Volume 69, Issue 2

The changes in the distribution of the lynx populations in France were analysed with 3,760 data gathered between 1974 and 2002. Maps were drawn for successive three-year periods on a fixed 3 km × 3 km grid. Lynx were assumed "present" in every 3 × 3 km grid with one or several data, as well as in the eight surrounding grids, i.e . in a total area of 81 km 2 . In 2000- 2002, the total and permanent lynx range covered, respectively, 8,622 km 2 and 5,823 km 2 in the French Jura mountains (11,500 km 2 and at least 6,000 km 2 for the whole French and Swiss Jura Massif). Almost all forested mountain massifs are already occupied by lynx in that region. The total and permanent lynx range covered 3,159 km 2 and 1,962 km 2 in the Vosges Massif. This small range and still precarious status of the population 20 years after the first lynx re-introductions, should be related to the high mortality rate of the released lynx and low number of founders. Exchanges between the Jura and the Vosges lynx populations could however be expected in the near future. The total lynx range covered 4,365 km 2 in the Alps but no permanent area of presence was noticed. The regular increase in the number of islets of presence and the progressive colonization from the north towards the extreme south of the Alps suggested an insufficient observation pressure rather than the absence of any established population in the French Alps. In the future, the status of these three reintroduced populations should probably be comforted by exchanges between the Jura and the Vosges mountains and the Jura and the northern Alps.

We report on diversity in the diet of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) in a Mexican tropical dry forest. Diet was estimated using the microhistological analysis of plant epidermis in deer pellet-groups. The sampling was from 1993 to 1994. From the rainy to dry season, the richness and diversity of the families and species in the diet increased and botanical composition changed. Deer selected 82 plant species from 20 families; however, 12 species represented 50% of the annual diet. Flowers and fruits of arboreal species were important during the dry season, as were young leaves of shrub and vine species during the rainy season. Despite the small size of white-tailed deer in this tropical dry forest study area, foraging strategies there were similar to those observed in temperate forests.

A study of habitat use of two sympatric brocket deer species was conducted by recording dung and tracks along 40 km trails cleared through four vegetation types in the chaco-cerrado border of Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. Deer signs of each species were characterized and discriminated by size and shape and counted for each habitat (transitional chaco forest, chiquitano riverine forest, chiquitano moist piedmont forest and cerrado open woodland) by walking 180-km in the wet season and 90-km in the dry season. The four habitats showed differences in vegetation structure and plant composition (canopy height and cover, horizontal visibility, and fruit resources) as well as frequency of signs for each brocket deer species. Although red brocket signs were less abundant than gray brocket signs, for both species and in every habitat we found consistently more tracks than dung in the wet season, and more dung than tracks in the dry season. Dung and track counts indicated that gray brockets were common and widespread in the four habitats, while reds occurred mostly in piedmont and riverine forest. Daily activity hours recorded by camera trapping showed that red brockets were active mostly from sunset until sunrise (6 pm to 6 am: 87% of 32 events) and gray brockets mostly in the morning (5 am to 10 am: 66% of 87 events). Patterns of habitat use and daily activity suggest that these sympatric deer species segregate in space and time. A comparative study of their diet, plus more behavioral data from sympatric and allopatric situations are needed to better understand the way in which deer may partition resources.

We investigated group size, grouping patterns and sexual segregation in feral goats on the Isle of Rum (NW Scotland) from January 1981 to September 1982 and May to November 2000. A total of 7396 groups of feral goats were recorded, comprising 30356 adult individuals and 13119 yearlings and kids. The most commonly observed group size was 1-3 individuals. Mean group size was larger in 2000 than in 1981-82, possibly reflecting an increase in population size. In both study periods, group size varied throughout the year: mean group size was smallest in late winter and early spring, and increased through summer to reach a maximum during the August/September rutting period. Mixed-sex groups were larger than single sex groups. Feral goats on Rum showed obvious social segregation during late spring and summer months (April to July) as demonstrated by a lower percentage of mixed-sex groups, lower proportions of adult males and females observed in mixed-sex groups and a higher social segregation coefficient in these months. The extent to which the population became sexually segregated correlated most strongly with daylength. This probably reflects the goats' pattern of habitat use during foraging: large mixed sex parties, which use caves for overnight shelter, forage slowly up the hill sides during the day, gradually dispersing more widely as they go. In winter months, when days are short, the animals are able to move less far, and so become less dispersed.

Few studies address the influence of habitat disturbance on Sri Lanka's fauna, including the endemic red slender loris Loris tardigradus tardigradus . Masmullah Proposed Forest Reserve harbours one of few remaining red slender loris populations, and is considered a "biodiversity hotspot". Using plotless sampling, we sampled 387 trees to ascertain density, and to record traits influential to loris presence. The most common tree species was Humboldtia laurifolia , occurring at 676 trees/ha, with overall density at 1077 trees/ha. Twenty-seven families belonging to 40 species were recorded, of which 45% were endemic, 40% native, 7.5% introduced. Humboldtia laurifolia has a mutualistic relationship with ants, providing abundant food for lorises. Substrates available at 3.5 m (height preferred by lorises), were small (less than 5 cm 2 ), the size preferred by lorises. Vines and branches provided continuous passage, and trees held a number of potential sleeping sites. The characteristics of the forest are ideal for lorises, but the abundance of this habitat as measured by basal area is small, typical of severe degradation associated with chronic human disturbance. Continued illegal deforestation will impact severely already fragmented loris populations.

We investigated the activity and the use of resting sites of polecats Mustela putorius in the Gutland area of Luxembourg. Three years of radio-telemetry on 10 animals provided 103 all-night tracking sessions and 262 locations of diurnal resting sites. Polecats were active during 62% of the night. Males were more active than females, and activity increased from winter to summer. During daytime, polecats were located in 53 different resting sites. Above ground shelters were used more often than underground shelters. Heaps of branches, barns and stables, garden sheds and rat dens were the most used sites, without specific preference for any one type of shelter. However, human settlements seem to be of prime importance during severe weather conditions. The selection of such resting sites appeared to be based on thermal characteristics. This pattern of resting site use suggests that presence of suitable resting sites in winter is important for the conservation of the endangered polecat population in Luxembourg.

We examined the taxonomic status of Funisciurus duchaillui , an African squirrel only known by its holotype collected in 1952 in southern Gabon and subsequently put in synonymy with F. isabella . From 1993 to 1996 we collected data on the squirrel community of a study site in central Gabon (ca. 100 km to the north of the locality where the duchaillui holotype was collected) and we recorded the presence of an unidentified taxon. Using biometric and phenotypic data on four collected specimens of this taxon along with data on the vertical distribution, we concluded that: (i) the unidentified specimens from the study site and the duchaillui holotype belong to the same taxon; (ii) F. isabella and the duchaillui taxon are two different taxa and (iii) F. duchaillui is a full species distributed in central and south Gabon and possibly in southern Congo (Lékoumou region).

The existence of myoelastic sphincters in the terminal airways of some cetaceans is well established. Although several studies have tried to explain the functional role of these structures, none of them has been based on a comparative analysis. The present study was initiated with the purpose of investigating whether differences in the morphology of myoelastic sphincters are related to different diving patterns. We have compared serial histological lungs sections from two dolphin species with different diving patterns. In Pontoporia blainvillei , a shallow diving dolphin, myoelastic sphincters are thin rings with irregular distribution, which occasionally strangle the airway. Lagenorhynchus obscurus , with deeper dives and faster vertical displacements, presents thicker sphincters with regular distribution, generally strangling the airway completely. We conclude that these morphologies could be related to different functional demands. We suggest the existence of two groups of dolphins, one shallow diver, comprising small cetaceans with less developed sphincters whose functional activity is uncertain, and another group with a wider diving range, having strong and functional sphincters.