in spiders
<p>Multiple phenotypic traits often interact with each other to determine an individual's fitness. Behavioral and extended phenotypic traits, such as architectural constructions, can contribute to fitness in an integrated way. The goal of this study was to understand how the interaction between behavioral and extended phenotypic traits can affect foraging success. We tested this question using black widow spiders, where spiders that are aggressive in a foraging context tend to build more gumfooted silk lines that aid in prey capture, while non-aggressive spiders build webs with fewer gumfooted lines. We repeatedly assessed behavior and web structure to quantify relationships between these traits, and then allowed spiders to forage for live prey on their own web or the web of a conspecific that differed in structure. Thus, we assessed how varying combinations of behavior and web structure affect foraging success, and if correlational selection might act on them. We confirmed that aggressiveness and number of gumfooted lines are positively correlated and found that capture success increased with both aggressiveness and the number of gumfooted lines. Yet, we did not find any evidence for correlational selection: aggressiveness and number of gumfooted lines appeared to affect foraging success independently of each other. These findings highlight that a correlation between traits that contribute towards the same ecological function does not necessarily imply correlational selection. Taking advantage of the experimental convenience afforded by extended phenotypic traits can provide insight into the functional consequences of phenotypic variation within and between individuals.</p>
Data from: Limitation of complementary resources affects colony growth, foraging behavior and reproduction in bumble bees
<p>Resource availability has been disturbed for many organisms in agricultural landscapes including pollinator species. Abundance and diversity in flower availability benefit bee populations, however, little is known about which of protein or carbohydrate resources may limit their growth and reproductive performance. Here, we test the hypothesis of complementary resource limitation using a supplemental feeding approach. We applied this assumption with bumble bees (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>), assuming that colony growth and reproductive performance should depend on the continuous supply of carbohydrates and proteins, through the foraging for nectar and pollen respectively. We placed wild-caught bumble bee colonies along a landscape gradient of semi-natural habitats, and monitored the colonies' weight, foraging activity and reproductive performance during the whole colony cycle. We performed supplemental feeding as an indicator of landscape resource limitation, using a factorial design consisting of the addition of sugar-water (carbohydrate, supplemented or not) crossed by pollen (protein, supplemented or not). Bumble bee colony dynamics showed a clear seasonal pattern with a period of growth followed by a period of stagnation. Higher abundance of semi-natural habitats resulted in reducing the proportion of pollen foragers relative to all foragers in both periods, and in improving the reproductive performance of bumble bees. Interestingly, the supplemental feeding of sugar-water positively affected the colony weight during the stagnation period, while the supplemental feeding of pollen mitigated the landscape effect on pollen collection investment. Single and combined supplementation of sugar-water and pollen increased the positive effect of semi-natural habitats on reproductive performance. This study reveals a potential co-limitation in pollen and nectar resources affecting foraging behavior and reproductive performance in bumble bees, and indicates that even in mixed agricultural landscapes with higher proportions of semi-natural habitats, bumble bee populations face resource limitations. We conclude that the seasonal management of floral resources must be considered in conservation to support bumble bee populations and pollination services in farmlands.</p>
Data from: Empirical evidence that large marine predator foraging behavior is consistent with area-restricted search theory
When prey is patchily distributed, predators are expected to spend more time searching for food in proximity of recent prey captures before searching in other areas. This behavior, known as area-restricted search, results in predators remaining localized in areas where prey had been detected previously because of the higher probability of encountering additional prey. However, few studies have tested these predictions on marine species because of the difficulties of observing feeding behavior. In this study, we utilized passive acoustic detections of echolocating dolphins to identify foraging behavior. C-PODs (click train detectors) were deployed for two years with an acoustic recorder attached to the same mooring during the second year. The time series of feeding buzzes, indicative of foraging behavior, revealed that both bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) were more likely to stay in the area longer when foraging activity was high at the beginning of the encounter. The probability of foraging was also higher following previous foraging activity. This suggests that dolphins were feeding on spatially patchy prey and previous foraging experience influenced their movement behavior. This is consistent with the predictions of area-restricted search behavior, a nonrandom foraging strategy.
Data from: The evolution of floral sonication, a pollen foraging behavior used by bees (Anthophila)
Over 22,000 species of biotically pollinated flowering plants, including some major agricultural crops, depend primarily on bees capable of floral sonication for pollination services. The ability to sonicate ("buzz") flowers is widespread in bees but not ubiquitous. Despite the prevalence of this pollinator behavior and its importance to natural and agricultural systems, the evolutionary history of floral sonication in bees has not been previously studied. Here, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of floral sonication in bees by generating a time-calibrated phylogeny and reconstructing ancestral states for this pollen extraction behavior. We also test the hypothesis that the ability to sonicate flowers and thereby efficiently access pollen from a diverse assemblage of plant species, led to increased diversification amongst sonicating bee taxa. We find that floral sonication evolved on average 45 times within bees, possibly first during the Early Cretaceous (100-145 million years ago) in the common ancestor of bees. We find that sonicating lineages are significantly more species rich than non-sonicating sister lineages when comparing sister clades, but a probabilistic structured rate permutation on phylogenies approach failed to support the hypothesis that floral sonication is a key driver of bee diversification. This study provides the evolutionary framework needed to further study how floral sonication by bees may have facilitated the spread and common evolution of angiosperm species with poricidal floral morphology.
Data from: Size, sex, and individual-level behavior drive intra-population variation in cross-ecosystem foraging of a top-predator
1. Large-bodied, top-predators are often highly mobile, with the potential to provide important linkages between spatially distinct food webs. What biological factors contribute to variation in cross-ecosystem movements, however, have rarely been examined. 2. Here, we investigated how ontogeny (body size), sex, and individual-level behavior impacts intra-population variation in cross-ecosystem foraging (i.e., between freshwater and marine systems), by the top-predator Alligator mississippiensis. 3. Field surveys revealed A. mississippiensis uses marine ecosystems regularly and are abundant in estuarine tidal creeks (from 0.3–6.3 individuals/km of creek, n = 45 surveys). Alligator mississippiensis captured in marine/estuarine habitats were significantly larger than individuals captured in freshwater and intermediate habitats. 4. Stomach content analysis showed that small juveniles consumed marine/estuarine prey less frequently (6.7% of individuals) than did large juveniles (57.8%), sub-adult (73%), and adult (78%) size classes. Isotopic mixing model analysis (SIAR) also suggests substantial variation in use of marine/estuarine prey resources with differences among and within size classes between sexes and individuals (range of median estimates for marine/estuarine diet contribution = 0.05–0.76). 5. These results demonstrate the importance of intra-population characteristics (body size, sex, and individual specialization) as key determinants of the strength of predator-driven ecosystem connectivity resulting from cross-ecosystem foraging behaviors. Understanding the factors which contribute to variation in cross-ecosystem foraging behaviors will improve our predictive understanding of the effects of top-predators on community structure and ecosystem function.
Data from: Pollination on the dark side: acoustic monitoring reveals impacts of a total solar eclipse on flight behavior and activity schedule of foraging bees
The total solar eclipse of 21 August 2017 traversed ~5000 km from coast to coast of North America. In its 90-min span, sunlight dropped by three orders of magnitude and temperature by 10–15°C. To investigate impacts of these changes on bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) pollinators, we monitored their flights acoustically in natural habitats of Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain, and Midwest regions. Temperature changes during the eclipse had little impact on bee activity. Most of the explained variation (R2) in buzzing rate was attributable to changes in light intensity. Bees ceased flying during complete darkness at totality, but flight activity was unaffected by dim light in partial phases before and after totality. Flights of bees during partial phases of the eclipse lasted longer than flights made under full sun, showing that behavioral plasticity matched bee flight properties to changes in light intensity during the eclipse. Efforts of citizen scientists, including hundreds of school children, contributed to the scope and educational impact of this study.
Data from: Body condition influences ontogeny of foraging behavior in juvenile southern elephant seals
1. Ontogeny of diving and foraging behaviour in marine top predators is poorly understood despite its importance in population recruitment. This lack of knowledge is partly due to the difficulties of monitoring juveniles in the wild, which is linked to high mortality early in life. 2. Pinnipeds are good models for studying the development of foraging behaviours because juveniles are large enough to robustly carry tracking devices for many months. Moreover, parental assistance is absent after a juvenile departs for its first foraging trip, minimising confounding effects of parental input on the development of foraging skills. 3. In this study, we tracked 20 newly-weaned juvenile southern elephant seals from Kerguelen Islands for up to 338 days during their first trip at sea following weaning. We used a new generation of satellite relay tags, which allow for the transmission of dive, accelerometer and location data. We also monitored, at the same time, nine adult females from the colony during their post-breeding trips, in order to compare diving and foraging behaviours. 4. Juveniles showed a gradual improvement through time in their foraging skills. Like adults females, they remarkably adjusted their swimming effort according to temporal changes in buoyancy (i.e. a proxy of their body condition). They also did not appear to exceed their aerobic physiological diving limits, although dives were constrained by their smaller size compared to adults. Changes in buoyancy appeared to also influence their decision to either keep foraging or return to land, alongside the duration of their haul outs and choice of foraging habitat (oceanic vs plateau). 5. Further studies are thus needed to better understand how patterns in juveniles survival, and therefore elephant seal populations, might be affected by their changes in foraging skills and changes in their environmental conditions.
Data from: Corticosterone predicts foraging behavior and parental care in macaroni penguins
Corticosterone has received considerable attention as the principal hormonal mediator of allostasis or physiological stress in wild animals. More recently, it has also been implicated in the regulation of parental care in breeding birds, particularly with respect to individual variation in foraging behaviour and provisioning effort. There is also evidence that prolactin can work either inversely or additively with corticosterone to achieve this. Here we test the hypothesis that endogenous corticosterone plays a key physiological role in the control of foraging behaviour and parental care using a combination of exogenous corticosterone treatment, time-depth telemetry, and physiological sampling of female macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) during the brood-guard period of chick rearing, while simultaneously monitoring patterns of prolactin secretion. Plasma corticosterone levels were significantly higher in females given exogenous implants relative to those receiving sham implants. Increased corticosterone levels were associated with significantly higher levels of foraging and diving activity, and greater mass gain in implanted females. Elevated plasma corticosterone was also associated with an apparent fitness benefit in the form of increased chick mass. Plasma prolactin levels did not correlate with corticosterone levels at any time, nor was prolactin correlated with any measure of foraging behaviour or parental care. Our results provide support for the corticosterone-adaptation hypothesis, which predicts that higher corticosterone levels support increased foraging activity and parental effort.
Data from: Sunbird hovering behavior is determined by both the forager and resource plant
The long-standing paradigm that pollination systems adapted to hovering birds evolved only in the New World was recently challenged by the discovery of hovering pollination by Old World specialized passerine pollinators. This raises the possibility that hovering pollination may evolve more easily than previously believed, given sufficient selective pressure on plant traits, on nectarivory, or both. We observed foraging behavior by the sunbird Cyanomitra oritis at flowers of the native Old World plant Impatiens sakeriana. We measured the length of pedicels and peduncles (PedPed length), which can make the flowers difficult to reach while the bird perches on the stem, and determined if it influenced sunbird hovering or perching at a flower. Detailed analyses of video recordings showed that sunbirds only hovered at flowers with a long PedPed, whereas they employed both foraging modes when an adequate perch was available. A hovering sunbird could deplete nectar in a shorter time than a perching one. The frequency of visits was not greater at flowers with longer PedPed or with more open I. sakeriana flowers in the vicinity. Our study provides evidence that sunbird behavior does not follow simple energetic models, and that some sunbird pollination systems in the Old World resemble highly specialized hummingbird systems in the New World much more than expected, especially the overall adaptation of the system to bird hovering.
Fig. 4 in Twig Foraging and Soil-Burrowing Behaviors in Larvae of Dinoptera Minuta (Gebler) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
Fig. 4. Digestive tract of immature and mature larvae of D. minuta. Left: immature larva removed from twig on Nov. 7, 1994. Right: mature larva removed from soil on Sept. 29, 1994.
Exposure to elevated temperature during development affects bumblebee foraging behavior
<p><span>Bee foraging behavior provides a pollination service that has both ecological and economic benefits. However, bee population decline could directly affect the efficiency of this interaction. Among the drivers of this decline, global warming has been implicated as an emerging threat but exactly how increasing temperatures affect bee foraging behavior remains unexplored. Here, we assessed how exposure to elevated temperatures during development affects the foraging behavior and morphology of workers from commercial and wild <em>Bombus terrestris</em> colonies. Workers reared at 33°C had a higher visiting rate and shorter visiting time than those reared at 27°C. In addition, far fewer workers reared at 33°C engaged in foraging activities and this is potentially related to the drastic reduction in the number of individuals produced in colonies exposed to 33°C. The impact of elevated developmental temperature on wild colonies was even stronger as none of the workers from these colonies performed any foraging trips. We also found that rearing temperature affected wing size and shape. Our results provide the first evidence that colony temperature can have striking effects on bumblebee foraging behavior. Of particular importance is the drastic reduction in the number of workers performing foraging trips, and the total number of foraging trips made by workers reared in high temperatures. Further studies should explore if, ultimately, these observed effects of exposure to elevated temperature during development lead to a reduction in pollination efficiency.</span></p>
Raw data from: Airport noise disturbs foraging behavior of Japanese pipistrelle bats
<p><span>The expansion of anthropogenic noise poses an emerging threat to </span><span>the </span><span>survival and reproductive success of various organisms. Previous investigations have focused on the detrimental effects of anthropogenic noise on the foraging behavior in some terrestrial and aquatic animals. Nevertheless, the role of airport noise in impairing foraging activities of most wild animals has been neglected. Here, we aimed to assess whether foraging behavior in free-living Japanese pipistrelle bats (<em>Pipistrellus</em> <em>abramus</em>) can be disturbed by airport noise. We used audio recording </span><span>to </span><span>monitor foraging activities of bats at 11 sites around the runway of a municipal airport. We quantified noise level and spectra, aircraft activity, habitat type, nightly temperature, wind speed, and moon phase for each site. The analysis revealed that noise level and aircraft activity were significant negative predictors for the number of bat passes and feeding buzzes around the runway, even after controlling for the effects of other environmental factors. There was no marked spectral overlap between bat echolocation pulses and airport noise in the presence and absence of low-flying aircraft. The spectro-temporal parameters of echolocation vocalizations emitted by bats were dependent on noise level, aircraft activity, and habitat type. These results provide correlative evidence that airport noise can reduce foraging activities of wild pipistrelle bats. Our findings add to the current knowledge of adverse impacts of airport noise on foraging bats in artificial ecosystems and provide a basis for further research on the mechanisms behind noise pollution near airports.</span></p>
Data from: Predatory fish sounds can alter crab foraging behavior and influence bivalve abundance
The risk of predation can have large effects on ecological communities via changes in prey behaviour, morphology and reproduction. Although prey can use a variety of sensory signals to detect predation risk, relatively little is known regarding the effects of predator acoustic cues on prey foraging behaviour. Here we show that an ecologically important marine crab species can detect sound across a range of frequencies, probably in response to particle acceleration. Further, crabs suppress their resource consumption in the presence of experimental acoustic stimuli from multiple predatory fish species, and the sign and strength of this response is similar to that elicited by water-borne chemical cues. When acoustic and chemical cues were combined, consumption differed from expectations based on independent cue effects, suggesting redundancies among cue types. These results highlight that predator acoustic cues may influence prey behaviour across a range of vertebrate and invertebrate taxa, with the potential for cascading effects on resource abundance.
Data from: Determinants of elephant foraging behavior in a coupled human-natural system: is brown the new green?
1. Crop raiding by wildlife poses major threats to both wildlife conservation and human wellbeing in agro-ecosystems worldwide. These threats are particularly acute in many parts of Africa, where crop raiders include globally threatened megafauna such as elephants, and where smallholder agriculture is a primary source of human livelihood. One framework for understanding herbivore feeding behavior, the forage-maturation hypothesis, predicts that herbivores should align their movements with intermediate forage biomass (i.e., peak green-up); this phenomenon is known as "surfing the green wave." Crop-raiding elephants, however, often consume not just foliage, but also fruits and tubers (e.g., maize, potatoes), which generally mature after seasonal peaks in photosynthetic activity. Thus, although elephants have been reported to surf the green wave in natural habitats, they may utilize a different strategy in cultivated landscapes by selecting crops that are "browning down." 2. We sought to understand the factors that underpin movement of elephants into agricultural landscapes. 3. In Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, we used movement data from GPS-collared elephants, together with precipitation records, remotely sensed estimates of landscape greenness (NDVI), DNA-based diet analysis, measurements of plant nutritional quality, and survey-based metrics of crop availability to understand spatiotemporal variation in elephant crop-raiding behavior. 4. Elephants tracked peak NDVI while foraging inside the Park. During the dry season, however, when NDVI within the Park declined and availability of mature crops was high, crop-raiding increased dramatically, and elephants consistently selected crop plants that were browning down while foraging in cultivated landscapes. Crops contained significantly higher digestible energy than wild food plants, but comparable (and sometimes lower) levels of digestible protein, suggesting that this foraging strategy maximized energy rather than protein intake. 5. Our study is the first to combine GPS tracking data with high-resolution diet analysis and community-based reporting of crop availability to reveal fine-scale plasticity in foraging behavior of elephants at the human-wildlife interface. Our results extend the forage-maturation hypothesis by showing that elephants surf waves of plant brown-down in cultivated landscapes. These findings can aid efforts to reduce human-elephant conflict by enabling wildlife managers to prioritize mitigation actions in time and space with limited resources.
Sex differences in the foraging behavior of a generalist hawkmoth
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Data from: The behavioral trade-off between thermoregulation and foraging in a heat-sensitive species
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Raw data from: Airport noise disturbs foraging behavior of Japanese pipistrelle bats
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Data from: Larval pheromones act as colony-wide regulators of collective foraging behavior in honeybees
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