Search results for "Feeding"

Dynamics of the caring family

2003

When several individuals simultaneously provide for offspring, as in families, the effort of any one individual will depend on the efforts of the other family members. This conflict of interest among family members is made more complicated by their relatedness because relatives share genetic interest to some degree. The conflict resolution will also be influenced by the differences in reproductive value between breeders and helpers. Here, we calculate evolutionarily stable provisioning efforts in families with up to two helpers. We explicitly consider that the behavioral choices are made in a life-history context, and we also consider how group sizes change dynamically; this affects, for ex…

Food Habits of the Javelin Sand Boa Eryx jaculus (Linnaeus 1758; Serpentes, Erycidae) in Sicily, Italy

2021

The Javelin Sand Boa, Eryx jaculus, is reported to be a predator of mammals, lizards and their eggs, and occasionally of birds and invertebrates, but data on its diet are scarce and fragmentary. Here we describe some aspects of the feeding behavior of E. jaculus on the Mediterranean island of Sicily. A total of 132 individual snakes were examined. Prey remains were found in 43% of them, both in their feces (82.5%) and gut contents (17.5%). The number of snakes observed and their feeding rate decreased in August, probably as a result of the relatively higher temperatures. Feeding rate increases were observed in adult females in September, perhaps to enhance body reserves before hibernation. …

Plekstes (Platichthys flesus L) agrīno attīstības stadiju bioloģiskais raksturojums Baltijas jūras centrālajā daļā

2014

ANOTĀCIJA Ustups, 2013. Plekstes (Platichthys flesus L.) agrīno attīstības stadiju bioloģiskais raksturojums Baltijas jūras centrālajā daļā. Plekstu ihtioplanktona daudzumu Baltijas jūras centrālajā daļā nosaka nārsta bara lielums un hidroloģiskie apstākļi. Plekstu mazuļu skaitu piekrastes zonā būtiski ietekmē ūdens temperatūra, mēnesis un vēja virziens. Strauja šāgadeņu augšana novērojama līdz septembrim, bet viengadniekiem no pavasara līdz novembrim. Irbes šauruma piekraste ir labvēlīga dzīvotne plekstu mazuļiem, ko nosaka smilšainās seklūdens zonas, daudzveidīgie barošanās objekti un ģeogrāfiskais novietojums attiecībā pret nārsta vietu. Plekstes mazuļu plašais barības spektrs samazina b…

Prolonged breastfeeding is associated with greater bone size and bone strength

2011

Effect of organic loading rate on the production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates from sewage sludge

2023

The aim of this work was to study the effect of organic loading rate on the production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from sewage sludge. Synthesis of PHA using sewage sludge as platform was achieved in this work. Three pilot-scale selection-sequencing batch reactors (S-SBR) were used for obtaining a culture able to accumulate PHA following a strategy of aerobic dynamic feeding (ADF) at different volumetric organic-loading-rate (vOLR): 1.3, 1.8 and 0.8 g COD L-1 d-1 for S-SBR 1, S-SBR 2 and S-SBR 3, respectively. Decreasing the vOLR enhanced the general performance of the process as for organic matter removal (from 99.2% ± 0.3% in S-SBR-3 to 92 ± 2 in S-SBR-2) while the opposite trend was r…

Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies six novel loci associated with habitual coffee consumption

2015

Contains fulltext : 155360.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Coffee, a major dietary source of caffeine, is among the most widely consumed beverages in the world and has received considerable attention regarding health risks and benefits. We conducted a genome-wide (GW) meta-analysis of predominately regular-type coffee consumption (cups per day) among up to 91,462 coffee consumers of European ancestry with top single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) followed-up in ~30 062 and 7964 coffee consumers of European and African-American ancestry, respectively. Studies from both stages were combined in a trans-ethnic meta-analysis. Confirmed loci were examined for putative functional and b…

Jack of all trades, master of all: a positive association between habitat niche breadth and foraging performance in pit-building antlion larvae.

2012

Species utilizing a wide range of resources are intuitively expected to be less efficient in exploiting each resource type compared to species which have developed an optimal phenotype for utilizing only one or a few resources. We report here the results of an empirical study whose aim was to test for a negative association between habitat niche breadth and foraging performance. As a model system to address this question, we used two highly abundant species of pit-building antlions varying in their habitat niche breadth: the habitat generalist Myrmeleon hyalinus, which inhabits a variety of soil types but occurs mainly in sandy soils, and the habitat specialist Cueta lineosa, which is restr…

Daphnia magna feeding behavior after exposure to tetradifon and recovery from intoxication.

1999

Abstract The feeding behavior of the cladocera Daphnia magna subjected to a short-term exposure to the acaricide tetradifon (4-chlorophenyl 2,4,5-trichlorophenyl sulfone) was studied. The experiments were performed using the unicellular algae Nannochloris oculata at a density of 5×10 5 cells/ml as food for the organisms. In a first experiment, three generations (F0, F1, and F3) of the daphnids were exposed to sublethal levels of tetradifon (0.1, 0.18, 0.22, and 0.44 mg/l) and the effect of the toxicant on filtration and ingestion rates was determined. Rates of filtration and ingestion of D. magna declined in the three generations studied with increasing toxicant concentrations; however, tox…

Combining Hexanoic Acid Plant Priming with Bacillus thuringiensis Insecticidal Activity against Colorado Potato Beetle

2013

Interaction between insect herbivores and host plants can be modulated by endogenous and exogenous compounds present in the source of food and might be successfully exploited in Colorado potato beetle (CPB) pest management. Feeding tests with CPB larvae reared on three solanaceous plants (potato, eggplant and tomato) resulted in variable larval growth rates and differential susceptibility to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Aa toxin as a function of the host plant. An inverse correlation with toxicity was observed in Cry3Aa proteolytic patterns generated by CPB midgut brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) from Solanaceae-fed larvae, being the toxin most extensively proteolyzed on potato, followed…

Human neonates prefer colostrum to mature milk: Evidence for an olfactory bias toward the "initial milk"?

2021

International audience; OBJECTIVES: Colostrum is the initial milk secretion which ingestion by neonates warrants their adaptive start in life. Colostrum is accordingly expected to be attractive to newborns. The present study aims to assess whether colostrum is olfactorily attractive for 2-day-old newborns when presented against mature milk or a control. METHODS: The head-orientation of waking newborns was videotaped in three experiments pairing the odors of: (a) colostrum (sampled on postpartum day 2, not from own mother) and mature milk (sampled on average on postpartum day 32, not from own mother) (n tested newborns = 15); (b) Colostrum and control (water; n = 9); and (c) Mature milk and …