Can supplemental food increase winter survival of a threatened cottontail rabbit?

Populations of New England cottontails (Sylvilagus transitionalis) have declined substantially in recent decades in response to habitat loss and fragmentation. Among some remnant populations, cottontails occupy small patches of thicket habitat where they experience high mortality rates as a consequence of limited food during winter. This limitation causes rabbits to forage away from cover where they are exposed to predators. Although conservation efforts are emerging to reverse the decline of New England cottontails, most are directed toward improving long-term viability by increasing the abundance of suitable habitats. Such efforts do little to improve the short-term survival of remaining cottontails. To address this immediate need, we evaluated the use of supplemental food as an approach to improve overwinter survival rates. We speculated that by positioning feeders in close proximity to escape cover, rabbits would be less vulnerable to predators. We evaluated this approach using eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) as a research surrogate because this species is readily available and has similar habitat requirements to New England cottontails. Transmitter-equipped eastern cottontails were randomly assigned to either a fed or unfed group. Remotely-triggered cameras were also used to gauge use of feeders by cottontails and visits by other species. Winter survival rates were substantially greater for fed rabbits (70%) than for unfed rabbits (32%). Cameras revealed that rabbits were the most frequent consumer and that there was only limited carnivore activity near feeders. We conclude that supplemental feeding may improve survival of remaining New England cottontails as efforts to increase habitat availability continue to develop.     

Foraging behaviour and habitat use by Antechinus flavipes and Sminthopsis murina (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in response to predation risk in eucalypt woodland

We examined the foraging behaviour and habitat use of two species of small Australian mammal (Antechinus flavipes and Sminthopsis murina) in response to predation risk in remnant eucalypt woodland. Predation risk was manipulated by providing refuge in the form of ground level wire netting to reduce risks from avian and mammalian predators. Giving-up-densities (GUD) using artificial food trays (20 mealworms in 1.5 l vermiculite) quantified the foraging behaviour in response to predation risk, by measuring the quitting harvest rate. Both A. flavipes and S. murina had lower GUDs (number of mealworms remaining) under the netting than in the open, most likely because these areas have lower predation risk. Animals also made greater visits to tracking tunnels under the netting compared to in the open. Tracking animal movements using fluorescent pigments also revealed preference for natural microhabitats that were structurally complex with animals moving most where logs and rock crevices were present. These results suggest that small mammals may use habitat structure to reduce their risks of predation. If future studies are able to demonstrate commensurate population-level responses, manipulation of habitat may be a useful management option to complement the direct control of exotic predators such as foxes and feral cats.     

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。     

烟盲蝽5龄若虫对朱砂叶螨的捕食效能

在室内条件下研究了烟盲蝽5龄若虫对朱砂叶螨卵、幼若螨和成螨的捕食效能。结果表明,不同虫态不同密度分布对烟盲蝽5龄若虫的捕食效能有一定的影响。烟盲蝽5龄若虫对朱砂叶螨的卵、幼若螨和成螨的捕食反应为Holling Ⅱ型;增加空间异质性烟盲蝽5龄若虫捕食朱砂叶螨成螨的反应仍为Holling Ⅱ型。建立的模拟方程显示烟盲蝽5龄若虫对不同虫态的朱砂叶螨理论捕食量与实际捕食量吻合。     

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.     

Linking wolves to willows via risk-sensitive foraging by ungulates in the northern Yellowstone ecosystem

After an absence of approximately 70 years, gray wolves (Canis lupus) were re-introduced into Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s. We studied the potential influence of wolf/ungulate interactions upon willow (Salix spp.) growth in the valleys of the Gallatin and Lamar Rivers, as well as Slough and Soda Butte Creeks, in the northern Yellowstone ecosystem. When we compared willow heights from photographs taken prior to 1998 (willows <2 m tall) with those taken in 2004, we found an increase in willow height for 22 of 42 sites within the study area. Based on comparisons of the chronosequence photos, since wolf introduction none of the 16 upland riparian sites showed an increase in willow height, while 22 of 26 of the valley-bottom riparian sites had willow height increases. In 2004, willow height exhibited a strong inverse relationship with the percentage of browsed stems (r = −0.81, p < 0.01, n = 42). Results of regressions for valley-bottom sites indicated that view distance, impediment distance, and the number of bison (Bison bison) flops were inversely related to willow height (p ≤ 0.02). Increased willow heights were not significantly (p = 0.18) related to patterns of moisture availability. Willow height increases documented in this study appear to have been at least partially due to behaviorally mediated trophic cascades involving wolves and ungulates, via a mechanism of predation risk. While willow release (i.e., increased height growth) within the study area is in a very early stage, results suggest potentially important indirect effects of a top carnivore in a terrestrial food chain that may aid in the restoration of riparian species and the preservation of biodiversity.     

Wolves, elk, willows, and trophic cascades in the upper Gallatin Range of Southwestern Montana, USA

We summarized the status of wolves (Canis lupus), elk (Cervis elaphus), and woody browse conditions during the 20th century for the upper Gallatin elk winter range in southwestern Montana, USA. During this period, wolves were present until about the mid-1920s, absent for seven decades, and then returned to the basin in 1996. A chronosequence of photographs, historical reports, and studies indicated willows (Salix spp.) along streams became heavily browsed and eventually suppressed following the removal of wolves, apparently due to unimpeded browsing by elk. However, after wolf establishment in 1996, browsing intensity on willows lessened in some areas and we hypothesized that, at both a landscape and fine scale, browsing pressure reflects terrain configurations influencing predation risk (nonlethal effects), in conjunction with lower elk densities (lethal effects). We measured browsing intensity and heights of Booth willow (S. boothii) along 3000 m reaches of the Gallatin River and a tributary to examine the potential influence of wolf/elk interactions upon willow growth. Where the Gallatin Valley is relatively narrow (high predation risk), willows began releasing in 1999 and by 2002 were relatively tall (150–250 cm). In contrast, willow heights along a wider portion of the Gallatin Valley, along the open landscape of the tributary, and an upland site (all low predation risk) generally remained low (<80 cm). We identified terrain and other features that may contribute to the perceived risk of wolf predation, by elk for a given site. Although alternative mechanisms are discussed, changes in willow communities over time following wolf removal and their subsequent reintroduction were consistent with a top-down trophic cascade model involving nonlethal and possibly lethal effects. If similar top-down effects upon vegetation hold true in other regions of North America and other parts of the world where wolves have been extirpated, wolf recovery may represent a management option for helping to restore riparian plant communities and conserve biodiversity.     

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.     

Invasive rats alter assemblage characteristics of land snails in the Ogasawara Islands

Although a large number of studies have shown that rats have a serious effect on island ecosystems, questions remain regarding how their invasion alters native species diversity and assemblage patterns on islands. In particular, a long history of invasions makes it difficult to understand the impact of rat invasion. In the present study, I investigate how an increase in predation by black rats (Rattus rattus) alters the assemblage characteristics of land snails on the Ogasawara Islands in the West Pacific. Radical declines in many land snail species have occurred since 2006 due to increasing predation by black rats. The frequency of shells with predation scars was greater on larger species and on those living on the trees and in a shallower position in the litter, suggesting greater predation pressure on these species. As a result of this selective predation, large species living on trees and in shallower parts of the litter declined. Accordingly, when black rats increased on the island, small species and species with a burrowing microhabitat became dominant in the land snail assemblage. The present findings can be used to aid in predicting the effects of rat eradication and in estimating the assemblage patterns and diversity prior to rat invasion.