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Pikuła R, Zaborski D, Grzesiak W, Smugała M. An analysis of the annual mobility of Polish Konik horses depending on habitat, season, and time of the day. Arch Anim Breed 2022; 65:239-247. [PMID: 35935751 PMCID: PMC9350879 DOI: 10.5194/aab-65-239-2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to analyse the mobility of Polish
Konik horses in their natural environment. The study was conducted on a herd of
15 Polish Konik horses in 2018. The Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitter
was used to track the horses' movements. Two habitats (forest and meadows), four
seasons (autumn, winter, spring, and summer), and four times of the day
(morning, midday, evening, and night) were distinguished. Season, habitat, and
time of the day as well as the interaction among them significantly (p<0.0001) affected the mobility of Polish Konik horses. The use of the
GPS device enabled tracking of horses' mobility also at night, which made the
results more complete compared with other similar studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryszard Pikuła
- Laboratory of Horse Breeding and Animal Assisted Therapy, West
Pomeranian University of Technology, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland
| | - Daniel Zaborski
- Department of Ruminants Science, West Pomeranian University of
Technology, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland
| | - Wilhelm Grzesiak
- Department of Ruminants Science, West Pomeranian University of
Technology, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland
| | - Mirosław Smugała
- Laboratory of Horse Breeding and Animal Assisted Therapy, West
Pomeranian University of Technology, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland
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Adams C, Schenker J, Weston P, Gut L, Miller J. Path Meander of Male Codling Moths ( Cydia pomonella) Foraging for Sex Pheromone Plumes: Field Validation of a Novel Method for Quantifying Path Meander of Random Movers Developed Using Computer Simulations. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11090549. [PMID: 32825019 PMCID: PMC7564103 DOI: 10.3390/insects11090549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Measures of insect movement patterns are key to understanding how insects forage for resources and mating opportunities in their environment. Directly observing large numbers of these small organisms can be extremely challenging, especially for flying insects in low light conditions such as codling moth (Cydia pomonella), a key pest of apple. Here we provide a novel approach to indirectly measure the path meander of randomly moving organisms. Computer simulations were used to simulate insect movement across a wide range of possible movement patterns, measured in circular standard deviation (c.s.d.) of turn angles between track segments. For each c.s.d., the pattern of catch across a rectangular grid of traps was plotted and the resulting exponential decay constant (k) of the fitted lines were used to generate a standard curve describing this linear relationship. Using this standard curve, field data from target organisms caught in the described trapping grid can reveal the pattern of movement employed by these movers. Here we have demonstrated methodology for indirect measure of the movement patterns employed by random walkers such as C. pomonella. While we employed codling moth as our model system, we suggest this approach could prove useful in a wide range of other systems. Abstract Measures of path meander are highly relevant to studies of optimal foraging by animals. However, directly recording paths of small animals such as insects can be difficult because of small size or crepuscular activity. Computer simulations of correlated random walkers demonstrated that the rates of decay in captures across a rectangular grid of traps when movers were released at its corner can be used to produce calibration curves for quantifying path meander indirectly. Simulations using spatial parameters matching those previously documented for male codling moths (Cydia pomonella (L.)) foraging for female pheromone plumes in the field predicted that meander, as measured in circular standard deviation (c.s.d.) of turn angles between track segments, should be ca. 50° and 30° when the target population density is high vs. low, respectively. Thus, if optimized, the mean value measured for C. pomonella populations encountering an unknown target density should fall between these limits. We recorded decay in C. pomonella catch across a 5 × 5 grid of pheromone-baited traps each separated by 15 m on 39 occasions where batches of ca. 800 males were released 10 m outside the corner of trapping grids arranged in five large Michigan apple orchards. This decay constant was translated into mean c.s.d value for path meander using the standard curve generated by the computer simulations. The measured decay constant for C. pomonella males was negative 0.99 ± 0.02 (S.E.M.), which translates to a path meander of 37 ± 2° c.s.d. Thus, the measured path meander of 37° fell between the 50° and 30° values optimal for dense and sparse populations, respectively. In addition to providing a rare documented example of optimal foraging for odor plumes, this research offers proof-of-concept for a novel approach to quantifying path meander of movers that could prove useful across diverse taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Adams
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; (L.G.); (J.M.)
- Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Hood River, OR 97031, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Jeffrey Schenker
- Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;
| | - Paul Weston
- Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2678, Australia;
| | - Lawrence Gut
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; (L.G.); (J.M.)
| | - James Miller
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; (L.G.); (J.M.)
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Kidd-Weaver A, Hepinstall-Cymerman J, Welch CN, Murray MH, Adams HC, Ellison TJ, Yabsley MJ, Hernandez SM. The movements of a recently urbanized wading bird reveal changes in season timing and length related to resource use. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0230158. [PMID: 32191732 PMCID: PMC7082014 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) is a nomadic wading bird that is increasing the amount of time spent foraging in urban areas, relying on artificial wetlands and other anthropogenic resources year-round. In this study, we explore whether and how American White Ibis association with urban environments is predictive of variation in the timing and length of behavioral seasons. Other urbanized species exhibit altered annual cycles such as loss of migratory behavior and year-round breeding related to consistent resource abundance, often related to intentional and unintentional provisioning. To determine if these same patterns of behavior were also present in White Ibis, we used behavioral change point analysis to segment the tracks of 41 ibis equipped with GPS backpacks to identify the initiation and duration of four behavioral seasons (non-breeding, pre-breeding, breeding, post-breeding) the degree of urban association. We found that intraspecific variation in urban habitat use had strong carryover effects on the timing and duration of behavioral seasons. This study revealed ibis with higher use of urban habitats in non-breeding seasons had longer non-breeding seasons and shorter breeding seasons that began earlier in the year compared to ibis that primarily use wetland habitats. The timing and duration of seasons also varied with ibis age, such that ibis spent more time engaged in breeding-related seasons as they aged. Juvenile and subadult ibis, though considered to be reproductively immature, also exhibit behavioral shifts in relation to breeding seasons. The behavioral patterns found in this study provide evidence that ibis are adapting their annual cycles and seasonal behaviors to exploit urban resources. Future research is needed to identify the effect of interactions between ibis urban association and age on behavioral season expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anjelika Kidd-Weaver
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey Hepinstall-Cymerman
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Catharine N. Welch
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Maureen H. Murray
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Henry C. Adams
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Taylor J. Ellison
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Michael J. Yabsley
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Sonia M. Hernandez
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
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