@article{RietschEccardScheffler2013, author = {Rietsch, Katrin and Eccard, Jana and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Decreased external skeletal robustness due to reduced physical activity?}, series = {American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council}, volume = {25}, journal = {American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council}, number = {3}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1042-0533}, doi = {10.1002/ajhb.22389}, pages = {404 -- 410}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Objectives Childhood obesity is a global problem, e.g., due to physical inactivity. External skeletal robustness (Frame-Index) has decreased in German schoolchildren. An association between Frame-Index and physical activity was assumed. Further often body mass index (BMI) is analyzed without reference to bone structure. Therefore, we analyze relationships between Frame-Index, BMI, \% body fat, and physical activity. Methods In a cross-sectional study, 691 German children aged 610 years were investigated. BMI, \% body fat, Frame-Index, total steps p.w., sports club rate p.w., training time p.d., and TV-time p.d. were determined. Results Total steps (P<0.001), BMI (P<0.001), and \% body fat (P=0.024) are positively linked to Frame-Index. Total steps (P<0.001), sports club rate (P=0.001), and training time (P<0.001) are negatively associated with \% body fat. Total steps (P=0.017) are negatively linked to BMI. TV-time is positively related to BMI (P<0.001) and \% body fat (P<0.001). \% Body fat is affected by age (P<0.001), sex (P=0.028), and total steps (P=0.002). BMI is influenced by age (P<0.001), and Frame-Index by sex (P<0.001) and total steps (P=0.029). Principal component analysis indicates an association between BMI and TV-time and Frame-Index and total steps. Conclusions We demonstrate an association between external skeletal robustness and physical activity, which is not captured by in BMI measurements. Children should be physically active in order to maintain skeletal robustness. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 25:404410, 2013.}, language = {en} } @article{RietschEccardScheffler2013, author = {Rietsch, Katrin and Eccard, Jana and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Decreased external skeletal robustness due to reduced physical activity?}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @article{LiesnjohannLiesnjohannPalmeetal.2013, author = {Liesnjohann, Monique and Liesnjohann, Thilo and Palme, Rupert and Eccard, Jana}, title = {Differential behavioural and endocrine responses of commonvoles (Microtus arvalis) to nest predators and resource competitors}, doi = {10.1186/1472-6785-13-33}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @article{LiesenjohannLiesenjohannPalmeetal.2013, author = {Liesenjohann, Monique and Liesenjohann, Thilo and Palme, Rupert and Eccard, Jana}, title = {Differential behavioural and endocrine responses of common voles (Microtus arvalis) to nest predators and resource competitors}, series = {BMC ecology}, volume = {13}, journal = {BMC ecology}, number = {17}, publisher = {BioMed Central}, address = {London}, issn = {1472-6785}, doi = {10.1186/1472-6785-13-33}, pages = {10}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background: Adaptive behavioural strategies promoting co-occurrence of competing species are known to result from a sympatric evolutionary past. Strategies should be different for indirect resource competition (exploitation, e.g., foraging and avoidance behaviour) than for direct interspecific interference (e.g., aggression, vigilance, and nest guarding). We studied the effects of resource competition and nest predation in sympatric small mammal species using semi-fossorial voles and shrews, which prey on vole offspring during their sensitive nestling phase. Experiments were conducted in caged outdoor enclosures. Focus common vole mothers (Microtus arvalis) were either caged with a greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) as a potential nest predator, with an herbivorous field vole (Microtus agrestis) as a heterospecific resource competitor, or with a conspecific resource competitor. Results: We studied behavioural adaptations of vole mothers during pregnancy, parturition, and early lactation, specifically modifications of the burrow architecture and activity at burrow entrances. Further, we measured pre- and postpartum faecal corticosterone metabolites (FCMs) of mothers to test for elevated stress hormone levels. Only in the presence of the nest predator were prepartum FCMs elevated, but we found no loss of vole nestlings and no differences in nestling body weight in the presence of the nest predator or the heterospecific resource competitor. Although the presence of both the shrew and the field vole induced prepartum modifications to the burrow architecture, only nest predators caused an increase in vigilance time at burrow entrances during the sensitive nestling phase. Conclusion: Voles displayed an adequate behavioural response for both resource competitors and nest predators. They modified burrow architecture to improve nest guarding and increased their vigilance at burrow entrances to enhance offspring survival chances. Our study revealed differential behavioural adaptations to resource competitors and nest predators.}, language = {en} } @misc{LiesenjohannLiesenjohannPalmeetal.2013, author = {Liesenjohann, Monique and Liesenjohann, Thilo and Palme, Rupert and Eccard, Jana}, title = {Differential behavioural and endocrine responses of common voles (Microtus arvalis) to nest predators and resource competitors}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401184}, pages = {10}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background: Adaptive behavioural strategies promoting co-occurrence of competing species are known to result from a sympatric evolutionary past. Strategies should be different for indirect resource competition (exploitation, e.g., foraging and avoidance behaviour) than for direct interspecific interference (e.g., aggression, vigilance, and nest guarding). We studied the effects of resource competition and nest predation in sympatric small mammal species using semi-fossorial voles and shrews, which prey on vole offspring during their sensitive nestling phase. Experiments were conducted in caged outdoor enclosures. Focus common vole mothers (Microtus arvalis) were either caged with a greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) as a potential nest predator, with an herbivorous field vole (Microtus agrestis) as a heterospecific resource competitor, or with a conspecific resource competitor. Results: We studied behavioural adaptations of vole mothers during pregnancy, parturition, and early lactation, specifically modifications of the burrow architecture and activity at burrow entrances. Further, we measured pre- and postpartum faecal corticosterone metabolites (FCMs) of mothers to test for elevated stress hormone levels. Only in the presence of the nest predator were prepartum FCMs elevated, but we found no loss of vole nestlings and no differences in nestling body weight in the presence of the nest predator or the heterospecific resource competitor. Although the presence of both the shrew and the field vole induced prepartum modifications to the burrow architecture, only nest predators caused an increase in vigilance time at burrow entrances during the sensitive nestling phase. Conclusion: Voles displayed an adequate behavioural response for both resource competitors and nest predators. They modified burrow architecture to improve nest guarding and increased their vigilance at burrow entrances to enhance offspring survival chances. Our study revealed differential behavioural adaptations to resource competitors and nest predators.}, language = {en} } @article{JeltschBontePeeretal.2013, author = {Jeltsch, Florian and Bonte, Dries and Peer, Guy and Reineking, Bj{\"o}rn and Leimgruber, Peter and Balkenhol, Niko and Schr{\"o}der-Esselbach, Boris and Buchmann, Carsten M. and M{\"u}ller, Thomas and Blaum, Niels and Zurell, Damaris and B{\"o}hning-Gaese, Katrin and Wiegand, Thorsten and Eccard, Jana and Hofer, Heribert and Reeg, Jette and Eggers, Ute and Bauer, Silke}, title = {Integrating movement ecology with biodiversity research - exploring new avenues to address spatiotemporal biodiversity dynamics}, doi = {10.1186/2051-3933-1-6}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @misc{JeltschBontePe'eretal.2013, author = {Jeltsch, Florian and Bonte, Dries and Pe'er, Guy and Reineking, Bj{\"o}rn and Leimgruber, Peter and Balkenhol, Niko and Schr{\"o}der-Esselbach, Boris and Buchmann, Carsten M. and M{\"u}ller, Thomas and Blaum, Niels and Zurell, Damaris and B{\"o}hning-Gaese, Katrin and Wiegand, Thorsten and Eccard, Jana and Hofer, Heribert and Reeg, Jette and Eggers, Ute and Bauer, Silke}, title = {Integrating movement ecology with biodiversity research}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401177}, pages = {13}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Movement of organisms is one of the key mechanisms shaping biodiversity, e.g. the distribution of genes, individuals and species in space and time. Recent technological and conceptual advances have improved our ability to assess the causes and consequences of individual movement, and led to the emergence of the new field of 'movement ecology'. Here, we outline how movement ecology can contribute to the broad field of biodiversity research, i.e. the study of processes and patterns of life among and across different scales, from genes to ecosystems, and we propose a conceptual framework linking these hitherto largely separated fields of research. Our framework builds on the concept of movement ecology for individuals, and demonstrates its importance for linking individual organismal movement with biodiversity. First, organismal movements can provide 'mobile links' between habitats or ecosystems, thereby connecting resources, genes, and processes among otherwise separate locations. Understanding these mobile links and their impact on biodiversity will be facilitated by movement ecology, because mobile links can be created by different modes of movement (i.e., foraging, dispersal, migration) that relate to different spatiotemporal scales and have differential effects on biodiversity. Second, organismal movements can also mediate coexistence in communities, through 'equalizing' and 'stabilizing' mechanisms. This novel integrated framework provides a conceptual starting point for a better understanding of biodiversity dynamics in light of individual movement and space-use behavior across spatiotemporal scales. By illustrating this framework with examples, we argue that the integration of movement ecology and biodiversity research will also enhance our ability to conserve diversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.}, language = {en} } @article{HerdeEccard2013, author = {Herde, Antje and Eccard, Jana}, title = {Consistency in boldness, activity and exploration at different stages of life}, doi = {10.1186/1472-6785-13-49}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @article{HerdeEccard2013, author = {Herde, Antje and Eccard, Jana}, title = {Consistency in boldness, activity and exploration at different stages of life}, series = {BMC ecology}, volume = {13}, journal = {BMC ecology}, number = {12}, publisher = {BioMed Central}, address = {London}, issn = {1472-6785}, doi = {10.1186/1472-6785-13-49}, pages = {10}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background: Animals show consistent individual behavioural patterns over time and over situations. This phenomenon has been referred to as animal personality or behavioural syndromes. Little is known about consistency of animal personalities over entire life times. We investigated the repeatability of behaviour in common voles (Microtus arvalis) at different life stages, with different time intervals, and in different situations. Animals were tested using four behavioural tests in three experimental groups: 1. before and after maturation over three months, 2. twice as adults during one week, and 3. twice as adult animals over three months, which resembles a substantial part of their entire adult life span of several months. Results: Different behaviours were correlated within and between tests and a cluster analysis showed three possible behavioural syndrome-axes, which we name boldness, exploration and activity. Activity and exploration behaviour in all tests was highly repeatable in adult animals tested over one week. In animals tested over maturation, exploration behaviour was consistent whereas activity was not. Voles that were tested as adults with a three-month interval showed the opposite pattern with stable activity but unstable exploration behaviour. Conclusions: The consistency in behaviour over time suggests that common voles do express stable personality over short time. Over longer periods however, behaviour is more flexible and depending on life stage (i.e. tested before/after maturation or as adults) of the tested individual. Level of boldness or activity does not differ between tested groups and maintenance of variation in behavioural traits can therefore not be explained by expected future assets as reported in other studies.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{GraccevaHerdeKoolhaasetal.2013, author = {Gracceva, Giulia and Herde, Antje and Koolhaas, J. M. and Palme, R. and Eccard, Jana and Groothuis, T. G. G.}, title = {Turning shy on winter's day effects of season on personality and stress response in Microtus arvalis}, series = {Integrative and comparative biology}, volume = {53}, booktitle = {Integrative and comparative biology}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Cary}, issn = {1540-7063}, pages = {E80 -- E80}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @article{EccardKlemme2013, author = {Eccard, Jana and Klemme, Ines}, title = {Reducing mortality of shrews in rodent live trapping - a method increasing live-trap selectivity with shrew exits}, series = {Annales zoologici Fennici : descriptive, analytic and experimental zoology from the boreal region}, volume = {50}, journal = {Annales zoologici Fennici : descriptive, analytic and experimental zoology from the boreal region}, number = {6}, publisher = {Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board}, address = {Helsinki}, issn = {0003-455X}, pages = {371 -- 376}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Shrews have very high metabolic rates and are often unintentionally starved in rodent live-traps during capture mark recapture (CMR) studies. Here, we suggest a shrew exit as a modification to rodent traps. To test whether this modification is (1) saving shrews and (2) not jeopardizing results of rodent captures, we compared captures in Ugglan traps with and without shrew exits, studying bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in a spruce forest in central Finland. Numbers of captured bank voles and body size of smallest juvenile bank voles were not affected by the shrew exit, while the number of captured common shrews (Sorex araneus) was reduced from 31 to 0 individuals per 100 trap nights. However, rare larger shrew species (> 8 g body weight) could not escape through the exit. A shrew exit can, therefore, save smaller shrew species in standard live-trapping of vole-sized rodents without affecting CMR data of the rodent.}, language = {en} } @article{EccardHerde2013, author = {Eccard, Jana and Herde, Antje}, title = {Seasonal variation in the behaviour of a short-lived rodent}, doi = {10.1186/1472-6785-13-43}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @misc{EccardHerde2013, author = {Eccard, Jana and Herde, Antje}, title = {Seasonal variation in the behaviour of a short-lived rodent}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401370}, pages = {9}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background: Short lived, iteroparous animals in seasonal environments experience variable social and environmental conditions over their lifetime. Animals can be divided into those with a "young-of-the-year" life history (YY, reproducing and dying in the summer of birth) and an "overwinter" life history (OW, overwintering in a subadult state before reproducing next spring). We investigated how behavioural patterns across the population were affected by season and sex, and whether variation in behaviour reflects the variation in life history patterns of each season. Applications of pace-of-life (POL) theory would suggest that long-lived OW animals are shyer in order to increase survival, and YY are bolder in order to increase reproduction. Therefore, we expected that in winter and spring samples, when only OW can be sampled, the animals should be shyer than in summer and autumn, when both OW and YY animals can be sampled. We studied common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations, which express typical, intra-annual density fluctuation. We captured a total of 492 voles at different months over 3 years and examined boldness and activity level with two standardised behavioural experiments. Results: Behavioural variables of the two tests were correlated with each other. Boldness, measured as short latencies in both tests, was extremely high in spring compared to other seasons. Activity level was highest in spring and summer, and higher in males than in females. Conclusion: Being bold in laboratory tests may translate into higher risk-taking in nature by being more mobile while seeking out partners or valuable territories. Possible explanations include asset-protection, with OW animals being rather old with low residual reproductive value in spring. Therefore, OW may take higher risks during this season. Offspring born in spring encounter a lower population density and may have higher reproductive value than offspring of later cohorts. A constant connection between life history and animal personality, as suggested by the POL theory, however, was not found. Nevertheless, correlations of traits suggest the existence of animal personalities. In conclusion, complex patterns of population dynamics, seasonal variation in life histories, and variability of behaviour due to asset-protection may cause complex seasonal behavioural dynamics in a population.}, language = {en} }