Abstract The present study investigated the activity patterns of Formosan macaques at Mt. Longevity and an emphasis was given to feeding and foraging behavior. The diet composition of Formosan macaque showed significant changes among different age and sex classes of macaques as well as among different seasons. The field research was carried out from August 2003 to July 2004 for a total of 311 hrs covering 77 days. Feeding behavior dominated the activity patterns of the macaques at Mt. Longevity (28.11%), followed by other behaviors such as affiliate (24.71%), resting (17.10%) and moving (16.04%). In contrast, foraging (8.22%) and agonistic behaviors (5.50%) were the least among the activity patterns recorded during this study. Interestingly, adult males spent more time in resting (30.60%) while adult females spent more time in feeding (29.84%), which indicated that the activity patterns were influenced by sex and age groups. Plant food items accounted for 94.87% of their diet while the seminal fluid and breast milk accounted for 5.08%. The plant food items consumed by the monkeys came from 46 species in 31 families and the fruits alone amounted 42.18%. Other food items included leaf (26.20%), stem (11.84%), flower (10.33%), bud (9.14%) and root (0.03%). The relative frequency of fruit consumption by the macaques was higher than 40 % between May and September (40.53% - 63.79%) and December to January (54.66% - 55.28%). The Formosan macaque diet composition changed according to the sex and age class groups. The Simpson index, Shannon-Wiener index and Levine¡¦s niche breadth index changed according to sex, age and months respectively. The plant food diversity indexes were highest for the juvenile males and lowest for the adult females. The Levine¡¦s niche breadth index was broader for the juvenile females but narrowest for the adult females. Adult females consumed 35 species of plants which is higher than the number of species that the adult males and juveniles consumed. However, the plant food diversity index and the niche breadth index were low for adult females, which indicate that they choose certain types of food. On the other hand, all these three indexes were highest in May and changed from month to month. The diet overlap of the Formosan macaque (Renkonen percentage) was highest between adult males and adult females (85.2%) than between other sex/age groups. Among the five categories of age and sex groups, the diet overlap was 66.68% and 22 species of plants was consumed by all age and sex groups of Formosan macaques.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / People with depression are at elevated risk for future obesity; however, little is known about the potential mechanistic role of diet composition in this association. The aims of the present study were: (1) to examine depressive symptom severity as a predictor of 13-year change in seven diet composition factors over time, (2) to test 13-year change in diet composition factors as mediators of the association between depressive symptom severity and 13-year change in adiposity, and (3) to explore whether the Aim 2 mediation models are moderated by sex and race. Participants were 2,449 non-Hispanic Black and White adults who participated in the 1990, 1992, and 2005 years of the CARDIA study (mean baseline age = 35 years, 54% women, 56% non-Hispanic Black, mean baseline waist circumference = 84.0 cm, mean change in waist circumference = 8.3 cm). Depressive symptoms were assessed in 1990 using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Waist circumference and seven diet composition factors were assessed in 1992 and 2005. Diet composition factors included intake of total energy, saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, polyunsaturated fatty acid, fiber, sugar, and protein. PROCESS bootstrapping analyses were used to test for mediation and moderated mediation (see Figure 1 for the conceptual model). All models included adjustment for age; sex; race; education; prevalent and incident cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer; incident pregnancy; and 13-year change in physical activity. Greater baseline CES-D Total predicted greater 13-year increases in waist circumference (path c β = 0.032, p = .006). In separate models, there was a trend for greater baseline depressive symptoms predicting 13-year increases in total energy intake (path a β = 0.040, p = .054), and greater baseline depressive symptoms predicted 13-year increases in protein intake (path a β = 0.059, p = .004) and fiber intake (path a β = 0.040, p = .0496). Depressive symptoms were unrelated to 13-year changes in intake of the other diet composition factors of saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, polyunsaturated fatty acid, and sugar (all ps ≥ .129). Mediation models revealed that 13-year change in total energy intake and protein intake partially mediated the association between baseline depressive symptoms and 13-year change in waist circumference (total energy intake indirect effect = 0.001, 95% CI=0.0001-0.004; protein intake indirect effect = 0.002, 95% CI=0.0004-0.005); mediation was not observed for the other diet composition factors. Exploratory moderated mediation models detected a significant interaction for CES-D Total by sex predicting 13-year change protein intake only (Index of moderated mediation=0.004, 95%CI=0.001-0.010). All other tests of moderated mediation were non-significant (95% CIs included zero). Analyses stratified by sex revealed that CES-D Total was more strongly associated with 13-year increases protein intake in men (β = 0.011, p=.004) than in women (β = 0.027, p = .246). Findings from this larger, longitudinal, epidemiologic study suggest that the prospective relationship between depression and future obesity risk may be explained, in part, by intake of certain diet composition factors. Advancing the understanding of the relationship between depression and diet changes will inform clinical efforts to prevent or manage depression-related obesity.

Gizzard shad were illegally introduced to Claytor Lake in the late 1980s and soon established a thriving population. This study assessed 1) the degree to which gizzard shad were utilized by piscivores (pelagic - striped bass Morone saxatilis, hybrid striped bass M. chrysops x M. saxatilis, and walleye Stizostedion vitreum, and three littoral black basses Micropterus spp.), 2) the availability of gizzard shad as potential prey as determined from age and growth analysis, and 3) the performance (growth rates, relative weight, and relative abundance) of piscivores before versus after gizzard shad establishment. Gizzard shad were more highly utilized by pelagic predators (especially striped bass and their hybrids) than black basses. Rapid growth of gizzard shad (mean back-calculated length at age-1 = 155 mm TL) meant that almost all morphologically available shad were age-0. The reliance on one edible age class of gizzard shad resulted in an unstable food supply as evidenced by much greater striped bass shad consumption in Summer 1998 (63 % by weight) when age-0 shad were more abundant than in Summer 1997 (7 % by weight). Striped bass was the only species to exhibit faster growth rates and mean relative weight (Wr) values in the 1990s versus pre-shad years. Walleye (except age-1) and black bass growth rates declined, and mean Wr values either remained consistent or declined. Largemouth bass and walleye were the only sportfish to show increases in relative abundance. Benefits of gizzard shad as a forage fish appear to be limited to striped bass and its hybrid species. It is possible that gizzard shad have had, directly or indirectly, an adverse impact on the black basses of Claytor Lake, but explanatory analysis of these relationships was beyond the scope of this study. / Master of Science

Due to habitat degradation and overharvest (Colombo et al. 2007) sturgeon populations are declining throughout their global distribution (Pikitch et al. 2005). In North America, five sturgeon species are listed as endangered or threatened due to overharvest and habitat degradation. One species of direct concern is the pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus ) (Boreman 1997). The morphologically similar shovelnose sturgeon (S. platorynchus) is not listed as endangered but has become a cause for concern due to poor reproductive success and declining recruitment of their offspring to the adult population, likely a result of lack of proper spawning habitat and early life foraging opportunities (Wildhaber et al. 2007). Despite listing the pallid sturgeon as endangered and increasing concern about population decline, little information is available about the foraging ecology of age–0 Scaphirhynchus sturgeon. To ensure these sturgeon populations persist in the Middle Mississippi River, a better understanding of sturgeon foraging success during early life is imperative. I quantified age–0 Scaphirhynchus sturgeon (total length (TL) range: 14–200 mm; small < 50 mm TL, large 50–200 mm TL) diets during 2004–2008 to determine whether foraging behavior changed as a function of stage height, water temperature, water velocity, size class of sturgeon, and macrohabitat. I also examined whether energy density (cal/g) and selection of prey varied across size class and macrohabitat. Age–0 Scaphirhynchus sturgeon were collected from the Middle Mississippi River during spring (March, April, May), summer (June, July, August), and fall (September, October, November). Each prey item in diets was identified to family and measured to calculate dry weight. Ephemeroptera, Diptera pupae, and Chironomidae were the dominant taxa that were consumed across all years and seasons. Large sturgeon had a broader diet, consuming more non–dominant taxa. Abiotic factors differed across macrohabitats and thus influenced foraging behavior. Sturgeon occupying the island upstream tip (IUT) macrohabitat had the largest mean mass in diet and those at the island downstream tip (IDT) had the lowest mean mass in diet. Conversely, energy density of sturgeon was highest at IDT and lowest at IUT. Small sturgeon avoided macroinvertebrates that were outside the dominant prey taxa whereas large sturgeon selected for Chironomidae across all macrohabitats. Diets of age–0 Scaphirhynchus sturgeon vary as a function of size and are influenced by interacting of abiotic and biotic factors at each macrohabitat. As age–0 Scaphirhynchus sturgeon grow, their diet broadens. Diet of young sturgeon interacts with energy condition in counterintuitive ways that requires more study. Because foraging success differs among habitats and is likely linked to recruitment, habitat quality and quantity in the Middle Mississippi River is likely critical for sturgeon population density and growth.

Anglers unlawfully introduced gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum into Claytor Lake, Virginia in the late 1980s, apparently with the intention of improving the sportfishery by adding an additional clupeid prey resource. This study examined the trophic interactions between larval shad and resident zooplanktivorous fishes, in an attempt to discover the potential for trophic competition and negative impacts to these fish species. Ichthyoplankton sampling in 1997 and 1998 showed that peak abundances of larval shad overlapped temporally and spatially with both larval Lepomis spp. and larval alewife Alosa pseudoharengus. Peak larval shad density (0.04-0.06 fish/m3) was two to three orders of magnitude less than that reported from other reservoir systems, slightly less than that of larval alewife in Claytor Lake (0.05-0.07 fish/m3), and significantly less than that of larval Lepomis spp. in Claytor Lake (0.28-0.51 fish/m3). Diet overlap values indicated potential resource overlap among all three larval taxa. Diet of larval shad did not overlap with that of either age-0 Micropterus spp. or adult alewife. All species of limnetic larvae examined showed feeding preferences for Diaphanosoma and copepod nauplii. Crustacean zooplankton densities did not respond negatively to peak larval fish abundances, and never dropped below 250-400 organisms/L. In Claytor Lake, the impact of trophic competition with larval gizzard shad on other zooplanktivores currently appears to be minimized by low densities of larval shad and abundant crustacean zooplankton. / Master of Science

This Master thesis deals with diet of the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) and reproductive parameters. Muridae rodents dominated diet composition and Arvicolidae rodents and birds were alternative preys. Clutch size positively correlated with proportion of rodents in diet.

In Somalia, camel (Camelus dromedarius) survivability and milk production has been higher than for other domestic livestock and contributes substantially to the subsistence of Somali pastoralists. The objective of this research was to study management, foraging behavior and nutrition of camels in their natural habitat to determine how production continues under seasonal nutritional stress. Management systems of Ceeldheer pastoralists are based on available natural pasture and water. The natural rotation grazing system maintained an ecological equilibrium in the District. Pastoralists manipulate their herds to suit existing environmental conditions, family needs and labor availability for herding. In herd management, control of breeding males and preferential treatment to increase the female component of the herd are geared to secure continuous milk supply for the family. Camels were watered only in the dry seasons. They foraged continuously throughout the day the first few days after watering, but foraged mostly in the morning and evening as watering days approached. The quantity of water camels consumed in summer and winter dry seasons were similar. In winter, milking camels foraged more, travelled shorter distance and rested less than dry ones. In fall, 1986, and spring, 1987, lactating camels spent less time foraging than non-milking animals. Foraging time was the same for both groups in summer 1986, 1987 and fall, 1987. Camels spent more time chewing bones in summer of 1986 in Xarar foraging area than other seasons. Low or high relative humidity together with hot temperature apparently reduced foraging time, increased rumination and idling times in winter and spring seasons. As forage availability declined, camels ingested a broader array of dietary items in the dry seasons and consumed large amounts of herbaceous plants. The diets of milking and dry camels were similar. Lactating camels consumed more green forage than dry camels in the dry seasons. Shrubs and trees comprised major components of the diets (80.9%). Physical structures of plant species did not prevent feeding on the plants. Camel diets were rich in crude protein (cp), calcium (Ca), potassiuim and sodium. Phosphorus (P) was deficient. Ca:P ratios were extremely low. Neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent lignin were high. CP intake seemed adequate year round assuming camel protein requirements are similar to other livestock requirements. Digestible energy was deficient in dry seasons. Low energy intake, inadequate phosphorous availability and water deprivation were probably responsible for the weight loss of camels as the dry season progressed.

Development and climate change in the sagebrush habitats are causing population declines of North American hawks and eagles. For these species, understanding the landscape features that are preferred for nesting and the prey they consume in sagebrush habitats are important in developing conservation plans. Specifically, we know little of the preferred nest-sites and diet of Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis) and Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) many locales. In our study, we determined the landscape characteristics associated with nest sites for these two raptor species in the Uintah Basin, UT to predict where nests may occur in our study area. We found that slope, elevation, distance to nearest oil and gas wells, geology, and facing south were the most important variables in characterizing Golden Eagle nest-sites. Elevation, slope, vegetation type, and distance to nearest oil and gas wells were the most important variables in characterizing Ferruginous Hawk nest-sites. In addition, we looked at the diets of Golden Eagles, Ferruginous Hawks, and Northern Goshawks in the Uinta Basin, UT using a genetic analysis method novel to raptors. We found species consistent with previous diet studies and detected prey items not previously reported, including the Western Whiptail (Aspidocelis tigris), Domestic Cow (Bos Taurus), Domestic Pig (Sus scrofa), and Rock Bass (Amboplites rupestris) within Ferruginous Hawk samples. Results from our study can provide managers with tools to better survey for nest-sites and to provide an alternative method of diet analysis to provide insight into prey species important to these raptors.

Anti-predator behaviour, sexual selection and reproductive success in the House Sparrow Passer domesticus Alena Klvaňová Summary of the thesis Individual components of parental care are disproportionally distributed among the parents in the House Sparrow. While the female broods the nestlings more often and feeds them more frequently, the male defends the nest more intensely. In an experimental study the parents did not adjust their nest defence intensity to behaviour of their partners, nor to brood parameters. Only males tended to defend the sooner broods more intensely, which is in concordance with the "brood value hypothesis". Male contribution to nestling feeding affected their body mass. Male nest defence intensity increased with the size of their melanin ornament. Thus, we assume that the ornament could signal male investment in this component of parental care, while it does not correlate with feeding frequency and time spent by incubation. This output is probably caused by pleiotropic effect of genes regulating melanogenesis, affecting e. g. testosterone plasma level, which is associated with increased agression and lower intensity of other components of parental care as nestling provisioning or incubation. We have also aked the question whether the anti-predator strategy in House Sparrow is stable...

Práticas de manejo afetam a estrutura do dossel forrageiro, podendo afetar os padrões de deslocamento, procura e ingestão de forragem pelos animais em pastejo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de estratégias de pastejo rotacionado sobre o comportamento animal e padrões de ingestão de forragem de bovinos de corte em pastos de Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. O experimento foi realizado no Departamento de Zootecnia da USP/ESALQ, de novembro de 2005 a abril de 2006. Os tratamentos experimentais compreenderam a combinação entre duas intensidades (altura pós-pastejo de 10 e 15 cm) e dois intervalos entre pastejos (período de tempo necessário para se atingir 95 e 100% de interceptação luminosa pelo dossel durante a rebrotação - IL), e foram alocados às unidades experimentais (piquetes de 1.200 m²) segundo um delineamento inteiramente casualizado e arranjo fatorial 2 x 2, com 3 repetições. As avaliações foram realizadas de forma repetida em duas épocas do ano: (1) primavera (novembro e dezembro de 2005), e (2) verão (janeiro a abril de 2006). A densidade de lotação foi dimensionada para que a duração do período de ocupação fosse de 10 a 12 horas. Foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis-resposta: distribuição vertical dos componentes morfológicos da massa de forragem, dinâmica do rebaixamento dos pastos, padrões de ingestão (massa do bocado, taxa de bocados e taxa de consumo), comportamento (pastejo, ruminação e outras atividades), composição morfológica da forragem consumida; padrões de deslocamento e busca por alimento (número de estações alimentares por unidade de tempo e número de passos entre estações alimentares), e padrões de desfolhação de perfilhos individuais (profundidade de desfolhação e freqüência e intensidade de desfolhação de folhas em geral e nas categorias folhas em expansão e expandidas). As maiores taxas de rebaixamento foram registradas para os tratamentos 100/10 e 100/15, enquanto as menores para o tratamento 95/15. De modo geral, à medida que os animais permaneceram nos piquetes e ocorria depleção do estrato pastejável, a taxa de rebaixamento diminuiu em virtude da diminuição da altura do dossel e do aumento da presença de colmos e de material morto no horizonte de pastejo. Apesar de a intensidade de pastejo menos severa (altura pós-pastejo de 15 cm) resultar, no início do pastejo, em menor bocado, taxa de consumo e intensidade de desfolhação de folhas em expansão e expandidas, os animais acabaram consumindo uma forragem com maior proporção de folhas. Ao longo do rebaixamento, os tratamentos de 100% IL resultaram em bocados maiores, mas, no entanto, a taxa de consumo e a proporção de folhas na forragem consumida foram menores em relação aos tratamentos de 95% de IL. Os tratamentos 95/10 e 95/15 estiveram associados com maior atividade de pastejo e maior taxa de consumo, sugerindo maior consumo diário. Entretanto, o tratamento 95/15 foi o que resultou na maior proporção de folhas na forragem consumida, e foi o tratamento em que a intensidade e freqüência de desfolhação de folhas foram mais baixas, condicionadas pelas menores densidades de lotação empregadas. Esse padrão de desfolhação resultou em uma maior área foliar remanescente, favorecendo a rebrota seguinte e o rápido retorno dos pastos à utilização. A estratégia de pastejo que resultou em melhor utilização da forragem produzida, foi aquela em que os pastejos foram realizados com 95% de IL até uma altura pós-pastejo de 15 cm. / Management practices affect sward structure and may affect patterns of animal movement, search and forage ingestion during grazing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of rotational grazing practices on animal behaviour and patterns of forage ingestion of beef cattle on Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. The experiment was carried out at Departamento de Zootecnia, USP/ESALQ, from November 2005 to April 2006. Treatments corresponded to combinations between two grazing intensities (post-grazing residues of 10 and 15 cm) and two grazing frequencies (equivalent to the period of time necessary for swards to reach 95 and 100% interception of the incident light during regrowth – LI), and were allocated to experimental units (1200 m2 paddocks) according to a completely randomised design and a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement, with 3 replications. Measurements were performed in two seasons of the year: (1) spring (November and December 2005), and (2) summer (January to April 2006). Stocking density was calculated aiming at an occupation period of paddocks of 10 to 12 hours. The following response variables were analysed: vertical distribution of morphological components of sward herbage mass, dynamics of the grazing down process, patterns of ingestion (bite mass, bite rate, and intake rate), animal behaviour (grazing, rumination and other activities), morphological composition of the consumed herbage, patterns of animal movement and search for forage (number of feeding stations per unit of time and number of steps between feeding stations), and patterns of defoliation of individual tillers (defoliation depth, frequency and intensity of defoliation of leaves – expanding and expanded leaves). The highest rates of decrease in sward height were recorded for treatments 100/10 and 100/15, and the lowest for treatment 95/15. In general, as the occupation period progressed, the grazing stratum was depleted and there was a decrease in the rate swards were lowered, a result of lower sward heights and increased presence of stems and dead material in the stratum used by the animals for grazing. In spite of the lower grazing intensity (post-grazing height of 15 cm) has resulted, at the beginning of grazing, in smaller bites, intake rate and defoliation intensity of expanding and expanded leaves, the ingested herbage had a higher proportion of leaves compared to grazings at 10 cm residue. During the grazing down process, the 100% LI treatments resulted in heavier bites, but lower intake rate and proportion of leaves in the herbage consumed than the 95% LI treatments. Treatments 95/10 and 95/15 were associated with the largest grazing activity and highest intake rate, suggesting higher daily intake. However, 95/15 was the treatment that resulted in the largest proportion of leaves in the herbage consumed, and in the lowest values of frequency and intensity of defoliation of leaves, due to the lowest stocking density used. This pattern of defoliation resulted in a high residual leaf area after grazing, favouring regrowth and quick return of swards to grazing. The grazing strategy that allowed more efficient harvest of herbage was that where grazings were initiated with 95% LI and finished with a 15 cm post-grazing height.