We suggest that the foraging behaviour we observed in these insular snakes favors Nutlin-3a supplier a fitness benefit from food acquisition in a habitat where conflicting fitness demands of predator avoidance appears to be largely absent. Unless other unknown factors are at play, it appears that activity of snakes reflects decisions based on the sensory perception of light levels within a range of nocturnal choices. Such behavioural decisions

might be different on the mainland where both avian and mammalian predators are present. Future studies might investigate whether optimal patch use theory has useful application to understanding the foraging behaviours of insular cottonmouths in the contexts of scavenging versus risk trade-offs (Brown, 1988; Mukherjee et al., 2009). As foraging decisions of both prey and predator can have important consequences for stability of the trophic system (Brown et al., 1999, 2001; Mchich, Auger & Lett, 2006), we further suggest that understanding trophic interactions should benefit from further

investigations of complex systems in which predators are also prospective prey and foraging decisions MK-8669 order involve trade-offs between successful acquisition of food resources and being safe (Brown & Kotler, 2004). We are grateful to Kenneth Litzenberger, Kathy Whaley and John Kasbohm of the US Fish and Wildlife Service for permission to investigate the ecology of cottonmouths at Seahorse Key (permits 41511-00-001, 41511-02-002, 41515-02-005, 41515-03-006, 41511-03-007, 41515-04-008, 41515-05-04, 41515-8-1; 41515-9-2 and 41511-10-9). These studies were conducted within Institutional Guidelines for Animal Care and Use (IACUC approvals Z025 and 200903269). Mr Henry Coulter and Allen Dinsmore assisted with logistical support, especially

boat transportation to the island. We also thank many persons who assisted with snake counts, particularly Coleman Sheehy, David Wooten, Dean 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 Thorsen, Ryan McCleary, Marshall McCue, Leslie Babonis, Dan Doursen, Kevin Neal, Joe Pfaller, Andrew Roark and Chris Samuelson. We thank Robert Holt and Xavier Bonnet for helpful comments on an earlier version of the paper. This work was supported by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NSF grant IOS-0926802 to H.B.L. “
“The offspring of many animal species solicit food from parents using begging signals, while parents manipulate offspring behavior to optimize fitness using various signals. Female Parastrachia japonensis (Heteroptera) provision nests with drupes of the host tree. Provisioning females were recently heard emitting a low-pitched fluttering sound that we characterized in the field using a contact microphone. A single calling event consisted of multiple sound bouts of varying lengths.