Behavioral responses of brown bears mediate nutritional effects of experimentally introduced tourism

To develop a conceptual understanding of the interaction between tourists and bears, this study examined the responses of brown bears (Ursus arctos) to experimentally introduced tourism at Douglas River in south-central Alaska within the framework of current predator-prey theory. Factors eliciting displacement and the nutritional consequences of behavioral changes were measured. GPS collars were deployed to track temporal and spatial resource use and scan and focal observations were used to quantify foraging efficiency, vigilance behavior, and bear use of various food resources. Total food intake was quantified by combining data on food resource use based on GPS locations and foraging efficiency was measured using spotting scopes from long distances. Seasonal food availability and quality were monitored and utilized as co-variates in comparisons between pre-treatment and treatment years. Though the bear population exhibited significant behavioral differences between the presence and absence of humans, changes in behavior generally mediated effects on total food intake. Adult males at a salt marsh viewing area were the only sex/age class exhibiting reduced food intake resulting from a 15% decline in foraging time when viewers were present. Salmon intake did not differ between pre-treatment and treatment years despite a 10% decline in time spent fishing when viewers were present. The tightly controlled experimental bear-viewing introduced in this study allowed bears to evaluate predation risk associated with human activity and optimally respond to minimize costs due to changes in foraging activities.     

Clearcutting forestry and Eurasian boreal forest grouse: Long-term monitoring of sympatric capercaillie Tetrao urogallus and black grouse T. tetrix reveals unexpected effects on their population performances

Along the succession gradient of the boreal forest ecosystem, black grouse Tetrao tetrix inhabits the early and capercaillie Tetrao urogallus the latest stages. When converting old forest to clearcuts and plantations, commercial forestry has therefore been assumed to affect capercaillie negatively and to be favourable to black grouse. During a 30-year period (1979-2008) we monitored sympatric populations of the two species in a forest in southeast Norway based on annual spring and autumn censuses and radio-marked birds. During this period, the proportion of old, semi-natural forest was halved and clearcuts and young plantations increased accordingly. The grouse populations did not change as predicted. While the trend in August numbers of adult black grouse declined, males more than females, abundance of adult capercaillie remained unchanged. Number of males at leks showed similar patterns. Equally surprising, breeding success (number of chicks per female in August) of both species increased, thus indicating that the populations were regulated more by variation in adult survivorship than by recruitment of young birds. No correlations were found with changing climatic factors (precipitation and temperatures in winter and spring, snow depth and time of snow melt), except that year-to-year breeding success was positively correlated with minimum temperatures during 2 weeks posthatch. The results are explained by a combination of more flexible habitat selection than previously assumed and a changing predator regime: In the early period, nearly all capercaillie leks were located in old, semi-natural forest, but as plantations grew older (>30 years), new leks were established there. Similarly, while young capercaillie broods used old semi-natural forest almost exclusively when the study started, they frequently used middle-aged plantations, especially those with a ground cover of bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, when these became common in later years. The increasing breeding success could largely be explained by more females rearing chicks successfully, presumably due to a marked decline in the main nest predator, the red fox Vulpes vulpes. A practice of thinning of the old, semi-natural forest some years prior to final harvesting probably facilitated predation of black grouse by goshawks Accipiter gentilis. Contrary to many beliefs, our results indicate that both capercaillie and black grouse are quite tolerant to changes in forest management regimes. In our study, numerical and functional responses of predators (mainly red fox and goshawk) apparently played a more important role in regulating grouse numbers than habitat factors per se.     

中华通草蛉幼虫对玉米蚜捕食作用的研究

室内研究了中华通草蛉幼虫对玉米蚜的功能反应及三龄幼虫的寻找效应。结果表明,各龄幼虫的功能反应均属HollingⅡ型并获得其数学模型。草蛉幼虫食量随龄次的增加而增大,二、三龄幼虫的a′/Th值明显大于一龄幼虫,三龄幼虫寻找效应用Hassell-Varley干扰模型拟合,得出E=0.2814P-0.3911,寻找效应随自身密度的增大而减小。Beddington模型拟合后获得:E=0.2753/(0.7703+0.2297P),表明寻找效应随自身密度和猎物密度的增大而呈双曲面下降趋势。     

异色瓢虫对菜缢管蚜、禾谷缢管蚜和白杨毛蚜捕食的作用

异色瓢虫是一种重要的捕食性天敌,可捕食多种蚜虫,在生物防治中具有很大应用前景。研究了异色瓢虫对3种蚜虫(即菜缢管蚜、禾谷缢管蚜和白杨毛蚜)的捕食功能反应。结果表明:异色瓢虫对3种蚜虫的日捕食量中,其中四龄幼虫最大,成虫和三龄幼虫次之,1、2龄幼虫最小。捕食者对猎物的功能反应均属于Holling-Ⅱ型方程。     

黑带食蚜蝇对烟蚜的捕食功能反应

 通过对黑带食蚜蝇对烟蚜的捕食作用研究,得到1,2,3龄幼虫对烟蚜的捕食功能反应模型为Na=0.249 7 N/(1+0.249 7×0.148 6 N）,Na=1.175 6 N/(1+1.175 6×0.029 8 N),Na=0.989 9 N/(1+0.989 9×0.005 0 N),日最大捕食量依次为6.73头,33.56头,202.1头。结果表明,利用黑带食蚜蝇防治烟蚜是有一定潜力的。     

Grow-out of sandfish Holothuria scabra in ponds shows that co-culture with shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris is not viable

We examined the potential for producing the large numbers of sandfish (Holothuria scabra) needed for restocking programmes by co-culturing juveniles with the shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris in earthen ponds. Our experiments in hapas within shrimp ponds were designed to detect any deleterious effects of sandfish on shrimp, and vice versa. These experiments showed that a high stocking density of juvenile sandfish had no significant effects on growth and survival of shrimp. However, survival and growth of sandfish reared with shrimp for 3 weeks were significantly lower than for sandfish reared alone. Increased stocking density of shrimp also had a significant negative effect on survival and/or growth of sandfish. A grow-out trial of juvenile sandfish in 0.2-ha earthen ponds stocked with 20 shrimp post-larvae m^− 2, and densities of sandfish between 0.8 and 1.6 individuals m^− 2, confirmed that co-culture is not viable. All sandfish reared in co-culture were dead or moribund after a month. However, sandfish stocked alone into 0.2-ha earthen ponds survived well and grew to mean weights of ∼ 400 g within 12 months without addition of food. The grow-out trial demonstrated that there is potential for profitable pond farming of sandfish in monoculture. Further research is now needed to identify the optimal size of juveniles, stocking densities and pond management regimes.     

Fouling and predation; how do they affect growth and survival of the blacklip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera, during nursery culture?

This paper reports on 5 experiments conducted to assess the effect of cleaning regime and predation on growth and survival of blacklip pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera) juveniles in north Queensland, Australia. P. margaritifera juveniles with a mean (±SE) dorso-ventral shell height (DVH) of 4.5 ± 0.1 mm were placed into plastic mesh trays and cleaned either every 4 or 8 weeks or left uncleaned for 16 weeks. Cleaning regime had a significant effect on growth and survival (P < 0.005). Lowest DVH (16.2 ± 1.0) was shown by oysters in uncleaned trays during 16 weeks compared to oysters in cleaned trays; however, there was no significant difference in DVH between oysters held in trays cleaned every 4 (19.4 ± 1.2) or 8 weeks (21.2 ± 0.8). In contrast lowest survival was shown by oysters held in trays that were cleaned every 4 weeks (30 ± 5%), but no differences were noted between oysters cleaned every 8 weeks (63 ± 4%) and oysters that were left uncleaned for 16 weeks (75 ± 8%). Predators of P. margaritifera in northern Australia included crabs, stomatopods, flatworms, gastropods and fish. The stomatopod, Gonodactylus falcatus, was the most destructive predator with individuals consuming in excess of 20 juvenile pearl oysters per week. The leather jacket, Paramonocanthus japonicus, did not kill pearl oysters, but trimmed the margin of oysters shells significantly reducing DVH when compared to control groups cultured without fish. Removing predators monthly had a significant effect on growth of pearl oysters compared to oysters in non-inspected trays; however monthly inspection of culture trays did not significantly improve oyster survival. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Patterns of bird predation on reptiles in small woodland remnant edges in peri-urban north-western Sydney, Australia

The predator–prey relationship plays an integral role in community structure. In the presence of habitat fragmentation, the dynamic interaction among co-existing species may be disrupted. In this paper we investigated the interaction between small skinks resident in open woodland remnants and the predatory birds that cross-forage between the remnants and the surrounding peri-urban matrix. Skinks were found in significantly fewer numbers in the edge of remnants compared to their core. In contrast, predatory birds were in largest numbers at the edge compared to the core of remnants. We found that there was a strong negative correlation between skink numbers and predatory birds (individually and combined) consistent with higher predation pressure in the edge compared to the core of remnants. Strike rates on decoys that mimicked skinks were also higher in the edge compared to core habitats, consistent with higher predation rates in this edge habitat.     

猎物条件对七星瓢虫（Coccinella septempunctata L.）捕食作用的影响

研究表明不同猎物种类对七星瓢虫(Coccinella septempunctata)的捕食作用具有不同的影响.七星瓢虫捕食效率对桃纵卷叶蚜(Myzus tropicalis)密度的依赖性较大,对苹果绵蚜(Eriosoma lanigerum)的依赖性较小,七星瓢虫—苹果绵蚜系统中,七星瓢虫自身密度的干扰作用较大,七星瓢虫—蒿蚜系统中的干扰作用较小.研究天敌昆虫对其不同猎物的捕食作用,对于认识物种之间的协同进化以及正确指导生物防治工作的开展具有重要意义.