Search results for "Behavior"

2020

While many morphological, physiological, and ecological characteristics of organisms scale with body size, some do not change under size transformation. They are called invariant. A recent study recommended five criteria for identifying invariant traits. These are based on that a trait exhibits a unimodal central tendency and varies over a limited range with body mass (type I), or that it does not vary systematically with body mass (type II). We methodologically improved these criteria and then applied them to life history traits of amphibians, Anura, Caudata (eleven traits), and reptiles (eight traits). The numbers of invariant traits identified by criteria differed across amphibian orders…

Developments in Amphibian Parental Care Research: History, Present Advances, and Future Perspectives

2020

Abstract Despite rising interest among scientists for over two centuries, parental care behavior has not been as thoroughly studied in amphibians as it has in other taxa. The first reports of amphi...

A taxonomic revision helps to clarify differences between the Atlantic invasive Ptilohyale littoralis and the Mediterranean endemic Parhyale plumicor…

2018

Ptilohyaleexplorator (formerly Parhyaleexplorator), described by Arresti (1989), can be considered to be a synonym of west-Atlantic Ptilohyalelittoralis (Stimpson, 1853), based on morphological observations of paratypes and specimens recently collected in the type locality of Ptilohyaleexplorator. The first collections of Ptilohyalelittoralis, from the eastern Atlantic were from the port of Rotterdam (The Netherlands) in 2009 and later in Wimereux, Opal Coast (France) in 2014; however, the synonymy of Ptilohyaleexplorator with Ptilohyalelittoralis backdates to the first European record of Ptilohyalelittoralis in 1985 at La Vigne, Bay of Arcachon (France). This indicates that Ptilohyalelitto…

Effects of temperature on persistence times of native and invasive gammarid species in the stomachs of Cottus gobio

2006

Gastric lavage was used to investigate the effects of temperature on persistence time of two amphipod species, one native Gammarus pulex and one invasive Gammarus roeseli, in the stomachs of bullhead Cottus gobio. Persistence time was strongly influenced by temperature and prey type, such that G. pulex species degraded faster than G. roeseli.

Sex specific differences recorded in the behavior of an amphipod: implications for behavioral toxicology

2020

Behaviour is a useful endpoint in ecotoxicological research; it links the biochemical effects of contamination with physiology of individuals, which can be applied to higher levels of organisation with relevance to ecology. Animals exhibit species-specific and sex specific behaviours. Previous experiments within ecotoxicology using amphipods as models have either not separated by sex or have on the assumption that they may create more variability in the results. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of time (which controlled light conditions), sex, and the interaction of time and sex on the swimming velocity in males and females of the marine amphipod Echino…

2019

Aim Using the extremophile genus Anabasis, which includes c. 28 succulent, xerophytic C4 species, and is widely distributed in arid regions of Northern Africa, Arabia, and Asia, we investigate biogeographical relationships between the Irano-Turanian floristic region (ITfr) and its neighboring regions. We test whether the spread of arid and semi-arid biomes in Eurasia coincides with the biogeography of this drought-adapted genus, and whether the ITfr acted as source area of floristic elements for adjacent regions. Location Deserts and semi-deserts of Northern Africa, Mediterranean, Arabia, West and Central Asia. Methods Four cpDNA markers (rpL16 intron, atpB-rbcL, trnQ-rps16, and ndhF-rpL32 …

Chemosensory enrichment as a simple and effective way to improve the welfare of captive lizards

2018

Manipulating Individual Decisions and Environmental Conditions Reveal Individual Quality in Decision-Making and Non-Lethal Costs of Predation Risk

2012

Received: July 6, 2012; Accepted: November 13, 2012; Published: December 13, 2012

Influence of restoration age on egg bank richness and composition: an ex situ experiment

2020

AbstractZooplankton community assembly after flooding in temporary ponds depends mostly on abundance and diversity of the dormant propagule bank. However, our understanding of the hatching patterns of zooplankton is imperfect. We performed an ex situ experiment to study the species composition and temporal sequence of zooplankton emergence from sediments in three ponds that were restored at different times: 1998, 2003 and 2007. The patterns of species hatching observed in our microcosms were compared with the emergent zooplankton community of their equivalent, synchronically inundated ponds. An escalation in species richness and a delay in hatching time were detected with increasing restora…

Soil legacy determines arbuscular mycorrhizal spore bank and plant performance in the low Arctic

2020

AbstractHuman impact is rapidly changing vegetation globally. The effect of plant cover that no longer exists in a site may still affect the development of future vegetation. We focused on a little studied factor—arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus spore bank—and its effect on three test plant species. In a low Arctic field site, plots were maintained for 6 years, devoid of any vegetation or with a Solidago virgaurea monoculture cover. We analysed the AM fungal morphospecies composition and identified 21 morphospecies in the field plots. The AM morphospecies community was dominated by members of Acaulosporaceae. Monoculturing under low Arctic field conditions changed the soil AM spore commun…