东方蝙蝠在交通噪声环境中的回声定位行为

环境噪声会降低动物声信号可探测性,是动物声信号进化的压力。为了避免人工噪声干扰,多数脊椎动物调整其叫声的频谱-时间结构,如采用延长叫声持续时间、提高频率和增加强度等策略。本研究选择回声定位声波频率范围与交通噪声频率范围相互重叠的东方蝙蝠(Vespertilio sinensis)为研究对象,在自然条件下开展实验,研究交通噪声对蝙蝠回声定位声波的影响。本实验选择交通噪声强度存在差异的两个样点,分别录制东方蝙蝠的回声定位声波,分析其结构参数。在交通噪声强度较高的样点,东方蝙蝠回声定位声波的持续时间、斜率均未显著改变,但起始频率、主频、终止频率及带宽均显著提高。结果表明,东方蝙蝠的回声定位行为在交通噪声干扰下具有明显的可塑性。     

Avian daily foraging patterns: Effects of digestive constraints and variability

Summary Birds show a typical daily pattern of heavy morning and secondary afternoon feeding. We investigate the pattern of foraging by a bird that results in the lowest long-term rate of mortality. We assume the following: mortality is the sum of starvation and predation. The bird is characterized by two state variables, its energy reserves and the amount of food in its stomach. Starvation occurs during the day if the bird's reserves fall to zero. The bird starves during the night if the total energy stored in reserves and the stomach is less than a critical amount. The probability that the bird is killed by a predator is higher if the bird is foraging than if it is resting. Furthermore, the predation risk while foraging increases with the bird's mass. From these assumptions, we use dynamic programming techniques to find the daily foraging routine that minimizes mortality. The principal results are (1) Variability in food finding leads to routines with feeding concentrated early in the day, (2) digestive constraints cause feeding to be spread more evenly through the day, (3) even under fairly severe digestive constraints, the stomach is generally not full and (4) optimal fat reserve levels are higher in more variable environments and under digestive constraints. This model suggests that the characteristic daily feeding pattern of small birds is not due to digestive constraints but is greatly influenced by environmental variability.     

恒频-调频蝙蝠特化的听觉系统对回声定位的适应

在漫长的生物演化过程中,蝙蝠演化出了能飞行和高度适应生存环境的生物声纳系统和行为.蝙蝠属于哺乳动物纲的翼手目(Chiroptera),是唯一能真正飞行的哺乳动物,其种类超过1000种,位列哺乳类动物的第二大目.根据其体型大小和形态特征将其分成大蝙蝠亚目(Megachiroptera)和小蝙蝠亚目(Microchiroptera).对蝙蝠的研究具有重要的科学意义和实际应用价值,如在听感觉方面与人类共享听觉的某些基本原理,研究结果有助于认识人类听觉.它们发出的回声定位信号规整,便于模拟后用于研究听觉系统对声信号加工的机制,尤其是在听中枢对复杂声信号处理方面,认识其细胞和分子机制才刚开始,它们是极好的模型动物.另外,在仿生学方面也具有极其重要的价值,回声定位蝙蝠的生物声纳系统具有极高的时间和空间分辨率,是极具诱惑力的研究课题.有关恒频-调频蝙蝠听觉结构和功能的研究,已有相当的时日,获得了不少新的认识,窥探到敏锐的听觉与回声定位行为之间的某些适应性的机制,本文对这方面的研究进展做了简要介绍和评述.     

南蝠回声定位叫声的分析

蝙蝠科是翼手目中种类最繁多、分布最广泛、进化最成功的科之一 ,全球共有 42属 35 5种(Ｎｏｗａｋ ,1991)。该类群的大多数物种都以超声波回声定位来进行捕食 ,其回声定位行为的多样性以及捕食策略的多样性 ,一直都是动物生态学中的研究热点。南蝠 (Ｉａｉｏ)属蝙蝠科南蝠属 ,为单型种 ,主要分布于我国 (罗蓉等 ,1993)。它是蝙蝠科中体形最大者 ,以前对其生态学方面的研究非常少 ,而对其回声定位的研究则未见报道。南蝠捕食时的叫声与飞行及悬挂状态下的叫声的基本特征一致 (声谱图及谐波等 ) ,仅在叫声次数上有一定差异。因此本文将录制南…     

皮氏菊头蝠回声定位声波与年龄的关系

皮氏菊头蝠 (Rhinolophuspearsoni)雌性成体 5只和幼体 2只采自贵州省贞丰县珉谷镇。采用超声波探测仪 (D980 ,ULTRASOUNDDETECTOR)接收皮氏菊头蝠的回声定位声波 ,转换到原频率的 1 / 1 0后导入计算机 ,然后用专业声谱分析软件 (Batsound 3 1 0 )进行分析。成蝠在飞行和悬挂状态下的声波结构相似 ,只是声波各项参数值略有不同 :它们发射FM CF FM型声波 ,具有 2～ 3个谐波 ,主频率在飞行时为 5 6 80± 0 6 2kHz ,悬挂时为 5 8 0 5± 0 2 4kHz ;声脉冲时间和间隔在飞行时分别为 3 4 6 2± 5 2 9ms和 86 5 0± 1 9 72ms ,悬挂时分别为 4 1 0 8± 5 87ms和 1 1 7 2 9± 6 6 4 4ms ;能率环飞行时为 ( 4 4 0 6± 1 2 5 8) % ,悬挂时为 ( 4 6 0 0±2 4 2 5 ) %。幼蝠声波为CF FM型 ,谐波数为 5～ 8个 ,主频率明显低于成体 ,FM带宽窄于成体 ,声脉冲时间和间隔短于成体 ,能率环低于成体。皮氏菊头蝠回声定位声波与年龄有关 ,这可能因成体的声波主要是探测食物和周围环境的详细信息 ,而幼体主要是与母蝠进行交流。     

Hazardous duty pay and the foraging cost of predation

We review the concepts and research associated with measuring fear and its consequences for foraging. When foraging, animals should and do demand hazardous duty pay. They assess a foraging cost of predation to compensate for the risk of predation or the risk of catastrophic injury. Similarly, in weighing foraging options, animals tradeoff food and safety. The foraging cost of predation can be modelled, and it can be quantitatively and qualitatively measured using risk titrations. Giving‐up densities (GUDs) in depletable food patches and the distribution of foragers across safe and risky feeding opportunities are two frequent experimental tools for titrating food and safety. A growing body of literature shows that: (i) the cost of predation can be big and comprise the forager's largest foraging cost, (ii) seemingly small changes in habitat or microhabitat characteristics can lead to large changes in the cost of predation, and (iii) a forager's cost of predation rises with risk of mortality, the forager's energy state and a decrease in its marginal value of energy. In titrating for the cost of predation, researchers have investigated spatial and temporal variation in risk, scale‐dependent variation in risk, and the role of predation risk in a forager's ecology. A risk titration from a feeding animal often provides a more accurate behavioural indicator of predation risk than direct observations of predator‐inflicted mortality. Titrating for fear responses in foragers has some well‐established applications and holds promise for novel methodologies, concepts and applications. Future directions for expanding conceptual and empirical tools include: what are the consequences of foraging costs arising from interference behaviours and other sources of catastrophic loss? Are there alternative routes by which organisms can respond to tradeoffs of food and safety? What does an animal's landscape of fear look like as a spatially explicit map, and how do various environmental factors affect it? Behavioural titrations will help to illuminate these issues and more.     

菲菊头蝠不同地理种群回声定位声波差异及其影响因子

回声定位声波地理差异及其形成原因是蝙蝠生态学研究领域一个基本而关键的问题,对于探索物种生存机制、物种形成及其保护具有重要科学意义。本研究从较大地理尺度上(9个地理种群)研究了菲菊头蝠(Rhinolophus pusillus)回声定位声波结构的地理差异,并进一步探讨了影响回声定位声波地理种群差异的因素。结果表明,菲菊头蝠雌性的体型较雄性略大,其主频较高。不同地理种群之间回声定位声波差异明显,包括脉冲持续时间、脉冲间隔、主频以及带宽在不同的地理种群之间均表现出一定程度的差异。进一步分析发现,不同地理种群之间的雌性菲菊头蝠前臂长和体重均与主频呈较弱的负相关,降雨量与雌性的主频呈较强的正相关;而不同地理种群之间的雄性前臂长、体重和降雨量与回声定位声波参数均无相关性;此外,地理距离、温度、湿度均与雌雄回声定位声波参数无相关性。本研究结果表明,菲菊头蝠不同地理种群间的回声定位声波出现明显差异,其中,体型和降雨量为主要影响因子,说明蝙蝠回声定位叫声的进化主要受到了当地生境的影响,表现出动物对不同生境的适应性进化。     

Shallow water tidal flat use and associated specialized foraging behavior of the great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran)

Evidence suggests the great hammerhead shark, Sphyrna mokarran, is vulnerable to a variety of anthropogenic stressors, and is an understudied species of shark due to its cryptic nature and wide-ranging movements. While recognized as both a pelagic-coastal and a highly mobile predator, minimal anecdotal evidence exist describing shallow water habitat use by this species. This report describes six cases in which a great hammerhead shark utilizes an inshore shallow water flats environment (<1.5?m in depth), five of which involve prey capture. These observations permitted identification of two novel behaviors that may allow great hammerheads to inhabit these shallow habitats: a (1) prey-capture technique termed ‘grasp-turning’ that involves burst swimming at tight turning angles while grasping prey and (2) a post-predation recovery period whereby the shark maintains head-first orientation into the current that may facilitate respiration and prey consumption. These behavioral observations provide insights into the natural history of this species.     

Long-term patterns of sleeping site use in wild saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) and mustached tamarins (S. mystax): effects of foraging, thermoregulation, predation, and resource defense constraints

Sleeping sites are an important aspect of an animal's ecology given the length of time that they spend in them. The sleep ecology of wild saddleback and mustached tamarins is examined using a long-term data set covering three mixed-species troops and 1,300+ tamarin nights. Seasonal changes in photoperiod accounted for a significant amount of variation in sleeping site entry and exit times. Time of exit was more closely correlated with sunrise than time of entry was with sunset. Both species entered their sleeping sites when light levels were significantly higher than when they left them in the morning. Troops of both species used >80 individual sites, the majority being used once. Mustached tamarins never used the same site for more than two consecutive nights, but saddlebacks reused the same site for up to four consecutive nights. Mustached tamarins slept at significantly greater heights than saddleback tamarins. There were consistent interspecific differences in the types of sites used. Neither the presence of infants, season, nor rainfall affected the types or heights of sites chosen. Sleeping sites were located in the central area of exclusive use more often than expected, and their position with respect to fruiting trees indicated a strategy closer to that of a multiple central place forager than a central place forager. These findings are discussed in light of species ecology, with particular reference to predation risk, which is indicated as the major factor influencing the pattern of sleeping site use in these species.     

Evolution of alternative foraging tactics driven by water temperature and physiological constraints in an amphibious snake

Amphibious predatory ectotherms live and forage in two environments (aquatic and terrestrial) that can drastically differ in temperature means and variance across space and time. The locomotor performance of ectotherms is known to be strongly affected by temperature. However, how differences in water temperature may drive the evolution of alternative foraging tactics in amphibious animals remains poorly understood. Fish‐eating Viperine snakes Natrix maura occur from high altitude cold water streams to warm shallow lakes, and employ two main feeding strategies: sentinel foraging (underwater sit‐and‐wait behaviour) and active foraging (fish chasing). Using 272 juvenile snakes we measured: the performance kinetics of diving and swimming in a wide range of water temperatures; basal metabolic levels in relation to body temperature; and the type of foraging mode expressed in water‐temperature‐acclimated snakes. Individual swimming performances increased with testing temperature (10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 °C). Apnoea time followed an opposite trend however, plausibly reflecting the fact that oxygen demands are related to the metabolic rate of ectotherms. That is, snake heart rates increased with body temperature. Snakes acclimated to 10 °C water mostly displayed sentinel foraging. By contrast, 20 °C and 30 °C water‐acclimated snakes were extremely active fish chasers. Individual apnoea times at the various testing temperatures were all correlated; as were individual swimming speeds. There was however no clear relationship between an individual's ability to hold its breath and its ability to swim, suggesting that both performance traits may be the target of different selective pressures. Fast swimming speed and long breath holding abilities are likely key determinants of both foraging success and predatory evasion, although in a context dependent manner. Active swimming foraging is likely to be advantageous in warm water (> 20 °C), while sentinel foraging appears better suited to cold water (< 14 °C). The physiological aspects of foraging tactics of amphibious snakes combined with field and laboratory observations support the idea that physiological and environmental constraints may generate shifts in habitat use and associated foraging tactics in amphibious ectotherms. Avenues for further research are discussed. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 115 , 411–422.     

Airport noise disturbs foraging behavior of Japanese pipistrelle bats

The expansion of anthropogenic noise poses an emerging threat to the survival and reproductive success of various organisms. Previous investigations have focused on the detrimental effects of anthropogenic noise on the foraging behavior in some terrestrial and aquatic animals. Nevertheless, the role of airport noise in impairing foraging activities of most wild animals has been neglected. Here, we aimed to assess whether foraging behavior in free‐living Japanese pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus abramus) can be disturbed by airport noise. We used audio recording to monitor foraging activities of bats at 11 sites around the runway of a municipal airport. We quantified noise level and spectra, aircraft activity, habitat type, nightly temperature, wind speed, and moon phase for each site. The analysis revealed that noise level and aircraft activity were significant negative predictors for the number of bat passes and feeding buzzes around the runway, even after controlling for the effects of other environmental factors. There was no marked spectral overlap between bat echolocation pulses and airport noise in the presence and absence of low‐flying aircraft. The spectro‐temporal parameters of echolocation vocalizations emitted by bats were dependent on noise level, aircraft activity, and habitat type. These results provide correlative evidence that airport noise can reduce foraging activities of wild pipistrelle bats. Our findings add to the current knowledge of adverse impacts of airport noise on foraging bats in artificial ecosystems and provide a basis for further research on the mechanisms behind noise pollution near airports.     

广东省南岭发现毛翼管鼻蝠及其核型与 回声定位声波特征

2012年8月在广东省南岭自然保护区采集到6只森林型蝙蝠(3♀,3♂),其鼻部呈管状,毛被厚密而柔软,后腿、翼膜和尾膜被覆有棕色绒毛。体型较大,雌雄之间有明显差异,前臂长♀48.94~52.67mm,♂44.00~46.92 mm;核型为2n=44,FN=52;超声波为调频型,主频率为78.3 kHz。经鉴定为蝙蝠科管鼻蝠亚科的毛翼管鼻蝠(Harpiocephalus harpia)。这一发现使该物种在中国大陆地区目前的分布区与栖息地得以进一步核实和确认,弥补了该珍稀蝙蝠物种的分布、行为和生态学资料。     

Effects of crayfish size,orientation, and movement on the reactive distance of largemouth bass foraging in clear and turbid water

Laboratory experiments were performed in clear and turbid water to determine the effects of prey size, orientation, and movement on the reactive distance of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) when feeding on crayfish (Procambarus acutus). In clear water, the reactive distance increased linearly with an increase in prey size, and prey movement resulted in a significant increase in the reactive distance. Prey orientation (head-on versus perpendicular) did not change the reactive distances. In moderately turbid water, the reactive distance did not increase with increased prey size, and prey movement did not result in any changes in the reactive distance. The absence of any effects of prey orientation in clear water or prey movement in turbid water is inconsistent with results from studies using different species (primarily planktivorous fish). I propose that largemouth bass change their foraging tactics as prey visibility changes. When prey are highly visible (low turbidity), predators attack (react) only after prey recognition, which is based on multiple cues such as prey size (length, width) and movement. When prey are less visible (high turbidity), predators attack immediately upon initial prey sighting, which does not depend on prey size or movement.     

Behavioural strategies of cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae) foraging under challenging light conditions

Diving is indicative of foraging in cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae). We have investigated a range of parameters associated with diving in Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo to provide insight into the bases of cormorant predatory strategies. We hypothesize that if vision is important in cormorant foraging behaviour, and if they are not constrained by the position of their prey in the water column, then diving behaviour will be modulated primarily in response to the diel variation in ambient light levels. Specifically, we propose that cormorants forage at shallower depths when light levels are low, and more deeply when light levels are high. We provide evidence that this is the case. We recorded the occurrence of cormorant diving behaviour using implanted data loggers and recorded ambient light levels and water temperature using leg-mounted loggers in a sample of free-living Great Cormorants in Greenland. Our results show that dives are shallower at the beginning and end of each day when light levels are lower. We suggest that these data support the hypothesis that cormorant foraging is visually-guided even though recent evidence has shown that their underwater visual acuity is poor.     

Physical constraints on the foraging ecology of a predatory snail

We studied the effects of aerial exposure and high summer temperatures on the southern oyster drill ( Stramonita haemastoma ), feeding on the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica . In the laboratory, oyster drill feeding rates and growth were highest at 25 and 30°C, some mortality occurred at 35°C, all snails died at 40 and 45°C, and the 28-day LC 50 was 35.7°C. In a second experiment where both water temperature (25 vs . 33°C) and aerial exposure were varied, only simulated tidal exposure lowered oyster drill feeding and growth rates. In field cage experiments, oyster drills had reduced feeding rates and growth at intertidal sites, but snail growth rates increased in late summer with warmer water temperature. We therefore conclude that aerial exposure, not high temperature, is the major factor limiting oyster drill feeding and growth in intertidal oyster reefs. Field experiments with partial cages also suggested that ambient predation rates were much higher at a subtidal than at a nearby intertidal site. Because southern oyster drills have depressed feeding, growth, and possibly lower fitness in intertidal oyster reefs during the summer, this reduced predation risk may provide a refuge for intertidal oysters.     

Behaviors of Western Spruce Budworm Moths (Choristoneura occidentalis) as Defences Against Bat Predation

We investigated potential defense behaviors of adult western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis), a non-auditive lepidopteran, against bat predation. Although western spruce budworm moths started to fly before sunset, earlier than many species of moths, temporal isolation of flying moths from foraging bats was incomplete as moths were most active after sunset once bats were foraging. Flying C. occidentalis were most active close to their host trees, and thus were isolated from some bat activity because vegetation limits foraging by some bats. Moths mostly flew near the tops of trees, an area that may have a high predation pressure from bats. Resting western spruce budworm spent little time fluttering their wings or crawling, behaviors that are used as cues by gleaning bats. The outbreak nature of this species, in which large numbers of moths are active at one time, may allow dilution effects to reduce predation risk.     

Effects of a predator and prey on a foraging reef fish: implications for understanding density-dependent growth

A temperate reef-fish, magpie morwong Cheilodactylus nigripes , was more abundant in habitats (turfing algae) that supported larger numbers of prey at four different locations across >1000 km of continuous coastline. Cheilodactylus nigripes fed at greater rates in patches of turfing algae known to contain greater abundance of prey (primarily gammarid amphipods). In the presence of the piscivorous New Zealand fur seal Arctocephalus forsteri , however, these fish fed at a substantially reduced rate. These results have severe implications for understanding density-dependent growth. If predators are attracted to larger numbers of prey (this study) and prey suffer slower rates of growth under heavier predation risk (previous studies), then experiments that manipulate densities of prey to test the effects of competition may confound the effects of predators and competitors on growth. Separation of the density-dependent effects of foraging (predation) and rivalry over the acquisition of limited resources (competition) is needed.     

Interpopulation variation in predator foraging behaviour promotes the evolutionary divergence of prey

Despite intensive investigation of the role of predation on evolutionary processes, few studies have questioned the possibility of the evolutionary divergence of prey populations in response to interpopulation variation in predator foraging behaviour. In an interaction between a seed-predatory insect, the camellia weevil (Curculio camelliae), and its host plant, the Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica), I tested whether the evolutionary differentiation of the plant's defensive trait, pericarp thickness, was related to the interpopulation variation in the foraging behaviour of female weevils. I found that the preference of weevils for the plant fruit based on pericarp thickness varied across 13 populations in Japan. Importantly, variation in weevil behaviour explained interpopulation variation in pericarp thickness and the direction/strength of natural selection on the trait. Overall, I show that adaptive foraging of predators can result in the evolutionary divergence of predator-prey interactions.     

Cues of intraguild predators (Harmonia axyridis) and different temperatures alter foraging and oviposition strategies of the parasitoid Aphidius gifuensis

Organisms live in complex systems where they simultaneously balance responses to multiple factors. Insects are dealing with indirect pressures from predators under the influence of temperature. Currently, little is known about how they balance these factors. Under laboratory conditions, we investigated the effects of the predator Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) cues and temperature (23, 28, and 33 °C) on the foraging and oviposition behavior of the parasitoid Aphidius gifuensis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) using the aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) as a host. In all trials, the frequency and duration of stinging, walking, or stationary behavior of A. gifuensis were not influenced by H. axyridis cues. However, in trials with predator cues, A. gifuensis produced less offspring than trials without predator cues. On the other hand, the frequency of A. gifuensis stinging, walking, or stationary behavior, and the number of A. gifuensis larvae increased with rising temperature. Specially, when the predator cues were present, parasitoid responded to rising temperatures by increasing frequency of each behavior and an increase in offspring number. Our findings indicate that A. gifuensis might show flexible foraging and oviposition behavior in response to H. axyridis associated cues and different temperatures. Thus, the effects of both temperature and H. axyridis cues should be considered when assessing the foraging outcomes of A. gifuensis prior to combining these two enemies in aphid management practice.     

广东发现泰坦尼亚彩蝠及其回声定位声波特征

于2014年4月在广东封开黑石顶省级自然保护区,使用竖琴网采集到4只体形较小的雌性蝙蝠样本,其形态特征为无鼻叶结构,具漏斗状耳廓和披针形耳屏,前臂长32.30~34.11 mm,胫骨长16.47~17.72 mm;头骨较扁平,颅全长13.99~14.59 mm,脑颅高4.66~5.17 mm;齿式为2.1.3.3/3.1.3.3=38。经鉴定为泰坦尼亚彩蝠(Kerivoula titania),是广东省翼手目分布新纪录。首次报道了该种蝙蝠的回声定位声波特征,声波类型属于调频(FM)型,峰频(114.3±3.9)k Hz,带宽(117.8±12.3)k Hz,脉冲持续时间(1.7±0.3)ms,脉冲间隔时间(12.9±1.3)ms。标本现保存于广州大学生命科学学院。