Search results for "cannibalism"
showing 10 items of 27 documents
To Eat or Not to Eat? A Short Path from Vegetarianism to Cannibalism
2018
Subjective reasoning and chemical composition are not the sole arbiters of our systems of alimentary taste; consumption of food is also defined by cultural orientation and other complex value systems. There are those who choose to consume only plant matter to respect the rights of animals, equally there are those who consume pets without a second thought. What informs these choices depends on how we understand our own place in the world, the values we attribute to the things that surrounds us, the relationships we maintain with our fellow beings and those with living things in general. It is in the space between those variable definitions that we find food taboos and the complex stories whi…
Female control of paternity in the sexually cannibalistic spider Argiope keyserlingi.
2000
Sexual conflict theory predicts an antagonistic coevolution, with each sex evolving adaptations and counter-adaptations to overcome a temporary dominance of the other sex over the control of paternity. Polyandry allows sexual selection to operate after mating has commenced, with male and female interests competing for control of fertilization. There are numerous examples of male control of paternity, but few studies have unambiguously revealed female control. Attributing variance in paternity to females is often difficult since male and female influences cannot be separated unambiguously. However, we show that polyandrous female orb-web spiders Argiope keserlingi (Arancidae) control the pat…
‘Non humana viscera sed centies sestertium comesse’ (Petr. Sat. 141,7): Philomela and the Cannibal Heredipetae in the Crotonian Section of Petronius’…
2013
The connection between the themes of money and death is widespread in Petronius' Satyricon, and is definitely not limited to the Cena Trimalchionis, where it has been widely examined. The aim of my paper is to consider the peculiar form that the motif takes in the Crotonian section of Petronius' Satyricon, and its connections with the mythical memory of the Procne and Philomela story. The theme of corpses dismemberment appears at the end of the episode of the shipwreck, the one immediately preceding the Crotonian section, through Encolpius' reflections on the sepultura practice and the destiny of human bodies after our death (Petronius, Satyricon 115, 6-19); the same theme closes the introd…
Effects of starvation on survival, cannibalism, body mass, and intestinal protozoan profile in the subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus
2019
Scarcity or inadequate nutrition can affect biological and behavioural aspects of subterranean termites and their intestinal protozoan profile. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in survival, cannibalism, body mass, and protist community structure of Reticulitermes lucifugus Rossi subspecies “Sicily” following starvation to provide basic knowledge for the development of more specific studies on a possible survival strategy under stressful conditions. In nature, this termite consumes many food sources and its feeding activity is continuous during the year. In a 35-day laboratory experiment, groups of 50 termites (worker/soldier ratio 49:1) were subjected to two diets, starvatio…
Eat or Be Eaten: Psychological and Bodily Violence in Michèle Roberts’s Reworking of Fairy-Tale Cannibalism
2014
This paper focuses on Robertsʼs counter-narrative “The Cookery Lesson” and the theme of fairy-tale cannibalism. While questioning the representation of the cannibalizing and the cannibalized bodies through the analysis of the sensuous language describing the desire-violence nexus, we shall take into account the ways in which the narrative form is affected in the passage from traditional fairy tale to contemporary short story, not only as concerns the representation of characters but also as regards the use of narrative voices and narrative strategies recalling the oral origins of fairy tales. At the same time, such formal choices critically re-contextualize source stories in a modern space-…
A mate to die for? A model of conditional monogyny in cannibalistic spiders.
2012
Monogynous males in various species actively limit themselves to mating with a single female in their lifetime. Whereas previous models have considered monogyny as an obligate mating strategy, here we explore the potential of monogyny to evolve as a context-specific (conditional) behavior. Using a state-dependent dynamic game model based on the biology of the cannibalistic spider Argiope bruennichi, we confirm that conditional monogyny can evolve under broad conditions, including an even sex ratio. We predict that males should make a terminal investment when mating with large, virgin females, especially if population density is low and the encounter occurs late in the season. We encourage e…
Features of intercohort cannibalism of Vendace (Coregonus albula(L.)) under laboratory conditions
2012
Cannibalism in Vendace (Coregonus albula (L.)) was studied under laboratory conditions by exposing Vendace eggs (100) or newly hatched larvae (20) to an older individual in aquaria. Predation on the eggs was not detected whereas both biting and ingesting of newly hatched larvae were observed in 23% of older Vendace individuals. Small individuals (<100 mm in total length) were significantly more likely to attack larvae than larger individuals. Differences were also found in attack rates between individuals. The rate ranged from no attacks to attacks towards every larva exposed to the cannibalistic individual. These results confirm that intercohort cannibalism is neither an exceptional nor a …
Burial behaviour by dealates of the termite Pseudacanthotermes spiniger (Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) induced by chemical signals from termite corpses
2011
In order to maintain healthy colonies, termite workers dispose of the cadavers of dead nest mates by cannibalism, burial, or necrophoresis. However, when multiple reproductives found a new colony by pleometrosis, there are no worker castes at the early stages of the foundation to eliminate or isolate the corpses. In this study, we showed that in young pleometrotic colonies, reproductives of Pseudacanthotermes spiniger had the ability to perform this task. Because of the claustral conditions, and the potential inability of the dealates to feed on their own, their behaviour was restricted to the burial of the cadaver within the initial chamber. This burial behaviour, previously not reported i…
A mate to die for? A model of conditional monogyny in cannibalistic spiders
2012
Monogynous males in various species actively limit themselves to mating with a single female in their lifetime. Whereas previous models have considered monogyny as an obligate mating strategy, here we explore the potential of monogyny to evolve as a context-specific (conditional) behavior. Using a state-dependent dynamic game model based on the biology of the cannibalistic spider Argiope bruennichi, we confirm that conditional monogyny can evolve under broad conditions, including an even sex ratio. We predict that males should make a terminal investment when mating with large, virgin females, especially if population density is low and the encounter occurs late in the season. We encourage e…
Toxicity of 3,4-dichloroaniline to perch (Perca fluviatilis) in acute and early life stage exposures
1993
Abstract The toxitity of 3,4-dichloroaniline to perch was investigated in order to compare the sensitivity of crucial life stages with common test fish like zebrafish. Although in the acute toxicity test perch were more sensitive by a factor of five, larval sensitivity was in the same range in both species as well as in other egg-laying species. In spite of different water temperature and size, the zebrafish is a good model to predict early life stage toxicity of 3,4-DCA to the compared European freshwater species. Perch larvae are not suited for early life stage tests, as they are sensible towards experimental conditions and perform early cannibalism.