Geology topics

Brian P. Farm

Publications and source records attributed to Brian P. Farm.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2001

Experimentally induced pigment changes in small African 'Barbus' (Teleostei: Cyprinidae): Synonymy of 'Barbus' amphigramma and 'Barbus' taitensis with 'Barbus' paludinosus

Pigmentation in fishes is known to be variable both among individuals of a species and within individuals over time. Use of pigment characters for taxonomic diagnoses must, therefore, be carefully considered. I present experimental evidence showing that pigment characters previously considered diagnostic for three small African ‘ Barbus ’ species may differ between living and preserved specimens and that lasting changes in these characters can be induced experimentally by placing fishes in a different, less turbid environment. Lateral line pigmentation and presence of a spot on the caudal peduncle showed significant changes that resulted in different species identifications before and after the experiment. These pigment patterns are thereby shown to be labile, nontrenchant characters having little or no diagnostic utility. ‘ Barbus ’ amphigramma Boulenger, 1903 , and ‘ Barbus ’ taitensis Günther, 1894, are thus shown to be junior synonyms of ‘ Barbus ’ paludinosus Peters, 1852 .

Serengeti National Park, Nyabogati River↗

USGS2001

Home range and territoriality of two Hawaiian honeycreepers, the 'Akohekohe and Maui Parrotbill

Hawaiian honeycreepers have radiated into a diversity of trophic niches and patterns of space-use. We investigated space-use in two honeycreeper species, the ‘Ākohekohe ( Palmeria dolei ), an endangered nectarivore, and Maui Parrotbill ( Pseudonestor xanthophrys ), an endangered wood excavator, by mapping the home ranges and dispersion of color-banded individuals at a study site in relatively undisturbed montane cloud forest on Maui Island, Hawai‘i. With 20% of outlying points excluded, home-range size averaged much smaller for adult male ‘Ākohekohe (0.56 ha) than for male Maui Parrotbill (2.26 ha). In both species, a female's home range mostly overlapped that of her mate. Adult male Maui Parrotbill defended year-round home ranges from which they excluded conspecifics except for their mates and dependent offspring. Although our data suggest that ‘Ākohekohe also maintained all-purpose territories, the evidence is less convincing because these birds were seen feeding in the home ranges of other individuals. By defending all-purpose territories, these two species depart from the more common honeycreeper pattern of sharing large, undefended home ranges.

Condor↗

USGS1999

Spatial distribution of Serengeti wildebeest in relation to resources

We investigated the spatial distribution of radio-marked wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) in the Serengeti ecosystem in relation to the distribution of their food resources, comparing patterns in the wet and dry seasons and at local and landscape spatial scales. A mechanistic model of ruminant energy optimization predicted that wildebeest should maximize energy intake on swards 3 cm high and maintain energy balance on swards between 3 and 10 cm high. At the ecosystem scale, wildebeest preferred short and intermediate-height grass of moderate greenness during both the wet and dry seasons. This was consistent with the model prediction which suggests that large-scale movements by wildebeest are motivated, at least partially, by an energy-maximizing strategy. At the local scale, however, wildebeest showed spatial selectivity only on the basis of grass greenness, not on grass height. This differed from model expectations and may have resulted from wildebeest exploiting ephemeral green flushes of grass caused by localized rainfall in their movement radius. According to these results, the influence of other nutritional or behavioural factors on wildebeest distributions is not rejected, yet they suggest the potentially important role of an energy intake maximizing strategy on movement patterns. Our findings show that wildebeest movements are broadly similar to those of other large herbivores that migrate in response to resource gradients.

Canadian Journal of Zoology↗