Search results for "Insectivore"
showing 10 items of 24 documents
Fly-and-Forage Strategy in the Bat Pipistrellus nathusii During Autumn Migration
2012
Populations of Pipistrellus nathusii (Nathusius's bat), an insectivorous aerial-hawking species that breeds in north-eastern Europe, perform long-distance migrations between breeding sites and hibernation areas in central and southern Europe. The feeding strategy of migrating P. nathusii was investigated in Latvia on the east coast of the Baltic Sea, exploring evidence for and against two non-mutually exclusive predictions that i) the bats feed shortly after dusk at highest aerial insect activity and continue to migrate thereafter or ii) apply a ‘fly-and-forage’ strategy and frequently interrupt their migration flight to feed. Echolocation calls and feeding buzzes of P. nathusii were record…
New insular taxa from the oldest Terre Rosse fissure filling (Gargano, Southeastern Italy).
2012
A rich amount of fossil remains of a highly diversified vertebrate fauna, known as “Mikrotia fauna”, has been retrieved from the red soil deposits (Terre Rosse) which fill the extensive palaeokarst network that affects the Mesozoic limestone along the north-western slopes of Mount Gargano (Southern Italy). The faunal assemblages reveal a rather complex history of bioevents such as dispersals and extinctions, which occurred when the area was isolated. These reconstructions were based on the materials collected during the seventies and the eighties of the last century. Forty years after its discovery, the Gargano Terre Rosse finally yielded evidence of an older faunal settlement. The peculiar…
Impact of Busy Roads on Breeding Success in Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca
2002
The impact of dense traffic on the breeding success in pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) was studied using roadside nest-boxes. Nest site selection and breeding success of flycatchers were observed in relation to the distance from the road. The number of occupied territories was no higher closer to the road than it was deeper inside the forest. The distance to the road had no effect on the laying date, clutch size, or brood size. However, nests closer to the road were more likely to fail at the chick stage. The number of broods that were closer to roads and were lost completely was significantly higher than those further away. As a consequence, the number of fledglings per breeding atte…
The insectivorous batPipistrellus nathusiiuses a mixed-fuel strategy to power autumn migration
2012
In contrast to birds, bats are possibly limited in their capacity to use body fat as an energy source for long migrations. Here, we studied the fuel choice of migratoryPipistrellus nathusii(approximate weight: 8 g) by analysing the stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13CV-PDB) of breath and potential energy sources. Breathδ13CV-PDBwas intermediate betweenδ13CV-PDBof insect prey and adipocyte triacylglycerols, suggesting a mixed-fuel use ofP. nathusiiduring autumn migration. To clarify the origin of oxidized fatty acids, we performed feeding experiments with captiveP. nathusii. After an insect diet, bat breath was enriched in13C relative to the bulk and fat portion of insects, but not deviating fr…
Rarity in Chilean forest birds: which ecological and life‐history traits matter?
2007
While it is a truism that species rarity is non-randomly distributed across regions, habitats, and taxa, there is little consensus on which factors are the best predictors of low abundances and restricted geographical ranges. In this study, we evaluate the effects of ecological and life-history traits, as well as phylogeny, on rarity in the abundance and distribution of land birds inhabiting forest habitats in the Mediterranean and temperate regions of Chile. We use data on abundance collected at 16 sites and data on latitudinal distribution obtained from a literature compilation. Statistical analyses were based on multiple regression and multivariate models. We used Signed Mantel test to a…
Insular variation in central MediterraneanCrociduraWagler, 1832 (Mammalia, Soricidae)
1990
Morphometric variation of Crocidura mandible in Sicily and surrounding islands (Egadi archipelago, Ustica, Pantelleria and Gozo) was analyzed by principal component and canonical variate analyses in order to integrate recent chromosomal and biochemical observations. Specimens of C. suaveolens and C. leucodon from mainland Italy and of C. russula from Sardinia were used as reference in this analysis. The biometry of the only taxon of shrews living in Sicily is significantly different from the three reference samples. This result, coupled with a recently discovered new karyotype, provides strong evidence for a new Eurasian species, for which the name C. sicula Miller 1901, was chosen. Crocidu…
Functional adaptations in the craniofacial morphology of Malagasy primates: shape variations associated with gummivory in the family Cheirogaleidae.
2005
Summary The infraorder Lemuriformes is characterized by a high level of homoplasy that clouds the evolutionary signal. The analysis of the morphological disparity of the Malagasy primates' crania and mandibles demonstrates the high determinism of functional specializations and developmental constraints, regardless of the phylogeny. In the present work, the weight of functional constraints linked to diet — a putative source of homoplasy — is analyzed first at the level of the infraorder Lemuriformes as a whole, and secondly at the level of a single family, the Cheirogaleidae, chosen because it contains taxa with two different diets (omnivory and gummivory). Malagasy primates are characterize…
Apomorphine as an emetic for insectivorous songbirds: effectiveness and post-release effects on survival and mass change
2014
Emetics can be used to obtain food samples from birds, but they can harm birds during or after treatment. Studies to date suggest that apomorphine is a safe emetic for songbirds, but information is needed about possible post-release deleterious effects. From March to July 2012, we collected food samples from insectivorous songbirds using apomorphine. We treated 67 Moustached Warblers (Acrocephalus melanopogon), 56 Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), 15 Great Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), and 12 Savi's Warblers (Locustella luscinoides). Effectiveness in inducing regurgitation was high (76.7%) and varied among species, being significantly more effective with Reed Warblers (9…
Diet of the insectivorous bat 'Pipistrellus nathusii' during autumn migration and summer residence
2013
Migration is widespread among vertebrates, yet bat migration has received little attention and only in the recent decades has a better understanding of it been gained. Migration can cause significant changes in behaviour and physiology, due to increasing energy demands and aerodynamic constraints. Dietary shifts, for example, have been shown to occur in birds before onset of migration. For bats, it is not known if a change in diet occurs during migration, although breeding season–related dietary preference has been documented. It is known that a diet rich in fats and the accumulation of fat deposits do increase the flight range of migratory bats. Some bat species can be regarded as long-dis…
Fossil micromammals of the early Pliocene locality of Almenara MB: biostratigraphical and palaeoecological implications
2020
In this work, we have studied the fossil rodent, insectivore and chiropteran faunas, of a new locality from the AlmenaraCasablanca karstic complex, named ACB MB (Castellón, east Spain). We consider an early Ruscinian age for this site, close to the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, and infer warm and relatively humid conditions from the analysis of the micromammal assemblage. We remark the presence of two species of Eliomys in ACB MB, rare in localities of this age, and the lack of any gerbil remains, fossil markers of faunal interchanges between Africa and Europe in the context of the Messinian Salinity Crisis, recorded in the nearby late Miocene site of ACB M