Articles tagged with Foraging
Researchers at Mississippi State University have successfully bred heat-tolerant annual ryegrass using recurrent phenotypic selection. The new germplasm can germinate and survive under high temperature stress conditions, allowing for late summer or early fall planting in the Southeast, increasing grazing days in winter and spring.
Researchers found that longer alfalfa harvest intervals in the southeastern US result in positive outcomes, with harvesting at 42-day intervals producing maximum productivity. Growing alfalfa in mixtures with tall fescue also yields greatest forage mass and nutritive value.
A study by researchers at the University of Exeter found that captive otters tend to play with stones more when they are hungry. The behavior is thought to be linked to excitement for food, rather than practice for foraging skills.
Researchers found that New Zealand blue whales forage more in areas with dense and shallow krill patches. The study also revealed the importance of drone footage in understanding surface feeding behavior, providing insights into decision-making processes and prey response.
A team of scientists led by Michelle Staudinger calls for increased study of sand lance, a crucial food source for seabirds and marine mammals. The research highlights the need for better understanding of sand lance's biology and populations to inform conservation efforts.
Researchers observed flashing color displays in Humboldt squids when foraging with others, suggesting a sophisticated form of communication. The study found that this visual signaling can influence the squids' behavior, potentially enhancing pattern visibility under low light conditions.
Bowhead whales alter their behavior when killer whales are present, opting for areas with dense sea ice and shallow water near shorelines. This shift may come at the cost of reduced foraging opportunities in phytoplankton-rich open water.
Researchers tracked common noctule bat trajectories in Berlin to find that they mostly avoid built-up areas with artificial light. Instead, they use dark corridors like forests, parks, and watercourses for commuting and foraging.
A team of scientists found that whale body size is limited by the availability of their prey, with filter-feeding whales achieving the largest body sizes due to a high-energy payoff. Toothed whales, on the other hand, are limited by the energy spent chasing large prey in deep-sea environments.
Bison in Yellowstone engineer the range to their benefit by manipulating the landscape through grazing, affecting plant growth patterns. This allows them to maintain high-quality diets despite not following the broader pattern of spring green-up.
Researchers find epigenetic regulator CoRest plays a major role in differentiating social behavior in ants, influencing foraging and defense behaviors. Reprogramming of Major soldier ants to forage was shown to occur through transient epigenetic plasticity linked to long-lasting behavioral change.
A new study proposes that private property rights were a driving force behind the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution, rather than increased labor productivity. The research suggests that early farming communities adopted private property to facilitate broader applications and limit costly conflicts.
Seabirds (Manx shearwaters) use spatial cognition to navigate back to their home colonies with accurate directional knowledge. However, they do not encode specific routes or anticipate obstacles encountered during foraging trips.
A study found that shark pups born in stressed environments, like those with climate change and overfishing, lose their initial physical advantages. This means they start foraging later and have lower body conditions, affecting their survival rates.
A new study published in Science sheds light on how our ancestors fed themselves, dramatically changing the world to grow food. By 3,000 years ago, intensive farming was common, reshaping environments for human sustenance.
Research in forager honeybees suggests that changes in a vibration-sensitive neuron enhance waggle dance communication. The older bees demonstrate more precise connections to other brain regions and better signaling, allowing them to effectively convey information through the waggle dance.
A study by University of Wyoming scientists found that energy development leads to a significant loss of deer forage due to human disturbance, with indirect losses exceeding direct habitat loss. Deer favor areas with high sagebrush growth but avoid areas near oil and gas infrastructure, resulting in a 10.5% decrease in forage use.
A study by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology reveals that humans and chimpanzees travel with different linearity when approaching out-of-sight food locations. Humans tend to have higher linearity in familiar areas, while chimpanzees exhibit the opposite pattern.
A new study reveals that humans' presence creates a 'landscape of fear,' causing large carnivores to suppress their behavior and allowing rodents to forage more intensively. This shift has significant consequences for the entire food web, highlighting the need for ecologists to understand human-wildlife interactions.
A global survey of 25,363 beekeepers found that honey bee colonies declined by 16%, with higher losses in some regions. Beekeepers who moved their colonies to access other forage or pollination faced fewer losses than those who kept them in the same place.
An analysis of 41 ancient African genomes suggests that the spread of herding and farming into eastern Africa occurred in phases, with multiple movements of - and gene flow among - ancestrally distinct groups. The study reveals varying cultural responses and blurred archaeological boundaries as groups adopted each other's practices.
Female Egyptian fruit bats form bonds with male producers and exchange mating for nourishment. The study found that females give birth to pups of the males they most often scrounge food from, supporting the hypothesis that females trade mating for food.
Researchers studied African penguins' responses to changes in local fish abundance, finding that penguins' foraging behavior and chick body condition are directly linked to fish availability. The study suggests that penguins could be key indicators of local ecosystem health, informing fisheries management and conservation efforts.
A Rutgers-led study found that female and male bees of the same species visit different flowers for food, with females collecting pollen at greater rates than males. The research suggests targeting flower preferences to maintain genetically diverse bee populations.
A recent study found that pesticide cocktails can harm honey bees, reducing their survival and causing abnormal behavior. The research, led by the University of California San Diego, showed that combining Sivanto with a common fungicide can synergistically harm bee behavior and survival, depending on seasonality and bee age.
Researchers found that injecting manure into the soil versus broadcasting it on the surface can conserve nitrogen, while planting rye as a winter cover crop or double-cropping rye and corn can increase forage production. By incorporating these strategies, dairy farmers can reduce nitrogen loss and improve water quality.
Researchers found that honey bee colonies foraging on land with a strong cover of clover species and alfalfa do significantly better than those in crop fields. Higher levels of vitellogenin stores are associated with increased colony size, antioxidant enzymes, and disease resistance.
Researchers observed Ceratina nigrolabiata bees employing biparental care and social monogamy to safeguard offspring. This unconventional approach allows for increased protection of offspring, benefiting male bees by enhancing their mating prospects.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis discovered that honey bees produce distinct cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles based on age, which affects their social recognition and interaction with other bees within the colony. This study sheds light on the complex mechanisms of nestmate recognition in social insects.
Researchers found that bee colonies are more successful collecting food without waggle dance, suggesting the environment plays a key role. Bees were more active and produced more honey when deprived of dance language.
A study found that fruit flies with a full microbiome can choose to feed on larger but less nutritious droplets of food, whereas those without gut bacteria are limited to smaller droplets containing essential amino acids. This allows scientists to develop strategies to control invasive pests.
Researchers tracked bat species with unpredictable food sources using miniature sensors, finding that they foraged socially when food was scarce. In contrast, bats with predictable food sources foraged alone. The study suggests that social foraging may be a strategy to exploit ephemeral resources.
A new study by Johns Hopkins Medicine reveals that humans are hardwired to maximize rewards, leading to faster movement towards desirable outcomes. The research found that richer rewards result in quicker eye movements and decision-making, with implications for understanding human behavior and economic theory.
Researchers analyzed the flight patterns of swifts, discovering that they spend most of their time gliding and using rising currents to power their movements. This unique strategy allows them to extract energy from the air almost for free, making their foraging capabilities extremely efficient.
A new study led by James Crall at Harvard University found that exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides has profound effects on a host of social behaviors in bees, including reduced nursing of larvae and decreased social interaction. The study also showed that pesticides impair bees' ability to regulate temperatures inside the nest.
Researchers found that treating ants with dopamine increased individual foraging trips and sensitivity to humidity. The team also used a dopamine inhibitor to verify their results, showing that increased dopamine levels led to more foraging and improved colony behavior.
A University of Exeter study found captive flamingos engage in significant foraging and roam more widely at night compared to daytime hours. The birds tend to be more active at night, mirroring their natural behavior in the wild, suggesting an innate need to remain active.
A recent study found that Fiordland penguins travel up to 7,000km in just eight weeks to reach sub-Antarctic waters for food. The authors believe the birds may be following an instinct rather than a need to forage in this region.
A new study in mice, rats, and humans reveals that longer waiting periods for rewards strengthen a sunk cost bias, causing individuals to be less willing to give up pursuit of the reward. The researchers discuss three possible explanations for this phenomenon, which may help improve decision-making.
A new study reveals that making changes to farmed fish and livestock diets can prevent the depletion of wild forage fish populations by 2050. Eliminating their use in food for farmed carp, pigs, and poultry would be most beneficial, reducing pressure on forage fish over time.
Researchers at the University of Toronto found that vervet monkeys use heuristics to plan their routes when foraging for food, finding relatively short paths without much thought. This ability is similar to that of humans and highlights the cognitive abilities of these primates.
A study published in Scientific Reports found microfossils of fish and plant remains in a Mesolithic skeleton, providing evidence of a varied diet that included both aquatic and terrestrial food sources. The discovery sheds light on the lifestyle of early people in the Mediterranean region during this period.
New research by University of Bristol researchers found that dwarf mongooses can quantify earlier acts of cooperation and provide suitable levels of delayed rewards. The study shows that mongooses have sufficient cognitive ability to trade goods and services with their groupmates, with grooming being traded for sentinel behavior.
Researchers from the University of Chicago and University of Nebraska discovered that Australian fairy-wrens can recognize individual birds from other species and form stable, positive relationships. This cooperation allows them to better defend their territories and share benefits such as increased foraging success and reduced vigilance.
The Matabele ant, a species of termite-eating ant, uses detours to increase its speed while traveling back to the nest. By taking the quickest route rather than the shortest one, they reduce their travel time by an average of 35%. This navigational skill is unique to this species and allows individual ants to make decisions independently.
Researchers use time-lapse video observations to determine the foraging success of Emperor penguins, which is crucial in understanding their diet and adaptability to a warming Antarctic. The study's findings may inform conservation measures to protect the critically endangered species.
Scientists have discovered that sarcoptic mange causes significant loss of body heat and increased metabolic rate in Tasmanian wombats, leading to reduced foraging and increased mortality. The research suggests that dietary supplementation may help address these issues, offering new hope for the management of wombat mange.
Researchers at Monterey Bay Aquarium discovered sea turtles using their flippers to handle prey, a behavior thought to be unlikely in marine tetrapods. This 'exaptation' suggests flippers may have been adapted for novel tasks 70 million years earlier than previously thought.
A study found that half of pink-footed geese migrating to Denmark now stay for the winter, exploiting maize crops. This change is driven by increasing food availability, which may lead to agricultural conflicts and air traffic issues.
A study suggests that early Neanderthals in southern Tuscany used fire to create digging sticks and shape wooden tools. The site's fossil bones and cut marks indicate a high level of technical expertise in toolmaking, dating back to around 171,000 years ago.
Researchers used carbon isotopes to track shark feeding habits, finding that coastal sharks forage in a range of coastal food webs, while deeper ocean sharks rely on specific areas of colder water. The findings may help conservationists design more effective protection strategies for declining shark populations.
Researchers identified annual ryegrass as the most economically viable option to provide early season forage after alfalfa winterkill. This forage crop offers high yields and nutrient content, making it an effective way for farmers to offset losses.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London used harmonic radar technology to study how bees develop efficient routes. They found that experienced bees use a combination of visiting feeders in the same order and flying along habitual flight paths to reduce travel distance.
New research finds that medium-sized carnivores spend the most time looking for food, making them more vulnerable to environmental changes. The study reveals a mathematical model predicting vulnerability based on body size and prey availability, highlighting the impact of habitat loss and climate change on predators.
Researchers found that new immigrants initially provide little information to help the group but become fully integrated and valued members within five months. They suggest that an integration period is necessary before the benefits of an increased group size can be realized.
Researchers have identified two key locations to protect sea turtles: the waters off eastern Central Florida and the Great Bahama Bank. The study found that females who eat in southern areas tend to have more offspring, highlighting the importance of understanding where they forage.
A new study found that albatross populations have halved over the last 35 years on Bird Island due to environmental change and deaths in longline and trawl fisheries. Climate change and bycatch were found to be major contributors to this decline, with grey-headed albatrosses being particularly affected.
A study published in Scientific Reports reveals how Cape Town's baboons use a sit-and-wait tactic before raiding homes and gardens in search of food. The research shows that only 10% of their foraging time is spent on raids, highlighting the extreme behavioral flexibility of these canny primates.
Researchers discovered that duck embryos have a high density of rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors, making them more sensitive to touch. This specialization is crucial for ducks' tactile foraging abilities, which differ from those of visual-dependent chickens.
Green turtles breed in Cyprus and forage in Lake Bardawil, a new important feeding ground discovered using stable isotope ratios and satellite tracking. The study found that 82% of female turtles show high consistency in their isotope ratios, indicating they return to the same places.