Volume 79, Issue 4

In large mammalian herbivores, an increase in herd size not only reduces predation risk but also energy intake. As a consequence, the size of the groups made up by herbivores is often assumed to be the outcome of a trade-off depending on local predation risk and food availability. We studied Alpine chamois ( Rupicapra rupicapra ) group size in a 3660 ha wide area (central-Eastern Alps, Italy) where mouflon ( Ovis gmelinii ) were also present. We walked seven hiking trails (spanning a total of 33.9 km) in a high-elevation environment every 15 days from May to October in 2007–2009, and located all the groups of free-ranging ungulates within our study site. We analyzed the size variation in female groups with kids of Alpine chamois in relation to (i) forage availability (as estimated using the normalized difference vegetation index); (ii) distance from safe areas; (iii) presence of potential competitor species (i.e., mouflon); and (iv) environmental variables (elevation, slope exposure). We found that forage availability was one of the most important drivers of group size patterns. Larger groups were found in meadows with higher productivity, whereas smaller groups were located in lower quality meadows in sheltered areas, indicating how the female group size may be the outcome of both resource availability and predation risk avoidance. Interestingly, proximity of a mouflon group was able to modify the size of Alpine chamois female groups, especially if the nearest mouflon group was concurrently close and inclusive of a higher percentage of rams.

On the basis of our recent fieldwork and historical records, we document the diversity of small non-volant mammals in the northern end of Cordillera Central of Colombia, an important region in the context of vertebrate biodiversity. From February 2004 to February 2006, we completed mammal surveys in three localities at the department of Antioquia, with elevations ranging from 1650 to 2000 m. We recorded a total of 14 species: three marsupials, one shrew, one heteromyid, and nine sigmodontinae rodents, including three species endemic in Cordillera Central. The rodents Heteromys australis , Nephelomys pectoralis , and Rhipidomys latimanus were recorded in all localities. Nephelomys pectoralis was captured in all surveys and was the most abundant species. Nearby historical records exist for 16 species, seven of which were not captured during our surveys. The community of small mammals in the northern Cordillera Central has species richness similar or higher than that in other Andean localities with a broader elevational range. We show that small mammal communities from middle elevations are a mixture of middle elevation endemics and highland species, but with little contribution from the lowlands. Finally, the occurrence of endemic and threatened species in this region suggests its importance from a conservational and biogeographical standpoint for small terrestrial mammals.

The feeding ecology of a wetland specialist, the serval ( Leptailurus serval ), is poorly documented in regions subject to changing land use patterns. In this regard, we investigated the diet of serval by scat analysis from May to August 2013 at farmlands in the Drakensberg Midlands, South Africa. We recorded 17 species of prey remains in its diet, which included 10 rodent species, wild ungulates, the small-spotted genet ( Genetta genetta ), grass, birds, reptiles, and insects. In terms of rodent biomass consumed, serval mainly preyed on Otomys auratus (57.8%), followed by Rhabdomys chakae (13.4%), Dasymys incomtus (11.4%), and Gerbilliscus brantsii (5.9%). In addition, we compared the diet of serval in our study with that of a 20-year-old research in the same landscape. Small mammals were the main prey items of serval in both studies. Despite the high diet overlap and low variation in trophic niche breadth found in these studies, biomass consumption of rodent species varied considerably as servals were reported feeding on reed buck ( Redunca arundinum ), perhaps on fawns, in the present study. This feeding behaviour is probably related to the conversion of wetland habitat for agricultural activities. Given that wetland habitats support large populations of small mammals, which serve as prey for servals, wetland conservation is important in a mosaic agricultural landscape.

This study was conducted to understand the distribution and roost characteristics of cave-dwelling bats and to identify those sites that are important for the conservation of bat species in China. A total of 129 roosts in four zoogeographic regions in China, 56 of which had not been previously surveyed, were investigated in this 3-year study (2010–2013). Approximately 95,000 bats representing 32 species were recorded, and the results will provide a reference for future bat research. The bat species of central China are the most abundant because a total of 21 species were found in that region. Southwest China had the largest average number of bat species in each roost, whereas southern China had the largest average number of bats in each roost. Natural caves accommodated >57,000 individuals representing 29 bat species, and the average number of bats in each natural cave was 723.1. The general trend in the number of bat species was decreasing with an increase in altitude. At present, few caves have adequate protection, and some bat populations are under serious threat. The data will help local governments develop suitable strategies to promote local tourism while protecting important habitats of animal species.

Pipistrellus deserti is a small, pale-coloured bat occurring in the most arid parts of the Sahara, in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, and the Sudan, and marginally also in sub-Saharan Africa. Although most authors consider P . deserti as a full species, others regard it as a subspecies, or even as a junior synonym of Pipistrellus kuhlii . We analysed the topotype material of P. deserti from Libya using both morphologic and molecular characters, and compared them with samples from other Saharan countries and with P. kuhlii from around the Mediterranean. The Libyan samples of deserti are morphologically very similar to other populations from arid parts of North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Sudan), but differ markedly in the size of most skull dimensions when compared to P. kuhlii sampled in more mesic areas. However, phylogenetic reconstructions indicate that mitochondrial haplotypes of typical P. deserti from Libya and those from Morocco do not form a monophyletic group but are fully embedded within the larger radiation of P. kuhlii from Africa and Europe, rendering this species paraphyletic. Limited nuclear information (five microsatellite loci) also failed to provide evidence of significant differences between the two morphotypes, as pipistrelles are instead grouped by geographic origin. Altogether, these genetic data suggest that the morphological uniqueness of P. deserti may result from recent adaptations to arid habitats, rather than reflect a long independent evolutionary history. In the absence of more compelling evidence of barriers to gene flow, we therefore suggest Pipistrellus deserti to be considered a junior synonym of Vespertilio kuhlii (= P. kuhlii ).

Understanding the distribution of the common big-eared bat Micronycteris microtis has been constrained by difficulties in mapping characters that securely differentiate it from its congener, Micronycteris megalotis . We studied individuals of dark-bellied Micronycteris from several localities in northern and southeastern Brazil and tested the consistency of characters traditionally used in their differentiation. Characters that separate M. microtis from M. megalotis are the ear length, the fur at the leading edge of the pinna length, and the dorsal fur length. On the basis of our revised identifications, we confirm the occurrence of M. microtis in southeastern Brazil, and provide new records from localities nested in the Cerrado/Atlantic forest transition area of the state of Minas Gerais, and in the Amazonian forests of the northeastern and northwestern, states of Pará and Rondônia. M. microtis is now known to occur sympatrically with M. megalotis in four Amazonian localities. M. microtis used iron ore caves from Carajás, Pará, northern Brazil, and the Serra da Moeda and Serra do Rola Moça State Park, Minas Gerais, southern Brazil, whereas sympatric M. megalotis did not in both locations. Moreover, M. microtis from the lower Xingu River used small caves formed by rock outcrops to roost.

We studied the genetic differentiation and taxonomy of the bent-wing bat ( Miniopterus ) populations occurring in Iran by analyzing the mitochondrial cytochrome -b (687 bp) sequences. Molecular data provided by the present study exhibit a closer average K2P genetic distance among the Miniopterus populations in Iran and Azerbaijan (0.05) than that among those in Iran and Turkey (1.38), Iran and Spain (2.93) and Iran and Georgia (3.16). Moreover, the phylogenetic trees showed that all Iranian and Azerbaijani samples, as well as those from East Turkey, are grouped in the same clade, whereas the samples from other parts of Turkey, Spain and Georgia belong to another clade. These results suggest that the Miniopterus populations in Iran and Azerbaijan, together with those from East Turkey, are in fact Miniopterus pallidus , whereas the other Turkish samples, together with those from Georgia and western Europe, belong to Miniopterus schreibersii .

We report new distributional records for Histiotus montanus and first records of Histiotus laephotis for Chile. Morphological measurements and analyses of echolocation calls confirm the differences between the species. Histiotus montanus has a smaller forearm (49.7±0.8 vs. 51.7±0.4 mm) and darker and shorter ears than H. laephotis ; the latter has a yellowish fur in contrast to other Histiotus species. Acoustic analyses showed significant differences between the species: H. laephotis have shorter pulses (1.3±0.4 vs. 3.6±2.6 ms), with lower start and peak frequencies (start frequency 38.2±2.6 vs. 46.4±4.6 kHz; peak frequency 30.4±3.7 vs. 32.1±2.2 kHz) than H. montanus . These findings place the Tarapacá region of northern Chile as the most diverse in terms of bat species in the country. Furthermore, these results increase the total number of bat species known to occur in the country to 13.

Two species of Marmosa ( Micoureus ) have been documented from Paraguay. Based, in part, on a recently collected series of Marmosa constantiae , we review the morphometric relationships, distributions, and habitat associations of the two species in Paraguay. Marmosa paraguayana is documented from nine localities, all in eastern Paraguay, in the region originally covered by Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest (UPAF). Marmosa constantiae is documented from five localities, all of which are forested areas (generally gallery forest) embedded within Cerrado patches bordering UPAF, or within the Humid Chaco or Dry Chaco ecoregions. Specimens of M. constantiae from the Dry Chaco locality Parque Nacional Defensores del Chaco are morphometrically distinct from both M. paraguayana and other M. constantiae specimens and may represent an unrecognized taxon.

The Pyrenean desman is a vulnerable mammal species endemic to Pyrenees and the northern Iberian Peninsula. The presence of this elusive species can be most easily detected by sampling its faeces. However, these faecal samples can be confused with those of other vertebrate species living in the same habitats. This study provides two easy and reliable methods for the identification of the Pyrenean desman faeces based on genetic analyses. The first one consists of a nested PCR and sequencing of a mitochondrial cytochrome b fragment, and the second one is an enzymatic digestion with endonucleases Alu I and Sau 3AI. The restriction patterns given by the two enzymes were found suitable for the successful discrimination of the Pyrenean desman from the other species based on species-specific sequence variations. Only one restriction pattern was found in the Pyrenean desmans collected in the French Pyrenees, suggesting a low genetic diversity in this area.

Two karyotypes have been reported for Calomys cerqueirai: 2n=38, with 15 biarmed and three acrocentric pairs, medium submetacentric X and small acrocentric Y; and 2n=36, with no further description. Previous studies pointed out that diploid number is diagnostic at the species level in Calomys, since cryptic species have been correctly discriminated by karyotypes. Herein, we describe the 2n=36 karyotype of a specimen of C. cerqueirai from a new locality in Espírito Santo/Brazil, raising questions about the species identity and increasing the species range 140 km to the north. We used the cyt b gene sequence to calculate the genetic divergence and evaluate the relationships of this specimen to other Calomys samples available. We found 0.5% genetic distance between 2n=36 and 2n=38 specimens, suggesting intraspecific variation. The 2n=36/FN A =66 karyotype is composed of 16 biarmed and one small acrocentric pairs, and one medium-sized submetacentric X pair. Comparative analysis of 2n=36/FN A =66 and 2n=38/FN A =66 suggests that centric fusion of medium acrocentrics (pairs 16 and 17 from 2n=38) originated a large submetacentric (pair 9 in 2n=36) or vice versa in a centric fission scenario. Polymorphisms in Calomys is here reported for the first time, but the proposal of species-specific karyotypes in this genus is reinforced because both 2n=36/FN A =66 and 2n=38/FN A =66 occur only in C. cerqueirai .

Ecological and behavioural studies of subterranean animals are challenging because their subterranean lifestyle make direct observations difficult. Effective live trapping without causing injuries to an animal and handling of captured individuals are crucial for ecological and behavioural studies. In this paper, we report the design and structure of a live trap and trapping technique for zokors. The trap is made up of a stainless steel cage with a gate, a trigger and a GSM/GPRS module, and it is installed in the tunnel of a fossorial rodent ( Eospalax fontanierii ). The animal gets trapped when it comes to seal the opening through the cage. Once triggered, the GSM/GPRS wireless module will send a signal to a mobile phone so that the researcher can retrieve the trapped animal with little delay. A field trial of this trap was conducted at an alpine meadow in Tianzhu, China. The successful capture rate was 76% of all traps set with no injury recorded, and the average capture time was 31.67 min (range, 21.5–46.5 min). This live trap gave good results on zokor research, and it is also potentially effective or can be modified for trapping other burrow-excavating subterranean animals.

In the neotropics, white-lipped peccaries ( Tayassu pecari ) are important indicators of intact natural landscapes and the status of medium- to large-sized mammals dependent on forest habitats. Recognizing the species’ value as an environmental indicator of landscape and forest conditions in the southern Pantanal, we evaluated the impacts of deforestation and fragmentation on forest mammals by analyzing T. pecari home ranges in a pristine area with intact natural vegetation cover, and a relatively disturbed area where deforestation and conversion to exotic grass pasture is becoming prevalent. In the relatively disturbed region, the home range area was 51% larger than it was in the pristine area, and there were two centers of activity separated by a large unused deforested patch. In the pristine region, there was only one activity center without large unused patches. We relate the differences in the disturbed area to fragmentation of the original T. pecari home range and loss of forest fruit sources. We discuss the implications of ongoing forest fragmentation and predicted climate change for T. pecari and other forest frugivores in the naturally patchy and highly seasonal environment of the Pantanal.