Feeding ecology of the Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus; Gray 1859) in a habitat mosaic from Cerrado.

In the Brazilian Cerrado, the Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus) populations are facing an accelerated rate of habitat loss. Despite this, their feeding areas and primary food sources remain poorly understood. In this study, I assessed the relationship between the diet of the Red-and-green Macaw and available food resources in a habitat mosaic from the fragmented Cerrado in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. Red-and-green Macaws fed on 20 native and five exotic species, mainly in dry habitats (Cerrado, dry forest, and an urban area along the Maracaju Cliffs) during the dry season, while year-round foraging in the riparian vegetation (Aquidauana River and streams). Then, the number of feeding macaws paralleled variations in food abundance and diversity, besides the number of food species. On the other hand, by using a wide variety of abundant foods, macaws' diet breadth presented high values throughout the year. The seasonal consumption of large-seeded fruits across the habitat mosaic displayed a gradient ranging from the urban area to dry habitats, along which macaws ate from exotic to Cerrado species. In this respect, Terminalia catappa seeds and Mangifera indica fruit pulp were important for Red-and-green Macaws in the urban area during the wet season, while Caryocar brasiliense seeds comprised the same in the Cerrado. At this site, both Dipteryx alata and Buchenavia tomentosa seeds composed much of the Red-and-green Macaws' diet during the dry season. Between those habitats, in the watercourse vegetation, macaws frequently foraged on palm fruits across seasons. Therefore, throughout the year, the abundance and variety of food resources strongly influenced the number of foraging Red-and-green Macaws across the habitat mosaic. Understanding the effect of varying seed availability on the spatial and temporal abundance patterns of Red-and-green Macaws, which primarily feed on large-seeded species, is central to developing effective conservation strategies. Due to the accelerated habitat loss, the Maracaju Cliffs emerge as crucial for the Red-and-green Macaw among the Cerrado remnants of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Zooplankton functional diversity in subtropical reservoirs of distinct trophic states (São Paulo state, Brazil).

Studies on functional traits of aquatic communities are useful for understanding the ecosystem dynamics as well as the diversity of ecological niches. Here, we characterize zooplankton functional groups and which limnological factors are responsible to changes in traits. Water samples were collected to evaluate limnological parameters and vertical hauls with plankton net (68 µm) were performed to characterize the community in seven reservoirs (Itupararanga, Atibainha, Salto Grande, Rio Grande, Igaratá, Barra Bonita, and Broa, São Paulo state, Brazil). Each species identified was classified according to a trophic group, reproduction mode, body length, habitat, and feeding habitats. Our results showed a predominance of pelagic suspensory herbivores with cilia (31%) followed by pelagic herbivore suspension filter feeders (17%) and raptorial omnivores (15.38%). The other individuals were categorized as pelagic herbivore suspension with oral device (12.3%), littoral herbivores suspensive with cilia (12.3%), pelagic-sucking herbivores (9.2%), and littoral grazing herbivores (3%). The dominance of herbivores may be influenced by the availability of nutrients, influencing their food sources. The abundance of omnivores engaged in predatory behavior can be attributed to disponible prey, thereby exerting significant repercussions on the organization of biological communities.

Preference of position in the proximity of various sugars revealed by location analysis of Drosophila melanogaster.

Feeding behaviors are determined by two main factors. One is the internal state, such as hunger or previous experiences; the other is external factors, such as sensory stimulation. During starvation, animals must balance food-seeking behavior with energy conservation. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, serves as a useful model for studying food selectivity and various behaviors related to food intake. However, few studies have directly connected food selectivity with other behaviors, such as locomotor activity and sleep. In this study, we report that flies exhibited a preference for specific positions and spent more time in the proximity of sweet sugars, such as sucrose and sucralose, but not non-sweet and nutritious sugars like xylitol and sorbitol. On the other hand, prolonged exposure to sorbitol increased the staying time of flies in the proximity of sorbitol. Additionally, after starvation, flies immediately exhibited a position preference in the proximity of sorbitol. These findings suggest that flies prefer the proximity of sweet food, and starvation alters their preference for nutritious food, which may be beneficial for their survival.

Carrion insects living within the bones of large mammals: insect conservation and forensic entomology implications.

Succession patterns of carrion insects on large mammal's carrion has been widely studied, notably to estimate the post-mortem interval in forensic investigations as accurately as possible. However, little attention has been paid to the carrion insects living inside these bones once a carcass is skeletonized. One very recent study documented flies emerging from pig carcasses, and only scarce authors reported the presence of other carrion insects taking advantage of the bone marrow. We, thus, aimed to (1) estimate the frequency of inner-bone space colonization by carrion insects, with particular attention to bone-skipper flies; (2) identify the insects living inside the carrion bones; and (3) determine whether or not carrion insects found within the bones can successfully exit the bones and complete their development. We extensively sampled 185 large mammals' bones collected from twelve vulture feeding stations and four isolated carcasses in southwest France and northern Spain. Sampled bones were opened, and the insects found inside were identified. For two bones, foramen, i.e., the holes providing a natural entrance and exit to the bone's inner cavity, was monitored with a camera to assess the insect's putative exit. We describe the entomofauna, i.e., the set of insect species, living within the bones, and illustrate insects' ability to exit the bones for their subsequent development and maturity. These results are discussed in the framework of carrion insect conservation and forensic entomology perspectives.

Effects of sleep deprivation on food-related Pavlovian-instrumental transfer: a randomized crossover experiment.

Recent research suggests that insufficient sleep elevates the risk of obesity. Although the mechanisms underlying the relationship between insufficient sleep and obesity are not fully understood, preliminary evidence suggests that insufficient sleep may intensify habitual control of behavior, leading to greater cue-elicited food-seeking behavior that is insensitive to satiation. The present study tested this hypothesis using a within-individual, randomized, crossover experiment. Ninety-six adults underwent a one-night normal sleep duration (NSD) condition and a one-night total sleep deprivation (TSD) condition. They also completed the Pavlovian-instrumental transfer paradigm in which their instrumental responses for food in the presence and absence of conditioned cues were recorded. The sleep × cue × satiation interaction was significant, indicating that the enhancing effect of conditioned cues on food-seeking responses significantly differed across sleep × satiation conditions. However, this effect was observed in NSD but not TSD, and it disappeared after satiation. This finding contradicted the hypothesis but aligned with previous literature on the effect of sleep disruption on appetitive conditioning in animals-sleep disruption following learning impaired the expression of appetitive behavior. The present finding is the first evidence for the role of sleep in Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effects. Future research is needed to further disentangle how sleep influences motivational mechanisms underlying eating.

Visual social information use in collective foraging.

Collective dynamics emerge from individual-level decisions, yet we still poorly understand the link between individual-level decision-making processes and collective outcomes in realistic physical systems. Using collective foraging to study the key trade-off between personal and social information use, we present a mechanistic, spatially-explicit agent-based model that combines individual-level evidence accumulation of personal and (visual) social cues with particle-based movement. Under idealized conditions without physical constraints, our mechanistic framework reproduces findings from established probabilistic models, but explains how individual-level decision processes generate collective outcomes in a bottom-up way. In clustered environments, groups performed best if agents reacted strongly to social information, while in uniform environments, individualistic search was most beneficial. Incorporating different real-world physical and perceptual constraints profoundly shaped collective performance, and could even buffer maladaptive herding by facilitating self-organized exploration. Our study uncovers the mechanisms linking individual cognition to collective outcomes in human and animal foraging and paves the way for decentralized robotic applications.

Evaluation of the relationship between body composition and dietary habits of physically active people with disabilities.

Physical activity offers numerous physical and mental health benefits for individuals with disabilities, while nutrition plays a crucial role in maintaining bodily homeostasis. This study aimed to assess the relationship between body composition and dietary habits among physically active people with disabilities. Fifty-five participants aged 16 to 61, including 28 with disabilities and 27 without, were included in the study. The FFQ-6 questionnaire, Tanita body composition analyzer, and Stadiometer were utilized. No significant differences in BMI were observed between the two groups. However, individuals with disabilities showed higher body fat, metabolic age, or pulse values, whereas the control group exhibited higher muscle mass, muscle quality, body type, or bone mass. Participants with disabilities were more likely to consume vegetables (p = 0.004) and animal fats (p = 0.027), while those without disabilities were more inclined to consume fast food, instant products (p = 0.006), sweetened beverages (p < 0.001), and alcohol (p < 0.001). People with disabilities often have a higher percentage of body fat, cautioning against the consumption of processed fruits, dried fruits, fast food, and red meat. Conversely, in non-disabled individuals, frequent consumption of eggs, animal fats, sugar, and sweets is not recommended due to the potential for increased body fat, visceral fat, and higher BMI.

Simulating worm feeding patterns with computational models.

Worms create complex paths when moving through sediment to feed. This research applies computer simulation models to provide a unique approach to visualise and quantify the process by which complex worm paths can emerge from simple local movement decisions. A grid environment is proposed in which worms can move with choice of up to 8 directions at each step. This uses a square grid with diagonal paths which has not been investigated before and the resulting number of complex paths is increased compared to triangular grids. Results identify many novel worm paths. Some of the resulting paths are symmetrical, others produce repetitive looping paths, others return to the origin. Interesting worm paths are identified with chaotic movement. Some include oscillating between chaotic and ordered movement for which the outcome is still unknown after millions of steps. A conclusion that may be extrapolated to other creatures is that local movement decisions of a species substantially determine the overall global search strategy that emerges.

Dietary factors and Alzheimer's disease risk: a Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Prior observational research has investigated the association between dietary patterns and Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk. Nevertheless, due to constraints in past observational studies, establishing a causal link between dietary habits and AD remains challenging. METHODS: Methodology involved the utilization of extensive cohorts sourced from publicly accessible genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets of European descent for conducting Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. The principal analytical technique utilized was the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method. RESULTS: The MR analysis conducted in this study found no statistically significant causal association between 20 dietary habits and the risk of AD (All p > 0.05). These results were consistent across various MR methods employed, including MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode approaches. Moreover, there was no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy detected (All p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: In this MR analysis, our finding did not provide evidence to support the causal genetic relationships between dietary habits and AD risk.

Ontogenetic changes in jaw leverage and skull shape in tufted and untufted capuchins.

The ontogeny of feeding is characterized by shifting functional demands concurrent with changes in craniofacial anatomy; relationships between these factors will look different in primates with disparate feeding behaviors during development. This study examines the ontogeny of skull morphology and jaw leverage in tufted (Sapajus) and untufted (Cebus) capuchin monkeys. Unlike Cebus, Sapajus have a mechanically challenging diet and behavioral observations of juvenile Sapajus suggest these foods are exploited early in development. Landmarks were placed on three-dimensional surface models of an ontogenetic series of Sapajus and Cebus skulls (n = 53) and used to generate shape data and jaw-leverage estimates across the tooth row for three jaw-closing muscles (temporalis, masseter, medial pterygoid) as well as a weighted combined estimate. Using geometric morphometric methods, we found that skull shape diverges early and shape is significantly different between Sapajus and Cebus throughout ontogeny. Additionally, jaw leverage varies with age and position on the tooth row and is greater in Sapajus compared to Cebus when calculated at the permanent dentition. We used two-block partial least squares analyses to identify covariance between skull shape and each of our jaw muscle leverage estimates. Sapajus, but not Cebus, has significant covariance between all leverage estimates at the anterior dentition. Our findings show that Sapajus and Cebus exhibit distinct craniofacial morphologies early in ontogeny and strong covariance between leverage estimates and craniofacial shape in Sapajus. These results are consistent with prior behavioral and comparative work suggesting these differences are a function of selection for exploiting mechanically challenging foods in Sapajus, and further emphasize that these differences appear quite early in ontogeny. This research builds on prior work that has highlighted the importance of understanding ontogeny for interpreting adult morphology.

The effect of position on feeding performance in infants with cleft lip and palate: Quasiexperimental study.

PURPOSE: This single-group, quasiexperimental study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding position on the physiological parameters and feeding performance of term-born infants with cleft lip and palate (CLP) in the preoperative period. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 45 infants aged 0-6 months with CLP followed up preoperatively in our outpatient clinic between January 2021 and 2022. Infants who were being fed with a specialty bottle for babies with CLP and whose families consented to participate in the study were included. After 2 h of fasting, the infants were fed in the elevated supine (ESU) position for the first meal, then in the elevated side-lying (ESL) position for the second meal after another 2 h of fasting. The infants' heart rate and oxygen saturation values before, during, and after each feed and indicators of feeding performance were compared between the positions. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the positions in terms of heart rate and oxygen saturation before, during, or after feeding (p > .05). There was no statistically significant difference in measures of feeding performance according to the infants' feeding position (p > .05). CONCLUSION: According to the findings obtained in this study, infants with CLP showed no statistically significant differences in heart rate, oxygen saturation, or feeding performance when fed in the ESL and ESU positions. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: However, despite the lack of statistical significance, both physiological values and feeding performance tended to be better when the infants were fed in the ESL position, nurses can practice ESL position according to the infant's opposite direction of the side of the cleft lip or palate.

Multi-Target Feeding-Behavior Recognition Method for Cows Based on Improved RefineMask.

Within the current process of large-scale dairy-cattle breeding, to address the problems of low recognition-accuracy and significant recognition-error associated with existing visual methods, we propose a method for recognizing the feeding behavior of dairy cows, one based on an improved RefineMask instance-segmentation model, and using high-quality detection and segmentation results to realize the recognition of the feeding behavior of dairy cows. Firstly, the input features are better extracted by incorporating the convolutional block attention module into the residual module of the feature extraction network. Secondly, an efficient channel attention module is incorporated into the neck design to achieve efficient integration of feature extraction while avoiding the surge of parameter volume computation. Subsequently, the GIoU loss function is used to increase the area of the prediction frame to optimize the convergence speed of the loss function, thus improving the regression accuracy. Finally, the logic of using mask information to recognize foraging behavior was designed, and the accurate recognition of foraging behavior was achieved according to the segmentation results of the model. We constructed, trained, and tested a cow dataset consisting of 1000 images from 50 different individual cows at peak feeding times. The method's effectiveness, robustness, and accuracy were verified by comparing it with example segmentation algorithms such as MSRCNN, Point_Rend, Cascade_Mask, and ConvNet_V2. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the improved RefineMask algorithm in recognizing the bounding box and accurately determining the segmentation mask is 98.3%, which is higher than that of the benchmark model by 0.7 percentage points; for this, the model parameter count size was 49.96 M, which meets the practical needs of local deployment. In addition, the technologies under study performed well in a variety of scenarios and adapted to various light environments; this research can provide technical support for the analysis of the relationship between cow feeding behavior and feed intake during peak feeding periods.

Association of dietary habits with body mass index and waist circumference, and their interaction effect on hypertension.

Dietary modifications play a crucial role in blood pressure management, and although body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) are significant predictors of hypertension, limited studies have explored their relationship with dietary habits. This cross-sectional study conducted in Ganzhou, China, focused on middle-aged and elderly residents to investigate the correlation between dietary habits and BMI, WC, and their interaction impact on hypertension. The study found that salty and sweet intake correlated positively with BMI and WC, whereas bean and coarse grain intake were negatively correlated. A significant interaction effect was showed between dietary habits, and BMI and WC on hypertension. Specifically, individuals with obesity or central obesity combined with poor dietary habits had higher odds of hypertension. This study aims to provide a theoretical basis for nutritional interventions for middle-aged and elderly residents with varying obesity levels for the prevention and treatment of hypertension at the community level. The study concluded that dietary habits are significantly associated with BMI and WC, and poor dietary habits coexistence with obesity or central obesity can increase the prevalence rate of hypertension. Understanding these relationships can help develop strategies to address hypertension through dietary and lifestyle changes, providing valuable insights for healthcare professionals and policymakers to develop effective interventions addressing this growing global health concern.

Killer whale respiration rates.

Measuring breathing rates is a means by which oxygen intake and metabolic rates can be estimated to determine food requirements and energy expenditure of killer whales (Orcinus orca) and other cetaceans. This relatively simple measure also allows the energetic consequences of environmental stressors to cetaceans to be understood but requires knowing respiration rates while they are engaged in different behaviours such as resting, travelling and foraging. We calculated respiration rates for different behavioural states of southern and northern resident killer whales using video from UAV drones and concurrent biologging data from animal-borne tags. Behavioural states of dive tracks were predicted using hierarchical hidden Markov models (HHMM) parameterized with time-depth data and with labeled tracks of drone-identified behavioural states (from drone footage that overlapped with the time-depth data). Dive tracks were sequences of dives and surface intervals lasting ≥ 10 minutes cumulative duration. We calculated respiration rates and estimated oxygen consumption rates for the predicted behavioural states of the tracks. We found that juvenile killer whales breathed at a higher rate when travelling (1.6 breaths min-1) compared to resting (1.2) and foraging (1.5)-and that adult males breathed at a higher rate when travelling (1.8) compared to both foraging (1.7) and resting (1.3). The juveniles in our study were estimated to consume 2.5-18.3 L O2 min-1 compared with 14.3-59.8 L O2 min-1 for adult males across all behaviours based on estimates of mass-specific tidal volume and oxygen extraction. Our findings confirm that killer whales take single breaths between dives and indicate that energy expenditure derived from respirations requires using sex, age, and behavioural-specific respiration rates. These findings can be applied to bioenergetics models on a behavioural-specific basis, and contribute towards obtaining better predictions of dive behaviours, energy expenditure and the food requirements of apex predators.

Blind cavefish evolved higher foraging responses to chemo- and mechanostimuli.

In nature, animals must navigate to forage according to their sensory inputs. Different species use different sensory modalities to locate food efficiently. For teleosts, food emits visual, mechanical, chemical, and/or possibly weak-electrical signals, which can be detected by optic, auditory/lateral line, and olfactory/taste buds sensory systems. However, how fish respond to and use different sensory inputs when locating food, as well as the evolution of these sensory modalities, remain unclear. We examined the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, which is composed of two different morphs: a sighted riverine (surface fish) and a blind cave morph (cavefish). Compared with surface fish, cavefish have enhanced non-visual sensory systems, including the mechanosensory lateral line system, chemical sensors comprising the olfactory system and taste buds, and the auditory system to help navigate toward food sources. We tested how visual, chemical, and mechanical stimuli evoke food-seeking behavior. In contrast to our expectations, both surface fish and cavefish did not follow a gradient of chemical stimulus (food extract) but used it as a cue for the ambient existence of food. Surface fish followed visual cues (red plastic beads and food pellets), but, in the dark, were likely to rely on mechanosensors-the lateral line and/or tactile sensor-as cavefish did. Our results indicate cavefish used a similar sensory modality to surface fish in the dark, while affinity levels to stimuli were higher in cavefish. In addition, cavefish evolved an extended circling strategy to forage, which may yield a higher chance to capture food by swimming-by the food multiple times instead of once through zigzag motion. In summary, we propose that ancestors of cavefish, similar to the modern surface fish, evolved extended food-seeking behaviors, including circling motion, to adapt to the dark.

Exposure to Zika and chikungunya viruses impacts aspects of the vectorial capacity of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus.

Zika (ZIKV) and chikungunya (CHIKV) are arboviruses that cause infections in humans and can cause clinical complications, representing a worldwide public health problem. Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of these pathogens and Culex quinquefasciatus may be a potential ZIKV vector. This study aimed to evaluate fecundity, fertility, survival, longevity, and blood feeding activity in Ae. aegypti after exposure to ZIKV and CHIKV and, in Cx. quinquefasciatus exposed to ZIKV. Three colonies were evaluated: AeCamp (Ae. aegypti-field), RecL (Ae. aegypti-laboratory) and CqSLab (Cx. quinquefasciatus-laboratory). Seven to 10 days-old females from these colonies were exposed to artificial blood feeding with CHIKV or ZIKV. CHIKV caused reduction in fecundity and fertility in AeCamp and reduction in survival and fertility in RecL. ZIKV impacted survival in RecL, fertility in AeCamp and, fecundity and fertility in CqSLab. Both viruses had no effect on blood feeding activity. These results show that CHIKV produces a higher biological cost in Ae. aegypti, compared to ZIKV, and ZIKV differently alters the biological performance in colonies of Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus. These results provide a better understanding over the processes of virus-vector interaction and can shed light on the complexity of arbovirus transmission.

Eating attitudes of migraine patients in Turkey: a prospective multi-center study.

BACKGROUND: Migraine is a disease characterized by headache attacks. The disease is multifactorial in etiology and genetic and environmental factors play role in pathogenesis. Migraine can also be accompanied by psychiatric disorders like neurotism and obsessive compulsive disorder. Stress, hormonal changes and certain food intake can trigger attacks in migraine. Previous studies showed that eating attitudes and disorders are prevalant in patients with migraine. Eating disorders are psychiatric disorders related to abnormal eating habits. Both migraine and eating disorders are common in young women and personality profiles of these patient groups are also similar. A possible relationship which shows that migraine and eating habits are related can lead to a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and subsequently new therapeutic options on both entities. Association of migraine in relation to severity, depression and anxiety and eating habits and disorders were aimed to be investigated in this study. METHODS: The study was designed as a prospective, multi-center, case control study. Twenty-one centers from Turkey was involved in the study. The gathered data was collected and evaluated at a single designated center. From a pool of 1200 migraine patients and 958 healthy control group, two groups as patient group and study group was created with PS matching method in relation to age, body-mass index, marital status and employment status. Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were applied to both study groups. The data gathered was compared between two groups. RESULTS: EAT-26 scores and the requirement for referral to a psychiatrist due to symptoms related to eating disorder were both statistically significantly higher in patient group compared to control group (p = 0.034 and p = 0.0001 respectively). Patients with migraine had higher scores in both BDI and BAI compared to control group (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0001 respectively). Severity of pain or frequency of attacks were not found to be related to eating attitudes (r:0.09, p = 0.055). CONCLUSIONS: Migraine patients were found to have higher EAT-26, BDI and BAI scores along with a higher rate of referral to a psychiatrist due to symptoms. Results of the study showed that eating habits are altered in migraine patients with higher risk of eating disorders. Depression and anxiety are also found to be common amongst migraine patients.

Wild capuchin monkeys use stones and sticks to access underground food.

Primates employ different tools and techniques to overcome the challenges of obtaining underground food resources. Humans and chimpanzees are known to tackle this problem with stick tools and one population of capuchin monkeys habitually uses stone tools. Although early hominids could have used stones as digging tools, we know little about when and how these could be useful. Here, we report a second primate population observed using stone tools and the first capuchin monkey population to habitually use the 'stick-probing' technique for obtaining underground resources. The bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) from Ubajara National Park, Brazil, use 'hands-only' and 'stone-digging' techniques for extracting underground storage organs and trapdoor spiders. Males also use 'stick-probing' and 'stone-stick' techniques for capturing trapdoor spiders. Tool use does not increase success in obtaining these resources. Stone-digging is less frequent in this population than in the only other known population that uses this technique. Females use stones in a lower proportion of their digging episodes than males in both populations. Ecological and cultural factors potentially influence technique choice and sex differences within and between populations. This population has a different pattern of underground food exploration using tools. Comparing this population with others and exploring the ecological and cultural factors under which capuchin monkeys employ different tools and techniques will allow us to better understand the pressures that may have shaped the evolution of those behaviors in primates.