La Sélection Des Proies Chez Un Canard De Mer Molluscivore: Implications Pour Les Habitats Naturels Et Les Sites D'aquaculture

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

La Sélection Des Proies Chez Un Canard De Mer Molluscivore: Implications Pour Les Habitats Naturels Et Les Sites D'aquaculture UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À RIMOUSKI LA SÉLECTION DES PROIES CHEZ UN CANARD DE MER MOLLUSCIVORE: IMPLICATIONS POUR LES HABITATS NATURELS ET LES SITES D'AQUACULTURE THESE PRÉSENTÉE COMME EXIGENCE PARTIELLE DU DOCTORAT EN BIOLOGIE EXTENSIONNÉ DE L'UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL PAR ÉLISABETH VARENNES JANVIER 2016 UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL Service des bibliothèques Avertissement La diffusion de cette thèse se fait dans le respect des droits de son auteur, qui a signé le formulaire Autorisation de reproduire et de diffuser un travail de recherche de cycles supérieurs (SDU-522 - Rév.Ol-2006). Cette autorisation stipule que «conformément à l'article 11 du Règlement no 8 des études de cycles supérieurs, [l'auteur] concède à l'Université du Québec à Montréal une licence non exclusive d'utilisation et de publication de la totalité ou d'une partie importante de [son] travail de recherche pour des fins pédagogiques et non commerciales. Plus précisément, [l 'auteur] autorise l'Université du Québec à Montréal à reproduire, diffuser, prêter, distribuer ou vendre des copies de [son] travail de recherche à des fms non commerciales sur quelque support que ce soit, y compris l'Internet. Cette licence et cette autorisation n'entraînent pas une renonciation de [la] part [de l'auteur] à [ses] droits moraux ni à [ses] droits de propriété intellectuelle. Sauf entente contraire, [l'auteur] conserve la liberté de diffuser et de commercialiser ou non ce travail dont [il] possède un exemplaire.» Trouver le courage de réaliser ses rêves (Elisabeth Varennes) A V ANT -PROPOS Ce projet de recherche, et notamment le dernier chapitre de cette thèse sur le test des filets d'exclusion, a été initié grâce à un partenariat international entre plusieurs institutions de recherche. Ce partenariat a été mis en place grâce à une collaboration entre Sveinn A. Hanssen, chercheur au « Norwegian Institute for Nature Research » (NINA) ; John C. Bonardelli, conseiller technique de Shellfish Solutions Inc. en Norvège ; et Magella Guillemette, professeur-chercheur à l'UQAR. En plus du soutient financier du Conseil Norvégien de la Recherche pour ce projet, nos collègues norvégiens ont participés comme co-auteurs à chacun de mes chapitres, me permettant de les améliorer grâce à leur expertise variée et complémentaire. Je tiens donc à remercier mes co-auteurs, Sveinn et John, ainsi que mon directeur de thèse, Magella, pour leurs soutiens, idées et enseignements qui m'ont aidé à faire cette thèse. Je remercie aussi les membres de mon jury d'évaluation pour le temps consacré à lire et commenter cette thèse, et avoir ainsi permit l'amélioration de ce travail : Dan Esler (USGS - Alaska Science Center), William Vickery (UQAM) et Réjean Tremblay (UQAR - ISMER). De plus, ce projet est un bel exemple de collaboration inter-institutionnelles car il n'aurait pas était possible sans l'implication indispensable de Pêches et Océans Canada, via l'Institut Maurice Lamontagne (IML) et le chercheur Chris Mc Kindsey. J'ai eu la chance d'avoir accès à des installations uniques en Amérique du Nord, ainsi qu'à une multitude de matériel et aide technique de la part de plusieurs employés de l'IML. Je souhaite donc remercier de nombreuses personnes de cette institution, notamment Chris et toute son équipe, François Tremblay, Bernard Chenard, Réal Gagnon, Tanya Hanssen, Marcel Fréchette et Linda Girard, Yvan Lambert, Richard Larocque, Denis Chabot, Hélène Dionne, Sylvie Brulotte et beaucoup d'autres. Je tiens aussi à souligner, qu 'en plus de la qualité de recherche émanent de l' IML, les v personnes travaillant dans cette institution permettent d'en faire un cadre de travail très agréable où j 'ai pu m'épanouir et apprendre beaucoup sur le milieu marin en général. Je garderais donc un souvenir très positif de mon passage par l'IML, que j 'ai souvent qualifié de deuxième maison ! Je tiens aussi à remercier plusieurs personnes affiliées à l' UQAR et l' ISMER au moment des faits pour leur soutien technique notamment Réjean Tremblay, Samantha Richman, Yves Lemay, Jonathan Coudé, Alain Caron, Danie Massé, et plusieurs chercheurs, notamment ceux ayant fait partie de mes différents comités d' évaluation. J'adresse un grand merci aux étudiants que j'ai eu la chance de superviser et qui ont grandement aidé dans mes expériences : Frankie, Marie-Christine, Mireille et Hughes. Je vous souhaite un bel avenir dans le domaine professionnel de votre choix ! Je remercie aussi le regroupement Ressource Aquatique Québec pour les différentes bourses octroyées qui m'ont permis de poursuivre mon projet et de participer à plusieurs conférences pour présenter mes résultats. Ce regroupement, en plus de fournir de l'aide fmancière, offre aussi une belle voie au réseautage professionnel pour ses membres étudiants. Je remercie d'autres organismes qui ont participé au financement de certaines de mes conférences internationales, tels que la SFECA, Québec Océan, et les comités du Sea Duck Joint Venture 2011, de l'ISBE 2014 et de la NACE 2015. Enfin, je remercie Boreas pour ses bourses de soutien aux études et à la publication et l'UQAR pour ses bourses de mobilité. J'adresse aussi un grand merci aux différents aquaculteurs qui m'ont aidé au cours de ce projet, en me fournissant des moules ou en partageant leurs précieux conseils. Grâce à eux j 'ai pu en apprendre beaucoup sur cette industrie de la mer responsable et durable. Je remercie particulièrement Stéphane Morissette (Les Moules Cascapédia ltée), Jacques Dufresne (Les Moules de Gaspé) et Carter Newell (Pemaquid Mussel Farms). L'ordre des remerciements ne correspond pas forcément à l'importance de l' implication, car je souhaite maintenant remercier mes nombreux proches, famille et amis, qui m'ont tous aidé, à leur manière, à avancer dans cette aventure Vl professionnelle! Tout d'abord, je remercie de tout mon cœur mon mari, Sébastien Brennan-Bergeron, qui a toujours été là pour m'accompagner et me soutenir, tel un phare dans la nuit. Je remercie aussi ma famille en France, qui a accepté et même encouragé mon départ si loin, et qui malgré la distance ont toujours été présents dans mon aventure. J'adresse un merci particulier et plein d'émotions à mon frère, Eric, mon père, Gilles et mon oncle, Dominique. Je remercie aussi ma « belle » famille, qui m'a permit d'avoir une famille ici aussi, et particulièrement mon beau-frère Mathieu, ma belle-mère Sharron et mon beau-père Denis, qui, je sais, sont aussi fières de moi que ma famille de sang! Étant donné que je considère mes amis comme de la famille, je remercie plusieurs amis français qui, malgré l'éloignement, ont su me soutenir dans mes différentes aventures : Géraldine, Caroline B. , Caroline V., Momo, Claire, Isabelle, Régis et Violaine, Sarah, Clarisse, Blandine, et plusieurs autres. Je remercie aussi mes « compagnons de galère », amis de Rimouski, dont la plupart savent ce que ça représente de faire un Doctorat, et qui ont donc été une compagnie de choix pour combattre certains moments de morosité: Anouck, Marion, Adriana, Nicolas, Cyril, Gaëlle, Magali, Kim, Corinne et Simon, Stéphane et Émilie, et mes amis de la voile dont particulièrement Michael et Becca Scarratt et leur voilier Noctiluca. J'ai aussi une petite pensée pour mes oiseaux qui rn ' ont tenue occupée pendant plusieurs années et qui ont su me rappeler que, finalement, c'était eux qui décidaient quand ils voulaient travailler ou pas ! Je termine cet avant-propos par une pensée très émue à deux personnes qui ont été très importantes dans ma vie et qui rn ' ont grandement aidé à devenir la femme accomplie que je suis maintenant: ma maman, Odile, et ma tante, Claude. Vous me manquez beaucoup et vous garderez toujours une place importante dans mon cœur ! TABLE DES MATIÈRES AVANT-PROPOS .............................. ... ..................... .... ... ................................................... .iv LISTE DES FIGURES .... ..................... ... .................... ..................... ... ..... ............................. xi LISTE DES TABLEAUX .. .... ........................................................................... ... .. ............. xiii RÉSUMÉ ... ........ ... ...................... .......... ... .. ...... ... ........................................................ .......... xv ABSTRACT ............................ ...... ... ..... .. .. .. ....................... ................. ... ............................ xvii INTRODUCTION GÉNÉRALE ..................... ........... .... ... .... .... ................................ ............. 1 REPONSE FONCTIONNELLE ............................................................................... ..................... 3 S ELECTION DE PROIES ........................................ ...................................... .............................. 8 LA PREDATION SUR LES ORGANISMES BENTHIQUES ... .................. ...................... .. ................ 12 LA DEPREDATION DES CANARDS DE MER DANS LES AQUACULTURES .................. ................. 20 OBJECTIFS DE LA THESE ....................................... .. ..................................... ......................... 28 CHAPITRE 1 FUNCTIONAL RESPONSE CURVES OF A VIAN MOLLUSCIVORES: HIGH INTAKE RATES MAINTAINED EVEN AT LOW PREY DENSITY .. ......... ........ 32 1.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................ ............................................. .................. 35 1.2 METHODS ..................................................................... ....... ......................................
Recommended publications
  • An Experimental Analysis of the Escape Response of the Gastropod
    Pacific Science(1977), Vol. 31, No.1, p. 1-11 Printed in Great Britain An Experimental Analysis of the Escape Response of the Gastropod Strombus maculatus I LAURENCE H. FIELD 2 ABSTRACT: The escape response of Strombus maculatus is described in detail, including the apparent adaptive morphology of the foot, operculum, and eyestalks. The response is elicited by a chemical stimulus from two molluscivorous species of Conus and two gastropod-eating species of Cymatium but not from other pre­ datory species of these genera. Strombus habituated within three trials to a solution of "factor" from Conus pennaceus, but habituated only rarely, and then only after many trials, to contact with the live Conus. It was concluded that the eyes of S. maculatus are not used to see the Conus; however, eye removal significantly disrupted the orientation of the escape response, suggesting that the animal monitors some environmental cue such as polarized light. Tentacle removal appeared to interfere with escape response orientation but only to a variable extent. HERBIVOROUS GASTROPODS exhibit distinctive posterior end of the foot is thrust against the escape behavior from sea stars (Bauer 1913, substrate, causing the shell and head to lunge Feder and Christensen 1966) and predatory forward. Little additional work has been done gastropods (reviews by Kohn 1961, Robertson on strombid locomotion, and as Kohn and 1961, Kahn and Waters 1966, Gonor 1965, Waters (1966: 341) indicated, "the component 1966). 'Strombus has the remarkable ability to steps of the process have not been analyzed and escape from predators by rapid lunges, using the the functional morphology remains to be operculum to push against the substrate (Kohn studied in detail." Recently Berg (1972) and Waters 1966).
    [Show full text]
  • FRESHWATER CRABS in AFRICA MICHAEL DOBSON Dr M
    CORE FRESHWATER CRABS IN AFRICA 3 4 MICHAEL DOBSON FRESHWATER CRABS IN AFRICA In East Africa, each highland area supports endemic or restricted species (six in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania and at least two in each of the brought to you by MICHAEL DOBSON other mountain ranges in the region), with relatively few more widespread species in the lowlands. Recent detailed genetic analysis in southern Africa Dr M. Dobson, Department of Environmental & Geographical Sciences, has shown a similar pattern, with a high diversity of geographically Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester St., restricted small-bodied species in the main mountain ranges and fewer Manchester, M1 5DG, UK. E-mail: [email protected] more widespread large-bodied species in the intervening lowlands. The mountain species occur in two widely separated clusters, in the Western Introduction Cape region and in the Drakensburg Mountains, but despite this are more FBA Journal System (Freshwater Biological Association) closely related to each other than to any of the lowland forms (Daniels et Freshwater crabs are a strangely neglected component of the world’s al. 2002b). These results imply that the generally small size of high altitude inland aquatic ecosystems. Despite their wide distribution throughout the species throughout Africa is not simply a convergent adaptation to the provided by tropical and warm temperate zones of the world, and their great diversity, habitat, but evidence of ancestral relationships. This conclusion is their role in the ecology of freshwaters is very poorly understood. This is supported by the recent genetic sequencing of a single individual from a nowhere more true than in Africa, where crabs occur in almost every mountain stream in Tanzania that showed it to be more closely related to freshwater system, yet even fundamentals such as their higher taxonomy mountain species than to riverine species in South Africa (S.
    [Show full text]
  • Interspecific Killing Among Mammalian Carnivores
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Digital.CSIC vol. 153, no. 5 the american naturalist may 1999 Interspeci®c Killing among Mammalian Carnivores F. Palomares1,* and T. M. Caro2,² 1. Department of Applied Biology, EstacioÂn BioloÂgica de DonÄana, thought to act as keystone species in the top-down control CSIC, Avda. MarõÂa Luisa s/n, 41013 Sevilla, Spain; of terrestrial ecosystems (Terborgh and Winter 1980; Ter- 2. Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology and borgh 1992; McLaren and Peterson 1994). One factor af- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, fecting carnivore populations is interspeci®c killing by California 95616 other carnivores (sometimes called intraguild predation; Submitted February 9, 1998; Accepted December 11, 1998 Polis et al. 1989), which has been hypothesized as having direct and indirect effects on population and community structure that may be more complex than the effects of either competition or predation alone (see, e.g., Latham 1952; Rosenzweig 1966; Mech 1970; Polis and Holt 1992; abstract: Interspeci®c killing among mammalian carnivores is Holt and Polis 1997). Currently, there is renewed interest common in nature and accounts for up to 68% of known mortalities in some species. Interactions may be symmetrical (both species kill in intraguild predation from a conservation standpoint each other) or asymmetrical (one species kills the other), and in since top predator removal is thought to release other some interactions adults of one species kill young but not adults of predator populations with consequences for lower trophic the other.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecomorphology of Feeding in Coral Reef Fishes
    Ecomorphology of Feeding in Coral Reef Fishes Peter C. Wainwright David R. Bellwood Center for Population Biology Centre for Coral Reef Biodiversity University of California at Davis School of Marine Biology and Aquaculture Davis, California 95616 James Cook University Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia I. Introduction fish biology. We have attempted to identify generalities, II. How Does Morphology Influence Ecology? the major patterns that seem to cut across phylogenetic III. The Biomechanical Basis of Feeding Performance and geographic boundaries. We begin by constructing IV. Ecological Consequences of Functional a rationale for how functional morphology can be used Morphology to enhance our insight into some long-standing eco- V. Prospectus logical questions. We then review the fundamental me- chanical issues associated with feeding in fishes, and the basic design features of the head that are involved in prey capture and prey processing. This sets the stage I. Introduction for a discussion of how the mechanical properties of fish feeding systems have been modified during reef fish di- nce an observer gets past the stunning coloration, versification. With this background, we consider some O surely no feature inspires wonder in coral reef of the major conclusions that have been drawn from fishes so much as their morphological diversity. From studies of reef fish feeding ecomorphology. Because of large-mouthed groupers, to beaked parrotfish, barbeled space constraints we discuss only briefly the role of goatfish, long-snouted trumpet fish, snaggle-toothed sensory modalities--vision, olfaction, electroreception, tusk fish, tube-mouthed planktivores, and fat-lipped and hearingmbut these are also significant and diverse sweet lips, coral reef fishes display a dazzling array elements of the feeding arsenal of coral reef fishes and of feeding structures.
    [Show full text]
  • Species Biological Report Neosho Mucket (Lampsilis Rafinesqueana)
    Species Biological Report Neosho Mucket (Lampsilis rafinesqueana) Cover photo: Dr. Chris Barnhart (Missouri State University) Prepared by: The Neosho Mucket Recovery Team This species biological report informs the Draft Recovery Plan for the Neosho Mucket (Lampsilis rafinesqueana) (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2017). The Species Biological Report is a comprehensive biological status review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for the Neosho Mucket and provides an account of species overall viability. A Recovery Implementation Strategy, which provides the expanded narrative for the recovery activities and the implementation schedule, is available at https://www.fws.gov/arkansas-es/. The Recovery Implementation Strategy and Species Biological Report are finalized separately from the Recovery Plan and will be updated on a routine basis. Executive Summary The Neosho Mucket is a freshwater mussel endemic to the Illinois, Neosho, and Verdigris River basins in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. It is associated with shallow riffles and runs comprising gravel substrate and moderate to swift currents, but prefers near-shore areas or areas out of the main current in Shoal Creek and Illinois River. It does not occur in reservoirs lacking riverine characteristics. The life-history traits and habitat requirements of the Neosho Mucket make it extremely susceptible to environmental change (e.g., droughts, sedimentation, chemical contaminants). Mechanisms leading to the decline of Neosho Mucket range from local (e.g., riparian clearing, chemical contaminants, etc.), to regional influences (e.g., altered flow regimes, channelization, etc.), to global climate change. The synergistic (interaction of two or more components) effects of threats are often complex in aquatic environments, making it difficult to predict changes in mussel and fish host(s) distribution, abundance, and habitat availability that may result from these effects.
    [Show full text]
  • The Joint Evolution of Animal Movement and Competition Strategies
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.19.452886; this version posted August 17, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC 4.0 International license. The joint evolution of animal movement and competition strategies Pratik R. Gupte1,a,∗ Christoph F. G. Netz1,a Franz J. Weissing1,∗ 1. Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands. ∗ Corresponding authors; e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] a Both authors contributed equally to this study. Keywords: Movement ecology, Intraspecific competition, Individual differences, Foraging ecol- ogy, Kleptoparasitism, Individual based modelling, Ideal Free Distribution 1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.19.452886; this version posted August 17, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC 4.0 International license. 1 Abstract 2 Competition typically takes place in a spatial context, but eco-evolutionary models rarely address 3 the joint evolution of movement and competition strategies. Here we investigate a spatially ex- 4 plicit producer-scrounger model where consumers can either forage on a heterogeneous resource 5 landscape or steal resource items from conspecifics (kleptoparasitism). We consider three scenar- 6 ios: (1) a population of foragers in the absence of kleptoparasites; (2) a population of consumers 7 that are either specialized on foraging or on kleptoparasitism; and (3) a population of individuals 8 that can fine-tune their behavior by switching between foraging and kleptoparasitism depend- 9 ing on local conditions.
    [Show full text]
  • Facilitating Foundation Species: the Potential for Plant–Bivalve Interactions to Improve Habitat Restoration Success
    Received: 28 March 2019 | Accepted: 3 February 2020 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13605 REVIEW Facilitating foundation species: The potential for plant–bivalve interactions to improve habitat restoration success Karine Gagnon1 | Eli Rinde2 | Elizabeth G. T. Bengil3,4 | Laura Carugati5 | Marjolijn J. A. Christianen6,7 | Roberto Danovaro5,8 | Cristina Gambi5 | Laura L. Govers7,9 | Silvija Kipson10 | Lukas Meysick1 | Liina Pajusalu11 | İnci Tüney Kızılkaya3,12 | Johan van de Koppel9,13 | Tjisse van der Heide7,9,14 | Marieke M. van Katwijk7 | Christoffer Boström1 1Environmental and Marine Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; 2Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Oslo, Norway; 3Mediterranean Conservation Society, Izmir, Turkey; 4Girne American University, Marine School, Girne, TRNC via Turkey; 5Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy; 6Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands; 7Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; 8Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy; 9Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; 10Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; 11Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Tallinn, Estonia; 12Faculty of Science, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey; 13Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht
    [Show full text]
  • OPTIMAL FORAGING on the ROOF of the WORLD: a FIELD STUDY of HIMALAYAN LANGURS a Dissertation Submitted to Kent State University
    OPTIMAL FORAGING ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD: A FIELD STUDY OF HIMALAYAN LANGURS A dissertation submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Kenneth A. Sayers May 2008 Dissertation written by Kenneth A. Sayers B.A., Anderson University, 1996 M.A., Kent State University, 1999 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2008 Approved by ____________________________________, Dr. Marilyn A. Norconk Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ____________________________________, Dr. C. Owen Lovejoy Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ____________________________________, Dr. Richard S. Meindl Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ____________________________________, Dr. Charles R. Menzel Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Accepted by ____________________________________, Dr. Robert V. Dorman Director, School of Biomedical Sciences ____________________________________, Dr. John R. D. Stalvey Dean, College of Arts and Sciences ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................................x Chapter I. PRIMATES AT THE EXTREMES ..................................................1 Introduction: Primates in marginal habitats ......................................1 Prosimii .............................................................................................2
    [Show full text]
  • Encounter Competition Between a Cougar, Puma Concolor, and A
    64 thE CanaDian FiElD -n atUraliSt Vol. 127 Encounter Competition between a Cougar, Puma concolor , and a Western Spotted Skunk, Spilogale gracilis MaxiMilian l. a llEn 1,4 , l. M ark ElbroCh 2,3 , and hEiko U. W ittMEr 1,3 1School of biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.o. box 600, Wellington 6140, new Zealand 2Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, 18th Floor, new York, new York 10018 USa 3Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation biology, University of California at Davis, 1 Shields avenue, Davis, California 95616 USa 4Corresponding author; email: [email protected] allen, Maximilian l., l. Mark Elbroch, and heiko U. Wittmer. 2013. Encounter competition between a Cougar, Puma concolor , and a Western Spotted Skunk, Spilogale gracilis . Canadian Field-naturalist 127(1): 6 4– 66. Encounter competition occurs frequently over food resources and may include kleptoparasitism, where scavengers usurp prey killed by carnivores. Scavenging may have important adverse effects on carnivores and may result in higher than expected kill rates by predators. Using camera traps placed on a black-tailed Deer ( Odocoileus hemionus columbianus ) carcass killed by a Cougar ( Puma concolor ) in California, we observed a series of encounters in which a Western Spotted Skunk ( Spilogale gracilis ) temporally usurped the carcass from the Cougar. the Western Spotted Skunk also successfully defended the carcass when the Cougar returned and attempted to feed. the Spotted Skunk was about 1% of the mass of the Cougar. our observation is the largest reported size differential of a mammalian species engaging in successful encounter competition. key Words: Cougar, Mountain lion, Puma concolor, Western Spotted Skunk, Spilogale gracilis, encounter competition, k lep - toparasitism, competition, California.
    [Show full text]
  • The Interactive Effects of Predators, Resources, and Disturbance On
    Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 4-23-2010 The nI teractive Effects of Predators, Resources, and Disturbance on Freshwater Snail Populations from the Everglades Clifton B. Ruehl Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI10080412 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Biology Commons, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Population Biology Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Recommended Citation Ruehl, Clifton B., "The nI teractive Effects of Predators, Resources, and Disturbance on Freshwater Snail Populations from the Everglades" (2010). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 266. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/266 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF PREDATORS, RESOURCES, AND DISTURBANCE ON FRESHWATER SNAIL POPULATIONS FROM THE EVERGLADES A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in BIOLOGY by Clifton Benjamin Ruehl 2010 To: Dean Kenneth Furton choose the name of dean of your college/school College of Arts and Sciences choose the name of your college/school This dissertation, written by Clifton Benjamin Ruehl, and entitled The Interactive Effects of Predators, Resources, and Disturbance on Freshwater Snail Populations from the Everglades, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment.
    [Show full text]
  • Interference from Adults Forces Young Red Knots to Forage for Longer and in Dangerous Places
    Animal Behaviour 88 (2014) 137e146 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Animal Behaviour journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/anbehav Interference from adults forces young red knots to forage for longer and in dangerous places Piet J. van den Hout a,*, Jan A. van Gils a, Frédéric Robin b, Matthijs van der Geest a, Anne Dekinga a, Theunis Piersma a,c a Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands b Institut du Littoral et de l’Environnement (ILE), Université de La Rochelle, La Rochelle, France c Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies (CEES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands article info In birds and mammals, juvenile and adult foragers are often found apart from each other. In this study, fl Article history: we found this is also true for red knots, Calidris canutus canutus, wintering on the intertidal ats of Banc Received 5 August 2013 d’Arguin, Mauritania. Not only did juveniles feed separately from adults, they also fed at places where Initial acceptance 4 October 2013 they were more vulnerable to predation by large falcons. That the dangerous areas used by juveniles Final acceptance 21 October 2013 were no better feeding areas led us to reject the foodesafety trade-off that explained age-related dis- Published online tribution differences in many earlier studies. Instead, juveniles were displaced by adults in dyadic in- MS. number: 13-00651 teractions which suggests that they suffered from interference from adults. Juveniles retreated to feeding areas that were more dangerous and yielded lower intake rates, and coped by extending foraging time by Keywords: using higher, nearshore intertidal areas that were exposed for longer.
    [Show full text]
  • Raven Scavenging Favours Group Foraging in Wolves
    ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, 2004, 67, 1117e1126 doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.06.018 Raven scavenging favours group foraging in wolves JOHN A. VUCETICH*,ROLFO.PETERSON* &THOMASA.WAITE† *School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University yDepartment of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State Univeristy (Received 19 November 2002; initial acceptance 18 February 2003; final acceptance 13 June 2003; MS. number: A9487) Wolves, Canis lupus, routinely live in large packs that include unrelated individuals and mature offspring. Studies show that individual wolves that live in large packs suffer reduced foraging returns. Therefore, group hunting and group living (sociality) in wolves is generally thought to be favoured by indirect fitness gains accrued through kin-directed altruism. However, we show that kin-directed altruism cannot account for groups that include mature offspring or unrelated individuals. We also present an analysis that incorporates a previously ignored feature of wolf foraging ecology, namely the loss of food to scavenging ravens, Corvus corax. By accounting for this process, we show that individuals in large packs do indeed accrue foraging advantages. In the hypothetical absence of this scavenging pressure, an individual would maximize its rate of prey acquisition, and minimize its risk of energetic shortfall, by foraging with just one other individual. However, incorporating the effect of scavenging by ravens leads to a dramatic increase in the predicted group size. Our analysis indicates that per capita gains are highest in the largest observed packs. The greater food-sharing costs in a larger pack are more than offset by smaller losses to scavengers and increased rates of prey acquisition.
    [Show full text]