1
|
Barboza PS, Shively RD, Thompson DP. Robust Responses of Female Caribou to Changes in Food Supply. ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 97:29-52. [PMID: 38717369 DOI: 10.1086/729668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
AbstractUngulates can respond to changes in food supply by altering foraging behavior, digestive function, and metabolism. A multifaceted response to an environmental change is considered robust. Short seasons of plant growth make herbivores sensitive to changes in food supply because maintenance and production must be accomplished in less time with fewer options in a more fragile response. Caribou live at high latitudes where short summers constrain their response to changes in food supply. We measured the ability of female caribou to resist and tolerate changes in the quality and quantity of their food supply during winter and summer. Caribou resisted changes in food abundance and quality by changing food intake and physical activity with changes in daily temperature within each season. Peak food intake rose by 134% from winter pregnancy to summer lactation (98 vs. 229 g kg-0.75 d-1), as digestible requirements to maintain the body increased by 85% for energy (1,164 vs. 2,155 kJ kg-0.75 d-1) and by 266% for N (0.79 vs. 2.89 g N kg-0.75 d-1). Caribou required a diet with a digestible content of 12 kJ g-1 and 0.8% N in pregnancy, 18 kJ g-1 and 1.9% N in early lactation, and 11 kJ g-1 and 1.2% N in late lactation, which corresponds with the phenology of the wild diet. Female caribou tolerated restriction of ad lib. food intake to 58% of their energy requirement (680 vs. 1,164 kJ kg-0.75 d-1) during winter pregnancy and to 84% of their energy requirement (1,814 vs. 2,155 kJ kg-0.75 d-1) during summer lactation without a change in stress level, as indicated by fecal corticosterone concentration. Conversely, caribou can respond to increased availability of food with a spare capacity to process digestible energy and N at 123% (2,642 vs. 2,155 kJ kg-0.75 d-1) and 145% (4.20 vs. 2.89 g N kg-0.75 d-1) of those respective requirements during lactation. Robust responses to changes in food supply allow caribou to sustain reproduction, which would buffer demographic response. However, herds may decline when thresholds of behavioral resistance and physiological tolerance are frequently exceeded. Therefore, the challenge for managing declining populations of caribou and other robust species is to identify declines in robustness before their response becomes fragile.
Collapse
|
2
|
Trondrud LM, Pigeon G, Król E, Albon S, Ropstad E, Kumpula J, Evans AL, Speakman JR, Loe LE. A Summer Heat Wave Reduced Activity, Heart Rate, and Autumn Body Mass in a Cold-Adapted Ungulate. Physiol Biochem Zool 2023; 96:282-293. [PMID: 37418606 DOI: 10.1086/725363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
AbstractHeat waves are becoming more frequent across the globe and may impose severe thermoregulatory challenges for endotherms. Heat stress can induce both behavioral and physiological responses, which may result in energy deficits with potential fitness consequences. We studied the responses of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus), a cold-adapted ungulate, to a record-breaking heat wave in northern Finland. Activity, heart rate, subcutaneous body temperature, and body mass data were collected for 14 adult females. The post-heat wave autumn body masses were then analyzed against longitudinal body mass records for the herd from 1990 to 2021. With increasing air temperature during the day, reindeer became less active and had reduced heart rate and increased body temperature, reflecting both behavioral and physiological responses to heat stress. Although they increased activity in the late afternoon, they failed to compensate for lost foraging time on the hottest days (daily mean temperature ≥20°C), and total time active was reduced by 9%. After the heat wave, the mean September body mass of herd females (69.7±6.6 kg, n=52) was on average 16.4% ± 4.8% lower than predicted (83.4±6.0 kg). Among focal females, individuals with the lowest levels of activity during the heat wave had the greatest mass loss during summer. We show how heat waves impose a thermoregulatory challenge on endotherms, resulting in mass loss, potentially as a result of the loss of foraging time. While it is well known that environmental conditions affect large herbivore fitness indirectly through decreased forage quality and limited water supply, direct effects of heat may be increasingly common in a warming climate.
Collapse
|
3
|
Dickinson ER, Orsel K, Cuyler C, Kutz SJ. Life history matters: Differential effects of abomasal parasites on caribou fitness. Int J Parasitol 2023; 53:221-231. [PMID: 36801266 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2023.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Parasites can impact wildlife populations through their effects on host fitness and survival. The life history strategies of a parasite species can dictate the mechanisms and timing through which it influences the host. However, unravelling this species-specific effect is difficult as parasites generally occur as part of a broader community of co-infecting parasites. Here, we use a unique study system to explore how life histories of different abomasal nematode species may influence host fitness. We examined abomasal nematodes in two adjacent, but isolated, West Greenland caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) populations. One herd of caribou were naturally infected with Ostertagia gruehneri, a common and dominant summer nematode of Rangifer sspp., and the other with Marshallagia marshalli (abundant; winter) and Teladorsagia boreoarcticus (less abundant; summer), allowing us to determine if these nematode species have differing effects on host fitness. Using a Partial Least Squares Path Modelling approach, we found that in the caribou infected with O. gruehneri, higher infection intensity was associated with lower body condition, and that animals with lower body condition were less likely to be pregnant. In caribou infected with M. marshalli and T. boreoarcticus, we found that only M. marshalli infection intensity was negatively related to body condition and pregnancy, but that caribou with a calf at heel were more likely to have higher infection intensities of both nematode species. The differing effects of abomasal nematode species on caribou health outcomes in these herds may be due to parasite species-specific seasonal patterns which influence both transmission dynamics and when the parasites have the greatest impact on host condition. These results highlight the importance of considering parasite life history when testing associations between parasitic infection and host fitness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor R Dickinson
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Karin Orsel
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Christine Cuyler
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 570, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland
| | - Susan J Kutz
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Blum ME, Stewart KM, Cox M, Shoemaker KT, Bennett JR, Sullivan BW, Wakeling BF, Bleich VC. Variation in diet of desert bighorn sheep around parturition: Tradeoffs associated with parturition. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1071771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Selection of forage and habitats is driven by nutritional needs of individuals. Some species may sacrifice nutritional quality of forage for the mother in favor of safety of offspring (risk-averse strategy), immediately following parturition. We studied diet quality and forage selection by bighorn sheep before and following parturition to determine how nutritional demands associated with rearing offspring influenced forage acquisition. We used desert bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis nelsoni, to investigate that potential tradeoff. We captured and radio-collared female bighorn sheep from 2016 to 2018. We used vaginal implant transmitters (VIT)s in pregnant females to identify parturition and to capture and radio-collar neonates to monitor survival of young. We collected fecal samples throughout the breeding season and throughout the year to understand diet quality and composition throughout those temporal periods. We determined diet quality and composition for pre-parturient females, females provisioning offspring, females that lost offspring, and non-pregnant individuals using fecal nitrogen and DNA metabarcoding analyses. Additionally, we compared the diet quality and composition of offspring and adult females during the spring, as well as summer and winter months. Our results indicated differences in diet quality between individuals provisioning offspring and those whose offspring had died. Females that were provisioning dependent young had lower quality diets than those that lost their offspring. Diet composition among those groups was also markedly different; females that had lost an offspring had a more diverse diet than did females with dependent young. Diet quality differed among seasons, wherein offspring and adult females had higher quality diets during the spring months, with decreasing quality as the year progressed. Diet diversity was similar across seasons, although spring months tended to be most diverse. Our results support tradeoffs associated with risk-averse strategies made by adult females associated with parturition. Nutritional quality of forage was linked to provisioning status, indicating that females were trading diet quality for safety of offspring, but those females whose offspring had died selected high quality forages. Those results help explain habitat selection observed in mountain ungulates around parturition and provide further insight into the evolutionary processes and adaptive significance exhibited by those specialized artiodactyls.
Collapse
|
5
|
Dong J, Anderson LJ. Predicted impacts of global change on bottom-up trophic interactions in the plant-ungulate-wolf food chain in boreal forests. FOOD WEBS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
6
|
Cook RC, Shipley LA, Cook JG, Camp MJ, Monzingo DS, Robatcek SL, Berry SL, Hull IT, Myers WL, Denryter K, Long RA. Sequential detergent fiber assay results used for nutritional ecology research: Evidence of bias since 2012. WILDLIFE SOC B 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/wsb.1348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel C. Cook
- National Council of Air and Stream Improvement 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande OR 97850 USA
| | - Lisa A. Shipley
- 1229 Webster Hall, School of the Environment Washington State University Pullman WA 99164‐2812 USA
| | - John G. Cook
- National Council of Air and Stream Improvement 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande OR 97850 USA
| | - Meghan J. Camp
- Washington State University Vogel Plant Biosciences 136, School of the Environment, Pullman, WA 99164‐2812; Cramer Fish Sciences 1125 12th Ave. NW, Suite B‐1 Issaquah WA 98027 USA
| | - Deborah S. Monzingo
- 1229 Webster Hall, School of the Environment Washington State University Pullman WA 99164‐2812 USA
| | | | | | - Iver T. Hull
- 1229 Webster Hall, School of the Environment Washington State University Pullman WA 99164‐2812 USA
| | - Woodrow L. Myers
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 2315 N Discovery Place Spokane Valley WA 99216 USA
| | - Kristin Denryter
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife 1010 Riverside Parkway West Sacramento CA 95605 USA
| | - Ryan A. Long
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences University of Idaho Moscow ID 83844 USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Denryter K, Conner MM, Stephenson TR, German DW, Monteith KL. Survival of the fattest: how body fat and migration influence survival in highly seasonal environments. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Denryter
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont Laramie WY USA
| | - Mary M. Conner
- Utah State University Department of Wildland Resources, 5320 Old Main Hill Logan UT USA
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 787 North Main Street, Suite 220 Bishop CA USA
| | - Thomas R. Stephenson
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, 787 North Main Street, Suite 220 Bishop CA USA
| | - David W. German
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, 787 North Main Street, Suite 220 Bishop CA USA
| | - Kevin L. Monteith
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont Laramie WY USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Cavedon M, vonHoldt B, Hebblewhite M, Hegel T, Heppenheimer E, Hervieux D, Mariani S, Schwantje H, Steenweg R, Watters M, Musiani M. Selection of both habitat and genes in specialized and endangered caribou. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2022; 36. [PMID: 35146809 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Genetic mechanisms determining habitat selection and specialization of individuals within species have been hypothesized, but not tested at the appropriate individual level in nature. In this work, we analyzed habitat selection for 139 GPS-collared caribou belonging to three declining ecotypes sampled throughout Northwestern Canada. We used Resource Selection Functions (RSFs) comparing resources at used and available locations. We found that the three caribou ecotypes differed in their use of habitat suggesting specialization. On expected grounds, we also found differences in habitat selection between summer and winter, but also, originally, among the individuals within an ecotype. We next obtained Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) for the same caribou individuals, we detected those associated to habitat selection, and then identified genes linked to these SNPs. These genes had functions related in other organisms to habitat and dietary specializations, and climatic adaptations. We therefore suggest that individual variation in habitat selection was based on genotypic variation in the SNPs of individual caribou, indicating that genetic forces underlie habitat and diet selection in the species. We also suggest that the associations between habitat and genes that we detected may lead to lack of resilience in the species, thus contributing to caribou endangerment. Our work emphasizes that similar mechanisms may exist for other specialized, endangered species. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Cavedon
- Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Bridgett vonHoldt
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 106A Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08544-2016, USA
| | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Montana, MT, 59812, USA
| | - Troy Hegel
- Yukon Department of Environment, Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1A 2C6, Canada
- Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Branch, Alberta Environment and Parks, 4999 98 Ave., Edmonton, AB, T6B 2×3, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Heppenheimer
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 106A Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08544-2016, USA
| | - Dave Hervieux
- Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Branch, Alberta Environment and Parks, Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 6J4, Canada
| | - Stefano Mariani
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Helen Schwantje
- Wildlife and Habitat Branch, Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Government of British Columbia, 2080 Labieux Road, Nanaimo, BC, V9T 6J 9, Canada
| | - Robin Steenweg
- Pacific Region, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 5421 Robertson Road, Delta, BC, V4K 3N2, Canada
| | - Megan Watters
- Land and Resource Specialist, 300 - 10003 110th Avenue Fort, St. John, BC, V1J 6M7, Canada
| | - Marco Musiani
- Dept. of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Veterinary Medicine (Joint Appointment), University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Daily foraging activity of an imperiled ground squirrel: effects of hibernation, thermal environment, body condition, and conspecific density. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03142-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
|
10
|
Larue B, Pelletier F, Festa-Bianchet M. A multivariate perspective of resource acquisition behaviours in bighorn sheep. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
|
11
|
Denryter K, Cook RC, Cook JG, Parker KL. Animal‐defined resources reveal nutritional inadequacies for woodland caribou during summer–autumn. J Wildl Manage 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Denryter
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies University of Northern British Columbia 3333 University Way Prince George V2N 4Z9 BC Canada
| | - Rachel C. Cook
- National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Forestry and Range Sciences Laboratory 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande 97850 OR USA
| | - John G. Cook
- National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Forestry and Range Sciences Laboratory 1401 Gekeler Lane La Grande 97850 OR USA
| | - Katherine L. Parker
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies University of Northern British Columbia 3333 University Way Prince George V2N 4Z9 BC Canada
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Webber QM, Ferraro K, Hendrix J, Vander Wal E. What do caribou eat? A review of the literature on caribou diet. CAN J ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2021-0162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Historically the study of diet caribou and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus (Gmelin, 1788)) has been specific to herds and few comprehensive circumpolar analyses of Rangifer diet exist. As a result, the importance of certain diet items may play an outsized role in the caribou diet zeitgeist, e.g., lichen. It is incumbent to challenge this notion and test the relevant importance of various diet items within the context of prevailing hypotheses. We provide a systematic overview of 30 caribou studies reporting caribou diet and test biologically relevant hypotheses about spatial and temporal dietary variation. Our results indicate that in the winter caribou primarily consume lichen, but in warmer seasons, and primary productivity is lower, caribou primarily consume graminoids and other vascular plants. In more productive environments, where caribou have more competitors and predators, consumption of lichen increased. Overall, our description of caribou diet reveals that caribou diet is highly variable, but in circumstances where they can consume vascular plants, they will. As climate change affects Boreal and Arctic ecosystems, the type and volume of food consumed by caribou has become an increasingly important focus for conservation and management of caribou.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Quinn M.R. Webber
- Memorial University of Newfoundland, 7512, Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
- University of Colorado Boulder, 1877, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Boulder, Colorado, United States
| | - Kristy Ferraro
- Yale University, 5755, School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
| | - Jack Hendrix
- Memorial University of Newfoundland, 7512, Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Memorial University of Newfoundland, 7512, Biology, 232 Elizabeth Ave, Saint John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, A1B 3X9,
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Ehlers L, Coulombe G, Herriges J, Bentzen T, Suitor M, Joly K, Hebblewhite M. Critical summer foraging tradeoffs in a subarctic ungulate. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:17835-17872. [PMID: 35003643 PMCID: PMC8717276 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Summer diets are crucial for large herbivores in the subarctic and are affected by weather, harassment from insects and a variety of environmental changes linked to climate. Yet, understanding foraging behavior and diet of large herbivores is challenging in the subarctic because of their remote ranges. We used GPS video-camera collars to observe behaviors and summer diets of the migratory Fortymile Caribou Herd (Rangifer tarandus granti) across Alaska, USA and the Yukon, Canada. First, we characterized caribou behavior. Second, we tested if videos could be used to quantify changes in the probability of eating events. Third, we estimated summer diets at the finest taxonomic resolution possible through videos. Finally, we compared summer diet estimates from video collars to microhistological analysis of fecal pellets. We classified 18,134 videos from 30 female caribou over two summers (2018 and 2019). Caribou behaviors included eating (mean = 43.5%), ruminating (25.6%), travelling (14.0%), stationary awake (11.3%) and napping (5.1%). Eating was restricted by insect harassment. We classified forage(s) consumed in 5,549 videos where diet composition (monthly) highlighted a strong tradeoff between lichens and shrubs; shrubs dominated diets in June and July when lichen use declined. We identified 63 species, 70 genus and 33 family groups of summer forages from videos. After adjusting for digestibility, monthly estimates of diet composition were strongly correlated at the scale of the forage functional type (i.e., forage groups composed of forbs, graminoids, mosses, shrubs and lichens; r = 0.79, p < .01). Using video collars, we identified (1) a pronounced tradeoff in summer foraging between lichens and shrubs and (2) the costs of insect harassment on eating. Understanding caribou foraging ecology is needed to plan for their long-term conservation across the circumpolar north, and video collars can provide a powerful approach across remote regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Libby Ehlers
- Wildlife Biology Program Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences University of Montana Missoula Montana USA
| | - Gabrielle Coulombe
- Wildlife Biology Program Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences University of Montana Missoula Montana USA
| | | | | | | | - Kyle Joly
- National Park Service Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve Fairbanks Alaska USA
| | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences University of Montana Missoula Montana USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Li J, Chu Y, Yao W, Wu H, Feng J. Differences in Diet and Gut Microbiota Between Lactating and Non-lactating Asian Particolored Bats ( Vespertilio sinensis): Implication for a Connection Between Diet and Gut Microbiota. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:735122. [PMID: 34712210 PMCID: PMC8546350 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.735122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
In mammals, lactation is considered the most energetically costly phase for females. To meet nutritional and energy demands, lactating females usually change feeding patterns by eating food that is higher in protein and calories. Their gut microbes respond accordingly to help adapt to the changes in diet. In this study, we examined differences in diet and gut microbial composition between lactating and non-lactating Asian particolored bats (Vespertilio sinensis) using COI and 16S amplicon sequencing. When compared with non-lactating bats, we found that the diversity and composition of lactating bats' diets differed; the proportion of Diptera increased and Coleoptera and Orthoptera decreased significantly. This could be attributed to the easy availability and high protein content of Diptera. Comparative analysis of the gut microbiota of lactating and non-lactating females showed that although the diversity of gut microbiota did not change, the relative abundance of specific gut microbiota associated with a particular diet did change. For example, when the consumption of Coleoptera decreased in lactating bats, the relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae was also reduced. Lactobacillaceae are thought to be involved in the digestion of Coleopteran exoskeletons. This study suggests that during lactation, Asian particolored bats eat a diet that yields higher levels of protein, and at the same time, the abundance of specific gut microbes change to help their hosts adapt to these changes in diet.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Li
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Yujia Chu
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Wenwen Yao
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Hui Wu
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Jiang Feng
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China.,Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Ribeiro PD, Navarro DD, Iribarne OO. Patch use and departure rules by gull-billed tern Gelochelidon nilotica. BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The gull-billed tern Gelochelidon nilotica feeds on the fiddler crab Leptuca uruguayensis, which settles forming patches in south-eastern temperate mudflats of Argentina. Through field observations, we evaluated whether gull-billed terns used patches following the marginal value theorem (MVT). Gull-billed tern residence time in a patch was not related to crab density or travel times. The number of captures was also unrelated to crab density. Most of the times (44.6%) terns captured only one crab from each patch, and 35% of the times they left without a capture. However, crab density was lower when terns left the patches than when they arrived. This suggests that following several capture attempts by terns, crabs hide, producing a temporary decrease in their availability, forcing tern departure from the patches, which are no longer profitable. Thus, when prey availability is affected more by predator activity than by consumption, the MVT may not necessarily apply.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pablo D. Ribeiro
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UNMdP, CONICET, Rodríguez Peña 4046, B7602GSD, Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Grupo de Investigación y Educación en Temas Ambientales (GrIETA), Estación Biológica Las Brusquitas (EBLB), San Eduardo del Mar, Argentina
| | - Diego D. Navarro
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UNMdP, CONICET, Rodríguez Peña 4046, B7602GSD, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Oscar O. Iribarne
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UNMdP, CONICET, Rodríguez Peña 4046, B7602GSD, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Heard DC, Zimmerman KL. Fall supplemental feeding increases population growth rate of an endangered caribou herd. PeerJ 2021; 9:e10708. [PMID: 33854825 PMCID: PMC7953878 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Most woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) populations are declining primarily because of unsustainable predation resulting from habitat-mediated apparent competition. Wolf (Canis lupus) reduction is an effective recovery option because it addresses the direct effect of predation. We considered the possibility that the indirect effects of predation might also affect caribou population dynamics by adversely affecting summer foraging behaviour. If spring and/or summer nutrition was inadequate, then supplemental feeding in fall might compensate for that limitation and contribute to population growth. Improved nutrition and therefore body condition going into winter could increase adult survival and lead to improved reproductive success the next spring. To test that hypothesis, we fed high-quality food pellets to free-ranging caribou in the Kennedy Siding caribou herd each fall for six years, starting in 2014, to see if population growth rate increased. Beginning in winter 2015–16, the Province of British Columbia began a concurrent annual program to promote caribou population increase by attempting to remove most wolves within the Kennedy Siding and the adjacent caribou herds’ ranges. To evaluate the impact of feeding, we compared lambdas before and after feeding began, and to the population trend in the adjacent Quintette herd over the subsequent four years. Supplemental feeding appeared to have an incremental effect on population growth. Population growth of the Kennedy Siding herd was higher in the year after feeding began (λ = 1.06) compared to previous years (λ = 0.91) and to the untreated Quintette herd (λ = 0.95). Average annual growth rate of the Kennedy Siding herd over the subsequent four years, where both feeding and wolf reduction occurred concurrently, was higher than in the Quintette herd where the only management action in those years was wolf reduction (λ = 1.16 vs. λ = 1.08). The higher growth rate of the Kennedy Siding herd was due to higher female survival (96.2%/yr vs. 88.9%/yr). Many caribou were in relatively poor condition in the fall. Consumption of supplemental food probably improved their nutritional status which ultimately led to population growth. Further feeding experiments on other caribou herds using an adaptive management approach would verify the effect of feeding as a population recovery tool. Our results support the recommendation that multiple management actions should be implemented to improve recovery prospects for caribou.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Douglas C Heard
- Tithonus Wildlife Research, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Kathryn L Zimmerman
- Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Province of British Columbia, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Denryter K, German DW, Stephenson TR, Monteith KL. State- and context-dependent applications of an energetics model in free-ranging bighorn sheep. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
|