Thermal forest zone explains regional variations in the diet composition of the Japanese marten (Martes melampus)
Publication date: Available online 15 June 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Masumi Hisano, Chris Newman, Shota Deguchi, Yayoi Kaneko Examining biogeographical variations in species’ diet is important for linking key ecological traits between consumers and their environment. While the trophic ecology of the Holarctic martens has been globally synthesised, systematic information on the feeding ecology of martens (Martes spp.) in Asia is still deficient compared to species in Europe and North America. Here we conduct a meta-analysis based on literature describing regional and seasonal variation in diet composi...
Source: Mammalian Biology - June 15, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Supplementary feeding can attract red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) to optimal environments
Publication date: Available online 9 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Anna Starkey, Javier delBarco-Trillo A number of conservation approaches are used to manage threatened species. However, some of these approaches require intensive planning and can often be restricted by funding. Supplementary feeding is a non-invasive and cost-effective approach to manage vulnerable populations, but we lack data on its usefulness. Here we investigated the effects of supplementary feeding on a population of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), a UK priority species which faces competition from the non-native grey squirrel (S...
Source: Mammalian Biology - June 13, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Mating calls are a sensitive indicator of phylogenetic relationships in tropical tree squirrels (Callosciurus spp.)
Publication date: Available online 25 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Noriko Tamura, Phadet Boonkhaw, Umphornpimon Prayoon, Budsabong Kanchanasaka, Fumio Hayashi Vocal communication plays an important role in the mating behaviour of arboreal squirrels. Callosciurus is a genus of tree squirrels that includes 15 species distributed in Southeast Asia, and congeneric species often inhabit the same forest. As closely related species of Callosciurus have the potential to interbreed, species recognition from mating calls may be a fundamental reproductive barrier. We compared seven acoustic characteristics of m...
Source: Mammalian Biology - June 12, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Effect of sex and reproductive status on the immunity of the temperate bat Myotis daubentonii
Publication date: Available online 23 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Sara Ruoss, Nina I. Becker, Matthias S. Otto, Gábor Á. Czirják, Jorge A. Encarnação Studies of immunity in bat species are rare. However, it is important to determine immunological variations to identify factors influencing the health status of these endangered mammals from an evolutionary, ecological, conservation, and public health point of view. Immunity is highly variable and can be influenced by both internal (e.g. hormone levels, energy demand) and external factors (e.g. pathogens, climate). As bats have some peculiar ecolo...
Source: Mammalian Biology - June 7, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Large-scale assessment of the presence of Darwin ’s fox across its newly discovered range
Publication date: September 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology, Volume 92 Author(s): Eduardo A. Silva-Rodríguez, Erwin Ovando, Danilo González, Brayan Zambrano, Maximiliano A. Sepúlveda, Gabriella L. Svensson, René Cárdenas, Patricio Contreras, Ariel A. Farías The Darwin’s fox is one of the most threatened carnivores worldwide and was thought to occur in only two isolated areas. Recently this canid was found in the Valdivian Coastal Range, between the previously known populations, but other than their presence, little is known about these populations. Here we report the results of camera trap surveys conducte...
Source: Mammalian Biology - June 1, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
The first record of mitochondrial haplotypes of Gazella marica (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) in wild populations in Iran
Publication date: Available online 30 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Davoud Fadakar, Masoumeh Mirzakhah, Saeid Naderi, Eva V. Bärmann, Maryam Naseri Nasari, Fasiheh Mohammadi Gorji, Hamid Reza Rezaei Iran with its highly structured landscape, such as the Zagros Mountain Range that stretches across the country from East to West, is home to at least three different gazelle species. For some of them, intraspecific genetic patterning is to be expected, as different populations show different pelage coloration or body sizes, e.g., in the Persian gazelle (G. subgutturosa). This species is especially inter...
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 30, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Mating calls are a sensitive indicator of phylogenetic relationships in Callosciurus, tropical tree squirrels
Publication date: Available online 25 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Noriko Tamura, Phadet Boonkhaw, Umphornpimon Prayoon, Budsabong Kanchanasaka, Fumio Hayashi Vocal communication plays an important role in the mating behaviour of arboreal squirrels. Callosciurus is a genus of tree squirrels that includes 15 species distributed in Southeast Asia, and congeneric species often inhabit the same forest. As closely related species of Callosciurus have the potential to interbreed, species recognition from mating calls may be a fundamental reproductive barrier. We compared seven acoustic characteristics of m...
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 26, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Range expansion in unfavorable environments through behavioral responses to microclimatic conditions: moose (Alces americanus) as the model
Publication date: Available online 26 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): David W. Wattles, Katherine A. Zeller, Stephen DeStefano Wildlife populations occurring at the edge of their range boundaries are thought to be the most sensitive to climate change due to temperatures being at or near the limit of a species’ thermal envelope. Moose (Alces americanus) are a cold adapted species that are showing population declines in some portions of the southern edge of their range. However, other moose populations are actively expanding southward into thermally stressful areas. The direct effects of temperature on mo...
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 26, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Species delimitation in mammals: a response to Gippoliti
Publication date: Available online 24 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Frank E. Zachos In a comment published in this issue, Spartaco Gippoliti (2018) presents a critique of a recent perspective paper of mine (Zachos et al. 2018a). Specifically, he accuses me of diminishing taxonomy and of denying it its proper role in conservation biology. Here I respond to these criticisms and argue that taxonomy is necessary but not sufficient for delineating appropriate units for conservation due to its inherent threshold character that is a direct consequence of imposing a discrete classification system (taxonomy) onto ...
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 25, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Effect of sex and reproductive status on the immunity of the temperate bat, Myotis daubentonii
Publication date: Available online 23 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Sara Ruoss, Nina I. Becker, Matthias S. Otto, Gábor Á. Czirják, Jorge A. Encarnação Studies of immunity in bat species are rare. However, it is important to determine immunological variations to identify factors influencing the health status of these endangered mammals from an evolutionary, ecological, conservation, and public health point of view. Immunity is highly variable and can be influenced by both internal (e.g. hormone levels, energy demand) and external factors (e.g. pathogens, climate). As bats have some peculiar ecolo...
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 24, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Species delimitation in mammals: a comment on Zachos (2018)
Publication date: Available online 23 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Spartaco Gippoliti (Source: Mammalian Biology)
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 24, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Genetic evidence of promiscuity in a mammal without apparent sexual dimorphism, the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari)
In this study, we analyzed the mating system of a monomorphic mammalian species, the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), using microsatellite molecular markers and parentage tests. The white-lipped peccary mating system is predicted to be polygyny, but so far, no systematic study exists. To verify their mating behavior, 131 individuals of a herd from the Brazilian Pantanal were genotyped for 11 microsatellite loci and parentage tests were performed for all the sampled young. We determined that both males and females had offspring with more than one partner which is compatible with a promiscuous mating system. Promiscuit...
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 17, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Genetic diversity distribution among seasonal colonies of a nectar-feeding bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) in the Baja California Peninsula
We examined the distribution of genetic diversity among colonies of this species and assess whether a population in Baja California Peninsula shows signature of historical demographic change. We expected low genetic differentiation, because individuals are highly mobile and share mating sites. We also predicted a demographic signature consistent with past climatic fluctuations. During the spring maternity season, we sampled 120 individuals of six colonies along a 450 km transect in the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Individuals were genotyped with eight nuclear microsatellite loci and 1739 bp of two mitochondrial mar...
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 15, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Genetic differentiation in Cricetulus migratorius Pallas, 1773 (Rodentia, Cricetidae)
Publication date: Available online 4 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Vladimir Lebedev, Natalia Poplavskaya, Anna Bannikova, Georgy Ryurikov, Alexey Surov The grey hamster Cricetulus migratorius is the most widespread and ecologically opportunistic species among Palearctic hamsters. Genetic diversity across most of its range was examined by using cytochrome b (cytb) and cytochrome oxidase I (coI) gene sequences. Phylogenetic analyses revealed three well-differentiated allopatric lineages. The western lineage is distributed in Ukraine, Central and South Russia, Caucasus and Anatolia; the eastern lineage o...
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 15, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Noninvasive genetic assessment provides evidence of extensive gene flow and possible high movement ability in the African golden wolf
Publication date: Available online 5 May 2018 Source:Mammalian Biology Author(s): Yamna Karssene, Mohsen Chammem, Carsten Nowak, Koen de Smet, Diana Castro, Ahmed Eddine, Susana Lopes, Violeta Muñoz-Fuentes, Berardino Cocchiararo, Dick Klees, Peter Van Der Leer, Said Nouira, Raquel Godinho The African golden wolf, Canis anthus, is a newly recognized medium-sized canid species from North Africa, which has remained poorly studied to date. We applied genetic methods for individual identification of non-invasively collected samples (n = 93) of the African golden wolf in Tunisia, assessing their genetic dive...
Source: Mammalian Biology - May 15, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
