Pub Date : 2025-07-27DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00412
Cord B. Eversole , Luis R. Rivas , Randy L. Powell
We report Helicops angulatus as prey of Bothrops mattogrossensis in the Bolivian lowlands, a novel dietary record with implications for understanding trophic interactions among Neotropical snakes. While B. mattogrossensis is a known generalist predator, specific dietary records, particularly of ophiophagy, remain rare. Given the shared habitat preferences, similar body sizes, and overlapping activity periods of these two species, this interaction highlights the potential for bidirectional or reciprocal predation. Such interactions may be more common than previously recognized, yet remain undocumented due to limited field data. We discuss the ecological significance of this finding in the context of predator-prey dynamics and propose further investigation into reciprocal predation in Neotropical snake assemblages.
{"title":"Ophiophagy in Bothrops mattogrossensis: Predation on Helicops angulatus and potential for reciprocal interactions among Neotropical snakes","authors":"Cord B. Eversole , Luis R. Rivas , Randy L. Powell","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00412","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00412","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We report <em>Helicops angulatus</em> as prey of <em>Bothrops mattogrossensis</em> in the Bolivian lowlands, a novel dietary record with implications for understanding trophic interactions among Neotropical snakes. While <em>B. mattogrossensis</em> is a known generalist predator, specific dietary records, particularly of ophiophagy, remain rare. Given the shared habitat preferences, similar body sizes, and overlapping activity periods of these two species, this interaction highlights the potential for bidirectional or reciprocal predation. Such interactions may be more common than previously recognized, yet remain undocumented due to limited field data. We discuss the ecological significance of this finding in the context of predator-prey dynamics and propose further investigation into reciprocal predation in Neotropical snake assemblages.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article e00412"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144721212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-19DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00408
Erdem Danyer , Uğur Özsandıkçı , Anil Soyumert
Cetacean carcasses stranded on coastlines can provide food resources for terrestrial predators. On 05 July 2024, a video shared on the media showed a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) carcass being carried by a brown bear (Ursus arctos) over the coastal rocks towards to the forest in Sinop, in the Black Sea region of Türkiye. This study is the first report of scavenging of a brown bear on a bottlenose dolphin with notes on its implications from a one health perspective. Our report suggests that the bottlenose dolphin carcass may provide an uncommon but potential food resource for brown bears along the Black Sea coastline.
{"title":"Scavenging of a brown bear (Ursus arctos) on a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)","authors":"Erdem Danyer , Uğur Özsandıkçı , Anil Soyumert","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00408","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00408","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cetacean carcasses stranded on coastlines can provide food resources for terrestrial predators. On 05 July 2024, a video shared on the media showed a bottlenose dolphin (<em>Tursiops truncatus</em>) carcass being carried by a brown bear (<em>Ursus arctos</em>) over the coastal rocks towards to the forest in Sinop, in the Black Sea region of Türkiye. This study is the first report of scavenging of a brown bear on a bottlenose dolphin with notes on its implications from a one health perspective. Our report suggests that the bottlenose dolphin carcass may provide an uncommon but potential food resource for brown bears along the Black Sea coastline.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article e00408"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144517285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-18DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00407
Brileigh V. Hicks , Augustin C. Engman , Jeronimo G. Da Silva Neto , Caitlin S. Carey , Julianna J. Jett , Gerald R. Dinkins
Many freshwater mussel species are experiencing significant declines across the United States, particularly in the Southeast where most of the diversity in this animal group occurs. In this study, we evaluated the impact of muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) predation on the mussel assemblage at Kyles Ford, a well-studied reach of the Clinch River, Tennessee. We compared quantitative estimates of abundance and size structure of live populations with shells that accumulated in muskrat middens between September and December 2023. We used a sampling approach that censused all shells deposited by muskrats at this site during the study and allowed us to quantify predation rates and size-and species-selectivity of muskrat predation. In total, we documented the predation of 2370 individual mussels of 26 species, including 14 federally listed species and one candidate species. The mean predation rate was 20 mussels per day, and muskrats exhibited preference for larger individuals. The Chesson's index confirmed significant species selectivity coinciding with endangered species and size-selectivity was observed in four species. These findings underscore the need for further research into the seasonal and environmental variability of muskrat predation and its long-term effects on mussel populations. Additionally, our results suggest that muskrat middens may serve as a valuable tool for monitoring mussel species occurrences.
{"title":"Assessing muskrat predation on a freshwater mussel assemblage in a southeastern United States river","authors":"Brileigh V. Hicks , Augustin C. Engman , Jeronimo G. Da Silva Neto , Caitlin S. Carey , Julianna J. Jett , Gerald R. Dinkins","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00407","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00407","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Many freshwater mussel species are experiencing significant declines across the United States, particularly in the Southeast where most of the diversity in this animal group occurs. In this study, we evaluated the impact of muskrat (<em>Ondatra zibethicus</em>) predation on the mussel assemblage at Kyles Ford, a well-studied reach of the Clinch River, Tennessee. We compared quantitative estimates of abundance and size structure of live populations with shells that accumulated in muskrat middens between September and December 2023. We used a sampling approach that censused all shells deposited by muskrats at this site during the study and allowed us to quantify predation rates and size-and species-selectivity of muskrat predation. In total, we documented the predation of 2370 individual mussels of 26 species, including 14 federally listed species and one candidate species. The mean predation rate was 20 mussels per day, and muskrats exhibited preference for larger individuals. The Chesson's index confirmed significant species selectivity coinciding with endangered species and size-selectivity was observed in four species. These findings underscore the need for further research into the seasonal and environmental variability of muskrat predation and its long-term effects on mussel populations. Additionally, our results suggest that muskrat middens may serve as a valuable tool for monitoring mussel species occurrences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article e00407"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144364471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-18DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00409
Gargi Nandy, Gautam Aditya
The predation and the prey preference of the land snail Gulella bicolor (Hutton, 1834) (Gastropda: Streptaxidae) against coexisting land snails, Allopeas gracile (Hutton, 1834 (Gastropoda: Achatinidae), Succinea daucina (L. Pfeiffer, 1854) (Gastropoda: Succineidae) and Glessula gemma (Reeve, 1850) (Gastropoda: Achatinidae) were evaluated. The prey size class, prey density and predator density were considered as the explanatory variable to evaluate the predation pattern and the prey selectivity of G. bicolor. For snail species A. gracile and S. daucina, the predation pattern varied significantly as a function of prey size classes, prey density and predator density but not for G. gemma. The prey selectivity suggested that for selected size classes, the preference was inclined towards A. gracile, when G. gemma or S. daucina were present as alternative prey. However, when S. daucina and G. gemma were present together, the significant preference was observed. As a consequence, the potential apparent competition web (PAC) of the interactions of the predatory snail G. bicolour and the prey snails, A. gracile, G. gemma and S. daucina was calculated. Although, the predatory snail G. bicolour can be promoted as a biocontrol agent, the successful regulation may vary with the size and density of the prey snails and the extent of the PAC.
{"title":"Predation and prey preference of the land snail Gulella bicolor - implication for land snail regulation","authors":"Gargi Nandy, Gautam Aditya","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00409","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00409","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The predation and the prey preference of the land snail <em>Gulella bicolor</em> (Hutton, 1834) (Gastropda: Streptaxidae) against coexisting land snails, <em>Allopeas gracile</em> (Hutton, 1834 (Gastropoda: Achatinidae), <em>Succinea daucina</em> (L. Pfeiffer, 1854) (Gastropoda: Succineidae) and <em>Glessula gemma</em> (Reeve, 1850) (Gastropoda: Achatinidae) were evaluated. The prey size class, prey density and predator density were considered as the explanatory variable to evaluate the predation pattern and the prey selectivity of <em>G. bicolor.</em> For snail species <em>A. gracile</em> and <em>S. daucina</em>, the predation pattern varied significantly as a function of prey size classes, prey density and predator density but not for <em>G. gemma</em>. The prey selectivity suggested that for selected size classes, the preference was inclined towards <em>A. gracile</em>, when <em>G. gemma</em> or <em>S. daucina</em> were present as alternative prey. However, when <em>S. daucina</em> and <em>G. gemma</em> were present together, the significant preference was observed. As a consequence, the potential apparent competition web (PAC) of the interactions of the predatory snail <em>G. bicolour</em> and the prey snails, <em>A. gracile, G. gemma</em> and <em>S. daucina</em> was calculated. Although, the predatory snail <em>G. bicolour</em> can be promoted as a biocontrol agent, the successful regulation may vary with the size and density of the prey snails and the extent of the PAC.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article e00409"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144491195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-18DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00410
Eduarda Silva de Lima , Iluany da Silva Costa , Thaís Santos Souza , Emilly Vieira Drosdosky , Matheus Fernandes-Freitas , Karina Dias-Silva
Prey selection by aquatic predators is influenced by active choice, prey vulnerability and encounter rate. Megaloptera is an order of predatory aquatic insects whose larvae feed exclusively on live prey. Their larvae are found in Amazonian streams, but their biology, distribution and diet have been little studied. Here, an event of Tipulidae predation by Corydalus batesii (McLachlan, 1868) was recorded in a conserved stream in Medicilândia, Pará. This species had not been recorded in the state for 26 years, and this is the first time that the feeding of this larva has been evaluated. The study adds gaps in the behavior and distribution of this species, adding to knowledge about trophic interactions in Amazonian streams and also reinforcing the importance of conserving these ecosystems. The urgency for habitat conservation is highlighted by the fact that the stream evaluated was deforested and impacted weeks after collection.
{"title":"Predatory behavior of the hellgrammite larva Corydalus batesii (McLachlan, 1868) (Insecta: Megaloptera: Corydalidae) in an Amazonian stream","authors":"Eduarda Silva de Lima , Iluany da Silva Costa , Thaís Santos Souza , Emilly Vieira Drosdosky , Matheus Fernandes-Freitas , Karina Dias-Silva","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00410","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Prey selection by aquatic predators is influenced by active choice, prey vulnerability and encounter rate. Megaloptera is an order of predatory aquatic insects whose larvae feed exclusively on live prey. Their larvae are found in Amazonian streams, but their biology, distribution and diet have been little studied. Here, an event of Tipulidae predation by <em>Corydalus batesii</em> (McLachlan, 1868) was recorded in a conserved stream in Medicilândia, Pará. This species had not been recorded in the state for 26 years, and this is the first time that the feeding of this larva has been evaluated. The study adds gaps in the behavior and distribution of this species, adding to knowledge about trophic interactions in Amazonian streams and also reinforcing the importance of conserving these ecosystems. The urgency for habitat conservation is highlighted by the fact that the stream evaluated was deforested and impacted weeks after collection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article e00410"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144322386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-18DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00406
Glauco C.S. Oliveira , Guilherme R. Demetrio , Gabriel C. Jacques , Igor H. Silva , Marcos M. Souza , Antonio D. Brescovit
This study documents, for the first time, the consumption of honeydew by a spider of the genus Aysha (Anyphaenidae) in an urban environment in southeastern Brazil. Spiders are generalist predators, but some species exploit non-prey food sources, such as nectar and honeydew. The observation took place on Cinnamomum verum, an exotic tree frequently infested by the leafhopper Aethalion reticulatum, which produces honeydew consumed by various insects. A female Aysha was observed ingesting honeydew droplets trapped on silk threads of a web belonging to an unknown spider located below a colony of A. reticulatum, over three consecutive nights, suggesting that this food resource may represent a supplementary diet, which may benefit the spiders particularly during periods of prey scarcity. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of this resource in spider feeding ecology.
{"title":"Drinking to the last drop! Record of honeydew consumption by a ghost spider (Araneae: Anyphaenidae) in an urban environment in southeastern Brazil","authors":"Glauco C.S. Oliveira , Guilherme R. Demetrio , Gabriel C. Jacques , Igor H. Silva , Marcos M. Souza , Antonio D. Brescovit","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00406","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00406","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study documents, for the first time, the consumption of honeydew by a spider of the genus <em>Aysha</em> (Anyphaenidae) in an urban environment in southeastern Brazil. Spiders are generalist predators, but some species exploit non-prey food sources, such as nectar and honeydew. The observation took place on <em>Cinnamomum verum</em>, an exotic tree frequently infested by the leafhopper <em>Aethalion reticulatum</em>, which produces honeydew consumed by various insects. A female <em>Aysha</em> was observed ingesting honeydew droplets trapped on silk threads of a web belonging to an unknown spider located below a colony of <em>A. reticulatum</em>, over three consecutive nights, suggesting that this food resource may represent a supplementary diet, which may benefit the spiders particularly during periods of prey scarcity. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of this resource in spider feeding ecology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article e00406"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144330272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Apex predators play a critical role in ecosystem dynamics, exerting top-down control over prey populations and influencing biodiversity. The current study focused on the distribution, diet menu and human conflict of Snow leopard (Panthera uncia), one of the apex predators in the Khunjerab National Park (KNP), Gilgit-Baltistan. We used camera trapping as well as field survey techniques for determining the distribution of the species in the study area. The diet of snow leopard was investigated through scat analysis while human conflict was investigated through self-designed questionnaires. Results showed that snow leopards are distributed in different areas of the park at various elevations ranging between 3075 m(lowest) and 6293 m (highest). The camera traps captured a total of 20 capture “events or encounters” of snow leopard, among overall 550 photographs taken at various sites. Analysis of these capture data revealed that the activity pattern of snow leopard was bimodal, and it showed peak activity during dawn and dusk times. Scat analysis revealed that snow leopards take 72 % of their diet from wild prey, of which Himalayan Ibex makes up a large portion, and the remaining 28 % from the domestic prey, of which Yak is consumed at a high rate. Questionnaire data analysis revealed that depredation by snow leopard on livestock mostly occurs in the valley locations (88.5 %), with grazing areas accounting for 11.4 % of the total. The attacks occur mostly at night, and in the months of May and June, respectively, In the KNP, apex predators attack yaks by 82.2 %; while depredation rates for sheep, goats, and cows were 8.3 %, 6.25 %, and 3.12 %, respectively. The study concludes that depredation on livestock is the main cause of conflict between humans and the snow leopard in the study area, and it is the biggest challenge for conservationists.
{"title":"Spatio-temporal distribution, diet and human conflict of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in the Khunjerab National Park, Gilgit Baltistan","authors":"Saira Akber , Tariq Mahmood , Tahir Mehmood , Amjad Rashid Kayani , Muhammad Sajid Nadeem , Faraz Akrim","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00402","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00402","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Apex predators play a critical role in ecosystem dynamics, exerting top-down control over prey populations and influencing biodiversity. The current study focused on the distribution, diet menu and human conflict of Snow leopard <em>(Panthera uncia</em>), one of the apex predators in the Khunjerab National Park (KNP), Gilgit-Baltistan. We used camera trapping as well as field survey techniques for determining the distribution of the species in the study area. The diet of snow leopard was investigated through scat analysis while human conflict was investigated through self-designed questionnaires. Results showed that snow leopards are distributed in different areas of the park at various elevations ranging between 3075 m(lowest) and 6293 m (highest). The camera traps captured a total of 20 capture “events or encounters” of snow leopard, among overall 550 photographs taken at various sites. Analysis of these capture data revealed that the activity pattern of snow leopard was bimodal, and it showed peak activity during dawn and dusk times. Scat analysis revealed that snow leopards take 72 % of their diet from wild prey, of which Himalayan Ibex makes up a large portion, and the remaining 28 % from the domestic prey, of which Yak is consumed at a high rate. Questionnaire data analysis revealed that depredation by snow leopard on livestock mostly occurs in the valley locations (88.5 %), with grazing areas accounting for 11.4 % of the total. The attacks occur mostly at night, and in the months of May and June, respectively, In the KNP, apex predators attack yaks by 82.2 %; while depredation rates for sheep, goats, and cows were 8.3 %, 6.25 %, and 3.12 %, respectively. The study concludes that depredation on livestock is the main cause of conflict between humans and the snow leopard in the study area, and it is the biggest challenge for conservationists.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article e00402"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144184916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-30DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00401
Jenny A. Angarita-Báez, Henrique C. Delfino, Caio J. Carlos
Understanding trophic ecology is essential for elucidating species' life histories and the ecological interactions that sustain them. For migratory shorebirds, which are opportunistic feeders, survival across vast migratory routes depends on the availability of critical stopover sites, where local environmental conditions shape food resources. In this study, we applied a network-based approach to examine shorebird-prey interactions across the Americas, constructing an interaction matrix from a systematic literature review spanning publications from 1929 to the present. Our analysis, encompassing the diets of 36 migratory shorebird species across distinct biogeographic realms, revealed that shorebird-prey networks exhibit low nestedness, low connectance, and moderate modularity. These structural patterns suggest a balance between vulnerability to prey decline and potential resilience through reduced competition and disease transmission. Network structure varied more in tropical regions than in temperate zones. Contrary to our hypothesis, prey richness did not correlate with increased morphological specialization among shorebirds. This suggests that factors beyond morphology, such as behavioral plasticity or interspecific competition, may play a greater role in shaping foraging strategies. This research provides the first comprehensive analysis of structural patterns in antagonistic shorebird-prey networks across the Americas. While the observed modularity suggests some resilience during migration, climate change and anthropogenic pressures pose significant threats. Continued research into shorebird diets is imperative for informing conservation and management strategies at key stopover sites.
{"title":"American shorebird-prey network patterns: Geographic variation in non-breeding habitats","authors":"Jenny A. Angarita-Báez, Henrique C. Delfino, Caio J. Carlos","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00401","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00401","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding trophic ecology is essential for elucidating species' life histories and the ecological interactions that sustain them. For migratory shorebirds, which are opportunistic feeders, survival across vast migratory routes depends on the availability of critical stopover sites, where local environmental conditions shape food resources. In this study, we applied a network-based approach to examine shorebird-prey interactions across the Americas, constructing an interaction matrix from a systematic literature review spanning publications from 1929 to the present. Our analysis, encompassing the diets of 36 migratory shorebird species across distinct biogeographic realms, revealed that shorebird-prey networks exhibit low nestedness, low connectance, and moderate modularity. These structural patterns suggest a balance between vulnerability to prey decline and potential resilience through reduced competition and disease transmission. Network structure varied more in tropical regions than in temperate zones. Contrary to our hypothesis, prey richness did not correlate with increased morphological specialization among shorebirds. This suggests that factors beyond morphology, such as behavioral plasticity or interspecific competition, may play a greater role in shaping foraging strategies. This research provides the first comprehensive analysis of structural patterns in antagonistic shorebird-prey networks across the Americas. While the observed modularity suggests some resilience during migration, climate change and anthropogenic pressures pose significant threats. Continued research into shorebird diets is imperative for informing conservation and management strategies at key stopover sites.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article e00401"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143907493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-19DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00399
Fang-Shuo Hu , Yun Hsiao , Alexey Solodovnikov
The behavior of organisms is very difficult to observe and document, especially direct interactions such as predation. As a result, there are few systematic studies of such phenomena on a large scale and the food webs of organisms that are formed by fleeting and opportunistic interactions are largely unknown. Understanding food webs is essential for addressing the Eltonian shortfall in biodiversity knowledge and revealing ecosystem dynamics. The rise of citizen science in recent years offers unique opportunities to study food webs on a global scale, which has been demonstrated for larger animals but not for small ones like insects. Here we explore the potential of iNaturalist as a cost-effective citizen science platform to obtain data about the prey choices of predatory rove beetles (family Staphylinidae) from the subtribe Staphylinina, as an alternative to traditional, labor-intense laboratory studies. We manually mined the dietary evidence of Staphylinina worldwide through over 48,000 observations on iNaturalist and 159 records of predation were found. Our findings show that citizen science data not only supports the published studies, but also provides direct and novel field-based evidence of rove beetle prey specialization with numbers of observations that exceed the amount of previously available data by an order of magnitude. We confirmed that some Staphylinina are generalist predators and discovered that some genera and species exhibit specific prey preferences, as documented by iNaturalist. This approach demonstrates that citizen science platforms offer an innovative, scalable, and cost-effective solution to filling global biodiversity knowledge gaps.
{"title":"A global citizen science effort via iNaturalist reveals food webs of large predatory rove beetles","authors":"Fang-Shuo Hu , Yun Hsiao , Alexey Solodovnikov","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00399","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00399","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The behavior of organisms is very difficult to observe and document, especially direct interactions such as predation. As a result, there are few systematic studies of such phenomena on a large scale and the food webs of organisms that are formed by fleeting and opportunistic interactions are largely unknown. Understanding food webs is essential for addressing the Eltonian shortfall in biodiversity knowledge and revealing ecosystem dynamics. The rise of citizen science in recent years offers unique opportunities to study food webs on a global scale, which has been demonstrated for larger animals but not for small ones like insects. Here we explore the potential of iNaturalist as a cost-effective citizen science platform to obtain data about the prey choices of predatory rove beetles (family Staphylinidae) from the subtribe Staphylinina, as an alternative to traditional, labor-intense laboratory studies. We manually mined the dietary evidence of Staphylinina worldwide through over 48,000 observations on iNaturalist and 159 records of predation were found. Our findings show that citizen science data not only supports the published studies, but also provides direct and novel field-based evidence of rove beetle prey specialization with numbers of observations that exceed the amount of previously available data by an order of magnitude. We confirmed that some Staphylinina are generalist predators and discovered that some genera and species exhibit specific prey preferences, as documented by iNaturalist. This approach demonstrates that citizen science platforms offer an innovative, scalable, and cost-effective solution to filling global biodiversity knowledge gaps.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article e00399"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143869528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-16DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00400
Casper Avenant
The feeding behaviour on sea turtle eggs and hatchlings by the golden ghost crab Ocypode convexa, a species endemic to the west coast of Australia, was observed in field and laboratory settings using infrared videography. On beaches where ghost crab densities are high, multiple crabs can feed on nests over several nights, often resulting in destruction of clutches. Crabs appear to anticipate the emergence of hatchlings, often congregating near nests in the moments prior to emergence. When feeding on eggs crabs rupture eggshells using the sharp tips of their claws, with tissue subsequently moved to the mouthparts for ingestion using the minor claw while the broken shell is held with the major claw. When feeding on hatchlings crabs generally restrain hatchlings using the large claw to grip them around the neck, while the small claw cuts through the soft skin around the neck to partially or fully sever the head before feeding from the cavity. Infrared videography was successfully used to observe cryptic prey handling and feeding behaviours that may be compromised by more traditional observational methods.
{"title":"Insights into prey handling and feeding strategies by ghost crabs on sea turtle eggs and hatchlings","authors":"Casper Avenant","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00400","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2025.e00400","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The feeding behaviour on sea turtle eggs and hatchlings by the golden ghost crab <em>Ocypode convexa</em>, a species endemic to the west coast of Australia, was observed in field and laboratory settings using infrared videography. On beaches where ghost crab densities are high, multiple crabs can feed on nests over several nights, often resulting in destruction of clutches. Crabs appear to anticipate the emergence of hatchlings, often congregating near nests in the moments prior to emergence. When feeding on eggs crabs rupture eggshells using the sharp tips of their claws, with tissue subsequently moved to the mouthparts for ingestion using the minor claw while the broken shell is held with the major claw. When feeding on hatchlings crabs generally restrain hatchlings using the large claw to grip them around the neck, while the small claw cuts through the soft skin around the neck to partially or fully sever the head before feeding from the cavity. Infrared videography was successfully used to observe cryptic prey handling and feeding behaviours that may be compromised by more traditional observational methods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article e00400"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143844251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号