Volume 81, Issue 1

Plant dispersal is crucial to maintaining plant community dynamics, especially in the current context of rapid environmental changes such as global warming and landscape fragmentation. We seized the opportunity to carry out a pilot study on endozoochorous dispersal by the endangered Pyrenean brown bear. We based our study on faeces collected by the Brown Bear Network and location data from three bears fitted with GPS collars and translocated from Slovenia to the Pyrenees in 2006. We studied 39 faecal samples, 25 of which contained seeds from two to three different taxa. We identified a total of 47 plant taxa, 30 to the genus level and 21 to the species level. The seeds from plants bearing fleshy fruits: Vaccinium myrtillus or uliginosum , Rubus idaeus , Malus sylvestris and Sorbus sp., but also dry fruits: Thymus sp., Betula pendula or alba , were the most frequently recovered. We estimated average distances moved by bears to vary from 0.85 to 1.34 km over a 6-h period, corresponding to the median gut retention time, GRT 50% for their berry-based diet in summer and fall. Bears may thus promote the long-distance dispersal of fleshy forest fruits, over longer distances than other sympatric mammals, involved in the dispersal of plants from open areas.

We assessed the effect of seasonality and intrinsic conditions on daily activity pattern of giant anteaters reintroduced in the Iberá Reserve, Argentina. During 2007–2012 we gathered 159 24-h focal samples on 15 radio-marked individuals (11 captive-reared, four wild-reared; seven adults, eight juveniles), 216 records of beginning and end of activity bouts on 20 individuals, and 454 camera-traps records (3345 trap-days). We estimated the daily hours of activity, the percentage of diurnal and nocturnal activity, and the daily activity range and time overlap using time as a circular variable in kernel density estimations. We assessed differences between seasons, sexes, age classes, and types of rearing. The average daily hours of activity was 8:43 h. Camera-traps and radio-telemetry showed similar results. Animals exhibited both diurnal (60–65%) and nocturnal (40–35%) activity. The higher probability for being active ranged within 09:00–03:00 h. Anteaters spent more hours active and were more nocturnal during summer. Activity was highly overlapped between sexes, and wild-reared individuals were more nocturnal than captive-reared ones. Seasonal shifts in daily activity highlights the importance of thermoregulation as a selective factor in this species. The giant anteater is a cathemeral species with flexibility to accommodate its activity pattern to local conditions or experience.

This study investigated the little known winter ecology of Japanese dormice by monitoring body temperature patterns and winter activity in captive and free-living animals. Before onset of hibernation, animals exhibited a transitional phase characterized by frequent bouts of daily torpor. During hibernation itself, dormice aroused periodically from torpor but never foraged during arousals. Torpor bout duration tended to be shorter around the beginning and end of the hibernation period than during the intervening mid-hibernation period. In a further radio-tracking study of two free-living dormice, both were observed to construct a shallow underground hibernaculum at a depth of 1–5 cm and to enter hibernation alone. One individual left the nest after it was disturbed, while the other dormouse stayed in its nest and continued hibernating normally, exhibiting periodic arousal but never feeding or moving from the hibernaculum. These first detailed observations of hibernation in Japanese dormice are in good accordance with previous studies of European dormouse species.

Studies on bat ecology and distribution in the Brazilian Cerrado are scarce. Here we describe a bat assemblage from a savanna landscape in central Brazil and explore the richness, diversity, abundance and the influence of habitat and seasonality. We conducted 48 nights of sampling in both dry and wet seasons and in three habitat types. We estimated the richness and diversity indexes. We assessed the influence of habitat and season on species abundance with a generalized linear mixed model. Overall, we captured 254 individuals of 19 species and our effort sampled 90% of the estimated richness. The Phyllostomidae family was the most frequent, with 76.3% of all captures. Carollia perspicillata , Glossophaga soricina and Eptesicus furinalis were the most abundant species with 21.6%, 16.9% and 15.3% of captures, respectively. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index and the evenness were 2.37 and 0.80, respectively. Habitat and season interact to generate the observed abundance. The diversity was higher than what was observed for other bat assemblages in the Brazilian Cerrado. Our results sum up with ones previously described in the literature and highlight the importance of gallery forests for the maintenance of mammalian diversity in this biome. Additionally, the record of Trachops cirrhosus extends its geographic range approximately 300 km westward in the Cerrado.

Eight bat species were recorded at Gatkop Cave, in the northern part of South Africa in December 2011 ( Cloeotis percivali, Hipposideros caffer, Myotis tricolor, Miniopterus natalensis, Nycteris thebaica, Rhinolophus blasii, Rhinolophus smithersi, and Rhinolophus simulator ). With the exception of M. natalensis , R. simulator and Myo. tricolor , the other five species were recorded for the first time at Gatkop Cave during this time of the year, when thousands of M. natalensis use the cave as a maternity and nursery roost. Previously it was suggested the large numbers of M. natalensis using Gatkop Cave during the maternal period excluded other bat species. The reason for this recorded change in species roost composition at Gatkop Cave during the maternal period in relation to previous records made from the late 1960s and the mid 1980s is not clear, two possible reasons are the loss of other roosts, or these species were previously present but were not captured as a result of the particular methods used.

In order to gain insight into the pattern of bat species composition over altitude and the environmental variables driving the observed pattern, we compared data from moist southern and drier northern aspects of the Soutpansberg range in northern South Africa. Acoustical monitoring and additional capturing of bats was used for analysis of species distribution patterns and comparisons of community composition. Bat activity generally followed a linear decline with increasing altitude, possibly related to reproductive females preferring lower altitudes. Species richness followed a hump-shaped distribution on the northern aspect and across the transect, whereas a pattern of a linear decline was observed on the southern aspect. Our study strongly supports a previously published climate model for insectivorous bats which assumes that water availability linked with temperature determines the shape of altitudinal distribution in bat species. Step-wise selection from multiple regression models retained habitat type and/or measures of habitat structure in all final models, supporting several other studies in that vegetation correlated to altitude is a primary determinant of bat species distribution over altitude. This study also supports that the Soutpansberg is a biodiversity hotspot for bats and emphasises that conservation efforts should by no means ignore the lower altitudes.

Pedal grasping evolution in euarchontan mammals is of great importance as it bears on the adaptive significance of specialized hallucal grasping and arboreal niche use related to the group differentiation. Basally divergent arboreal tupaiid treeshrews are very suitable for testing pedal grasping modes and associated substrate correlates and provide insights on euarchontan pedal evolution. For these purposes we filmed wild-caught Dendrogale murina from Vietnam and analyzed their foot mechanisms. Our observations showed that hallucal grasp was moderately used and was mainly associated with small and horizontal substrates. Convergent grasp was frequently used on medium-sized and horizontal substrates whereas claws were related to large and vertical substrates. In addition, the foot was frequently inverted and mainly placed in a semiplantigrade position. Inversion and semiplantigrady dominated on small, medium-sized and horizontal substrates but decreased on larger substrates with increased inclinations. The observed pedal mechanism probably represents a derived condition, where hallucal grasping tends to become slightly restrained, compared to the primitive euarchontan (and scandentian) pedal grasping mechanism. Furthermore, it hallmarks an early stage in tupaiid evolution towards a more constrained pedal grasping. This further substantiates pedal grasping plasticity within euarchontan mammals and highlights the strong relation between a hallucal grasping mechanism and the frequent and primary use of small slender substrates.

The taxonomic and phylogenetic position of the Nikolaus’s African climbing mouse ( Megadendromus nikolausi ), formerly known only from four specimens, remained for a long time ambiguous. Here, we report, for the first time, the phylogenetic analysis of this species using mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and nuclear (interphotoreceptor binding protein) gene sequences obtained from a new specimen recently caught in the Bale Mountains in south-eastern Ethiopia. Our analyses strongly suggest that the Nikolaus’s climbing mouse does not belong to a distinct monotypic genus, but to the genus Dendromus . The first karyotype description of this enigmatic Ethiopian endemic is presented. The diploid set comprises 18 pairs of bi-armed chromosomes, 2N=36, one of the lowest diploid numbers reported for the genus Dendromus (2N=30–52). Moreover, the phylogenetic analysis reveals that another very distinctive Ethiopian endemic, Dendromus lovati , sometimes placed in a subgenus Chortomys , occupies an internal position within Dendromus s.s. The results suggest that the Ethiopian Plateau is an important center of high diversity and adaptive radiation for the genus Dendromus . The conservation status of M. nikolausi is assessed.

The aim of this study is to propose a methodology to estimate the age of individuals of capybaras ( Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris ) using some morphometric measurements of the skull and femur. A sample of 250 individuals from different age categories was analyzed. These categories were estimated based on the ossification degree of the cranial sutures. Out of 28 morphocranial measurements taken, nine of them allow us to adequately determine the degree of bone maturation and the relative age: pre maxillonasal maximum width (MNW), pre maxillonasal minimum width (MNMW), parietal width (PW), intermaxillary width (IMW), maximum width of the 3rd molar (MW), minimum width of the 3rd molar (MMW), 3rd molar length (M3), molar length (ML), and molar 1 and 2 length (M12). In case of the femur, the measurements did not show differences among age categories, thus, we discarded these morphometric magnitudes as possible age indicators. This work proposes new measures to estimate and to analyze the relative age structure of the capybara population, providing a useful tool in the management and conservation of this species, and to evaluate paleontological and archaeological assemblages.

The American mink ( Neovison vison ) was introduced to Italy for the fur farming industry during the 1950s. The first feral mink were observed in the 1980s in the northern regions of Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Emilia Romagna. In this work, we investigated the distribution of mink in Friuli Venezia Giulia, more than 10 years after the last extensive release of farmed animals which happened in this region in 2003. Results indicate that American mink has naturalized in the region and populations are still localized along some tributaries of the upper Tagliamento catchment.

We present the results of a study on the activity patterns of a wolf in northwestern Greece (2011–2012). The home range of the wolf was 460.5 km 2 , while the core area was 88.9 km 2 and included mainly areas with tree cover and agricultural areas. On three occasions the wolf unsuccessfully tried to cross a highway, highlighting the necessity to identify habitat corridors and effectively mitigate the effects of transportation infrastructure on the species in Greece. Based on these results we propose the increase of research and management actions for the effective protection of wolves in the country.

Central Mexico has experienced a decline of its natural vegetation due to anthropogenic pressure. In 12 sites in the southeastern portion of Guanajuato, we deployed camera traps and analyzed landscape characteristics. We recorded the presence of bobcats in four sites. Their presence was explained by a combination of patch size and tree cover. Because bobcats are sensitive to fragmentation and habitat loss, it is essential to increase sampling and conservation efforts to define the minimum patch size and maximum area of human development that can limit their long-term persistence and the establishment of breeding populations.

We investigated fruit selection of a radio-collared female binturong ( Arctictis binturong pageli Schwarz, 1911) by focal animal sampling in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We recorded seven food species from 12 feeding trees over 16 months. The radio-collared binturong fed only ripe fig fruits ( Ficus spp., Moraceae), suggesting that her diet largely depended on figs. As the present study was based on only one female individual, more efforts are needed to elucidate the feeding ecology of this cryptic carnivore.

The gastrointestinal tract of a female, immature (2400 kg body mass, 6.6 m body length) southern minke whale ( Balaenoptera bonaerensis ) was investigated. The forestomach had a non-glandular, keratinized squamous epithelium which was separated from the fundic chamber by a clear border between a keratinized epithelium and a glandular, folded mucosa. The beginning of the duodenum consisted of the ampulla duodeni . Both cecum and colon had a smooth external appearance without sacculations or bands. Compared to phylogenetically closely related Artiodactyla, the size of the stomach complex and the intestine was short, corresponding to the carnivorous diet of cetaceans.

An adult male leopard Panthera pardus was killed in Elba Protected Area in south-east Egypt. This record represents the first confirmed observation in Egypt during the past 65 years, and the first confirmed record in this region. We visited the surrounding areas where the leopard was killed and in areas where tracks were observed by local people to follow the animal’s movement and describe the habitat. The external measurements and the morphology are also described and a tissue sample was preserved for genetic analysis.