Life Sciences Commons^™

American Bullfrog (Lithobates Catesbeianus) Diet In Uruguay Compared With Other Invasive Populations In Southern South America, Gabriel Laufer, Noelia Gobel, Mauro Berazategui, Matías Zarucki, Sofía Cortizas, Alvaro Soutullo, Claudio Martinez Debat, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Between 2000-2020, more than ten new populations of the invasive American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) have been reported in the southern cone of South America. We studied the stomach contents of 126 bullfrogs from a population at an early invasion stage in Uruguay (Acegua, Cerro Largo Department). We observed a rich diet, with extensive prey volume range (1 mm3 to more than 7 000 mm(3)); the most frequent items were Hymenoptera (19.6%), Coleoptera (16.4%), Amphipoda (13.3%), Anura (8.9%) and Heteroptera (8.7%). Despite some overlap, differences were observed in volume (chi(2) = 54.6, p <0.001, d.f. = 2) and prey quantity (F = 8.1, p <0.001, d.f. = 79) between males, females, and juveniles. Juveniles showed significantly higher consumption of terrestrial prey by count (82% of their total ingestion) than adults (29% for males and 32% for females) (chi(2) = 28.5, p <0.001, d.f. = 2). Adults, especially females, showed a high frequency of cannibalism (33% of their total ingestion; chi(2) = 20.9, p <0.001, d.f. = 2). Comparing our data with other bullfrog regional studies, we found great plasticity in trophic habits and differences in the incidence of cannibalism (higher incidence in the populations of Acegua, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina). These differences could be related to local biodiversity, but also could be affected by the invasion phase. Cannibalism frequency was higher in small bullfrog populations, where it could be favoring the establishment success. This shift in foraging strategies during the invasion process had been insufficiently evaluated in amphibians. Knowing the ecological determinants for the invasion by bullfrogs can be useful to the development of management strategies.

Competition And Intraguild Predation Between Beetles, Pterostichus Stygicus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) And Centipedes, Scolopocryptops Sexspinosus (Scolopemdromorpha: Scolopocryptopidae), Michele E. Julian, Cari-Ann M. Hickerson, Carl Anthony

2019 Faculty Bibliography

Studying interactions between distantly related species is necessary to understand the complexity of food webs. Generalist predator interactions, such as intraguild predation (IGP) and competition, can alleviate predation pressure and weaken top–down control that predators have on lower trophic levels. Centipedes (Chilopoda) and carabid beetles (Coleoptera) are common deciduous forest floor generalist predators that may interact by competing for resources beneath rocks and logs on the forest floor, especially during dry periods when prey become confined to such microhabitats. We used laboratory and field studies to determine whether the carabid beetle, Pterostichus stygicus (Say), and the centipede, Scolopocryptops sexspinosus (Say) …

Happy Or Hangry Families: Does Kinship Mediate Cooperation And Cannibalism In Drosophila Melanogaster Larvae?, Lucas Khodaei

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has a long history as a research model for studies on behaviour and group dynamics. When individuals are grouped in an environment and resources decrease, then they may behave co-operatively with one another or antagonistically compete. Hamilton’s Law states that if the benefit of helping a related individual out-weighs the cost to its direct fitness, then the individual’s indirect fitness will increase when they help their kin compared to helping an unrelated stranger. Yet it is unknown whether kinship mediates larval behaviour to encourage co-operation and/or lessen antagonistic behaviours between consanguineous individuals. In this thesis …

Effects Of Eggshell Coloration On Egg Cannibalism Among Glaucous-Winged Gulls, Isabelle Hwang

Honors Theses

A common source of reproductive loss in gulls is egg cannibalism. At a large Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) colony on Protection Island, Washington, cannibalism accounts for 55% of egg loss. Because cannibalism is a form of predation and birds have a highly developed sense of vision, I hypothesized that visible light coloration of Glaucous-winged Gull eggs plays a role in determining whether they are cannibalized. I used logistic regression to test whether egg fate was related to egg brightness, specific coloration, specific spot coverage, coloration relative to the most common coloration, and spot coverage relative to the most common spot …

Investigations On The Cannibalistic Behavior Of Ladybird Beetlecoccinella Septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Under Laboratory Conditions, Muhammad Hamayoon Khan, Zeynep Yoldaş

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Cannibalism or intraspecific predation, where one species feeds on individuals of its own species, is a widespread phenomenon in most aphidophagous coccinellids. Laboratory studies were conducted on the cannibalistic behavior of various developmental stages of Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in the presence and absence of natural food, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). In both the presence and absence of aphids, the eggs and 1st and 2nd instars of C. septempunctata were cannibalized by the adults, and the level was inversely related to the availability of aphids. The same was also true for cannibalism of eggs by larvae and within …

Literary Digest: Cannibal Poetry And Biology, Alicia Anzaldo, Claire Boeck, Sara Schupack

The STEAM Journal

A humanities professor and a biology professor at Wilbur Wright College collaborated to create a lesson on human digestion and poetry, enriching the humanities course theme on cannibalism. This article describes the lesson plan, examples of student work, and faculty reflections.

Modelling Walleye Population And Its Cannibalism Effect, Quan Zhou

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Walleye is a very common recreational fish in Canada with a strong cannibalism tendency, such that walleyes with larger sizes will consume their smaller counterparts when food sources are limited or a surplus of adults is present. Cannibalism may be a factor promoting population oscillation. As fish reach a certain age or biological stage (i.e. biological maturity), the number of fish achieving that stage is known as fish recruitment. The objective of this thesis is to model the walleye population with its recruitment and cannibalism effect. A matrix population model has been introduced to characterize the walleye population into three …

Cannibal Complex: The Western Fascination With Human Flesh Eating, Devin Bittner

Honors Theses

For centuries, Western explorers, missionaries, and travelers have been bringing home tales of cannibals, which became the earliest documentation of the practice. Modern anthropology, however, has identified a serious concern with such early “documentation” in light of the rise of the ethnographic tradition: the authors of early reports did not consider the contexts in which the events they observed occurred. This thesis, in the anthropology of knowledge tradition, explores the debate over the Western idea of cannibalism by posing the question: why are we so determined to believe that evidence supporting cannibalism reflects an experiential reality, despite abundant proof of …

Benefits Of Size Dimorphism And Copulatory Silk Wrapping In The Sexually Cannibalistic Nursery Web Spider, Pisaurina Mira, Alissa G. Anderson, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

In sexually cannibalistic animals, male fitness is influenced not only by successful mate acquisition and egg fertilization, but also by avoiding being eaten. In the cannibalistic nursery web spider, Pisaurina mira, the legs of mature males are longer in relation to their body size than those of females, and males use these legs to aid in wrapping a female’s legs with silk prior to and during copulation. We hypothesized that elongated male legs and silk wrapping provide benefits to males, in part through a reduced likelihood of sexual cannibalism. To test this, we paired females of random size with …

The Behavioral Ecology Of Amblypygids, Kenneth J. Chapin, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Arachnologists have uncovered tantalizing details about amblypygid behavioral ecology—the study of the fitness consequences of their behavior. Thus, it is the aim of this review to position Amblypygi as a useful system in which to investigate the principles of animal behavioral ecology. We synthesize amblypygid habitat preference and navigation modalities; predator, prey, parasite, parasitoid, cannibal, and commensal interactions; resource contests and territoriality; mating systems and mate choice; parental investment and sociality; and genetics and genomics as they relate to behavioral ecology. We present ideas for future research in each of these areas and discuss future directions for Amblypygi behavioral ecology …

Data For Henson Et Al. 2016, Shandelle Henson, James Hayward, J Cushing, Gordon Atkins, Sumiko Weir, Ashley Reichert, Wayanne Watson, Wadenerson Saint Martin, Amanda Sandler

Faculty Publications

These data are archived for the paper "Adaptation to short-term ENSO fluctuations may provide tipping points for populations subjected to long-term climate change" by Henson et al., submitted. Additional files: Supplementary Figure 1 | Sample plots on Violet Point, Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge, Washington, USA. The larger colony extends throughout much of the spit.

Improving The Ecological Understanding Of Species Complexes: The Case Of Piscivory And Protracted Spawning In The Carp Gudgeon Group Hypseleotris Spp. (Eleotridae, Teleostei), Lorenzo Vilizzi, Ali̇ Serhan Tarkan

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Species complexes are a common occurrence in freshwater fish assemblages and may often pose a challenge to the understanding of their ecology. A typical case is the `cryptic' carp gudgeon group Hypseleotris spp. in southeastern Australia, which is thought to comprise four closely related species occurring sympatrically within the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), where flow delivery scenarios have been proposed for the management and conservation of the native fish faunas. The objective of this study was to provide a deeper insight into the occurrence of piscivory and protracted spawning seasons in Hypseleotris spp. based on six years of sampling, and to …

Data For Henson Et Al. 2016, Shandelle M. Henson, James L. Hayward, J M. Cushing, Gordon Atkins, Sumiko K. Weir, Ashley A. Reichert, Wayanne Watson, Wadenerson Saint Martin, Amanda Sandler

Shandelle M. Henson

These data are archived for the paper "Adaptation to short-term ENSO fluctuations may provide tipping points for populations subjected to long-term climate change" by Henson et al., submitted.
Additional files:
Supplementary Figure 1 | Sample plots on Violet Point, Protection Island National WildlifeRefuge, Washington, USA. The larger colony extends throughout much of the spit.

A Comprehensive Understanding Of Corpse Management In Termites, Qian Sun

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Undertaking behavior is the disposal of dead individuals in social colonies to prevent potential pathogenic attack. This behavioral trait has convergently evolved in social insects (primarily termites, ants, and honeybee), and is considered an essential adaptation to social living. In honey bee and ants, workers recognize dead colony members through the postmortem change of chemical profile, and corpses are usually removed out of nest. However, in termites, little is known about the behavioral pattern, chemical cue or molecular basis. In the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, this study investigated undertaking behavior toward corpses of different origins and postmortem times. …

Data For Henson Et Al. 2014, Shandelle M. Henson, James L. Hayward, Gordon Atkins, Amanda Sandler, Wadenerson Saint Martin

Faculty Publications

These data are archived for the paper "Changing sea surface temperature alters timescale of reproductive synchrony in seabirds" by Henson et al., currently submitted to Nature.

The Cannibalistic Snail Agaronia Propatula Is Reluctant To Feed On Autotomized ‘Tails’ Of Conspecifics, Ariel Z. Cyrus, Winfried S. Peters

Winfried S. Peters

Socially Induced Ovulation Synchrony And Its Effect On Seabird Population Dynamics, Shandelle M. Henson, J. M. Cushing, James L. Hayward

Faculty Publications

Spontaneous oscillator synchrony is a form of self-organization in which populations of interacting oscillators ultimately cycle together. This phenomenon occurs in a wide range of physical and biological systems. In rats and humans, oestrous/menstrual cycles synchronize through social stimulation with pheromones acting as synchronizing signals. In previous work, we showed that glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) can lay eggs synchronously on an every-other-day schedule, and that synchrony increases with colony density. We posed a discrete-time mathematical model for reproduction during the breeding season based on the hypothesis that pre-ovulatory luteinizing hormone surges synchronize by means of visual, auditory and/or olfactory cues. …

Age-Structured Population Model With Cannibalism, Mmohammed El-Doma

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

An age-structured population model with cannibalism is investigated. We determine the steady states and study the local asymptotic stability as well as the global stability. The results in this paper generalize previous results.

Subadult Female Experience Does Not Influence Species Recognition In The Wolf Spider Schizocosa Uetzi Stratton 1997, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

In many vertebrate systems, early experience has been linked to the learning of species specific traits that are subsequently assessed during mate choice, thus ensuring conspecific matings. In invertebrate systems, however, early experience was not thought to play a role in mate choice until a recent study using Schizocosa uetzi Stratton 1997 wolf spiders demonstrated that females mate more readily with males of a familiar versus unfamiliar phenotype. The function of early mate choice learning in this system is not yet known, but a role in learning species-specific traits seems unlikely. In northwestern Mississippi, S. uetzi is found sympatrically with …

The Scent Of Danger: Tetrodotoxin (Ttx) As An Olfactory Cue Of Predation Risk, Richard Zimmer, Daniel Schar, Ryan Ferrer, Patrick Krug, Lee Kats, William Michel

Lee Kats

Larvae of the California newt (Taricha torosa) exhibit striking predator- avoidance behavior, escaping to refuges in response to a chemical cue from cannibalistic adults. In laboratory flow-tank experiments, stream water collected near free-ranging adults induced hiding responses in 100% of the larvae tested. Solutions prepared by bathing adults (in field and laboratory) also evoked strong hiding behaviors. Insensitive to adult feeding status (fed or starved), and clearly not an excretory product, the chemical cue was released from adult skin (i.e., in swabs of adult backs, sides, and bellies). Tetrodotoxin (TTX) was found in skin swabs of adults and in bathwater …

The Feeding Features Of The Pike-Perch (Stizostedion Lucioperca) Population In Lake Beyşehir, İsmet Balik

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The stomach contents of pike-perch (Stizostedion lucioperca) in Lake Beyşehir were investigated. The stomachs of 474 pike-perch were studied between March 1995 and February 1996. 76.6% of specimens had full and 23.4% had empty stomachs. The contents of the stomachs consisted of Gammarus sp. (77.5%), Mysis sp. (14.7%), Chirinomidae (4.3%), pike-perch (2.7%) and others (0.8%). Around 20.9% cannibalism was estimated and it was widespread among individuals with a length of 11-60 cm. In addition, it appears that pike-perch can consume fellow specimens with a mean size of 35.9% of its length.

G84-718 Cannibalism: Cause And Prevention In Poultry, Earl W. Gleaves

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses reasons why cannibalism occurs in poultry, and provides management procedures for preventing it, including three methods of beak trimming.

Chickens, turkeys, pheasants and quail will literally pick each other to death at times. This problem can be very expensive for the producer and can make life for the flock very uncomfortable. Once cannibalism starts, it readily becomes a habit that must be stopped.

For our purposes, cannibalism includes feather pulling, toe pecking and head, wing, and tail picking. Prevention is much easier for man and bird than is treatment.

G81-542 The Home Laying Flock, Part Ii Management, Earl W. Gleaves

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide contains management suggestions pertinent to the home laying flock.

NebGuide G81-541, The Home Laying Flock, Part I: Getting Started, provides information on the early decisions, housing, equipment and some management procedures related to these topics. This NebGuide covers other management suggestions pertinent to the home laying flock.

G81-538 Brooding And Rearing The Home Meat Flock, Earl W. Gleaves

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses raising chickens for meat.

The objective of owning and raising a home flock should be to satisfy needs other than income production. For example, many people prefer fryer-type chickens of heavier weights to the lighter weight ranges available in many stores. Product freshness is the objective of some home flock owners; others are interested in the small flock in much the same way that some people are interested in a garden. A well-managed home flock can be a good source of fresh poultry meat. However, home flock producers should not plan to raise more birds than their …

G75-242 Space Requirements For Swine (Revised July 1978), R. D. Fritschen, A.J. Muehling

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The amount of space required per pig was given little attention when pigs were reared on dirt lots or pasture. As confinement production developed, the amount of space needed per pig for optimal performance became an important planning-management considerations. Too few pigs per pen reduces the return on initial building investment. However, overcrowding may result in: tail biting or cannibalism, reduced gain, increase feed required per unit gain, gastric ulcers, and additive stress factors. This NebGuide discusses the space requirements needed to raise swine.

Cc56-136 Poultry Profit Pointers: Health Maintenance, Elvin C. Schulte

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The health of a poutlry flock can mean the difference between profit and loss. At least 15% of all chickens hatched in the United States die from disease before copmleting a laying year.

This campaign circular discusses the means rules for raising a healthy flock. This includes: sanitation, medication, vaccination, controlling lice, mites, and internal parasites, controlling cannibalism by debeaking.

The Utilization Of Food Elements By Growing Chicks. Xi. A Comparison Of Ground Wheat And Ground Rye In Rations For Growing Chicks, C. W. Ackerson, W. E. Ham, F. E. Mussehl

Historical Research Bulletins of the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station

1. The effect of replacing the shorts and bran of a standard ration by ground wheat or ground rye was studied with two lots of newly hatched chicks. 2. Comparisons were made on the basis of equal intakes of dry matter and nitrogen by all chicks. 3. The wheat-fed lot made a significantly greater gain than the rye-fed lot. 4. Several cases of curled-toe paralysis occurred in the two lots, and a tendency to cannibalism appeared in the rye-fed lot.