Search Results (361)

Seasonal dynamics in wetland landscapes are closely associated with habitat availability and are likely to influence the spatial organization and diversity of waterbird communities. However, most existing studies rely on static land-cover representations or single spatial scales, limiting our ability to characterize how waterbirds respond to seasonally shifting habitats across scales. Focusing on the Qilihai Wetland in Tianjin, China, we combined high-frequency waterbird surveys from 2019–2021 with multi-temporal, season-matched Sentinel-2 imagery and the Dynamic World dataset. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was applied across a continuous spatial gradient (100–3000 m) to quantify scale-dependent statistical associations between landscape composition and configuration derived from satellite-mapped habitat mosaics on different functional groups. Waterbird diversity exhibited pronounced seasonal contrasts. During the breeding and post-fledging period, high-diversity assemblages were stably concentrated within core wetland areas, showing limited spatial variability. In contrast, during the wintering and stopover period, community distributions became increasingly dispersed, with elevated spatial heterogeneity and interannual variability associated with habitat reorganization. The scale of effect shifted systematically between seasons. In the breeding and post-fledging period, both waterfowl and waders responded predominantly to local-scale landscape factors (<800 m), consistent with nesting requirements and microhabitat conditions. During the wintering and stopover period, however, the characteristic response scale of waterfowl expanded to 1500–2000 m, suggesting stronger associations with broader landscape context, whereas waders remained closely linked to local-scale shallow-water and mudflat connectivity (~200 m). Functional traits played a key role in structuring these scale-dependent responses, with diving behavior and tarsus length being associated with strong constraints on habitat use. Overall, our results suggest that waterbird diversity patterns emerge from the interaction between seasonal habitat dynamics, landscape structure, and functional trait filtering, underscoring the need for phenology-informed, multi-scale conservation strategies that move beyond static spatial boundaries. Full article

Laboratory mice are the most widely used model organisms in biomedical and behavioral research, yet growing concerns regarding reproducibility and translational validity have highlighted the substantial influence of housing and husbandry conditions on experimental outcomes. Although domestication is often assumed to have rendered laboratory mice fully adapted to artificial environments, evidence from ethology indicates that many core behavioral and physiological needs remain conserved. As a result, standard laboratory housing may generate chronic stress, alter behavior, and introduce systematic bias into experimental data. This narrative review critically examines how ethological constraints persisting after domestication interact with key environmental factors, social housing, environmental enrichment, ambient temperature, and lighting regimes to shape welfare and experimental validity in laboratory mice. Rather than providing an exhaustive overview of mouse behavior, the review adopts a problem-oriented and solution-focused approach, highlighting specific welfare-related mechanisms that can distort behavioral and physiological readouts. Particular attention is given to social isolation and aggression in male mice, the role of nesting material in mitigating thermal stress, and the effects of circadian disruption under standard and reversed light–dark cycles. By integrating ethological theory with laboratory animal welfare research, this review argues that housing conditions should be regarded as integral components of experimental design rather than secondary technical variables. Addressing welfare-related bias through evidence-based refinement strategies is essential for improving reproducibility, enhancing data interpretability, and strengthening the scientific validity of mouse-based research. Full article

Predation of sea turtles by jaguars (Panthera onca) in the Santa Rosa National Park (SRNP) has been well documented over the past decade. However, the factors that influence jaguar feeding behavior, including environmental factors or characteristics of the beaches and the adjacent forest, are poorly known. This study aimed to identify the relationship between vegetation density and human activity on the distribution of feeding sites of jaguar on sea turtles at nesting beaches in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. We sampled three beaches (Naranjo, Nancite, and Colorada), where we identified and registered sea turtle carcasses preyed on by jaguars between June and November 2019. Through systematic searches of the forest adjacent to the beach, we documented the species, geographic coordinates, carcass length and width, vegetation cover at the carcass site, and the average vegetation coverage corresponding to the date and beach of each sea turtle carcass. In total, we recorded 338 sea turtle carcasses preyed on by jaguars, 156 at Naranjo beach, 103 at Nancite beach, and 89 at Colorada beach. The beach with the highest average density of carcasses was Colorada (8.7 (SD = 5.42)/ha), followed by Nancite (6.06 (SD = 5.58)/ha) and Naranjo (2.64 (SD = 1.79)/ha). The dragging distance from the beach line to sea turtle carcasses was best explained by the interaction of nesting beach and canopy cover at the carcass. Our canopy cover results may reflect that jaguars select sites that better hide their prey, in the same way that green turtles (Chelonia mydas) usually prefer areas with good coverage to nest in, contrasting to the nesting behavior of olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea). On beaches, higher concentrations were observed where there was less human presence and this may reflect both turtle nesting and jaguar predation activity. Full article

The reproductive behavior and nest-building activity of the sand-dwelling goby Hazeus ammophilus were investigated to examine its nesting characteristics and to determine how and why this species builds radial structures around its nests. Field observations revealed that males spawned with multiple females in open muddy-sand bottoms, using bivalve shells or fallen leaves as spawning substrates. Males cared for eggs after spawning and repeatedly mated with multiple females, suggesting a male-territory-visiting polygamous mating system. A distinctive feature of this species was the presence of radial ditches extending from the nest. These ditches developed through repeated male behaviors of digging from the nest toward the surrounding area and sweeping accumulated sand out of the nest, resulting in a crater-like structure around the nest. These behaviors may contribute to cleaning and stabilizing the spawning substrate, and the resulting structures themselves may also be involved in female mate choice. Taken together, these findings indicate that H. ammophilus has evolved a flexible reproductive strategy, and nest-building behavior possibly adapted to unstable open sandy environments, highlighting the behavioral diversity and ecological plasticity within gobiid fishes. Full article

The impact of tourism on Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) in Patagonia is a complex issue that requires a balanced approach between conservation and sustainable tourism development. While tourism in the region can bring significant economic benefits, it can also have a negative impact on the penguins by disrupting nesting behavior and chick rearing, and even increasing the risk of disease and predation. We examined a comparative analysis of scientific papers on the impact of tourism on Magellanic penguins in two breeding colonies in Argentinean Patagonia, which have been visited for 10 to 50 years and whose visitor numbers range from 10,000 to 120,000 per year. We analyzed different physiological parameters (i.e., immunological, hematological, biochemical, and stress parameters) and behavioral respond (alternate head turns) in adult birds and chicks in these colonies. Although the results suggest that Magellanic penguins have adapted well to the presence of tourists in their breeding colonies, we documented changes in certain physiological parameters that indicate chronic stress due to high exposure to tourism. It is important to promote sustainable tourism in Patagonia that not only minimizes these negative impacts but also improves the protection of the penguins and their habitat. This includes the creation of new nature reserves, environmental education, and the regulation of tourism activities. Implementing responsible tourism practices can ensure economic benefits while protecting the well-being and health of penguin populations. The combination of increased tourist awareness and concrete conservation measures can protect not only the Magellanic penguins but also the natural wealth of the entire Patagonia region. Full article

Precision livestock farming (PLF), by integrating multimodal sensor data, provides opportunities to enhance welfare monitoring and management in small ruminants. This study evaluated whether environmental, physiological, and behavioral measurements—including the temperature–humidity index (THI), carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ammonia (NH₃) concentrations measured at the barn level, body condition score (BCS), rectal and ocular temperatures, GPS-derived locomotion metrics, accelerometry data, and fixed animal traits—can serve as key predictors of welfare and productivity in dairy sheep. Data were collected from 90 ewes: all animals underwent the same repeated welfare assessments, while 30 of them were additionally equipped with GPS–accelerometer sensor collars; environmental conditions were continuously recorded for the entire flock, generating 773 complete multimodal records. All predictive models were developed using data from all 90 ewes; collar-derived behavioral variables were included only for individuals equipped with GPS–accelerometer collars. Nine regression methods (linear regression (LR), partial least square regression (PLSR), elastic net (EN), mixed-effects models, random forest (RF), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), support vector regression (SVR), neural networks (multilayer perceptron, MLP), and an ensemble of RF–XGBoost–EN were evaluated using a combination of nested cross-validation (CV) and leave-one-animal-out CV (LOAOCV) to ensure robustness and generalization at the individual animal level. Nonlinear models—particularly RF, XGBoost, SVR, and the ensemble—consistently delivered superior performance across traits. For behavioral (e.g., daily distance movement) and thermal indicators (e.g., medial canthus temperature), the highest predictive capacity (R² ≈ 0.60–0.70) was achieved, while moderate predictive capacity (R² ≈ 0.40–0.50 and ≈0.35–0.45), respectively, was observed for respiratory rate and milk yield, reflecting their multifactorial nature. Feature importance analyses underscored the relevance of THI, CO₂, NH₃, concentrations, and BCS across results. Overall, these findings demonstrate that multimodal sensor fusion can effectively support the prediction of welfare and productivity indicators in intensively reared dairy sheep and emphasize the need for larger and more diverse datasets to further enhance model generalizability and model transferability. Full article

Arboreal ants occupy a thermally dynamic environment, yet the mechanisms integrating nest architecture and worker behavior to maintain colony homeostasis remain understudied. We investigated the interplay among circadian rhythm, nest homeostasis, and worker morphology in Azteca chartifex spiriti, a Neotropical arboreal species that builds large polydomous nests suspended in trees. In ten colonies, we measured internal moisture and temperature gradients in the main nest, which houses most individuals, including the reproductive female, immatures, and numerous workers. In six colonies, we assessed the polymorphism of foraging workers over a 24 h cycle in relation to external temperature variation. The results show integrated thermoregulatory mechanisms that combine passive strategies, derived from nest architecture and moisture gradients from the suspension base to the lower extremity, with active strategies linked to foraging patterns and worker polymorphism. Internal temperature (27.8 ± 2.41 °C) remained buffered relative to external fluctuations, and moisture was significantly higher at the nest’s lower extremity (p < 0.001). Worker size displayed a bimodal distribution during the day that shifted to a unimodal pattern at night, indicating behavioral adjustments to thermal and operational demands. These findings demonstrate that the interaction between physical structure and worker behavior maintains colony homeostasis, providing essential insights into how dominant canopy ants may cope with future climate change scenarios. Full article

Neonicotinoid insecticides were initially hailed as safer alternatives to organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides due to their perceived lower toxicity to non-target organisms. However, it has been recently discovered that sublethal exposure to neonicotinoids negatively affects beneficial arthropods that are essential for a functional ecosystem. These beneficial arthropods include pollinators, biological control agents, and decomposers. This review synthesizes current research on the physiological, behavioral, and reproductive consequences of neonicotinoids on non-target arthropods and their broader ecological impact. The chemical and physical properties of neonicotinoids raise concerns about long-term ecological consequences of neonicotinoid use because these chemicals are persistent in plants and soil, which contributes to prolonged exposure risks for organisms. Sublethal doses of neonicotinoids can disrupt the ecological services provided by these organisms by impairing essential biological processes including motor function, odor detection, development, and reproduction in insects, while also altering behavior such as foraging, mating, and nesting. Furthermore, neonicotinoid exposure can alter community structure, disrupting trophic interactions and food web stability. Recognizing the sublethal impacts of neonicotinoids is critical for the development of more sustainable pest management strategies. It is imperative that future research investigates the underlying mechanisms of sublethal toxicity and identifies safer, more effective approaches to neonicotinoid-based pest control to mitigate adverse ecological effects. Incorporating this knowledge into future environmental risk assessments will be essential for protecting biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem functionality. Full article

The Krabi mouth-brooding fighting fish, Betta simplex Kottelat, 1994, is a critically endangered and endemic fish species in Krabi province, Southern Thailand. Little information is available on its reproductive ecology and early developmental morphology, which are essential for studying its conservation. Generally, B. simplex is considered an adaptable animal that can tolerate lower alkalinity and higher hardness compared to its natural environment conditions. In this study, wild broodstocks of B. simplex were collected from the reported type localities and bred in captivity under laboratory conditions for size-series collection. Some biological aspects of B. simplex in its natural environmental conditions were determined. We found that its flaring and mating behavior was similar to those of bubble-nesting fighting fish but did not involve bubble-nest building. The fertilized eggs and pre-flexion larvae were nurtured in the mouth cavity of parental males within 11–12 (mode = 11) days after fertilization (DAF). The first-release offspring developed to the post-flexion stage with a body size of 4.39 ± 0.01 mm of standard length (SL; n = 6) and then to the juvenile stage within 30 days after release with 11.72 ± 0.62 mm SL (n = 4). Thus, we propose the following linear regression equation for growth prediction by age (DAF) and body size (SL; mm): age = 0.2425 SL + 1.7036 (r² = 0.9549). The findings of this study will deepen our knowledge of the reproduction and ontogeny of B. simplex and contribute to its future conservation and management. Full article

Drawing on social comparison and attribution theories, this study examines how employees’ attitudinal dissimilarity within work groups shapes their willingness to speak up or remain silent. We conceptualize dissimilarity in psychological ownership and job stress as individual-level differences that trigger internal attributions, leading employees to direct attention inward and reduce their likelihood of speaking up. In contrast, dissimilarity in perceived status conflict, an individual-level perception of a structural feature of the group, induces external attributions toward the social system, motivating employees to express voice aimed at preserving or challenging the status quo. Using multi-source data from 202 employees nested in 39 work groups in South Korea, hierarchical regression analyses support all proposed hypotheses: individual-level dissimilarities are negatively related and structural-level dissimilarity is positively related to voice. These findings reveal that the behavioral consequences of difference depend on where attribution is directed—toward the self or the system. The study contributes to the voice literature by integrating attributional reasoning into social comparison processes and by identifying two forms of attitudinal minorities: invisible minorities who remain silent, and boisterous minorities who speak up for change. Full article

Background: Reliable analgesia is essential to ensure animal welfare and experimental validity in preclinical disease models. However, evidence on the efficacy and side effects of analgesics remains limited. This study investigated the effects of three commonly used analgesics on animal well-being in a murine model of cholestasis. Methods: Thirty male C57BL/6J mice underwent transmitter implantation followed by bile duct ligation (BDL) and received continuous metamizole (3 g/L), tramadol (1 g/L), or carprofen (0.15 g/L) via drinking water before and after surgery. Welfare was evaluated using multiple parameters, including body weight, a distress score, drinking volume, burrowing and nesting behavior, mouse grimace scale (MGS), and telemetric data (heart rate, heart rate variability: SDNN and RMSSD, core body temperature, and locomotion). Additionally, liver and gastrointestinal tissues were analyzed histologically for necrosis and immune cell infiltration. Results: Even prior to surgery, analgesic-specific reductions in body weight, drinking behavior, and burrowing and nesting activity were observed. After transmitter implantation, metamizole treatment led to significantly reduced body weight, drinking volume, and locomotion compared to the other two analgesics. Following BDL, all treatment groups exhibited pronounced distress, weight loss, and reduced activity. Tramadol treatment resulted in slightly improved MGS and SDNN values, indicating minor benefits without sustained welfare restoration. In contrast, carprofen treatment was associated with reduced survival and inflammatory alterations in the forestomach. Conclusions: None of the tested analgesic regimens fully restored animal welfare after BDL. However, tramadol provided modest advantages, suggesting it may represent the most suitable option among the tested analgesics for the BDL model. Full article

Background/Objectives: Unintended pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of subsequent unintended pregnancies, but its impact on contraceptive use and intention remains vastly understudied. This study assessed whether unintended pregnancy independently influences women’s stages of behavior change for contraceptive use and the effectiveness of their chosen contraceptive methods. Methods: Using pooled data from three cross-sectional surveys of the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 project in Nigeria, we analyzed responses from 8014 non-pregnant women aged 15–49 years nested within 892 communities. Multilevel multinomial logistic regression accounted for compositional and contextual factors. Results: Women with a mistimed pregnancy had higher odds of being in the contemplation stage of behavior change compared to those with an intended pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.59, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13–2.22), with a similar but non-significant trend for unwanted pregnancies (aOR = 1.46, 95% CI = 0.91–2.34). Mistimed and unwanted pregnancies were also linked to higher odds of being in the action stage (aOR = 2.17 and 1.85, respectively). Regarding contraceptive effectiveness, women with a mistimed pregnancy were more likely to use moderately effective methods (aOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.02–2.12) and highly effective methods (aOR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.41–4.26). Unwanted pregnancies showed even stronger associations with highly effective methods (aOR = 4.03, 95% CI = 1.18–13.74). Community-level variability significantly influenced outcomes. Conclusions: Together, these findings underscore the importance of person-centered approaches and public health interventions tailored to stages of contraceptive behavior change, targeting both women and communities at high risk of unintended pregnancy. Full article

Nutritional assessment and intervention in athletes, a central focus of sports medicine and healthcare, has increasingly shifted in recent years toward precision nutrition—an approach that individualizes dietary recommendations according to genetic profile, microbiome composition, lifestyle factors, and health status. Despite its promising potential, this approach faces significant limitations, including the challenge of integrating complex and dynamic interactions among multilevel indicators, and the relatively high costs associated with omics technologies. The aim of this paper is to propose a nutritional assessment and intervention model grounded in the Network Physiology of Exercise, an emerging scientific field that investigates the horizontal and vertical dynamic interactions among nested physiological levels and conceptualizes athletes as complex adaptive systems (CAS). The proposal integrates social, environmental, behavioral and psychobiological information, extracted particularly from semi-structured interviews based on CAS properties. Accordingly, the traditional dietary assessment tools are replaced by open and guided interviews that allow professionals and practitioners to co-construct meaningful insights and extract qualitative data through a reflexive thematic analysis. From a CAS perspective, the multidimensional and multi-timescale personal and environmental constrains affecting their eating behavior were integrated through a hierarchically nested organization. Eliciting the dynamics of emotional contexts, behavioral patterns, and psychophysiological states, the interviews become both a method of assessment and an intervention in itself. Full article

Nest defense is a key component of avian reproductive success, yet its intensity and expression often depend on ecological and social contexts. We investigated the nest defense behaviors of Saunders’s Gulls (Saundersilarus saundersi) breeding in Incheon Bay of South Korea in 2022 in relation to nest density and perceived threats. Using decoy presentations of three heterospecifics, Oriental Magpie (Pica serica; diurnal avian nest predator), common raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides; nocturnal mammalian nest predator), and Little Tern (Sternula albifrons; neutral co-nester), we quantified latency to respond, bombing attack rate, and the number of mobbing individuals at high- and low-density nesting sites within a breeding colony. Mixed models revealed that latency to respond and attack rates varied strongly with stimulus type, with diurnal predator magpies eliciting the fastest and most intense responses, followed by nocturnal predator raccoon dogs and co-nester terns. Nest density influenced the number of mobbing individuals, which was significantly greater at high-density sites. Principal Component Analysis reduced the three behavioral metrics into a composite score, which correlated negatively with latency and positively with bombing attack rate and mobbing intensity. This score varied with both nest density and stimulus type. Our findings demonstrate that Saunders’s Gulls adjust their nest defense strategies according to both the social context and predator type, highlighting the importance of density-dependent collective nest defense in colonial breeders. Full article

This study presents a comparative analysis of two bio-inspired optimization techniques: the Dragonfly Algorithm (DA) and Cuckoo Search (CS). The DA models the collective behavior of dragonflies, replicating dynamic processes such as foraging, evasion, and synchronized movement to effectively explore and exploit the solution space. In contrast, the CS algorithm draws inspiration from the brood parasitism strategy observed in certain Cuckoo species, where eggs are laid in the nests of other birds, thereby leveraging randomization and selection mechanisms for optimization. To enhance the performance of both algorithms, Type-2 fuzzy logic systems were integrated into their structures. Specifically, the DA was fine-tuned through the adjustment of its inertia weight (W) and attraction coefficient (Beta), while the CS algorithm was optimized by calibrating the Lévy flight distribution parameter. A comprehensive set of benchmark functions, F1 through F10, was employed to evaluate and compare the effectiveness and convergence behavior of each method under fuzzy-enhanced configurations. Results indicate that the fuzzy-based adaptations consistently improved convergence stability and accuracy, demonstrating the advantage of integrating Type-2 fuzzy parameter control into swarm-based optimization frameworks. Full article