Search results for "seasonal"
showing 10 items of 484 documents
WHO BEARS THE COSTS OF INTERSPECIFIC COMPETITION IN AN AGE-STRUCTURED POPULATION?
2003
Social and density-dependent life history processes may differ according to age and the reproductive history of individuals. Arvicoline rodents have a typical, season-dependent, bimodal, age distribution of breeding individuals within a population. This distribution may influence population fluctuations. In this study, we measured effects of interspecific competition from field voles (Microtus agrestis) on various fitness components of female bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) in an age-structured breeding population in large (0.25 ha) outdoor enclosures. We monitored survival, reproduction, and space use of experimental bank vole populations with females from two different age groups. Wi…
Landscape and anti-predation determinants of nest-site selection, nest distribution and productivity in a Mediterranean population of Long-eared Owls…
2006
Nest predation is an important determinant of owl breeding success. We studied Long-eared Owl Asio otus productivity and attributes of nest-sites at the microhabitat and landscape scales in a Mediterranean locality over an 8-year period. We examined the effect on nest location and productivity of protective cover in concealing the nest from aerial and terrestrial predators. A dense cover of ivy and tree-foliage at canopy level favoured nest location but not productivity. By contrast, high shrub cover beneath the nest was selected by Owls and was positively related to both the site reoccupancy rate and the overall number of young fledged. Pre-fledging Owls use the ground, where they are expo…
Growth and production of three macrozoobenthic species in the Gulf of Riga, including comparisons with other areas
1999
Three soft-bottom stations in the southern part of the Gulf of Riga were studied during the period December 1993 to January 1995. The amphipods, Monoporeia affinis and Pontoporeia femorata, and the poychaete Marenzelleria viridis, were analysed for production, using the cohort growth method. Animals were also analysed for carbon and nitrogen content in a CHN-analyser. Based on size measurements, the quantitative data were divided into age-classes and the growth of each cohort was calculated first as wet weight and then converted into carbon and nitrogen content. Total annual production of each species was calculated as well as turnover ratios. The turnover ratio for Monoporeia affinis was e…
Population dynamics of oxiclinal species in lake Arcas-2 (Spain)
1995
‘Oxiclinal’ rotifer species show high concentrations just above the oxic-anoxic interface in the hypolimnion of some lakes. The stratification of their populations is best shown by sampling at close depth intervals and quantifying their densities by the Utermohl technique. With this technique we were able to count males which otherwise pass through filters and more accurately count egg production. We evaluated female, male and egg numbers of the two main oxiclinal species of lake Arcas-2: Filinia hofmanni and Anuraeopsis fissa, during two annual cycles (1990–91). F. hofmanni was an exclusive oxiclinal species. It had an exponential growth phase at the onset of stratification giving a distin…
Breeding suppression in the bank vole as antipredatory adaptation in a predictable environment
1994
In northern Fennoscandia, microtine rodent populations fluctuate cyclically. The environment of an individual vole can be considered to be predictable when the risks of predation and intra- and interspecific competition change with the cycle, such that both are high during the population highs of voles. The risk of predation is also high during the vole crash. After the crash, the vole population is characterized by low intra- and interspecific competition and low predation pressure. The main predators affecting voles during the crash are the small mustelids, least weasel and stoat. The density of these specialist predators declines drastically during the winter after the vole crash. We stu…
Breeding strategy and morphological characters in an urban population of blackbirds, Turdus merula
2001
Pairing patterns in monogamous birds are thought to be the consequence of mutual mate choice by males and females for characters linked to individual quality in the opposite sex. Although this may result in assortative pairing for a single character, there may be no simple match between male and female phenotype if the traits linked to individual quality are sex specific. For instance, in several passerine species, females tend to select males on the basis of territory quality or characters that may reflect health or vigour, whereas males benefit from pairing with females in good condition that breed early because early breeding increases reproductive success. We investigated pairing patter…
Climatic and Pathological Rhythms in a Humid Tropical Area, the Case of The Philippines
1997
The fact that weather significantly affects yearly, monthly and daily morbidity in human populations has been documented for a long time by a number of individuals. They have illustrated very well some of the basic structure and underlying mechanisms of seasonality in morbidity. But until now almost all these efforts were carried out in countries with temperate mid-latitude climates. Furthermore, meteoropathological investigations have for the most part concentrated upon mortality statistics for the usual reasons of data availability and comparability. However, an important question that arises when considering the effects of weather on diseases is how the relationship varies under differen…
No uniform associations between parasite prevalence and environmental nutrients
2014
The resource quality of the host has been shown to affect parasite transmission success, prevalence, and virulence. Seasonal availability of environmental nutrients alters density and stoichiometric quality (carbon–nutrient ratios) of both producers and consumers, suggesting that nutrient availability may drive fluctuations in parasite prevalence patterns observed in nature. We examined the interactions between the population dynamics of a keystone herbivore, Daphnia, and its parasites, and their associations with water nutrient concentrations, resource quantity and quality, and other environmental variables (temperature, pH, oxygen concentration) in a small lake, using general linear model…
Ultraviolet reflectance of male nuptial colouration in sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) from the Pyrenees
2007
Abstract The evolutionary significance of lacertid colourations is relatively unexplored. However, several studies have demonstrated signalling by means of bright green colouration in Swedish Lacerta agilis males during the breeding season. Unfortunately, most of these studies have been based on human colour perception that differs in several ways from that of lizard. An important difference between human and lizard colour vision is the presence of an ultraviolet (UV) sensitive cone in lizards. The available evidence suggests that male sand lizards colorations do not reflect UV wavelengths, at least in Swedish populations. However, this study, based on objective (spectrophotometric) measur…
Adaptation to a seasonally varying environment: a strong latitudinal cline in reproductive diapause combined with high gene flow in Drosophila montan…
2011
Adaptation to seasonal changes in the northern hemisphere includes an ability to predict the forthcoming cold season from gradual changes in environmental cues early enough to prepare for the harsh winter conditions. The magnitude and speed of changes in these cues vary between the latitudes, which induces strong selection pressures for local adaptation. We studied adaptation to seasonal changes in Drosophila montana, a northern maltfly, by defining the photoperiodic conditions leading to adult reproductive diapause along a latitudinal cline in Finland and by measuring genetic differentiation and the amount of gene flow between the sampling sites with microsatellites. Our data revealed a cl…