Seasonal Diet of the Grey Heron Ardea cinerea

11 pages, 1 figure, 5 tables.A total of 7460 prey items were counted in the 199 pellets analysed, of which 96.2% corresponded to arthropods. Aeshnidae larvae (Odonata) made up 66.1% of total prey items and were the main invertebrate group. Vertebrates constituted 3.8%, while reptiles and mammals were the main prey (1.8%, respectively). Despite the small size of the invertebrates, this group reached > 60% in terms of biomass. All main prey items varied significantly among seasons. Odonata was the most important group for all seasons, reaching its maximum value in summer. In the case of vertebrates, reptiles were mainly captured in spring and mammals in winter. With regards to indirect interaction with seeds, a total of 901 seeds associated with lizard remains were found in 77 pellets; indicating that they were previously consumed by these reptiles. External visual damage of seeds was low and only 1.1% was destroyed. No seeds germinated after the four month germination experiment and practically all of them were unviable. In conclusion, these results indicate that Grey Heron diet on islands varies in comparison with continental zones, including an important number of invertebrates and reptiles. Furthermore, this bird acts as an opportunistic secondary seed disperser, although its ecological effect does not seem to be very significant for the dynamics of the Canarian ecosystems.A. Rodríguez and B. Rumeu were partially supported by a postgraduate and a student grant (respectively) from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Crescent MOONS: an update on the ongoing construction of the new VLT's multi-object spectrograph

International audienceThe Multi Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph (MOONS) instrument is the next generation multi-object spectrograph for the VLT. This powerful instrument will combine for the first time: the large collecting power of the VLT with a high multipexing capability offered by 1000 optical fibres moved with individual robotic positioners and a novel, very fast spectrograph able to provide both low- and high-resolution spectroscopy simultaneously across the wavelength range 0.64μm - 1.8μm. Such a facility will provide the astronomical community with a powerful, world-leading instrument able to serve a wide range of Galactic, Extragalactic and Cosmological studies. Th final assembly, integration and verification phase of the instrument is now about to start performance testing

Rising MOONS: an update on the VLT's next multi-object spectrograph as it begins to grow

International audienceAfter completion of its final-design review last year, it is full steam ahead for the construction of the MOONS instrument - the next generation multi-object spectrograph for the VLT. This remarkable instrument will combine for the first time: the 8 m collecting power of the VLT, 1000 optical fibres with individual robotic positioners and both medium- and high-resolution spectral coverage acreoss the wavelength range 0.65μm - 1.8 μm. Such a facility will allow a veritable host of Galactic, Extragalactic and Cosmological questions to be addressed. In this paper we will report on the current status of the instrument, details of the early testing of key components and the major milestones towards its delivery to the telescope

MOONS: The New Multi-Object Spectrograph for the VLT

International audienceMOONS is the new Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph currently under construction for the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at ESO. This remarkable instrument combines, for the first time, the collecting power of an 8-m telescope, 1000 fibres with individual robotic positioners, and both low- and high-resolution simultaneous spectral coverage across the 0.64–1.8 μm wavelength range. This facility will provide the astronomical community with a powerful, world-leading instrument able to serve a wide range of Galactic, extragalactic and cosmological studies. Construction is now proceeding full steam ahead and this overview article presents some of the science goals and the technical description of the MOONS instrument. More detailed information on the MOONS surveys is provided in the other dedicated articles in this Messenger issue