Avoiding competition? Site use, diet and foraging behaviours in two similarly sized geese wintering in China

Competition may occur when two species with similar feeding ecologies exploit the same limited resources in time and space. In recent years, the Eastern Tundra Bean Goose Anser fabalis serrirostris and Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons frontalis have increased in wintering numbers at Shengjin Lake, China. To examine the potential for coexistence and possible avoidance strategies, we studied (1) their habitat use, (2) foraging behaviours and (3) diets of birds foraging in mixed- and single-species flocks. Both species extensively exploited sedge meadows, where they showed considerable overlap in spatial distribution and diet. The percentage feeding time and diet of both species were unaffected by the presence of the other. Greater White-fronted Geese appeared diurnal sedge meadow specialists, almost never feeding in other habitats. Eastern Tundra Bean Geese were less selective, exploiting other habitats, which they increasingly exploited at night in mid-winter. The use of alternative habitats and night feeding may have avoided interspecific competition. While the specialised feeding ecology of Greater White-fronted Geese may make them particularly vulnerable to loss of sedge meadow habitat, Eastern Tundra Bean Geese may be able to adjust because of their use of alternative habitats and a less restricted diet.

The extended Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT Extend) Program : a cluster-randomized controlled trial of an early intervention to prevent childhood obesity

BACKGROUND: Understanding how we can prevent childhood obesity in scalable and sustainable ways is imperative. Early RCT interventions focused on the first two years of life have shown promise however, differences in Body Mass Index between intervention and control groups diminish once the interventions cease. Innovative and cost-effective strategies seeking to continue to support parents to engender appropriate energy balance behaviours in young children need to be explored. METHODS/DESIGN: The Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT) Extend Program builds on the early outcomes of the Melbourne InFANT Program. This cluster randomized controlled trial will test the efficacy of an extended (33 versus 15 month) and enhanced (use of web-based materials, and Facebook® engagement), version of the original Melbourne InFANT Program intervention in a new cohort. Outcomes at 36 months of age will be compared against the control group. DISCUSSION: This trial will provide important information regarding capacity and opportunities to maximize early childhood intervention effectiveness over the first three years of life. This study continues to build the evidence base regarding the design of cost-effective, scalable interventions to promote protective energy balance behaviors in early childhood, and in turn, promote improved child weight and health across the life course. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12611000386932 . Registered 13 April 2011.

The non-advertising effects of screen-based sedentary activities on acute eating behaviours in children, adolescents, and young adults. A systematic review.

Sedentary screen time may be an important determinant of childhood obesity. A number of potential mechanisms to explain the link between screen time and increased bodyweight have been proposed; however, the relationship appears to be best explained by the effects on dietary intake, which is attributed to either food advertising or effects independent of food advertising. Technological advances have allowed for greater accessibility and exposure to advertisement-free screen-based media. This review was conducted to systematically synthesise the evidence from laboratory based studies which have investigated the non-advertising effects of screen time (TV viewing, sedentary video games, and computer use) on dietary intake in children, adolescents, and young adults. MEDLINE, PubMed, PsychInfo, CINAHL, and Embase were searched from inception through 5 July 2013. Ten trials met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Risk of study bias was judged to range from low to high. Screen time in the absence of food advertising was consistently found to be associated with increased dietary intake compared with non-screen behaviours. Suggested explanations for this relationship included: distraction, interruption of physiologic food regulation, screen time as a conditioned cue to eat, disruption of memory formation, and the effects of the stress-induced reward system. Due to the limited number of high-quality studies available for this review, our findings are preliminary. More work is required to better establish the link between dietary intake and advertisement-free screen time and assess whether differences exist between the different screen-based activities.

Effects of message framing on breast-cancer-related beliefs and behaviours: the role of mediating factors

The effects of gain-loss message framing on breast-cancer-related cognitions and behaviors were assessed among 539 women aged 30 to 70 years. The design involved a prebrochure telephone interview, followed by a brochure mailout, and a postbrochure telephone interview. The brochures contained information about breast cancer and the risk of family history. Recommended behaviors were framed to emphasize gains, losses, or were neutral; and statistical risk information was presented either positively or negatively. Measures included demographics, family history, breast self-examination (BSE) performance, BSE intention, self-efficacy in performing BSE, perceived early detection risk of breast cancer, perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, and anxiety about breast cancer. A loss-framed message led to greater positive change in BSE behavior. Interactions between framing effects and variables of issue involvement, perceived early detection risk, and self-efficacy indicated effects on behavior, but not beliefs.

Factors associated with breast and cervical cancer screening behaviours

To investigate the factors associated with the use of screening mammography for breast cancer and cervical smear tests for cervical cancer, a theoretical framework was used comprising elements from the Health Belief Model, the Theory of Reasoned Action, and illness representations from the self-regulatory model. Items reflecting older women’s illness representations about cancer and cancer screening were derived from an earlier qualitative study. Using a highly structured interview schedule, telephone interviews were conducted with 1,200 women aged 50-70 years. There were considerable similarities between the factors associated with both mammography and cervical smear test behaviours. The factors associated with screening mammography behaviour were: perceived barriers, perceived benefits, social influence, the illness representations, and marital status. The factors associated with cervical smear test behaviour were: perceived barriers, perceived benefits, emotions as a cause of cancer, feeling frightened of cancer, the illness representations, having a usual general practitioner, and being younger.

Gay men's estimates of the likelihood of HIV transmission in sexual behaviours

In 3 studies we recorded gay men's estimates of the likelihood that HIV would be transmitted in various sexual behaviours. In Study 1 (data collected 1993, n=92), the men were found to believe that transmissibility is very much greater than it actually is; that insertive unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) by an HIV-infected partner is made safer by withdrawal before ejaculation, and very much safer by withdrawal before either ejaculation or pre-ejaculation; that UAI is very much safer when an infected partner is receptive rather than insertive; that insertive oral sex by an infected partner is much less risky than even the safest variant of UAI; that HIV is less transmissible very early after infection than later on; and that risk accumulates over repeated acts of UAI less than it actually does. In Study 2 (data collected 1997/8, n=200), it was found that younger and older uninfected men generally gave similar estimates of transmissibility, but that infected men gave somewhat lower estimates than uninfected men; and that estimates were unaffected by asking the men to imagine that they themselves, rather than a hypothetical other gay man, were engaging in the behaviours. Comparison of the 1993 and 1997/8 results suggested that there had been some effect of an educational campaign warning of the dangers of withdrawal; however, there had been no effect either of a campaign warning of the dangers of receptive UAI by an infected partner, or of publicity given to the greater transmissibility of HIV shortly after infection. In Study 3 (data collected 1999, n=59), men induced into a positive mood were found to give lower estimates of transmissibility than either men induced into a neutral mood or men induced into a negative mood. It is argued that the results reveal the important contribution made to gay men's transmissibility estimates by cognitive strategies (such as the 'availability heuristic' and 'anchoring and adjustment') known to be general characteristics of human information-processing. Implications of the findings for AIDS education are discussed.

Family food environments as determinants of preschool-aged children`s eating behaviours: implications for obesity prevention policy. A review.

Children's eating behaviours are fundamental to their health. Dietary surveys indicate that children's food consumption is likely to promote a range of diet-related diseases, including overweight and obesity, which are associated with a range of psychosocial and physical disorders. With the prevalence of overweight and obesity rapidly increasing, opportunities for informed prevention have become a focus of strategy. Diet is recognised as important in the genesis of obesity. We present data that demonstrate that eating behaviours are likely to be established early in life and may be maintained into adulthood. We review literature that shows that children's eating behaviours are influenced by the family food environment. These findings suggest that the family environment should be considered in developing obesity prevention strategy for children, yet the current strategy focuses primarily on the school environment. Those factors in the family environment that appear to be important include: parental food preferences and beliefs, children's food exposure; role modelling; media exposure; and child-parent interactions around food. However, the existing data are based on small scale and unrepresentative US samples. At a population level, we have few insights regarding family food environments and consequently little information about how such environments influence children's eating behaviours and thus their risk for obesity. We suggest research that may promote a better understanding of the role of family food environments as determinants of children's eating behaviour, and consider the implications for obesity prevention in Australia. (Aust J Nutr Diet 2001;58:19-25)

A blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) feeding ground in a southern Australian coastal upwelling zone

A localised aggregation of blue whales. which may be pygmy blue whales (B. m. brevicauda), occurs in southern Australian coastal waters (between I39°45'E-143°E) during summer and autumn (December-May), where they feed on coastal krill (Nyctiphanes australis). a species which often forms surface swarms. While the abundance of blue whales using this area is unknown, up to 32 blue whales have been sighted in individual aerial  surveys. Krill appear to aggregate in response to enhanced productivity  resulting from the summer-autumn wind-forced Bonney Coast upwelling along the continental shelf. During the upwelling's quiescent (winter-spring) period. blue whales appear to be absent from the region. Krill surface  swarms have been associated with 48% of 261 blue whale sightings since 1998, with direct evidence of feeding observed in 36% of all sightings. Mean blue whale group size was 1.55 (SD =0.839), with all size classes represented including calves. This seasonally predictable upwelling system is evidently a regular feeding ground for blue whales, and careful  management of human activities is required there.

Social factors and obesity: an investigation of the role of health behaviours

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated a behavioural model of the relation between social factors and obesity, in which differences in body mass index (BMI) across sociodemographic groups were hypothesized to be attributable to social group differences in health behaviours affecting energy expenditure (physical activity, diet and alcohol consumption and weight control).

METHODS: A total of 8667 adults who participated in the 1995 Australian National Health and Nutrition Surveys provided data on a range of health factors including objectively measured height and weight, health behaviours, and social factors including family status, employment status, housing situation and migration status.

RESULTS: Social factors remained significant predictors of BMI after controlling for all health behaviours. Neither social factors alone, nor health behaviours alone, adequately explained the variance in BMI. Gender-specific interactions were found between social factors and individual health behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that social factors moderate the relation between BMI and weight-related behaviours, and that the mechanisms underlying sociodemographic group differences in obesity may vary among men and women. Additional factors are likely to act in conjunction with current health behaviours to explain variation in obesity prevalence across sociodemographic groups.

Why do women of low socioeconomic status have poorer dietary behaviours than women of higher socioeconomic status? A qualitative exploration

In developed countries, persons of low socioeconomic status (SES) are generally less likely to consume diets consistent with dietary guidelines. Little is known about the mechanisms that underlie SES differences in eating behaviours. Since women are often responsible for dietary choices within households, this qualitative study investigated factors that may contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in dietary behaviour among women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 high-, 19 mid- and 18 low- SES women, recruited from Melbourne, Australia, using an area-level indicator of SES. An ecological framework, in which individual, social and environmental level influences on diet were considered, was used to guide the development of interview questions and interpretation of the data. Thematic analysis was undertaken to identify the main themes emerging from the data. Several key influences varied by SES. These included food-related values such as health consciousness, and a lack of time due to family commitments (more salient among higher SES women), as well as perceived high cost of healthy eating and lack of time due to work commitments (more important for low SES women). Reported availability of and access to good quality healthy foods did not differ strikingly across SES groups. Public health strategies aimed at reducing SES inequalities in diet might focus on promoting healthy diets that are low cost, as well as promoting time-efficient food preparation strategies for all women.

A preliminary examination of the diet and feeding of sea sweep Scorpis aequipinnis (Pisces: Scorpididae) from coastal waters of south-western Victoria, Australia

The diet and feeding of sea sweep (Scorpis aequipinnis) was investigated from 230 specimens collected from the south-western Victorian coastline between January and July, 2002. Stomach content analysis indicated that S. aequipinnis are browsing omnivores (55.6% algae, 25.4% animal, by dry weight), with rhodophytes found to be the most important component of their diet (93.5% frequency of occurrence; 42.6% dry weight; 45.5% prey-specific abundance). However, the relative proportions of the major dietary components differed significantly between size classes. The dietary composition of small individuals ( < 150 mm total length) was significantly different to larger individuals, primarily due to a higher degree of carnivory exhibited by the smaller fish. S. aequipinnis were found to be highly flexible feeders exploiting both benthic and pelagic food resources, characterised by irregular periods of selective carnivorous feeding.

Performance of murray cod, Maccullochella peelii peelii (Mitchell) in response to different feeding schedules

The Australian freshwater fish Murray cod, Maccullochella peelii peelii (Mitchell) is gaining popularity as a suitable species for intensive culture, particularly in closed systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of Murray cod in response to different feeding schedules. Growth, survival, food conversion and a range of other related parameters including carcass proximate composition were evaluated for fish in five feed management regimes. The feeding regimes used in the experiment were hand fed to satiation twice daily (SAT), a pre-determined ration of 1.2% of the body weight day−1 which was hand fed twice daily (HFR), and belt fed through the day only (B/D), belt fed through the night only (B/N) and belt fed for 24 h (B/DN). Each of the five feeding regimes was randomly allocated to three tanks (triplicates). All of the feeding regimes used a commercially prepared diet formulated specifically for Murray cod, containing ≈50% protein and ≈16% lipid. The experiment was conducted for 84 days. Specific growth rate ranged from 0.89±0.01 to 1.07±0.04% day−1. Food conversion ratio (FCR) ranged from 1.09±0.02 to 0.92±0.03. The fastest growth and greatest final body weight were observed in the SAT treatment; however, the highest FCR, visceral fat index (VFI %) and hepatosomatic index (HSI %) were also observed in this treatment. Significant differences were found in specific growth rate and final mean weight between fish in the B/D and SAT treatments. B/N and B/DN feeding regimes appeared to result in the most favourable fish performance.

Australian parents` views on their 5-6-year-old children's food choices

The home food environment is central to the development of healthy eating behaviours, but associations between the home food environment and children's food choices are not yet fully understood. The aims of this study were to explore parents' views regarding factors that influence children's food choices and parents' decision-making regarding the food they provide to their children. In-depth one-on-one interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview schedule. Key concepts and themes were coded independently by two investigators. Participants include seventeen parents (16 mothers and 1 father) of children in their first year of formal schooling (aged 5–6 years). Five main themes emerged from the interviews: food marketing, food availability/food exposure, feeding strategies, modelling of eating and opportunities for food involvement. Parents believed that food marketing influenced their child's food preferences but differed in the ways they managed these influences. The food made available to children was also seen to influence what a child ate. Yet, although some parents believed it was the parents' role to determine what foods were made available to their child, others offered food on the basis of the child's tastes or preferences. The use of food as a reward was a feeding strategy employed by many parents. Family mealtimes were seen as an important opportunity for modelling of eating behaviour by parents. Peers were also seen to influence children's food preferences and eating behaviour. Finally, many parents believed that involving children in the preparation of food had a positive impact on children's food choices. Associations between the home food environment and children's food choices are complex and involve multiple mediators. Parents' views on the promoters and reinforcers of their decision-making regarding food and their child's food choices provide useful insights into these mediating factors. Increased understanding of these relationships is likely to enhance obesity prevention efforts.

Feeding the chooks in the country: a study of successful public relations media strategies in regional Victoria

"Media reporting on regional issues has tended to focus on the negative leaving many urban based Australians with a bleak portrait of rural Australia and it's fuure." (McNeill 2003) This paper looks at the two regional centres of Ballarat and Warrnambool. Through analysis of local papers and in conjunction with interviews with local journalists and public relations practitioners, it begins a dissection of the news production process in these locales. Content analysis reveals the nature of news coverage and the role of key sources, in particular public relations, determining the type of coverage in these centres.