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Most organisms are at risk of being consumed by a predator or getting infected by a parasite at some point in their life. Theoretical constructs such as the landscape of fear (perception of risk) and nonconsumptive effects (NCEs, costly responses sans predation or infection) have been proposed to describe and quantify antipredator and antiparasite responses. How prey/host species identify and respond to these risks determines their survival, reproductive success and, ultimately, fitness. Most studies to date have focused on either predator–prey or parasite–host interactions, yet habitats and ecosystems contain both parasitic and/or predatory species that represent a complex and heterogenous mosaic of risk factors. Here, we experimentally investigated the behavioral responses of a cactophilic fruit fly, Drosophila nigrospiracula, exposed to a range of species that include parasites (ectoparasitic mite), predators (jumping spiders), as well as harmless heterospecifics (nonparasitic mites, ants, and weevils). We demonstrate that D. nigrospiracula can differentiate between threat and non‐threat species, increase erratic movements and decrease velocity in the presence of parasites, but decrease erratic movements and time spent grooming in the presence of predators. Of particular importance, flies could distinguish between parasitic female mites and nonparasitic male mites of the same species, and respond accordingly. We also show that the direction of these NCEs differs when exposed to parasitic mites (i.e., risk of infection) versus spiders (i.e., risk of predation). Given the opposing effects of predation versus infection risk on fly behavior, we discuss potential trade‐offs between parasite and predator avoidance behaviors. Our findings illustrate the complexity of risk assessment in a landscape of fear and the fine‐tuned NCEs that arise in response. Moreover, this study is the first to examine these behavioral NCEs in a terrestrial system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of climate change on the straying behavior of anadromous salmon and steelhead. These fish species are significant culturally, economically, and ecologically, and their distribution and abundance are affected by climate change. The article explores various factors that contribute to straying, such as changes in olfactory imprinting and signal detection, as well as the trade-offs between homing and selecting spawning habitats. It also discusses the challenges posed by straying, particularly in hatchery-origin salmon, and the need for further research to understand and manage straying dynamics in the context of climate change. The article proposes a research agenda that includes assessing the effects of transportation and altered water sources on straying rates, understanding how changes in release timing and location impact straying, and exploring cost-effective approaches to improve the homing of hatchery salmon. The authors stress the importance of long-term monitoring, measuring demographic and genetic impacts, and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations. The proposed agenda aims to inform effective conservation strategies for these culturally, economically, and ecologically important species in the face of a warming climate. [Extracted from the article]

BACKGROUND: The sugarcane billbug, Sphenophorus levis Vaurie 1978, is a key soil‐dwelling insect pest of sugarcane in Brazil and greatly affects plant development and yield. This insect presents an aggregated distribution pattern in production fields. The reasons for such behavior include intraspecific communication and attractivity due to the fermentation of sugar in stalk residues. During mechanized harvesting, part of the harvested material usually falls in the load transfer sites, becoming a potential source for increasing the infestation. We therefore evaluated whether producing areas near the harvest load transfer sites are more prone to S. levis injury. RESULTS: There are greater chances of finding billbug injury within a radius of 740 m from the harvest load transfer site. Additionally, injured areas are estimated to expand 11.96% each growing season. Our spatiotemporal models support higher injured areas surrounding the harvest load transfer site and show clear and significant signs of increased injury levels compared to the initial growing season surveyed. CONCLUSION: Our results reinforce the importance of harvest transfer sites in the dispersion and propagation of the sugarcane billbug. Based on this knowledge, sugarcane millers and growers can adopt preventive and remedial practices within the loading sites that can potentially contribute to the successful management of this insect pest. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deforestation and habitat fragmentation is the primary threat to primate populations. The primates that live within degraded and anthropogenically disturbed habitats typical of fragmented landscapes have to cope with lower availability of resources in comparison to primates in continuous, undisturbed forests. While some species are sensitive to forest fragmentation, some evidence exists to suggest that primates can alter their behavior and adapt to such changes, which enables their survival in suboptimal habitat. In this study, we assessed how forest fragmentation and its associated edge‐effects impact the feeding ecology and activity levels of a nocturnal primate community in the Sahamalaza‐Iles Radama National Park, North West Madagascar. From March 06, 2019 to May 17, 2022, we collected data on tree and invertebrate phenology at our study site, and feeding ecology and activity for 159 lemur individuals from four species. Fruit and flower availability varied significantly between continuous and fragmented forest, and between forest core and edge areas, with continuous forest exhibiting higher continuous fruit and flower availability. Lemur feeding ecology varied significantly too, as the feeding niches of all four species were significantly different between continuous and fragmented forest and between core and edge areas. However, lemur activity levels were mostly consistent among all forest areas. The results of this study suggest that nocturnal lemurs are able to adapt their dietary ecology in response to the available food sources within their habitat. Due to this flexible ecology and dietary plasticity, the lemurs do not need to significantly alter their behavior in different environments to fulfill their dietary needs. While nocturnal lemurs demonstrate adaptability and flexibility to degraded habitat, it is unclear how far this plasticity will stretch considering that Madagascar's forests are still being cleared at an alarming rate. Urgent conservation action is therefore needed to ensure the future of lemur habitat. Research Highlights: Forest fragmentation and associated edge‐effects impact dietary ecology of multiple nocturnal lemur species.Forest fragmentation and associated edge‐effects do not however impact upon the activity budget of nocturnal lemurs.Nocturnal lemurs demonstrate adaptability and dietary plasticity to degraded habitat, and do not need to alter their behavior to fulfill their dietary needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drift by larval white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) results in an ontological habitat shift during early life that may be influenced by changes in the trade‐off between mortality risk and growth potential. Despite the importance of early life history to recruitment and conservation, for many species, including white sturgeon, we have a limited understanding of the mechanistic drivers of drift. We tested if two biotic factors, conspecific density and timing of food availability during the yolksac larvae stage, influenced the timing of drift behaviour. We evaluated larval drift timing for yolksac larvae reared in laboratory mesocosms at two densities (10 or 20 larvae) and three feeding initiation times (before exogenous feeding, at the initiation of exogenous feeding, or starvation). We found that drift occurred at 13 days post‐hatch (dph) overall, 2 days after the shift from the yolksac stage to the feeding stage (11 dph at 14°C). The timing of food availability in the fed treatments did not affect the timing of larval drift, nor did the density of conspecifics. Starvation delayed drift timing by 2 days, to15 dph. This delay of drift from a habitat with no food availability may disadvantage starving larvae and reduce growth potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals commonly form groups with conspecifics. Hypotheses on the drivers of group size often (but not always) pertain to fear of predation and food availability or quality. However, for a more complete understanding of group forming, multiple, possibly interacting mechanisms should be considered. We used camera traps, detectability estimates from distance sampling, and hierarchical Bayesian modeling to index group size and test multiple additive and interacting group‐formation hypotheses in white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), within Indiana, USA. We found a strong relationship between our index of group size and (1) a three‐way interaction between spatiotemporal pulses in fear of natural predation risk and anthropogenic development and (2) a three‐way interaction between the local cover (defined as the amount of vegetative cover in the immediate area of the camera), the area of concealment (defined as forests or wetlands) within the larger landscape, and time of day. Specifically, we documented larger groups in areas near anthropogenic development, in areas with high predator use intensity, and when predators were active. Additionally, we found larger groups during dawn and dusk when deer were most active in locations with sparse local cover when the area of concealment in the surrounding landscape was small, and within dense local cover when the area of concealment in the surrounding landscape was large. Our methods can aid future behavioral and ecological studies, as we present a clear and easily replicable strategy that infers group membership from spatiotemporal proximity, corrects for differences in detectability, and enables sampling across large spatial and long temporal scales. Our findings indicate that fear of natural predators and anthropogenic disturbance interactively explain variation in group size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frogs are a representative taxon that use advertisement calls to aid in reproduction. In most frog species, calls vary with body size, and allometric constraints between body size and call frequency have been widely reported among anuran species. Although this variation is an important driver of sexual selection in frogs, male advertisement call strategies may also vary according to body size. In this study, we conducted playback experiments on the male forest green tree frog (Zhangixalus arboreus) to determine whether male advertisement call characteristics and strategies vary according to body size and the amplitude of intraspecific chorus noise. The results indicated that the calls of larger individuals are louder and lower than those of smaller ones, who call more frequently; moreover, the calls become lower, and the number of calls decreases, as noise levels increase. These findings suggest that forest green tree frog emits lower calls or refrains from calling when chorus noise increases, and that intraspecific variation in advertisement call characteristics can induce different strategies in response to chorus noise. Because advertisement call variation with body size is common among frog species, intraspecific variation in male advertisement call strategies may also be a common phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In biologically diverse ecosystems, an essential process to support competing species to coexist is ecological differentiation. Habitat heterogeneity is, hence, important in establishing species abundance and richness, favoring the coexistence of species due to habitat partition. In this context, shading and species thermal tolerance can be good factors to elucidate the role of habitat heterogeneity in the habitat partition among closely related species. Herein, we study shading effects in microhabitat selection, behavior, and physiological limitation on two species of fiddler crabs (Leptuca leptodactyla and Leptuca uruguayensis). Indeed, shading conditions influenced fiddler crabs species proportion over time, with L. leptodactyla more associated with nonshaded/warmer areas while the L. uruguayensis to shaded/cooler ones. They also adjusted their behavior differently from each other to deal with thermal stress. Finally, we have demonstrated that these effects are related to species' physiological limitations. We conclude that biologically diverse ecosystems, such as intertidal regions from estuaries (e.g., mudflats and mangroves), support the coexistence between closely related species by reducing competition due to habitat partition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many bird species, reproductive success is dependent on nest quality. However, detailed data on nest composition are scarce, and quantitative analyses have generally used only rough categories, without species identification. Bryophytes dominate the nests of many passerine bird species, but little is known about whether birds have preferences for certain species. In this study, we determined the bryophyte species composition in nests of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus and great tits Parus major in a forest near Oslo, Norway. We also sampled the abundance of the bryophyte species in plots on the forest floor surrounding a subset of the great tit nests. Blue tits and great tits both used 15 bryophyte species as nest materials, mainly the same pleurocarpous species but in different proportions. The tits preferred highly branched bryophyte species, i.e., Pleurozium schreberi, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, and Sanionia uncinata but avoided common forest floor bryophyte species that are sparsely branched. Great tits clearly collected bryophyte species selectively. We also found that bryophyte species content in great tit nests in the same nest box in different years was very similar. Our results also indicated that the great tits collected bryophyte nest materials close to their nests, mostly within 5 m, supporting the view that collecting nest materials is costly. We review several hypotheses to explain why the tits prefer certain species of bryophytes as nest materials. These include handling costs and their suitability as structural materials. We recommend field experiments to test specific hypotheses and to study whether preferences are heritable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature is highly influential on the physiology and behaviour of ectotherms. In fish, temperature affects social interactions such as schooling behaviour, a common defence against predation. However, the effect of temperature on the ability of schooling fish to collectively respond to a predator is unknown. Here we used a loom stimulus to simulate an approaching predator that elicited a fleeing response in schooling fish over a range of water temperatures (9–29°C) and group sizes (1–16 fish). While speed and acceleration always exhibited a positive curvilinear response to temperature, the optimal temperature at which performance peaked was different during the predation threat versus when they were unperturbed. Similarly, group‐level metrics were sensitive to temperature immediately after a loom stimulus but showed no response to temperature during unperturbed swimming. The time taken for fish to respond to the loom stimulus was minimal at 20°C. The proportion of fish that startled, during a loom, peaked at 13°C – around the same temperature at which speed, and acceleration was maximum. Taken together, our results suggest that ectothermic fish may be able to compensate for their slower swim speeds at lower temperatures during unperturbed swimming by increasing their sensitivity to startle in response to a predation threat. More generally, we show that in ectotherms the qualitative and quantitative effect of temperature on a behavioural trait may be dependent on the context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some animal species are responding to climate change by altering the timing of events like mating and migration. Such behavioral plasticity can be adaptive, but it is not always. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation have mostly remained on ice year‐round, but as the climate warms and summer sea ice declines, a growing proportion of the subpopulation is summering ashore. The triggers of this novel behavior are not well understood. Our study uses a parametric time‐to‐event model to test whether biological and/or time‐varying environmental variables thought to influence polar bear movement and habitat selection also drive decisions to swim ashore. We quantified the time polar bears spent occupying offshore sea ice of varying ice concentrations. We evaluated variations in the ordinal date bears moved to land with respect to local environmental conditions such as sea ice concentration and wind across 10 years (2005–2015). Results from our study suggest that storm events (i.e., sustained high wind speeds) may force polar bears from severely degraded ice habitat and catalyze seasonal movements to land. Unlike polar bears long adapted to complete summer ice melt, southern Beaufort Sea bears that summer ashore appear more tolerant of poor‐quality sea ice habitat and are less willing to abandon it. Our findings provide a window into emergent, climatically mediated behavior in an Arctic marine mammal vulnerable to rapid habitat decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a spatial subsidy, which is the phenomenon of transferring resources from a donor system to a recipient system, anadromous salmonids contribute to the supply of marine‐derived nutrients to freshwater and terrestrial systems. Live salmon and salmon carcasses and eggs are utilized by various organisms and affect their abundance and distribution. However, the evaluation of the effect of salmon subsidies on the abundance and distribution of terrestrial animals is biased toward predators or scavengers that utilize spawning adults and carcasses, and few studies have focused on the effect of salmon eggs as a subsidy. To avoid underestimating the function of salmon subsidies, the response to the availability of salmon eggs in various systems should be investigated. Here, we investigated the abundance and feeding behavior of the brown dipper Cinclus pallasii, as a consumer of salmon eggs, based on the hypothesis that the availability of salmon eggs affects the diet composition and stream distribution of this small predator. In addition, to test whether changes in the abundance of brown dippers are determined by salmon spawning, their abundance was compared upstream and downstream of the check dams in three streams during the peak spawning period. Brown dippers used salmon eggs during the spawning season (53.7% of diet composition), and their abundance increased as the number of spawning redds increased. In contrast, this pattern was not observed upstream of the check dam. These results suggested that the abundance and stream distribution of brown dippers vary according to the variation in the spatiotemporal availability of salmon eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral ecology, Cyprinus carpio, diet, feeding behavior, fish, predation, Vulpes vulpes, canids, mammalian predators Keywords: behavioral ecology; canids; Cyprinus carpio; diet; feeding behavior; fish; mammalian predators; predation; Vulpes vulpes EN behavioral ecology canids Cyprinus carpio diet feeding behavior fish mammalian predators predation Vulpes vulpes 1 4 4 12/05/22 20221201 NES 221201 The red fox ( I Vulpes vulpes i ) is a mesocarnivore species that exploits opportunistically a wide range of prey items that are consumed as a function of their abundance and availability (Díaz-Ruiz et al., [3]). " Biogeographical Patterns in the Diet of an Opportunistic Predator: The Red Fox Vulpes vulpes in the Iberian Peninsula.". [Extracted from the article]

Group living is a critical component of the ecology of social animals such as delphinids. In many studies on these animals, groups represent sampling units that form the basis of the collection and analysis of data on their abundance, behavior, and social structure. Nevertheless, defining what constitutes a group has proven problematic. There is inconsistency in the terms and criteria used and many definitions lack biological justification. We conducted a literature review and an online expert survey to assess various terms (group, school, party, and pod), and their definitions as applied to delphinids to identify issues to ultimately make recommendations. Of 707 studies analyzed, 325 explicitly defined one or more terms, providing 344 definitions. Additionally, 192 definitions were obtained from the survey. Among these definitions, group was the most common term used (review: 286 definitions, 83.1%; survey: 69 definitions, 35.9%) and the most familiar to the survey respondents (73 respondents, 100.0%). In definitions of group, spatial proximity was the most used criterion (review: 200 definitions, 71.2%; survey: 53 definitions, 81.5%) followed by behavior (review: 176 definitions, 62.6%; survey: 38 definitions, 58.5%). The terms and criteria used to define delphinid groups vary considerably. Rather than proposing a single formal definition, we instead recommend that the term group and spatial proximity criteria be used to define sampling units of individuals observed in the field. Furthermore, we propose a process for formulating definitions that involves analyzing interindividual distances to determine naturally occurring patterns that are indicative of group membership. Although this process is based principally on the spatial proximity of individuals, it could also incorporate the behavior of group members by evaluating the influence of behavior on interindividual distances. Such a process produces definitions that are biologically meaningful and compatible across studies and populations, thus increasing our ability to draw strong conclusions about group living in delphinids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal populations can present different mating tactics according to the number of mates males or females obtain. The limiting factors for copulation in symbiont crustaceans are the size, structural complexity, and density of refuge, in addition to predation risk outside their shelters. In this study, we aimed to investigate, comparatively, if the occupation of the same refuge leads to the same reproductive tactic in two symbiont species of alpheid shrimps. For this purpose, we described the population distribution of Alpheus estuariensis, a burrowing shrimp, and Salmoneus carvachoi, a tenant species, in an intertidal mudflat in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Alpheus estuariensis experiences sexual dimorphism relative to body and cheliped size, where males present larger body sizes and allocate more resources to cheliped growth than females. However, both males and females presented positive allometric growth in chelipeds. In S. carvachoi, male‐phase individuals reach smaller body sizes than hermaphrodites. Male‐phase shrimps experience positive allometry in cheliped size, while hermaphrodites do not. Both species were found inhabiting burrows as sexual pairs more frequently than expected by chance. Paired females of A. estuariensis were found carrying embryos more frequently than solitary ones. We did not find a statistical difference between the frequency of single and paired ovigerous hermaphrodites in S. carvachoi. Our results indicate that A. estuariensis is social monogamous, while S. carvachoi is promiscuous. We argue that different biological and ecological aspects of these species could explain the distinct tactics adopted by them. Alpheus estuariensis digs its own refuge and is a much larger species, bearing a more robust cheliped than S. carvachoi. Thus, we argue that the burrowing species (A. estuariensis) should monopolize and defend their refuge, and S. carvachoi only takes advantage of this resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allopreening occurs in many species of birds and is known for providing hygienic and social benefits. While this behavior has been extensively studied among conspecifics, its occurrence among different species remains little known. Outside of captive environments, only a few records of interspecific allopreening exist. In this study, we describe our observations of the interspecific allopreening behavior between Spot‐necked (Stachyris strialata) and Nonggang Babblers (S. nonggangensis) in a non‐captive environment in southern China. To our knowledge, these observations represent the first record of interspecific allopreening in the family Timaliidae. We suggest that this understudied behavior is most likely related to the dominant–subordinate relationship between these two species: either the dominant species preening the subordinate species to assert dominance or the subordinate species preening the dominant species to reduce tensions by appeasement. We also suggest interspecific allopreening may not be as rare as we thought if we study this behavior under circumstances where different species are close to each other. This study contributes to our understanding of not only the potential mechanism(s) behind interspecific allopreening but also the behavioral ecology of the vulnerable Nonggang Babbler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This welcome set of original and instructive papers illuminates and enriches the history of twentieth‐century ethology in multiple ways. It adds a wealth of actors, animals, methods, and places to those featured in previous treatments of ethology's development. Some of the papers extend the chronology beyond the heyday of ethology's disciplinary construction to consider exciting developments in the 1970s and beyond. Others consider animal behavior research programs pursued contemporaneously with but independently of mainline ethology's development from the 1930s through the 1960s. Another paper takes us inside an ethologist's archive of visual images to examine the importance of such images (and such a setting) for ethological practice. Collectively, the papers provide new opportunities to contemplate how research programs and disciplines evolve; the relations between concepts, practices, and places; ethology and politics, and much more. At the same time, the individuality of the papers is conspicuous. They have not been constructed on the same model. The authors have followed their own approaches, corresponding to their own, respective interests. A short commentary is not sufficient to do justice to each of them. Rather than attempt to review them one by one, I will consider a pair of themes that may help relate the papers to each other and to the history of ethology: (1) the ongoing challenge of defining ethology and identifying who the ethologists were (or are); (2) the practices and places of animal behavior study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As soon as ethology's status diminished in the early 1970s, it was confronted with two successor disciplines, sociobiology and behavioral ecology. They were able to challenge ethology because it no longer provided markers of strong disciplinarity such as theoretical coherence, leading figures and a clear identity. While behavioral ecology developed organically out of the UK ethological research community into its own disciplinary standing, sociobiology presented itself as a US competitor to the ethological tradition. I will show how behavioral ecology took the role of legitimate heir to ethology by rebuilding a theoretical core and an intellectual sense of community, while sociobiology failed to use its public appeal to reach disciplinary status. Meanwhile, ethology changed its disciplinary identity to encompass all biological studies of animal behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1960s, scientists fascinated by the behavior of free‐living animals founded research projects that expanded into multi‐generation investigations. This paper charts the history of three scientists' projects to uncover the varied reasons for investing in a "long‐term" perspective when studying animal behavior: Kenneth Armitage's study of marmots in the Rocky Mountains, Jeanne Altmann's analysis of baboons in Kenya, and Timothy Hugh Clutton‐Brock's studies (among others) of red deer on the island of Rhum and meerkats in the Kalahari. The desire to study the behavior of the same group of animals over extended periods of time, I argue, came from different methodological traditions – population biology, primatology, and sociobiology – even as each saw themselves as contributing to the legacy of ethology. As scientists embraced and combined these approaches, a small number of long‐running behavioral ecology projects like these grew from short pilot projects into decades‐long centers of intellectual gravity within behavioral ecology as a discipline. By attending to time as well as place, we can see how this long‐term perspective was crucial to their success; they measured evolutionary changes over generations of animals and their data provided insights into how the animals they studied were adapting (or not) to changing local and global environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The study of animals in nature is essential for developing an ecologically valid understanding of behaviour. Small mammals, however, are often fossorial and exceedingly difficult to monitor in the wild. This limits both the taxonomic scope of field observation, and excludes species that are powerful models for the study of behavioural mechanisms. 2. Here, we implement an automated radiotelemetry system (ARTS) designed to track small fossorial mammals. Our ARTS uses an isotropic antenna array coupled with broadband receivers. We characterized transmission at our study site and tested the ARTS’s ability to track 48 prairie voles. 3. We compared position estimates from nonlinear least squares, nonparametric and Bayesian trilateration methods and found Bayesian trilateration to have the smallest error. To examine the ability of the system to track biologically significant behaviour, we used ARTS data to investigate circadian rhythms of freely behaving prairie voles. We used Lomb–Scargle analysis to estimate periodic patterns from irregularly sampled time series. Prairie voles demonstrated circadian and ultradian movement. 4. This ARTS offers a new tool to observe rodent behaviour at time-scales and in environments that have not been previously possible, such as investigating social and spatial behaviours on the scale of minutes, hours and days in natural environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global declines in wildlife migrations have prompted new initiatives to conserve remaining migratory behaviors. However, many migrations have already been lost. Important attempts have been made to recover extirpated migrations, and our understanding of restoration remains narrowly confined to these particular species and landscapes. Here, we examine diverse restoration efforts through the unifying lens of behavioral ecology to draw broader inferences regarding the feasibility and effectiveness of restoring lost migrations. First, we synthesize recent research advances that illuminate key roles of exploration, learning, and adaptation in migratory behavior. Then, we review case studies to identify common themes of restoration success across four major vertebrate groups: fish, birds, mammals, and herpetofauna. We describe three broad strategies to effectively restore lost migrations: reestablishing migratory populations, recovering migratory habitats, and reviving migratory behavior itself. To guide conservation and research efforts, we link these strategies with specific management techniques, and we explore the biological mechanisms underpinning the success of each. Our work reveals a previously underappreciated potential for restoring lost migrations in terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates, and it provides guidance on whether and how conservation practitioners, researchers, and policymakers can work to restore the valuable migrations we have lost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic noise has received considerable recent attention, but we know little about the role that sources of natural noise have on wildlife abundance and distributions. Rivers and streams represent an ancient source of natural noise that is widespread and covers much of Earth. We sought to understand the role that whitewater river noise plays on arthropod abundance in riparian habitats across a desert landscape. For two summers, we continuously broadcasted whitewater river noise and spectrally‐altered river noise (shifted upwards in frequency, but maintaining the same temporal profile) to experimentally tease apart the effects of two characteristics of noise – sound levels and background spectral frequency – on arthropod abundances. We used five types of trapping methods, placed across 20 sites within the Pioneer Mountains of Idaho, USA, to collect and identify 151 992 specimens to the order level. We built Bayesian generalized linear mixed‐effects models with noise characteristics and other habitat variables such as riparian vegetation, elevation, temperature, and moonlight. Of the 42 models we built (one for each order‐trap type combination), 26 (62%) indicated a substantial response to at least one noise variable – sound pressure level, background spectral frequency, or an interaction between the two. Fourteen of 17 (82%) arthropod orders responded to noise in some capacity: Araneae, Coleoptera, Collembola, Dermaptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Opiliones, Orthoptera, Plecoptera, Raphidioptera, Thysanoptera and Trichoptera. Only three groups appeared to be unaffected, Acari, Archaeognatha and Diptera. Results from this study suggest that the natural acoustic environment can shape arthropod abundances both directly and indirectly (via predator–prey relationships). Future work should further examine the role that the indirect effects of noise play in food webs. Natural noise should be considered an important ecological niche axis, especially as we continue to alter natural acoustic environments and replace them with anthropogenic ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphibians exhibit diverse reproductive behaviors, including nine documented types of amplexus, the behavior in which male and female frogs position themselves for courtship, oviposition, and fertilization. All known forms of amplexus involve the male on top of or in line horizontally (cloacal apposition) with the female. Here, we report a novel form of amplexus observed in Lau's leaf litter toad (Leptobrachella laui; Megophryidae) in Hong Kong, China. Termed "sex‐reversed inguinal amplexus," the female climbs on top of a male and the male transports the female to a concealed breeding site. We were unable to determine whether this was the amplectant position in which frogs engaged during oviposition or solely during courtship and prior to oviposition, but there are a number of possible evolutionary drivers that may have given rise to this behavior, including limiting suitable oviposition sites or strong competition for males among females. Further research will be necessary to understand the evolutionary origins of this novel reproductive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying the distribution of daily activity is an important component of behavioral ecology. Historically, it has been difficult to obtain data on activity patterns, especially for elusive species. However, the development of affordable camera traps and their widespread usage has led to an explosion of available data from which activity patterns can be estimated.Continuous‐time spatial capture–recapture (CT SCR) models drop the occasion structure seen in traditional spatial and nonspatial capture–recapture (CR) models and use the actual times of capture. In addition to estimating density, CT SCR models estimate expected encounters through time. Cyclic splines can be used to allow flexible shapes for modeling cyclic activity patterns, and the fact that SCR models also incorporate distance means that space–time interactions can be explored. This method is applied to a jaguar dataset.Jaguars in Belize are most active and range furthest in the evening and early morning and when they are located closer to the network of trails. There is some evidence that females have a less variable pattern than males. The comparison between sexes demonstrates how CT SCR can be used to explore hypotheses about animal behavior within a formal modeling framework.SCR models were developed primarily to estimate and model density, but the models can be used to explore processes that interact across space and time, especially when using the CT SCR framework that models the temporal dimension at a finer resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how co‐occurring species divide ecological space is a central issue in ecology. Functional traits have the potential to serve as a means for quantitatively assessing niche partitioning by different species based on their ecological attributes, such as morphology, behavior, or trophic habit. This enables testing ecological and evolutionary questions using functional traits at spatio‐temporal scales that are not feasible using traditional field methods. Both rapid evolutionary change and inter‐ and intraspecific competition, however, may limit the utility of morphological functional traits as indicators of how niches are partitioned. To address how behavior and morphology interact, we quantified foraging behavior of mixed‐species flocks of birds in the Solomon Islands to test whether behavior and morphology are correlated in these flocks. We find that foraging behavior is significantly correlated with morphological traits (p =.05), but this correlation breaks down after correcting for phylogenetic relatedness (p =.66). These results suggest that there are consistent correlations between aspects of behavior and morphology at large taxonomic scales (e.g., across genera), but the relationship between behavior and morphology depends largely on among‐clade differences and may be idiosyncratic at shallower scales (e.g., within genera). As a result, general relationships between behaviors and morphology may not be applicable when comparing close relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foundational work has examined adaptive social behavior in animals in relation to the costs and benefits of group living. Within this context, a "group" of animals represents an organizational unit that is integral to the study of animal ecology and evolution.Definitions of animal group sizes are often subjective with considerable variability within and across species. However, investigations of both the extent and implications of such variability in the estimation of animal group sizes are currently lacking.Selecting ungulates as a case study, we conducted a literature review to assess prevailing practices used to determine group sizes among terrestrial Cetartiodactyla and Perissodactyla. Via this process, we examined group size definitions for 61 species across 171 peer‐reviewed studies published between 1962 and 2018.These studies quantified group sizes via estimation of ungulate aggregations in space and time. Spatial estimates included a nearest neighbor distance ranging from 1.4 m to 1,000 m, and this variation was partially explained by a weak positive correlation (|r| =.4, p <.003) with the body size of the ungulate research subjects. The temporal extent over which group size was estimated was even broader, ranging from three minutes to 24 hr.The considerable variability in ungulate group size estimation that we observed complicates efforts to not only compare and replicate studies but also to evaluate underlying theories of group living. We recommend that researchers: (a) clearly describe the spatiotemporal extents over which they define ungulate group sizes, (b) highlight foundational empirical and ecological rationale for these extents, and (c) seek to align such extents among individual species so as to facilitate cross‐system comparisons of ungulate group size dynamics. We believe an integrative approach to ungulate group size estimation would readily facilitate replication, comparability, and evaluation of competing hypotheses examining the tradeoffs of animal sociality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoring degraded habitat to increase biodiversity is a global challenge. While habitat restoration for animals should lead to self-sustaining breeding populations of target species, often this does not occur. Understanding the factors constraining progress toward this goal and how these constraints can be overcome is vital. We use a review to highlight how insights from animal behavior can help plan restoration projects, and identify and ameliorate some of the reasons why restoration may fail to meet biodiversity goals. We present a decision tree to highlight how behavioral knowledge can identify and address two ways in which restoration can fail when: (1) target animals do not colonize restored sites and (2) they colonize restored sites but experience conditions that do not match their habitat requirements. Investing in the collection of behavioral information may be difficult for management agencies when funding is limited. We highlight when behavioral information is likely to be most important, and some of the practical considerations for its application in restoration projects. We conclude by identifying key knowledge gaps and future directions that can improve restoration outcomes for biodiversity by incorporating behavioral knowledge. Restoration is needed to ameliorate the effects of habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation on fauna. Unfortunately, restoration does not always lead to the intended optimal outcomes for target animals. A greater consideration of animal behavior and its consequences can help during both the planning and evaluation of restoration projects. We hope to stimulate dialogue between restoration and behavioral ecologists to improve restoration outcomes for animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, research on animal personality has exploded within the field of behavioral ecology. Consistent individual differences in behavior exist in a wide range of species, and these differences can have fitness consequences and influence several aspects of a species' ecology. In comparison to studies of other animals, however, there has been relatively little research on the behavioral ecology of primate personality. This is surprising given the large body of research within psychology and biomedicine showing that primate personality traits are heritable and linked to health and life history outcomes. In this article, I bring together theoretical perspectives on the ecology and evolution of animal personality with an integrative review of what we know about primate personality from studies conducted on captive, free‐ranging, and wild primates. Incorporating frameworks that emphasize consistency in behavior into primate behavioral ecology research holds promise for improving our understanding of primate behavioral evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ant–plant mutualisms are useful models for investigating how plant traits mediate interspecific interactions. As plant‐derived resources are essential components of ant diets, plants that offer more nutritious food to ants should be better defended in return, as a result of more aggressive behavior toward natural enemies. We tested this hypothesis in a field experiment by adding artificial nectaries to individuals of the species Vochysia elliptica (Vochysiaceae). Ants were offered one of four liquid foods of different nutritional quality: amino acids, sugar, sugar + amino acids, and water (control). We used live termites (Nasutitermes coxipoensis) as herbivore competitors and observed ant behavior toward them. In 88 hr of observations, we recorded 1,009 interactions with artificial nectaries involving 1,923 individual ants of 26 species. We recorded 381 encounters between ants and termites, of which 38% led to attack. Sixty‐one percent of these attacks led to termite exclusion from the plants. Recruitment and patrolling were highest when ants fed upon nectaries providing sugar + amino acids, the most nutritious food. This increase in recruitment and patrolling led to higher encounter rates between ants and termites, more frequent attacks, and faster and more complete termite removal. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that plant biotic defense is mediated by resource quality. We highlight the importance of qualitative differences in nectar composition for the outcome of ant–plant interactions. Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many snakes are uniquely adapted to ingest large prey at infrequent intervals. Digestion of large prey is metabolically and aerobically costly, and large prey boluses can impair snake locomotion, increasing vulnerability to predation. Cessation of foraging and use of refugia with microclimates facilitating digestion are expected to be strategies employed by free‐ranging snakes to cope with the demands of digestion while minimizing risk of predation. However, empirical observations of such submergent behavior from field experiments are limited. The brown treesnake (Serpentes: Colubridae: Boiga irregularis) is a nocturnal, arboreal, colubrid snake that was accidentally introduced to the island of Guam, with ecologically and economically costly consequences. Because tools for brown treesnake damage prevention generally rely on snakes being visible or responding to lures or baits while foraging, cessation of foraging activities after feeding would complicate management. We sought to characterize differences in brown treesnake activity, movement, habitat use, and detectability following feeding of large meals (rodents 33% of the snake's unfed body mass) via radio telemetry, trapping, and visual surveys. Compared to unfed snakes, snakes in the feeding treatment group showed drastic decreases in hourly and nightly activity rates, differences in refuge height and microhabitat type, and a marked decrease in detectability by trapping and visual surveys. Depression of activity lasted approximately 5–7 days, a period that corresponds to previous studies of brown treesnake digestion and cycles of detectability. Our results indicate that management strategies for invasive brown treesnakes need to account for cycles of unavailability and underscore the importance of preventing spread of brown treesnakes to new environments where large prey are abundant and periods of cryptic behavior are likely to be frequent. Characterization of postfeeding behavior changes provides a richer understanding of snake ecology and foraging models for species that consume large prey. Many snakes exhibit remarkable physiological adaptations for ingestion of large prey; despite theoretical and laboratory‐based investigations of changes in snake behavior following ingestion of large meals, field experiments documenting such behaviors are limited. We document reduction in movement and changes in refuge site selection by invasive brown treesnakes on the island of Guam following experimental feeding of rodent mass equal to one third of the snake's body mass. These changes in postfeeding movement likely reflect evolution of behaviors favoring predator avoidance and meeting metabolic demands of digestion, and can reduce the effectiveness of invasive snake control tools based on snake foraging behavior for several days after ingesting a large meal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the animal kingdom, behavioral variation among individuals has often been reported. However, stable among‐individual differences along a behavioral continuum—reflective of personality variation—have only recently become a key target of research. While a vast body of descriptive literature exists on animal personality, hypothesis‐driven quantitative studies are largely deficient. One of the main constraints to advance the field is the lack of suitable model organisms. Here, we explore whether N. furzeri could be a valuable model to bridge descriptive and hypothesis‐driven research to further unravel the causes, function and evolution of animal personality. As a first step toward this end, we perform a common garden laboratory experiment to examine if behavioral variation in the turquoise killifish Nothobranchius furzeri reflects personality divergence. Furthermore, we explore if multiple behavioral traits are correlated. We deliver “proof of principle” of personality variation among N. furzeri individuals in multiple behavioral traits. Because of the vast body of available genomic and physiological information, the well‐characterized ecological background and an exceptionally short life cycle, N. furzeri is an excellent model organism to further elucidate the causes and implications of behavioral variation in an eco‐evolutionary context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ecologists have used Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to track animals for 30 years. Issues today include logging frequency and precision in estimating space use and travel distances, as well as battery life and cost. We developed a low‐cost (~US$125), open‐source GPS datalogger based on Arduino. To test the system, we collected positions at 20‐s intervals for several 1‐week durations from cattle and sheep on rangeland in North Dakota. We tested two questions of broad interest to ecologists who use GPS collars to track animal movements: (1) How closely do collared animals cluster in their herd? (2) How well do different logging patterns estimate patch occupancy and total daily distance traveled? Tested logging patterns included regular logging (one position every 5 or 10 min), and burst logging (positions recorded at 20‐s intervals for 5 or 10 min per hour followed by a sleep period). Collared sheep within the same pasture spent 75% of daytime periods within 51 m of each other (mean = 42 m); collared cattle were within 111 m (mean = 76 m). In our comparison of how well different logging patterns estimate space use versus constant logging, the proportion of positions recorded in 1‐ and 16‐ha patches differed by 2%–3% for burst logging and 1% for regular logging. Although all logging patterns underestimated total daily distance traveled, underestimations were corrected by multiplying estimations by regression coefficients estimated by maximum likelihood. Burst logging can extend battery life by a factor of 7. We conclude that a minimum of two collars programmed with burst logging robustly estimate patch use and spatial distribution of grazing livestock herds. Research questions that require accurately estimating travel of individual animals, however, are probably best addressed with regular logging intervals and will thus have greater battery demands than spatial occupancy questions across all GPS datalogger systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans modify their environments in ways that significantly transform the earth's ecosystems. Recent research suggests that such niche-constructing behaviors are not passive human responses to environmental variation, but instead should be seen as active and intentional management of the environment. Although such research is useful in highlighting the interactive dynamics between humans and their natural world, the niche-construction framework, as currently applied, fails to explain why people would decide to modify their environments in the first place. To help resolve this problem, we use a model of technological intensification to analyze the cost-benefit trade-offs associated with niche construction as a form of patch investment. We use this model to assess the costs and benefits of three paradigmatic cases of intentional niche construction in Western North America: the application of fire in acorn groves, the manufacture of fishing weirs, and the adoption of maize agriculture. Intensification models predict that investing in patch modification (niche construction) only provides a net benefit when the amount of resources needed crosses a critical threshold that makes the initial investment worthwhile. From this, it follows that low-cost investments, such as burning in oak groves, should be quite common, while more costly investments, such as maize agriculture, should be less common and depend on the alternatives available in the local environment. We examine how patterns of mobility, risk management, territoriality, and private property also co-evolve with the costs and benefits of niche construction. This approach illustrates that explaining niche-constructing behavior requires understanding the economic trade-offs involved in patch investment. Integrating concepts from niche construction and technological intensification models within a behavioral ecological framework provides insights into the coevolution and active feedback between adaptive behaviors and environmental change across human history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the arms race between plants, herbivores, and their natural enemies, specialized herbivores may use plant defenses for their own benefit, and variation in plant traits may affect the benefits that herbivores derive from these defenses. Pieris brassicae is a specialist herbivore of plants containing glucosinolates, a specific class of defensive secondary metabolites. Caterpillars of P. brassicae are known to actively spit on attacking natural enemies, including their main parasitoid, the braconid wasp Cotesia glomerata. Here, we tested the hypothesis that variation in the secondary metabolites of host plants affects the efficacy of caterpillar regurgitant as an anti-predator defense. Using a total of 10 host plants with different glucosinolate profiles, we first studied natural regurgitation events of caterpillars on parasitoids. We then studied manual applications of water or regurgitant on parasitoids during parasitization events. Results from natural regurgitation events revealed that parasitoids spent more time grooming after attack when foraging on radish and nasturtium than on Brassica spp., and when the regurgitant came in contact with the wings rather than any other body part. Results from manual applications of regurgitant showed that all parameters of parasitoid behavior (initial attack duration, attack interruption, grooming time, and likelihood of a second attack) were more affected when regurgitant was applied rather than water. The proportion of parasitoids re-attacking a caterpillar within 15 min was the lowest when regurgitant originated from radish-fed caterpillars. However, we found no correlation between glucosinolate content and regurgitant effects, and parasitoid behavior was equally affected when regurgitant originated from a glucosinolate-deficient Arabidopsis thaliana mutant line. In conclusion, host plant affects to a certain extent the efficacy of spit from P. brassicae caterpillars as a defense against parasitoids, but this is not due to glucosinolate content. The nature of the defensive compounds present in the spit remains to be determined, and the ecological relevance of this anti-predator defense needs to be further evaluated in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The expansion of Numic speaking populations into the Great Basin required individuals to adapt to a relatively unproductive landscape. Researchers have proposed numerous social and subsistence strategies to explain how and why these settlers were able to replace any established populations, including private property and intensive plant processing. Here we evaluate these hypotheses and propose a new strategy involving the use of landscape fire to increase resource encounter rates. Methods Implementing a novel, spatially explicit, multi-scalar prey choice model, we examine how individual decisions approximating each alternative strategy (private property, anthropogenic fire, and intensive plant processing) would aggregate at the patch and band level to confer an overall benefit to this colonizing population. Analysis relies on experimental data reporting resource profitability and abundance, ecological data on the historic distribution of vegetation patches, and ethnohistoric data on the distribution of Numic bands. Results Model results show that while resource privatization and landscape fires produce a substantial advantage, intensified plant processing garners the greatest benefit. The relative benefits of alternative strategies vary significantly across ecological patches resulting in variation across ethnographic band ranges. Combined, a Numic strategy including all three alternatives would substantially increase subsistence yields. Conclusions The application of a strategy set that includes landscape fire, privatization and intensified processing of seeds and nuts, explains why the Numa were able to outcompete local populations. This approach provides a framework to help explain how individual decisions can result in such population replacement events throughout human history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tsimane Health and Life History Project, an integrated bio-behavioral study of the human life course, is designed to test competing hypotheses of human life-history evolution. One aim is to understand the bidirectional connections between life history and social behavior in a high-fertility, kin-based context lacking amenities of modern urban life (e.g. sanitation, banks, electricity). Another aim is to understand how a high pathogen burden influences health and well-being during development and adulthood. A third aim addresses how modernization shapes human life histories and sociality. Here we outline the project's goals, history, and main findings since its inception in 2002. We reflect on the implications of current findings and highlight the need for more coordinated ethnographic and biomedical study of contemporary nonindustrial populations to address broad questions that can situate evolutionary anthropology in a key position within the social and life sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants make foraging decisions that are dependent on ecological conditions, such as resource availability and distribution. Despite the field of plant behavioral ecology gaining momentum, ecologists still know little about what factors impact plant behavior, especially light-foraging behavior. We made use of the behavioral reaction norm approach to investigate light foraging in a plant species that exhibits rapid movement: Mimosa pudica. We explored how herbivore avoidance behavior in M. pudica (which closes its leaflets temporarily when disturbed) is affected by an individual's energy state and the quality of the current environment and also repeatedly tested the behavior of individuals from two seed sources to determine whether individuals exhibit a 'personality' (i.e., behavioral syndrome). We found that when individuals are in a low-energy state, they adopt a riskier light-foraging strategy, opening leaflets faster, and not closing leaflets as often in response to a disturbance. However, when plants are in a high-energy state, they exhibit a plastic light-foraging strategy dependent on environment quality. Although we found no evidence that individuals exhibit behavioral syndromes, we found that individuals from different seed sources consistently behave differently from each other. Our results suggest that plants are capable of making state-dependent decisions and that plant decision making is complex, depending on the interplay between internal and external factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Anthropocene colloquially refers to a global regime of human-caused environmental modification of earth systems associated with profound changes in patterns of human mobility, as well as settlement and resource use compared with prior eras. Some have argued that the processes generating the Anthropocene are mainly associated with population growth and technological innovation, and thus began only in the late Holocene under conditions of dense sedentism and industrial agriculture.1 However, it now seems clear that the roots of the Anthropocene lie in complex processes of intensification that significantly predate transitions to agriculture.2,3 What intensification is remains less clear. For some it is increasing economic productivity that increases carrying capacity, the drivers of which may be too diverse and too local to generalize.4,5 For others using Boserup's ideas about agrarian intensification, increasing density in hunter-gatherer populations can produce declines in subsistence efficiency that increase incentives for investing labor to boost yield per unit area, which then elevates Malthusian limits on carrying capacity.6-8 As Morgan9 demonstrates in a comprehensive review, the legacy of such Boserupian intensification is alive, well, and controversial in hunter-gatherer archeology. This is a result of its potential for illuminating processes involved in transformations of forager socio-political and economic systems, including those dominated by harvesting more immediate-return resources and high residential mobility as well as those characterized by more delayed-return material economies with reduced residential mobility, a broader spectrum of resources, degrees of storage, and greater social stratification. Here we detail hypotheses about the processes involved in such transitions and explore the way that anthropogenic disturbance of ecosystems, especially the use of landscape fire, could be fundamentally entangled with many broad-spectrum revolutions associated with intensified foraging systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal populations can be affected by environmental disturbances in many ways including demographic and behavioral changes. This can affect interspecies associations for regularly interacting sympatric species, like bottlenose and spotted dolphins in the Bahamas (observed since 1985 and interspecies associations analyzed since 1993). After two hurricanes in 2004 each species lost roughly 30% of their respective communities resulting in differing social structure and behavioral changes. During mixed species encounters ( MSE) group sizes for spotted dolphins ( [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objectives Anecdotal and formal evidence indicate that primates take advantage of burned landscapes. However, little work has been done to quantify the costs and benefits of this behavior. Using systematic behavioral observations from a population of South African vervet monkeys ( Chlorocebus aethiops pygerythrus), we evaluate differences in food availability and energetics before and after controlled burns altered vegetation near their home range. We aim to determine whether burned habitats offer improved foraging opportunities. Methods We collected feeding data from foraging individuals and analyzed common plant foods for their energetic content. We then used the feeding and energetic data to calculate postencounter profitabilities and encounter rates for food types. Using negative binomial and mixed linear regression models we compared data from burned and unburned habitats. Results Our results show significantly improved encounter rates in burned landscapes for two prey items, invertebrates and grasses. However, postencounter profitabilities in burned areas were not significantly different than those achieved in unburned areas. Conclusions Results suggest that improved encounters alone can motivate changes in foraging behavior. These foraging benefits enable the exploitation of burned savanna habitats, likely driving postburn range expansions observed among populations of vervet monkeys. Thus quantified, these results may serve as a foundation for hypotheses regarding the evolution of fire-use in our own lineage. Am J Phys Anthropol 159:432-441, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An animal's behavior is affected by its cognitive abilities, which are, in turn, a consequence of the environment in which an animal has evolved and developed. Although behavioral ecologists have been studying animals in their natural environment for several decades, over much the same period animal cognition has been studied almost exclusively in the laboratory. Traditionally, the study of animal cognition has been based on well-established paradigms used to investigate well-defined cognitive processes. This allows identification of what animals can do, but may not, however, always reflect what animals actually do in the wild. As both ecologists and some psychologists increasingly try to explain behaviors observable only in wild animals, we review the different motivations and methodologies used to study cognition in the wild and identify some of the challenges that accompany the combination of a naturalistic approach together with typical psychological testing paradigms. We think that studying animal cognition in the wild is likely to be most productive when the questions addressed correspond to the species' ecology and when laboratory cognitive tests are appropriately adapted for use in the field. Furthermore, recent methodological and technological advances will likely allow significant expansion of the species and questions that can be addressed in the wild. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) conservation is a possible success story in the making. If extinction of this iconic endangered species can be avoided, the species will become a showcase program for the Chinese government and its collaborators. We reviewed the major advancements in ecological science for the giant panda, examining how these advancements have contributed to panda conservation. Pandas' morphological and behavioral adaptations to a diet of bamboo, which bear strong influence on movement ecology, have been well studied, providing knowledge to guide management actions ranging from reserve design to climate change mitigation. Foraging ecology has also provided essential information used in the creation of landscape models of panda habitat. Because habitat loss and fragmentation are major drivers of the panda population decline, efforts have been made to help identify core habitat areas, establish where habitat corridors are needed, and prioritize areas for protection and restoration. Thus, habitat models have provided guidance for the Chinese governments' creation of 67 protected areas. Behavioral research has revealed a complex and efficient communication system and documented the need for protection of habitat that serves as a communication platform for bringing the sexes together for mating. Further research shows that den sites in old-growth forests may be a limiting resource, indicating potential value in providing alternative den sites for rearing offspring. Advancements in molecular ecology have been revolutionary and have been applied to population census, determining population structure and genetic diversity, evaluating connectivity following habitat fragmentation, and understanding dispersal patterns. These advancements form a foundation for increasing the application of adaptive management approaches to move panda conservation forward more rapidly. Although the Chinese government has made great progress in setting aside protected areas, future emphasis will be improved management of pandas and their habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of complex time-series data from ecological system study requires quantitative tools for objective description and classification. These tools must take into account largely ignored problems of bias in manual classification, autocorrelation, and noise. Here we describe a method using existing estimation techniques for multivariate-normal hidden Markov models (HMMs) to develop such a classification. We use high-resolution behavioral data from bio-loggers attached to free-roaming pelagic tuna as an example. Observed patterns are assumed to be generated by an unseen Markov process that switches between several multivariate-normal distributions. Our approach is assessed in two parts. The first uses simulation experiments, from which the ability of the HMM to estimate known parameter values is examined using artificial time series of data consistent with hypotheses about pelagic predator foraging ecology. The second is the application to time series of continuous vertical movement data from yellowfin and bigeye tuna taken from tuna tagging experiments. These data were compressed into summary metrics capturing the variation of patterns in diving behavior and formed into a multivariate time series used to estimate a HMM. Each observation was associated with covariate information incorporating the effect of day and night on behavioral switching. Known parameter values were well recovered by the HMMs in our simulation experiments, resulting in mean correct classification rates of 90-97%, although some variance-covariance parameters were estimated less accurately. HMMs with two distinct behavioral states were selected for every time series of real tuna data, predicting a shallow warm state, which was similar across all individuals, and a deep colder state, which was more variable. Marked diurnal behavioral switching was predicted, consistent with many previous empirical studies on tuna. HMMs provide easily interpretable models for the objective classification of many different types of noisy autocorrelated data, as typically found across a range of ecological systems. Summarizing time-series data into a multivariate assemblage of dimensions relevant to the desired classification provides a means to examine these data in an appropriate behavioral space. We discuss how outputs of these models can be applied to bio-logging and other imperfect behavioral data, providing easily interpretable models for hypothesis testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleoanthropologists (scientists studying human origins) universally recognize the evolutionary significance of ancient climates and environments for understanding human origins. Even those scientists working in recent phases of human evolution, when modern humans evolved, agree that hunter-gatherer adaptations are tied to the way that climate and environment shape the food and technological resource base. The result is a long tradition of paleoanthropologists engaging with climate and environmental scientists in an effort to understand if and how hominin bio-behavioral evolution responded to climate and environmental change. Despite this unusual consonance, the anticipated rewards of this synergy are unrealized and, in our opinion, will not reach potential until there are some fundamental changes in the way the research model is constructed. Discovering the relation between climate and environmental change to human origins must be grounded in a theoretical framework and a causal understanding of the connection between climate, environment, resource patterning, behavior, and morphology, then move beyond the strict correlative research that continues to dominate the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolutionary anthropology provides a powerful theoretical framework for understanding how both current environments and legacies of past selection shape human behavioral diversity. This integrative and pluralistic field, combining ethnographic, demographic, and sociological methods, has provided new insights into the ultimate forces and proximate pathways that guide human adaptation and variation. Here, we present the argument that evolutionary anthropological studies of human behavior also hold great, largely untapped, potential to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation of social and public health policy. Focusing on the key anthropological themes of reproduction, production, and distribution we highlight classic and recent research demonstrating the value of an evolutionary perspective to improving human well-being. The challenge now comes in transforming relevance into action and, for that, evolutionary behavioral anthropologists will need to forge deeper connections with other applied social scientists and policy-makers. We are hopeful that these developments are underway and that, with the current tide of enthusiasm for evidence-based approaches to policy, evolutionary anthropology is well positioned to make a strong contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the behavioral decisions behind animal movement and space use patterns is a key challenge for behavioral ecology. Tools to quantify these patterns from movement and animal-habitat interactions are vital for transforming ecology into a predictive science. This is particularly important in environments undergoing rapid anthropogenic changes, such as the Amazon rainforest, where animals face novel landscapes. Insectivorous bird flocks are key elements of avian biodiversity in the Amazonian ecosystem. Therefore, disentangling and quantifying the drivers behind their movement and space use patterns is of great importance for Amazonian conservation. We use a step selection function ( SSF) approach to uncover environmental drivers behind movement choices. This is used to construct a mechanistic model, from which we derive predicted utilization distributions (home ranges) of flocks. We show that movement decisions are significantly influenced by canopy height and topography, but depletion and renewal of resources do not appear to affect movement significantly. We quantify the magnitude of these effects and demonstrate that they are helpful for understanding various heterogeneous aspects of space use. We compare our results to recent analytic derivations of space use, demonstrating that the analytic approximation is only accurate when assuming that there is no persistence in the animals' movement. Our model can be translated into other environments or hypothetical scenarios, such as those given by proposed future anthropogenic actions, to make predictions of spatial patterns in bird flocks. Furthermore, our approach is quite general, so could potentially be used to understand the drivers of movement and spatial patterns for a wide variety of animal communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared the settling preferences and reproductive potential of an oligophagous herbivore, the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris ( Hemiptera: Aphididae), in response to pea plants, Pisum sativum L. cv. ' Aragorn' ( Fabaceae), infected with two persistently transmitted viruses, Pea enation mosaic virus ( PEMV) and Bean leaf roll virus ( BLRV), that differ in their distribution within an infected plant. Aphids preferentially oriented toward and settled on plants infected with PEMV or BLRV in comparison with sham-inoculated plants (plants exposed to herbivory by uninfected aphids), but aphids did not discriminate between plants infected with the two viruses. Analysis of plant volatiles indicated that plants inoculated with either virus had significantly higher green leaf volatile-to-monoterpene ratios. Time until reproductive maturity was marginally influenced by plant infection status, with a trend toward earlier nymph production on infected plants. There were consistent age-specific effects of plant infection status on aphid fecundity: reproduction was significantly enhanced for aphids on BLRV-infected plants across most time intervals, though mean aphid fecundity did not differ between sham and PEMV-infected plants. There was no clear pattern of age-specific survivorship; however, mean aphid lifespan was reduced on plants infected with PEMV. Our results are consistent with predictions of the host manipulation hypothesis, extended to include plant viruses: non-viruliferous A. pisum preferentially orient to virus-infected host plants, potentially facilitating pathogen transmission. These studies extend the scope of the host manipulation hypothesis by demonstrating that divergent fitness effects on vectors arise relative to the mode of virus transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the blood-feeding behavior of Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto ( Diptera: Culicidae) is important to the control of this malaria vector. Whereas the mosquito's decision to initiate blood feeding under different physiological states is well-studied, its decision to terminate a blood meal in the face of a defensive host has received little attention. In light of this, we assayed the response of females when disturbed during a blood meal, in a size-energy state factorial experiment. We found that a mosquito's decision to abandon its host is dependent not only on its relative blood intake, but also on its size and energy state. In particular, mosquitoes are more likely to terminate feeding with increasing relative blood meal size, with the exception of small, high-energy ones, on which they tend to continue feeding. Mosquitoes that have engaged in prediuresis also tend to abandon their host more readily than those that have not. We discuss our results with regards to the marginal returns in fitness (via fecundity) of continuing feeding for body size, energy state, and interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]