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130 results for “foraging behaviour”
Data from: Chronic impairment of bumblebee natural foraging behaviour induced by sublethal pesticide exposure
1. Insect pollination is a vital ecosystem service that maintains biodiversity and sustains agricultural crop yields. Social bees are essential insect pollinators so it is concerning that their populations are in global decline. 2. Although pesticide exposure has been implicated as a possible cause for bee declines, we currently have a limited understanding of the risk these chemicals pose. Whilst environmental exposure to pesticides typically has non-lethal effects on individual bees, recent reports suggest that sublethal exposure can affect important behavioural traits such as foraging. However, at present we know comparatively little about how natural foraging behaviour is impaired and the relative impacts of acute and chronic effects. 3. Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging technology we examined how the day-to-day foraging patterns of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) were affected when exposed to either a neonicotinoid (imidacloprid) and/or a pyrethroid (λ-cyhalothrin) independently and in combination over a four week period. This is the first study to provide data on the impacts of combined and individual pesticide exposure on the temporal dynamics of foraging behaviour in the field over a prolonged period of time. 4. Our results show that neonicotinoid exposure has both acute and chronic effects on overall foraging activity. While foragers from control colonies improved their pollen foraging performance as they gained experience, the performance of bees exposed to imidacloprid became worse: chronic behavioural impairment. We also found evidence suggesting that pesticide exposure can change forager preferences for the flower types from which they collect pollen. 5. Our findings highlight the importance of considering prolonged exposure (which happens in the field) when assessing the risk that pesticides pose to bees. The effects of chronic pesticide exposure could have serious detrimental consequences for both colony survival and also the pollination services provided by these essential insect pollinators.
Data from: Poor resource quality lowers transmission potential by changing foraging behaviour
Resource quality can have conflicting effects on the spread of disease. High quality resources could hinder disease spread by promoting host immune function. Alternatively, high quality food might enhance the spread of disease through other traits of hosts or parasites. Thus, to assess how resource quality shapes epidemics, we need to delineate mechanisms by which food quality affects key epidemiological traits. Here, we disentangle effects of food quality on 'transmission potential' – a key component of parasite fitness that combines transmission rate and parasite production – using a zooplankton host and fungal parasite. We estimated the components of transmission potential (i.e., parasite encounter rate, susceptibility, and yield of parasite propagules) for hosts fed a high quality green alga and a low quality cyanobacterium. A focal experiment was designed to disentangle food quality effects on various components of transmission potential. The low quality resource decreased transmission potential by stunting host growth and altering foraging behaviour. Hosts reared on low quality food were smaller and had lower size-corrected feeding rates. Due to their slower grazing, they encountered fewer parasite spores in the water. Smaller hosts also had lower risk of an ingested spore causing infection (i.e., lower susceptibility), and yielded fewer parasite propagules. Hosts switched from high to low quality food during spore exposure also had low transmission potential – despite their large size – because the poor quality resource strongly depressed foraging. A follow-up experiment investigated traits of the low quality resource that might have driven those results. Cyanobacterial compounds that can inhibit digestive proteases of a related grazer likely did not cause the observed reductions in transmission potential. Our study highlights the value of using mechanistic models to pinpoint how resource quality can change transmission potential. Overall, our results show that low quality resources could inhibit the spread of disease through effects on multiple components of transmission potential. They also provide insight into how disease outbreaks in wildlife may respond to shifts in resource quality caused by eutrophication or climate change.
Data from: Torpor reduces predation risk by compensating for the energetic cost of antipredator foraging behaviours
Foraging activity is needed for energy intake but increases the risk of predation, and antipredator behavioural responses, such as reduced activity, generally reduce energy intake. Hence, mortality and indirect effects of predation risk are dependent on the energy requirements of prey. Torpor, a controlled reduction in resting metabolism and body temperature, is a common energy-saving mechanism of small mammals that enhances their resistance to starvation. Here we test the hypothesis that torpor could also reduce predation risk by compensating for the energetic cost of antipredator behaviours. We measured the foraging behaviour and body temperature of house mice in response to manipulation of perceived predation risk by adjusting levels of ground cover and starvation risk by 24-h food withdrawal every third day. We found that a voluntary reduction in daily food intake in response to lower cover (high predation risk) was matched by the extent of a daily reduction in body temperature. Our study provides the first experimental evidence of a close link between energy-saving torpor responses to starvation risk and behavioural responses to perceived predation risk. By reducing the risk of starvation, torpor can facilitate stronger antipredator behaviours. These results highlight the interplay between capacity for reducing metabolic energy expenditure, optimal decisions about foraging behaviour, and the life-history ecology of prey.
Data from: Integrating multiple technologies to understand the foraging behaviour of Hawaiian monk seals
The objective of this research was to investigate and describe the foraging behaviour of monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands. Specifically, our goal was to identify a metric to classify foraging behaviour from telemetry instruments. We deployed accelerometers, seal-mounted cameras and GPS tags on six monk seals during 2012–2014 on the islands of Molokai, Kauai and Oahu. We used pitch, calculated from the accelerometer, to identify search events and thus classify foraging dives. A search event and consequent 'foraging dive' occurred when the pitch was greater than or equal to 70° at a depth less than or equal to −3 m. By integrating data from the accelerometers with video and GPS, we were able to ground-truth this classification method and identify environmental variables associated with each foraging dive. We used Bayesian logistic regression to identify the variables that influenced search events. Dive depth, body motion (mean overall dynamic body acceleration during the dive) and proximity to the sea floor were the best predictors of search events for these seals. Search events typically occurred on long, deep dives, with more time spent at the bottom (more than 50% bottom time). We can now identify where monk seals are foraging in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) and what covariates influence foraging behaviour in this region. This increased understanding will inform management strategies and supplement outreach and recovery efforts.
Data from: Predation risk and resource abundance mediate foraging behaviour and intraspecific resource partitioning among consumers in dominance hierarchies
Dominance hierarchies and the resulting unequal resource partitioning among individuals are key mechanisms of population regulation. The strength of dominance hierarchies can be influenced by size-dependent trade-offs between foraging and predator avoidance whereby competitively inferior subdominants can access a larger proportion of limiting resources by accepting higher predation risk. Foraging-predation risk trade-offs also depend on resource abundance. Yet, few studies have manipulated predation risk and resource abundance simultaneously; consequently, their joint effect on resource partitioning within dominance hierarchies are not well understood. We addressed this gap by measuring behavioural responses of masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou ishikawae) to experimental manipulations of predation risk and resource abundance in a natural temperate forest stream. Responses to predation risk depended on body size and social status such that larger fish (often social dominants) exhibited more risk-averse behaviour (e.g., lower foraging and appearance rates) than smaller subdominants after exposure to a simulated predator. The magnitude of this effect was lower when resources were elevated, indicating that dominant fish accepted a higher predation risk to forage on abundant resources. However, the influence of resource abundance did not extend to the population level, where predation risk altered the distribution of foraging attempts (a proxy for energy intake) from being skewed towards large individuals to being skewed towards small individuals after predator exposure. Our results imply that size-dependent foraging-predation risk trade-offs can weaken the strength of dominance hierarchies by allowing competitively inferior subdominants to access resources that would otherwise be monopolized.
Data from: Aggressive behaviours, food deprivation and the foraging gene
A pleiotropic gene governs multiple traits, which might constrain the evolution of complexity due to conflicting selection on these traits. However, if the pleiotropic effect is modular, then this can facilitate synergistic responses to selection on functionally related traits, thereby leveraging the evolution of complexity. To understand the evolutionary consequence of pleiotropy, the relation among functionally different traits governed by the same gene is key. We examined a pleiotropic function of the foraging (for) gene with its rover and sitter allelic variants in fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We measured for's effect on adult male aggressive behaviours and whether this effect was shaped by for's known role in food-related traits. Rover exhibited higher levels of offensive behaviour than sitters and s2, a sitter-like mutant on rover genetic background. With a Markov chain model, we estimated the rate of aggression escalation, and found that the rover pattern of aggressive escalation more rapidly intensified fights. Subsequent analysis revealed that this was not caused by for's effect on food-related traits, suggesting that for might directly regulate aggressive behaviours. Food deprivation did not elevate aggression, but reduced intermediate-level aggressive behaviours. Aggression and other foraging-related behaviour might comprise a synergistic trait module underlaid by this pleiotropic gene.
Supplementary material 1 from: Dupont SM, Guinnefollau L, Weber C, Petit O (2019) Impact of artificial light at night on the foraging behaviour of the European Hamster: consequences for the introduction of this species in suburban areas. Rethinking Ecology 4: 133-148. https://doi.org/10.3897/rethinkingecology.4.36467
: Data type: statistical data
Table 3 in Variable foraging and flower probing behaviour of sunbird pollinators of the South African Pelargonium fulgidum
<p><b>Table 3.</b> Summary of sunbird foraging behaviour. During consistent bouts none of the aspects of foraging behaviour quantified here changed during a plant visit, whereas during variable bouts foraging behaviour and/or flower probing direction changed during a plant visit. Values represent total number of foraging bouts (2022/2023 bouts).</p><table><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th>Nototrobic and</th></tr></tbody><tbody><tr><th></th><td></td><td>Nototribic flower</td><td>Sternotribic flower</td><td>sternotrobic</td></tr><tr><th></th><td></td><td>probing</td><td>probing</td><td>flower probing</td></tr><tr><th></th><td></td><td>Female</td><td>Male</td><td>Female</td><td>Male</td><td>Female</td><td>Male</td></tr><tr><th>Consistent</th><td>Hovering</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>9 (0/9)</td><td>10 (0/10)</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th></th><td>Alternative perch</td><td>4 (3/1)</td><td>9 (2/7)</td><td>15 (6/9)</td><td>10 (2/8)</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th></th><td>Inflorescence perch</td><td>23 (3/20)</td><td>10 (3/7)</td><td>2 (0/2)</td><td>2 (1/1)</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Variable</th><td>Inflorescence perch</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>2 (0/2)</td><td></td></tr><tr><th></th><td>Hovering and alternative perch</td><td></td><td></td><td>1 (0/1)</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th></th><td>Hovering and inflorescence perch</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1 (0/1)</td><td></td></tr><tr><th></th><td>Alternative perch and inflorescence perch</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>1 (0/1)</td><td>1 (0/1)</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>
Table 2 in Variable foraging and flower probing behaviour of sunbird pollinators of the South African Pelargonium fulgidum
<p><b>Table 2.</b> Mean ± standard deviation (SD) (sample size) of sunbird measurements.</p><table><tbody><tr><th></th><th><i>Cinnyris chalybeus</i></th></tr></tbody><tbody><tr><th></th><td>Male</td><td>Female</td></tr><tr><th>Bill length (mm)**</th><td>18.59 ± 1.03 (21)</td><td>16.45 ± 0.73 (6)</td></tr><tr><th>Bill base diameter (mm)</th><td>2.88 ± 0.27 (20)</td><td>2.92 ± 0.23 (6)</td></tr><tr><th>Bill height (mm)</th><td>3.53 ± 0.40 (21)</td><td>3.30 ± 0.44 (6)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>**Differed significantly between male and female sunbirds (P <0.05).</p>
Table 1 in Variable foraging and flower probing behaviour of sunbird pollinators of the South African Pelargonium fulgidum
<p><b>Table 1.</b> Mean ± standard deviation (SD) (sample size) of Pelargonium <i>fulgidum</i> measurements.</p><table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>P. fulgidum</th></tr></tbody><tbody><tr><th>Peduncle length (mm)</th><td>45.5 ± 12.3 (35)</td></tr><tr><th>Peduncle angle (°)</th><td>24.2 ± 15.1 (35)</td></tr><tr><th>Pedicel length (mm)</th><td>32.4 ± 3.2 (35)</td></tr><tr><th>Number of open flowers per inflorescence</th><td>5.3 ± 1.5 (21)</td></tr><tr><th>Angle between peduncle and nearest flower (°)</th><td>94.7 ± 18.4 (21)</td></tr><tr><th>Angle between two outermost flowers of inflorescence (°)</th><td>145.3 ± 31.8 (21)</td></tr><tr><th>Most upright flower angle (°)</th><td>18.1 ± 10.5 (35)</td></tr><tr><th>Most downward flower angle (°)</th><td>−1.7 ± 12.6 (35)</td></tr><tr><th>Hypanthium length (mm)</th><td>26.0 ± 2.2 (20)</td></tr><tr><th>Reproductive organ length (mm)</th><td>5.55 ± 1.3 (20)</td></tr><tr><th>Nectar volume (μL)</th><td>12.8 ± 8.2 (19)</td></tr><tr><th>Sugar concentration (% brix)</th><td>18.2 ± 3.2 (19)</td></tr></tbody></table>
Ant foraging behaviour (double bridge experiment). From "Modelling flocks of birds and colonies of ants from the bottom up"
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Data from: Dive behaviour and foraging effort of female Cape fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus
While marine top predators can play a critical role in ecosystem structure and dynamics through their effects on prey populations, how they function is often not well understood. In southern Africa, the Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) population constitutes the largest marine top predator biomass but little is known of its foraging ecology other than its diet and some preliminary dive records. Dive information was obtained from 32 adult females instrumented with dive recorders at the Kleinsee colony (29º34.17 S, 16 º59.80 E) in South Africa during 2006–2008. Most dives were in the depth range of epipelagic prey species (< 50 m deep) and at night, reflecting the reliance of Cape fur seals on small vertically migrating schooling prey. However, most females also performed benthic dives, which was prevalent in some individuals. Benthic diving was significantly associated with the frequency with which females exceeded their aerobic dive limit. The greater putative costs of benthic diving highlights the potential detrimental effects on Cape fur seals of environmental changes that may reduce the availability of epipelagic prey in the Benguela region of southern Africa.
Figure 1 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 1. Generalised profiles for the six dive types as defined by Seminoff et al. (2006).
Figure 4 in Elbow-joint morphology as a guide to forearm function and foraging behaviour in mammalian carnivores
Figure 4. Box-plots of PC2 for recent carnivorans. The largest dispersion is found among the canids, followed by felids and viverrids. The former two are right skewed and the latter left skewed. The cheetah (Felidae) forms an extreme outlier. 'Musteloids' comprise a monophyletic clade including mustelids (weasels, badgers and otters), skunks, the lesser panda (Ailurus fulgens) and procyonids. Box-plots include information on location, dispersion, skewness and tail-shape (McGill, Turkey & Larsen, 1978; Benjamini, 1988). Box heights represent the interquartile range, which comprises 50% of the observations. Boxes are divided by medians (thin lines) and means (thick lines). Whiskers connect boxes to the extremal points within 1.5 interquartile ranges. Points outside these ranges are plotted individually. Dispersion of observation is indicated by box height and skewness, by box and whisker asymmetry.
Data from: Predation risk and resource abundance mediate foraging behaviour and intraspecific resource partitioning among consumers in dominance hierarchies
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Data from: Aggressive behaviours, food deprivation and the foraging gene
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Behavioural plasticity in a native species is related to foraging resilience in the presence of an aggressive invader
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Data from: Dive behaviour and foraging effort of female Cape fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus
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Multi-camera field monitoring reveals costs of learning for parasitoid foraging behaviour
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Data from: Nutrient foraging behaviour of four co-occuring perennial grassland plant species alone does not predict behaviour with neighbours
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Allen Brain Atlas
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Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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