Management of fat reserves and food caches in tufted titmice (<i>Parus bicolor</i>) in relation to unpredictable food supply

Pravosudov, Vladimir V.; Grubb, Thomas C.

doi:10.1093/beheco/8.3.332

Cited by 125 publications

(132 citation statements)

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“…These patterns are consistent with those of other food-hoarders: for example, unpredictable food supply to starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) results in greater mass gain due to internal fat storage (Cuthill et al 2000). Similarly, tufted titmice (Parus bicolour) do not increase their rate of food caching under unpredictable food regimes but rather increase their internal fat stores (Pravosudov and Grubb 1997). However, in these studies, food hoarding reflects the necessity to maintain high body temperature in cold nights without food (McNamara and Houston 1990;Pravosudov and Grubb 1997).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Similarly, tufted titmice (Parus bicolour) do not increase their rate of food caching under unpredictable food regimes but rather increase their internal fat stores (Pravosudov and Grubb 1997). However, in these studies, food hoarding reflects the necessity to maintain high body temperature in cold nights without food (McNamara and Houston 1990;Pravosudov and Grubb 1997). In spiders, food hoarding is unlikely to be based on the same proximate mechanism.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

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Frequency, composition and variation in external food stores constructed by orb-web spiders: Nephila edulis and Nephila plumipes (Araneae : Araneoidea)

Griffiths¹,

Holwell²,

Herberstein³

et al. 2003

Aust. J. Zool.

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Few examples of food hoarding have been documented in spiders, yet two Australian species of orb-web spiders, Nephila edulis and N. plumipes, typically incorporate previously captured prey into the web. The effect of prey density and prey-encounter rate on the storage behaviour of adult female N. edulis was tested in the laboratory. Prey density had a significant effect on the propensity to construct external caches: when more food was available, food caches were larger than when the supply of prey was limited. Caching behaviour also differed with the rate of prey encounter, even though the total amount of food supplied was the same. When prey were encountered at constant rates, spiders allocated more food to external storage compared with random encounter rates. Finally, we tested the quality of different prey types for external or internal storage. N. edulis were fed with blow-flies or crickets, and these prey were stored in the web, discarded or totally consumed. Crickets were typically consumed or stored, while flies were more frequently discarded. Field observations of the storage behaviour in N. edulis and N. plumipes found surprising differences in the composition of the cache. While N. plumipes incorporated only animal material, N. edulis also utilised plant material, suggesting that the storage band in N. edulis has other, non-food-storing functions. Field experiments indicated that the presence or absence of external stores in the web of N. plumipes had no influence on mortality, weight gain, or the presence of Argyrodes kleptoparasites.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Frequency, composition and variation in external food stores constructed by orb-web spiders: Nephila edulis and Nephila plumipes (Araneae : Araneoidea)

Griffiths¹,

Holwell²,

Herberstein³

et al. 2003

Aust. J. Zool.

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“…Some scatter-hoarding species can make and retrieve incredible numbers of caches (e.g. as many as 500 000 ;Haftorn 1956a;Pravosudov 1985;Brodin 1994a) throughout the year, and these caches may be critically important for survival during the winter (Swanberg 1951;Haftorn 1956b;Jansson 1982;Krebs et al 1989;Pravosudov & Grubb 1997;Pravosudov & Lucas 2001). Cache retrieval is often facilitated in part by spatial memory to relocate caches, although other types of memory (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is bigger always better? A critical appraisal of the use of volumetric analysis in the study of the hippocampus

Roth

Brodin

Smulders

et al. 2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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A well-developed spatial memory is important for many animals, but appears especially important for scatter-hoarding species. Consequently, the scatter-hoarding system provides an excellent paradigm in which to study the integrative aspects of memory use within an ecological and evolutionary framework. One of the main tenets of this paradigm is that selection for enhanced spatial memory for cache locations should specialize the brain areas involved in memory. One such brain area is the hippocampus (Hp). Many studies have examined this adaptive specialization hypothesis, typically relating spatial memory to Hp volume. However, it is unclear how the volume of the Hp is related to its function for spatial memory. Thus, the goal of this article is to evaluate volume as a main measurement of the degree of morphological and physiological adaptation of the Hp as it relates to memory. We will briefly review the evidence for the specialization of memory in food-hoarding animals and discuss the philosophy behind volume as the main currency. We will then examine the problems associated with this approach, attempting to understand the advantages and limitations of using volume and discuss alternatives that might yield more specific hypotheses. Overall, there is strong evidence that the Hp is involved in the specialization of spatial memory in scatter-hoarding animals. However, volume may be only a coarse proxy for more relevant and subtle changes in the structure of the brain underlying changes in behaviour. To better understand the nature of this brain/memory relationship, we suggest focusing on more specific and relevant features of the Hp, such as the number or size of neurons, variation in connectivity depending on dendritic and axonal arborization and the number of synapses. These should generate more specific hypotheses derived from a solid theoretical background and should provide a better understanding of both neural mechanisms of memory and their evolution.

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“…Despite the fact that birds in our population had unrestricted access to predictable, high-energy food, we failed to find evidence of either bimodality or a late-day peak. The relatively low rates of feeding at supplemental stations at daybreak could be a result of early morning cache retrieval [44]. If caches are exploited and depleted as the day progresses, then birds may be expected to visit feeders more later in the day in order to continue feeding or to replenish caches.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Daily foraging patterns in free-living birds: exploring the predation–starvation trade-off

et al. 2013

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Daily patterns in the foraging behaviour of birds are assumed to balance the counteracting risks of predation and starvation. Predation risks are a function of the influence of weight on flight performance and foraging behaviours that may expose individuals to predators. Although recent research sheds light on daily patterns in weight gain, little data exist on daily foraging routines in free-living birds. In order to test the predictions of various hypotheses about daily patterns of foraging, we quantified the activity of four species of passerines in winter using radio-frequency identification receivers built into supplemental feeding stations. From records of 472 368 feeder visits by tagged birds, we found that birds generally started to feed before sunrise and continued to forage at a steady to increasing rate throughout the day. Foraging in most species terminated well before sunset, suggesting their required level of energy reserves was being reached before the end of the day. These results support the risk-spreading theorem over a long-standing hypothesis predicting bimodality in foraging behaviour purportedly driven by a trade-off between the risks of starvation and predation. Given the increased energetic demands experienced by birds during colder weather, our results suggest that birds' perceptions of risk are biased towards starvation avoidance in winter.

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Management of fat reserves and food caches in tufted titmice (Parus bicolor) in relation to unpredictable food supply

Cited by 125 publications

References 0 publications

Frequency, composition and variation in external food stores constructed by orb-web spiders: Nephila edulis and Nephila plumipes (Araneae : Araneoidea)

Frequency, composition and variation in external food stores constructed by orb-web spiders: Nephila edulis and Nephila plumipes (Araneae : Araneoidea)

Is bigger always better? A critical appraisal of the use of volumetric analysis in the study of the hippocampus

Daily foraging patterns in free-living birds: exploring the predation–starvation trade-off

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