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opennotspecifiedDec 2008View details →

FIGURE 1 in When starvation challenges the tradition of niche conservatism: On a new species of the saxicolous genus Phymaturus from Patagonia Argentina with pseudoarboreal foraging behaviour (Iguania, Liolaemidae)

FIGURE 1. (a) Adult male holotype of Phymaturus agilis in life from Terra Typica, Río Negro, dorsal view. Photo: J.A. Scolaro, 10-03-2006. (b) Adult female paratype of Phymaturus agilis in life from Terra Typica, Río Negro, dorsal view. Photo: J.A. Scolaro, 10-03-2006.

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2024View details →

Including population and environmental dynamic heterogeneities in continuum models of collective behaviour with applications to locust foraging and group structure Data and Code

This dataset includes all data used for the creation of "Including dynamic population and environmental heterogeneity in continuum models of collective behaviour with applications to locust foraging and group structure" as well as a snapshot of the code used. Each zip should be unzippable and the code should operate with only the contents of the zip file.

opencc-zeroNov 2021View details →

Exploitative competition for floral resources reduces sugar intake but differently impacts the foraging behaviour of two non-bee flower visitors

Identifying which behavioural strategies maximize individual fitness is a key objective in ecology. Organisms are known to adapt their foraging behaviour to their environment in response to abiotic and biotic constraints, such as the distribution of resources or the presence of competitors. For instance, bees are known to avoid recently visited flowers and thus focus their foraging on more rewarding patches. Whether other flower-visiting insects adapt their foraging behaviour in response to exploitative competition for floral resources remains unknown. Here, we asked if a predatory hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) and a parasitoid (Aphidius colemani) 1) are physiologically impacted by flower resource limitation following exploitation of flowers by a competitor (either the bumblebee Bombus terrestris or E. balteatus); 2) have the ability to discriminate flowers that were previously exploited by a competitor; and 3) modify their foraging behaviour accordingly. Episyrphus balteatus and A. colemani individuals foraging on previously exploited flowers were found to be less concentrated in sugar compounds, especially in fructose and glucose, suggesting that previously exploited flowers contained less available sugars. Nevertheless, individuals did not avoid previously exploited patches in the choice experiment. On the contrary, E. balteatus females preferentially landed on inflorescences that had previously been exploited by conspecifics (but not by B. terrestris), while A. colemani did not show preferences between inflorescences. However, female hoverflies spent more time feeding on unexploited patches, suggesting that exploited patches were resource limited. To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence of the use of social cues among E. balteatus individuals in food foraging strategies. It also shows that even insects with tiny nectar requirements, such as parasitoids, can suffer from heavy exploitative competition. Such results may have applied consequences for the understanding of natural enemy conservation, in particular in agroecosystems where competition with honeybees may be important.

opencc-zeroDec 2021View details →

Data from: Resource heterogeneity but not inbreeding affects growth and grouping behaviour in socially foraging juvenile cichlid fish

1. Spatial food distribution determines resource profitability, defensibility and encounter rate of foragers. Clumped food distribution can promote aggressiveness and resource monopolisation, in turn increasing within-group variation in food intake and growth. However, the effects of food distribution may depend on foraging strategies. Little is known about the impact of spatial food heterogeneity on growth and grouping behaviour in social foragers in the absence of monopolisation. 2. Social foraging is present in many fishes, particularly at early juvenile life stages when fish are especially sensitive to environmental variation. Here, a heterogeneous food distribution may impair foraging success and growth and juveniles may increase sociability to attain social information about food resources. 3. We examined the impact of the spatial distribution of food as well as inbreeding on growth and social behaviour in juveniles of the cichlid fish Pelvicachromis pulcher. Inbred individuals often show poorer performance than outbred individuals (inbreeding depression), but inbreeding effects can be environment-dependent. In the experiment, in- and outbred fish were reared in a split-clutch design either under homogeneously distributed or spatially clumped food conditions for eight weeks starting one week after juveniles could actively feed. We documented growth and performed a shoaling assay and a sociality test (choice between a large vs. a small shoal) after six weeks. 4. Spatial food distribution did not affect within-group body length variation, but individuals reared under clumped food conditions were smaller. Shoals of the different feeding conditions differed in social behaviour. Shoals of the clumped treatment group showed higher variation in inter-individual distances compared to shoals of the homogeneous treatment group. Furthermore, focal fish of the clumped treatment adjusted their association preference to the position of the groups' largest individual. We did not find significant inbreeding or environment-dependent inbreeding effects regarding growth or social behaviour. 5. Our study suggests that a clumped food distribution can impede localisation of food resources and thus growth in juvenile social foragers. Accordingly, in heterogeneous environments, the use of social information may be highly relevant to increase individuals' foraging success potentially explaining orientation on successful foragers, i.e. large individuals. Inter-individual variation in juvenile social behaviour may precede variation in food monopolisation capability and in growth emerging at later life stages.

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

Data associated to: A bioenergetics approach to understanding sex differences in the foraging behaviour of a sexually monomorphic species

Many animals show sexually divergent foraging behaviours reflecting different physiological constraints or energetic needs. We used a bioenergetics approach to examine sex differences in foraging behaviour of the sexually monomorphic northern gannet. We used the relationship between dynamic body acceleration and energy expenditure to investigate energetic cost of prey capture attempts (plunge dives). Fourteen gannets were tracked using GPS, TDR, and accelerometers. All plunge dives in a foraging trip represented <4% of total energy expenditure, with no significant sex differences in expenditure. Despite females undertaking significantly more dives than males, the low energetic cost resulted in no sex differences in overall energy expenditure across a foraging trip. Bayesian stable isotope mixing models based on blood samples highlighted sex differences in diet, however, calorific intake from successful prey capture was estimated to be similar between sexes. Females experienced 9.6% higher energy demands, due to unequal chick provisioning. Estimates show a minimum of 21% of dives have to be successful for females to meet their daily energy requirements, and 29% for males. Our analyses suggest northern gannets show sex differences in foraging behaviour primarily related to dive rate and success rather than the energetic cost of foraging or energetic content of prey.

opencc-zeroJul 2022View details →

Observational foraging behaviour of avian pollinators in restored and remnant Banksia woodlands

Pollinators, and the pollination services they provide, are critical for seed set and self-sustainability of most flowering plants. Despite this, pollinators are rarely assessed in restored plant communities, where their services are largely assumed to re-establish. This data set contains the bird-pollinator richness, foraging and bird interaction behaviour between natural and restored Banksia woodland sites in Western Australia. These parameters were measured for natural communities of varying size and degree of fragmentation, and restored plant communities of high and low complexity for three years, in the summer and winter flowering of Banksia attenuata and B. menziesii, respectively. Data collected was used to assess the re-establishment of avian pollinators in restored sites.

Figure 4 in Variable foraging and flower probing behaviour of sunbird pollinators of the South African Pelargonium fulgidum

Figure 4. Comparison of mean ± standard error (SE) of various aspects of sternotribic and nototribic foraging efficiency for different foraging behaviours. (a) Number of open flowers per visited inflorescence. (b) Number of probed flowers per visited inflorescence. (c) The proportion of probed flowers per visited inflorescence. None of the comparisons were significantly different (P <0.05).

Figure 3 in Variable foraging and flower probing behaviour of sunbird pollinators of the South African Pelargonium fulgidum

Figure 3. Mean proportion ± 95% confidence interval (CI) of direction of flower probing based on (a) Cinnyris chalybeus sex and (b) foraging behaviour. Different letters indicate significant differences (P <0.05). Hovering behaviour was not included in the statistical analysis as it always resulted in sternotrobic foraging.

Figure 1 in Variable foraging and flower probing behaviour of sunbird pollinators of the South African Pelargonium fulgidum

Figure 1. Pelargonium fulgidum plants and Cinnyris chalybeus sunbird pollinators. (a) Plants of P. fulgidum flower in dense coastal scrub on sand dunes along the west coast of South Africa. (b) Top view of the fan-shaped P. fulgidum inflorescence, showing the number of open flowers and the angles among open flowers and peduncle. (c) Side view of P. fulgidum inflorescence, showing the angles of peduncle and pedicels. (d) Male C. chalybeus with its slightly decurved bill. (e) Pelargonium fulgidum flower in longitudinal cross section, showing the slightly upcurved nectar tube and the reproductive parts partly blocking the flower entrance. Scale bars: b, d = 10 mm; e = 5 mm.

Figure 2 in Variable foraging and flower probing behaviour of sunbird pollinators of the South African Pelargonium fulgidum

Figure 2. All different foraging positions and perch uses observed in this study. (a) Nototribic foraging by a Cinnyris chalybeus male using an alternative perch. (b) Nototrobic foraging by a C. chalybeus male using the inflorescence as perch. (c) Sternotribic foraging by a C. chalybeus female using the inflorescence as perch. (d) Sternotrobic foraging by a C. chalybeus female using an alternative perch. (e) Sternotribic foraging by a C. chalybeus female while hovering. The association between bird sex and flower probing direction is not representative.

opennotspecifiedApr 2021View details →

Figure 4 in No rest for the weary: restricted resting behaviour of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at a deep-neritic foraging area influences expression of life history traits

Figure 4. Depth versus duration of resting bouts for (a) each individual turtle (n = 12), and (b) average dive depth vs. dive duration for all resting dives by each individual turtle ± 1 standard deviation (R2 = 0.36).

opennotspecifiedApr 2021View details →

Figure 3 in No rest for the weary: restricted resting behaviour of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at a deep-neritic foraging area influences expression of life history traits

Figure 3. Dive depth vs. dive duration for (a) all non-resting dives by all turtles (R2 = 0.26, slope = 0.72) and (b) all resting dives by all turtles (R2 = 0.31, slope = 0.43).

opennotspecifiedApr 2021View details →

Figure 2 in No rest for the weary: restricted resting behaviour of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at a deep-neritic foraging area influences expression of life history traits

Figure 2. Map of Bahίa de los Angeles study area along the eastern coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico (inset); 10-m baythmetric contours represented by dashed lines; Capture sites: 1. El Barco, 2. La Silica, 3. El Bajo, 4. El Cardon, 5. Pedregal de la Blanca and 6. Playa Blanca.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2020View details →

Supporting data : A fungus infected environment does not alter the behaviour of foraging ants

As part of the publication process of our article "A fungus infected environment does not alter the behaviour of foraging ants", we shared on Zenodo.org the data set which underpins our results.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Assessing the nutritional consequences of switching foraging behaviour in wood bison

Diet is one of the most common traits used to organize species of animals into niches. For ruminant herbivores, the breadth and uniqueness of their dietary niche is placed on a spectrum from browsers that consume woody (i.e., browse) and herbaceous (i.e., forbs) plants, to grazers with graminoid-rich diets. However, seasonal changes in plant availability and quality can lead to switching of their dietary niche, even within species. In this study, we examined whether a population of wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) in northeast Alberta, Canada seasonally switched their foraging behaviour, and if so, whether this was associated with changes in nutrient acquisition. We hypothesized that bison should switch foraging behaviours from grazing in the winter when standing, dead graminoids are the only foliar plants readily available to browsing during spring and summer as nutritious and digestible foliar parts of browse and forbs become available. If bison are switching foraging strategy to maximize protein consumption, then there should be a corresponding shift in the nutritional niche. Alternatively, if bison are eating different plants, but consuming similar amounts of nutrients, then bison are switching their dietary niche to maintain a particular nutrient composition. We found wood bison were grazers in the winter and spring, but switch to a browsing during summer. However, only winter nutrient consumption of consumed plants differed significantly among seasons. Between spring and summer, bison maintained a specific nutritional composition in their diet despite compositional differences in the consumed plants. Our evidence suggests bison are selecting plants to maintain a target macronutrient composition. We posit that herbivore's can and will switch their dietary niche to maintain a target nutrient composition.