The degree to which larvae of the invasive American slipper limpet (Crepidula fornicata) and the Japanese oyster (Crassostrea gigas) may compete for food was examined during 2003 in the laboratory. Larval microalgae uptake, growth and mortality were compared for larvae fed each of six species of unicellular algae, ranging in length from 2 to 10 µm. Tested diets included the two flagellates Tetraselmis chui (Prasinophyceae) and Isochrysis affinis galbana (T-ISO, Haptophyceae), one member of the Chlorophyceae (Nannochloris atomus), and three diatom species (Chaetoceros calcitrans forma pumilum, Chaetoceros gracilis, Skeletonema marinoï). We found that the limpet larvae ingested phytoplankton over a wider range of cell sizes and ate at higher rates on each diet than did the oyster larvae. For example, oyster larvae consumed 2216 cells h−1 of N. atomus, while limpet larvae consumed the same phytoplankton cells at approximately twice that rate, 5159 cells h−1, on the same diet. Larvae of both species grew more quickly on a mixture of flagellates than on any of the diatom alone (12 versus 7 µm d−1 for oyster larvae and 41 versus 28 µm d−1 for limpet larvae). Our results suggest that in the Bay of Mount Saint-Michel (France, Western Channel), where larvae of both species co-exist in the summer, intensive grazing by limpet larvae can potentially deplete phytoplankton concentrations to cause competition with oyster larvae, particularly for smaller sized phytoplankton species.

Parasitic infection is often associated with changes in host life-history traits, such as host development. Many of these life-history changes are ultimately thought to be the result of a depletion or reallocation of the host's resources driven either by the host (to minimize the effects of infection) or by the parasite (to maximize its growth rate). In this paper we investigate the energetic budget of Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae infected by Vavraia culicis, a microsporidian parasite that transmits horizontally between larvae, and which has been previously shown to reduce the probability of pupation of its host. Our results show that infected larvae have significantly less lipids, sugars and glycogen than uninfected larvae. These differences in resources were not due to differences in larval energy intake (feeding rate) or expenditure (metabolic rate). We conclude that the lower energetic resources of infected mosquitoes are the result of the high metabolic demands that microsporidian parasites impose on their hosts. Given the fitness advantages for the parasite of maintaining the host in a larval stage, we discuss whether resource depletion may also be a parasite mechanism to prevent the pupation of the larvae and thus maximize its own transmission.

Predators of herbivorous insects play important roles in tropical ecosystems as herbivory may affect structure and diversity of plant populations. Although insectivorous bats are particularly abundant and diverse in the tropics, their impact on herbivorous insects is little understood. To assess prey consumption, we observed the gleaning bat Micronycteris microtis (Phyllostomidae) continuously for 3 mo including 16 full nights at a nightly feeding roost on Barro Colorado Island in Panama using infrared videotaping combined with collection of prey remains. Individual bats consumed about 61–84% of their body mass in arthropods per night. Diet analysis revealed a high percentage of herbivorous insects, constituting more than half (51%) of all prey and over 70% of prey biomass. Dominant prey were caterpillars (33% of prey biomass), and other herbivores including crickets, katydids, scarab beetles and phasmids. Furthermore, a novel feeding behaviour was observed as M. microtis selectively discarded parts of intestines of phytophagous insects before consumption, probably to avoid intake of plant material either for ballast reduction and/or for protection from secondary plant compounds. Combined with estimated feeding rates of insects in sympatric bat species, our data suggest that gleaning bats are important predators of herbivorous insects and might be under-estimated reducers of herbivory in the tropics.

To understand the mechanisms that influence recruitment of the commercially important chokka squid Loligo vulgaris reynaudii, knowledge of its early life history is required. This paper evaluates the influence of food supply on yolk utilization, metabolism and growth of paralarvae. Eggs collected on the spawning grounds were incubated and the paralarvae reared in the laboratory under “fed” and “starved” conditions for 22 d at 16 ± 1 °C. Some paralarvae lasted 42 d in the laboratory. Mantle length (ML), wet and dry weights (WW and DW) and yolk weight (YW) were measured daily from samples of ~30 (10−51) paralarvae from each group. Yolk weight was estimated using image analysis to determined yolk volume. Three methods (growth model, O2 consumption rates and yolk utilization rates) were used to estimate metabolic rates. Input parameters included daily mean wet weight of paralarvae and temperature. Mean ML, WW, DW and YW at hatching were found to be 2.3 mm, 1.86 mg, 0.45 mg and 0.21 mg, respectively. The experiment revealed that daily yolk utilization rates were 86 and 95% d−1 for fed and starved paralarvae respectively, and that the yolk reserve was almost exhausted 3−4 d after hatching. Starved paralarvae survived for 6 days (with 80% mortality), while fed paralarvae attained a growth rate of 7.8% body WW d−1 over the first 22 days after hatching. Results illustrate that temperatures on the chokka squid spawning grounds allow paralarvae to grow at the fastest rates possible without being subjected to a growth “slow down” caused by a high temperature dependent imbalance between sustaining high metabolic and commitment high feeding rates.

The climatic and sea ice conditions of the Southern Ocean are highly variable within and between years, and a better understanding of the influence of climatic conditions on the various parts of the marine food chain is needed. This paper summarizes data on breeding success of a krill-dependent predator, the Wilson's storm petrel Oceanites oceanicus, in a colony on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, over four breeding seasons from 1995/1996 to 1999/2000. The seasons differed greatly in environmental conditions and in the resulting food availability which was reflected in inter- and intra-annual variations in feeding frequency. The breeding success was consequently variable. Starvation, the main cause of chick mortality in three out of four breeding seasons was associated with reduced sea ice cover in winter, which is known to depress food availability in the following breeding season. Food delivery rates also depended on the prevailing winds, which drive the transport of zooplankton-rich water masses. Snowstorms caused additional chick mortality in two out of four seasons when nest burrows became blocked. Implications for the use of Wilson's storm petrels for monitoring of krill are considered.

The ability of a Kenyan sandfly species, Sergentomyia ingrami, to feed on various species of native or indigenous and exotic or introduced plants of Kenya was investigated using the Anthrone test. Some flies contained more sugar than others when they were tested after exposure to the plants.