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Articles 31 - 48 of 48

Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology

Problems With Studying Wolf Predation On Small Prey In Summer Via Global Positioning System Collars, Vicente Palacios, L. David Mech Jan 2011

Problems With Studying Wolf Predation On Small Prey In Summer Via Global Positioning System Collars, Vicente Palacios, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We attempted to study predation on various-sized prey by a male and female wolf (Canis lupus) with global positioning system (GPS) collars programmed to acquire locations every 10 min in the Superior National Forest of Minnesota. During May to August 2007, we investigated 147 clusters of locations (31% of the total) and found evidence of predation on a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn and yearling, a beaver (Castor canadensis), ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), and fisher (Martes pennanti) and scavenging on a road-killed deer and other carrion. However, we missed finding …


Proportion Of Calves And Adult Muskoxen, Ovibos Moschatus Killed By Gray Wolves, Canis Lupus, In July On Ellesmere Island, L. David Mech Jan 2010

Proportion Of Calves And Adult Muskoxen, Ovibos Moschatus Killed By Gray Wolves, Canis Lupus, In July On Ellesmere Island, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Generally Gray Wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758) tend to focus predation on young-of-the-year ungulates during summer, and I hypothesized that wolves preying on Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus Zimmerman, 1780) in summer would follow that trend. Over 23 July periods observing wolves on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, I found that packs of 2-12 adult wolves killed seven calves, one yearling, and five adult muskoxen at distances of 2.9 to 32 km from their current dens and pups. Given a possible bias against finding calves because of their fewer remains, these results do not necessarily refute the hypothesis, but they do …


Differential Consumption Of Four Aphid Species By Four Lady Beetle Species, Christy Finlayson, Andrei Alyokhin, Serena Gross, Erin Porter Dec 2009

Differential Consumption Of Four Aphid Species By Four Lady Beetle Species, Christy Finlayson, Andrei Alyokhin, Serena Gross, Erin Porter

Andrei Alyokhin

The acceptability of four different aphid species Macrosiphum albifrons (Essig), Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas), Macrosiphum pseudorosae Patch, and Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), as prey for four lady beetle species, one native species Coccinella trifasciata L, and three non-native Coccinella septempunctata L, Harmonia axyridis Pallas, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata L (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were tested in the laboratory. The relative field abundance of adults of the same lady beetle species on host vegetation, Lupinus polyphyllus Lindley (Fabales: Fabaceae), Solanum tuberosum L (Solanales: Solanaceae), and Rosa multiflora Thunberg (Rosales: Rosaceae), both with and without aphids present was also observed. In the laboratory, H. axyridis generally …


Wolf, Canis Lupus, Visits To White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Summer Ranges: Optimal Foraging?, Dominic J. Demma, L. David Mech Jan 2009

Wolf, Canis Lupus, Visits To White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Summer Ranges: Optimal Foraging?, Dominic J. Demma, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We tested whether Wolf (Canis lupus) visits to individual female White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) summer ranges during 2003 and 2004 in northeastern Minnesota were in accord with optimal-foraging theory. Using GPS collars with 10- to 30-minute location attempts on four Wolves and five female deer, plus eleven VHF-collared female deer in the Wolves’ territory, provided new insights into the frequency of Wolf visits to summer ranges of female deer. Wolves made a mean 0.055 visits/day to summer ranges of deer three years and older, significantly more than their 0.032 mean visits/day to ranges of two-year-old deer, …


Factors Influencing Predation On Juvenile Ungulates And Natural Selection Implications, S. M. Barber-Meyer, L. D. Mech Jan 2008

Factors Influencing Predation On Juvenile Ungulates And Natural Selection Implications, S. M. Barber-Meyer, L. D. Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Juvenile ungulates are generally more vulnerable to predation than are adult ungulates other than senescent individuals, not only because of their relative youth, fragility, and inexperience, but also because of congenital factors. Linnell et al.’s (Wildl. Biol. 1: 209-223) extensive review of predation on juvenile ungulates concluded that research was needed to determine the predisposition of these juveniles to predation. Since then, various characteristics that potentially predispose juvenile ungulates have emerged including blood characteristics, morphometric and other condition factors, and other factors such as birth period, the mother’s experience, and spatial and habitat aspects. To the extent that any of …


Survival And Sources Of Mortality In Florida Sandhill Crane Chicks – Hatching To Fledging, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Stephen T. Schwikert, Marilyn G. Spalding Jan 2008

Survival And Sources Of Mortality In Florida Sandhill Crane Chicks – Hatching To Fledging, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Stephen T. Schwikert, Marilyn G. Spalding

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Forty-five pairs of Florida sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pratensis) were monitored during the nesting seasons from 1996 through 1999. Thirty-eight chicks were produced from 25 successful nests. Twenty-one of these survived to fledging age. Predation was the source of most (81%) of the mortality for which a cause was determined. Mammals were the primary predator. Average age at time of mortality was 27.2 days for the 17 chicks lost.


Elk Calf Survival And Mortality Following Wolf Restoration To Yellowstone National Park La Supervivencia Y La Mortalidad De Las Crı´As De Wapiti Tras La Restauracio´ N Del Lobo Al Parque Nacional De Yellowstone La Survie Et La Mortalite´ Des Faons De Wapitis Qui A Suivi La Re´Introduction Du Loup Au Parc De Yellowstone, S. M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, P. J. White Jan 2008

Elk Calf Survival And Mortality Following Wolf Restoration To Yellowstone National Park La Supervivencia Y La Mortalidad De Las Crı´As De Wapiti Tras La Restauracio´ N Del Lobo Al Parque Nacional De Yellowstone La Survie Et La Mortalite´ Des Faons De Wapitis Qui A Suivi La Re´Introduction Du Loup Au Parc De Yellowstone, S. M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, P. J. White

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We conducted a 3-year study (May 2003–Apr 2006) of mortality of northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus) calves to determine the cause for the recruitment decline (i.e., 33 calves to 13 calves/100 adult F) following the restoration of wolves (Canis lupus). We captured, fit with radiotransmitters, and evaluated blood characteristics and disease antibody seroprevalence in 151 calves ≤ 6 days old (68M:83F). Concentrations (x, SE) of potential condition indicators were as follows: thyroxine (T4; 13.8 µg/dL, 0.43), serum urea nitrogen (SUN; 17.4 mg/dL, 0.57), c-glutamyltransferase (GGT; 66.4 IU/L, 4.36), gamma globulins (GG; 1.5 g/dL, 0.07), and insulin-like …


Morbidity And Mortality Factors In Pre-Fledged Florida Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis Pratensis) Chicks, Robert J. Dusek, Marilyn G. Spalding, Donald J. Forrester, Nicholas Komar, Jonathan F. Day Jan 2005

Morbidity And Mortality Factors In Pre-Fledged Florida Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis Pratensis) Chicks, Robert J. Dusek, Marilyn G. Spalding, Donald J. Forrester, Nicholas Komar, Jonathan F. Day

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

One hundred and fifteen Florida sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pratensis) chicks were captured in Osceola and Lake Counties, Florida in 1998 - 2000 and examined for evidence of disease. Evidence of Eimeria gruis and/or E. reichenowi infection was found in 52% of chicks examined. Ten chicks were positive for antibodies to St. Louis encephalitis virus and 1 of these chicks was also positive for antibodies to eastern equine encephalitis virus. Predation was the most commonly identified cause of mortality. An unidentified microfilaria, and an unknown protozoan were detected in blood smears from crane chicks. A number of other …


Terrestrial Behavior Of Ateles Spp., Christina J. Campbell, Filippo Aureli, Colin A. Chapman, Gabriel Ramos-Fernández, Kim Matthews, Sabrina E. Russo, Scott Suarez, Laura Vick Jan 2005

Terrestrial Behavior Of Ateles Spp., Christina J. Campbell, Filippo Aureli, Colin A. Chapman, Gabriel Ramos-Fernández, Kim Matthews, Sabrina E. Russo, Scott Suarez, Laura Vick

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Spider monkeys (Ateles spp.) are well known for their highly arboreal lifestyle, spending much of their time in the highest levels of the canopy and rarely venturing to the ground. To investigate terrestriality by Ateles and to illuminate the conditions under which spider monkeys venture to the ground, we analyzed ad libitum data from 5 study sites, covering 2 species and 5 subspecies. Three of the sites are in Central/North America: Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama (Ateles geoffroyi panamensis), Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica (A. g. frontatus), and Punta Laguna, Mexico (A. g. yucatanensis). The 2 remaining sites are …


Do Female Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia Spp.) Prefer To Shoal With Familiar Individuals Under Predation Pressure?, Culum Brown Sep 2002

Do Female Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia Spp.) Prefer To Shoal With Familiar Individuals Under Predation Pressure?, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

Shoaling with familiar individuals may have many benefits including enhanced escape responses or increased foraging efficiency. This study describes the results of two complimentary experiments. The first utilised a simple binary choice experiment to determine if rainbowfish (Melanotaenia spp.) preferred to shoal with familiar individuals or with strangers. The second experiment used a “free range” situation where familiar and unfamiliar individuals were free to intermingle and were then exposed to a predator threat. Like many other small species of fish, rainbowfish were capable of identifying and distinguishing between individuals and choose to preferentially associate with familiar individuals as opposed to …


Winter Severity And Wolf Predation On A Formerly Wolf-Free Elk Herd, L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Kerry M. Murphy, Daniel R. Macnulty Oct 2001

Winter Severity And Wolf Predation On A Formerly Wolf-Free Elk Herd, L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Kerry M. Murphy, Daniel R. Macnulty

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We studied wolf (Canis lupus) predation on elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park from 17 March to 15 April 1997 (severe winter conditions) and from 2 to 31 March 1998 (mild winter conditions) 2-3 years after wolves were reintroduced to the park. Elk composed 91% of 117 kills. Data comparisons for 1997 versus 1998 were: hunting success rate, 26% versus 15%; kill rate, 17.1 kg/wolf/day versus 6.1; percent of kill consumed in first day, 7 versus 86; percent femur marrow fat of adult kills, 27 versus 70; calf:adult ratios of kills, 2:33 versus 17:23; sex …


Mortality Of Whooping Crane Colts In Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, 1997-99, Douglas G. Bergeson, Brian W. Johns, Geoffrey L. Holroyd Jan 2001

Mortality Of Whooping Crane Colts In Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, 1997-99, Douglas G. Bergeson, Brian W. Johns, Geoffrey L. Holroyd

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Twenty-two whooping crane (Grus americana) pairs with 2 young were monitored in Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) over 3 years to determine causes of colt mortality. The family groups were monitored from the ground, air, and with the aid ofradioteiemetry. We attached transmitters to 18 colts: 5 (28%) fledged, 5 (28%) succumbed to cumulative effects (head trauma, stress, exposure and/or infection), 4 (22%) were lost to unknown causes (3 of these went missing after they had lost their transmitters), 2 (11%) were taken by foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 1 (5.5%) was lost to raven (Corvus corax …


Proximity Of White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Ranges To Wolf, Canis Lupus, Pack Homesites, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech Jan 2000

Proximity Of White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Ranges To Wolf, Canis Lupus, Pack Homesites, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Seven adult female White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northeastern Minnesota lived within 1.8 km of Wolf pack (Canis lupus) homesites without vacating their home ranges. Six of these deer and at least three of their fawns survived through the Wolf homesite period.


Assessing Factors That May Predispose Minnesota Farms To Wolf Depredations On Cattle, L. David Mech, Elizabeth K. Harper, Thomas J. Meier, William J. Paul Jan 2000

Assessing Factors That May Predispose Minnesota Farms To Wolf Depredations On Cattle, L. David Mech, Elizabeth K. Harper, Thomas J. Meier, William J. Paul

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Wolf (Canis lupus) depredations on livestock cause considerable conflict and expense in Minnesota. Furthermore, claims are made that such depredations are fostered by the type of animal husbandry practiced. Thus, we tried to detect factors that might predispose farms in Minnesota to wolf depredations. We compared results of interviews with 41 cattle farmers experiencing chronic cattle losses to wolves (chronic farms) with results from 41 nearby "matched" farms with no wolf losses to determine farm characteristics or husbandry practices that differed and that therefore might have affected wolf depredations. We also used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to …


The Impact Of Resident And Transient Predators On The Popultation Dynamics Of Juvenile Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus Argus) In Florida Bay, Florida, Jason Edward Schratwieser Oct 1999

The Impact Of Resident And Transient Predators On The Popultation Dynamics Of Juvenile Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus Argus) In Florida Bay, Florida, Jason Edward Schratwieser

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

There has been a considerable amount of research devoted to exploring the relationship between predators and prey, but many of these studies fail to address how predation can vary over spatial and temporal scales. The tendency of ecologists to model predation as a static entity often masks its capacity for creating distinctive effects in prey populations and communities. Most predation studies also focus on the effect of a single species of predator on a prey population, an unrealistic situation in nature. In the Florida Keys, juvenile spiny lobsters are subjected to two general classes of predators: i) "resident" predators such …


Survival And Habitat Use Of Greater Sandhill Crane Colts On Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, California, Kevin J. Desroberts Jan 1997

Survival And Habitat Use Of Greater Sandhill Crane Colts On Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, California, Kevin J. Desroberts

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Radiotelemetry was used to monitor 13 (1990) and 14 (1992) greater sandhill crane (Grus canadensis tabida) colts on Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, California, to determine causes of mortality, brood habitat utilization, and effects of habitat management on colt survival. Colt survival rates were 0.36 (1990) and 0.54 (1992). Coyotes (Canis latrans) killed 3 colts and mink (Mustela vison) killed 4; I colt died because of a bacterial infection (Staphylococcus aureous). Broods used 6 different habitat types and 79% used more than I type. Irrigated meadows (74%), cultivated uplands (53 %), and marsh …


A Laboratory Study Of Predation On The Trinidadian Guppy, Poecilia Reticulata, By Two Natural Piscine Predators: Effects Of Predator Size, Prey Size, And Habitat Complexity, Hayden Thomas Mattingly Oct 1991

A Laboratory Study Of Predation On The Trinidadian Guppy, Poecilia Reticulata, By Two Natural Piscine Predators: Effects Of Predator Size, Prey Size, And Habitat Complexity, Hayden Thomas Mattingly

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Test populations of different-sized guppies, Poecilia reticulata, were exposed to individuals of two natural predatory species, the pike cichlid Crenicichla a/ta and the killifish Rivulus harti, under conditions of varying prey (guppy) density and habitat complexity in the laboratory. Rivulus fed most frequently on newborn and juvenile guppies < 14 mm. Crenicichla consumed more and larger guppies than did Rivulus. The mean guppy size eaten by Crenicichla was dependent on the length of the individual predator, but as a group, the 15 Crenicichla tested were non-selective with respect to guppy size and gender. The prey gender preference of Rivulus could not he determined …


The Role Of Colonization Predation And Season In Determining Macroinvertebrate Community Structure In A Temperate Lake, Cheryl Lynn Frew Jul 1984

The Role Of Colonization Predation And Season In Determining Macroinvertebrate Community Structure In A Temperate Lake, Cheryl Lynn Frew

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Field experiments were conducted to examine the effects of distance from shore, vertebrate predation, and season on macroinvertebrate colonization dynamics in a temperate lake in Suffolk, VA. In a year-long colonization study, artificial plants, half of which were caged to exclude vertebrate predators, were deployed in patches at three distances from shore (2m, 15m, 50m). Artificial plant subsamples were removed at weekly intervals over 28 days during four seasons to monitor colonization by macroinvertebrates. Colonization of artificial plants occurred more quickly in the summer and spring than in fall and winter. The interactive effect of distance from shore and cage …