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Silva EML, Costa FJV, Nardoto GB. Diet and between-tissue isotope comparisons reveal different foraging strategies for age and sex of a Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola Linnaeus, 1766) population. BRAZ J BIOL 2024; 84:e282844. [PMID: 39166689 DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.282844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Measuring stable isotopes in different tissues offers the opportunity to provide insight into the foraging ecology of a species. This study aimed to assess how diet varies between yellow females, yellow males, and dull individuals of a Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) population. We measured δ13C and δ15N in blood over a year, and in different feathers, to estimate seasonal consistency of resource use for each category. We conducted this study in a private farm in the Central Brazilian savannas. We sampled 195 individuals in seven field samplings between January 2017 and March 2018. The mean blood δ13C values were similar among yellow females, yellow males and dull individuals, indicating that this population of Saffron Finch predominantly accesses similar resources throughout the year, with a predominant C4 signal. Although Saffron Finch is considered a granivorous species, the mean δ15N values found indicate that both adults and juveniles also incorporate in their tissues some invertebrate. The slight isotope-tissue difference between feathers and blood is similar to the reported in previous studies and may reflect tissue-to-tissue discrimination. The isotopic space of yellow males was greater than that of yellow females and dull individuals, indicating greater dietary diversity due to greater inter-individual variation in diet. In Saffron Finch, which delays plumage maturation, competition-driven partitioning of food resources seems essential in driving carotenoid-based plumage coloration between age classes and sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- E M L Silva
- Universidade de Brasília - UnB, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Ecologia, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, DF, Brasil
| | - F J V Costa
- Instituto Nacional de Criminalística - INC, Polícia Federal, Brasília, DF, Brasil
| | - G B Nardoto
- Universidade de Brasília - UnB, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Ecologia, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, DF, Brasil
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Culbert BM, Barnett JB, Ligocki IY, Salena MG, Wong MYL, Hamilton IM, Balshine S. Colorful facial markings are associated with foraging rates and affiliative relationships in a wild group-living cichlid fish. Curr Zool 2024; 70:70-78. [PMID: 38476131 PMCID: PMC10926260 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Many animals use color to signal their quality and/or behavioral motivations. Colorful signals have been well studied in the contexts of competition and mate choice; however, the role of these signals in nonsexual, affiliative relationships is not as well understood. Here, we used wild social groups of the cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher to investigate whether the size of a brightly colored facial patch was related to 1) individual quality, 2) social dominance, and/or 3) affiliative relationships. Individuals with larger patches spent more time foraging and tended to perform more aggressive acts against conspecific territory intruders. We did not find any evidence that the size of these yellow patches was related to social rank or body size, but dominant males tended to have larger patches than dominant females. Additionally, patch size had a rank-specific relationship with the number of affiliative interactions that individuals engaged in. Dominant males with large patches received fewer affiliative acts from their groupmates compared to dominant males with small patches. However, subordinates with large patches tended to receive more affiliative acts from their groupmates while performing fewer affiliative acts themselves. Taken together, our results suggest that patch size reflects interindividual variation in foraging effort in this cichlid fish and offer some of the first evidence that colorful signals may shape affiliative relationships within wild social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett M Culbert
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - James B Barnett
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Isaac Y Ligocki
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Biology, Millersville University, Millersville, PA, USA
| | - Matthew G Salena
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marian Y L Wong
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ian M Hamilton
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Mathematics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Sigal Balshine
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Simon OG, Manu SA, Nwaogu CJ, Omotoriogun TC. Supplementing a grain diet with insects instead of fruits sustains the body condition of an omnivorous bird. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10141. [PMID: 37250450 PMCID: PMC10213486 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Omnivores utilize dietary sources which differ in nutrients, hence dietary limitations due to environmental change or habitat alteration could cause nutrient limitations, and thus deterioration of body condition if omnivory is obligate. We investigated how the body condition of the omnivorous Village weaver Ploceus cucullatus (weavers), which forages predominantly on grains, responds to the supplementation of its grain diet with insects instead of fruits. Forty wild-caught weavers held in aviaries were fed a combination of grains and fruits, or grains and insects ad libitum for 8 weeks. We determined diet preference by recording the number of birds on each diet option per minute for 1 h and the amount of food left-over after 3 h of foraging. Fortnightly, we assessed indices of body condition including body mass, pectoral muscle, and fat scores, packed cell volume (PCV), and hemoglobin concentration (HBC). We modeled the number of foragers, food left-over, and body condition indices as functions of diet, while accounting for time (weeks) and sex effects. Grains were the preferred diet, but males ate more fruits and insects than females. Weavers fed on grains and fruits lost body and pectoral muscle mass and accumulated less fat than those fed on grains and insects. This effect was sex-dependent: females supplemented with fruits lost more pectoral muscle mass than males of the same group and males but not females, supplemented with insects accumulated more fat reserve than those supplemented with fruits. PCV and HBC did not differ between diets but increased over the 8 weeks. Weavers are likely obligate rather than facultative omnivores, with insects as being a more nutritive supplement than fruits. Nutrient limitation arising from environmental change or habitat alteration could impair body condition and affect physiological function to environmental seasonality in obligate omnivores like the weavers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ojodomo G. Simon
- A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research InstituteUniversity of JosJosNigeria
- Department of ZoologyAhmadu Bello UniversityZariaNigeria
| | - Shiiwua A. Manu
- A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research InstituteUniversity of JosJosNigeria
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of JosJosNigeria
| | - Chima J. Nwaogu
- A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research InstituteUniversity of JosJosNigeria
- FitzPatrick Institute of African OrnithologyUniversity of Cape TownCape TownSouth Africa
| | - Taiwo C. Omotoriogun
- A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research InstituteUniversity of JosJosNigeria
- Biotechnology Unit, Department of Biological SciencesElizade UniversityIlara‐MokinNigeria
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Al-Masoudi ZAAA, Al-Kafaji FR. Effect of Adding Annatto Seed Powder (Bixa orellana) and Astaxanthin to the Diet in the Productive Performance of Broilers(Ross-308). IOP CONFERENCE SERIES: EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 2023; 1158:052021. [DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/1158/5/052021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Researchers from the Al-Anwar Poultry Company conducted the aforementioned study in the Babil Governorate between february 15 and March 22, 2022. The goal of the study was to ascertain the effect of feeding broiler chickens a diet containing annatto seed powder (Bixa orellana) and astaxanthin on their performance and health. The researchers used 225 sexed Ross-308 chickens that were only one day old The chickens were placed in one of 15 different cages, each of which contained one of five different treatments (for a total of 450 birds). There were three duplicates of each treatment, with a total of 15 birds in each replicate for a total of 45 birds in each replication. The following is how the research was conducted: The results showed a highly significant difference at the level of (p 0.01) for the treatments add T2, T3, T4, and T5 regarding final body weight average, with T1 serving as the control treatment and the standard diet not containing any additions. T2 including powdered annatto seeds at a rate of 0.5 grams per kilogram of feed, T3 including powdered annatto seeds at a rate of 1 gram per kilogram of feed, T4 including astaxanthin at At the level of significance (p0.05), Treatments T2, T3, and T5 performed significantly better than the control treatment T1 in terms of the growth in weight, the amount of feed consumed, and the total feed conversion factor.
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Peneaux C, Machovsky-Capuska GE, Endler JA, Griffin AS. Eat yourself sexy: how selective macronutrient intake influences the expression of a visual signal in common mynas. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:237821. [PMID: 33758023 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.241349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Producing colored signals often requires consuming dietary carotenoid pigments. Evidence that food deprivation can reduce coloration, however, raises the question of whether other dietary nutrients contribute to signal coloration, and furthermore, whether individuals can voluntarily select food combinations to achieve optimal coloration. We created a two-way factorial design to manipulate macronutrient and carotenoid access in common mynas (Acridotheres tristis) and measured eye patch coloration as a function of the food combinations individuals selected. Mynas had access to either water or carotenoid-supplemented water and could either eat a standard captive diet or choose freely between three nutritionally defined pellets (protein, lipid or carbohydrate). Mynas supplemented with both carotenoids and macronutrient pellets had higher color scores than control birds. Male coloration tended to respond more to nutritional manipulation than females, with color scores improving in macronutrient- and carotenoid-supplemented individuals compared with controls. All mynas consuming carotenoids had higher levels of plasma carotenoids, but only males showed a significant increase by the end of the experiment. Dietary carotenoids and macronutrient intake consumed in combination tended to increase plasma carotenoid concentrations the most. These results demonstrate for the first time that consuming specific combinations of macronutrients along with carotenoids contributes to optimizing a colorful signal, and point to sex-specific nutritional strategies. Our findings improve our knowledge of how diet choices affect signal expression and, by extension, how nutritionally impoverished diets, such as those consumed by birds in cities, might affect sexual selection processes and, ultimately, population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe Peneaux
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Gabriel E Machovsky-Capuska
- Charles Perkins Centre and Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia
| | - John A Endler
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, Australia
| | - Andrea S Griffin
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
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Andrews CE, Ewen JG, Thorogood R. Enhancing dietary specialization metrics in observational studies of wild animal populations. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin E. Andrews
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Downing Street CambridgeCB2 3EJUK
- Institute of Zoology Zoological Society of London Regent’s Park LondonNW1 4RYUK
| | - John G. Ewen
- Institute of Zoology Zoological Society of London Regent’s Park LondonNW1 4RYUK
| | - Rose Thorogood
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Downing Street CambridgeCB2 3EJUK
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE) University of Helsinki Helsinki00014Finland
- Research Program in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki00014Finland
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Giery ST, Layman CA. Ecological Consequences Of Sexually Selected Traits: An Eco-Evolutionary Perspective. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1086/702341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Koch RE, Hill GE. Do carotenoid‐based ornaments entail resource trade‐offs? An evaluation of theory and data. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca E. Koch
- Department of Biological SciencesAuburn University Auburn Alabama
- School of Biological SciencesMonash University Clayton Vic. Australia
| | - Geoffrey E. Hill
- Department of Biological SciencesAuburn University Auburn Alabama
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MacLeod KJ, Brekke P, Tong W, Ewen JG, Thorogood R. Do mothers bias offspring sex ratios in carotenoid-rich environments? Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Bunning H, Bassett L, Clowser C, Rapkin J, Jensen K, House CM, Archer CR, Hunt J. Dietary choice for a balanced nutrient intake increases the mean and reduces the variance in the reproductive performance of male and female cockroaches. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:4711-30. [PMID: 27547307 PMCID: PMC4979701 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2016] [Revised: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection may cause dietary requirements for reproduction to diverge across the sexes and promote the evolution of different foraging strategies in males and females. However, our understanding of how the sexes regulate their nutrition and the effects that this has on sex‐specific fitness is limited. We quantified how protein (P) and carbohydrate (C) intakes affect reproductive traits in male (pheromone expression) and female (clutch size and gestation time) cockroaches (Nauphoeta cinerea). We then determined how the sexes regulate their intake of nutrients when restricted to a single diet and when given dietary choice and how this affected expression of these important reproductive traits. Pheromone levels that improve male attractiveness, female clutch size and gestation time all peaked at a high daily intake of P:C in a 1:8 ratio. This is surprising because female insects typically require more P than males to maximize reproduction. The relatively low P requirement of females may reflect the action of cockroach endosymbionts that help recycle stored nitrogen for protein synthesis. When constrained to a single diet, both sexes prioritized regulating their daily intake of P over C, although this prioritization was stronger in females than males. When given the choice between diets, both sexes actively regulated their intake of nutrients at a 1:4.8 P:C ratio. The P:C ratio did not overlap exactly with the intake of nutrients that optimized reproductive trait expression. Despite this, cockroaches of both sexes that were given dietary choice generally improved the mean and reduced the variance in all reproductive traits we measured relative to animals fed a single diet from the diet choice pair. This pattern was not as strong when compared to the single best diet in our geometric array, suggesting that the relationship between nutrient balancing and reproduction is complex in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harriet Bunning
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Tremough Campus Penryn TR10 9EZ UK
| | - Lee Bassett
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Tremough Campus Penryn TR10 9EZ UK
| | - Christina Clowser
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Tremough Campus Penryn TR10 9EZ UK
| | - James Rapkin
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Tremough Campus Penryn TR10 9EZ UK
| | - Kim Jensen
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Tremough Campus Penryn TR10 9EZ UK; Department of Entomology North Carolina State University Gardner Hall Raleigh North Carolina 27695-7613
| | - Clarissa M House
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Tremough Campus Penryn TR10 9EZ UK
| | - Catharine R Archer
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Tremough Campus Penryn TR10 9EZ UK; MaxNetAging School Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research Konrad-Zuse-Straße 118057 Rostock Germany
| | - John Hunt
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Tremough Campus Penryn TR10 9EZ UK
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