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Melolonthinae represent a megadiverse assemblage of scarab beetles, exhibiting dramatic diversity of feeding habits on the tribal or generic level. As the core feeding apparatus, mouthparts have been relatively underexplored morphologically among genera or tribes within Melolonthinae. In this study, we conducted a detailed dissection and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of the adult mouthparts from six species across four tribes within Melolonthinae, to provide new morphological characters. The mouthparts exhibit considerable morphological diversity, including variations in labral notches, invaginations on epipharynx, mandibular structures, and the arrangement of setae on the labia. Using SEM, we observed paired invaginations on the epipharynx in Brahmina faldermanni , Hilyotrogus bicoloreus , Polyphylla laticollis and Melolontha incana , which are absent in the Miridiba trichophora , and Apogonia niponica. The structural diversity may be linked to the different feeding habits of these beetles, a relationship that is briefly discussed in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the diet and food composition of the European Pond Turtle, Emys orbicularis, population in Anzali Lagoon, located in the South Caspian region. A total of 186 turtles were captured during both the pre- and post-breeding seasons to analyse their stomach contents. The analysis revealed that the diet primarily consisted of Arthropoda (76.2%), followed by Mollusca (12.2%), fish (4.6%), aquatic plant material (6.0%), and Annelida (0.9%). The average number of food items during the breeding season was 14 per sample, which significantly decreased to 2.5 in the post-breeding season. On average, male turtles consumed three food items, while females consumed six during the study period. The Pianka Index indicated a high degree of dietary overlap among males, females, and juveniles. Moreover, the Shannon Index revealed food item diversity values of 1.1 for males, 0.94 for females, and 0.62 for juveniles. These findings suggest that the European Pond Turtle in Anzali Lagoon is an opportunistic feeder, with its diet ranging from carnivorous to omnivorous, depending on environmental conditions, season changes, and food availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Iheringia. Série Zoologia is the property of Fundacao Zoobotanica do Rio Grande do Sul and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Bombyx mori is an oligophagous economic insect. Cis -Jasmone is one of the main substances in mulberry leaf that attract silkworm for feeding and BmOR56 is its receptor. Potential interaction ways between BmOR56 and cis-Jasmone were explored, which included some crucial amino acids such as Gln172, Val173, Ser176, Lys182, His322, and Arg345. BmOR56 was edited using CRISPR/cas9 for Qiufeng, and a homozygous knockout strain QiufengM was obtained. Compared with Qiufeng, the feeding ability of QiufengM on mulberry leaf did not change significantly, but on artificial diet decreased significantly. QiufengM also showed a dependence on the concentration of mulberry leaf powder. The result indicated that other olfactory genes had a compensatory effect on the attractance of mulberry leaf after the loss of BmOR56. Transcriptome analysis of antennae showed that many genes differentially expressed between Qiufeng and QiufengM, which involved in olfactory system, glucose metabolism, protein metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and insect hormone biosynthesis. Particularly, BmIR21 , BmOR53 and BmOR27 were significantly up-regulated, which may have a compensatory effect on BmOR56 loss. In addition, detoxification mechanism was activated and may cause the passivation of feeling external signals in silkworm. [Display omitted] • Interaction ways of BmOR56 and cis-Jasmone were explored. • BmIR21 , BmOR53 and BmOR27 have a compensatory effect on BmOR56. • Provided new evidence for the research on olfactory system and insect-plant interactions in silkworm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Larvae are the most important feeding and developmental stage in the life cycle of insects. Correspondingly, the larval midguts, as the primary digestive organs, undergo diverse specialization among insect lineages. Larvae of Scarabaeoidae, commomly known as white grubs, exhibit diversity on feeding habits at the familial or subfamilial level. However, the ultrastructure of larval midguts is not yet satisfactorily understood. In this study, the larval midguts of Trypoxylus dichotomus and Anomala corpulenta were compared using light and transmission electron microscopy for the first time, to uncover the ultrastructural differences between the midguts of saprophagous and phytophagous white grubs. The larval midguts of both species are tubular with three circles of the gastric caeca, and share morphological similarities in midgut epithelial cells, layers of basal lamina, and the digestive and regenerative cells. However, the midguts of the two species differ significantly in the shape of the gastric caeca and exhibit slightly differences in muscle structure. The morphology of larval midgut is related to the feeding habits. • Midgut ultrastructure of two white grubs were compared using TEM. • Larval midguts of both species have three circles of the gastric caeca. • Larval midguts of both species have wrapped muscles on ventral surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superfamily Empidoidea is a megadiverse group of Diptera that exhibits abundant morphological specializations for predatory feeding habits, with the mouthparts unequivocally representing the core apparatus and are highly associated with feeding behaviors. Nevertheless, the evolution of feeding habits in Empidoidea was not well documented especially due to the rarity of fossil evidence at the early stage. We describe a new genus with two new species of Atelestidae, namely Promeghyperus muricicaudatus Zhang, Shih, Ren et Wang gen. et sp. nov. and P. hirtus Zhang, Shih, Ren et Wang sp. nov. from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Details of mouthparts were well-preserved in the specimens of P. muricicaudatus gen. et sp. nov. that allows for a morphological functional analysis. The results reveal that these two mid-Cretaceous atelestid species retain the well-defined epipharyngeal blades and evolve a predaceous feeding habit in contrast to their extant relatives. The evolution of epipharyngeal blades in Empidoidea is summarized under the current phylogenetic framework. This finding not only enhanced the knowledge of species diversity of Empidoidea during the mid-Cretaceous but also provided the key evidence to document the evolution of feeding habits among Empidoidea. Based on the analysis of palaeogeographic occurrences of fossil and extant lineages, the evolutionay history of Atelestidae is outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Trophic specialization is an evolutionary pathway of niche partitioning and one of the main pillars of diversification that enables species coexistence. One of the major challenges in understanding the evolution of Neotropical bats is the ability to successfully examine trophic specialization in species that are widely distributed and coexist with many other species in complex communities. In this study Natalus mexicanus is examined as an example of an insectivorous bat commonly associated in communities made up of hundreds or thousands of individuals of several species. We analyzed the diet and feeding patterns of N. mexicanus through fecal examination, direct observation, and availability of potential food sources. Our data show that N. mexicanus is a substrate insectivore that forages among vegetation, mainly picking insects from surfaces while hovering or flying slowly, also following a hunting strategy known as 'slow hawking'. In addition, this species has a special diet that is mainly composed of arachnids, a resource that is not commonly consumed by bats, allowing it to coexist with other species that have different feeding preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The feeding factors of silkworm mainly depend on the gustatory system and the olfactory system. • There is a regular pattern of changes from eating mode to static mode in silkworms. • There are endogenous regulation mechanisms in both the up-regulation and down-regulation of eating motivation. Food is critical to the survival and development of insects. Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), a Lepidoptera model insect with economic significance, is a well-known oligophagous insect that mainly feeds on mulberry leaves. The feeding characteristics of this particular species provide an excellent model for studying the food selection of insect host plants. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of studies on the factors affecting the feeding of silkworms, especially with the development of molecular technology. Many mysteries have been gradually solved. This paper summarizes and discusses the factors that affect the feeding of silkworms, with a focus on the molecular mechanisms of silkworm feeding. It is hoped that this work will be helpful for further research on artificial diets for silkworms and disease control in lepidopteran insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• More species forage at canopy than at ground level. • The understorey is largely home to a mixed fauna. • The horizontal species turnover was similar between the three strata. • Generalist species with mid-sized colonies are the most common. • Multi-strata studies can benefit from using aerial flight interception traps. Ants are a major ecological group in tropical rainforests. Few studies in the Neotropics have documented the distribution of ants from the ground to the canopy, and none have included the understorey. A previous analysis of an intensive arthropod study in Panama, involving 11 sampling methods, showed that the factors influencing ant β diversity (i.e., changes in assemblage composition) were, in decreasing order of importance, the vertical (height), temporal (season), and horizontal (geographic distance) dimensions. In the present study, we went one step further and aimed (1) to identify the best sampling methods to study the entire ant assemblage across the three strata, (2) to test if all strata show a similar horizontal β diversity and (3) to analyze the functional structure of the entire ant assemblage. We identified 405 ant species from 11 subfamilies and 68 genera. Slightly more species were sampled in the canopy than on the ground; they belonged to distinct sub-assemblages. The understorey fauna was mainly a mixture of species found in the other two strata. The horizontal β diversity between sites was similar for the three strata. About half of the ant species foraged in two (29%) or three (25%) strata. A single method, aerial flight interception traps placed alongside tree trunks, acting as arboreal pitfall traps, collected half of the species and reflected the vertical stratification. Using the functional traits approach, we observed that generalist species with mid-sized colonies were by far the most numerous (31%), followed by ground- or litter-dwelling species, either specialists (20%), or generalists (16%), and arboreal species, either generalists (19%) or territorially dominant (8%), and finally army ants (5%). Our results reinforce the idea that a proper understanding of the functioning of ant assemblages requires the inclusion of arboreal ants in survey programs. Eleven sampling methods were used to study an entire rainforest ant assemblage at ground, canopy and understorey levels. Ant species composition differed between strata. Horizontal species turnover (β diversity) within forest strata was similar between sites. A functional traits approach revealed that the ant assemblage was mainly composed of generalist species with mid-sized colonies (group #3, 31% of the 405 species). However, ground- or litter-dwelling species were also species-rich (#1 & 2), followed by arboreal ants (#4) including ecologically important territorially dominant arboreal ants (#5), and typical army ants (#6). Of the 11 sampling methods used, aerial flight interception traps placed alongside tree trunks (red triangles in the figure below) collected half of the ant species and reflected the vertical stratification of the ant species, demonstrating an interesting possibility for ant monitoring programs [Display omitted]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the presence of some phytophagous bats species in Neotropical cities is generally known, detailed information on their feeding habits in urban ecosystems is still limited. In some highly developed urban spaces, native plant species are scarce, therefore phytophagous bats living in those conditions could be relying only on resources offered by introduced vegetation. This study describes the diet of Glossophaga soricina in the campus of Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in the city of Lima, Peru. To achieve this, from September 2016 to May 2017, bats were captured using mist nets to collect samples of feces and pollen from their body surface. The phytophagous diet of G. soricina comprised resources offered by at least 25 species of cultivated plants, nearly all of them introduced to Lima. Glossophaga soricina mainly fed on the nectar/pollen of Agave angustifolia, Eucalyptus spp., Crescentia cujete and Musa spp., and fruits of Piper aduncum and Morus nigra. Insects were also registered in its diet. It consumed many non-chiropterophilous flowers and most of its principal resources are not abundant in the study area. Results suggest that G. soricina is a generalist nectarivore that has adapted its dietary habits to consume nectar/pollen of a wide variety of flowers and complements its diet with fruits and insects. It is concluded that introduced cultivated vegetation permits the persistence of G. soricina in the city; hence unsuitable green areas management could negatively affect its local populations. More studies on ecology of urban phytophagous bats in Lima and other Neotropical cities are required to conserve their populations in those altered ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Iheringia. Série Zoologia is the property of Fundacao Zoobotanica do Rio Grande do Sul and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present study represents the feeding habits of the native (Mullus barbatus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758, Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus, 1758 and Pagellus erythrinus (Linnaeus, 1758)) and non-native (Nemipterus randalli Russell, 1986, Upeneus moluccensis (Bleeker, 1855) and Upeneus pori Ben-Tuvia & Golani, 1989) fish species collected off the Turkish Aegean coast throughout the seasonally between January to December 2017. It was determined that all species consume benthic organisms by examining a total of 672 stomach contents. The index of relative importance (IRI) revealed the most important food item according to species is: Crustacea for N. randalli (82.40%), P. erythrinus (44.15%), M. surmuletus (75.35%), U. moluccensis (98.48%) and U. pori (56.79%; Polychaeta for M. barbatus barbatus (56.84%). A total of 40 prey species were identified from stomach contents of native and non-native fishes via the molecular method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feeding habits of generalist predators often vary among populations and regions. For example, Coyote (Canis latrans), which is a generalist predator distributed across North America, occupies a wide range of habitats and has a highly varied diet. In this observational study, we quantified the presence of mammalian prey items in 50 Eastern Coyote (Canis latrans var.) scats collected in late spring and summer in a private game reserve in southwestern Quebec. Nearly all scats contained hair of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus; 44%), Moose (Alces americanus; 38%), or American Beaver (Castor canadensis; 38%). Although all three species are known to be consumed by coyotes, such a high proportion of Moose and White-tailed Deer simultaneously occurring in the diet of coyotes has not been previously reported. The uniqueness of the study area, with its relatively high abundance of all three prey species, may account for the uniqueness of the diet of Eastern Coyotes living there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aims to investigate the food items and the feeding habits of some Nile fish namely; Alestes baremoze , Labeo niloticus , Mormyrus kannume and Oreochromis niloticus that were collected from El-Qanater Al-Khairia during spring 2018 as well as to study their correlation with live food. The examination of the plankton samples revealed that there were 25 phytoplankton species belonging to 6 phyla of the plant kingdom. The common phytoplankton phyla were Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta, and Dinophyceae. Twenty-five species and other immature stages representing the zooplankton community were categorized in ten groups of the animal kingdom. The dominant groups were Rotifera, Protozoa, Copepoda, Cladocera and Polychaeta. The benthic fauna collected from the study area comprised of 7 groups of the animal kingdom represented in 10 species and other immature stages. The recorded groups were Mollusca, Foraminifera, Annelida, Insecta and Decapoda. The present results showed that the feeding intensity in the studied fish were moderate, being 60% in A. baremoze ; 53.85% in L. niloticus ; 66.67% in M. kannume and 53.57% in O. niloticus. Analysis of the stomach contents revealed that A. baremoze is a plankton feeder and consumed a wide range of phyto- and zooplankton. L. niloticus is majorly herbivorous and consumed a great variety of plant food. M. kannume is mainly a carnivorous benthic feeder consuming a great range of animal food, while O. niloticus is mostly omnivorous consuming high varieties of plant and animal food. The forage ratio of stomach contents showed that A. baremoze and M. kannume are selective feeders. However, L. niloticus and O. niloticus depended on the food availability in nature and selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folivory in bats has been described as chewing bits of leaves to extract the liquids, and then discarding the remaining fibers in form of oral pellets. At least eight species of Neotropical fruit-eating bats have been reported to use folivory as a strategy potentially to provide bats with vitamins, micronutrients and proteins usually scarce in fruits, as well as secondary metabolites that stimulate or inhibit reproductive processes, or even as a supply of water. All reported cases of folivory in bats consist of short, descriptive natural history notes with few supporting details. In depth understanding of leaf consumption by bats is lacking. To bridge this gap, we studied two colonies of Artibeus living under different conditions in the Venezuelan Andes: an urban colony (A. lituratus) and a forest colony (A. amplus) whose individuals exhibited folivorous habits. We hypothesized that bats: (1) feed on leaves from many plant species, and more frequently eat certain plant species over others, (2) show monthly variation in leaf consumption, (3) eat specific parts of each leaf and discard the rest, and (4) within a plant species, eat the same part of each leaf. We collected leaves found below the roosting site of the colonies of both species and analyzed digital images of each leaf to quantify the consumed area. All leaves (n = 1,188) were classified and quantified in terms of the pattern of observed consumption (apical, basal, other). We found that both species of bats fed on leaves from certain plant species over others, showed monthly variation in leaf consumption, and on average consumed less than 50% of the leaf, equivalent to an area of 5–7 cm2 (n = 655). Maximum consumption of leaves was observed in both species in the weeks immediately prior to males exhibiting scrotal testes and females becoming palpably pregnant. Results from our study provide the first systematic and detailed assessment of folivory in bats, showing the use of leaves all year long by two bat species. Future research should investigate whether males and females consume leaves to the same extent, and on the chemical properties of consumed plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Neotropical Biology & Conservation is the property of Pensoft Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

[Display omitted] • Feeding habits of aphodiines were clarified basing on morphological of epipharynx. • Feeding preferences of aphodiines depend on the structure of the mouthparts. • Epipharynx can be used as taxonomic characteristic for higher category of Aphodiinae. Aphodiinae belong to Scarabaeidae, which are important environment-cleaning insects. In this study, the ultrastructural characteristics of the mouthparts (including the epipharynx, mandible and maxillae) of adult Aphodiinae, namely, Phaeaphodius rectus , Colobopterus erraticus , Paracrossidius transmontanus and Rhyparus sp., were systematically studied. The results are as follows: I. Rhyparus sp. exhibits saprophagy, while the others exhibit coprophagy. II. The three kinds of coprophagous Aphodiinae are all likely to feed on fresh dung. Among them, C. erraticus not only feeds on dung with the highest moisture content but also ingests solid food particles with the smallest diameter. Saprophagous Rhyparus sp. can ingest solid food particles with the largest diameter but feeds on humus with the lowest moisture content. The mouthpart structures of the Aphodiinae were highly consistent with their feeding habits. III. The findings support the utility of the epipharynx as an important morphological characteristic for classification of Aphodiinae at the genus and higher taxonomic levels. However, whether this inference is valid still needs to be verified by molecular biological data. In conclusion, the results of this study not only complement morphological information on the mouthparts of Aphodiinae but also provide basic data for further research on the evolution of the mouthparts of Aphodiinae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trophic specialization is an evolutionary pathway of niche partitioning and one of the main pillars of diversification that enables species coexistence. One of the major challenges in understanding the evolution of Neotropical bats is the ability to successfully examine trophic specialization in species that are widely distributed and coexist with many other species in complex communities. In this study Natalus mexicanus is examined as an example of an insectivorous bat commonly associated in communities made up of hundreds or thousands of individuals of several species. We analyzed the diet and feeding patterns of N. mexicanus through fecal examination, direct observation, and availability of potential food sources. Our data show that N. mexicanus is a substrate insectivore that forages among vegetation, mainly picking insects from surfaces while hovering or flying slowly, also following a hunting strategy known as 'slow hawking'. In addition, this species has a special diet that is mainly composed of arachnids, a resource that is not commonly consumed by bats, allowing it to coexist with other species that have different feeding preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The presence of toxic elements in fish represents a hazard for human health, especially in Mediterranean countries and other regions with high per-capita fish consumption. The present research, carried out along the northern Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean), aimed to determine the levels of trace metals and arsenic in the muscle of white seabream Diplodus sargus (L.), a common demersal species of growing interest for fisheries and aquaculture. Average mercury concentrations widely exceeded the limits imposed by EU despite the low contamination levels previously reported for the study area, stressing the potential risk associated to the consumption of medium-sized, non-predatory fishes. The other analyzed elements fell within the recommended limits. Preliminary results about the feeding habits of D. sargus are reported, in order to determine feeding habitat and items of the analyzed specimens. Highlights • Risky levels of Hg were found in D. sargus muscle from a low-contaminated zone. • Trace-element concentrations varied with fish size and sampling site. • Ontogenic habitat and diet shift may explain part of the observed variability. • Non-predatory fishes from "clean" areas are also cause for concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional eating, or changes in eating behavior due to negative emotions, has been demonstrated in humans and rodents, but not in dogs. The aim of the present study was to survey owners' perceptions of the presence of emotional eating in their dogs, as a first approach to investigate this phenomenon in companion dogs. A questionnaire was administered via social media, including questions about general information, feeding habits, eating behavior and related problems, temperament, and emotional state. A specific question for assessing the perceptions of owners on emotional eating in their dogs (on a 0-4 scale) was included. The vast majority of the 1099 respondents (n = 898, 81.7%) perceived that their dog showed emotional eating at some level of intensity, with more than 40% of the surveyed owners giving a 3 or 4 score. A chi-square test showed significant associations ( P < 0.05) between the intensity of emotional eating and several variables. Thus, achieving the maximum score for owner-perceived emotional eating (4/4) was associated with the dog being diagnosed with a medical condition, with the owners' awareness of the ideal weight of his/her dog, and with particular feeding habits, including feeding the dog exclusively with home-made food, once a day, and giving extras as a reward for obedience. Furthermore, high owner-perceived emotional eating was related with being a dependent and unhappy dog, as well as with not eating during the absence of the owner. On the other hand, being a calm dog, both in general as well as specifically during greetings or walk, and not being fearful of other dogs, and not showing any aggression were associated with the absence of owner-perceived emotional eating in the studied dogs (0/4). These results open a new research field on emotional eating in dogs to be further explored in relation to its implication in obesity treatment and behavioral problem management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food and feeding habits of the Arabian skink, Scincus hemprichii were investigated in Jazan province, southwest of Saudi Arabia. S. hemprichii individuals fed during eleven months of the year. The mass of food in the stomachs indicated that a high degree of foraging success occurred during the warm spring while the lowest was during winter with January as an exception to feeding by the lizard. Analysis of the contents of 60 stomachs revealed that the diet of S. hemprichii in the study area consisted of arthropods, with two species of beetles of the family Dermestidae ( Dermestis vulpinus and Dermestis maculates ) and three type of dipteran larvae, accounting for 76% of the total volume of the food items. Specimens collected during January had empty stomachs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic pollution has been extensively documented in the marine food web, but targeted studies focusing on the relationship between microplastic ingestion and fish trophic niches are still limited. In this study we investigated the frequency of occurrence and the abundance of micro- and mesoplastics (MMPs) in eight fish species with different feeding habits from the western Mediterranean Sea. Stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) was used to describe the trophic niche and its metrics for each species. A total of 139 plastic items were found in 98 out of the 396 fish analysed (25%). The bogue revealed the highest occurrence with 37% of individuals with MMPs in their gastrointestinal tract, followed by the European sardine (35%). We highlighted how some of the assessed trophic niche metrics seem to influence MMPs occurrence. Fish species with a wider isotopic niche and higher trophic diversity were more probable to ingest plastic particles in pelagic, benthopelagic and demersal habitats. Additionally, fish trophic habits, habitat and body condition influenced the abundance of ingested MMPs. A higher number of MMPs per individual was found in zooplanktivorous than in benthivore and piscivorous species. Similarly, our results show a higher plastic particles ingestion per individual in benthopelagic and pelagic species than in demersal species, which also resulted in lower body condition. Altogether, these results suggest that feeding habits and trophic niche descriptors can play a significant role in the ingestion of plastic particles in fish species. [Display omitted] • 25% of the 396 analysed fish ingested plastic particles. • Fish with wider isotopic niche and trophic diversity showed higher MMP occurrence. • Fish trophic habit, habitat and body condition were related to ingested MMP abundance. • Zooplanktivores and benthopelagic fish showed the highest abundances of MMPs. • Negative relationship between MMP abundance and the trophic level was highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology / Yingyong Shengtai Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The silkworm, Bombyx mori , is an important oligophagous economic insect and feeding habits of different silkworm varieties to artificial diet are different. Research on the mechanisms of feeding habits on artificial diet, and breeding of silkworm varieties adapted on artificial diet, which is a necessary condition for industrial silkworm rearing, is currently lacking. For an artificial diet, Xin was anorexic, whereas Haoyue A showed a strong appetite. When the two varieties were crossed, the F 1 generation showed a poor appetite for the artificial diet and had a setae dispersion rate of <50 %. However, the F 2 generation, self-bred progeny of F 1 , had a good appetite for the artificial diet, with a setae dispersion rate of 70 %. Herein, transcriptome analysis was conducted on the F 2 generation, comparing individuals with anorexic and preferred feeding habits, and 2188 differential genes were identified, with 1524 genes up-regulated and 934 genes down-regulated. Several genes were identified to contribute to feeding habits, such as genes involved olfactory system, energy supply, and cell proliferation and differentiation. GO enrichment revealed a large number of DEGs related to behavior, growth, signaling, developmental process, response to stimulation, and other pathways. Furthermore, proteins closely related to feeding were expressed differently. Some DEGs were selected for qRT-PCR, and results indicated the reliability of the DEG results. The DEGs between individuals with anorexic and preferred feeding habits were screened by RNA-Seq technology, which provides a reliable reference to study molecule mechanisms of feeding habits on artificial diet. We compared the different expression genes between anorexic individuals and preferred individuals to artificial diet. We annotated and classified these unigene sequences by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional classification. Significant differences and pathways may be related to feeding habit of silkworm to artificial diet were found in anorexic individuals. Our study provides basic data for the breeding of silkworm varieties adapted to artificial diet and insights into feeding habit mechanism. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Balkan Water frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) is the most widespread frog in Greece, occurring also in Albania, Montenegro and Serbia and recently introduced in Italy and Denmark. However, its biology remains surprisingly understudied. Here we assess for the first time the feeding ecology of the species. We focused on two populations from Attica (central Greece), one from a natural habitat (Erasinos River) and another from an artificial landscape (Diomidous Botanical Garden). We aimed to clarify the impact of the habitat on the feeding preferences of the species, and also to examine how food availability affects food composition and selectivity. For the purposes of the study a total of 75 individuals (41 from the Botanical Garden and 34 from Erasinos River) were captured and stomach content was removed following the flushing method. We measured body weight, snout-vent length and mouth width for all captured individuals and also width and length for each prey item. Prey availability was evaluated with the quadrat counts method. The diet of P. kurtmuelleri followed the same general feeding pattern of other ranid species in the broader area, with insects, spiders, isopods and gastropods dominating in stomach content. The habitat had a strong impact on the feeding preferences of the species: food composition, prey frequency, size and volume differed considerably between the two populations. Niche breadth was higher in the Botanical Garden, probably as a result of the lower invertebrate diversity and abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folivory can be defined as the consumption of foliage, including leaves, stems and leaf content. This trophic strategy has been documented in two families of bats, Pteropodidae (Old World fruit bats) and Phyllostomidae (New World leaf-nosed bats). Existing folivory hypotheses for bats suggest this behavior provides a dietary supplement of protein and other essential minerals due to a deficiency of these in a frugivorous diet. The Caatinga is a seasonally deciduous tropical dry forest where most of the vegetation is leafless and dormant during the extended dry season. Here we present the first evidence of folivory in bats from the Brazilian Caatinga, with evidence for the phyllostomid Artibeus planirostris ingesting the leaves of at least 16 species of plants. We include a bibliographic review of bat folivory in the tropics. Additionally, we propose a new hypothesis on folivory in bats for this semiarid environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Biologia Marina y Oceanografía (RBMO) is the property of Universidad de Valparaiso, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study we analyze the diet of a population of Dendropsophus branneri from a cocoa plantation in southern Bahia, Brazil. Frogs were captured monthly from August 2010 to July 2011. Stomach contents were retrieved through stomach-flushing and later identified to order level. Our results show that D. branneri feeds mainly on arthropds, such as Diptera, larval Lepidoptera and Araneae. Based on the identified food items and the low number of prey per stomach we conclude that the studied population of D. branneri uses a "sit and wait" strategy. We further conclude that stomach flushing can be successfully applied to frogs from a size of 14.4mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, the diet of the frog Pristimantis labiosus is not known. We analysed the feeding habits of adults and juveniles of this species and evaluated wh ether dietary shift was related to variation in body and/or mouth size. Diet was analysed in terms of nu mber, volume and frequency of occurrence of items. Both length and volume of prey were correlated with sn out-vent length, and mouth width to identify if there was ontogenetic shift in prey size consumption with the increase in body and head size. The diet was composed of 18 taxa of arthropods and gastropods distributed in 217 items. Adult frogs consumed a greater number of food items (N = 139) than juveniles (N = 78), and the two age-classes co nsumed a similar array of prey taxa. The most frequent prey in adults was Form icidae (60%), whereas in juveniles the most frequent prey taxa were Diptera and Hemiptera (13% each). Adults had a broader trophic niche (0.57) than juveniles (0.08) with a relatively low trophic overlap among them (0.39). Although we found differences in body size and in mouth width between the two age-classes, we did not observe a corresponding ontogenetic shift in prey size consumption with the increase of mo rphological variables. Based on these results, P. labiosus is considered opportunistic widely-foraging predator, consuming any type of prey available in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest fragmentation by management activities has been implicated in the decline of forest biodiversity. Even though boreal ecosystems are generally deemed quite resilient to disturbance effects, high contemporary levels of disturbance might push forest-interior species toward decline or extinction. In this study, we examined beetle communities in forest patches of different sizes, including clearcuts, residual postharvest patches from 0.03 to 50 ha in size, and large mature forest tracts (>1000 ha). Overall, community structure follows a gradient between clearcuts and large mature forest tracts, even if patch size effects were more difficult to detect among patches >2.5 ha. Beetles were most abundant in clearcuts, and species richness was highest in small tree groups (0.03–0.05 ha). The effects of fragmentation were strongly conditioned by beetle feeding habits. Predators and xylophagous beetles were mostly associated with clearcuts or smaller patches (i.e., small tree groups or large tree groups [0.3–0.5 ha]), whereas fungivorous beetles were associated with forest-interior habitats. Although many forest-interior species were still present in relatively small patches 1–5 years after harvesting, negative effects of habitat fragmentation on these species might increase in the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demersal species Lethrinus borbonicus , Lethrinus mahsena , Lethrinus microdon , Lethrinus nebulosus , Lutjanus bohar , Lutjanus gibbus , Lutjanus kasmira , Epinephelus fasciatus , Epinephelus stoliczkae , Carangoides gymnostethus and Euthynnus affinis are important coastal fishes species of the northern coast of Socotra (Yemen), exploited by local fishery. The biology and feeding ecology of these species are poorly known in the area. A total of 1239 specimens were sampled from the main fishing landing site of the island (Hadibo). Total length and weight were measured, stomach contents were analyzed, diet overlap, Fulton's Condition index, and trophic levels were estimated. C. gymnostethus , L. microdon and L. kasmira occupied the highest position (T = 4.50), L. nebulosus occupied the lower one (TL = 3.41). The role of the increasing abundance of small pelagic fish in the diet of many species after the upwelling event is evident, but also different feeding strategies are reported, according to fish ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research provides an evaluation of the quality and health status of some locally abundant fish species, usually otter-trawl bycatch species. The study was conducted in the southern and eastern Spanish Mediterranean coast. Mean concentration of heavy metals in muscle and parasitisation indices showed moderate levels. Higher lead concentration was found in fish from the western Alboran and arsenic, cadmium and mercury were more present on fishes from the eastern Alboran area, although most species analysed contain moderate levels of heavy metals in muscle. Concerning parasitisation, F. Anisakidae nematodes were present in all the species, except sardine. Only mercury showed a positive relationship with parasitisation. We also considered three feeding guilds. Metal mean concentrations were higher in benthivores and more littoral fishes. Pelagic planktivores species are the healthiest and the more suitable for consumers from the sanitary point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional classification of animals is necessary to enhance the predictive power of food web models. However, while there is a large database for functional classification of benthic invertebrates (Functional Feeding Groups, FFG) in the temperate zone, the attribution of individual species of riverine invertebrates is still in its infancies in the Neotropical Region. Different authors hypothesized that diet breadth was larger in the Tropics, however detailed analyses are scarce. In the present study we aimed at classifying dominant benthic taxa of the Middle Paraná River floodplain (Argentina) into trophic guilds by diet and niche overlap analysis. We sampled twelve taxa of benthic invertebrates from a floodplain lake during low water season and performed a gut content analysis as a baseline for FFG classification. We also used available diet information of other common taxa for statistical analysis. Then, we compared the variance of niche overlap, using Pianka's index, with that of simulated null model. After that we grouped taxa using Morisita similarity index with a threshold of 0.6 and compared niche overlap with null models within and between FFGs. Observed variance of niche overlap was greater than expected by chance, confirming the presence of FFGs among analyzed taxa. Considering trophic similarity of species, we identified four FFGs: collectors, omnivores, herbivores and predators. Niche overlap was greater than expected by stochastic null models within FFGs, and smaller between FFGs. Nearly one third of analyzed taxa were classified in a different FFG than their congeners of the Holarctic region. This result indicates that classifications performed in the Holarctic region should be used with care in the Neotropical region, even in subtropical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Neotropical Biology & Conservation is the property of Pensoft Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study revises the morphological characters of both sexes of Kuhl's pipistrelle, including external, cranial and dental characters. This study also establishes a baseline for the diet of this insectivorous bat species across a variety of habitats in the Nile Valley, where diets have never before been investigated. Our findings of the stomach contentswere not significantly affected despite the different habitats from which the samples were collected. The three most common insect taxa recovered were Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. The percentage volume of insect orders in the diet of Kuhl's bat (63 stomachs) consisted of 29% of Hymenoptera, 9% of Coleoptera, 27% of Lepidoptera, 32% unknown materials and unexpected thing of these insectivorous bats was the presences of 3% fruits. A single order did not dominate the diet of this specie because Hymenoptera was the most fed insect orders by frequency of occurrence 87.3%, Lepidoptera by 74.6%, Coleoptera 36.5% and fruits in 4.8% of samples. Also, they may also be fed by other insect orders, as unknown materials were found in all samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Biologia Marina y Oceanografía (RBMO) is the property of Universidad de Valparaiso, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The feeding habits of a gray whale ( Eschrichtius robustus ) and a Pacific walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus divergens ), caught from the western Bering Sea in the summers of 2010 and 2011, have been studied, and concentration of persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in their organs determined. The total OCP concentration (∑HCH + ∑DDT) in muscles and liver of the gray whales varies from 297 to 3581 and from 769 to 13,808 ng/g lipids, respectively. The total OCP concentration (∑HCH + ∑DDT) in muscles and liver of the Pacific walruses varies from 197 to 5659 and from 4856 to 90,263 ng/g lipids, respectively. The specifics of diet as a source of pesticide accumulation in these two marine mammal species are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ladybirds (Coccinellidae) are a popular, widely recognized and highly regarded insect group due to their bright color and role in controlling insect pests. Worldwide nearly 6000 species are known. From systematic point of view, ladybeetles belonging to Class Insecta, Subclass Pterygota, Order Coleoptera, Suborder Polyphaga, Superfamily Cucujoidea anf Family Coccinellidae. Coccinellids are of interest and importance in agriculture and forestry, since adults and larvae of most species are predators of herbivorous pests such aphids, psyllids, mealy bugs and scale insects. The aim of this research regarding coccinellid beetles was to explore, identify and also characterize the coccinellid fauna of the Banat region (Romania). The coccinellid beetles were collected from March 2013 to September 2014 from 4 localities at different altitudes in the Banat region. Samples were collected at weekly interval from a wide variety of habitats: agricultural land, gardens and parks, both on herbaceous and woody essences. In this study a total of 15 species belonging to 11 genera and 3 subfamilies were identified. In the investigated habitats from the entomofaunistic point of view, the coccinelid species identified were as follows: Coccinella 5 - punctata L., Coccinella 7 - punctata L., Coccinulla 14 - pustulata L., Tythaspis 17 - punctata L., Adalia 2 - punctata L., Adalia 10 - punctata L., Propylaea 14 - punctata L., Subcoccinella 24 - punctata L., Psylobora 22 -punctata L., Hippodamia tredecimpunctata L.,Adonia variegate Goeze., Harmonia axyridis Pallas., Calvia decimguttata L., Chilocorus bipustulatus L. and Chilocorus renipustulatus Scriba. Seven species were the most abundant and could be observed in the investigated area every year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a pelagic cephalopod and one of the main target species of Chinese distant water fishery, jumbo squids (Dosidicus gigas) play a major role in the marine ecosystems of the eastern Pacific. Understanding the feeding ecology and migration patterns of jumbo squids is of importance for better utilizing the resources. The isotopic signatures of gladius have been proved to be a powerful tool to reveal high resolution and ontogenic variations in individual foraging strategies of squids, which is an archival tissue with no elemental turnover after formation. In this study, the growth equation of gladius proostracum was established based on the age information determined by statolith. Gladius was cut successionally by the growth curve of gladius proostracum, the stable isotopic values of the gladius profiles were determined, and the feeding ecology and migration patterns of jumbo squids during its growth process were investigated. Results showed that the jumbo squids began to migrate after 180 days of postnatal, and their trophic levels tended to decrease throughout the life span. These results demonstrated the feasibility of using continuous sampling hard tissue to study the feeding ecology and habitat transfer of jumbo squids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the food and feeding habits of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, in Lake Hayq, Ethiopia from August 2008 to March 2009. A total 931 fish were collected by gillnets of various stretched mesh sizes, of which 326 individuals of Oreochromis niloticus stomachs contained food. The stomach contents were analyzed using frequency of occurrence, numerical methods and the Geometric Index of Importance (GII). The food items in the stomach covered a wide variety, ranging from various types of phytoplankton to zooplankton and to macrophytes. The major food items in terms of frequency of occurrence were Microcystis (87.7%), Cosmarium (65.13%), Navicula (64.2%) and Daphnia (71%) genera. Numerically, Cosmarium (38.5%) and Microsystis (31%) dominated the food of O. niloticus. However, Geometric Importance Index GII suggested that the most consumed group was Microcystis (83.93%). A monthly variation was also noted in the stomach contents of O. niloticus over the period of investigation. The food composition of O. niloticus showed slight variation among fish size. The contribution of zooplankton (Daphnia and Keratella) tended to increase with decreasing size of the fish, but Copepoda (Thermocyclops) tended to increase with size. Size based difference is also supported by one-way analyses of similarities (ANOSIMs) and the difference is mainly due to the differences in the importance of green algae (Cosmarium) and blue greens (Microcystis). This study is an important step towards understanding the food web in Lake Hayq, and eventually developing a trophic model for use in fisheries management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Societe et Environnement is the property of Les Presses Agronomiques de Gembloux and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Neotropical Biology & Conservation is the property of Pensoft Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background. The feeding behaviour of Mediterranean moray, Muraena helena Linnaeus, 1758, from the coast of Tunisia (central Mediterranean) is poorly know and this study is a first step in determining prey consumption by M. helena as main information for improving fishery monitoring and management in the study area. Materials and methods. Of the 411 sampled Mediterranean morays, 237 were males and 174 females. The stomach contents were removed, sorted, identified to the lowest possible taxon, counted, and weighed. For diet description, we calculated vacuity index (VI), abundance (mean number of preys) (NM), frequency of occurrence (F%), relative abundance (N%), and frequency by weight (W%). The contribution of each prey in the diet was also estimated with Index of Relative Importance (IRI) and its standardized value (%IRI). The trophic level (TROPH) was calculated for total sample to determine the diet of the species, but it was also related to the sex, size, and seasons. Results. The relation between the total length and the total body weight showed a positive allometry for both males and females. VI presented high values, for total sample, sex, size, and season. Muraena helena under study consumed a variety of prey items including 3 higher taxa, 13 families, and 20 species. Osteichthyans were the dominant preys with 15 taxa, representing 96.84% of weight, 78.83% of number, 84.21%, of frequency, and %IRI = 98.51. Crustaceans and cephalopods and sea grass were also ingested by M. helena, with lower %IRI (0.65, 0.66), and no ontogenetic changes in the diet were recorded related to sex, size, and seasons. The most common prey species were Diplodus annularis (Linnaeus, 1758) and D. vulgaris (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817) with %IRI = 28.52 and 7.45, respectively while Serranus cabrilla (Linnaeus, 1758) was also consumed with %IRI = 1.84. The calculated TROPH was 4.27 (SE = 0.74); changes were recorded with seasons but not significantly different. Conclusion. Muraena helena is a carnivorous species feeding on prey items representing three higher taxa, osteichthyans being the most common in stomach contents and such findings suggest that it should be considered as a piscivorous species. The high value of trophic level pointed out that M. helena is a top predator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which analyzed the diet of Neotropical carnivore species Procyon cancrivorus in a peat forest and in an estuarine island in southernmost Brazil. Findings include small mammals, fruits, and brachyuran crustaceans as the most frequent items in the estuarine island, a considerable diet similarity between a specialist and a well distributed diet, and the possible role of Procyon cancrivorus as seed disperser on coastal environments in southernmost Brazil.

The article presents the study which examined the prey selection and energy values of main food items of the torrent duck (Merganetta armata) in Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. In the study, the proportion of prey taxa in the feces of the bird was compared to those in river benthos. Among the preys are filter-feeding species Simuliidae and Smicridea, as well as Gripopterygidae.

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)