Distribution Of Food Plants Research Articles

Negative relationship between body mass and home range size in three-toed sloths of the Amazon rainforest

ABSTRACT The spatial use of habitat is key to understanding the ecology of animals and their area requirements. In the current study, the locations of 11 wild pale-throated three-toed sloths (Bradypus tridactylus) were tracked using GPS loggers across 92 days in a 776 ha forest fragment in the central Amazon. Although male home ranges were slightly smaller than those of females, there were no significant differences in size or its expansion patterns. For nine of 11 individuals, home range size reached a plateau within 45 days of study start, indicating that 45 days can be the basal minimum days to establish the home range size of B. tridactylus. There was a negative relationship between body mass and home range size in our study. This counterintuitive result may be caused by disparities in the food-exploring abilities between individuals. Smaller and presumably younger individuals, who have less experience, may require more time and a larger area in which to search for food, while older and more experienced individuals may be able to find food efficiently in a smaller area. Further work on the distribution of food plants and the food-exploring pattern of each animal in relation to age and/or size is thus encouraged.

Geographical Indication (GI) as a means of craft tourism: a case of muga silk in Assam, India

Geographical Indications (GI) is one of the tools of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) that protects name of a good as originating in the territory of a WTO member country, a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. Muga Silk has been and continues to be an integral part of Assamese life and tradition. Assam is literally a ‘Silk country’ and silk culture is deep-rooted in the rural life and culture of Assamese people where Muga silk (Antheraea assamensis) is grown. There are 100 per cent of India’s Muga silk production is originated in Assam and hence Assam silk occupies a unique position in the sericulture map of the world. Considering the ecological conditions, food plant distribution, presence of eco-types and species of diverse nature in co-existence, it is speculated that this region is home of origin of Muga (Antheraea assamensis). Muga cloth has 85.8 per cent absorption capacity of ultra-violet ray of sunlight. Muga, the unique golden-yellow silk of Assam was granted the Geographical Indication (GI) registration in 2007. The present research will be highlighted the geo-environmental condition, craft tourism prospect of Muga silk as well as its contribution on livelihood generation in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam. This paper tries to emphasize the possibility of craft tourism in Muga rearing areas of Assam, so that the host community might earn their livelihood from tourism activity.

Impact of Muga Silk (<i>Antheraea assamensis</i>) on Community Livelihood in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India

Muga the golden-yellow silk produced by ‘<i>Antheraea assama</i>’ is found only in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India. This species of silkworm is semi-domesticated in that the rearers collect the worms that crawl down at the end of their larval period. They are allowed to spin cocoons in the rearer's houses. The gleaming golden yellow silk is referred to in literature from as long as 1662 BC. The ‘<i>Antheraea assamensis</i>’ is cultivated especially in Brahmaputra valley because it’s characteristic ecological requirements are found only in its natural abode. The declines of Som (<i>Machilus bombycina</i>), Soalu (<i>Litsaea ppolyantha</i>) plantation areas in rearing and sericulture farms have pushed Muga silk towards the verge of extinction. Encroachment in government Som plantation (host plant) areas is one of the prime causes of decreasing food availability of Muga silk worm. If measures are not taken the Muga (<i>Antheria assamensis</i>) heritage of Assam may face extinction in the near future. Considering the ecological conditions, food plant distribution, presence of eco-types and species of diverse nature in co-existence, it is speculated that this region is a possible home of origin of <i>Antheraea.</i> In this paper the researcher emphasizes the possibility of sustaining community livelihood in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, India.

Noninvasive sampling reveals population genetic structure in the Royle's pika, Ochotona roylei, in the western Himalaya.

Understanding population genetic structure of climate‐sensitive herbivore species is important as it provides useful insights on how shifts in environmental conditions can alter their distribution and abundance. Herbivore responses to the environment can have a strong indirect cascading effect on community structure. This is particularly important for Royle's pika (Lagomorpha: Ochotona roylei), a herbivorous talus‐dwelling species in alpine ecosystem, which forms a major prey base for many carnivores in the Himalayan arc. In this study, we used seven polymorphic microsatellite loci to detect evidence for recent changes in genetic diversity and population structure in Royle's pika across five locations sampled between 8 and 160 km apart in the western Himalaya. Using four clustering approaches, we found the presence of significant contemporary genetic structure in Royle's pika populations. The detected genetic structure could be primarily attributed to the landscape features in alpine habitat (e.g., wide lowland valleys, rivers) that may act as semipermeable barriers to gene flow and distribution of food plants, which are key determinants in spatial distribution of herbivores. Pika showed low inbreeding coefficients (F IS) and a high level of pairwise relatedness for individuals within 1 km suggesting low dispersal abilities of talus‐dwelling pikas. We have found evidence of a recent population bottleneck, possibly due to effects of environmental disturbances (e.g., snow melting patterns or thermal stress). Our results reveal significant evidence of isolation by distance in genetic differentiation (F ST range = 0.04–0.19). This is the first population genetics study on Royle's pika, which helps to address evolutionary consequences of climate change which are expected to significantly affect the distribution and population dynamics in this talus‐dwelling species.

Diversity and distribution of food plants: Implications for conservation of the critically endangered Hainan gibbon

An understanding of the diversity and distribution patterns of Hainan gibbon (Nomascushainanus) foods is essential to its conservation. We used data from plots in various successional stages and Pinusmerkusii plantations (PF) of Bawangling National Nature Reserve (BNNR) to compare variations in food species diversity and composition amongst forest types. A total of 85 food species and 16,882 food plants individuals were found across forest types. Habitat-exclusive food species were most abundant in old growth natural forest (OGF), followed by mid-aged natural secondary forest (MSF). We did not find exclusive species in PF. For all food species, as well as each stem size class, PF displayed a lower species richness and abundance and, in addition, less similar species composition in each age class compared to secondary forests. The highest stem density and species richness were found in MSF. The abundance of food trees was higher in MSF and OGF than in young natural secondary forest. Results suggested that MSF could serve as an alternative habitat for Hainan gibbons after short-term recovery. Hainan gibbons might be limited to secondary forests older than 25 years old. PF was found to be unsuitable for Hainan gibbons.

Food Traditions and Landscape Histories of the Indian Ocean World: Theoretical and Methodological Reflections

Abstract Environmental histories of plant exchanges have largely centred on their economic importance in international trade and on their ecological and social impacts in the places where they were introduced. Yet few studies have attempted to examine how plants brought from elsewhere become incorporated over time into the regional cultures of material life and agricultural landscapes. This essay considers the theoretical and methodological problems in investigating the environmental history, diversity and distribution of food plants transferred across the Indian Ocean over several millennia. It brings together concepts of creolisation, syncretism, and hybridity to outline a framework for understanding how biotic exchanges and diffusions have been translated into regional landscape histories through food traditions, ritual practices and articulation of cultural identity. We use the banana plant - which underwent early domestication across New Guinea, South-east Asia and peninsular India and reached East Africa roughly two thousand years ago - as an example for illustrating the diverse patterns of incorporation into the cultural symbolism, material life and regional landscapes of the Indian Ocean World. We show that this cultural evolutionary approach allows new historical insights to emerge and enriches ongoing debates regarding the antiquity of the plant's diffusion from South-east Asia to Africa.

Spatial and temporal patterns of territorial mate locating behaviour in Hypolimnas bolina (L.) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Male Hypolimnas bolina (L.) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) defend perch sites as a method of visually locating receptive females. In this study we charted the spatio-temporal activity of perching males in tropical Australia to investigate (a) the extent to which male activity is thermally constrained, and (b) the physical attributes of selected perching sites. Butterflies were surveyed along two 5-15m wide open corridors through dense vegetation, and this allowed the prediction that males should favour narrower corridor sections in order to maximize their visual search capability. This prediction was supported. Beyond corridor width, the distribution of favoured perches was not explained any further by patterns of shading, larval food plant distribution, or the presence of nectar resources. Males were active from 0800 to 1700 h, but the number of perching individuals varied throughout the day, and this pattern varied between the two transects. Most individuals perched along one transect in the morning (0900-1100 h), whereas activity along the other peaked around midday (1100-1300 h). This between-transect difference in male activity followed changes in shading between the transects, however this variable did not predict male distribution at the territory scale. Although ambient and black body temperatures were significantly related to population-level activity, these variables only predicted 15-55% of the variance in male counts in individual transects. This result, viewed in conjunction with the limited available information on female receptivity, suggests that the timing of mate location in H. bolina may be primarily influenced by the daily pattern of female availability.

THE FOREST WORLD AS A CIRCULATION SYSTEM: THE IMPACTS OF MBUTI HABITATION AND SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITIES ON THE FOREST ENVIRONMENT

While the dependence of Mbuti hunter-gatherers on the forest is relatively well documented, it has not been made clear how their activities and habitation influence the forest environment in which they live. The analysis of distribution of food plants and human induced secondary forests in the Ituri Forest of Congo suggests that the forest as a hunter-gatherer habitat may have been improved by the interaction of Mbuti hunters, Bantu and other farmers, plants and animals. Most of the major food plants of the Mbuti are light-demanding trees which grow well in secondary and disturbed vegetation regenerated from abandoned campsites and fields. The food plants also germinate from the discarded food thrown around the campsite. Moreover, large quantities of minerals and organic matters are concentrated to the camp as food and fuels, which, after the consumption, are accumulated also around th ec ampsite in the forms of ashes and human body wastes, thus enriching the soil nutrients in the vicinity of the camp. The Mbuti activities and habitation thus comprise a part of a large recycling system of the forest ecosystem. The implications of such positive human impacts on the forest environment for conservation and development issues are discussed.

Effects of food distribution on the habitat usage of a female brown bear Ursus arctos yesoensis in a beech‐forest zone of northernmost Japan

The habitat usage of a female brown bear, Ursus arctos yesoensis L., was studied in relation to the distribution of food plants in a beech‐forest zone of Hokkaido, Japan. The bear’s habitat usage was correlated with the distribution of the plant Angelica ursina (Rupt.) Maxim. in summer. In spring the bear preferred Petasites japonicus (Sieb. et Zucc.) Maxim. and Heracleum dulce Fisch., whose abundance did not differ significantly between Sasa–beech forests and coniferous forests. However, the bear spent more time in coniferous forests where its den site was located. In autumn, this bear preferred the plant Actinidia arguta (Sieb. et Zucc.) Planch. ex Mig., which was abundant in maple–linden forests, however, the bear’s habitat usage was not correlated with the distribution of A. arguta because it frequently returned to an overlapping area where A. arguta was scarce. Thus, the bear’s habitat usage depended on food distribution as well as on the location of the den site and the behavioral core area.

The influence of environmental microstructure on the behavioural phase state and distribution of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria

Abstract. In previous studies we used logistic regression analysis to quantify the change in behavioural phase state of Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål) nymphs subjected to variations in population density. Such work involved restricting insects in small containers either alone or in a crowd. In the present paper we have shown that the fine‐scale distribution of food plants, perches and favourable microclimatic sites influences the spatial distribution of locusts, both in the laboratory and under semi‐field conditions. When multiple resource sites were provided, solitarious locusts tended to disperse and behavioural gregarization was inhibited. However, provision of only a single site promoted congregation, overcoming the tendency of solitarious insects to avoid each other, and led to behavioural gregarization. The time‐course and extent of this response was fully consistent with our earlier experiments using enforced crowding. We suggest that such quantitative, experimental studies of the effects of environmental microstructure on behaviour may yield fundamental insights into the dynamics of plague formation in the desert locust.

The development of Sahul agriculture with Australia as bystander

The distribution of food-plants—both potential and actually exploited — reflects the natural history of contact across the seas and through the region, often long before Pleistocene times. The later and the human contribution has to be discerned from varied lines of evidence. The inventive process of early domestication leading to cultivation in the Sahulian north (New Guinea) was not a part of plant adaptation in the south (Australia). Neither did species diffusion result in adoption of agriculture or stimulation towards domestication among the Aboriginal hunter-gatherers.

Home range and birth seasonality of Saguinus nigricollis graellsi in Ecuadorian Amazonia.

A field study ofSaguinus nigricollis graellsi in the Cuyabeno Faunal Production Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazonia, established the characteristics of the home range and some reproductive aspects of the species. Field data were collected in two climatic seasons: dry, from December 1989 through March 1990, and rainy, from May through August 1990. Eight groups visited and/or lived in the study area during the dry season and ten during the rainy season. Group sizes ranged from two to nine individuals. Population density was estimated at 22-33 individuals per square km. The central group, which was followed intensively, had a home range which included both flooded and non-flooded forests. Terra firme forest was most used by the species. The home range of this group was reduced from 56.2 hectares (ha) in the dry season to 41.7 ha in the rainy season, probably as a result of a differential distribution of food plants between seasons. The presence of dense undergrowth where monkeys could hide to avoid predation and or a high concentration of food plants seem related to the preferential use of certain areas in the home range. The home ranges of neighboring groups overlapped considerably and peaceful temporary large groups were frequently observed. A generalized birth peak occurred in January 1990, dry season. In June 1990, rainy season, 40% of the groups exhibited a second birth peak. This reproductive bimodality of S. nigricollis graellsi indicates a high productivity of the forests at the Cuyabeno site. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Leaf miner assemblies: effects of plant succession and grazing management

Abstract. 1. Changes in leaf‐miner assemblies during 4 years of secondary succession, under different controlled sheep‐grazing treatments, are described and compared to the miner fauna of older grazed grassland nearby.2. Multivariate analyses were used in conjunction with examination of individual common species to assess the independent effects of time, grazing treatment, plant species composition and architecture on the leaf‐miner assemblies.3. Leaf‐miner species composition was strongly related to plant species composition, but was modified by plant structure under different grazing treatments. There was a strong successional trend in miner assemblies, even when the effects of changes in plant composition had been taken into account. Conversely, local variation in miner species composition generally reflected foodplant distribution alone.4. Grazed treatments had fewer mines than controls, but there were also species specializing in grazed areas, despite the abundance of their foodplants elsewhere. There was a weak indication that miner species in grazed treatments were more likely to fluctuate in abundance than those in controls.5. The results are discussed in relation to the assembly of grassland insect communities during succession, and the use of ‘indicator groups’ in management for nature conservation.

Effects of temporal and spatial variations in food availability on life cycle and palatability of a chrysomelid Beetle(Donacia cinerea)

Donacia cinerea larvae pass through four instars. Emergence takes place mainly during June and July, but some imagines emerge in October and November. Imagines are found in their pupal cocoons up till nine months prior to emergence, and this may be an adaptation to withstand poor oxygen conditions and/or to emerge early. Of this follows that some specimens spend two years in the water, while others only spend one year there. Oviposition takes place below the water surface, and the females deposit their eggs one by one in the plant (Typha sp.) tissue. Imagines are unpalatable to Great Tits, and unpalatability to bird predators is related to the oligophagous feeding behaviour of the beetles and the patchy distribution of food plants making high encounter rate with birds probable.

The Ecology and Distribution of Butterflies in a Montane Community near Florissant, Colorado

The local distribution, flight periods, habitat preferences, larval food plants, adult feeding plants (nectar sources), and adult behavior of 60 species of butterflies are recorded for the Big Spring Ranch area (elevation 8500 to 9220 ft), four miles southwest of Florissant, Teller Co., Colorado. The influence of plant associations as both barriers and corridors is emphasized as controlling the distribution of certain species. Other factors affecting the distribution of butterflies, such as larval and adult food-plant distribution and water sources are discussed.

Food-Plant Distribution and Density and Larval Dispersal as Factors Affecting Insect Populations

It is generally agreed that insects whose larvae feed on plants do not increase to the larval food limit except in sporadic and unusual cases. In the few detailed studies which have been made, as, for example, Varley's (1947) study of the knapweed gallfly, the evidence suggests that the insects are held in check by parasites and predators. Andrewartha and Birch (1954) are of the opinion that shortage of food is probably the least important factor in limiting the numbers of animals in a natural population. On the other hand, they have pointed out (p. 489) that while it is unusual for an extensive population to consume all or most of the stock of food in its area, it does not follow that the amount of food is rarely of major importance in determining the numbers of a natural population. Several examples (p. 492) were given in which shortage of food was chiefly responsible for failure of population increase even though the absolute supply seemed adequate. In these cases local supplies were exhausted and the chance of finding fresh supplies depended upon the distribution and abundance of food and the powers of dispersal of the animals. In other words, the food was inaccessible relative to the animals' capacities for dispersal and searching.