City coyotes' poor diets could make them more aggressive, study suggests

AUGUST 8, 2019

by Bev Betkowski, University of Alberta

City coyotes' garbage-based diets are affecting their gut bacteria and that could affect how they interact with humans, new University of Alberta research shows.

"It could possibly promote aggressive behavior," said Scott Sugden, who conducted the research to earn his master's degree in science.

In analyzing the gut microbiome of 76 urban and suburban coyotes, Sugden found urban coyotes were surviving on a protein-poor diet that lacked game native to their natural diets, like rodents and deer.

Stomach contents revealed scrounged meals that included leather gloves, a still-wrapped burrito, fast food wrappers, even a chunk of pineapple.

"There's not much nutrition there for a carnivore," said Sugden.

Alongside this change in diet,the microbiome of the coyotes contained less of one specific bacterial group, Fusobacterium. Lower abundances of these bacteria have been loosely associated with aggression in dogs, so the same possibility exists for their wild canine relatives, he said.

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As bumblebee diets narrow, ours could too

MAY 15, 2019

by Jules Bernstein, University of California - Riverside

There has been a lot of buzz about honeybees' failing health because they pollinate our produce. Less well known is how critical bumblebees are for some of our favorite foods. And their numbers are also rapidly declining.

A new study from the University of California, Riverside, reveals the loss of plant diversity harms the humble bumble at a critical stage in its development from egg to adult.

Study lead Hollis Woodard, assistant professor of entomology, explained bumblebees perform a type of pollination that honeybees do not. The fuzzy insects use their jaws to shake flowers until they release their pollen, and this process is essential for food crops, such as tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, peppers, eggplants, and potatoes.

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Research shows diet shift of beluga whales in Alaska inlet

June 16, 2018 by Dan Joling

Beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet may have changed their diet over five decades from saltwater prey to fish and crustaceans influenced by freshwater, according to a study by University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers.

An analysis of isotopes in beluga bone and teeth showed belugas formerly fed on prey that had little contact with freshwater. More recent generations of belugas fed in areas where rivers pour freshwater into ocean habitats.

New information on Cook Inlet belugas is important because the species is endangered and its numbers have not increased despite hunting restrictions and other protections. Mark Nelson, a wildlife biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the lead author of the study, called it a little piece of that puzzle.

"If there's something we can do to help them recover, we might start to know what that might be," he said in a phone interview from Fairbanks.

A population of 1,300 belugas in Cook Inlet dwindled steadily through the 1980s and early 1990s. Alaska Natives harvested nearly half the remaining 650 whales between 1994 and 1998. Subsistence hunting ended in 1999 but the population remains at only about 340 animals.

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Monkeys eat fats and carbs to keep warm

Golden snub-nosed monkeys adjust nutrient intake in winter

Date:  June 8, 2018

Source:  University of Sydney

University of Sydney researchers have found monkeys living in the wild in cold snowy habitats adjust their nutrient intake to match the elevated costs of thermoregulation.

China's Quinling mountains, high altitude temperate forests where winter temperatures commonly drop below 0 degrees Celsius and approximately 50 cm of snow covers the ground for several weeks in the winter, was the location of the study.

Published in Functional Ecology, the researchers analysed the nutritional content of all foods the monkeys consumed in order to calculate the nutrient composition of the monkeys' diets, and then assessed the additional energy the monkeys used to regulate their temperature in winter compared with spring.

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Bacterium in a beetle makes it a leaf-eater

The specialized diet of a beetle is largely due to bacteria that live inside the insect

Date:  November 16, 2017

Source:  Emory Health Sciences

Summary:

A leaf-eating beetle has evolved a symbiotic relationship that allows the insect to break down pectin. The findings on the novel function of the bacterium, which has a surprisingly tiny genome -- much smaller than previous reports on the minimum size required for an organism not subsisting within a host cell.

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Lemurs are weird because Madagascar's fruit is weird

October 31, 2017

Lemurs are primates like us, but they're the weird cousins. They're found only on Madagascar off the coast of Africa, and they fight by secreting smelly paste from their shoulders and using their tails to waft the scent at their rivals. Some lemur species become inactive or hibernate when food is scarce, and other species eat all day and all night to get enough nutrients. Another thing that sets them apart is their diet—most primates eat a fruit-heavy diet, but lemurs primarily eat leaves. A new study in Scientific Reports sheds light on why lemurs don't eat as much fruit as their fellow primates and why they've developed these odd dietary behaviors—the fruit on Madagascar contains too little protein to sustain them.

"Lemurs are equal parts ridiculously cool and totally bizarre in that they represent the extremes and the extremely strange in the primate world," says Abigail Derby Lewis, a senior conservation ecologist at The Field Museum in Chicago and one of the study's authors. "This study is about investigating why we see certain patterns in the world."

Scientists have long known that lemurs' diets are unusually leafy for primates, but they weren't sure why. Hypotheses ranged from food scarcity to frequent cyclones on Madagascar making it hard for lemurs to find all the fruit they needed, so they turned to leaves instead. However, the new study indicates another culprit for the lemurs' odd diets—fruit that's too low in protein.

Proteins, whether consumed via meat, fruit, or a giant tub of whey powder from the vitamin store, are key to an organism's makeup and survival. Often called "the building blocks of life," they're chains of chemicals called amino acids with different sequences used for different functions, from building muscles to transporting oxygen.

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Scientific evaluation of rhino diets improves zoo

Study highlights success of changing diet for reproduction in endangered species

Date:  October 26, 2017

Source:  San Diego Zoo Global

A recently published study in the journal Pachyderm highlights the ongoing effort of accredited zoos to address challenges and improve the sustainability of endangered species populations in their care. The study, co-authored by scientists from San Diego Zoo Global and Mars Hill University, evaluated fertility issues in captive-born southern white rhinos and determined that diets including soy and alfalfa were likely contributors to breeding challenges.

"The captive southern white rhinoceros (SWR) population is not currently self-sustaining, due to the reproductive failure of captive-born females," said Christopher Tubbs Ph.D, San Diego Zoo Global and lead author of the paper. "Our research into this phenomenon points to chemicals produced by plants present in captive diets, such as soy and alfalfa, as likely causes."

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Bears not bothered by diet high in saturated fats

Grizzlies show no clinical signs of disease following short-term consumption of saturated fats but scientists question long-term health

Date:  October 30, 2017

Source:  Canadian Science Publishing

Campgrounds and cottages are getaways for humans. They are also locations where grizzly bears are acquiring appetites for human foods that are high in saturated fats. Diets high in saturated fats are associated with many diseases in humans. Does the health of a bear suffer too?

A new study published today in the Canadian Journal of Zoology found that captive bears fed a diet high in saturated fats and low in "healthy" polyunsaturated fats did not show symptoms of disease typically observed in humans eating foods high in saturated fats such as insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Researchers from Washington State University (WSU) fed adult bears one of two diets prior to hibernation, one high in polyunsaturated fats with oats and salmon and the other high in saturated fats containing beef and cheese. The bears fed from May to the end of October and then hibernated over winter. In spring when they woke it was time for a health check-up.

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A big difference between Asian and African elephants is diet

Date: August 30, 2017

Source: University of Nottingham

Summary:

New research has shown that there are significant differences between the Asian and the African forest elephant -- and it isn't just about size and the shape of their ears. It is about what they eat and how they affect forest ecosystems.

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Reintroduced Przewalski's horses have a different diet

Date:  July 20, 2017

Source:  University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna

Summary:  The preferred fodder of horses is grass. This is true for domestic horses and wild horses in the Gobi Desert. Researchers have now found through tail hair analysis that before their extinction in the wild Przewalski's horses had been on a different diet than today. Thanks to improved societal attitude, the horses have now access to richer pastures. In former times, the wild horses were hunted and chased away.

     

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Baits may be bolstering bear populations

Date:  July 7, 2017

Source:  Wiley

Summary:  Baits used by hunters have become a substantial portion of black bears' diets, research shows. In northern Wisconsin, over 40 percent of the diet of harvested animals consisted of bait subsidies.

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Peruvian monkey avoids stomach trouble by adding mud to its diet

26 June 2017

By Adrian Barnett

Are there merits to munching mud? Some monkeys seem to go out of their way to add it to their standard diet of leaves, fruits and insects. In Amazonian Peru, at least, one primate species seems to use mud medicinally, possibly to prevent stomach upsets before they even begin.

Why some monkeys eat mud has been much debated, with the main options being to kill parasites, as a mineral supplement or to cure stomach upsets.

“Many previous reports involved just a few sightings, or come from accidental encounters,” explains Dara Adams at the Ohio State University in Columbus, who led the study. “We were really focused on answering this question, and that seems to have made the difference.”

The team studied Rylands’ bald-faced saki monkey (Pithecia rylandsi), a rainforest canopy specialist. With thick grey fur, it has a similar shaggy appearance and size to a Maine Coon cat. The sakis’ treetop lifestyle means they did not get their mud from the ground, but from the nest casings of tree-living termites.

“In 1125 hours, we recorded 76 feeding bouts at 26 termite mounds,” says team member Jennifer Rehg, from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. “They ate mound casing – they weren’t focusing on the termites. They even ate inactive mounds.”

Muddy goodness

But why termite mounds? Enter Mrinalini Watsa from Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, who conducted a detailed analysis of the mud the sakis were eating.

“The important thing is that this isn’t just any mud, it’s termite-processed mud,” she explains. “Compared to topsoil, it has a higher carbon and clay content.”

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What mountain gorillas reveal with their teeth

Date: May 11, 2016

Source: Plataforma SINC

Mountain gorillas from Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda eat up to 30 kilos of plants a day and their diet is highly varied in a habitat that is becoming increasingly fragmented as a result of illegal hunting and deforestation. For the first time, a study shows how dental morphology adapts to the food that is available. The information from the wear on their teeth is used to identify specimens that disappear.

Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) populations only remain in the southern part of the Virunga Mountains, between Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bwindi National Park in Uganda. These large apes, considered endangered by the Red List of Threatened Species, are threatened by poaching, diseases carried by tourists who explore the brush to search for them and by deforestation caused by a high population density.

In order to protect these gorillas, the conservation of their habitat -where the bulk of their diet can be found, consisting of wild celery or bamboo, elmleaf blackberry and roots- is key. For this reason and for the first time, a team of scientists, led by primatologist Jordi Garbany, has analysed how age and feeding habits affect these primates that dedicate a great deal of their time to eating up to 30 kilos of plants per day.

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Why Earth's Largest Ape Went Extinct

by Tia Ghose, Senior Writer | January 11, 2016 08:18am ET

The biggest primate that ever walked the Earth may have died out because of its giant size and limited diet, new research suggests.

Little is known about the mysterious Gigantopithecus blacki, a distant relative to orangutans that stood up to 10 feet (3 meters) tall and weighed up to 595 lbs. (270 kilograms).

However, a new analysis of its diet suggests it lived and ate exclusively in the forest. When its forest habitats shrank about 100,000 years ago, the enormous ape may not have been able to snag enough food to survive and reproduce, and went extinct as a result, said study co-author Hervé Bocherens, a paleontologist at the University of Tübingen in Germany.

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Single hair shows researchers what a bear has been eating

New technology reveals protein intake, mercury levels

Date:

July 28, 2015

Source:

Washington State University

Summary:

Researchers have found they can get a good idea of a grizzly bear's diet over several months by looking at a single hair. The technique, which measures residues of trace metals, can be a major tool in determining if the threatened animals are getting enough of the right foods to eat.

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Koalas have a funny diet: Do they have funny bacteria?

Date:May 13, 2015

Source:Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB)

Summary:With their specialized diet of almost exclusively eucalyptus leaves, do koalas require specialist microbes to help them digest their food? Scientists investigated the composition of bacterial communities in different digestion-associated organs but found no unusual or special microbial communities when they compared these with those of other mammals. 

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Strict diet suspends development, doubles lifespan of worms

Date:

June 19, 2014

Source:

Duke University

Summary:

Taking food away from C. elegans triggers a state of arrested development: while the organism continues to wriggle about, foraging for food, its cells and organs are suspended in an ageless, quiescent state. When food becomes plentiful again, the worm develops as planned, but can live twice as long as normal.

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Eat more, die young: Why eating a diet very low in nutrients can extend lifespan

Date:

March 17, 2014

Source:

Wiley

Summary:

A new evolutionary theory claims that consuming a diet very low in nutrients can extend lifespan in laboratory animals, a finding which could hold clues to promoting healthier aging in humans. Scientists have known for decades that severely restricted food intake reduces the incidence of diseases of old age, such as cancer, and increases lifespan. The most widely accepted theory is that this effect evolved to improve survival during times of famine.

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Ladybugs Diet Influences Effectiveness as Biocontrol Agent

Jan. 11, 2013 — By examining what lady bugs eat, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are learning more about the movement of these beneficial insects in farm fields -- and whether they'll actively feed on crop pests.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Jonathan Lundgren at the agency's North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D., and former ARS entomologist Michael Seagraves were part of a team of ARS and university scientists that examined how a lady beetle's diet alters its feeding patterns and physiology. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.

Lady beetles are deployed as biological controls of insect pests like aphids and Colorado potato beetles. Understanding the feeding behavior of these important beneficial insects will help researchers find ways to most effectively use the lady beetles as biocontrol agents.

In laboratory feeding tests, the researchers found that a lady beetle species called Coleomegilla maculata consumes two to three times more plant tissue after being fed a prey-only diet than after being fed a mixed diet of prey and plant tissue. This suggests that plant material is providing some key nutrients lacking in prey-only diets. It is important to recognize that non-prey foods contain different nutrients than insect prey, and that beetles that are fed mixed diets are often healthier that those fed only on prey, according to Lundgren.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130111110920.htm

More Omnivore Dilemmas: Seasonal Diet Changes Can Cause Reproductive Stress in Primates

ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2012) — When seasonal changes affect food availability, omnivores like blue monkeys adapt by changing their diets, but such nutritional changes may impact female reproduction, according to research published November 28 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Steffen Foerster from Barnard College, and colleagues from Columbia University and the Smithsonian Institution.

The authors found that levels of fecal glucocorticoids (fGC), a stress marker, increased when female monkeys shifted their diet towards lower quality fallback foods, whereas the levels decreased when the monkeys had access to preferred foods like insects, fruits and young leaves.

They also found that lactating females and those in the later stages of pregnancy showed greater increases in the stress marker than females who were not in these stages of reproduction. According to the authors, their results suggest that these seasonal changes in food availability may affect inter-birth intervals in these primates, and also affect the timing of infant independence from mothers.

Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121128182947.htm