Availability Of Food Resources Research Articles

Temporal and individual variation in the feeding habits of Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus).

Foraging plays a vital role in the survival of wildlife, and shifts in food availability can impact species fitness and survival. Ursids are known to consume a wide variety of foods and are known to be opportunistic omnivores. Consequently, seasonal shifts in diet, which correspond to temporal and spatial shifts in the availability of food resources, have long captivated researchers studying the foraging behavior of Ursidae. Nevertheless, comprehensive dietary studies encompassing both the population and individual levels remain scarce. In this study, we investigated the dietary patterns of Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) at both the population and individual levels, using data collected through GPS collars and field surveys of individual bear scat samples in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, from 2016 to 2020. From early April to late June, bears mainly foraged on green vegetation. During this period, male and large-bodied female bears showed a strong preference for green vegetation. Small-bodied female bears also ate mostly green vegetation but tended to consume more fruit than other bears towards the end of this period. From June to October, bears' diets included a substantial amount of fruit, with notable peaks in fruit consumption in late June and early September. During the summer months, female bears often incorporated social insects into their diet compared to the population-level trend. In mid-September, the consumption of seeds from the Fagaceae family surged, becoming the primary dietary component during this period. This trend was consistently observed across the population. These findings underscore the importance conducting in-depth dietary analyses that take into account individual characteristics such as sex, age, and body weight.

Temporal and individual variation in the feeding habits of Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus).

Foraging plays a vital role in the survival of wildlife, and shifts in food availability can impact species fitness and survival. Ursids are known to consume a wide variety of foods and are known to be opportunistic omnivores. Consequently, seasonal shifts in diet, which correspond to temporal and spatial shifts in the availability of food resources, have long captivated researchers studying the foraging behavior of Ursidae. Nevertheless, comprehensive dietary studies encompassing both the population and individual levels remain scarce. In this study, we investigated the dietary patterns of Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) at both the population and individual levels, using data collected through GPS collars and field surveys of individual bear scat samples in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, from 2016 to 2020. From early April to late June, bears mainly foraged on green vegetation. During this period, male and large-bodied female bears showed a strong preference for green vegetation. Small-bodied female bears also ate mostly green vegetation but tended to consume more fruit than other bears towards the end of this period. From June to October, bears' diets included a substantial amount of fruit, with notable peaks in fruit consumption in late June and early September. During the summer months, female bears often incorporated social insects into their diet compared to the population-level trend. In mid-September, the consumption of seeds from the Fagaceae family surged, becoming the primary dietary component during this period. This trend was consistently observed across the population. These findings underscore the importance conducting in-depth dietary analyses that take into account individual characteristics such as sex, age, and body weight.

Addressing food insecurity in rural primary care: a mixed-methods evaluation of barriers and facilitators

BackgroundFood insecurity (FI) is associated with negative health outcomes and increased healthcare utilization. Rural populations face increased rates of FI and encounter additional barriers to achieving food security. We sought to identify barriers and facilitators to screening and interventions for FI in rural primary care practices.MethodsWe conducted a mixed-methods study using surveys and semi-structured interviews of providers and staff members from rural primary care practices in northern New England. Survey data were analyzed descriptively, and thematic analysis was used to identify salient interview themes.ResultsParticipants from 24 rural practices completed the survey, and 13 subsequently completed an interview. Most survey respondents (54%) reported their practices systematically screen for FI and 71% reported food needs were “very important” for their patients and communities. Time and resource constraints were the most frequently cited barriers to screening for and addressing FI in practices based on survey results. Interview themes were categorized by screening and intervention procedures, community factors, patient factors, external factors, practice factors, process and implementation factors, and impact of FI screening and interventions. Time and resource constraints were a major theme in interviews, and factors attributed to rural practice settings included geographically large service areas, stigma from loss of privacy in small communities, and availability of food resources through farming.ConclusionsRural primary care practices placed a high value on addressing food needs but faced a variety of barriers to implementing and sustaining FI screening and interventions. Strategies that utilize practice strengths and address time and resource constraints, stigma, and large service areas could promote the adoption of novel interventions to address FI.

Increasing water nutrient reduces the availability of high-quality food resources for aquatic consumers and consequently simplifies river food webs

While eutrophication has led to serious habitat degradation and biotic shifts in freshwater ecosystems, most current studies have focused on changes in community assemblages, with few considering the effect of eutrophication on food webs. We conducted a field study in subtropical headwater streams with a gradient of water nutrient levels to examine the effect of increasing water nutrients on food webs by using the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) as a measure of the nutritional quality of food. Basal food resources (macrophytes, submerged leaf litter, and periphyton), and aquatic consumers (macroinvertebrates and fish) were collected, and their fatty acid (FA) profiles were analyzed. Our results showed that periphyton was the dominant source of EPA for macroinvertebrates and fish, and a high-quality resource for consumers. As water nutrient concentrations increased, nutritional quality of periphyton significantly decreased and, in turn, the correlation between FA profiles of periphyton and macroinvertebrates declined. However, periphyton FA profiles did not account for the variability of fish FA, which may be induced by the increasing proportions of omnivorous fish in eutrophic streams that derived EPA from other sources. Further, the reduced periphyton EPA was associated with decreased trophic links and simplified stream food webs. Our study highlights the importance of high-quality food resources for aquatic food webs as water nutrients increased in stream ecosystems and provides a nutritional perspective to understand the mechanisms how eutrophication affects aquatic ecosystems.

Growth and Cell Size of Microalga Auxenochlorella protothecoides AS-1 under Different Trophic Modes.

Certain microalgal species can grow with different trophic strategies depending on the availability of nutrient resources. They can use the energy from light or an organic substrate, or both, and can therefore be called autotrophs, heterotrophs, or mixotrophs. We recently isolated a microalgal strain from the microplastic biofilm, which was identified as Auxenochlorella protothecoides, AS-1. Strain AS-1 grew rapidly in bacterial culture media and exhibited different growth rates and cell sizes under different trophic conditions. We compared the growth performance of AS-1 under the three different trophic modes. AS-1 reached a high biomass (>4 g/L) in 6 days under mixotrophic growth conditions with a few organic carbons as a substrate. In contrast, poor autotrophic growth was observed for AS-1. Different cell sizes, including daughter and mother cells, were observed under the different growth modes. We applied a Coulter Counter to measure the size distribution patterns of AS-1 under different trophic modes. We showed that the cell size distribution of AS-1 was affected by different growth modes. Compared to the auto-, hetero- and mixotrophic modes, AS-1 achieved higher biomass productivity by increasing cell number and cell size in the presence of organic substrate. The mechanisms and advantages of having more mother cells with organic substrates are still unclear and warrant further investigations. The work here provides the growth information of a newly isolated A. protothecoides AS-1 which will be beneficial to future downstream applications.

Agricultural habitat use and selection by a sedentary bird over its annual life cycle in a crop-depredation context

BackgroundModern agriculture has undoubtedly led to increasing wildlife-human conflicts, notably concerning bird damage in productive and attractive crops during some parts of the annual cycle. This issue requires utmost attention for sedentary birds that may impact agricultural crops at any stage of their annual life cycle. Reducing bird-human conflicts requires a better understanding of the relationship between bird foraging activity and the characteristics of agricultural areas, notably with respect to changes in food-resource availability and crop sensitivity across the year.MethodsWe explored how GPS-tagged adult male western jackdaws– sedentary corvids– utilize agricultural areas throughout their annual cycle, in a context of crop depredation. More precisely, we described their daily occurrence distribution and the extent of habitat use and selection consistency with respect to landscape composition across time.ResultsJackdaws moved in the close agricultural surroundings of their urban nesting place over the year (< 2.5 km from the nest, on average). Daily occurrence distributions were restricted (< 2.2 km2), relatively centered on the nesting locality (distance between the daily occurrence centroid and the nest < 0.9 km), and rather spatially stable during each annual life-cycle period (overlap range: 63.4–76.1%). Their foraging patterns highlighted that they fed mainly in grasslands all year round, and foraged complementarily and opportunistically in maize (during sowing– coinciding with the first stages of the birds’ breeding period) and cereal crops (during harvesting– their post-fledging period).ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate the very limited space use by breeding male jackdaws which foraged preferentially in grasslands. We call for future investigations in other agricultural contexts and also considering non-breeders for extrapolation purposes.

Spatial factors overcome seasonality regulating the consumption of allochthonous food resources by fishes from tropical lotic ecosystems

Abstract In lotic ecosystems, a higher availability of allochthonous food resources is expected during floods and rainfall events, which may yield a higher consumption of these resources by consumers. However, allochthonous input and seasonality in environmental conditions are locally dependent. Thus, dietary responses of freshwater consumers to seasonality should also be locally dependent. Herein, we applied a meta‐analytical approach to identify the spatial and seasonal environmental variables associated with the relative consumption of allochthonous food resources by fishes from tropical lotic ecosystems in different seasons. We gathered 566 observations of the diet of fish populations (i.e., restricted to the same sampling event) from 38 studies conducted in 70 localities across the tropics during flood and drought periods (hereafter, high‐water and low‐water periods, respectively). We retrieved latitude, seasonal channel width, elevation and two proxies for allochthonous input for each locality: terrestrial biomass (without considering seasonality) and the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI; considering seasonality). Then, we applied meta‐regression models using these environmental variables as predictors and the proportion of allochthonous food resources in each consumer's diet (%Allo) as the response variable. Our models revealed that the diet of fishes from tropical lotic ecosystems is mostly autochthonous‐based, independent of the hydrological period (high‐water or low‐water), and aquatic invertebrates were the most consumed food items. Terrestrial vegetation biomass and elevation predicted increasing allochthony in the diet of tropical fishes for high‐water, but only terrestrial biomass predicted allochthony at low‐water periods. We found no relationship between latitude, channel width or NDVI with allochthony. Our study highlights the importance of considering the hierarchical level of biological organisation and fish trophic guilds for understanding seasonal patterns of relative consumption of allochthonous and autochthonous food resources by fishes. We also argue that variations in seasonality across the tropics are likely to have undermined its influence on allochthony in fish diets. The absence of a non‐relationship between channel width and allochthony provides evidence that the River Continuum Concept is better suited to temperate lotic ecosystems. Our results provide novel insights and the big‐picture of seasonal pattern in the diets of tropical fishes for use in future local empirical studies, improving forecasting of the relationship between the factors underpinning the availability of allochthonous and autochthonous food resources, and the diet of freshwater fishes.

Cultural attitudes and human pressure towards vultures around the Comoé National Park, Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa)

BackgroundPopulations of vultures in Africa have experienced a rapid decline over recent decades, with some species suffering losses of more than 90%. Various forms of human pressures have been identified as the causes of this decline. However, very little is known about the complex interaction between cultural practises, traditional medicine and the vultures’ natural environment. The purpose of this study was to analyse human pressures on vultures in relation with cultural attitudes such as their demand for magico-traditional medicine in Côte d’Ivoire, around the Comoé National Park (CNP), one of the last major refuges of these organisms in West Africa.MethodsEleven surrounding villages were visited to carry out ethno-ornithology surveys. One hundred and ten people were interviewed, at a rate of ten people per village, using a semi-structured questionnaire and informal discussions.ResultsThe findings showed that vultures are still being seen both in and around the CNP. The most common species indicated to be observed and indicated by the interviewees were the Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) and the White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis). Nevertheless, 98.2% of the interviewees indicated having observed a decrease in the abundance of vultures over the last few years in the study area, as well as a decline in the number of sightings of these organisms. Interviewees attributed this scarcity of vultures to (1) the limited availability of food resources, (2) pesticide and tobacco poisoning, (3) hunting, (4) rapid population growth, (5) annual bushfires and (6) habitat loss. The uses of the vulture or parts of vultures by the populations surrounding the CNP (traditional medicine, mystic practises, consumption as food, cultural heritage) were also highlighted as real threats to these organisms. And the vulture parts commonly used in this area are: feathers, legs, head, heart, stomach, brain and excrement. The Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) appears to be the most sought-after species and the most widely used for these practises in the study area.ConclusionAppropriate conservation and communication initiatives are required to ensure the survival of these raptors, crucial for ecosystem well-being, while also ensuring a respect of cultural practises.

Foraging plasticity in Chilean flamingos: influence of water depth, food abundance and intra-flock distances

In a natural context, many avian species exhibit the ability to assess and balance factors such as food availability, food quality, and energy expenditure when making foraging decisions. However, avian behaviours can also diverge from the predictions, influenced by a range of variables, including social behaviours, predation pressures, and individual personalities. Chilean flamingos, popular social birds native to South America, remain relatively underexplored in terms of their foraging ecology and the interplay between environmental conditions and foraging behaviours, especially within the context of conservation. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a comprehensive study, collecting monthly physical and biological data from foraging flocks of Chilean flamingos at Lagoa do Peixe National Park, a vital contra-nuptial site located in southern Brazil, spanning from October 2021 to September 2022. We employed Generalized Linear Mixed Models to establish correlations between this dataset and the relative frequency and duration of four identified foraging behaviours: Pecking up, Head-dipping, Feet-trembling, and Dredging. Our findings substantiate that the foraging patterns exhibited by Chilean flamingos in this region are intricately linked to the trade-off between energy expenditure and the rewards obtained, primarily influenced by factors such as lagoon depth and the availability of food resources. Moreover, our results unveil a parabolic pattern in the distances maintained between individual flamingos in the flock, potentially attributed to facilitate foraging dynamics within larger groups, despite the concurrent increase in aggressive interactions. In summary, our study underscores the multifaceted variables that influence the foraging strategies of Chilean flamingos in a significant contra-nuptial area in southern Brazil. It sheds light on the behavioural adaptability of these birds and underscores the potential repercussions of this dynamic on individual and population performance and fitness.

Floral resources enhance fitness of the parasitoid Hadronotus pennsylvanicus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) but not biological control of its host Leptoglossus zonatus (Heteroptera: Coreidae).

The diet of adult parasitoid wasps is vital for their survival and reproduction. However, the availability of food resources, such as plant nectar, can vary widely in cropping systems, potentially affecting parasitoid fitness and thereby biological control of pests. The egg parasitoid Hadronotus pennsylvanicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is a potential biological control agent of the pistachio pest Leptoglossus zonatus (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Coreidae). While H. pennsylvanicus is known to attack L. zonatus eggs in California, USA, parasitism rates in orchards are highly variable. Floral resource provisioning has the potential to enhance parasitoid longevity and thus improve parasitism rates, leading to reduced pest densities. Here, a combination of field and laboratory studies was used to assess the influence of flowering groundcovers on the reproductive fitness of H. pennsylvanicus and the abundance of L. zonatus. Evaluated groundcovers included oat (Avena sativa L.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.), white mustard (Sinapis alba L.), and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench). Under laboratory conditions, buckwheat and mustard provided the greatest benefit to female H. pennsylvanicus longevity. However, females provided a buckwheat diet produced the greatest number of offspring over the course of their lifetime. In field trials, flowering groundcovers did not influence the abundance of H. pennsylvanicus nor parasitism rates on L. zonatus. While the availability of floral resources can improve the reproductive fitness of H. pennsylvanicus, the use of groundcovers in pistachio did not enhance biological control of L. zonatus.

К ВОПРОСУ ПРОДОВОЛЬСТВЕННОГО ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЯ АРКТИЧЕСКОЙ ЗОНЫ И СЕВЕРНЫХ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ: СЕВЕРНЫЙ ЗАВОЗ, ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ САМООБЕСПЕЧЕНИЯ (ЭКОНОМИКО-ПРАВОВОЙ АСПЕКТ)

The problems of food supply in the Arctic zone and the northern territories of Russia, which depend on timely northern delivery, are being investigated.&#x0D; It was revealed that the northern territories are heterogeneous, they differ in social and economic development, due to the diversity in financial provision, the availability of food resources is heterogeneous, and the balance of nutrition differs significantly. &#x0D; It is revealed that the absence of a legislative act regulating problematic issues of northern importation negatively affects the implementation of works related to the timely provision of the Arctic zone and northern territories.&#x0D; It has been established that the qualitative increase in agricultural and commercial production in the Arctic zone is directly related to the socio-economic development of rural settlements. The fishing farms of the Arctic zone have a long centuries-old history, their specialization was formed due to natural conditions, under the influence of geographical location. &#x0D; It is shown that agriculture in the northern regions of Russia, due to the natural features and specifics of modern market relations, can develop intensively with targeted state support. The organization of northern agriculture requires the creation of an investment climate, for which it is necessary to adopt legal documents.&#x0D; It is recommended that public authorities, when implementing the social function of the state in territories with extreme natural conditions, promptly adopt the necessary legal documents ensuring a favorable regime for the development of agriculture and traditional crafts.

Ecological character displacement among Nothobranchius annual killifishes in Tanzania.

Divergent ecological character displacement (ECD) is the competition-driven divergence in resource use-related phenotypic traits between coexisting species. It is considered one of the primary drivers of ecological diversification and adaptive radiation. We analyzed phenotypic and ecological variation in 2 African annual killifish species of the genus Nothobranchius: N. eggersi and N. melanospilus in sympatry and N. melanospilus in allopatry. Our aim was to test whether allopatric and sympatric populations of N. melanospilus differ morphologically from each other and from N. eggersi and examine whether these differences are consistent with the predictions of ECD. We find that sympatric N. melanospilus differ from allopatric N. melanospilus and differ from N. eggersi more strongly than the latter. Our data satisfy four criteria for demonstrating ECD: Differences in phenotypes between allopatric and sympatric N. melanospilus are greater than expected by chance; the divergence pattern between allopatric and sympatric N. melanospilus results from an evolutionary shift rather than from ecological sorting; morphological differences observed reflect differences in resource use; and, lastly, sites of allopatry and sympatry do not differ in food resource availability or other ecological conditions. Our results suggest that competition is the main driver of the observed divergence between two N. melanospilus populations.

Viruses, microsporidia and glyphosate residues in Africanized honey bees Apis mellifera, under field conditions

Bees are affected by several factors, including pathogens and pesticides, which may cause mortality and consequent population decline. Considering the ecological and economic importance of these pollinators, this study evaluated the occurrence of the microsporidia Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae, the viruses ABVP, DWV, BQCV, KBV, IAPV and CBPV and residues of the pesticides atrazine, chlorantraniliprole, deltamethrin, fipronil and glyphosate in workers from field colonies of Africanized honey bee Apis mellifera across one year. The presence of pesticide residues was also evaluated in honey and pollen samples. All tested viruses were found in the workers, with BQCV showing the highest copy number. BQCV levels were correlated with relative humidity. Nosema ceranae was the only microsporidian with higher intensities of infection during summer and autumn; seasons with high availability of food resources, which can act as dispersers of this pathogen. Small amounts of glyphosate and its metabolite were detected in the bees tested. These data show that honey bees are contaminated with pathogens and pesticides in the field and present correlative data for these threats.

Response of Siberian Cranes (Grus leucogeranus) to Hydrological Changes and the Availability of Foraging Habitat at Various Water Levels in Poyang Lake.

To assess the Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus)'s response to changing water levels and habitat quality at Poyang Lake, we analyzed the lake's hydrological trends over the past two decades with the Mann-Kendall and Sen slope methods. Additionally, we explored the link between the crane population size and hydrological conditions at the lake from 2011 to 2019. Meanwhile, five environmental factors, including habitat type, distance from shallow lakes, human footprint index, elevation and normalized vegetation index were selected, and the distribution patterns of suitable habitats for the Siberian crane under 10 water level gradients with intervals of about 1 m (5.3-14.2 m) were simulated by using an improved habitat suitability index model that determines the weights of evaluating factors based on the MaxEnt model. The results showed that the overall trend of the inundated area in Poyang Lake was shrinking in the last 20 years, with a significant increase in the area of exposed floodland during the early wintering period (Z = -2.26). The prolonged drought resulting from this will force vegetation succession, thereby diminishing the food resources for cranes in their natural habitat. The mean inundated area in June demonstrated a significant negative correlation with the population of Siberian cranes in natural habitats (r = -0.75, p = 0.02). Shortage of the Siberian crane-preferred Vallisneria tuber due to June flooding was the primary driver of the crane's altered foraging strategy and habitat shift. In years with relatively normal June inundation, indicating abundant Vallisneria resources, the relationship between the inundated area during the dry season and the crane population fit well, with a quadratic curve (R2 = 0.92, p = 0.02). The dry season's inundated area primarily affected the crane population and distribution pattern by influencing the availability of food resources, and both excessive and insufficient inundation areas were unfavorable for crane survival. The modeling results for habitat suitability indicated that as the water level decreased, the trend of the area of good habitat for the Siberian crane showed an inverted bell shape, peaking at a water level of 8.8 m, with optimal conditions occurring between 8 and 10 m. The combined effects of climate and human activities have made the shortage of food resources in Poyang Lake the new normal. The degradation of natural habitats has led to a decline in the quality of Siberian crane habitats, and artificial habitats can only be used as refuges to a certain extent. Thus, formulating strategies to restore natural habitats and enhance the management of artificial habitats is crucial for the conservation efforts of Siberian cranes.

Food‐web energy fluxes, energy transfer efficiency, and diversity respond distinctively to pollution and water diversion in rivers

Abstract Water diversion and pollution are two pervasive stressors for river ecosystems that often co‐occur. The individual effects of both stressors on river communities and energy transfer across the food webs are well described; however, how they interact remains unknown. We hypothesised that low‐to‐moderate nutrient pollution gradient would cause a mild increase in invertebrate driven herbivory and water diversion a strong reduction in detritivory, whereas their joint effect would reduce invertebrate abundance and diversity, as well as total energy fluxes (from basal resources to invertebrates and fish). We also expected a shift in body size spectra slope with increased energy transfer between trophic levels with moderate pollution, but not with water diversion. To test these hypotheses, we selected four rivers across a range of nutrient pollution levels (a proxy of water quality) subject to similar water diversion schemes and compared food webs upstream and downstream of their diversion weirs. Both stressors changed the availability of basal food resources. Nutrient pollution induced changes in the green food web (i.e., biofilm‐based) by enhancing biofilm stocks, whereas water diversion affected the brown food web (i.e., detritus‐based) by decreasing stocks of detritus. The propagation of the effects to higher trophic levels differed with each stressor: pollution increased the homogeneity of community within the reach, whereas water diversion made communities more heterogeneous. Moreover, pollution induced changes within omnivores, increasing herbivory and carnivory, whereas diversion reduced the total energy fluxes through a decrease in detritivory, especially with pollution. Although most of the variables studied seemed to be more sensitive to water diversion, pollution often accentuated the response, being the interaction between both stressors more explanatory than any of the two stressors on its own. The effects of water diversion on diversity and energy flow through food webs are more detrimental to moderately polluted rivers than to systems with high quality water. We show that the use of tools merging knowledge on trophic relationships among species and their metabolic requirements enables disturbances to be detected that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Impact of Large-Scale Fire and Habitat Type on Ant Nest Density and Species Abundance in Biebrza National Park, Poland

Fire can have negative effects on the ant community by reducing species abundance through direct mortality, changes in resource availability, or foraging activity. Fire can also have positive effects, especially for opportunistic species preferring open or disturbed habitats. We assessed the direct effects of a large-scale fire on ant communities in open habitats (grassland and Carex) and moist forested peatland (birch and alder) sites in Biebrza National Park, testing three hypotheses: (i) the large-scale fire had more significant effects on ant nest density in forests than in open habitats, (ii) the post-fire ant diversity changes within sites are stronger in forests than open habitats, and (iii) ant species preferring disturbed habitats are favoured by the fire event. The fire had negative effects on ant nest density only in the Carex and grassland sites but not in the birch and alder sites, suggesting that fire had a stronger impact in open habitats than in forests. Temporal post-fire ant diversity changes within sites were stronger in forests than in open habitats. We observed higher beta diversity changes between the first and second year of the study in the burned forest sites due to colonisation, indicating a greater fire impact on species community composition followed by a higher recolonisation rate. Ant species preferring disturbed habitats were favoured by the fire. The seed-eating ant species Tetramorium caespitum, a thermophilous and opportunistic species, dominated the burned grassland site. This contrasts with other species, e.g., Lasius alienus, for which nest density decreased after fire, underlining the importance of food resource availability as a major driver of community changes after fire. Our study also underlines the importance of periodic biodiversity monitoring in conservation areas for assessing the recovery of the original status after disturbances and revealing possible habitat changes endangering the survival of local biotic communities.

Shallow sub-lakes are essential for sustaining the successful wintering of waterbirds in Poyang Lake, China

For migratory waterbirds, the quality of wintering habitat is related to spring migration and successful breeding in the next year. The availability of food resources in the habitat is critical and varies within water levels. Although the water-level fluctuations in Poyang Lake have been extremely variable interannually in recent years, the wintering waterbird populations have remained relatively stable. Hence, the mechanism of maintaining the stability is worth exploring. This study aimed to compare the distribution of vegetation and herbivorous waterbirds in 2015–2016 and 2016–2017, focusing on three shallow sub-lakes and one main lake are. The results showed that the emergence of tubers and the growth of Carex spp. provided a continuous food supply and habitat for wintering waterbirds with a gradual decline in the water level. Shallow sub-lakes supported almost all of the tuber-eating waterbirds (1.42–1.62 × 105) and most geese (1.34–1.53 × 106). However, the main lake area, covered with Persicaria hydropiper, did not provide adequate and accessible food. This resulted in almost no distribution of tuber-eating waterbirds, with only a few geese congregating in early winter. Our results demonstrated that the shallow sub-lakes under human control provided a different environment from the main lake and are key to sustaining the successful wintering of hundreds of thousands of migratory waterbirds in Poyang Lake. Therefore, we recommend refining the anthropogenic management of the shallow sub-lakes to regulate the water level to ensure the carrying capacity of Poyang Lake.

Using participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) mapping to describe household food access in Buffalo, New York

ABSTRACT Despite existing only blocks apart, neighborhoods in Buffalo, NY can have very different levels of food availability and access due to their local food environment. This study uses participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) mapping and qualitative interviewing to describe these food environments based on the lived experiences of Buffalo residents. PGIS mapping interviews were conducted with residents of the city who regularly used food pantries and focused on access to and availability of both free food resources (such as soup kitchens and food pantries) and purchased food resources (such as grocery stores). Participants were also asked about food access in their own neighborhood, their perceptions of food access in the city, and what develops they thought would contribute to greater food security for their neighborhoods. Results show cost of living and transportation were important barriers to food access for many participants. Findings suggest that residents of historically marginalized neighborhoods in Buffalo continue to have lower access to affordable healthy foods.

Relationships Between Food Systems, Agricultural Practices, and Food Security Amidst Climate Change in Western Bhutan

An estimated 80% of the global population, mostly poor and vulnerable farmers, are at risk of crop failure and hunger due to climate change. Food systems are the networks for organizing food production and distribution that make meals possible at the level of the consumer, however, the networks are varied. Agricultural practices are farming methods that are used to facilitate agriculture. An economic and social condition of ready access by all household members to nutritionally adequate and safe food will ensure food security. The intricate and interconnected relationship between food systems, food security, and agricultural practices amid climate change involves significant impacts on productivity, crop yields, and food resource availability, necessitating resilient and adaptable food systems to address challenges posed by climate-induced variations and ensuring overall sustainability. The study aims to assess the relationships between agricultural practices and food systems and their implication for food security in the changing climate in the three climatic zones of Gasa, Wangdue, and Punakha. Agricultural practices in Gasa, Punakha, and Wangdue districts (Dzongkhag) were compared and relationships were drawn. The sample for the study was 360 households stratified into three climatic zones (120 households in each zone), in five sub-districts (Gewog) having 12 villages (Chiwog) taking 30 randomly selected households from every village. Household-level data was collected using the survey method by administering the pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Agriculture productivity data and climate data for the last 23 years were gathered from the National Statistical Bureau (NSB) and the National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM) respectively. Food systems are fragile and present agricultural practices significantly impact food security. A systematic land leasing programme (SLLP), climate-smart agriculture mass land management for mechanized farming are recommendations from this study.

FOOD SECURITY OF THE REGION: CURRENT TRENDS AND THREATS

Food security is a very significant aspect of development for regions around the world, as it concerns the availability, accessibility, use, and stability of food resources. The purpose of this article is to explore the features of the conceptual framework of food security and study the multifaceted factors that influence it in the regional context. Analysis of current trends and threats also comes to the fore. A full understanding of these factors, trends, and challenges is necessary for politicians and stakeholders to develop effective strategies aimed at ensuring food security of the population in a particular region. The methods used in the article are comparison, analysis of scientific publications and statistical method.&#x0D; Based on the results of the article, it is substantiated that trends in food security in the region are determined by a complex interaction of factors. A complex set of threats is at play and addressing them requires a multifaceted approach that combines sustainable agricultural practices, investment in infrastructure and the promotion of stability and peace.