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Limpets are a key taxon regulating the benthic community structure and serving as prey for various predators in rocky shores, however, their role in food web dynamics is still unclear. To determine environmental factors influencing the limpet diet, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in limpets and food sources were analyzed on three different coastal habitats. Sediment organic matter contributed the most (86 %) to the limpet diet in bedrocks around tidal flats with abundant sediment supply from the terrestrial matter inflow and the sediment resuspension. Microphytobenthos and macroalgae were the main food sources (57 % and 20 %, respectively) for the limpets around beaches, where benthic flora was abundant. Limpets in bedrocks, erosional habitat, primarily consumed relatively abundant phytoplankton (33 %) and microphytobenthos (28 %). Contrary to previous studies, habitat type, rather than latitude or seawater characteristics, was the most important factor determining the limpet diet. This result also suggests that limpets are non-selective scraper that consume abundant food sources.
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This study assesses the nutritional composition and safety of lab-produced snail flour derived from Helix aspersa aspersa, an herbivorous pulmonated gastropod mollusc that occupies various trophic levels in food chains. Our analysis focused on key nutritional aspects, including moisture, ash, protein, and fat contents. Contaminant analysis on the powder showed levels below detectable limits for PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs. The heavy metal concentration was found to be either on par with or lower than values reported in existing literature, indicating the safety of these snail powders for human consumption. Our results revealed a notable presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids and essential amino acids and strongly support the idea that snail powders can serve as sustainable protein sources in both human and animal diets.
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Rapid urbanization is a major cause of habitat and biodiversity loss and human-animal conflict. While urbanization is inevitable, we need to develop a good understanding of the urban ecosystem and the urban-adapted species, in order to ensure sustainable cities for our future. Scavengers play a major role in urban ecosystems, and often, urban adaptation involves a shift towards scavenging behaviour in wild animals. We experimented at different sites in the state of West Bengal, India, to identify the scavenging guild within urban habitats, in response to human-provided food. Our study found a total of 17 different vertebrate species across 15 sites, over 498 sessions of observations. We carried out network analysis to understand the dynamics of the system and found that the free-ranging dog and common myna were key species within the scavenging networks. This study revealed the complexity of scavenging networks within human-dominated habitats. This article is part of the theme issue 'Connected interactions: enriching food web research by spatial and social interactions'.
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Ecossistema , Animais , Índia , Cadeia Alimentar , Urbanização , Humanos , Biodiversidade , Comportamento Alimentar , Cidades , Vertebrados/fisiologia , Animais Selvagens/fisiologiaRESUMO
How alien pests invade new areas has always been a hot topic in invasion biology. The spread of the Bactrocera dorsalis from southern to northern China involved changes in food sources. In this paper, in controlled conditions, we take Bactrocera dorsalis as an example to study how plant host transformation affects gut bacteria by feeding it its favorite host oranges in the south, its favorite host peaches and apples in the north, and feeding it cucumbers as a non-favorite host plant, thereby further affecting their fitness during invasion. The result showed that, after three generations of feeding on cucumbers, Bactrocera dorsalis took longer to develop as a larva while its longevity and fecundity decreased and pre-adult mortality increased. Feeding it cucumbers significantly reduced the overall diversity of gut microbiota of Bactrocera dorsalis. The relative abundance of Enterobacter necessary for survival decreased, while the Empedobacter and Enterococcus increased, resulting in decreased carbohydrate transport and metabolism and increased lipid transport and metabolism. Feeding Bactrocera dorsalis Empedobacter brevis and Enterococcus faecalis resulted in a 26% increase in pre-adult mortality and a 2-3 d increase in adult preoviposition period (APOP). Additionally, Enterococcus faecalis decreased the longevity of female and male adults by 17 and 12 d, respectively, and decreased fecundity by 11%. We inferred that the shifted plant hosts played an important role in posing serious harm to Bactrocera dorsalis invading from the south to the north. Therefore, after an invasion of Bactrocera dorsalis into northern China, it is difficult to colonize cucumbers for a long time, but there is still a risk of short-term harm. The findings of this study have established that the interactions between an insect's food source and gut bacteria may have an important effect on insect invasions.
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Edible fungi are a valuable resource in the search for sustainable solutions to environmental pollution. Their ability to degrade organic pollutants, extract heavy metals, and restore ecological balance has a huge potential for bioremediation. They are also sustainable food resources. Edible fungi (basidiomycetes or fungi from other divisions) represent an underutilized resource in the field of bioremediation. By maximizing their unique capabilities, it is possible to develop innovative approaches for addressing environmental contamination. The aim of the present study was to find selective chemical agents suppressing the growth of microfungi and bacteria, but not suppressing white-rot fungi, in order to perform large-scale cultivation of white-rot fungi in natural unsterile substrates and use it for different purposes. One application could be the preparation of a matrix composed of wooden sleeper (contaminated with PAHs) and soil for further hazardous waste bioremediation using white-rot fungi. In vitro microbiological methods were applied, such as, firstly, compatibility tests between bacteria and white-rot fungi or microfungi, allowing us to evaluate the interaction between different organisms, and secondly, the addition of chemicals on the surface of a Petri dish with a test strain of microorganisms of white-rot fungi, allowing us to determine the impact of chemicals on the growth of organisms. This study shows that white-rot fungi are not compatible to grow with several rhizobacteria or bacteria isolated from soil and bioremediated waste. Therefore, the impact of several inorganic materials, such as lime (hydrated form), charcoal, dolomite powder, ash, gypsum, phosphogypsum, hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, and sodium hydroxide, was evaluated on the growth of microfungi (sixteen strains), white-rot fungi (three strains), and bacteria (nine strains) in vitro. Charcoal, dolomite powder, gypsum, and phosphogypsum did not suppress the growth either of microfungi or of bacteria in the tested substrate, and even acted as promoters of their growth. The effects of the other agents tested were strain dependent. Potassium permanganate could be used for bacteria and Candida spp. growth suppression, but not for other microfungi. Lime showed promising results by suppressing the growth of microfungi and bacteria, but it also suppressed the growth of white-rot fungi. Hydrogen peroxide showed strong suppression of microfungi, and even had a bactericidal effect on some bacteria, but did not have an impact on white-rot fungi. The study highlights the practical utility of using hydrogen peroxide up to 3% as an effective biota-suppressing chemical agent prior to inoculating white-rot fungi in the large-scale bioremediation of polluted substrates, or in the large-scale cultivation for mushroom production as a foodstuff.
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The continuous detection of multi-drug-resistant enterococci in food source environments has aroused widespread concern. In this study, 198 samples from chicken products, animal feces, raw milk, and vegetables were collected in Japan and Egypt to investigate the prevalence of enterococci and virulence characterization. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was employed for species identification and taxonomic analysis of the isolates. The results showed that the rates of most virulence genes (efaA, gelE, asa1, ace, and hyl) in the Japanese isolates were slightly higher than those in the Egyptian isolates. The rate of efaA was the highest (94.9 %) among seven virulence genes detected, but the cylA gene was not detected in all isolates, which was in accordance with γ-type hemolysis phenotype. In Enterococcus faecalis, the rate of kanamycin-resistant strains was the highest (84.75 %) among the antibiotics tested. Moreover, 78 % of E. faecalis strains exhibited multi-drug resistance. Four moderately vancomycin-resistant strains were found in Egyptian isolates, but none were found in Japanese isolates. MALDI-TOF MS analysis correctly identified 98.5 % (68/69) of the Enterococcus isolates. In the principal component analysis dendrogram, strains isolated from the same region with the same virulence characteristics and similar biofilm-forming abilities were characterized by clustered distribution in different clusters. This finding highlights the potential of MALDI-TOF MS for classifying E. faecalis strains from food sources.
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Antibacterianos , Biofilmes , Enterococcus , Microbiologia de Alimentos , Espectrometria de Massas por Ionização e Dessorção a Laser Assistida por Matriz , Fatores de Virulência , Biofilmes/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Enterococcus/genética , Enterococcus/patogenicidade , Enterococcus/efeitos dos fármacos , Enterococcus/isolamento & purificação , Fatores de Virulência/genética , Animais , Egito , Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Verduras/microbiologia , Japão , Galinhas , Leite/microbiologia , Fezes/microbiologia , Testes de Sensibilidade Microbiana , Farmacorresistência Bacteriana , Farmacorresistência Bacteriana Múltipla , Contaminação de Alimentos/análiseRESUMO
Although jellyfish represent a food source in Asia, limited attention has been devoted to investigating Western consumers' perception and acceptance. This study explored the role of jellyfish body parts and presentation form in determining consumer perception. A local consumer test with 106 untrained subjects (57.5% female, 18-45 years) was performed in Italy over two days on six samples of jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum Kishinouye) differing in terms of body parts (umbrella and oral arms) and presentation form (minced, striped, and pieced). For each sample, participants expressed their overall liking and, through three check-all-that-apply tests, described their perceived sensory properties and emotions and potential preferred food pairings. The results showed a significant effect of presentation form on liking (with striped and minced samples liked more than pieced samples), 18 sensory properties, four emotions, and five food pairings. Moreover, different drivers of liking and emotions were observed for three clusters of subjects named "In favour of", "Against", and "Picky towards" eating jellyfish. In conclusion, this study found that at least one segment of consumers could accept jellyfish as novel food. Moreover, the provided results could be useful for developing innovative jellyfish-based products and dishes that meet consumers' expectations.
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According to the United Nations, more than 800 million people are exposed to starvation. It is predicted that the world population will face much more serious starvation for reasons such as global warming, diseases, economic problems, rapid urbanization, and destruction of agricultural areas and water resources. Thus, there are significant hesitations about the sustainability of food resources, and the search for alternative food sources has increased. One of the leading alternative food sources is insects. Although the use of edible insects has been accepted in some areas of the world, entomophagy is not preferred in some countries due to sociocultural conditions, health concerns, neophobia, and entomophobia. Many people do not accept the direct consumption of raw insects, but insects can be transformed into more preferred forms by using different cooking techniques. Some ground edible insects are satisfactory in terms of nutritional value and have a reasonable level of acceptability when added to products such as bread, tortilla, and pasta in varying percentages. The world market value of edible insects was estimated to be US$3.2 million in 2021 and US$17.6 billion in 2032. In this review, the current and future situation of insects as an alternative food source is comprehensively discussed.
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PURPOSE: Dietary fiber is a possible nutritional component which aids in the prevention of visceral fat accumulation. We examined the association between dietary fiber intake and visceral fat volume (VFV) by sex, and further analysed the association by major food sources of dietary fiber. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we measured VFV in 2779 Japanese (1564 men and 1215 women) aged 40-89 who underwent positron emission tomography/computed tomography for cancer screening between 2004 and 2005. Dietary fiber intake was calculated based on a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The association between dietary fiber intake and VFV was investigated using multivariate linear regression models after adjustment for potential confounders. RESULTS: Total, soluble, and insoluble fiber intakes were inversely associated with VFV in men (Q1: 3740 cm3, Q4: 3517 cm3, Ptrend: 0.0006 for total fiber), but not in women (Q1: 2207 cm3, Q4: 2193 cm3,Ptrend: 0.88 for total fiber). Statistically significant sex difference was observed (Pinteraction = 0.001 for total fiber). Subgroup analyses by major food sources revealed that dietary fiber intakes from beans, vegetables and fruits showed an inverse association with VFV in men, while cereal fiber intake showed a tendency toward a positive association in both sexes (Q1: 3520 cm3, Q4: 3671 cm3, Ptrend: 0.05 in men, Q1: 2147 cm3, Q4: 2227 cm3, Ptrend: 0.10 in women). CONCLUSION: We observed a sex-specific association between dietary fiber intake and VFV in Japanese adults. This study suggests that efforts against visceral fat accumulation should take account of the source of dietary fiber.
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Fibras na Dieta , Gordura Intra-Abdominal , Humanos , Fibras na Dieta/administração & dosagem , Masculino , Feminino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Transversais , Idoso , Japão , Adulto , Fatores Sexuais , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Dieta/métodos , Dieta/estatística & dados numéricos , Inquéritos e Questionários , Índice de Massa Corporal , População do Leste AsiáticoRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Previous studies reported mixed results on associations between dietary potassium intake and hyperkalemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study investigated the association between potassium intake from different food sources and hyperkalemia in patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD. METHODS: A total of 285 patients were recruited at a university hospital and 2 city hospitals in Tokyo. Dietary potassium intake was estimated by a validated diet history questionnaire. Associations of potassium intake from all foods and individual food groups with serum potassium were examined by multivariable linear regression among potassium binder nonusers. An association between tertile groups of potassium intake and hyperkalemia, defined as serum potassium ≥5.0 mEq/L, was evaluated by multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 245 potassium binder nonusers, total potassium intake was weakly associated with serum potassium (regression coefficient = 0.147, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.018-0.277), while an association with hyperkalemia was not observed (first vs third tertile: adjusted odds ratio = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.29-3.26). As for food groups, potassium intakes from potatoes, pulses, and green/yellow vegetables were positively associated with serum potassium. Patients in the highest tertile of potassium intake from potatoes had higher odds of hyperkalemia as compared to those in the lowest tertile (adjusted odds ratio = 4.12, 95% CI: 1.19-14.34). CONCLUSION: Total potassium intake was weakly associated with serum potassium, but not with hyperkalemia. Potassium intake from potatoes was associated with hyperkalemia. These findings highlight the importance of considering food sources of potassium in the management of hyperkalemia in CKD.
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The food insecurity due to a vertical increase in the global population urgently demands substantial advancements in the agricultural sector and to identify sustainable affordable sources of nutrition, particularly proteins. Single-cell protein (SCP) has been revealed as the dried biomass of microorganisms such as algae, yeast, and bacteria cultivated in a controlled environment. Production of SCP is a promising alternative to conventional protein sources like soy and meat, due to quicker production, minimal land requirement, and flexibility to various climatic conditions. In addition to protein production, it also contributes to waste management by converting it into food and feed for both human and animal consumption. This article provides an overview of SCP production, including its benefits, safety, acceptability, and cost, as well as limitations that constrains its maximum use. Furthermore, this review criticizes the downstream processing of SCP, encompassing cell wall disruption, removal of nucleic acid, harvesting of biomass, drying, packaging, storage, and transportation. The potential applications of SCP, such as in food and feed as well as in the production of bioplastics, emulsifiers, and as flavoring agents for baked food, soup, and salad, are also discussed.
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Proteínas Alimentares , Gerenciamento de Resíduos , Gerenciamento de Resíduos/métodos , Proteínas , Biomassa , HumanosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that meal timing may influence dietary choices and mental health. Thus, this study examined the association between macronutrient consumption quality, food source, meal timing, and depression prevalence in Americans. METHODS: 23,313 National Health and Nutrition Survey participants from 2007 to 2016 were included in this cross-sectional study. Macronutrient intake was calculated for all day, dinner, and breakfast and subtypes into 4 classes. Based on the Patient Health Questionnaire, depression was defined as a 9-item score ≥ 10 on the PHQ-9. The correlation between macronutrients and depression prevalence was estimated with multivariable logistic regression models and isocaloric substitution effects. RESULTS: Low-quality carbohydrates (OR = 1.54, 95 % CI: 1.11, 2.12) were positively linked to depression compared with the lowest quartile, after adjusting for age and other covariates. In contrast, total high-quality carbohydrate (OR = 0.52, 95 % CI: 0.40, 0.66), total animal protein (OR = 0.60, 95 % CI: 0.45, 0.80), and total vegetable protein (OR = 0.61, 95 % CI: 0.43, 0.85) were negatively associated with depression was negatively associated. Replacing low-quality carbohydrates with high-quality carbohydrates throughout the day reduced the risk of depression by approximately 15 %. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional data. CONCLUSION: All in all, diet plays a crucial role in the prevention and treatment of depression. Especially in terms of macronutrient intake, high-quality, moderate intake can reduce the risk of depression. However, different subtypes of macronutrient consumption may have different effects on depression, so it becomes crucial to carefully consider the selection and combination of macronutrients.
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Depressão , Ingestão de Energia , Adulto , Humanos , Estudos Transversais , Depressão/epidemiologia , Gorduras na Dieta , Proteínas Alimentares , Nutrientes , Dieta , Carboidratos da Dieta , Qualidade dos AlimentosRESUMO
Tenebrio molitor larvae are the first insect species to be given a favorable assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as a novel food source, enabling consumption of whole insect larvae or larvae that have been powdered and processed into a variety of food products. Pressure from economic hardships and increase in population growth have paved a way for the realization of an alternative food source in Zimbabwe. This study focused on determining the potential toxicity of Tenebrio molitor larvae powder as an alternative food source for humans. To determine the sub-chronic toxicity of Tenebrio molitor, the powder was administered daily by oral gavage to Sprague-Dawley rats at dose levels of 0, 300, 1000 and 3000 mg/kg for 70 days. A toxicological assessment which included mortality, appearance of clinical symptoms, food consumption, organ and body weight changes were performed. There were no treatment-related mortalities, clinical signs, changes in food consumption, body and organ weights observed during the treatment period. The study's findings suggest Tenebrio molitor larvae to be a good alternative as it did not appear to affect the rats' normal physiological and metabolic processes hence can be considered safe for human consumption. However, further studies on hematological, histological and biochemical markers may be necessary for confirmation of these current results.
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The larvae of speckled emperor moths (Gynanisa maja) are important plant defoliators in savanna ecosystems of southern Africa and a valuable food resource for indigenous communities. Population explosions of G. maja larvae can negatively impact an area's primary productivity thereby altering herbivory patterns and associated ecosystem processes. Harvests of the larvae enhance socio-economic livelihoods of local people by providing a source of protein and improving household incomes. We report on a population outbreak of G. maja larvae that occurred in south-eastern Zimbabwe between December 2022 and January 2023 and discuss the ecological and social significance of the event. A total biomass weight of 5811 tons of G. maja larvae was estimated over the area of the outbreak and extensive defoliation was recorded in Colophospermum mopane trees. We could not associate the outbreak with any obvious environmental conditions and speculate that it may have been caused by subtle triggers that are not easily identified.
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Mites of the genus Thyreophagus (Acari: Acaridae) are distributed worldwide; they inhabit concealed habitats and include several beneficial and economically important species. However, species identification is difficult because many species are poorly described or delimited and their phoretic stages are unknown or uncorrelated. Furthermore, Thyreophagus is interesting because it includes entirely asexual (parthenogenetic) species. However, among the 34 described species of Thyreophagus, the asexual status is confirmed through laboratory rearing for only two species. Here, we provide detailed descriptions of five new species from North America (four) and Europe (one) based on adults and phoretic heteromorphic deutonymphs. Four of these species were asexual, while one was sexual. For most of these mites, the asexual status was confirmed and phoretic deutonymphs were obtained through rearing in the lab. We show that asexual mites retain seemingly functional copulatory and sperm storage systems, indicating that these lineages have relatively short evolutionary lifespans. One North American species, Thyreophagus ojibwe, was found in association with the native American chestnut Castanea dentata, suggesting a possibility that this mite can be used to control chestnut blight in North America. We also provide a diagnostic key to females, males, and heteromorphic deutonymphs of the Thyreophagus species in the world.
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Polar regions are warming faster than the world average and are profoundly affected by changes in the spatio-temporal dynamics of sea ice, with largely unknown repercussions on the functioning of marine ecosystems. Here, we investigated the impacts of interannual sea-ice variability on coastal benthic communities in Antarctica, focusing on a close-to-pristine area (Adélie Land). We investigated shell growth of the circum-Antarctic bivalve Laternula elliptica, considered a key species in these soft bottom benthic communities. Chondrophores of live-collected clams were prepared using standard sclerochronological methods to study the interannual variability of shell growth from 1996 to 2015. Our results show that the master chronology varied with sea-ice dynamics. When sea ice breaks up too early, sympagic algae do not have time to accumulate sufficiently high biomass, thus strongly limiting the energy input to the benthos. This negatively affects the physiological performance of L. elliptica, thereby altering their population dynamics and hence the functioning of these soft-bottom ecosystems.
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Bivalves , Ecossistema , Animais , Regiões Antárticas , Camada de Gelo , Bivalves/fisiologia , BiomassaRESUMO
The bean bug, Riptortus pedestris (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), poses a significant threat to soybean production, resulting in substantial crop losses. Throughout the soybean cultivation period, these insects probe and suck on various parts of plants, including leaves, pods, and beans. However, the specific mechanisms by which they adapt to different food resources remain unknown. In this study, we conducted gut transcriptomic analyses of R. pedestris fed with soybean leaves, pods, and beans. A total of 798, 690, and 548 differently expressed genes (DEGs) were monitored in G-pod vs. G-leaf (comparison of insect feeding on pods and leaves), G-bean vs. G-leaf (comparison of insect feeding on beans and leaves), and G-pod vs. G-bean (comparison of insect feeding on pods and beans), respectively. When fed on pods and beans, there was a significant increase in the expression of digestive enzymes, particularly cathepsins, serine proteases, and lipases. Conversely, when soybean leaves were consumed, detoxification enzymes, such as ABC transporters and 4-coumarate-CoA ligase, exhibited higher expression. Our findings indicate that R. pedestris dynamically regulates different metabolic pathways to cope with varying food resources, which may contribute to the development of effective strategies for managing this pest.
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Rice is the most important cereal food crop in the world, and half of the world's population uses rice as a staple food for its energy source. The yield production qualities and quantities are affected by biotic and abiotic factors namely viruses, soil fertility, bacteria, pests, and temperature. Rice plant disease is the most crucial factor behind communal, economic, and agricultural losses in the agricultural field. Farmers detect and identify diseases through the naked eye, which takes more time and resources, leading to crop loss and unhealthy farming. To overcome these issues, this paper presents a novel rice plant disease detection approach named the crossover boosted artificial hummingbird algorithm based AX-RetinaNet (CAHA-AXRNet) approach. This current research paper mainly concentrates on the effectiveness of rice plant disease detection and classification. The hyperparameters of the AX-RetinaNet model are optimized through the CAHA optimization model. In this paper, three types of disease detection datasets namely rice plant dataset, rice leaf dataset, and rice disease dataset are included to classify rice plants as healthy or unhealthy. The most essential performance metrics are precision, F1-score, accuracy, specificity, and recall, employed to validate the effectiveness of disease detection. The proposed CAHA-AXRNet approach demonstrates its effectiveness compared to other existing rice plant disease detection methods and achieved an accuracy rate of 98.1%.
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Oryza , Animais , Monitoramento Ambiental , Algoritmos , Aves , Grão Comestível , Doenças das PlantasRESUMO
Bacteria resistant to antibiotics arguably pose the greatest threat to human health in the twenty-first century. One such bacterium that typifies antibiotic resistance is Acinetobacter baumannii . Frequently, hospital strains of A. baumannii display multidrug resistant (MDR) or extensively drug resistant (XDR) phenotypes, often requiring the use of last resort antibiotics for treatment. In addition to hospital settings, A. baumannii has been isolated from many highly divergent sources including wastewater treatment plant effluent, soil, and agricultural run-off with global distribution. However, such isolates remain poorly characterized. In this study, we characterized a strain of A. baumannii, AB341-IK15, isolated from bulk tank milk in Germany that demonstrated resistance to ceftazidime and intermediate resistance to ceftriaxone and piperacillin/tazobactam. Further genetic characterization identified an ADC-5 cephalosporinase, first incidence in an environmental isolate; and an OXA-408 oxacillinase that may contribute to this phenotype. Interestingly, AB341-IK15 is of a novel sequence type. This research underscores the importance of studying isolates of A. baumannii of non-clinical origin to understand the antibiotic resistance and virulence potential of environmental isolates of A. baumannii as well to understand the diversity of this species.
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BACKGROUND: Snacking is nearly universal and contributes significant energy to U.S. children's diets. Little is known, however, about where and when snacking intake occurs and if such patterns change with age. This research evaluated age-related differences in eating location, food source location, and timing of snacking among U.S. children aged 1-19 years (y). METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis of snacking among 14,666 children in the 2007-2018 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was conducted using a single 24-hour dietary recall. Snacking was participant-defined and included all eating occasions outside of meals. Linear regression and analysis of covariance were used to examine the effects of age (toddler 1-2 y, preschooler 3-5 y, school-age 6-11 y, adolescent 12-19 y) on the percentage of daily snack energy consumed by eating location (at home vs. away from home), food source location (grocery store, convenience store, school/childcare, restaurant, from someone else (i.e. "socially"), and other), and time of day (morning, 6am-12pm; early afternoon, 12pm-3pm; late afternoon/afterschool 3pm-6pm; evening 6pm-9pm, late-night 9pm-12am, and overnight 12am-6am). RESULTS: On average, U.S. children consumed most of their daily snacking energy at home (71%), from foods and beverages obtained from grocery stores (75%), and in the late afternoon/afterschool (31%). Toddlers and preschoolers consumed a greater percentage of their daily snack energy during the morning hours compared to school-age children and adolescents (both p < 0.001); school-age children consumed the most in the evening (27%, p < 0.001), and adolescents consumed the most in the late-night period (22%, p < 0.001). Age-related increases were seen in the percentage of daily snacking energy eaten outside the home (p < 0.001), and obtained socially (p < 0.001), from restaurants (p < 0.001), and convenience stores (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Findings reveal age-related differences in eating location, food source location, and timing of snack intake among U.S. children aged 1-19 y. Younger children consume a greater percentage of snacking calories in the morning and at home relative to older children. School-age children and adolescents show greater snacking in the evening and at night and from foods obtained and eaten outside the home. Efforts to promote healthy snacking behaviors among children should consider developmental differences in snacking patterns.