Optimal foraging by a suspension-feeding copepod: responses to short-term and seasonal variation in food resources

Laboratory radioisotope experiments were used to investigate the effects of phytoplankton seasonal succession on the selectivity and clearance rates of a suspension-feeding copepod in two Indiana lakes. Responses to particle size and quality were tested by allowing adult female Diaptomus birgei feeding in natural seston to select between a small (6×7 m) flagellate (Chlamydomonas reinhardii) and a large, poor quality food (heat-killed Carteria olivieri, 22×25 m). Short-term responses were tested in one lake by additional treatments in which copepods were acclimated for 5–6 h in filtered lake water (starved) or natural seston with added Chlamydomonas (enriched). Copepods from both lakes fed selectively on the small live flagellate during the spring bloom of edible phytoplankton but fed selectively on the larger, poor quality particle during the clear water phase when food was scarce. These results are interpreted as an interaction between the concentration-dependent selectivity for high quality foods predicted by optimal diet theory and a perceptual bias for large-sized particles. Selectivity for high-quality food was intermediate and clearance rates were depressed when total phytoplankton abundance was high but dominated by filamentous cyanobacteria. In each experiment copepods also responded to the short-term manipulations by exhibiting weaker discrimination against the poor quality particle in the starvation treatment and stronger discrimination in the enriched treatment. A two-way mixed model ANOVA revealed substantial short term (37%) and seasonal (53%) components to the total variance in selectivity. Clearance rates were also influenced by both phytoplankton succession and the short-term resource manipulations. As expected, clearance rates on the poor quality food were more sensitive to the abundance of alternative foods. These results show how the feeding behavior of a freshwater copepod is modulated by both seasonal and short-term variation in natural food.     

Trophic links,nutrient fluxes,and natural history in the Allium ursinum food web,with particular reference to life history traits of two hoverfly herbivores (Diptera: Syrphidae)

The food web centering on Allium ursinum (Liliaceae) in a beech forest (Germany) is described, and temporal variation of active trophic links is related to species' life cycles. The most important insect herbivores are Cheilosia fasciata (a larval leaf miner) and Portevinia maculata (a larva bulb miner) (Diptera: Syrphidae). Energy, carbon and nitrogen flow in the food chain (Allium-Cheilosia-Phygadeuon ursini) are investigated and analysed with respect to differences in resource allocation by the leaf miner and its hymenoptereous parasitoid. In C. fasciata nitrogen is likely to be the limiting resource, while growth in Phygadeuon ursini appears energy-limited. Larval feeding habits of C. fasciata and Portevinia maculata determined the timing of the species' life cycles and, as a consequence, appeared to preclude the existence of a pupal parasitoid in Portevinia maculata. Further details of life history traits are demonstrated and discussed.     

Contrasting mortality in young freshwater leeches and triclads

A guild of leeches and triclads coexist and are the most numerous invertebrate predators on the stony shores of productive British lakes. Populations of all species are food-limited. Mortality of recruited young is considerably higher in leech than in triclad populations, and this paper investigates reasons for this. In particular, the feeding success of young leeches and triclads in relation to prey species, prey size, prey condition (alive or crushed), spatial heterogeneity (with or without the presence of stones or gravel), and the presence or absence of other young or adults predators (leeches or triclads) of the same or different species are investigated in the laboratory. Feeding success by young leeches and triclads on crushed prey without the presence of stones was high, but declined dramatically in leeches but not triclads when stones were present. Young leeches and triclads were inept at capturing live prey, of a small or large size, with the exception of soft-bodied prey such as oligochaetes. Feeding success by young predators on live prey was not increased by the presence of other young predators of the same or different species. With only a few exceptions, the presence of adult leeches, and to a much lesser extent adult triclads, increased the feeding success, growth and survival of young leeches and triclads. It is concluded that the high mortality of young leeches, compared to triclads, in field populations is due to their inability to locate damaged food in an environment with spatial heterogeneity due to a poorly developed chemosensory system. High and low levels of juvenile morality are accompanied by high and low reproductive rates in leech and triclad populations, respectively. It is unusual for a food limited population to have a high level of recruitment, but it is speculated that the characteristically high reproductive output in parasitic leeches, from which predaceous leeches are derived or have affinities, has been retained to counterbalance high juvenile mortality rates.     

Food and water resources used by the Madagascan hissing-cockroach mite,Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi

We determined the food source and water balance properties of the hissing-cockroach mite, Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi. The food source for mites was identified using Evans blue dye by direct injection into a fasting host cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa, or by incorporation into cockroach food. No coloration was observed in mites on dye-injected cockroaches, but coloration was present in mites when only the food for the cockroaches had been stained. Thus, the mites are scavengers of cockroach food, and are not parasitic as previously thought. Our results demonstrate that the mites can absorb water from the air anywhere between 0.84 and 0.93 a _v (%RH/100), and wax-block experiments revealed that the mouth is the site of uptake. The mites are normally clumped together on the host, typically in between the cockroach's legs and around the spiracles. Water loss rates for mites in groups (0.16% h^-1) were far lower than for isolated mites (0.30% h^-1), suggesting a group effect with regard to water balance. Above the transition temperature of 30°C rate of water loss was rapid. The sites occupied by mites on the cockroach's body seem to be highly specific for feeding and absorption of water vapour.     

Limits to food intake and fiber utilization in the prairie vole,Microtus ochrogaster: effects of food quality and energy need

We fed prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) rat chow diluted with variable amounts of -cellulose to determine 1) how much fiber the voles could tolerate in their diet; 2) changes in food intake and digestibility of dry matter and of fiber; 3) the extent to which voles utilized fiber as an energy source; and 4) whether any of these variables differed between groups of animals maintained at 5 or 22°C. Fiber content of the diets ranged from 20 to 84%. Animals held at 5°C maintained body mass through a diet containing 69% fiber, while animals held at 22°C maintained body mass through the 84% fiber diet. Dry matter intake increased with fiber level from 9.3 to 15.0 g·day^-1 for animals at 5°C and from 5.6 to 14.0 g·day^-1 for animals at 22°C; intake on the highest fiber diet eaten by either group was not different. Dry matter digestibility decreased significantly as the fiber in the diets increased, but was not affected by temperature treatments. Digestible dry matter intake for each group remained constant regardless of diet quality, but on each diet digestible dry matter intake for animals at 5°C was significantly higher than that of the animals held at 22°C. Digestibility of the fiber portion of the experimental diets remained constant as food quality decreased, so the percent of daily energy need met by fiber utilization increased with higher food intake. On the lowest quality diet each group tolerated, fiber digestion provided approximately 42 and 68% of the energy needs of voles at 5 and 22°C, respectively.Abbreviations BM body mass - BMR basal metabolic rate - DE digestible energy - DM dry matter - DMD dry matter digestibility - DDMI digestible dry matter intake - MR metabolic rate - NDF neutral detergent fiber (=cell walls) - NDS neutral detergent solubles (=cell solubles) - SEM standard error of mean - T _a ambient temperature     

常用食品防腐剂抗菌作用的研究

采用杯碟法和琼脂平板点种法分别测定２０种常用食品防腐剂对３０株菌的抑菌圈直径和最低抑菌浓度,借此判断药剂抗菌力的大小。实验结果表明,在所测２０种防腐剂中,对细菌抑制力最强者是乙酸,对霉菌和酵母菌抑制力最强者是富马酸二甲酯。     

Mandible Form Relative to the Main Food Type in Ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

The Coccinellidae is an economically important family within the Coleoptera. Some members are phytophagous pests, but many are beneficial predators and valuable biocontrol agents. This study investigates the morphology of the mandibles of adult Coccinellidae in relation to diet. Using scanning electron microscopy on 86 species of Coccinellidae, it was found that the morphology of the mandibles was dictated by the general feeding method, and could only be used to indicate a phytophagous, mycophagous or carnivorous diet. Phytophagous Coccinellidae of the subfamily Epilachninae had mandibles with denticulate apical teeth and setae for feeding on leaf material. The mandibles of the mycophagous Psylloborini had secondary teeth on the ventral apical tooth for collecting fungal spores. The mandibles of carnivorous Coccinellidae and Scymninae had either a bifid or unidentate apex. The unidentate mandible seemed to be restricted to coccidophagous species. Many species also had a mandibular groove along which prey body juices were conducted. Although mandible morphology could be related to the overall feeding method, there was no relationship between specific diet or food taxon and mandible shape. Mandible shape does not appear to be especially restricting for changes in diet either in the ecological sense or over evolutionary time. Mandible morphology is of limited use in determining diet and host specificity in Coccinellidae that are being selected as potential biocontrol agents.     

黄鳝食性的初步研究

通过对不同产地的２７１尾野生黄鳝的食性研究表明,全长小于１００ｍｍ的稚鱼,其食性随着全长的生长而变化,稚鱼前期以摄食轮虫,枝角类为主,后期则以水生寡毛类,摇蚊幼虫为主,而全长１０１ｍｍ－２００ｍｍ的幼鳝及全长大于２００ｍｍ的成鳝的食性,随全长变化相对稳定,且细鳝和成鳝的食谱基本相同,其主要食物组成均包括摇蚊幼虫,水生寡毛类,蚯蚓,昆虫幼虫,枝角类和桡足类等。其肠内含物中的饵料生物种类含量均在季节变     

Effects of dispersal in a tri-trophic metapopulation model

The aim of this paper is to understand how dispersal in a patchy environment influences the stability properties of tri-trophic metapopulations. Differential equation models for tri-trophic metapopulations are formulated and analysed. The patchy nature of the metapopulations is incorporated through dispersal phases. Two variants are studied: one with a dispersal phase for the top and one with a dispersal phase for the middle level. A complete characterisation of stable and unstable equilibria is given and the possibility of invasion in these food chains is studied. A dispersal phase for the middle level can destabilize the bottom level-middle level interaction, because of the delay that dispersal causes in the reaction to the resource. When the middle level is not efficiently controlled by the top level, the unstable bottom level-middle level pair can destabilize the entire food chain. Dispersal for the top level can destabilize in the same way. A characterisation of the long term behaviour of the models is given. Bistability with a stable three species equilibrium and a stable limit cycle is one of the possibilities.