Late autumn trophic flexibility of the golden jackalCanis aureus

The feeding habits of the golden jackal Canis aureus (Linnaeus, 1758) were compared using scat analysis in Hungary (temperate climate agricultural area), Greece (Mediterranean marshland), and Israel (Mediterranean agricultural area). Samples (84, 70 and 64 scats, respectively) were collected during late autumn, a period with capital importance to the long term survival of young jackals, during which they become independent. Predation of wild-living prey species was highest in Hungary, consisting primarily of small mammals (biomass estimation: 51.5%, mainly rodents), contrary to Israel and Greece, where scavenging on domestic animals dominated the diet of jackals (74%, mainly poultry and 62.6%, mainly goats, respectively). The highest consumption of wild ungulates (mainly wild boar) was found in Greece (15.7%), and plants in Hungary (39%). Bird consumption was low in all three areas. Reptiles, amphibians and fish occurred only in the diet of jackals in Greece and Israel, whereas invertebrates were eaten more frequently in Hungary. Jackal dietary composition was extremely variable between regions, strongly associated with human presence. These results illustrate the golden jackal as having a very variable diet, resulting from opportunistic feeding habits.     

Latitudinal patterns in rodent metabolic flexibility

Macrophysiology is defined as the study of variation in physiological traits-including physiological trait flexibility-over large geographical and temporal scales, and the ecological implications of this variation. A classic example of a macrophysiological trend is the one emerging from the climatic variability hypothesis, which states that as the range of climatic fluctuation experienced by terrestrial animals increases with latitude, individuals at higher latitudes should be more plastic than individuals inhabiting lower latitudes. In this context, we evaluate the correlation between absolute metabolic scope during cold exposure (an instantaneous measure of metabolic flexibility) and different geographic and climatic variables for 48 rodent species. Conventional and phylogenetic informed analyses indicated a positive correlation between metabolic scope and geographic latitude. These findings, together with previous reports on latitudinal pattern in phenotypic flexibility, suggest that an increase in physiological flexibility with latitude may hold for many phenotypic traits.     

Plasma corticosterone concentrations in European robins during spring and autumn migration

To estimate differences in hormonal mechanisms of regulation of spring and autumn migration in European robins Erithacus rubecula, the plasma corticosterone (CORT) concentrations were compared in birds caught during both migratory seasons. A total of 414 blood samples were analyzed. It was found that the baseline and stress-induced CORT concentrations in free-living robins during spring migration were practically twice as high as during autumn passage. Our results demonstrate that autumn and spring migrations are independent stages of the avian annual cycle. Probably, the increase in the CORT concentrations in spring can be considered to be physiological preparation for the breeding season.     

Reindeer movement patterns in alpine summer ranges

To evaluate the movement rates of semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) during the bare-ground season, we used successive GPS positions from 48 female reindeer. Data were collected during the summers of 2002 and 2003 in two Sámi reindeer herding districts in the Swedish mountains, Handölsdalen, and Sirges. The movement rates were analysed at five different time periods: over the whole season, and over the sub-seasons spring, and early summer, mid summer and early autumn. Variation in movements were analysed in relation to vegetation type, altitude, terrain ruggedness, temperature, wind speed, and proximity to hiking trails. We hypothesised that the foraging quality and different weather conditions is an important factor in determining movement rates. We found that reindeer movement rates were similar between study areas and were dependent on vegetation type and on weather conditions. Studying the circadian movements, in mid summer period when daytime oestrid activity are expected to be high, the reindeer stayed at higher altitudes where food quality was low, but moved to low altitudes at night where the food quality was higher. Therefore, we suggest that oestrid activity forces the reindeer to stay in low-quality vegetation types. Reindeer movements were linked to disturbance in areas of intermediate human activity. We found that in Handölsdalen, where hikers are abundant, the movement rates of reindeer decreased closer to the trails whereas in Sirges, where hikers are less abundant, the movement rates of reindeer increased closer to the trails.     

Scale-free dynamics in the movement patterns of jackals

Using conventional radio-tracking techniques employed by field ecologists, evidence for scale-free (fractal) behaviour in the foraging trajectories of a species of African jackal is presented. It is believed that the particular form of foraging strategy observed here is a response by the jackal to its need to locate resources in an unpredictable environment. The methods used in this study are completely general and can be applied to other radio-tracked species, thus beginning a systematic investigation of foraging strategies in mammals.     

Activity and movement patterns of Octopus dofleini

Four individual Octopus dofleini were followed over a fifteen day period in their underwater habitat by sonic tracking. Octopuses had small home ranges (250 m²maximum) which were stable over the two weeks of observation. These ranges overlapped those of other octopuses extensively, and animals did not keep a constant distance from one another, which suggests they were solitary and non‐social. Activity was slightly higher at night, and was not correlated with changes in other environmental variables. The O. dofleini made frequent short hunting trips (mode 0.5 hours), tending to have more and longer excursions at night. Octopuses are predators who appear to have flexible activity and, in the short term, restricted home range areas.     

Range size patterns in European freshwater trematodes

While patterns in geographic range sizes in free‐living species have received much attention, little is known on the corresponding patterns in parasites. For the first time, we report on patterns in geographic range sizes and dimensions of endoparasites, using published species lists of freshwater trematodes in 25 biogeographical regions of Europe. In general, the range sizes of trematodes showed a typical hollow curve frequency distribution, with most species having small ranges. Contrary to expectations, there were no differences in range sizes among trematodes using hosts with high (birds) and limited dispersal capacity (e.g. fish). This suggests that the well known importance of host dispersal capacity for parasite dispersal at small spatial scales is overridden by other factors on larger scales. Regression analyses and Rohde plots showed that the relationship between the latitudinal centre and trematode range size was hump‐shaped in all host groups except for reptiles, for which it was linear. Most of the variation fell within the expectations given by null models, suggesting that the patterns mainly result from the geographic properties of the European continent and the biogeographical regions. Finally, trematode ranges tended to stretch more in east‐west than in north‐south directions, indicating dispersal barrier effects for parasite faunas, probably resulting from the geographical idiosyncrasies of the European continent.     

Latitudinal patterns in the size of European butterflies

The importance of seasonality in shaping latitudinal size patterns was investigated in 16 species of lycaenine and satyrine butterflies with distributions in Sweden and continental Europe. Species without shifts in voltinism within the study area generally displayed clear size clines, increasing in size from north to south within Sweden. These species were also larger in continental Europe than in Sweden. In northern temperate areas a linear model for mean size at different latitudes seems to be a reasonable approximation for most species in this category. The size patterns for three species with shifts from univoltinism to bivoltinism at latitudes within Sweden were more reminiscent of the "saw-tooth"-pattern predicted by theory for such cases. The results suggest that size patterns in European butterflies to a large extent is governed by the length of the favorable season at different latitudes, affecting selection for development time and size. Altitude and drought also affect the effective season length and may amplify or complicate latitudinal patterns.     

Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders in a naturalistic schizophrenia population: diagnostic value of actometric movement patterns

Background  

Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders (NIMDs) have overlapping co-morbidity. Earlier studies have described typical clinical movement patterns for individual NIMDs. This study aimed to identify specific movement patterns for each individual NIMD using actometry.     

Postsettlement movement patterns and homing in a coral-associated fish

Coral-associated gobies are highly specialized reef fishes withhigh host-coral fidelity. Flexibility in habitat choice, however,is important to compensate for potential habitat alterationor loss, but detailed information about the postsettlement movementbehavior of such gobies is lacking. We examined movement patternsin Gobiodon histrio, both under natural conditions and duringsubsequent field experiments, involving breeding pair or partnerremoval from 3 of the 4 investigation plots. Additionally, weinvestigated homing behavior, and 2 aquaria experiments weredesigned to assess home coral and partner recognition of adultfish taken from breeding pairs. Under natural conditions, themovement rate was high for single adults, whereas breeding pairsshowed high home-coral fidelity. Manipulations revealed littlechange of natural patterns except in single adults, which slightlydecreased their movement rate in the breeding pair removal plot.In the homing experiment, 17% of tested fish returned to theirhome coral even after displacement of 4 m, and homing successwas much higher at shorter distances (100% at 0.5 m, 53% at2.25 m). In the aquarium, G. histrio exhibited higher recognitionof its home-coral colony (75%) than of its breeding pair partner(60%). Our study shows that G. histrio frequently moves betweencorals, although this depends on the social status (juvenile,single adult, breeding pair) of the individuals. The high proportionand movement rate of single adults indicate low sensitivityto habitat alteration but also limited high-quality habitatsin which breeding pairs could be established. Hence, vulnerabilityto habitat loss increases when individuals breed.     

嵊泗海岛不同底质潮间带春秋季大型底栖动物的群落格局

于2006年9月(秋季)和2007年4月(春季)对嵊泗海岛的不同底质潮间带断面设立的8个取样站采集的调查资料,采用ABC曲线方法和大型多元统计分析软件PRIMER5对嵊泗海岛大型底栖动物进行Bray-Curtis相似性聚类分析和非度量MDS标序,研究群落结构格局以及用物种多样性指数、物种均匀度和物种丰富度指数分析潮间带大型底栖动物物种多样性和群落种类组成,并对大型底栖动物的群落结构进行了初步研究。调查获得嵊泗海岛的不同底质潮间带大型底栖动物130种,其中多毛类31种,软体动物57种,节肢动物32种,棘皮动物4种,其它类6种。春、秋季嵊泗潮间带大型底栖动物多样性指数(H′)(F1,13=0.10,P=0.75)、物种丰富度(D)(F1,13=0.66,P=0.43)和均匀度指数(J)(F1,13=0.33,P=0.58)均无显著差异;不同底质嵊泗潮间带大型底栖动物多样性指数(H′)(F1,13=14.28,P<0.01)、物种丰富度(D)(F1,13=14.07,P<0.01)存在显著差异,而均匀度指数(J)(F1,13=1.62,P=0.23)无显著差异。群落结构聚类分析和MDS标序表明,8个取样站的群落可分为3组(Ⅰ、Ⅱ和Ⅲ组)。根据所调查嵊泗海岛潮间带的丰度和生物量资料做的ABC曲线分析表明,底栖动物群落受到了中等程度的污染或者扰动。     

Ancient movement patterns determine modern genetic variances in Europe

A summary ethnohistory database on population movements in Europe between 2000 B.C. and A.D. 1970 was related to genetic variances and distances based on 26 genetic systems. For the purposes of these analyses, Europe was divided into 85 terrestrial quadrats measuring 5 degrees x 5 degrees. Counts, stratified by time, were taken of the number of movements out of and into each quadrat (called source and target counts, respectively) and between each pair of quadrats. The source and target counts have distinct and different patterns in Europe and vary significantly over time. Central Europe and the Pontic area have the quadrats with the highest source counts, and the Balkans have the highest target counts. Modern genetic variances per quadrat are significantly correlated with source and target counts, somewhat more prominently with source counts. Genetic distances between pairs of quadrats are correlated strongly with geographic distances and moderately and negatively correlated with the total number of movements between these quadrats. Partial correlations of genetic distances with total number of movements, holding geographic distance constant, are small and mostly nonsignificant. These results are interpreted in light of our knowledge of the history and biology of the populations concerned.     

Evidence of autumn reproduction in female European hares (Lepus europaeus) from southern Europe

Information on reproductive biology of the European hare (Lepus europaeus) in different environmental and landscape conditions comprises part of fundamental knowledge regarding species’ adaptive responses as well as many aspects of its biology. Most of the studies conducted on European hare reproduction are confined to midlatitude and northern populations, whereas no data exist on the indigenous southern populations. Here, we present information on reproductive characteristics of European hares inhabiting Mediterranean ecosystems on the island of Crete, Greece for two successive hunting seasons. Although the annual reproductive cycle of the species is well known, with an autumn sexual inactivity, the duration of this period is subjected to fluctuations in different years and for different areas. According to our data, hare populations of Crete present an autumn–early winter reproductive activity with high proportions of pregnant females observed in all the months of the study. Furthermore, the estimated mean litter size (1.54 SE ± 0.07) while signed to the lowest values ever observed for European hares is similar to values obtained in continuous breeding species of the same genus, Lepus granatensis, Lepus corsicanus, Lepus (capensis) mediterraneus, and Lepus capensis also inhabiting warm climates. In conclusion, our results suggest that Cretan European hare populations exhibit a reproductively active period during autumn–early winter where proportions of pregnant females and litter size give a strong indication of a continuous reproduction throughout the year.     

Thermal effects on movement patterns of yellow baboons

This paper examines the effect of thermal environment on movement patterns of free-ranging yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus). For Amboseli baboons, one source of potential thermal stress is intense midday heat, and a plausible thermoregulatory response is for animals to simply move into the shade. I therefore examined the hypothesis that baboons would choose quadrats with higher shade availability (as measured by vegetation cover) in response to increasing midday heat loads (as measured by air temperature and solar radiation). Surprisingly, this was not the case—neither ambient air temperature, ambient solar radiation, nor quadrat plant species composition had a significant effect on shade availability of quadrat selected. Instead, thermal conditions affected a different aspect of baboon movements; namely, spatial displacement rates. At high air temperatures, baboons as a group traversed woodland habitats more slowly, and bare pans more quickly, than at lower air temperatures. I surmised that this relationship might reflect thermal effects on movement patterns at a smaller scale: if individuals exposed to high heat loads spent more time resting in shade under clumps of vegetation, they would thereby traverse densely-vegetated (hence shaded) quadrats more slowly. To address this question directly, I obtained focal sample data on activity and microhabitat budgets of individual baboons in relation to environmental temperature. The frequency of most combinations of activity state (e.g., grooming, social behavior) and microenvironment state (e.g., elevation, proximity to vegetation) did not vary monotonically with air temperature. However, baboons in shaded locations (but not those in unshaded locations) spent more time resting and less time moving at high air temperatures than low. In other words, baboon activity budgets depended on both microclimate and microhabitat—animals reduced their activity, particularly movement, when they encountered shade under hot conditions. This pattern of microhabitat choice in turn led to temperature-dependent changes in travel rate at the habitat level. These observational studies of movement patterns suggest that Amboseli baboons employ opportunistic thermoregulation—they do not seek out densely-shaded habitats or individual patches of shade at high air temperatures. Instead, they respond to environmental heat loads by resting, and thereby slowing down, when they happen to encounter plant shade. Aspects of baboon ecology that favor such an opportunistic mode of thermoregulation include large body size and non-thermal constraints on movement patterns.     

In search of geographical patterns in European mitochondrial DNA

Previous studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in Europe and the Near East have suggested that, in contrast with classical markers and the Y chromosome, mtDNA does not exhibit significant geographical structuring. Here, we show that, with a sufficiently large sample size and a better resolved mtDNA tree, clades of mtDNA do indeed exhibit gradients similar to those of other marker systems. However, the more detailed analyses afforded by molecular sequence data suggest that the explanations for these gradients are likely to be much more complex than those proposed for classical markers.     

Prospects of trawl fishing in the littoral zone of the Peter the Great Bay in the autumn period

The results of experimental trawl fishing in the littoral zone of the Amur Bay are summarized. Using a motor boat and a launch for trawling with experimental trawl during the research works made it possible to obtain new data on the species composition, distribution, and stock density of the fishes in the littoral zone of Peter the Great Bay. Light trawl is promising not only for research purposes but also for seasonal fishing.     

Plasmodium hegneri n. sp. from the European Teal Anas c. crecca in Taiwan*

SYNOPSIS. Plasmodium hegneri n. sp. is described from the European teal duck, Anas c. crecca, from Taiwan. The blood stages, so far the only ones seen, are distinguished mainly by the elongate character of the gametocytes, which closely resemble Haemoproteus (though the pigment tends to be finer and less abundant), and the failure of both asexual and sexual forms to displace the nucleus or otherwise alter the host cell. Merozoites average 13.4 ± 2.2 (range 10–19) per segmenter. Trophozoites often adhere to the host cell nucleus, and may have a large vacuole and a remarkable long, slender pseudopodium. The species so far has been seen only in the European teal, although blood films from 194 species and over 1200 birds have been examined.     

Chloroplast movements in fern leaves: correlation of movement dynamics and environmental flexibility of the species

The movements of chloroplasts in response to varying levels and wavelengths of incident light were investigated in leaves of four fern species: Adiantum capillus-veneris, Adiantum caudatum, Adiantum diaphanum and Pteris cretica. In all of the species studied blue light induced chloroplast redistribution resulting in face and profile patterns that were typical of low and high fluence rates, respectively. Fluence rate response characteristics and the kinetics of transmission changes accompanying these blue-light-induced movements were similar to those observed in the leaves of higher plants. Only in A. capillus-veneris was the distribution of chloroplasts affected by red light. The response was of the weak-light type, irrespective of the light intensity. The most effective fluence rate for red light was found to be below 7·2 μmol m^–2 s^–1 (1 W m^–2). The effect of red light was far-red reversible, indicating phytochrome involvement. Chloroplast responses were more dynamic in A. capillus-veneris and P. cretica, the two species that exhibited higher environmental flexibility.