Hunting Habitat Research Articles

Fine-Scaled Selection of Resting and Hunting Habitat by Leopard Cats (Prionailurus bengalensis) in a Rural Human-Dominated Landscape in Taiwan.

Wildlife is increasingly forced to live in close proximity to humans, resulting in human-wildlife conflict and anthropogenic mortality. Carnivores persisting in human-dominated landscapes respond to anthropogenic threats through fine-scaled spatial and temporal behavioral adjustments. Although crucial for conservation, quantitative information on these adjustments is scarce. Taiwan's endangered leopard cat occurs in rural human-dominated landscapes with a high anthropogenic mortality risk. To survive, the nocturnal leopard cat needs suitable habitats for foraging and safe refuge for resting during daytime hours when human activity peaks. In this study, we tracked seven VHF-collared leopard cats. To determine habitat selection patterns, we compared land use at nighttime locations and daytime resting sites with random points and fine-scaled vegetation characteristics at daytime resting sites with random points. Leopard cats selected natural habitats for nighttime hunting and avoided manmade and, to a lesser extent, agricultural habitats or used them according to availability. For daytime resting, leopard cats selected natural habitats and, to a lesser extent semi-natural habitats, such as unused land and abandoned orchards. Resting sites were preferentially situated in natural habitats, with little visibility (<2 m), shrubs, reed and stones, away from areas with high levels of human activity. This suggests leopard cats use a proactive strategy to avoid human encounters, which was supported by the reduced temporal overlap with humans and domestic dogs on agricultural land. Resting sites were placed ca. 1 km apart, 12.9 ± 0.3 m (mean ± SE) from the patch's edges, in patches with a size of 1.21 ± 0.04 ha (mean ± SE). Our results will assist in identifying and preserving suitable resting habitats to support leopard cat conservation.

A body composition model with multiple storage compartments for polar bears (Ursus maritimus).

Climate warming is rapidly altering Arctic ecosystems. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) need sea ice as a platform from which to hunt seals, but increased sea-ice loss is lengthening periods when bears are without access to primary hunting habitat. During periods of food scarcity, survival depends on the energy that a bear has stored in body reserves, termed storage energy, making this a key metric in predictive models assessing climate change impacts on polar bears. Here, we developed a body composition model for polar bears that estimates storage energy while accounting for changes in storage tissue composition. We used data of dissected polar bears (n =31) to link routinely collected field measures of total body mass and straight-line body length to the body composition of individual bears, described in terms of structural mass and two storage compartments, adipose and muscle. We then estimated the masses of metabolizable proteins and lipids within these storage compartments, giving total storage energy. We tested this multi-storage model by using it to predict changes in the lipid stores from an independent dataset of wild polar bears (n = 36) that were recaptured 8-200days later. Using length and mass measurements, our model successfully predicted direct measurements of lipid changes via isotopic dilutions (root mean squared error of 14.5kg). Separating storage into two compartments, and allowing the molecular composition of storage to vary, provides new avenues for quantifying energy stores of individuals across their life cycle. The multi-storage body composition model thus provides a basis for further exploring energetic costs of physiological processes that contribute to individual survival and reproductive success. Given bioenergetic models are increasingly used as a tool to predict individual fitness and population dynamics, our approach for estimating individual energy stores could be applicable to a wide range of species.

Habitat selection by a predator of rodent pests is resilient to wildfire in a vineyard agroecosystem.

Conservation of uncultivated habitats can increase the potential for ecosystem services in agroecosystems, but these lands are also susceptible to wildfires in the arid western United States. In Napa Valley, California, abundant rodent pests and an interest in integrated pest management have led wine producers to use nest boxes to attract Barn Owls (Tyto furcata) to winegrape vineyards. The viability of this practice as a method to control rodent pests depends heavily on the amount of hunting effort that Barn Owls expend in vineyards, which is known to be influenced by the amount of uncultivated land cover types surrounding the nest box. Wildfires burned nearly 60,000 ha of mainly urban and uncultivated lands surrounding Napa Valley in 2017, altering Barn Owl habitats. We compared GPS tracking data from 32 Barn Owls nesting in 24 individual nest boxes before and after the fires to analyze their hunting habitat selection. Owls with burned areas available to them after the fires had home ranges that shifted toward the fires, but selection was not strongly associated with burned areas. Though there was some spatial use of burned areas, selection of land cover types was similar for birds before and after the fires and in burned and unburned areas. The strongest selection was for areas closest to the nest box, and most recorded locations were in grassland, though selection indicated that owls used land cover types in proportion to their availability. Overall, habitat selection was resilient to changes caused by wildfires. These results are important for farmers who use nest boxes as a means of rodent control, which may be affected after dramatic disturbance events, especially as wildfires increase in the western United States.

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) use of the Cape Bathurst polynya and flaw lead

The Cape Bathurst polynya and flaw lead (CBP) are major, predictable habitat features with ≤15% ice cover in an otherwise ice-covered Beaufort Sea, and thought to provide hunting opportunities for polar bears (Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774). We assessed 78 adult (female; with and without cubs) and subadult (male and female) polar bears’ use of the CBP from October to June 2007–2014. The CBP was up to 725 km wide in autumn, ice-covered in winter, and <306 km wide in spring. Seventy-nine percent (n = 62) of the bears used the CBP (≥1 location <2.4 km, or one 4 h step length, from the CBP). Use was higher for solitary adult females and subadult males, which travelled faster with low turning angles along wider sections than females with offspring and subadult females. Bears were closest to the CBP during the spring hyperphagia season. Although a wider CBP did not prevent crossing, bears primarily crossed from the coast towards pack ice at locations 53% narrower than areas not crossed. Bears might avoid crossing when it would require a long-distance swim. The CBP affects polar bear ecology by providing hunting habitat and a corridor that could increase prey encounters but may affect movement.

First records of lowland tapir, Tapirus terrestris (Perissodactyla, Tapiridae), outside conservation areas after 30 years, in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil

Intense hunting pressure and habitat loss have significantly reduced populations of the lowland tapir Tapirus terrestris in southern Brazil. Remaining individuals inhabit mainly legally protected areas. Here we report the first records outside of conservation areas in the state of Santa Catarina, over the last 30 years. These records were found during a mammal monitoring program, developed between May 2018 and July 2020. The records provide new evidence of the distribution of the species in Santa Catarina and reinforce the relevance of connectivity between protected areas of the Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor.

Boscos i deveses a la Corona catalano-aragonesa (segles XIV-XV)

Au Moyen Âge, la forêt fournissait des éléments essentiels pour la vie de l'homme: du bois à brûler et du charbon pour se chauffer, pour cuisiner et pour développer differentes activités artisanales et industrielles; du bois pour construire des maisons, bateaux, meubles et d’autres utensiles de ménage; des fruits pour la nourriture des hommes et des animaux. La forêt offrait, aussi, de l'herbe pour les troupeaux et un habitat pour la chasse. C’était à cause de tout ça que les autorités ne permettaient pas que la forêt fût ruinée, soit par les incendies provoqués par les pasteurs, soit par les cultivateurs ou les spéculateurs des cendres, soit par le progrès des cultures et la surexploitation. D'ailleurs, cet article, écrit sur la base d'une documentation inédite provenante des Archives, explique les différentes modalités d’exploitation de la forêt: l’obtention du charbon, du bois à brûler pour l'usage domestique et pour les différentes sortes de fours, du bois pour la construction des maisons et des bateaux. L'auteur y étudie aussi le control sur l'exploitation du bois et son transport à travers les voies terrestres et fluviales. L'article étudie, finalement, l'usufruit controlé de la nature au moyen des terrains réservés qui assuraient les besoins de bois, charbon, pâtures etc. des habitants des villages, lesquels n'obtinrent la concession en evitant ainsi la surexploitation de la forêt en y restreignant l’accès. Du point de vue géographique, l'étude comprend la Catalogne, la Valence et l'Aragon.

The seasonal energetic landscape of an apex marine carnivore, the polar bear.

Divergent movement strategies have enabled wildlife populations to adapt to environmental change. In recent decades, the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) has developed a divergent movement strategy in response to diminishing sea ice where the majority of the subpopulation (73-85%) stays on the sea ice in summer and the remaining bears move to land. Although declines in sea ice are generally considered a challenge to energy balance in polar bears residing in some regions of the Arctic, little quantitative data exists concerning the seasonal energy expenditures of this apex marine carnivore. We used GPS satellite collars with tri-axial accelerometers and conductivity sensors to measure the location, behavior, and energy expenditure of five adult female polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea across seasons of sea ice breakup and minimum extent. Using a Bayesian mixed-effects model, we found that energy expenditure was influenced by month, ocean depth, and habitat type (sea ice or land). Total energy expenditure from May through September ranged from 37.7 to 47.2mJ/kg for individual bears. Bears that moved to land expended 7% more energy on average from May through September than bears that remained on the receding sea ice. In August, when bears were moving from the sea ice to land or moving north with the receding pack ice, bears that moved to land spent 7% more time swimming and expended 22% more energy. This means the immediate cost of moving to land exceeded the cost of remaining on the receding summer pack ice. These findings suggest a physiological reason why the majority of the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation continues to inhabit a diminishing summer ice platform. However, bears that moved to land spent 29% more time in preferred hunting habitats over the continental shelf than bears that remained on the sea ice. Bears on land also had access to subsistence-harvested bowhead whale carcasses. Hence, our findings indicate there may be a greater overall energetic benefit to move to land in this region, which suggests that the use of the diminishing summer sea ice may be functioning as an ecological trap.

Ongoing recovery of a brown bear population from a century-old severe bottleneck: insights from population genetic and spatially explicit analyses

By the beginning of the twentieth century, many brown bear populations in Europe were on the brink of extinction due to relentless hunting pressure and habitat loss. The situation was critical also in Estonia, where in the 1920s the population went through a severe demographic bottleneck. Thanks to the protective measures implemented in the 1930s, the population started to recover. However, the process has been slow, especially in the western and southern areas of the country. To study the effects of the demographic bottleneck, we analysed 216 brown bear samples from throughout their main range in Estonia. In combination with widely used methods of population genetics, a recently developed spatially explicit analysis (distribution of residual dissimilarity, DResD) was also applied. Three genetic clusters were revealed, of which two were most likely founded by the survivors of the bottleneck. The DResD analysis revealed several contact zones near the Estonian-Russian border, suggesting that the third cluster was influenced by gene flow from the neighbouring population in Russia. The DResD analysis revealed also a male biased movement corridor along the forested south-north axis in the central part of Estonia. In comparison to other European populations, the genetic diversity of the Estonian population is relatively low and is comparable with other populations that have gone through a severe bottleneck. This work has important implications for brown bear conservation and highlights once again the dangers of excessive hunting.

Structural complexity of hunting habitat and territoriality increase the reversed sexual size dimorphism in diurnal raptors

Despite numerous efforts and many hypotheses to explain the selective pressures that may have favoured reversed sexual dimorphism (RSD) in raptors – i.e. that the female is larger than the male – some drivers of RSD are still unknown.Here we analyse how much variation in RSD is explained by hunting habitat structure, territoriality or territory size. We do so using data on diurnal raptors from the New World and the Western Palearctic – i.e. Cathartidae, Pandionidae, Accipitridae and Falconidae, the largest bird group showing RSD – taking into account the phylogenetic relationships among species.Our results identify the type of the main prey as a major factor explaining RSD in raptors. We also found RSD to increase with increasing structural complexity in the hunting habitat from open or semi‐open habitats to forest interior. RSD also increased with increasing degree of territoriality of the species (non‐territorial < facultative < territorial). Finally, for territorial species RSD increased with increasing size of nesting territory. A model comprising only three predictor variables (prey type, structural complexity of hunting habitat and territoriality) explained up to 50% of the variation in RSD of European and American diurnal raptor species, and up to 40% of the variation in RSD when only territorial species were considered.Our results highlight the relevance of spatial facets of the niche – e.g. hunting habitat, territoriality and territory size – in exerting selective pressures on the body size of diurnal raptors. These selective pressures, joint with already known trophic factors – e.g. diet – are decisive for the evolution of the RSD, a key trait in the functional ecology of raptors. Our findings open up new perspectives in the study of sexual size divergence in birds.

Habitat Characteristics of Possible Hunting Grounds of the Eurasian Eagle Owl in Limburg, the Netherlands

In 1997, Eurasian Eagle Owls Bubo bubo returned to Limburg, the south-eastern province of The Netherlands. However, since then the population size has stagnated, while extremely high concentrations of PCBs have been found in Eagle Owl carcasses. These observations suggest that a further expansion of the species in Limburg is under threat. The high concentrations of toxic substances may be explained by the Eagle Owls' position at the top of the food chain. Studying their hunting behaviour may help to identify possible sources of poisoning. Identifying the most important habitat characteristics of hunting grounds is a first step towards recognizing poisoning sources. For this purpose, and to gain general insight into their habitat use, a GPS tracking study was conducted on six adult Eagle Owls from three adjoining territories in 2010–2011. We found that the quarries in the region are important for the Eagle Owls since they are used as nesting sites. Other habitat characteristics that attract the species are pastures, differences in altitude, forest edges and water bodies. Major roads and town centres are avoided. The highlighted areas and habitat characteristics provide information about the most important hunting habitats of Eagle Owls and insight into the underlying causes threatening this species in Limburg.

Bad news for bobtails: understanding predatory behaviour of a resource-subsidised corvid towards an island endemic reptile

Context Resource subsidisation as a result of urbanisation and other human activity can have positive impacts for some opportunistic predators. Many species of corvid have benefitted from the expansion of human-dominated habitats; however, their impacts on co-occurring prey fauna are generally poorly understood. Aims We aimed to test the hypothesis that urbanisation associated with tourism impacts the predator–prey relationship between Australian ravens, or wardongs (Corvus coronoides), a ubiquitous corvid of southern Australia, and Rottnest Island bobtails (Tiliqua rugosa konowi), a subspecies of bobtail lizard isolated to a small (19km2) island off the coast of Western Australia. Methods Using clay model lizards and camera traps, we assessed the wardongs’ attack rates by distance from the settlement and by whether the model was in closed or open habitat. Key Results We found that while wardongs preyed upon Rottnest Island bobtails, predation was not affected by proximity to human settlement despite the highest number of wardongs being found there. Models in closed vegetation were attacked by wardong significantly more than were those in open vegetation. Implications Increased predation rates in closed vegetation suggests that current revegetation efforts on the island may be increasing the availability of preferred hunting habitat for the wardong. This finding may influence decisions by management on whether to control the large population of wardongs on the island.

Snake species richness predicts breeding distribution of short-toed snake eagle in central Italy

Birds of prey, as top predators, play a key role in ecosystem functioning by regulating prey populations and, by means of cascade effects, promoting biodiversity. This makes them adequate sentinels of ecosystem health. Here we analyse the relationship between the occurrence of breeding short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus) and both the richness of potential prey species and landscape characteristics by taking into account two different spatial scales (i.e. nest-site scale and landscape scale). The short-toed snake eagle offers an interesting case study for investigating the relationships between top predators, prey diversity, and habitats, because it is an extremely specialised raptor that feeds on mesopredators, mostly snakes. Additionally, short-toed snake eagles are mainly threatened by changes in agriculture and land use in Europe, which have reduced the extent of suitable hunting habitats, and by the decrease in snake populations. Our study was conducted in the Latium Region (central Italy) in 2007, where most of the Italian breeding population is concentrated. By means of habitat selection analyses using generalised linear models, our results showed that the species selected breeding areas characterised by low elevations, rugged slopes, and high snake species richness at the nest-site scale (1 km2). At the landscape scale (25 km2), the best model showed that birds selected areas characterised by lower elevations for nesting, with a tendency towards intermediate values of wood cover and high snake species richness. Our study highlights the strong relationship between snake species richness and the occurrence of breeding eagles at both spatial scales, with optimal breeding sites located closer to hunting areas than expected by chance. This study provides further support for the role of short-toed snake eagles as sentinel species for Mediterranean habitats, and highlights the link between the location of nesting sites and the occurrence of human-modified landscapes characterised by high prey richness.

<b>Dna barcoding, population genetics, and phylogenetics of the illegally hunted Philippine Duck <I>Anas luzonica</I> (Aves: Anseriformes: Anatidae)</b>

DNA barcoding is extensively used as a species identification and delineation tool. The aim of this study was to generate a barcode profile for mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) in the Philippine Duck Anas luzonica, a dabbling duck species endemic to the Philippines that is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (BirdLife International 2016). COI barcodes were successfully obtained using muscle tissue samples from 46 A. luzonica individuals confiscated from illegal hunters in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. Analysis of TrN+Γ+I distances among the Anas luzonica COI sequences and those of 25 other Anas species revealed that COI barcodes cannot generally delineate hybridizing species. While Anas luzonica was differentiated from other species it is known to hybridize with and formed a monophyletic group in the neighbor-joining tree generated, sampling from areas of sympatry is needed since individuals were obtained from only one sampling site. The population structure of the Anas luzonica population was also examined using mitochondrial DNA control region and COI sequences. The population had high haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity, an indication that a bottleneck event had occurred, which is likely due to extreme hunting pressures and habitat destruction. The population under study exhibited high genetic diversity. Given that the samples for this study came from a single locality, sampling from other localities is required to determine whether other populations are facing the risk of reduced fitness (inbreeding depression).

Summary of Georgia's Bobwhite Quail Initiative 2000-2005.

Georgia’s Bobwhite Quail Initiative (BQI) has been a proactive effort to restore and improve habitat for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter bobwhite) on private lands across a 15 county area of Georgia’s Upper Coastal Plain. Secondary objectives included improving habitat for certain songbirds, quail hunting and wildlife viewing. The BQI provided landowners/managers (Cooperators) with technical assistance, and through a competitive process, financial incentives for bobwhite habitat management. The Georgia General Assembly and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Board initiated BQI in 1998 in response to hunter/constituent concern over declining bobwhite populations; and the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division began implementation in 1999. Funding for BQI was provided through state appropriations, including funds generated through the sale of BQI vehicle license plates. Habitat incentive payments and practice options were modified gradually to increase Cooperator participation and to better integrate bobwhite management with commercial agriculture and forestry. Research and monitoring indicated positive impacts of habitat practices on bobwhites and certain songbirds. The BQI generated many additional benefits including leveraged funding for management and research; youth quota quail hunts; and increased educational outreach regarding the bobwhite decline and effective restoration techniques. A Cooperator survey indicated high customer satisfaction and a strong perception that BQI practices have improved bobwhite and songbird populations, as well as the environmental condition on Cooperator farms. The BQI showed that: 1) bobwhite numbers can be increased on working farm and forestlands, and 2) adequate levels of economic incentives and qualified technical staff are essential for success.

Spotted hyaena space use in relation to human infrastructure inside a protected area.

Increasing human population growth has led to elevated levels of human-carnivore conflict. However, some carnivore populations have adapted to urban environments and the resources they supply. Such associations may influence carnivore ecology, behaviour and life-history. Pockets of urbanisation sometimes occur within protected areas, so that anthropogenic influences on carnivore biology are not necessarily confined to unprotected areas. In this study we evaluated associations between human infrastructure and related activity and space use of spotted hyaenas within one of the largest protected areas in South Africa, the Kruger National Park. Home range size was smaller for the dominant female of a clan living in close proximity to humans than that of the dominant female of a clan without direct access to human infrastructure. The home range including human infrastructure was also used less evenly during the night, presumably when the animals were active. Within this home range, a village area was preferred during the night, when the least modified areas within the village were preferred and administration and highly modified areas were avoided. During the day, however, there were no preference or avoidance of the village area, but all habitats except unmodified habitats within the village area were avoided. We suggest that human infrastructure and associated activity influenced hyaena space use, primarily through alterations in the spatial distribution of food. However, these effects may have been indirectly caused by habitat modification that generated favourable hunting habitat rather than a direct effect caused by access to human food such as garbage. Because of the often pivotal effects of apex predators in terrestrial ecosystems, we encourage further work aimed to quantify how human presence influences large carnivores and associated ecosystem processes within protected areas.

Time-activity budgets and hunting behavior of the Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) and the Long-winged Harrier (Circus buffoni)

We conducted a study aimed to evaluate and compare the behavioral patterns of the Roadside Hawk ( Rupornis magnirostris ) and the Long-winged Harrier ( Circus buffoni ), two common but poorly known Neotropical raptors. From 2005 to 2008, we quantified the time-activity budgets of both raptors at the Pampas region of Argentina in order to determine their allocation of time to different activities, their foraging strategies and hunting modes, and whether their behavioral patterns change in different habitats and seasons. The Roadside Hawk and the Long-winged Harrier showed dissimilar activity patterns. Hawks devoted more time to perching (45.5% of total time) than harriers (13%), whereas harriers devoted more time to foraging (45%) than hawks (13%). No differences were found in the time they devoted to fly. In addition, both species differed in the use of flying modes, perching sites, and habitat types. Hawks preferably used cruising flights, perched on tall poles or trees, and were found in woodlands and urban areas. Harriers preferably used soaring and circle flights, perched on the ground, and were found in grasslands and agroecosystems. Notwithstanding, the most obvious difference between these raptors were their hunting modes: the Roadside Hawk behaved as a sit-and-wait predator and the Long-winged Harrier as a wide-foraging predator. These patterns seem to be consistent in different habitat contexts and showed certain differences between seasons. Our results suggest that these species may segregate spatially by utilizing different hunting habitats as well as behaviorally, by using different hunting modes.

A Conservation-Based Approach to Compensation for Livestock Depredation: The Florida Panther Case Study

Calf (Bos taurus) depredation by the federally endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) on ranches in southwest Florida is an important issue because ranches represent mixed landscapes that provide habitat critical to panther recovery. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify calf depredation by panthers on two ranches in southwest Florida, and (2) develop a habitat suitability model to evaluate the quality of panther hunting habitat on ranchlands, assess whether the model could predict predation risk to calves, and discuss its potential to be incorporated into an incentive-based compensation program. We ear-tagged 409 calves with VHF transmitters on two ranches during 2011–2013 to document calf mortality. We developed a model to evaluate the quality of panther hunting habitat on private lands in southwest Florida using environmental variables obtained from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) Cooperative Landcover Database and nocturnal GPS locations of panthers provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). We then tested whether the model could predict the location of calf depredation sites. Tagged calf loss to panthers varied between the two ranches (0.5%/yr to 5.3%/yr) and may have been influenced by the amount of panther hunting habitat on each ranch as the ranch that experienced higher depredation rates contained a significantly higher probability of panther presence. Depredation sites of tagged calves had a significantly greater probability of panther presence than depredation sites of untagged calves that were found by ranchers in open pastures. This suggests that there may be more calves killed in high risk environments than are being found and reported by ranchers and that panthers can hunt effectively in open environments. It also suggests that the model may provide a means for evaluating the quality of panther hunting habitat and the corresponding risk of depredation to livestock across the landscape. We suggest that our approach could be applied to prioritize and categorize private lands for participation in a Payment for Ecosystem Services program that compensates landowners for livestock loss and incentivizes conserving high quality habitat for large carnivores where livestock depredation is a concern.

Tribal water rights: exploring dam construction in Indian country.

The environment, particularly, land and water, play a powerful role in sustaining and supporting American Indian and Alaska Native communities in the United States. Not only is water essential to life and considered — by some Tribes — a sacred food in and of itself, but environmental water resources are necessary to maintain habitat for hunting and fishing. Many American Indian and Alaska Native communities incorporate locally caught traditional subsistence foods into their diets, and the loss of access to subsistence foods represents a risk factor for food security and nutrition status in indigenous populations. Negative health outcomes, including obesity, diabetes and cancer, have accompanied declines in traditional food use in indigenous communities throughout the United States.

Use of contact chemical cues in prey discrimination by Cerceris fumipennis

AbstractCerceris fumipennis Say (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) uses a wide range of adult buprestid beetles to provision nests. Wasps seldom make ‘mistakes’ and attack beetles in other families. Bioassays showed that the wasps use contact chemical cues in the beetles’ epicuticle to discriminate buprestids from other beetles. Wasps rejected buprestids that had their cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) removed by being washed in solvents. The washed, rejected buprestids became acceptable to 70% of wasps when they were coated with an extract of buprestids’ own CHC. Washed buprestids coated with extracts of non‐buprestid beetle CHC were not accepted. Analyses of buprestid CHC profiles showed that they are relatively simple, consisting of five classes. Other coleopteran families that may co‐occur in the arboreal hunting habitat of C. fumipennis have a broader range of CHC classes. Experiments adding buprestid hydrocarbons to a non‐buprestid beetle, unwashed Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), suggested that wasps may be deterred by the presence of CHC classes not found in Buprestidae. Adding a synthesized dimethyl‐branched hydrocarbon, a class of CHC found in Chrysomelidae but not Buprestidae, to the cuticle of unwashed buprestid beetles, caused wasps to reject the buprestid beetles. We propose that CHC act as a kairomone for C. fumipennis, triggering attack, whereas classes of CHC not found in Buprestidae disrupt this response, and thus help to determine the prey range of the wasp.

Diet of the insectivorous batPipistrellus nathusiiduring autumn migration and summer residence

Migration is widespread among vertebrates, yet bat migration has received little attention and only in the recent decades has a better understanding of it been gained. Migration can cause significant changes in behaviour and physiology, due to increasing energy demands and aerodynamic constraints. Dietary shifts, for example, have been shown to occur in birds before onset of migration. For bats, it is not known if a change in diet occurs during migration, although breeding season-related dietary preference has been documented. It is known that a diet rich in fats and the accumulation of fat deposits do increase the flight range of migratory bats. Some bat species can be regarded as long-distance migrants, covering up to 2000km between summer and winter roosting areas. Pipistrellus nathusii (Vespertilionidae), a European long-distant migrant, travels each year along the Baltic Sea from north-eastern Europe to hibernate in central and southern Europe. This study presents data on the dietary habits of migrating Pipistrellus nathusii compared with those during the breeding season. We analysed faecal samples from bats on fall migration caught at the Ornithological Field Station in Pape, Latvia and from samples collected in North-Latvian summer roosts. We applied both morphological identification and molecular methods, as morphological methods also recognize life stages of prey and can contribute frequency data. The diets of bats on migration and breeding bats were similar, with Diptera and Lepidoptera comprising the major prey categories. However, certain prey groups could be explained by the different hunting habitats exploited during migration vs. summer residence.