Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Roads And Trails On Peaks Of Otter Salamander (Plethodon Hubrichti) And Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon Cinereus) Movement Behavior, Cory Benjamin Goff

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Habitat fragmentation negatively affects movement and dispersal of wildlife by altering useable space and creating barriers. The objective of this study was to assess impacts of fragmentation by roads and trails on the movement behavior of two terrestrial, woodland salamander species. I evaluated whether proximity to roads and trails affected the movement behavior of two species: the Peaks of Otter Salamander (Plethodon hubrichti), a species of special concern, and the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus). I examined movement behavior in three treatments: paved roads, gravel roads and hiking trails. I compared treatments to controls located at least 200m from treatment …

Context-Dependent Individual Variation In Foraging Behaviour And Parental Care In House Sparrows, David Moldoff

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Behaviors can exhibit a wide degree of plasticity depending on the environmental context in which they are expressed. Despite this, repeatable differences have been found among and within individuals across a wide range of taxa. For my thesis, I investigated individual differences in foraging and parental care. In the first experiment, I assessed house sparrows (Passer domesticus) for domain-generality among neophobia, habituation and associative learning as they are all responses to novelty. While the results of the study find individual differences in each of these contexts the conclusion supported separate mechanisms for each response (domain-specificity). In the second experiment, I …

Eavesdropping By Bats: The Influence Of Echolocation Call Design And Foraging Strategy, Jonathan Balcombe, M. Brock Fenton

Jonathan Balcombe, PhD

We used playback presentations to free-flying bats of 3 species to assess the influence of echolocation call design and foraging strategy on the role of echolocation calls in communication. Near feeding sites over water, Myotis lucifugus and M. yumanensis responded positively only to echolocation calls of conspecifics. Near roosts, these bats did not respond before young of the year became volant, and after this responded to presentations of echolocation calls of similar and dissimilar design. At feeding sites Lasiurus borealis responded only to echolocation calls of conspecifics and particularly to "feeding buzzes". While Myotis, particularly subadults, appear to use the …

The Effects Of Predation Risk And Thermoregulation Cost On The Foraging Behavior Of The Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis), Anne E. Collier

Senior Theses and Projects

In this study, the effects of predation risk and thermoregulation cost on the foraging behavior of the urban eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) were examined. There were two objectives. The first was to determine if either thermoregulation cost or predation risk had a more significant effect on foraging behavior. The second was to find out if foliar cover or distance to refuge was a more important cue of predation risk. To accomplish these goals, giving-up density and temperature data were collected at feeding trays both under the canopy and outside of the canopy at two deciduous trees and …

How Important Is Land-Based Foraging To Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus) During The Ice-Free Season In Western Hudson Bay? An Examination Of Dietary Shifts, Compositional Patterns, Behavioral Observations And Energetic Contributions, Linda J. Gormezano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Trophic mismatches between predators and their prey are increasing as climate change causes decoupling of phenological relationships. Predators linked to the life histories of a particular prey will have a more difficult time persisting through environmental change unless they can alter their behavior to maintain the historical match or possess the ability to pursue alternate prey. Arctic predators typically possess flexible foraging strategies to survive in the labile environment, however, quantifying the limits of those strategies can be difficult when life history information is incomplete. In such cases, piecing together different aspects of a predator's foraging behavior, particularly when environmental …

The Foraging Areas Of Attine Ants At The Firestone Reserve, Costa Rica, Elana A. Goldstein

Scripps Senior Theses

In tropical forest systems, attine ants are the dominant herbivores. They construct large nest structures that include foraging trails that extend to multiple plant sources throughout the forest. These foraging areas vary from nest to nest and they are highly dynamic over time and season changes. It was expected that characteristics of both the nest structure and the surrounding environment would affect the size of nest foraging areas. In this study, COMPASS survey software and ArcGIS were used to map the foraging trails and calculate the foraging areas of 12 attine ant nests located on the Firestone Reserve, over the …

Ecology And Flock-Following Behavior Of The Wedge-Billed Woodcreeper In Eastern Ecuador, Abigail Darrah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The wedge-billed woodcreeper (Glyphorynchus spirurus) is a common understory suboscine passerine of lowland Neotropical rainforests. It frequently joins mixed-species understory flocks but also regularly forages alone, and thus is an excellent model species on which to conduct comparative behavioral observations to examine the hypothesized costs and benefits of flock-following. Individuals exhibit variable flocking propensities (proportion of time spent with flocks), and thus observing the correlations between flocking propensity and physical and environmental factors can provide further insight into the importance of flock-following to the ecology of this species. Despite its abundance at many sites and its wide geographic range, surprisingly …

Winter Behavior And Ecology Of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis): Home Ranges, Habitat Use, And Effect Of Weather On Foraging Behavior, Todd J. Weinkam

Online Theses and Dissertations

Eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) are widespread across eastern North America, but populations appear to be susceptible to extreme winter weather. Declines in population following cold winters in states like Kentucky suggest the need to better understand winter-specific habitat requirements and behavioral responses to inclement weather. My objectives were to 1) describe the size and habitat composition of the home ranges of wintering bluebirds, and 2) examine the effects of weather (i.e., temperature, wind speed, and snow presence) on habitat occupancy, group size, and foraging behavior. My study was conducted at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County, …

Strike Mechanics Of An Ambush Predator: The Spearing Mantis Shrimp, M. Devries, E. Murphy, S. Patek

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Ambush predation is characterized by an animal scanning the environment from a concealed position and then rapidly executing a surprise attack. Mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda) consist of both ambush predators (‘spearers’) and foragers (‘smashers’). Spearers hide in sandy burrows and capture evasive prey, whereas smashers search for prey away from their burrows and typically hammer hard-shelled, sedentary prey. Here, we examined the kinematics, morphology and field behavior of spearing mantis shrimp and compared them with previously studied smashers. Using two species with dramatically different adult sizes, we found that strikes produced by the diminutive species, Alachosquilla vicina, were faster (mean peak …

Stable Isotope Analysis (Delta Nitrogen-15 And Delta Carbon-13) And Bioenergetic Modeling Of Spatial-Temporal Foraging Patterns And Consumption Dynamics In Brown And Rainbow Trout Populations Within Catch-And-Release Areas Of Arkansas Tailwaters, Jon M. Flinders

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I examined spatial and temporal consumption dynamics using an energy intake model and a bioenergetics model of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, and brown trout, Salmo trutta, within three catch-and-release (C-R) areas in Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters to determine whether trout populations were limited by food supply. I also examined the seasonal and ontogenetic shifts in the foraging patterns of brown and rainbow trout within these areas using gut content analysis (GCA) and stable isotope analysis (SIA) of C and N. I examined 605 brown trout and 768 rainbow trout for GCA and SIA at Bull Shoals, Norfork, …

The Evolution Of Lateralized Foot Use In Parrots: A Phylogenetic Approach, Culum Brown, Maria Magat

Sentience Collection

Cerebral lateralization refers to the division of cognitive function in either brain hemisphere and may be overtly expressed as behavioral asymmetries, such as handedness. The evolutionary history of laterality is of considerable interest due to its close link with the development of human language. Although considerable research effort has aimed at the proximate explanations of cerebral lateralization, considerably less attention has been paid to ultimate explanations. The extent to which laterality is constrained by phylogeny or shaped by ecological forces through natural selection has received little attention. Here, the foot preference of 23 species of Australian parrots was examined to …

A Sticky Situation: Solifugids (Arachnida, Solifugae) Use Adhesive Organs On Their Pedipalps For Prey Capture, Rodrigo H. Willemart, Roger D. Santer, Andrew J. Spence, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Solifugids (Arachnida, Solifugae) have unique evertable adhesive organs on the tips of their pedipalps, named ‘suctorial’ or ‘palpal’ organs. Previous studies have shown that these organs enable solifugids to climb smooth glass-like surfaces and have hypothesized that these structures facilitate prey capture. Here, we use high-speed videography to demonstrate that the suctorial organs of Eremochelis bilobatus are its primary means of capturing insect prey. We also present calculations of the adhesive pressure exerted by these suctorial organs during real prey capture events.

Space Use And Mating Activities In The Speckled Rattlesnake, Xavier Glaudas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Our understanding of space use variation in response to the temporally varying importance of specific resources is poorly understood in reptiles, because spatial studies are rarely placed into an explicit ecological and behavioral context. I examined how space use differed between the mating and post-mating seasons, and how this variation related to three important resources, mating partners, food, and refuge, in an adult population of the speckled rattlesnake Crotalus mitchellii in the Mojave Desert of southwestern North America. During the mating season (late April to early June), Crotalus mitchellii increased distance traveled per unit time, because wide-ranging behavior likely enhances …

Time Series Observations Of Species Composition And Behavioral Interactions Of Fish At An Ocean Observatory Off The Coast Of Georgia, Amy E. Paquette

Honors Scholar Theses

The use of ocean observatories is expanding with the potential for collecting serial data with high temporal resolution at multiple sites within an ecosystem. Integration of underwater video cameras in observatory systems allow observation of vagile species and are useful tools for observing variations in behavior over time. In order to assess the utility of using video records for time series behavioral data I analyzed video records from an observatory site in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) off the Coast of Georgia collected during the month of November in 2000, 2002 and 2004. Data were used to quantify annual variation …

Factors Affecting Adult Foraging And Chick Growth Of Adélie Penguins (Pygoscelis Adeliae) Off The Western Antarctic Peninsula: A Modeling Study, Erik W. Chapman

OES Theses and Dissertations

Coupled individual-based models that simulate Adélie penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae) chick growth and adult foraging behavior during the chick growth period were developed and used to explore factors that influence chick fledging mass and adult foraging energetics off the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). Adélie penguin colonies in this region are undergoing changes in population size that have been correlated with climate-driven alteration of the marine and terrestrial environment. Simulations were selected to highlight possible mechanistic linkages between climate variability and chick growth and adult foraging processes. These processes were the focus of this study because chicks that fledge at …

Long Daily Movements Of Wolves, Canis Lupus, During Pup Rearing, L. David Mech, H. Dean Cluff

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Wolves, Canis lupus, on Ellesmere Island traveled a daily round-trip distance of 40.2 km from their den to a landfill during July 2008, plus an undetermined distance hunting after leaving the landfill. Although long travels by Wolves are well known, this appears to be the first documentation of long daily movements by Wolves rearing pups.

Integrated Responses Of Crustaceans Inhabiting Estuaries To The Challenges Of Feeding And Digestion In Low Salinity, Daniel Luke Curtis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Estuaries are highly productive and serve as vital habitats for numerous decapod crustacean species. However, the environmental conditions within estuaries are often highly dynamic and subject to large changes in salinity and temperature that occur on seasonal and tidal scales. Not all of the species occupying these habitats are adept in coping with changes in these environmental conditions. This dissertation describes the influence of low salinity conditions on the 1) habitat preference, 2) feeding behaviour and 3) digestive physiology of crustaceans inhabiting estuaries. I have primarily focussed on a weak osmoregulator, the Dungeness crab, Cancer magister , but have also …

Habitat-Mediated Foraging Limitations Drive Survival Bottlenecks For Juvenile Salmon, Brian P. Kennedy, Keith H. Nislow, Carol L. Folt

Dartmouth Scholarship

Realistic population models and effective conservation strategies require a thorough understanding of mechanisms driving stage-specific mortality. Mortality bottlenecks for many species occur in the juvenile stage and are thought to result from limitation on food or foraging habitat during a "critical period" for growth and survival. Without a way to account for maternal effects or to measure integrated consumption rates in the field, it has been virtually impossible to test these relationships directly. Hence uncertainties about mechanisms underlying such bottlenecks remain. In this study we randomize maternal effects across sites and apply a new method for measuring consumption integrated over …

A Population Survey And Foraging Analysis Of The Double-Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Auritus) On The Santee Lakes, South Carolina, Adam Kelley

All Theses

This study was designed to determine whether Double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) were having an impact on the Santee lakes fishery for Striped bass (Morone saxatilis). I surveyed the lakes' population in the summer of 2007 and winter of 2008 to determine population levels and 76 birds were necropsied in order to determine foraging preferences. Summer populations were estimated at 203 birds and winter at 6000. Clupeids (primarily Gizzard, Threadfin, and American shads) made up the bulk of the diet in both seasons with an overall percentage of 86.19%. No bass of any size or species were found in the stomachs …

Negative Effect Of Zebra Mussels On Foraging And Habitat Use By Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser Fulvescens), D. J. Mccabe, Mark Beekey, A. Mazloff, I. E. Marsden

Biology Faculty Publications

1. Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) are threatened or endangered throughout much of their range. Juvenile sturgeon utilize sandy and silty habitats extensively during their growth. Invasive zebra mussels change the nature of sandy and silty habitats because they settle on and coat the habitat with the shells of living and dead individuals. The potential impacts of this increased habitat complexity on lake sturgeon is unknown. 2. Juvenile lake sturgeon habitat choice was assessed in laboratory experiments, and zebra mussel impact on the foraging success of juvenile lake sturgeon on three different prey species was measured. 3. Sturgeon foraging on chironomids …

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Use Of Harvested Corn Fields During Fall And Winter In Southwestern Kansas, Gregory C. Salter, Robert J. Robel, Kenneth E. Kemp

The Prairie Naturalist

The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) has declined in numbers in Kansas primarily due to the conversion of sand sagebrush (Artemisia .filifolia) prairie to cropland. The lesser prairie-chicken in Finney County, Kansas exists primarily in large fragments of sand sagebrush prairie, and it forages during fall and winter on waste grain in harvested com (Zea mays) fields adjacent to prairie fragments. We used radio-telemetry to monitor lesser prairie chicken locations and found no significant relationship between numbers of bird locations and amounts of waste grain on the ground in harvested com fields. Even the harvested …

Predators In Natural Fragments: Foraging Ecology Of Wolves In British Columbia’S Central And North Coast Archipelago, C. T. Darimont, M. H. H. Price, N. N. Winchester, J. Gordon-Walker, P. C. Paquet

Biogeography and Ecological Opportunity Collection

Aim Predator–prey dynamics in fragmented areas may be influenced by spatial features of the landscape. Although little is known about these processes, an increasingly fragmented planet underscores the urgency to predict its consequences. Accordingly, our aim was to examine foraging behaviour of an apex mammalian predator, the wolf (Canis lupus), in an archipelago environment.

Location Mainland and adjacent archipelago of British Columbia, Canada; a largely pristine and naturally fragmented landscape with islands of variable size and isolation.

Methods We sampled 30 mainland watersheds and 29 islands for wolf faeces in summers 2000 and 2001 and identified prey remains. We examined …

Environmental Enrichment And Prior Experience Of Live Prey Improve Foraging Behaviour In Hatchery-Reared Atlantic Salmon, C. Brown, T. Davidson, K. Laland

Aquaculture Collection

Atlantic salmon salmo salar L. parr were reared for 3 months under standard hatchery conditions or in a structurally enriched tank (containing plants, rocks and novel objects). Half of each of these fish had prior exposure to live prey in the form of live bloodworm while the other half were fed hatchery-pellets. After 12 days all fish were tested on a novel live prey item (brine shrimp). A significant interaction between the two factors (prior exposure to live prey and rearing condition) revealed that foraging performance was only enhanced in fish that had been reared in a complex environment and …

Foraging Ecology And Depredation Management Of Great Blue Herons At Mississippi Catfish Farms, James F. Glahn, Brian S. Dorr, John B. Harrell, Lester Khoo

Brian S Dorr

No abstract provided.

Limited Attention: The Constraint Underlying Search Image, Reuven Dukas, Alan Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Recent models of predator search behavior integrate proximate neurobiological constraints with ultimate economic considerations. These models are based on two assumptions, which we have critically examined in experiments with blue jays searching for artificial prey images presented on a computer monitor. We found, first, that when jays had to switch between searching for two distinct prey types, they showed no reduction in detection rates compared to no-switching to no-switching conditions, and second, that when jays divided attention between searching for two prey types at the same time, they had lower detection rates than when they focused attention on one prey …

Leadership In Wolf, Canis Lupus, Packs, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

I examine leadership in Wolf (Callis lupus) packs based on published observations and data gathered during summers from 1986 to 1998 studying a free-ranging pack of Wolves on Ellesmere Island that were habituated to my presence. The breeding male tended to initiate activities associated with foraging and travel, and the breeding female to initiate, and predominate in, pup care and protection. However, there was considerable overlap and interaction during these activities such that leadership could be considered a joint function. In packs with multiple breeders, quantitative information about leadership is needed.

Food And Energy Intake Rates Of Wintering Whooping Cranes Foraging On Two Selected Food Items, Felipe Chavez-Ramirez, Jay T. Nelson, R. Douglas Slack

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Number, mass, and potential energy of food items consumed by wintering whooping cranes (Grus americana) foraging on blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and woltberry (Lycium carolinianum) fruit were estimated and compared between 2 consecutive winter periods. Mass consumed was determined through field observations by quantifying the number of items taken per unit time and the average, or modal, weight of each food item determined from collections. Gross energy intake was determined by calculating the product of mass consumed times gross energy (kJ/g) of each food item. Potential energy retained was calculated by determining metabolizable energy …

Avoidance Of Cabbage Fields By Snow Geese, J. Russell Mason, Larry Clark

Larry Clark

now Goose activity levels were significantly less in cabbage fields than in control fields. Although the data do not unambiguously address the issue of sulfur repellency, we believe that the activity difference is consistent with avoidance of the former and not preference for the latter. Sulfurous volatiles were readily apparent to us during our visits to cabbage fields throughout the study period. Similar odors were not detected in control fields. If sulfurous volatiles were important, then avoidance could reflect some characteristic of the cover crop (e.g., unpalatability acquired through the absorption and translocation of degra­ dation products) or it could …

Incubation Energetics Of The Laysan Albatross, Ted N. Pettit, K A. Nagy, Hugh I. Ellis, G Causey Whittow

Biology: Faculty Scholarship

The energy expenditure of incubating and foraging Laysan Albatross (Diomedea immutabilis, mean body weight 3.07 kg) was estimated by means of the doubly-la- belled water technique. During incubation, the energy expenditure was similar to that of resting birds that were not incubating an egg. The energy expenditure of foraging albatross (2072 kJ/day) was 2.6 times that of resting birds. It was concluded that the energy expenditure of the tropical Laysan Albatross was not less than that of species foraging over cold, high-latitude oceans. An energy budget compiled for an incubating pair of albatross revealed that the energy expenditure of the …

Thermal Constraints On Foraging Activity Of Adult Starlings, Larry Clark

Larry Clark

The operative temperature of the environment was estimated for starlings using hollow, unheated taxidermic mounts. On average, adults foraging in full sun were characterized by shorter foraging bouts than those adults foraging in full shade. Simultaneous observations of air temperature, operative temperature, and the foraging duration of adults indicated that air temperature was a poor predictor of the maximum length of a foraging bout. The operative temperature of the environment was not correlated to the maximum and mean length of foraging bouts for temperatures below 31.5 ~ C, but was negatively related to maximum and mean foraging duration for values …