There were no differences in the dietary composition between sexes or between age groups. Generally, beavers consumed mostly deciduous trees and forbs. Consumption of grasses, aquatic plants and field crops was negligible. The seasonal and spatial variability in the dietary composition were influenced mostly by differences in the amount of deciduous trees and forbs in the diet. In spring, beavers consumed mainly deciduous trees. During summer and autumn, the proportion

of forbs significantly increased at all study sites even though they dominated over deciduous trees only in the Bohemian Forest. High intra-specific variation in the amount of deciduous trees and forbs in summer faeces led to testing the influence of habitat structure on the dietary composition. The amount of deciduous trees BMN 673 in Crenolanib datasheet faeces positively correlated with the diversity and cover of riparian stands. The results showed a high degree of ecological plasticity

in diet selection by reintroduced Eurasian beaver in the Czech Republic, but so far, there is no evidence that they cause high levels of damage to economically important trees or field crops. “
“Dispersal is an important mechanism in population dynamics with a sparse empirical basis. Environmental causes of dispersal may work directly or indirectly. In a population with documented negative density-dependent 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 male dispersal, we investigated if the effect of density on dispersal was indirectly mediated

through body mass. We analysed the probability of dispersal in 170 juvenile red deer males in Snillfjord municipality, Norway, during a 20-year period of rapid population growth (1977–1997). Body mass and dispersal propensity were not related. Thus, changes in population density act directly on dispersal and are not affected by body mass. Body mass-dependent dispersal occurs in species with strong antagonistic interactions and a high cost of dispersal. Our result suggests that the cost of dispersal in male red deer is low in terms of energy expenditure and survival. We conclude that the effect of body mass on dispersal is likely to vary with mating system and cost of dispersal. “
“The foraging performance and the hunting strategies of foraging short-toed eagles Circaetus gallicus were studied in Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli National Park during 1996–1998. A general linear model analysis showed that the eagle’s hunting mode was related to wind velocity. At low wind speeds, the eagles more frequently soared and/or hovered, whereas on windy days, they hung more frequently than soared or hovered. Individuals appear to compensate for the high-cost foraging method (hovering) with a high capture rate or a low capture rate with low-cost foraging methods (soaring and hanging). In addition, their foraging activities exhibited two patterns.