2. Behavioral Biology TALKS - Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft

summer and are able to attain their required food, we conclude that an 88-ha
enclosure is suitable for this herd regarding the nutritional and ethological
requirements during summer. As additional feeding is provided during winter, the
animals limit their home range size to a core area of < 1,1 ha.
We also tested for correlations between habitat use and environmental factors. We
found the strongest correlations between ground coverage by grasses and total grass
biomass available. The animals avoided beech forests, prefer pine forests and open
areas as well as the respective shrub habitats. We found no correlations with the
overall shrub-coverage, although the animals feed on several taxa.
We additionally categorized the area in eight habitat types and calculated the
modified Jacob's index for each season (vegetation-time versus non-vegetation-time).
This revealed the animals avoid beech forests and prefer pine forests, storm
damaged areas and grasslands. All other habitat types are used at random. The
feeding site used frequently in both seasons.
This leads to the conclusion that the nutritional requirements are crucial for the
habitat preference of Bison bonasus and most important for shaping their home
ranges.
����33 Peggy Gerullis
Activity of fins ensures a stable position during the focussing phase of the
archerfish shot
Authors: Peggy Gerullis 1 , Stefan Schuster 1
Affiliation: 1 Universität Bayreuth – Department of Animal Physiology
Archerfish are well-known to shoot down a variety of different prey by means of a
precisely aimed water jet released from their mouth. As soon as the water is released
resulting forces should lead to a backward movement of the fish which could
influence the shot. However, archerfish fully compensate this recoil and keep their
position and orientation surprisingly stable during the complete focussing phase of
the jet. Using high-speed-video recordings, we show that this stability is ensured by
means of an ingenious activation of the fins. Here, a key factor is the movement
pattern of the pectoral and pelvic fins, which in turn is perfectly coordinated with the
jet.
����34 Ruben Andres Berthé
Body posture control in Drosophila during aerial maneuvering
Authors: Ruben Andres Berthé 1 , Fritz-Olaf Lehmann 1
Affiliation: 1 BioFuture Research Group, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Ulm
Elaborate neuromuscular support for body posture control is a key feature of most
animals. Especially in flying animals such as birds, bats, and insects, wing control
requires a finely tuned underlying motor system during aerial maneuvering. Since
wing flapping must also support the animal’s body weight, many animals steer by
employing only subtle changes in wing motion. Moreover, animals typically employ
several redundant motor control systems that synergistically enhance overall
locomotor performance.
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