Availability Of Preferred Foods Research Articles

Spatial variation of guanaco (Lama guanicoe) densities influenced by natural and anthropogenic variables in Southern Andean Precordillera (Argentina)

ABSTRACT The spatial distribution of ungulate densities is determined by their decisions on habitat selection, modulated by environmental characteristics and human activities. Poaching and habitat degradation are threats to the guanaco, a native herbivore of arid environments of South America. Seasonal surveys of guanacos were carried out during two independent years in mountain environments of Andean Precordillera, inside a protected area and surroundings. Field surveys and GIS analyses estimated environmental variables. Density surface models estimated spatial distribution of guanacos, based on predictions about food availability, weather, risk perception, and human activities. The current distribution of densities is mainly influenced by the availability of preferred food and water, and protection effectiveness. Twelve years ago, disturbing human activities were also relevant. High densities in great altitudes yearlong, and a winter expansion through lower altitudes, are evidence of partial migrations, related to climatic events and food declines. Selective use of Puna grasslands and association with wetlands agree with food and risk predictions. Greater densities inside than outside the protected area, and decreasing guanaco–observer distances, are evidence of continued effective protection. Density surface modeling, applied to multi-year distance sampling, highlights as a useful tool for understanding the spatial dynamics of guanaco populations, and aiding management decisions.

Increased availability of preferred food and decreased foraging costs from degraded grasslands lead to rodent pests in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The increased population density of rodent species during ongoing grassland degradation further deteriorates its conditions. Understanding the effects of grassland degradation on rodent feeding habits is of great value for optimizing grassland management strategies. In this study, lightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD), severely degraded (SD), and reseeded grassland (RG) were selected and their plant resources and soil physical properties were investigated. In addition, the study usedITS2barcode combined with the Illumina MiSeq sequencing method to analyze the food composition and proportion of plateau zokors in different grassland conditions. The results showed that, with grassland degradation, plant biomass decreased, but the relative proportion of forbs increased (LD: 32.05 ± 3.89%; MD: 28.97 ± 2.78%; SD: 49.16 ± 4.67% and RG: 10.93 ± 1.53%). Forbs were the main food of the plateau zokor, accounting for more than 90% of their diet, and the animal had a clear preference forPotentillaspecies; the soil compaction of feeding habits showed a decreasing trend in the 10–25 cm soil layer, suggesting a decreased foraging cost. Nutritional analysis showed that the stomach content of crude protein in zokors feeding on MD grassland was significantly higher than that of animals feeding on the other grassland types. Structural equation modeling showed that soil physical properties and the relative biomass of forbs had significant (P< 0.05) and extremely significant (P< 0.001) impacts on the population density of plateau zokors, with direct impact contribution rates of 0.20 and 0.63. As the severity of grassland degradation increased, although the aboveground and underground biomass of the plants decreased, the proportion of food preferred by the plateau zokor increased, and the corresponding changes in the feeding environment resulted in decreased foraging energy expenditure, thereby increasing the suitability of the degraded grassland for the plateau zokor. Compared with degraded grassland, the food diversity and evenness of zokors increased, the food niche width enlarged, and the proportion of weeds decreased in RG, which increased the difficulty of obtaining food. Reseeding in grassland management is therefore an effective way to control plateau zokors.

Diet and feeding behavior of a group of high-altitude rhesus macaques: high adaptation to food shortages and seasonal fluctuations.

Diet and feeding behavior data are crucial to a deep understanding of the behavioral response and adaptation of primates to a high-altitude environment. From August 2019 to June 2021, we collected data on the feeding behavior of a high-altitude rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta group from Yajiang County, Western Sichuan Plateau, which has an altitude of over 3,500 m. The results showed that feeding (33.0 ± 1.8%) and moving (28.3 ± 2.6%) were the dominant behavior of rhesus macaques. Macaques ate 193 food items, comprising 11 food categories from 90 species. Our study found that plant roots (30.9 ± 30.1%) and young leaves (28.0 ± 33.1%) were the main foods eaten by macaques. The preferred foods of rhesus macaques were young leaves, fruits, and seeds, and the consumption of these items was positively correlated with its food availability. When the availability of preferred foods was low, macaques took plant roots, barks, and fallen leaves as fallback foods. In particular, roots were a dominant food item in winter, and this way of feeding became a key survival strategy. Our results suggest that, facing the relative scarcity and strong seasonal fluctuations of food resources in high-altitude habitat, macaques adopt active foraging strategies, relying on a variety of food species and adjusting flexibly their food choices based on food availability, which may help to maximize the energy efficiency of high-altitude macaques.

Density‐Dependent Changes in Grass Carp Growth and Mortality in Long‐Term Aquatic Plant Management

AbstractThe Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella is an herbivorous fish that has been stocked throughout the United States for aquatic plant control, commonly to manage hydrilla Hydrilla verticillata. Triploid Grass Carp were purported to have a mean life span of about 11 years based on otolith‐assigned ages and mortality estimates for fish associated with large stocking efforts through which aquatic plants were eliminated. Recent studies in aquatic systems where preferred foods were not eliminated have found that Grass Carp may live up to 30 years or more, but information about growth and mortality is lacking. About 130,000 Grass Carp have been stocked since 1995 to manage hydrilla in combination with fluridone application in Lake Gaston, Virginia–North Carolina, USA. Hydrilla coverage peaked at about 1,300 ha in 2003 and was reduced to about 130 ha by 2014. Since 2006, a total of 419 Grass Carp have been collected for age and growth analysis. A Bayesian approach was used to estimate von Bertalanffy growth function parameters that incorporated the effects of a linear trend in year, hydrilla abundance, or Grass Carp density and to assess population changes. Fish that were stocked in 1995 persisted through 2017. Mean maximum length (L∞) of Grass Carp decreased by about 200 mm with an increasing number of Grass Carp per hectare of hydrilla, and fish reached maximum size earlier in life. Indirect mortality estimates derived from growth parameters increased with Grass Carp density. Because preferred food availability affects mortality rates, stocking numbers should vary accordingly to maximize the effectiveness of hydrilla control programs.

Diet and Activity Budget in Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii at Nabugabo, Uganda: Are They Energy Maximizers?

Introduction: Colobine monkeys are specialized folivores that use foregut fermentation to digest leaves. The slow process of fermentation forces them to spend a lot of time resting and to minimize their energy expenditure to subsist on a lower-quality diet. Methods: We recorded the diet and activity budget of Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii, which form a three-tiered multi-level society, at Lake Nabugabo, Uganda, over 12 months using scan sampling on adults and subadults, to determine whether they utilize the energy minimization strategy typical of colobines. Results: We found that the annual diet was primarily comprised of high-quality food resources (young leaves 65% and fruit 31%), and fruits were the only plant part the monkeysselected when available. Both the fruits and young leaves of some species were preferred food items in some months, and mature leaf consumption correlated negatively with preferred food availability. Mature leaves appear to be a fallback food for this population but are rarely relied upon (3%). The C. a. ruwenzoriiat Nabugabo spent less time resting (40%) and more time moving (25%) than is typical for other species of black-and-white colobus. Discussion/Conclusion: The high-quality diet of this population appears to allow them to utilize an energy maximization strategy. Their reliance on food items that tend to be clumped in space and time likely explains the frequent fission-fusion behaviour that we observe between core units. Our findings demonstrate that the foraging strategies of colobines may be more flexible than was previously thought and illustrate how food availability and distribution can impact primate social organization.

Circulating trace elements: Comparison between early and late incubation in common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in the central Baltic Sea

We analyzed body mass and a panel of 64 trace elements in blood from incubating common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in the central Baltic Sea during the breeding seasons of 2017 (n = 27) and 2018 (n = 23). Using a non-invasive approach, the same incubating eiders nesting on Christiansø, Denmark were sampled once on day 4 and day 24 of incubation to provide a comparison between the early and late stages of incubation. Blood concentrations of chemical elements were quantified using high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR-ICP-MS). Cadmium and lead significantly increased over the course of the incubation period while body mass, barium, calcium, cerium, cesium, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, selenium, strontium, sulfur, uranium, and zinc all significantly decreased. Excluding lead, all trace elements were within expected ranges. Lead blood concentrations had a 4.7-fold increase from 2017 to 2018 indicating a potential health threat. However, internal interactions between trace elements must be considered when making comparisons to toxicological thresholds. Body mass and many essential elements showed significantly higher levels in 2017 than 2018, which could be an indication of limitations in preferred food availability or harsher fasting conditions. Additional sampling years are needed to further investigate if these results reflect yearly fluctuations or decreasing health within the Christiansø eider colony. There was little overlap in element blood concentrations and body mass between days of incubation, indicating these parameters are affected by the physiological processes of reproduction and incubation. We recommend continued biomonitoring and use of complete trace element analysis for the Christiansø eiders to further understand year-to-year variations within colonies. Further investigation into the spatial ecology of the colony is also needed to provide a more robust understanding of exposure and source identification of trace elements.

Diet and Use of Fallback Foods by Rwenzori Black-and-White Colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) in Rwanda: Implications for Supergroup Formation

When preferred foods are scarce, one strategy employed by primates is to switch to an alternative food item of lower quality or preferability, i.e., a fallback food. In the montane rainforest of Nyungwe National Park in southwestern Rwanda, Rwenzori black-and-white colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) (hereafter Rwenzori colobus) form a supergroup comprising hundreds of individuals. Over 13 mo we investigated how this supergroup uses resources in periods of resource abundance vs. periods of resource scarcity. Based on 5603 feeding records we first identified preferred foods and then identified fallback foods as those food categories or species whose consumption increases when preferred foods, or preferred food categories, are less available. When the availability of 19 preferred food items was low, fruticose lichens (Usnea sp.) contributed >50% of the monthly diet for the Rwenzori colobus. Moreover, consumption of lichens was significantly negatively related to the availability of preferred foods. Fruticose lichens can therefore be considered a fallback food for Rwenzori colobus that sustains the supergroup during periods of reduced food availability. This result, in combination with previous findings that mature foliage in Nyungwe is of high quality and does not elicit feeding competition, points to the importance of resources in facilitating supergroup formation. However, several other montane forests in Eastern Africa also harbor fruticose lichens and yet support only small groups of Angolan colobus, suggesting that additional factors such as sufficient forest size and limited fragmentation and hunting pressure by humans are required for supergroups to form.

The diet of a declining Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax population on Islay, Scotland

ABSTRACTCapsule: We quantify Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax diet from faecal samples collected on Islay. Dung invertebrates formed the majority of prey biomass in dune pasture and Tipulid larvae in mixed pasture but Aphodius larvae were scarce in the diet, whereas they had been a major component in the 1980s. There are management implications from the indication of a reduction in availability of preferred food.

The Influence of Leaf Consumption on Time Allocation in Black Howler Monkeys (Alouatta pigra)

The analysis of factors that determine variation in time budgets is important to understand the interactions between environment, behaviour and fitness. We tested the hypothesis that changes in the dietary patterns of black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) caused by a decrease in the availability of preferred foods are a main determinant of variation in time budgets. We predicted that individuals would trade off travel time for resting time (i.e., minimize energy expenditure) as the diet included more leaves. We conducted our study in the Mexican state of Campeche between 2005 and 2008, where we studied the behaviour of 28 adult males and 32 adult females belonging to 14 different groups for a total of 3,747.2 focal sampling hours. Study groups lived in forest fragments with variation in habitat quality. Individuals showed different rest:travel trade-offs in response to leaf consumption according to the quality of the forest fragments they lived in. Individuals that lived in high-quality fragments increased resting time under more folivorous regimes, whereas those living in low-quality fragments increased travel time. Our results suggest that howler monkeys living in low-quality fragments spend more time foraging to compensate for the low quality of the available resources.

Evaluation of altitudinal distribution and population dynamics of introduced Brown trout (Salmo trutta) and native Snow trout (Schizothorax richardsonii) in river Asiganga, Uttarakhand (India)

Mountains of Himalaya, with unique topology and geographical regions, are hotspots of biodiversity. Their flora and fauna have been investigated for abundance in species composition and interactions. One of the most important driving forces of ecosystem differentiation is altitudinal gradients that results in changes in species composition. Sometimes, an introduced species can also have a major impact on endemic species if the introduced species can survive in entire altitudinal gradient zone. Our study focuses on this aspect and defines the pattern of altitudinal variation and distribution of Salmo trutta (Brown trout) and native Schizothorax sp. (Snow trout) in river Asiganga (a tributary of Ganges) that originates from Dodital (4400 m). We analyzed population dynamics of both species along altitudinal gradients (2200m to 1100m approximately). The physicochemical parameters of water showed significant variation along the altitudinal gradient. Our study suggests that the population groups of Brown trout are establishing in the lower altitudinal regions of the river Asiganga, and even into the river Ganges, due to their ability to survive in wider range of temperature and availability of food. Usually it is believed that species inhabiting higher elevations are superior competitors at lower temperature while species inhabiting lower altitude are better competitors at warmer temperature. Our study suggests that although altitudinal variations are powerful for species distribution but prey-predator effect and availability of preferred food is also pro-lasting and can have a wider role in distribution of predator fish species.

Food and drink purchasing habits out of school at lunchtime: a national survey of secondary school pupils in Scotland.

BackgroundFood and drink purchasing habits of pupils out of school at lunchtime may be contributing to poor dietary intakes and overweight and obesity. The aim of this study was to identify the places from which purchases were made, types of food and drinks purchased and, the reasons for purchasing food or drinks out of school.MethodsA survey of the food and drinks purchasing habits of secondary school pupils (11-16 yrs) out of school at lunchtime was conducted in Scotland in 2010. A face-to-face interview and a self-completion questionnaire was designed to identify the food outlets used at lunchtime, types of food and drinks purchased and pupils’ reasons for purchasing food or drinks out of school. Height and weight were measured and BMI centiles used to classify pupils as normal weight, overweight or obese. Results were compared by age group, sex, BMI group and level of socio-economic deprivation.ResultsOf the 612 pupils who completed the survey, 97 % reported having access to places selling food or drinks out of school at lunchtime, and of these 63 % made purchases. A higher proportion of pupils from more deprived areas reported purchasing food or drinks out of school, but the proportion making purchases did not differ significantly by sex or BMI group. Supermarkets were the outlets from which pupils reported most often making purchases, with fewer purchasing food or drinks from fast food takeaways, and this did not differ significantly by socio-economic deprivation. Reasons for making purchases included availability of preferred food and drinks, some of which are restricted for sale in schools, and social reasons, such as wanting to be with friends. Sandwiches and non-diet soft drinks were items most commonly purchased, followed by confectionery and diet soft drinks. However, less than 10 % of all the secondary school pupils reported purchasing these foods every day.ConclusionsSupermarkets, not just fast food outlets, should be considered when developing strategies to improve the dietary habits of pupils at lunchtime. The importance of food preferences and social reasons for purchasing food and drinks need to be acknowledged and integrated in future interventions.

Roost Occupancy, Roost Site Selection and Diet of Straw-Coloured Fruit Bats (Pteropodidae:Eidolon helvum) in Western Kenya: The Need for Continued Public Education

Population fluctuations, roost site selection and diet of straw-coloured fruit bats, Eidolon helvum (Kerr, 1792) were studied for > one year in western Kenya. Total counts of bats at three identified roosts varied from 7,000 to 48,000 individuals. The bats moved between roosts within the same general area, probably reflecting seasonal variation in the availability of preferred foods and/or harassment and direct persecution at some roost sites by the rural community. Our study suggests that tree density and number of branches on trees were important factors in roost site selection for E. helvum, and the removal of roost trees has serious ramifications for their conservation in the region. Germination experiments and observations at roost sites indicated that E. helvum consumed fruits from 31 plant species of 16 families, potentially assisting in the dispersal of their seeds. Further monitoring is needed to provide a complete picture of the status and migration patterns of E. helvum in Kenya. Additionally, ...

Feeding Ecology of Red Langurs in Sabangau Tropical Peat‐Swamp Forest, Indonesian Borneo: Extreme Granivory in a Non‐Masting Forest

Southeast Asia's lowland dipterocarp forests experience supra-annual "mast" fruiting and flowering events, in which the majority of trees reproduce simultaneously at irregular intervals, with extensive intervening periods of very low primate food availability. This scarcity of food results in a negative energy balance and a reliance on "fallback foods" in some primate species. By contrast, ombrogenous tropical peat-swamp forests are non-masting, and show lower variability of food availability. We sought to test the influence of fruit availability on primate diet and preference in peat-swamp habitats and assess whether it differs from masting forests. We collected behavioral-dependent feeding data on three adult females in a group of red langurs (Presbytis rubicunda: Colobinae) between January and December 2011 in Sabangau tropical peat-swamp forest, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, as colobine monkeys are adaptated for folivory, and are therefore generally considered less reliant on temporally variable fruits than monogastric primates. We documented the highest level of granivory recorded to date in colobine monkeys: mean annual diet comprised 76.4% seeds and 7.3% other fruit parts; 7.7% young and 2.5% mature leaves; 2.8% flowers; 2.6% piths, and <1% on other minor food items. Fruit availability was fairly constant throughout the year and fruit parts were consumed at consistently higher levels than expected based on availability, confirming that fruit is preferred. Leaves and flowers were consumed consistently less than expected and thus are not preferred. There were no significant correlations between preferred food availability and consumption of potential fallback foods, suggesting that reliance on fallback foods did not occur in Sabangau during the study period. Furthermore, consumption of fruit was not significantly correlated with its availability. Our findings suggest that the relatively constant availability of fruit in this habitat affords P. rubicunda regular access to a nutritionally superior food, and that reliance on fallback foods is therefore not required.

Tingkat Kesukaan Rusa Bawean (Axis kuhlii) terhadap Jenis-Jenis Tumbuhan Bawah di Suaka Margasatwa dan Cagar Alam Pulau Bawean

Level of Food Preference of Bawean Deer (Axis kuhlii) on Food Species in Wildlife Sanctuary and Nature Reserve of Bawean IslandThis research has a background on the importance of food preference of Rusa Bawean (Axis kuhlii). This information can be used to ensure the adequacy of preferred food availability within their habitat. This paper aimed to estimate food preference of Rusa Bawean employing faecal analysis. The technique was selected because it is safe for the animal and is easy in data analysis and interpretation. To achieve the aim, quasi experimental design was applied to 30 vegetation plots and 60 faecal samples. Data was collected during January 2005 and June 2006 in the area of Wildlife Sanctuary and Nature Reserve of Bawean Island. Data was analyzed with chi-square test and food selection index. Result shows Rusa Bawean have preferences on some of food species, and they do not select their food species randomly according to its abundance. Preferred food species include Kabak-kabakan alas (Brachiaria distachya), Talioar (Panicum cordayum), Gadung (Dioscorea hispida), Andudur (Caryota mitis), Rombok putih (Merremia peltata), Pele (Urena lobata) and Kabak-kabakan merah (Ischaemum timorense). Whereas avoided food species include Lating-latingan (Scleria hebecarpa), Ancucu (Pericampylus glaucus), Lambu Merah (Paspalum conjugatum), Alang-alang (Imperata cylindrica), Padi-padian (Centotheca lappacea), Lente-lentean (Fimbristylis dichotoma), Taliata (Lygodium circinnatum ) dan Kayu sape (Symplocos adenophylla).

Use of space by frugivorous bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a restored Atlantic forest fragment in Brazil

We studied patterns in the use of space for foraging and roosting by two frugivorous bat species in a five-year-old restored Atlantic forest located in a fragmented landscape in southeastern Brazil. Ten individuals of Carollia perspicillata and eleven individuals of Artibeus lituratus were monitored through radio-telemetry in five sampling sessions. Each session lasted 3–8days for each individual, with an average of 25.4±10 locations for each C. perspicillata individual and 19±4.4 for each A. lituratus individual. We described an average range of 124.4ha and an average commuting distance of 1158.8m for A. lituratus and an average range and commuting distance of 32ha and 489m, respectively, for C. perspicillata. We demonstrated a consistent pattern in habitat use and movements for both studied species, where they strictly used forests (restored or not) for day roosting, roosting in the foliage of trees located only in secondary forest remnants and restored areas, while restored areas were their main feeding habitat. We demonstrate that newly restored forests can be readily incorporated as foraging and roosting habitats by these species, and that C. perspicillata alters its roosting behavior in relation to preferred food availability. These results, when combined with data on the diet of the studied species, show consistent evidence of the potential that bats have to improve species diversity of anthropogenic plantings with their own natural seed dispersal.

Small mammal use of field borders planted as beneficial insect habitat

AbstractField borders established for wildlife conservation have been recognized as a possible venue for also promoting beneficial insect populations, such as parasitic wasps and pollinators, on agricultural lands. However, traditional fallow field borders lack nectar sources required to sustain beneficial insect communities, and their value to small mammals is not well‐understood. In October–November 2009, we trapped small mammals in four field‐border treatments (planted native, warm‐season grasses and prairie flowers, planted prairie flowers only, fallow vegetation, and frequently mowed vegetation) replicated around nine organic crop fields, and developed closed‐population models in Program MARK to estimate abundance in each border. We also measured vegetation cover within each border treatment from June to August 2009. We captured 491 individuals of two species, the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) and house mouse (Mus musculus). Cotton rat abundance was ≥2 times greater in grass and flower borders and flowers‐only borders than in fallow borders, likely because of greater vegetation density and availability of preferred foods in planted borders. No cotton rats were captured in mowed borders, and house mouse abundance was ≥5 times lower in mowed borders than in other border types. Lower abundance of cotton rats and house mice in mowed borders emphasizes the importance of structurally complex non‐crop vegetation for supporting small‐mammal communities in agricultural landscapes. Field borders planted to promote beneficial insects may be a useful tool for maximizing the ecological services provided by non‐crop vegetation. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.

Overwintering strategy of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys: adjustments in activity scheduling and foraging patterns

Temperate forests are characterized by pronounced climatic and phenological seasonality. Primates inhabiting such environments experience prolonged resource scarcity and low ambient temperatures in winter and are expected to adjust time allocation and foraging behavior so as to maintain their energy balance. We analyzed the activity scheduling of a group of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) based on data collected over 20months in the high-altitude (>3000m) Samage Forest, Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve, PRC. The forest consists of evergreen conifers and oaks and deciduous broadleaf trees. The diet varied seasonally, with young leaves preferentially exploited in spring and fruits in summer. The monkeys subsisted on readily available fallback resources (mainly lichens) in winter [Grueter et al. in (Am J Phys Anthropol 140:700-715, 2009)]. We predicted that this switch to a relatively low-quality diet would prompt an increase in feeding effort and decrease in moving effort. We found that the monkeys spent significantly more time feeding in winter than in the other seasons. The monthly time devoted to feeding was also negatively correlated with temperature and positively with percentage of lichens in the diet. Time spent on moving did not vary among seasons or with temperature, but day-journey length was found to be longer on hotter days. Time spent resting was lower in winter and under colder conditions and was also negatively correlated with time spent feeding, indicating that resting time is converted into feeding time during times of ecological stress. These results indicate a strong effect of seasonality on time allocation patterns, constraints on inactivity phases, and the prevalence of an energy-conserving foraging strategy in winter, when costs of thermoregulation were high and the availability of preferred food was low.

Responses of Javan Gibbon (Hylobates moloch) Groups in Submontane Forest to Monthly Variation in Food Availability: Evidence for Variation on a Fine Spatial Scale

Primates tend to prefer specific plant foods, and primate home ranges may contain only a subset of food species present in an area. Thus, primate feeding strategies should be sensitive to the phenology of specific species encountered within the home range in addition to responding to larger scale phenomena such as seasonal changes in rainfall or temperature. We studied three groups of Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch) in the Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park, Indonesia from April 2008 to March 2009 and used general linear mixed models (GLMM) and a model selection procedure to investigate the effects of variation in fruit and flower availability on gibbon behavior. Preferred foods were defined as foods that are overselected relative to their abundance, while important food species were those that comprised >5% of feeding time. All important species were also preferred. Season and measurements of flower and fruit availability affected fruit-feeding time, daily path lengths (DPL), and dietary breadth. Models that included the availability of preferred foods as independent variables generally showed better explanatory power than models that used overall fruit or flower availability. For one group, fruit and preferred fruit abundance had the strongest effects on diets and DPL in the models selected, while another group was more responsive to changes in flower availability. Temporal variation in plant part consumption was not correlated in neighboring groups. Our results suggest that fine-scale local factors are important determinants of gibbon foraging strategies.

Behavioral Responses of Cao Vit Gibbon (Nomascus Nasutus) to Variations in Food Abundance and Temperature in Bangliang, Jingxi, China

The Cao Vit gibbon is a critically endangered species with only about 110 individuals remaining in a degraded karst forest along the China-Vietnam border. Behavioral data from this site are particularly useful in understanding gibbon behavioral adaptations to different sets of ecological conditions and will contribute to the conservation of the species. We studied seasonal variation in the time budget and diet of the Cao Vit gibbon in response to variation in food availability and ambient temperature by observing two groups for 1,379 hr between January and December 2009. We used 5-min scan samples to record the activity of gibbons. Both ambient temperature and food availability varied from month to month. Gibbon groups increased resting time and huddled together in sleeping places in cold months. Gibbons spent more time feeding on fruit when fruit was more abundant suggesting that fruit was their preferred food. Alternatively, leaf eating was negatively correlated with leaf availability which suggested that leaves may be used as a fallback food. Gibbons increased their diet diversity when they ate more leaves. This might be a strategy to cope with toxins or digestion inhibitor accumulation associated with feeding from a limited number of leaf species. Individuals consumed more buds when Broussonetia papyrifera produced buds in March and April. During this period, they decreased traveling time and engaged in less frequent social interactions. Gibbons spent more time searching for and feeding on invertebrates during June and October. However, we did not collect data on invertebrate abundance and therefore cannot determine the relationship between invertebrate feeding and availability. We conclude that flexibility in consuming diverse food types and food species, and in responding to the availability of preferred foods, has enabled the Cao Vit gibbon to survive in a degraded karst forest habitat.

Food Security in Older Australians from Different Cultural Backgrounds

Objective To investigate the experiences and barriers to food security of community-dwelling older people. Design Quantitative questionnaire and 5 focus group discussions using purposive sampling. Setting Shire of Melton, Victoria, Australia. Participants Thirty-seven people (13 male and 24 female), between 58 and 85 years of age, from Anglo-Celtic (15), Macedonian (6), Serbian (8), and Maltese (8) backgrounds. Phenomena of Interest Food security perceptions and barriers. Analyses Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square. The focus group data (transcripts) were subjected to a systematic thematic analysis to identify major themes and subthemes. Results Cost and financial considerations, health and physical capacity, transport, intrapersonal factors, and lack of availability of preferred food all emerged as potential barriers to participants accessing nutritious food of their choice. Conclusions and Implications Overall, the quantitative and qualitative data indicated that the changing circumstances that accompany growing older influenced this group's ability to independently shop for, prepare, and eat affordable and nutritious food. Nutrition educators, in conjunction with local government service providers, have the opportunity to play a key role in building upon existing safety nets and innovative initiatives to ensure older people have access to adequate and appropriate food of their choice.