Foraging preferences: Response to reward skew

Recent theoretical and empirical work on foraging behaviour suggests that animals may respond to both the means and variances in benefits associated with available resources. We attempt to extend this analysis by asking if reward skew (third moment about the mean) might influence preference when two options have equal means and equal variances. We examine how minimizing the probability of starvation might induce response to skew. In the Appendix we develop an expected ‘fitness’ model which follows from economic theory and indicates more general conditions concerning responses to skew. We also report experiments involving foraging white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys). Under conditions where positive skew should be favoured, the birds' behaviour supports the prediction. However, their response to skew is not as strong as responses to variance noted in the same individuals.     

Foraging and provisioning in Antarctic fur seals: interannual variability in time-energy budgets

This study examined three competing hypotheses to explain howlactating Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) respondto changes in the level of resource availability. Antarcticfur seals have episodic bouts of suckling (1-3 days), alternatingwith foraging trips (3-10 days). Foraging time budgets variedsignificantly (p <.001) among 8 consecutive years at BirdIsland, South Georgia. Foraging trip duration increased during periodsof relative food shortage. Time spent ashore was more consistentamong years than foraging trip duration but declined duringa year of particularly low food availability. In 4 of the 8years, there was a significant positive correlation betweentime spent ashore and foraging trip duration. In the other years,the relationship was close to statistical significance. Energydelivery to pups during suckling bouts followed an asymptoticpower function. Energy gain during foraging trips was estimatedfrom diving behavior, which suggested that the energy gain functionwas linear. Distance traveled during foraging trips was correlatedwith foraging trip duration, and long foraging trips were associatedwith reduced foraging intensity. There was support for the hypothesisthat lactating Antarctic fur seals compensate for reduced resources byincreasing the foraging trip duration rather than working harderand increasing their energy expenditure. However, there wasmost support for the hypothesis that lactating Antarctic furseals adjust time spent ashore as well as foraging trip duration,possibly to maximize the delivery of food to their offspring.Lactation appears to impose constraints on provisioning of offspringthat differ from those of seabirds foraging in the same environment andoften on the same prey.     

Dominance and diet selection in juncos

We measured the effects of dominance on diet in an aviary flockof seven dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis).Preferences amongsix types of foods were recorded for each individual while solitary,and compared to that individual's diet when in the flock. Individualsspecialized on different foods during the flock trial. Subordinatesshowed greater shifts in diet between the solitary and flocktrials, had less diverse diets than dominants in the flock,and reduced the proportion of their diet consisting of preferredfoods to a greater extent than dominants. We interpret thischange in diet by subordinates as a response to interferencecompetition by dominants at preferred foods.     

The scanning behavior of juncos: A game-theoretical approach

Flocking birds frequently look up or “scan” while they are feeding on the ground. High scanning rates increase the probability that the birds in a flock will see an approaching predator in time to avoid predation; however, high scanning rates also decrease the feeding rates of the scanning individuals. Since the scanning rate that maximizes the survival probability of one individual depends on how frequently other birds in the same flock are scanning, the optimal scanning behavior must be modeled as a game. We develop a realistic model of scanning behavior and use it to find two game theoretical solutions—the “co-operative” or Pareto optimum and the “selfish” or Nash optimum. The observed scanning rates do not differ significantly from the co-operative optimal scanning rate. We argue that in a game where players meet again and again such apparent co-operation may be an evolutionarily stable strategy.     

Interspecific dominance and the foraging behaviour of juncos

We observed mixed groups of dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) and grey-headed juncos (Junco caniceps) at baited sites in northern Arizona during the non-breeding season. In interspecific and inter-racial conflicts, J. caniceps dorsalis was dominant to J. caniceps caniceps and to two races of dark-eyed juncos. Junco caniceps dorsalis also fed significantly faster than any of the other juncos. For both species, feeding rates were approximately the same in large and small mixed-species groups, though in larger groups, individual grey-headed juncos won conflicts at a higher rate and individual dark-eyed juncos lost conflicts at a higher rate. Also, dark-eyed juncos fed at a significantly lower rate in groups comprised mostly of grey-headed juncos than in groups of similar size but composed mostly of conspecifics. Residency times and recapture probabilities were similar for the two species, suggesting little difference in over-winter survival.     

Female ornamentation and male mate choice in dark-eyed juncos

Traits that enhance attractiveness in one sex may or may not influence attractiveness in the other. In the dark-eyed junco, Junco hyemalis, outer tail feathers of males and females are all or partly white and form a sharp contrast with the bird's mostly grey plumage. The amount of white in these feathers (‘tail white’) is greater in males than in females and, as we report here, is greater in birds that have completed a second prebasic moult than in yearlings. During courtship, male juncos spread their tails, revealing their tail white, and a previous experiment has shown that males with experimentally enhanced tail white are more attractive to females. To determine whether females with experimentally enhanced tail white would be preferred by males, we clipped and replaced tail feathers of females, creating a control group with low to natural levels of tail white and an enhanced group with high levels. We tested preference in a mate choice apparatus like that used previously and found that males courted both control and enhanced females and displayed individual preferences but showed no collective preference for members of either category of females. Because we found neither a preference for trait values that indicate greater age/experience (experimentally enhanced females) nor a preference for less male-like appearance (control females), our results are inconsistent with a role for male mate choice in the maintenance of tail white in females. Female tail white may be subject to selection in another context or persist owing to a genetic correlation between the sexes. Regardless, the sexes apparently prefer different trait values, which suggests that preferences are expressed independently in males and females.     

Potential of mean force for protein-protein interaction studies.

Calculating protein-protein interaction energies is crucial for understanding protein-protein associations. On the basis of the methodology of mean-field potential, we have developed an empirical approach to estimate binding free energy for protein-protein interactions. This knowledge-based approach has been used to derive distance-dependent free energies of protein complexes from a nonredundant training set in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), with a careful treatment of homology. We calculate atom pair potentials for 16 pair interactions, which can reflect the importance of hydrophobic interactions and specific hydrogen-bonding interactions. The derived potentials for hydrogen-bonding interactions show a valley of favorable interactions at a distance of approximately 3 A, corresponding to that of an established hydrogen bond. For the test set of 28 protein complexes, the calculated energies have a correlation coefficient of 0.75 compared with experimental binding free energies. The performance of the method in ranking the binding energies of different protein-protein complexes shows that the energy estimation can be applied to value binding free energies for protein-protein associations.     

气候年际变率对全球植被平均分布的影响

采用改进后的通用陆面模式的动态植被模式(CLM-DGVM)研究当前气候条件下气候年际变率对全球潜在植被平均分布的影响。设计两组区域数值实验,一组使用基于NCEP再分析资料衍生的1960-1999年多年气象数据循环驱动,对照实验使用这40a的气候平均态或单年气象资料驱动(即没有气候年际变率),分别考察有无气候年际变化对热带、温带和寒带的潜在植被分布平衡态的影响。在此基础上以1950-1999年上述数据及对应的气候平均态为驱动做两组全球实验。结果表明气候年际变率导致全球植被总覆盖度下降,其中树和灌木减少而草增加;全球平均覆盖度的变化按常绿树、草、灌木、落叶树顺序递减,而相对变化(即格点覆盖度差异的绝对值的全球平均值与气候平均态下植物覆盖度的比值)按灌木、草、落叶树、常绿树顺序递减。在温度、降水、风速、比湿、光照、气压等6种气候因子中降水年际变率对于植被平均分布影响最显著。受降水影响,当年降水小于1200mm时植被总覆盖度的差异随其变率增加而下降,其它时候影响不明显。年降水小于1500mm时树减少,幅度随其年际变率变大而增加。常绿树无论降水多寡均减少,而落叶树在年降水大于1500mm时随其变率变大而增加。草在年降水小于1500mm、变率为中等时差异最大,降水较大时其年际变化对草的影响不大。温度年际变率对落叶树分布影响不大而使常绿树减少,尤其是在寒带,其幅度大致随变率增加而变大。草主要在温度高于-10℃增加而灌木在温度低于0℃增加。植被总体覆盖度在温度高于0℃时受影响普遍降低,降低的区域对应于温度年际变率较大的区域。以上结果说明用气候模式或生物地理模式预测未来植物分布时要同时考虑气候平均态和气候变率两方面的变化。     

Foraging behaviors and the interaction of alewife,Alosa pseudoharengus,and bloater,Coregonus hoyi

Synopsis Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, and bloater, Coregonus hoyi, are common planktivores in Lake Michigan. Both alewife and bloater use a variety of feeding modes. Alewives can filter, gulp and particulate feed; bloaters can only gulp and particulate feed. We examined handling time per prey and probability of capture for alewife and bloater particulate feeding on Mysis relicta. Using these estimates and available data for filtering alewives, cost curves were derived for alewife and bloater particulate feeding and for alewife using all three modes of feeding. Alewives filter small prey relative to their own body size and particulate feed on larger prey. Feeding mode appears to be dependent on prey size and density and shifts in feeding mode are apparently based on maximizing biomass eaten per time. The ability to filter confers a competitive advantage on alewife when small prey are abundant as they were in the mid 1960s in Lake Michigan. If the zooplankton are large, bloater young-of-year do not suffer this relative disadvantage. In fact, large bloaters can consume prey on the bottom not available to alewife. This shifting competitive balance may explain, in part, the observed dynamics of alewife and bloater.     

Winter social behaviour of dark-eyed juncos: Communication,social organization,and ecological implications

This paper reports on winter social behaviour in free-living and captive flocks of dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis). Visual and vocal signals used by flocked juncos are analysed structurally and functionally. An examination is made of the frequency and form of agonistic behaviour in several social and environmental contexts in an attempt to provide insight into the relationship between junco communication and social organization. A system of classification of signals, based upon the meaning of cues to the signaller, is proposed. Evidence is given to suggest that the behaviour of subordinate, rather than of dominant, individuals controls the operation of the social system in junco flocks. Some ecological implications of junco social behaviour are discussed.     

The mean and variability of a floral trait have opposing effects on fitness traits

Background and Aims Floral traits are essential for ensuring successful pollination and reproduction in flowering plants. In particular, style and anther positions are key for pollination accuracy and efficiency. Variation in these traits among individuals has been well studied, but less is known about variation within flowers and plants and its effect on pollination and reproductive success.Methods Style deflexion is responsible for herkogamy and important for pollen deposition in Passiflora incarnata. The degree of deflexion may vary among stigmas within flowers as well as among flowers. We measured the variability of style deflexion at both the flower and the plant level. The fitness consequences of the mean and variation of style deflexion were then evaluated under natural pollination by determining their relationship to pollen deposition, seed production and average seed weight using structural equation modelling. In addition, the relationship between style deflexion and self-pollen deposition was estimated in a greenhouse experiment.Key Results We found greater variation in style deflexion within flowers and plants than among plants. Variation of style deflexion at the flower and plant level was positively correlated, suggesting that variability in style deflexion may be a distinct trait in P. incarnata. Lower deflexion and reduced variation in that deflexion increased pollen deposition, which in turn increased seed number. However, lower styles also increased self-pollen deposition. In contrast, higher deflexion and greater variability of that deflexion increased variation in pollen deposition, which resulted in heavier seeds.Conclusions Variability of style deflexion and therefore stigma placement, independent from the mean, appears to be a property of individual P. incarnata plants. The mean and variability of style deflexion in P. incarnata affected seed number and seed weight in contrasting ways, through the quantity and potentially quality of pollen deposition. This antagonistic selection via different fitness components may maintain diverse style phenotypes.     

Evolving specificity from variability for protein interaction domains

An important question in modular domain-peptide interactions, which play crucial roles in many biological processes, is how the diverse specificities exhibited by different members of a domain family are encoded in a common scaffold. Analysis of the Src homology (SH) 2 family has revealed that its specificity is determined, in large part, by the configuration of surface loops that regulate ligand access to binding pockets. In a distinct manner, SH3 domains employ loops for ligand recognition. The PDZ domain, in contrast, achieves specificity by co-evolution of binding-site residues. Thus, the conformational and sequence variability afforded by surface loops and binding sites provides a general mechanism by which to encode the wide spectrum of specificities observed for modular protein interaction domains.     

Cultivar variability in the Agrobacterium-rice cell interaction and plant regeneration

Thirteen cultivars of rice ( Oryza sativa ) were tested for plant regeneration from calli initiated from the scutella of mature seeds by water stress treatment using a high concentration of agarose, and examined for their response to Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404, carrying a plasmid pTOK233, harboring genes for kanamycin resistance ( npt II), hygromycin resistance ( hpt ) and β -glucuronidase ( gus ). Plant regeneration frequency was considerably increased in most of the cultivars when the calli were treated with water stress, as compared with untreated controls. In particular, the cultivars Dongjinbyeo, IR43, Nagdongbyeo and Sinseonchalbyeo showed an increased frequency of shoot regeneration. Expression of GUS was detected in all of the co-cultivated cultivars. Based on GUS expression at 3 days after co-cultivation with A. tumefaciens , three rice cultivars (Dongjinbyeo, Hwayoungbyeo and Nagdongbyeo) were judged highly susceptible to A. tumefaciens , while Milyang 23, Nonganbyeo and Samgangbyeo cultivars were weakly susceptible. Plantlets were readily regenerated when the hygromycin-resistant calli were transferred to a regeneration medium containing hygromycin. Intense blue staining was observed in GUS assays of leaf segments, roots and flower organs from regenerated plants. Stable integration and expression of the introduced hpt and gus genes were confirmed by Southern blot analysis of the transformants. Therefore, Dongjinbyeo and Nagdongbyeo cultivars proved to be both highly susceptible to A. tumefaciens and highly responsive to plant regeneration.     

Foraging strategies,craniodental traits,and interaction in the bite force of Neotropical frugivorous bats (Phyllostomidae: Stenodermatinae)

1. Bats in the family Phyllostomidae exhibit great diversity in skull size and morphology that reflects the degree of resource division and ecological overlap in the group. In particular, the subfamily Stenodermatinae has high morphological diversification associated with cranial and mandibular traits that are associated with the ability to consume the full range of available fruits (soft and hard).
2. We analyzed craniodental traits and their relationship to the bite force in 343 specimens distributed in seven species of stenodermatine bats with two foraging strategies: nomadic and sedentary frugivory. We evaluated 19 traits related to feeding and bite force in live animals by correcting bite force with body size.
3. We used a generalized linear model (GLM) and post hoc tests to determine possible relationships and differences between cranial traits, species, and sex. We also used Blomberg''s K to measure the phylogenetic signal and phylogenetic generalized least‐squares (PGLS) to ensure the phylogenetic independence of the traits.
4. We found that smaller nomadic species, A. anderseni and A. phaeotis , have a similar bite force to the large species A. planirostris and A. lituratus; furthermore, P. helleri registered a bite force similar to that of the sedentary bat, S. giannae. Our study determined that all the features of the mandible and most of the traits of the skull have a low phylogenetic signal. Through the PGLS, we found that the diet and several cranial features (mandibular toothrow length, dentary length, braincase breadth, mastoid breadth, greatest length of skull, condylo‐incisive length, and condylo‐canine length) determined bite force performance among Stenodermatiane.
5. Our results reinforce that skull size is a determining factor in the bite force, but also emphasize the importance of its relationships with morphology, ecology, and phylogeny of the species, which gives us a better understanding of the evolutionary adaptions of this highly diverse Neotropical bat group.

     

Foraging behavior of ants: Theoretical considerations

This paper describes models of behavior for two ant species recruiting to very different sorts of resource. One species, Solenopsis geminata, recruits to sugar solution. The other, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, recruits to patches of seeds. The models clarify the assumptions entering into the theoretical analysis of these behaviors and point to measurements that should be made for their experimental analysis.Both models assume that the colony gains energy when a forager gets a load of resource. Energy is lost during the trip to a patch of resource in a manner dependent upon the current physical conditions of the environment. The only factor counterbalancing an ever increasing net energy gain when the recruitment rates are increased is interference among workers at a patch. As the rate of recruitment is elevated this interference decreases the efficiency with which the resource can be used and, thus, sets an optimum at some intermediate rate of recruitment.The limitation of considerations in this paper to energetic efficiency is discussed and justified in terms of components of fitness and ant physiology. It is found that several qualitative predictions can be experimentally tested, but that quantitative predictions require fine measurement of metabolic costs to individual foragers and of complicated gains to the colony as a whole. Both models can be differentiated experimentally from corresponding time minimization models.     

Optimal Foraging and Hominid Evolution: Labor and Reciprocity

We argue that cooperative foraging incorporating information exchange may have preceded tool use during the course of hominid evolution. In moving to the savanna, early hominids must have faced increasingly dispersed but sometimes more profitable food sources. The problem is finding such foods. Search costs can be reduced for each individual if a number of foragers cooperate by ranging over different parts of the habitat and by exchanging information about encountered food items. Given the probability of encountering a given food item and the return per individual for that item, it is possible to specify the optimal group size. Thus, in the patchy savanna environment, selection would have favored increased gregariousness and cooperation on the part of early hominids, setting the stage for the emergence of reciprocal exchanges of information and resources. However, such a system of reciprocity is open to manipulation. Outside the foraging context, the tension between reciprocity and manipulation would shape other social interactions. Communication and information exchange may have been more critical than labor and technology in evolving hominids from hominoids. Human sociality may find its origins in a shift in primate foraging tactics.     

Selection for litter size and litter birthweight in Large White pigs: Maximum,mean and variability of reproduction traits

Gradually increasing trend of litter size poses a challenge to pig farmers in terms of managing larger litters. Therefore, it seems that a balanced approach that optimises litter size, litter birthweight, and uniformity of those traits is needed in order to address animal welfare and farm management concerns. This study aimed to investigate this issue by defining several traits for total number born (TNB), number born alive (NBA) and litter birthweight (LW). First, the highest value from at least five records per sow was selected as maximum (max) value for each reproduction trait. Second, a mean (mean) for each reproduction trait was calculated per sow. Last, the variability of reproduction traits between parities of the sow was calculated as log-transformed variance of residuals of all observations per sow for each reproduction trait (LnVar). In total, 23 193 Large White sows from Topigs Norsvin with 152 282 litter records were used for analysis in ASReml 4.1. Also, a simulation of breeding schemes was performed with the use of SelAction 2.1 and estimates from genetic analysis. Maximum value of reproductive traits had a much higher heritability than repeated observations or mean of reproduction traits, e.g., 0.31 for maxTNB vs. 0.12 for TNB and 0.07 for meanTNB, which allows for a faster response under selection. The maximum value traits, however, were found to carry more risks, i.e. higher ratio of stillborn (not for maxNBA) and increased variability of traits. Thus, using them in breeding programme should be carefully considered. The genetic coefficient of variation on SD level estimated to indicate the genetic magnitude for variability phenotypes indicated a maximum change of 6–9% in genetic SD of TNB, NBA and LW. The genetic correlations between mean and corresponding variability traits varied from 0.66 to 0.74, whereas the correlation between other mean and variability traits ranged from 0.33 to 0.99. The simulation indicated that even with selection targeted against the variability of reproduction traits, a very limited change should be expected due to a complex genetic and phenotypic relationship between the traits. In the scenarios with selection against LnVarTNB and LnVarLW, this was a decrease of 0.1–0.6% per year, whereas in scenario with selection against LnVarNBA, the range was 0.6–1.1% per year. It is still possible to increase litter size and birthweight further, however, a balance between mean and variability of reproduction traits is required, which can be obtained only by a very well designed breeding programme.