Many studies on the efficiency of feeding in finches concentrate on husking time in relation to average seed size and bird size. Large species are capable of eating larger seeds and are able to husk large seeds faster than smaller species. It is generally assumed that husking time is related to bite force. However, there are very few studies that investigate the relationship between husking tim...

The use of space by predators in relation to their prey is a poorly understood aspect of predator-prey interactions. Classic theory suggests that predators should focus their efforts on areas of abundant prey, that is, prey hotspots, whereas game-theoretical models of predator and prey movement suggest that the distribution of predators should match that of their prey's resources. If, however, ...

Brodifacoum is a second-generation anticoagulant used for rodent control in New Zealand. Concerns about the poisoning of non-target species have resulted in restrictions being imposed on the mainland. It is, however, still commonly employed on offshore islands. Previous research investigating the poisoning risks of brodifacoum has generally focused on birds eating brodifacoum bait (primary pois...

despite the consensus of jurists (fokaha) in safe custody of property (haraz) as one of the punishable conditions when the theft happens, some jurists made an exception in bird case. it means that stealing the bird would not subject to punishment namely cut off the thief's hand, even if the bird was in safe custody.  many of  fokaha, however,  believe that if the bird is in safe custody, t...

despite the consensus of jurists (fokaha) in safe custody of property (haraz) as one of the punishable conditions when the theft happens, some jurists made an exception in bird case. it means that stealing the bird would not subject to punishment namely cut off the thief's hand, even if the bird was in safe custody.  many of  fokaha, however,  believe that if the bird is in safe custody, t...

To elucidate whether postprandial hypotension (PPH) is associated with any diurnal change of blood pressure, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed on 121 hospitalized essential hypertensive patients who received standardized meals. Postprandial change in blood pressure was defined as the difference between mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) 1 h before and 2 h after each meal. The p...

Most fleshy-fruited plants establish strong local interactions with a few fruit-eating species across their distribution range, which can differ among sites and have a major impact for the plant population dynamics. In turn, human disturbances alter both the original animal assemblage with which plants interact and the outcome of the mutualistic interaction. Negative consequences of human distu...

We propose that the many different, but essentially similar, eye-like and face-like color patterns displayed by hundreds of species of tropical caterpillars and pupae-26 examples of which are displayed here from the dry, cloud, and rain forests of Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica-constitute a huge and pervasive mimicry complex that is evolutionarily generated and...