Volume 73, Issue 2

Japanese monkeys ( Macaca fuscata ) appear to recognize three types of inter-individual distances: (1) intimate distance less than 1 m, (2) personal distance 1–3 m and 1–5 m (close and far phase), and (3) social distance 3 or 5 m variable outer limit. The boundary between intimate and personal distance, 1 m, works as a protective sphere around individuals. Because personal distance reflects an existence of individuals, we defined this distance as a basic distance among three types. We reviewed related studies and found that Japanese monkeys change their inter-individual distances according to social and ecological circumstances. Additionally, we suggest that these three types of distances can be applicable across the Macaca species.

Food habits of dholes were studied in Satpura Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India, from June 2005 to August 2005 by analyzing their scats. In total, 66 scat samples were collected from various locations in the reserve in an area of 336.70 km 2 and analyzed to identify the food habits of dholes. Seven prey species were identified from the scat analysis. Sambar Cervus unicolor accounted for the highest percentage (46.97%), while barking deer Muntiacus muntjak and jungle fowl Gallus gallus was the lowest (1.52%). In terms of prey biomass contribution, sambar was highest (68.03%) while jungle fowl was lowest (0.28%). The total prey biomass consumed by the dholes in the study area was 141.26 kg during the study period. Our results may prove helpful in planning better management needs and strategies for the survival and conservation of dholes in different protected areas.

The aim of this study was to assess the reproductive biology and parasitology of Didelphis albiventris in an agroecosystem landscape under hunting pressure. The study was carried out monthly from February 2004 to January 2005 in Exaltación de la Cruz, Buenos Aires, Argentina. A total of 179 individuals from pouch young to age class VI were captured by manual extraction during the study. There were two distinct reproductive events during the breeding season, which lasted from mid-August to the end of February. Females produced two litters per breeding season, with a mean litter size of 8.75. In total, 13% of the opossums analyzed were infected with Leptospira interrogans . Seropositive individuals were detected from summer to mid-winter. Prevalence was positively correlated with the accumulated precipitation of the previous month. In total, 4% of the individuals were infected with Salmonella enterica . We did not detect differences in prevalence between sexes and age classes for Leptospira sp. or for Salmonella sp. In addition, there was no association between relatedness, seropositiveness and the type of serovar present. We did not detect the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi or Trichinella spiralis in any of the opossums analyzed.

We examined variables that might affect survivorship of neonatal argali sheep ( Ovis ammon ), including body weight, date of birth, gender, precipitation, and year affects, which often influence neonatal survivorship in other species of sheep. From 2003 to 2008 we hand-captured 75 argali lambs (38♂, 36♀, 1 undetermined) and attached expandable, drop-off radio collars in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia. We collected morphometric and physiological measurements and radio-tracked lambs to obtain data on survivorship and mortality. We found similar morphometric and physiological measurements for male and female lambs, with significant differences only in foreleg length (♀<♂) and respiration rates (♀>♂). Only 44.6% of argali lambs survive their first month of life, but thereafter their mortality rate decreases. Lambs not born in 2006, born in years following years with higher April precipitation, and born later in the year enjoyed significantly higher survival to one month. We found high mortality in the years with severe drought (2005–2006), which depressed overall survivorship. We found no significant effect of any physiological or morphometric variables on lamb survival. Argali lambs die from several causes, with predation (44.6%) and starvation (21.4%) being the most significant.

The flight activity pattern of an aerial-hawking vespertilionid Pipistrellus nathusii has been investigated over different water bodies in northern Poland. Broadband ultrasound detection revealed that the species hunted over wooded sites mainly at dusk and dawn, following a clear bimodal pattern of activity. On the contrary, open sites were used by P. nathusii mainly in the midnocturnal period, thus their activity at post-midnight was significantly higher than at dusk. We discuss the observed differences on a background of existing knowledge on activity rhythms of flying insect abundance that are always reported as bimodal (with dusk and down peaks), irrespective of site and habitat type. Anti-predatory behaviour appeared to be the most likely reason to explain contrasting patterns of bat activity in both groups of sites. However, we also discuss other hypotheses with regard to data about insect abundance, wind speed, and temperature obtained from the same sites.

We investigated patterns of morphological and genetic variation in Mormopterus jugularis , an endemic Malagasy Molossidae. On the basis of external and cranio-dental measurements taken from adult specimens, the following conclusions can be drawn: there is notable sexual dimorphism, males being larger than females and there is no clear pattern of variation associated with bioclimatic, latitudinal or altitudinal zonation. DNA sequence analyses were based on 1078 nucleotides of the mt cytochrome b (cyt b ) gene (n=20) and 351 nucleotides of the 5′ hypervariable region of the D-loop (n=50). A high haplotype diversity within M . jugularis (cyt b= 0.995, D-loop=1.00) was combined with an absence of genetic structure. Analysis of molecular variance showed no significant grouping of haplotypes with latitude, longitude or altitude. D-loop diversity and neutrality analyses indicate that the Malagasy samples form a single population, which has been expanding for between 120,884 and 230,588 years. According to the MaxEnt potential distribution model, M . jugularis is predicted to occur ubiquitously across most of southern and central Madagascar, accounting for the observed genetic and morphological homogeneity of populations; observed specimen records north of 18°S occur in unsuitable habitats and may have arisen from recent expansion into synanthropic roosts. This species has a broad geographic distribution across much of Madagascar, encompassing the elevational range from 70 to 1750 m. The vast majority of known roosting sites are in human built structures, which are often shared with different species of Molossidae.

We describe a new species of Sylvisorex (Soricidae) from the northern part of the Congo Basin. Specimens were recently found in three lowland forests on the right bank of the Congo River: Masako, Yelenge and Baliko. The new species, Sylvisorex akaibei n. sp., is unusual in its external morphology, having a short tail of which the basal part is covered by long bristle hairs. The skull is a small version of that of Sylvisorex lunaris , a species endemic to the mountains of the Albertine Rift; however, the two species are not closely related. The new discovery shows that the small mammal fauna of the lowland forests of the Congo Basin is more diverse than previously expected.

We investigated cryptic diversity among Chinese rhinolophids and hipposiderids using complete sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The intraspecific genetic variation among 32 species sampled from a wide geographical region showed that high sequence divergence of over 5% exists within Hipposideros pomona , Coelops frithi and Aselliscus stoliczkanus , suggesting the possible existence of cryptic diversity. On the other hand, two species with clear morphological differences (a cryptic species in the Rhinolophus macrotis group, R. macrotis s.l. and an unidentified species, R. sp1. ) were found to be genetically very similar (0.79–1.06%). Our molecular phylogenies are consistent with the traditional phenetic classification, i.e., species within the same genus were clustered together in Rhinolophidae and Hipposideridae, which are monophyletic sister lineages.

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