Pub Date : 2024-06-04DOI: 10.1163/15707563-bja10137
K. Kandaswamy, Kayalvizhi Vadivelu, Jackson Durairaj Selvan Christyraj, Karthikeyan Subbiahanadar Chelladurai, Kamarajan Rajagopalan, Puja Das, Meikandan Chandrasekar, Nivedha Balamurugan, Vijayalakshmi Subramanian, Johnson Retnaraj Samuel Selvan Christyraj
Earthworms have a complex digestive system consisting of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard, and intestine which work together to pass the soil out. The gut soil and associated microbial load in earthworms’ gut hinder the outcome of many experiments like in-vitro regeneration, histology, immunohistochemistry, molecular expression and toxicological studies. Currently, the available gut cleaning techniques are time-consuming and costly. The tissue paper method takes 4-7 days; the agar-agar method takes around 3-5 days to clean the gut. Therefore, refined techniques are needed to reduce the gut cleaning process in a cost-effective and at the same time in a minimum number of days. Bisacodyl is a medication used to treat constipation and it acts as a laxative drug that increases peristatic movement of the gut. It can also be used to cleanse the intestines before a bowel examination or surgery. The present study aims to enhance the gut-cleaning process in earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae, using the drug bisacodyl. Briefly, the earthworm is exposed to different concentrations (1 mg, 2 mg, 4 mg, 6 mg, 8 mg and 10 mg) of bisacodyl and analyzed for its excretion rate. We observed that 4 mg is more efficient and aids in cleaning the earthworm’s gut within two days. A lower bisacodyl concentration is inefficient in cleaning the gut in a shorter duration while at higher bisacodyl concentrations, worm experienced autotomy. Since the drug was active for only 45 mins, the worm became normal one hour after withdrawal from the experiment. Other than E. eugeniae, for Perionyx excavatus we observed 4 mg bisacodyl drug is efficient and aids in cleaning its gut within two days. Overall, the designed protocol is efficient for gut cleaning in a shorter duration in a cost-effective manner.
{"title":"An improved protocol for inducing the gut cleaning process in earthworm for various experiments","authors":"K. Kandaswamy, Kayalvizhi Vadivelu, Jackson Durairaj Selvan Christyraj, Karthikeyan Subbiahanadar Chelladurai, Kamarajan Rajagopalan, Puja Das, Meikandan Chandrasekar, Nivedha Balamurugan, Vijayalakshmi Subramanian, Johnson Retnaraj Samuel Selvan Christyraj","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10137","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10137","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Earthworms have a complex digestive system consisting of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard, and intestine which work together to pass the soil out. The gut soil and associated microbial load in earthworms’ gut hinder the outcome of many experiments like in-vitro regeneration, histology, immunohistochemistry, molecular expression and toxicological studies. Currently, the available gut cleaning techniques are time-consuming and costly. The tissue paper method takes 4-7 days; the agar-agar method takes around 3-5 days to clean the gut. Therefore, refined techniques are needed to reduce the gut cleaning process in a cost-effective and at the same time in a minimum number of days. Bisacodyl is a medication used to treat constipation and it acts as a laxative drug that increases peristatic movement of the gut. It can also be used to cleanse the intestines before a bowel examination or surgery. The present study aims to enhance the gut-cleaning process in earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae, using the drug bisacodyl. Briefly, the earthworm is exposed to different concentrations (1 mg, 2 mg, 4 mg, 6 mg, 8 mg and 10 mg) of bisacodyl and analyzed for its excretion rate. We observed that 4 mg is more efficient and aids in cleaning the earthworm’s gut within two days. A lower bisacodyl concentration is inefficient in cleaning the gut in a shorter duration while at higher bisacodyl concentrations, worm experienced autotomy. Since the drug was active for only 45 mins, the worm became normal one hour after withdrawal from the experiment. Other than E. eugeniae, for Perionyx excavatus we observed 4 mg bisacodyl drug is efficient and aids in cleaning its gut within two days. Overall, the designed protocol is efficient for gut cleaning in a shorter duration in a cost-effective manner.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141387449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-06-04DOI: 10.1163/15707563-bja10138
U. N. S. Daud, Nor Adibah Ismail, Kosila Ramasamy, Noor Fatihah Najihah Arazmi, Shukor Md. Nor, M. S. Mansor
The house-farmed edible-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus sp.) is monogamous, produces nests from hardened saliva, and uses echolocation to navigate in the darkness. Most previous studies have focused on swiftlet nest building and incubation behaviour, but nestling provisioning behaviour, crucial for the survival of offspring during the breeding season, remains unclear. This study examined the nestling provisioning behaviour of house-farmed swiftlets at a swiftlet house farm in central Peninsular Malaysia. Complete focal video footage of the provisioning phase of swiftlets was analysed in detail. The overall feeding period decreased as the chick grew older. The parents alternately visited their nest 6-14 times a day from dawn to dusk to feed the nestling. The peak of this activity was from 07:00 to 08:00 and between 19:00 and 20:00. Nestling provisioning behaviour differed between pairs. The egg-laying interval of parents with two chicks was longer and affected the development of the second chick since the first chick more successfully competed for food and grew larger in size. Most second chicks with a smaller body size did not survive, because of being either purposely or unintentionally eliminated by the parents or sibling. The smaller-sized second chicks that survived took a longer time to fledge than the first chick; therefore, parents had to increase their foraging effort to ensure the survival of their chick until fledging. These behaviours may be influenced by physiological factors, such as age, experience, individual fitness, and abiotic factors, such as weather and food resources; therefore, different parental strategies may be established during the nestling provisioning phase.
{"title":"Using closed-circuit infrared camera to assess biparental provisioning behaviour and foraging pattern of house-farmed swiftlets (Aerodramus sp.)","authors":"U. N. S. Daud, Nor Adibah Ismail, Kosila Ramasamy, Noor Fatihah Najihah Arazmi, Shukor Md. Nor, M. S. Mansor","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10138","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10138","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The house-farmed edible-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus sp.) is monogamous, produces nests from hardened saliva, and uses echolocation to navigate in the darkness. Most previous studies have focused on swiftlet nest building and incubation behaviour, but nestling provisioning behaviour, crucial for the survival of offspring during the breeding season, remains unclear. This study examined the nestling provisioning behaviour of house-farmed swiftlets at a swiftlet house farm in central Peninsular Malaysia. Complete focal video footage of the provisioning phase of swiftlets was analysed in detail. The overall feeding period decreased as the chick grew older. The parents alternately visited their nest 6-14 times a day from dawn to dusk to feed the nestling. The peak of this activity was from 07:00 to 08:00 and between 19:00 and 20:00. Nestling provisioning behaviour differed between pairs. The egg-laying interval of parents with two chicks was longer and affected the development of the second chick since the first chick more successfully competed for food and grew larger in size. Most second chicks with a smaller body size did not survive, because of being either purposely or unintentionally eliminated by the parents or sibling. The smaller-sized second chicks that survived took a longer time to fledge than the first chick; therefore, parents had to increase their foraging effort to ensure the survival of their chick until fledging. These behaviours may be influenced by physiological factors, such as age, experience, individual fitness, and abiotic factors, such as weather and food resources; therefore, different parental strategies may be established during the nestling provisioning phase.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141387725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-06-04DOI: 10.1163/15707563-bja10140
V. C. B. Naik, G. S. Supreeth, Prabhulinga Tenguri, Y. Prasad
Cotton (Gossypium sp.) is the one of the major commercial fibre crops cultivated across the country. The yield is severely affected by insect pests and diseases. Pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders, 1844) is one of the major insect pests threatening the cultivation of cotton. The major constraint limiting cotton production is resistance, which prevails to date due to the indiscriminate use of the insecticides and noncompliance of the refugia. Hence the status of the pest needs to be ascertained periodically to initiate timely and dynamic management tactics. For conducting laboratory screening, a higher number of individuals is the prime requirement, which is facilitated through mass-rearing techniques. We have evaluated different oviposition substrates like paper and muslin cloth for enhancing the recovery of eggs. Our results are quite promising and the use of black muslin cloth has shown a recovery of eggs on par with natural substrate (cotton twig). Adoption of the artificial substrate has huge potential in rearing techniques and avoids drawbacks like tissue drying, carry-over of diseases and reusability.
{"title":"Evaluation of oviposition substrates for laboratory rearing of pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)","authors":"V. C. B. Naik, G. S. Supreeth, Prabhulinga Tenguri, Y. Prasad","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10140","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Cotton (Gossypium sp.) is the one of the major commercial fibre crops cultivated across the country. The yield is severely affected by insect pests and diseases. Pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders, 1844) is one of the major insect pests threatening the cultivation of cotton. The major constraint limiting cotton production is resistance, which prevails to date due to the indiscriminate use of the insecticides and noncompliance of the refugia. Hence the status of the pest needs to be ascertained periodically to initiate timely and dynamic management tactics. For conducting laboratory screening, a higher number of individuals is the prime requirement, which is facilitated through mass-rearing techniques. We have evaluated different oviposition substrates like paper and muslin cloth for enhancing the recovery of eggs. Our results are quite promising and the use of black muslin cloth has shown a recovery of eggs on par with natural substrate (cotton twig). Adoption of the artificial substrate has huge potential in rearing techniques and avoids drawbacks like tissue drying, carry-over of diseases and reusability.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141387934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-08DOI: 10.1163/15707563-bja10136
A. Pham, Nenh Ba Sung, T. Nguyen, M. Le, Thuy Van Tran, Thomas Ziegler
The Banna fanged frog (Limnonectes bannaensis) is known from China, Laos, and Vietnam; however knowledge about the natural history and dietary requirements of this species is virtually lacking. In this study, we provide data on the variation in dietary composition of L. bannaensis based on stomach-flushing of 117 individuals (41 males and 76 females) captured and subsequently released during our recent field work in Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam. A total of 19 prey categories with 513 items, comprising 502 items of invertebrates, seven items of vertebrates, and four unidentified items were found in the stomachs of L. bannaensis. The most important groups among the prey of L. bannaensis were Coleoptera (38.04%), followed by Hymenoptera (9.31%), Araneae (7.93%), Polydesmida (7.07%), Orthoptera (6.37%), Hemiptera (5.23%), and Lepidoptera (5.01%). Adult males (16 prey categories) consumed preys with slightly lower diversity than adult females (17 prey categories). There was 88.25% overlap in the diet between males and females and in both sexes the trophic spectrum was similar, predominantly consisting of Coleoptera, Polydesmida, Araneae, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hemiptera.
{"title":"Variation in dietary composition of the Banna fanged frog (Limnonectes bannaensis Ye, Fei, Xie & Jiang, 2007) from Vietnam","authors":"A. Pham, Nenh Ba Sung, T. Nguyen, M. Le, Thuy Van Tran, Thomas Ziegler","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10136","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10136","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The Banna fanged frog (Limnonectes bannaensis) is known from China, Laos, and Vietnam; however knowledge about the natural history and dietary requirements of this species is virtually lacking. In this study, we provide data on the variation in dietary composition of L. bannaensis based on stomach-flushing of 117 individuals (41 males and 76 females) captured and subsequently released during our recent field work in Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam. A total of 19 prey categories with 513 items, comprising 502 items of invertebrates, seven items of vertebrates, and four unidentified items were found in the stomachs of L. bannaensis. The most important groups among the prey of L. bannaensis were Coleoptera (38.04%), followed by Hymenoptera (9.31%), Araneae (7.93%), Polydesmida (7.07%), Orthoptera (6.37%), Hemiptera (5.23%), and Lepidoptera (5.01%). Adult males (16 prey categories) consumed preys with slightly lower diversity than adult females (17 prey categories). There was 88.25% overlap in the diet between males and females and in both sexes the trophic spectrum was similar, predominantly consisting of Coleoptera, Polydesmida, Araneae, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hemiptera.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141000465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-23DOI: 10.1163/15707563-bja10134
Wen-rong Gao, Wan-long Zhu
To investigate the effect of low temperature on body mass, thermogenic activity, and Uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) content of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in Chevrier’s field mouse (Apodemus chevrieri), 50 healthy adult mice with similar body mass were used in our experiment. They were divided into five groups of ten individuals as follows: a control group (0 d), where animals were maintained under 25 ± 1°C and a 12L:12D (light:dark, lights on 08:00) photoperiod; the other groups were maintained under 5 ± 1°C and a 12L:12D photoperiod for 7 d, 14 d, 21 d and 28 d, respectively. At the end of the experiment, the changes in body mass, resting metabolic rate (RMR), nonshivering thermogenesis (NST), BAT mass, mitochondrial protein (MP) content, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity, and UCP1 content were measured. The results showed that compared with the control group (0 d), the body mass of the cold acclimation groups decreased significantly. In contrast, RMR, NST, BAT mass, MP content, COX activity, and UCP1 content of the cold acclimation group increased significantly. After cold acclimation for 28 days, RMR increased by 89.4%, NST increased by 50.4%, BAT mass increased by 44.6%, and UCP1 content increased by 36.0%. The ratio of (NST − RMR)/RMR was 1.03 after seven days and then dropped to 0.59 on day 21, and remained at a steady level thereafter. Evidently, NST was significantly positively correlated with BAT mass and UCP1 content. The results indicated that under continuous cold exposure, A. chevrieri could take appropriate measures to reduce body mass, increase RMR, induce BAT tissue proliferation, and unregulated UCP1 expression, thereby enhancing BAT thermogenic activity to cope with a low-temperature environment. In the early stage of cold acclimation, NST was dominant in thermogenesis, but as time continued, it reduced. This may represent a unique energy adaptation strategy of small rodents originating from the north and spreading southward toward the Hengduan Mountain regions.
{"title":"Adaptive thermogenesis of the brown adipose tissue in Apodemus chevrieri during cold acclimation","authors":"Wen-rong Gao, Wan-long Zhu","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10134","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10134","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000To investigate the effect of low temperature on body mass, thermogenic activity, and Uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) content of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in Chevrier’s field mouse (Apodemus chevrieri), 50 healthy adult mice with similar body mass were used in our experiment. They were divided into five groups of ten individuals as follows: a control group (0 d), where animals were maintained under 25 ± 1°C and a 12L:12D (light:dark, lights on 08:00) photoperiod; the other groups were maintained under 5 ± 1°C and a 12L:12D photoperiod for 7 d, 14 d, 21 d and 28 d, respectively. At the end of the experiment, the changes in body mass, resting metabolic rate (RMR), nonshivering thermogenesis (NST), BAT mass, mitochondrial protein (MP) content, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity, and UCP1 content were measured. The results showed that compared with the control group (0 d), the body mass of the cold acclimation groups decreased significantly. In contrast, RMR, NST, BAT mass, MP content, COX activity, and UCP1 content of the cold acclimation group increased significantly. After cold acclimation for 28 days, RMR increased by 89.4%, NST increased by 50.4%, BAT mass increased by 44.6%, and UCP1 content increased by 36.0%. The ratio of (NST − RMR)/RMR was 1.03 after seven days and then dropped to 0.59 on day 21, and remained at a steady level thereafter. Evidently, NST was significantly positively correlated with BAT mass and UCP1 content. The results indicated that under continuous cold exposure, A. chevrieri could take appropriate measures to reduce body mass, increase RMR, induce BAT tissue proliferation, and unregulated UCP1 expression, thereby enhancing BAT thermogenic activity to cope with a low-temperature environment. In the early stage of cold acclimation, NST was dominant in thermogenesis, but as time continued, it reduced. This may represent a unique energy adaptation strategy of small rodents originating from the north and spreading southward toward the Hengduan Mountain regions.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140669321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-04DOI: 10.1163/15707563-bja10133
Baodong Yuan, Xiulian Miao, Yichuan Zhang
In the present study, summer habitat preference of Mrs Hume’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) was studied in Jinzhong Mountain Nature Reserve, Guangxi Province. Eight birds were equipped with radio transmitters and habitat characteristics of experiment and control quadrat sites, respectively, were measured. Our results indicated that: 200 m to 400 m distance to habitat edge, less than 200 m distance to water, over 400 m distance to human habitation, over 601 m distance to the road, over 60% tree cover, less than 40% shrub cover, less than 20% herb cover, over 60% leaf litter cover, height of tree over 10.1 m, tree density over 20 individuals per quadrat, shrub height over 2.1 m, shrub density less than 10 individuals per quadrat, height of herb species over 0.5 m, herb density less than 10 Individuals per quadrat, diameter of tree over 30 cm, and abundant food were the habitat characteristics. The elevation, herb density, and height of tree and shrub exhibited no significant differences (), but other factors showed significant differences between quadrat sites and control quadrat plot (). Results of a principal components analysis (PCA) demonstrated that the first five components accounted for 64.282% of the total variance. Food availability in different habitat patches is the vital factor affecting habitat selection by Mrs Hume’s Pheasant; the other factors showed no significant effects on habitat selection by Mrs Hume’s Pheasant in the subtropical forest. This suggests that habitat selection behavior of Mrs Hume’s Pheasant is in fact a trade-off between obtaining food and prey escape, which is an adaptive behavior and a life strategy of this near-threatened bird species.
{"title":"Summer habitat selection by Mrs Hume’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) on Jinzhong Mountain, northwest Guangxi, China: implications for determining effective conservation actions using radio transmitters","authors":"Baodong Yuan, Xiulian Miao, Yichuan Zhang","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10133","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In the present study, summer habitat preference of Mrs Hume’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) was studied in Jinzhong Mountain Nature Reserve, Guangxi Province. Eight birds were equipped with radio transmitters and habitat characteristics of experiment and control quadrat sites, respectively, were measured. Our results indicated that: 200 m to 400 m distance to habitat edge, less than 200 m distance to water, over 400 m distance to human habitation, over 601 m distance to the road, over 60% tree cover, less than 40% shrub cover, less than 20% herb cover, over 60% leaf litter cover, height of tree over 10.1 m, tree density over 20 individuals per quadrat, shrub height over 2.1 m, shrub density less than 10 individuals per quadrat, height of herb species over 0.5 m, herb density less than 10 Individuals per quadrat, diameter of tree over 30 cm, and abundant food were the habitat characteristics. The elevation, herb density, and height of tree and shrub exhibited no significant differences (), but other factors showed significant differences between quadrat sites and control quadrat plot (). Results of a principal components analysis (PCA) demonstrated that the first five components accounted for 64.282% of the total variance. Food availability in different habitat patches is the vital factor affecting habitat selection by Mrs Hume’s Pheasant; the other factors showed no significant effects on habitat selection by Mrs Hume’s Pheasant in the subtropical forest. This suggests that habitat selection behavior of Mrs Hume’s Pheasant is in fact a trade-off between obtaining food and prey escape, which is an adaptive behavior and a life strategy of this near-threatened bird species.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140744142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Reindeer are seasonal migratory animals, and their feet play a significant role in braking and pushing. Their natural habitats in arctic regions require them to navigate complex ground conditions, and their feet have evolved to adapt to these challenges. Reindeer must travel long distances to find food and water, which demands high levels of endurance and stamina. The ability of reindeer feet to support their weights and maintain stability over extended periods is crucial to the survival of reindeer. The center of pressure at different speeds (walking, low-speed trotting, and high-speed trotting) was studied using a pressure plate to determine the functions of the dewclaws, medial toes and lateral toes of reindeer. The medial toes and lateral toes were the bearing toes, and the dewclaws played an auxiliary supporting role. The proportions of peak value in the bearing toes and dewclaws were 85.1-9.5% and 2.7-22.9%, respectively. The center-of-pressure trajectories of hindfeet and forefeet were an L-shaped line and a straight line, respectively. The proportion of peak value in forefoot dewclaws (7.0-22.9%) was larger than that of hindfoot dewclaws (2.7-8.2%). The coefficients of variation of forefoot dewclaws increased with rising speed, indicating the forefeet adjusted the pressure according to the motion state. The coefficient of variation of forefoot dewclaws (31.1-73.1%) was larger than that of bearing toes (14.1-40.7%), indicating the dewclaws played a stabilization role. The pressure on the bearing toes of the forefeet, which played a braking role, increased with time during the braking phase. The peak loads on the distal medial toe and the distal lateral toe of hindfeet were both in the pushing phase, which were mainly associated with a pushing role. Hence, the characteristics of reindeer feet are conducive to improving the stabilizing and migrating abilities.
{"title":"Regulating, braking and pushing mechanisms of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) feet based on center of pressure","authors":"Guoyu Li, Rui Zhang, Hao Pang, Junfeng Wang, Xumin Sun, Zhisong Li, Yexuan Luo, L. Wen","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10131","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10131","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Reindeer are seasonal migratory animals, and their feet play a significant role in braking and pushing. Their natural habitats in arctic regions require them to navigate complex ground conditions, and their feet have evolved to adapt to these challenges. Reindeer must travel long distances to find food and water, which demands high levels of endurance and stamina. The ability of reindeer feet to support their weights and maintain stability over extended periods is crucial to the survival of reindeer. The center of pressure at different speeds (walking, low-speed trotting, and high-speed trotting) was studied using a pressure plate to determine the functions of the dewclaws, medial toes and lateral toes of reindeer. The medial toes and lateral toes were the bearing toes, and the dewclaws played an auxiliary supporting role. The proportions of peak value in the bearing toes and dewclaws were 85.1-9.5% and 2.7-22.9%, respectively. The center-of-pressure trajectories of hindfeet and forefeet were an L-shaped line and a straight line, respectively. The proportion of peak value in forefoot dewclaws (7.0-22.9%) was larger than that of hindfoot dewclaws (2.7-8.2%). The coefficients of variation of forefoot dewclaws increased with rising speed, indicating the forefeet adjusted the pressure according to the motion state. The coefficient of variation of forefoot dewclaws (31.1-73.1%) was larger than that of bearing toes (14.1-40.7%), indicating the dewclaws played a stabilization role. The pressure on the bearing toes of the forefeet, which played a braking role, increased with time during the braking phase. The peak loads on the distal medial toe and the distal lateral toe of hindfeet were both in the pushing phase, which were mainly associated with a pushing role. Hence, the characteristics of reindeer feet are conducive to improving the stabilizing and migrating abilities.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140365984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-21DOI: 10.1163/15707563-bja10132
Prabhulinga Tenguri, Subhash Chander, R. Ellur, Eresh Patil, Arya Pattathanam Sundaran, Y. Yele, Shivaji Thube, V. Chinna Babu Naik, Madhu Tadagavadi Nagaraju
Silicon (Si) is known to enhance plant resistance in rice and other Poaceae plants by priming chemical defence, physiological, and mechanical barriers. However, the effects of application of Si to the soil on plant defence through antioxidative enzymes and changes in the nutrient composition of soil and rice straw under climate change conditions remain unclear. Thus this study was aimed at investigating the effects of Si on plant defence and other biochemical changes in the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål, 1854), soil and rice plants under elevated CO2 levels (570 ± 25 ppm) and elevated temperature (≃3°C higher than ambient) in open-top chambers (OTCs) during the rainy season of 2019 and 2020. The results revealed that under elevated CO2, Si amendment significantly enhanced the activity of defensive antioxidative enzymes, namely catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) upon BPH feeding in both plants and BPH, besides enhancing available forms of major nutrients, namely nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and minor nutrients, namely calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulphur (S), and Si in soil and rice plants. The antioxidative enzymes’ mediated plant defence and positive alteration of the nutrient composition of soil along with other reported plant defences, namely callose deposition, silicification, and positive alteration of photosynthesis-related parameters, indicated Si amendment as a potential alternative strategy for BPH management under climate change conditions.
{"title":"Effect of silicon application on rice plant defence against brown planthopper feeding under climate change conditions","authors":"Prabhulinga Tenguri, Subhash Chander, R. Ellur, Eresh Patil, Arya Pattathanam Sundaran, Y. Yele, Shivaji Thube, V. Chinna Babu Naik, Madhu Tadagavadi Nagaraju","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10132","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Silicon (Si) is known to enhance plant resistance in rice and other Poaceae plants by priming chemical defence, physiological, and mechanical barriers. However, the effects of application of Si to the soil on plant defence through antioxidative enzymes and changes in the nutrient composition of soil and rice straw under climate change conditions remain unclear. Thus this study was aimed at investigating the effects of Si on plant defence and other biochemical changes in the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål, 1854), soil and rice plants under elevated CO2 levels (570 ± 25 ppm) and elevated temperature (≃3°C higher than ambient) in open-top chambers (OTCs) during the rainy season of 2019 and 2020. The results revealed that under elevated CO2, Si amendment significantly enhanced the activity of defensive antioxidative enzymes, namely catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) upon BPH feeding in both plants and BPH, besides enhancing available forms of major nutrients, namely nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and minor nutrients, namely calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulphur (S), and Si in soil and rice plants. The antioxidative enzymes’ mediated plant defence and positive alteration of the nutrient composition of soil along with other reported plant defences, namely callose deposition, silicification, and positive alteration of photosynthesis-related parameters, indicated Si amendment as a potential alternative strategy for BPH management under climate change conditions.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140220704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-13DOI: 10.1163/15707563-bja10130
H. Ngo, T. Nguyen, Khoi VU Nguyen, Thomas Ziegler
The Psychedelic Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis psychedelica), is a species endemic to southernmost Vietnam. It was recently assessed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List and also included in the CITES Appendix I, due to anthropogenic threats such as habitat degradation and over-collection for the pet trade. To protect wild populations and the natural habitat of this species, knowledge of its demography and ecology is essential to implement fitting conservation measures. In this study, we conducted field surveys on Hon Khoai Island, Ca Mau Province, southern Vietnam in both dry and wet seasons, and obtained food contents of 114 individuals of C. psychedelica by water-flushing the stomach without sacrificing them. Consequently, 685 invertebrate items were identified, belonging to 24 different prey types of 20 invertebrate orders, as well as flatworms, snails and plant parts. Araneae, Blattodea, Hymenoptera and Isoptera were identified as the most important prey of C. psychedelica, among which Araneae accounted for the highest percentage, and thus the highest importance index, during the dry season and Hymenoptera during the wet season. There was a large overlap in the trophic niche between the two seasons, and between males and females of C. psychedelica. This study shows that not only suitable habitat but also a particular food spectrum is a requirement for the species and this, in addition, is important to optimize conservation breeding programs.
{"title":"Dietary niche of the endangered Psychedelic Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis psychedelica) in southern Vietnam","authors":"H. Ngo, T. Nguyen, Khoi VU Nguyen, Thomas Ziegler","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10130","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The Psychedelic Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis psychedelica), is a species endemic to southernmost Vietnam. It was recently assessed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List and also included in the CITES Appendix I, due to anthropogenic threats such as habitat degradation and over-collection for the pet trade. To protect wild populations and the natural habitat of this species, knowledge of its demography and ecology is essential to implement fitting conservation measures. In this study, we conducted field surveys on Hon Khoai Island, Ca Mau Province, southern Vietnam in both dry and wet seasons, and obtained food contents of 114 individuals of C. psychedelica by water-flushing the stomach without sacrificing them. Consequently, 685 invertebrate items were identified, belonging to 24 different prey types of 20 invertebrate orders, as well as flatworms, snails and plant parts. Araneae, Blattodea, Hymenoptera and Isoptera were identified as the most important prey of C. psychedelica, among which Araneae accounted for the highest percentage, and thus the highest importance index, during the dry season and Hymenoptera during the wet season. There was a large overlap in the trophic niche between the two seasons, and between males and females of C. psychedelica. This study shows that not only suitable habitat but also a particular food spectrum is a requirement for the species and this, in addition, is important to optimize conservation breeding programs.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140246237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-13DOI: 10.1163/15707563-bja10129
Weibin Guo, Buge Lin, Zhiqing Hu, Hanqing Cao, Changcao Wang
The cooperative breeding system of birds is an ideal model for studying and exploring social evolution in animals. However, a basic question, i.e., how many cooperative-breeding bird species exist in the world, remains controversial due to the lack of accumulated knowledge of the natural history of many birds, which prevents a generalized understanding of the evolution of cooperative breeding in birds and challenges the accuracy of results in many comparative studies. In this paper, we provide the first evidence of cooperative breeding in red-billed blue magpies (Urocissa erythrorhyncha). Moreover, we document and discuss potential relationships between cooperative breeding and nest predation, brood parasitism and breeding performance in U. erythrorhyncha. These findings about cooperative breeding in red-billed blue magpie will lay a foundation for further research on this species’ sociality and provide useful insights into the evolution of cooperative breeding and other social systems in birds.
{"title":"First detailed report of cooperative breeding in red-billed blue magpie (Urocissa erythrorhyncha) in central China","authors":"Weibin Guo, Buge Lin, Zhiqing Hu, Hanqing Cao, Changcao Wang","doi":"10.1163/15707563-bja10129","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15707563-bja10129","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The cooperative breeding system of birds is an ideal model for studying and exploring social evolution in animals. However, a basic question, i.e., how many cooperative-breeding bird species exist in the world, remains controversial due to the lack of accumulated knowledge of the natural history of many birds, which prevents a generalized understanding of the evolution of cooperative breeding in birds and challenges the accuracy of results in many comparative studies. In this paper, we provide the first evidence of cooperative breeding in red-billed blue magpies (Urocissa erythrorhyncha). Moreover, we document and discuss potential relationships between cooperative breeding and nest predation, brood parasitism and breeding performance in U. erythrorhyncha. These findings about cooperative breeding in red-billed blue magpie will lay a foundation for further research on this species’ sociality and provide useful insights into the evolution of cooperative breeding and other social systems in birds.","PeriodicalId":7876,"journal":{"name":"Animal Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140246002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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