Variation in behaviour, performance and ecology are traditionally associated with variation in morphology. A neglected part of this ecomorphological paradigm is the interaction between behaviour and performance, the ability to carry out tasks that impact fitness. Here we investigate the relationship between biting behaviour and performance (bite force) among 20 species of ecologically diverse b...

Small body size imposes limitations on the feeding capabilities of juveniles, particularly in species that consume their prey whole. It has been hypothesized that juveniles exhibit exceptional performance measures to compensate for their small size. However, few studies have examined whether juveniles have better feeding performance relative to adults and investigations of snake feeding ontogen...

BACKGROUND: The use of antibiotics as feed additive in animal feeds due to the appearance of residues in milk and meat and their effects on human health has restricted. Two of essential oils with high potential for use in ruminant diet are Mentha piperita (peppermint) and Mentha pulegium (pennyroyal) essential oil. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of essential oils...

This study was a non-randomized clinical trial which compared the breast-feeding experience of 250 Argentine women taking levonorgestrel 0.03 mg daily (begun one week after delivery) with that of 250 women using non-hormonal contraceptives. Weight gain of unsupplemented infants, the most important of the several criteria used to assess breast-feeding performance, was similar for the two contrac...

Four feeding levels (40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of satiation) were designed as the different treatment groups to assess its effects on water quality and plankton community structure in the yellow catfish rearing enclosure ecosystem. The results showed that the weight gain and specific growth rate decreased significantly as the feeding level decreased. The soluble nutrients (except for NO2-N) concen...

The effects of starvation and subsequent re-feeding on compensatory growth performance, blood serum metabolites and IGF-ImRNA expression in liver and muscle were investigated in juvenile Persian sturgeon. Growth indices including body weight, SGR, CF, and HSI significantly decreased after starvation. However, after re-feeding sturgeons that were starved for 1 week reached the same weight as the...

The effects of starvation and subsequent re-feeding on compensatory growth performance, blood serum metabolites and IGF-ImRNA expression in liver and muscle were investigated in juvenile Persian sturgeon. Growth indices including body weight, SGR, CF, and HSI significantly decreased after starvation. However, after re-feeding sturgeons that were starved for 1 week reached the same weight as the...