Volume 74, Issue 3

The relatively scarcely known Zakouma National Park serves as a real sanctuary for Chad's Sudanese fauna owing to the possibility of permanent access to standing water throughout the dry season. With a density of elephants approaching an animal per square kilometre this protected area is exceptional for the species in West Africa. A census by systematic sample counts from the air in 2002 showed that the numbers of most species of large herbivore had increased from those of 1986. A new census using the same method was undertaken during the 2008 dry season with the aim of acquiring another estimate of the numbers of the large mammal species and to verify recent reports of an upsurge in elephant poaching. Comparison of the two censuses shows that large mammal populations were stable or increasing for all species except elephant that showed a drastic decline. Evidence of poaching on a large scale, including the presence of numerous recent carcasses, is enough to explain this decline. Although some species, waterbuck and topi, occupied the same areas in both censuses others, buffalo, roan antelope and hartebeest, had ranges that extended farther west in the park in 2008.

We examined the community composition and abundance of small mammals in the vertical strata of gallery forests and woodland savannahs in south-western Brazil. Captures were carried out during the winter and summer months of 2006/2007. Traps were set in three transect lines per habitat, with 10 capture stations on each line. Each station had three traps: on the ground, in the understorey (2–3 m in height), and in the canopy (8–10 m) in each physiognomy. With an effort of 3600 trap-nights, 11 species of small mammals were captured, which were distributed differently regarding the forest physiognomies and utilisation of vertical strata. The species showed a high degree of habitat segregation in the two physiognomies, with only the climbing-rat Rhipidomys macrurus found in both habitats. The correspondence analysis revealed that Caluromys philander occurred mostly in the canopy; Cryptonanus agricolai , Marmosa murina , and Oecomys bicolor in the understorey; and Gracilinanus agilis and Nectomys rattus on the ground. The utilisation of traps in different strata increased species richness in the Cerrado biome, showing that the small-mammal community is distributed along the vertical complexity of the forest and even in different physiognomies, enabling more species to coexist.

We performed acoustic surveys at 78 sites around one bat colony to examine seasonal patterns of habitat use by greater horseshoe bats. Insect abundance and temperature were determined in each season. Bat diets were assessed by analysing faecal composition. Greater horseshoe bats tended to forage in mixed broadleaved and mixed broadleaved and coniferous woodland and were rarely found foraging in coniferous woodland. Bat activity in mixed broadleaved woodland and woodland glades significantly decreased from June to September. There were significant seasonal differences in the frequency of utilization of different habitats. Distance from the day roost had significant effects on bat activity only in June and July. The diet of greater horseshoe bats was clearly dominated by Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, with some variations with seasons. The seasonal variation of habitat use by greater horseshoe bats probably depended on resource availability that fluctuates over space and time. These results have important implications for the conservation of this bat species. Cluttered broadleaved woodland and mixed broadleaved woodland constitute an important target for conservation. Instead of reforestation with the non-native pure coniferous woodland, planting and maintaining broadleaved forests or mixed forests should be encouraged.

Differences in food preferences between two sympatric canids, the golden jackal ( Canis aureus ), which is currently spreading from south-east Europe and is a little-known species in Europe, and the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) were investigated. Data on diet composition and food availability were collected over a 13-season period, in a temperate climate agricultural area of Hungary. We found that jackals and foxes preferred small mammals (Ivlev's electivity index, E i =0.38 and 0.39, respectively), and avoided towards wild boar (E i = -0.43 and -0.56, respectively) and cervids (E i =-0.92 and -0.94, respectively). Jackals preferred pheasant less than foxes (E i =0.06 and 0.51, respectively). Within small mammals, both predators preferred the open field living species, with the forest living species being less favoured. The relationship between the available biomass of small mammals, as the primarily important food resource for both canids, and the proportion of consumed biomass of small mammals was not close. This was probably as a result of abundant food resources and high trophic flexibility of the golden jackal and red fox allowing these two closely related carnivores to coexist sympatrically in Central European areas without resource partitioning.

Crab-eating fox, Cerdocyon thous , is a habitat generalist species relatively common throughout its range inhabiting most environments owing to its low habitat requirements. Because no information is available for anthropogenic habitats, this study aimed to describe the species occurrence in a highly fragmented and heterogeneous landscape in southeastern Brazil. C. thous was surveyed in 95 study sites in four main land covers (native forest, eucalyptus forest, sugar cane and pasture) from April to September 2006. Presence records (n=28) and landscape variables (land cover, heterogeneity, stream and forest fragment distance, elevation and slope) were used for modeling in Maxent. The bootstrapping method was used for sampling 70% of the dataset for training and 30% for testing models. The species was equally distributed in all types of land cover, although it was more frequent in the sugar cane areas and more associated with forest fragments and heterogeneous habitats. The potential distribution model predicted forest patches and its surroundings as highly suitable for the species. It also predicted part of the sugar cane matrix as highly suitable, probably related to prey availability. Results suggested that the anthropogenic landscape studied encompasses many suitable habitats for species occurrence, resulting in the necessity to assess its potential role in vertebrate communities.

A SEM (scanning electron microscope)-Atlas of the hair microstructure of 25 mammals from the western Soutpansberg, South Africa, is presented. It is based on the cuticle pattern and is presented in the form of a pictorial atlas. The animals are derived from seven different orders. This reference system was devised for use in predator scat analysis. The SEM-Atlas can be used as an identification key.

The hair structure of the Lutrinae has been analysed to see if the different species could be identified using hair characteristics and also to determine if the hair characteristics have an adaptive value or are influenced by the phylogeny of the group. The macroscopic (colour, morphology, length, width) and microscopic (cross-section, medulla, cuticle) characteristics of the primary hairs (PHs), which are more species-specific, and also the length and width of the secondary hairs of each of the 13 known otter species were examined. The PHs of the different species showed many similar characteristics, but also some significant divergences. It was not possible to identify every species confidently because of great similarities in medulla and cuticle structure. Apparently, the macroscopic and microscopic hair structure in the Lutrinae has been influenced by both phylogenetic relationships and adaptive pressures. An influence of the climate and of the association to water could be recognized.

The existence of at least two biological species of finless porpoises ( Neophocaena phocaenoides and N. asiaeorientalis ) was accepted only recently. Given the vulnerability of finless porpoises to human activities throughout their distribution, it is crucial that the two species be distinguished during field studies to better understand their biology and conservation status. Because finless porpoises are notoriously difficult to detect and to photograph at sea owing to their intrinsic cryptic nature (i.e., small size, no dorsal fin, brief surface period, avoidance of boats), differentiating between the two species in situ has often been neglected and attempts have usually been met with skepticism. Moreover, a large area (Taiwan Strait and adjacent waters) exists where the two species are sympatric, which further complicates the task of species identification. In this study, we demonstrated that the two species can be differentiated at sea by direct observation and examination of photographs. By comparing photographs of living and dead specimens of both species, we describe useful diagnostic field characters for species identification of free-ranging finless porpoises. Differentiating these species through direct observation was possible but not trivial and the most confident and convincing identifications were those supported by quality images.

Fifty burrow systems of Microtus arvalis were excavated, from October 2006 to August 2007 in wildflower fields and quasi-natural habitats in five areas near Bern, Switzerland. They comprise an aboveground part, which is longer in spring/summer, and a subterranean part, which is longer in autumn/winter. Three main construction types exist: (a) linear burrows, (b) compact and tight networks, and (c) structures containing both a compact network around the nest and linear parts elsewhere. The subterranean length was on average 16.9 m (range: 0.5–70.2 m) and aboveground length 39.4 m (range: 0–95 m). Numbers of intersections, dead ends, and openings correlate significantly with subterranean burrow length. Nests and food caches were located at a maximal depth and mostly in a central position, as revealed by graph theory.

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In temperate climates mammals might show elevated glucocorticoid secretion in winter to facilitate catabolism. We investigated the influence of season on the concentration of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) in mountain hares throughout the course of 1 year. The results show that mountain hares did not have higher GCM values in winter. Our results suggested that this lagomorph copes with harsh envir-onmental conditions by reducing metabolic rate instead of depleting fat reserves.

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