When does selective hunting select, how can we tell, and what should we do about it?
Abstract
Potential evolutionary consequences of selective hunting of mammals are controversial because of limited evidence and important socio‐economic impacts. Several ecological and management variables facilitate evolutionary responses to selection for horn, tusk or antler size, including strong selective hunting pressure; harvest of males with large horns, tusks or antlers before they can breed; unavailable or ineffective sources of unselected immigrants; and age‐dependent relationships between horn, tusk or antler size and male mating success. Plastic responses of male horns, tusks and antlers to environment are p...
Source: Mammal Review - June 30, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Marco Festa ‐Bianchet Tags: Perspective Source Type: research
Magnetic alignment in warthogs Phacochoerus africanus and wild boars Sus scrofa
Abstract
Magnetic alignment (MA) results from the preference of animals to align themselves along the field lines of the geomagnetic field, a behavioural expression of a magnetic sense. MA is well documented for ruminants and might demonstrate a general magnetic sensory ability among artiodactyls. We measured body‐axis alignment in 1614 foraging or resting wild boars Sus scrofa, 1849 wild boar beds, and 1347 warthogs Phacochoerus africanus, and found a highly significant north–south preference. The magnetic field was the only common denominator of all observations. Thus, we provide the first data suggesting a magnetic ...
Source: Mammal Review - June 20, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Jaroslav Červený, Hynek Burda, Miloš Ježek, Tomáš Kušta, Václav Husinec, Petra Nováková, Vlastimil Hart, Veronika Hartová, Sabine Begall, E. Pascal Malkemper Tags: Short Communication Source Type: research
From the southern right whale hunting decline to the humpback whaling expansion: a review of whale catch records in the tropical western South Atlantic Ocean
Abstract
Historical catch records from whaling activity are crucial for assessments of whale populations. However, several gaps in the exploitation history for many populations from before the twentieth century create limitations that may lead to overestimates of the recovery of these populations. The history of modern whaling along the Brazilian coast is relatively well known. However, several questions relating to the pre‐modern period, during and before the nineteenth century, remain unanswered. For example, the level of exploitation of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae and southern right whales Eubalaena austr...
Source: Mammal Review - June 10, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Igor Oliveira Braga Morais, Daniel Danilewicz, Alexandre Novaes Zerbini, William Edmundson, Ian B. Hart, Guilherme Augusto Bortolotto Tags: Review Source Type: research
A novel approach to field identification of cryptic Apodemus wood mice: calls differ more than morphology
Abstract
Field identification of European wood mice Apodemus spp. is challenging due to their morphological resemblance and frequent sympatry. We developed discriminant functions based on body mass and acoustic variables of distress calls to identify three cryptic species of wood mice (Apodemus alpicola, Apodemus flavicollis and Apodemus sylvaticus) in Italy. We achieved an overall correct classification rate of 86–98%; the best results (100% correct classification) were obtained for Apodemus sylvaticus calls. This minimally invasive, effective and low‐cost method highlights the potential role of bioacoustics as a powe...
Source: Mammal Review - June 7, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Leonardo Ancillotto, Emiliano Mori, Giulia Sozio, Emanuela Solano, Sandro Bertolino, Danilo Russo Tags: Short Communication Source Type: research
Mammalian biogeography and the Ebola virus in Africa
Abstract
Ebola virus is responsible for the fatal Ebola virus disease (EVD).
Identifying the distribution area of the Ebola virus is crucial for understanding the risk factors conditioning the emergence of new EVD cases. Existing distribution models have underrepresented the potential contribution that reservoir species and vulnerable species make in sustaining the presence of the virus.
In this paper, we map favourable areas for Ebola virus in Africa according to environmental and zoogeographical descriptors, independent of human‐to‐human transmissions. We combine two different biogeographical approaches: analysis...
Source: Mammal Review - June 6, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Jesús Olivero, John E. Fa, Raimundo Real, Miguel Ángel Farfán, Ana Luz Márquez, J. Mario Vargas, J. Paul Gonzalez, Andrew A. Cunningham, Robert Nasi Tags: Review Source Type: research
Roads and bats: a meta ‐analysis and review of the evidence on vehicle collisions and barrier effects
Abstract
Roads are a potential threat to bat conservation. In addition to the direct risk of collision of bats with vehicles, roads could pose a threat to bat populations as a result of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, and could act as barriers to movements of bats between habitats.
We performed a systematic review of the literature and conducted meta‐analyses to assess the threat posed by roads to bats as a result of 1) collisions between bats and vehicles and 2) roads acting as barriers to movements of bats.
Based on collated records of 1207 bat road casualties in Europe, we found that low‐flying spec...
Source: Mammal Review - May 28, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Amy Grace Fensome, Fiona Mathews Tags: Review Source Type: research
Roads and bats: a meta‐analysis and review of the evidence on vehicle collisions and barrier effects
Abstract
Roads are a potential threat to bat conservation. In addition to the direct risk of collision of bats with vehicles, roads could pose a threat to bat populations as a result of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, and could act as barriers to movements of bats between habitats.
We performed a systematic review of the literature and conducted meta‐analyses to assess the threat posed by roads to bats as a result of 1) collisions between bats and vehicles and 2) roads acting as barriers to movements of bats.
Based on collated records of 1207 bat road casualties in Europe, we found that low‐flying spec...
Source: Mammal Review - May 28, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Amy Grace Fensome, Fiona Mathews Tags: Review Source Type: research
Can recreational hunting contribute to pest mammal control on public land in Australia?
Abstract
Natural resource management agencies in many countries take advantage of recreational hunting to manage the impacts or abundance of mammal populations that damage biodiversity or environmental, economic, or social values. In Australia, public lands are increasingly being made available for recreational hunters to pursue introduced mammals that can cause substantial damage to important resources. There is fervent debate over the role that recreational hunting might play in controlling introduced mammals in Australia, and scant evidence to build management strategies upon.
In this review, we combine information f...
Source: Mammal Review - May 9, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Andrew J. Bengsen, Jessica Sparkes Tags: Review Source Type: research
Holocene mammal extinctions in the Carpathian Basin: a review
Abstract
Mammals are a key target group for conservation biology. Insights into the patterns and timing of and driving forces behind their past extinctions help us to understand their present, and to predict and mitigate their future biodiversity loss. Much research has been focused on the intensely debated megafaunal extinctions at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, whereas the Holocene mammal extinctions have remained less studied.
Here, we consider the Holocene extinctions of mammal taxa in the Carpathian Basin, a distinctive and biogeographically well‐constrained predominantly lowland region in Central Europe....
Source: Mammal Review - March 31, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Attila Németh, Annamária Bárány, Gábor Csorba, Enikö Magyari, Piroska Pazonyi, József Pálfy Tags: Review Source Type: research
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Source: Mammal Review - March 31, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Danilo Russo Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
The impacts of beavers Castor spp. on biodiversity and the ecological basis for their reintroduction to Scotland, UK
Abstract
In Scotland, UK, beavers became extinct about 400 years ago. Currently, two wild populations are present in Scotland on a trial basis, and the case for their full reintroduction is currently being considered by Scottish ministers. Beavers are widely considered ‘ecosystem engineers’. Indeed, beavers have large impacts on the environment, fundamentally change ecosystems, and create unusual habitats, often considered unique. In this review, we investigate the mechanisms by which beavers act as ecosystem engineers, and then discuss the possible impacts of beavers on the biodiversity of Scotland.
A meta‐analy...
Source: Mammal Review - March 31, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Andrew P. Stringer, Martin J. Gaywood Tags: Review Source Type: research
Mysticete migration revisited: are Mediterranean fin whales an anomaly?
Abstract
The generally accepted model of Mysticete whale migration is that most individuals undertake seasonal migrations between high and low latitudes. Although numerous exceptions have been described in the literature, the traditional model remains unexamined. This paper represents the first ‘official’ challenge to the traditional model of Mysticete migration.
We set out to review the current state of knowledge on the Mediterranean fin whale migratory pattern, and to examine whether the small, resident population in the Mediterranean is an anomaly within the framework of the traditional model of Mysticete migrati...
Source: Mammal Review - March 31, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Christina K.A. Geijer, Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Simone Panigada Tags: Review Source Type: research
Food habits of the world's grey wolves
Abstract
Grey wolves Canis lupus have been studied extensively, but there has been no detailed review of the species’ feeding ecology, despite growing debate about how to conserve wolf populations while limiting their impacts on wild or domestic ungulates. Here, we assess the extent to which the grey wolf diet varies among and within North America, Europe, and Asia.
We derived dietary data from searches of published literature. We grouped studies based on their bioregional location. We compared grey wolf diet among locations using non‐metric multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarity. We assessed whether in...
Source: Mammal Review - March 31, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Thomas M. Newsome, Luigi Boitani, Guillaume Chapron, Paolo Ciucci, Christopher R. Dickman, Justin A. Dellinger, José V. López‐Bao, Rolf O. Peterson, Carolyn R. Shores, Aaron J. Wirsing, William J. Ripple Tags: Review Source Type: research
The good, the bad, and the ugly: which Australian terrestrial mammal species attract most research?
Abstract
The Australian mammalian fauna is marked by high endemism and evolutionary distinctiveness and comprises monotreme, marsupial, and eutherian (‘placental’) native species. It has suffered the highest extinction rate of any mammalian fauna in any global region; surviving species are threatened by competition and predation from a range of introduced mammal species, and receive low levels of conservation‐oriented funding compared with species in many other countries.
We investigated research foci on this unique fauna by using species h‐indices (SHI), and identified both taxonomic bias and subject bias in...
Source: Mammal Review - March 7, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Patricia A. Fleming, Philip W. Bateman Tags: Review Source Type: research
Danger underground and in the open – predation on blind mole rats (Rodentia: Spalacinae) revisited
Abstract
Being totally blind with no tail or pinnae, blind mole rats are the most specialised rodents for the subterranean lifestyle. However, they come to the surface occasionally due to unusual climatic events, for foraging, to collect hay for bedding material, for dispersal as subadults, due to intraspecific aggression, and in illness.
The only previous review suggests that surface activity of and predation on blind mole rats is rare and that they are preyed on mainly at night by owls.
Based on 57 scientific publications, 14 unpublished reports and several personal observations (from 15 countries), the present review r...
Source: Mammal Review - January 20, 2016 Category: Zoology Authors: Attila Németh, Zsolt Hegyeli, Tímea Sendula, Márton Horváth, Dávid Czabán, Gábor Csorba Tags: Review Source Type: research
