Volume 81, Issue 4

We compared indices of nutritional condition and size between lactating and dry ≥2.5-year-old mule deer Odocoileus hemionus from three free-ranging populations in the Southwestern USA to quantify the energetic costs of lactation on endogenous energy reserves, determine whether differences persisted over winter, and assess carryover effects on future reproduction. In autumn, dry and lactating females differed in 77% of comparisons of condition and 20% of comparisons of size among population-years. In all significant comparisons, dry females were in better condition than lactating, and were smaller. Accrual of fat reserves was affected by lactation more than were protein reserves or size, but of those variables in which dry females differed from lactating in autumn, differences were lost by spring in 100% of cases. Accrual of some indices of condition was negatively affected by consecutive years of full lactations, but this effect was small compared to the overall magnitude of the lactation effect. Neither pregnancy, litter size, birth mass, nor survival of fawns to 30 days or to weaning were affected by previous successful reproduction, while birth date showed a weak positive effect. Likely because of convergence in condition overwinter, the negative influence of lactation on condition did not have a significant carryover effect on future reproduction. Because our study populations experienced moderate to severe nutritional stress, lack of a carryover effect is likely valid for most mule deer populations.

The Atlantic forest of Brazil is extremely fragmented. This fragmentation has had a toll on the mammal’s assemblages. Although different species are not equally susceptible to fragmentation, populations of some species have become locally extinct. Primate populations in these fragments are in decline or have gone locally extinct. However, there is a dearth of information on density of primates in the highly fragmented Atlantic forest of NE Brazil. We conducted a series of censuses to record primates and other mammals in the Pacatuba semi deciduous forest (~267 ha). Most of the midsized and large mammals disappeared, even fragment-tolerant species such as sloths and coatis are missing in the area. Currently, marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus Linnaeus, 1758) and red handed howlers ( Alouatta belzebul Linnaeus, 1766) are the most abundant species. Howlers preferred areas with larger trees and marmosets were more common in edge habitat. Marmosets were the most abundant species (264 individual/km 2 ). Howlers attained the highest densities recorded so far in the Atlantic forest (94.7 individual/km 2 ), and the fragment is probably hyper abundant with howlers. The high availability of larger trees and fruit resources combined with the lack of natural predators, the reduced possibility of dispersal and the semi-deciduousness of the forest could explain these results.

We characterized the habitat use by maras ( Dolichotis patagonum ) on a microhabitat scale in the area surrounding the warren, assessing the conditioning effect of the warren over space use and exploitation of other resources. We evaluated the relationships between the probability and intensity of use, habitat configuration and distance to the warren, counting feces along transects departing from each warren. Our results showed that the location of breeding warrens was positively associated with the habitat use by maras on a microhabitat scale. The core area of the annual activity of maras was concentrated around the warren and there was no evidence of alternative areas of activity. According to the fitted models, maras used microhabitats with a high proportion of bare soil and close to infrastructure elements. The spatial autocorrelation components indicated that intensively used patches are small and disperse. The patterns of habitat use observed in this study suggest that maras use multipurpose areas including the breeding site and resources needed throughout the year. These patterns suggest that warrens are good all year-round indicators of mara habitat use and spatial ecology.

The socio-spatial organization in a local population of the forest dormouse Dryomys nitedula situated in Lithuania was studied using the capture-mark-recapture (CMR) method in a nestbox grid. Adult D. nitedula are sedentary and have permanent home ranges which are the basis of the socio-spatial organization of their populations. Average home range size per activity season was two times larger in adult males than in females (2.6 ha and 1.3 ha, respectively). On average, 53% and 44% of the area of the ranges of males and females, respectively overlapped with the ranges of neighboring individuals. Intersexual overlap of ranges was higher than intrasexual overlap. Males shared their home range with a larger number of other individuals than females (3.6 and 1.5 individuals, respectively). Adult dormice partly shifted their home ranges in consecutive years. During the course of the entire activity season, single individuals of both sexes (72.9%) were found most frequently in nestboxes, while females with litters of young (12.6%) and groups consisting of two or more dormice (14.5%) were much rarer. Pairs consisting of an adult male and female were found during the mating season, while groups of different composition were recorded most often when juveniles became independent.

We used a mathematical model based on nutrient availability to predict Artibeus jamaicensis densities in urban parks of a tropical city. Nutrient availability was calculated based on bat-fruit density and the carbohydrate, nitrogen and fats they contain. In addition to nutrient availability, our model considered the capacity of this frugivorous bat to assimilate the nutrients present in the environment. We compared our predictions with bat captures obtained in the same urban parks, in which we measured nutrient availability. Our results show that A . jamaicensis densities were limited by the quantity of nitrogen available in urban parks. Our density-predicting models, based on soluble carbohydrates and fats available, overpredicted the number of A. jamaicensis individuals. Our result indicates that to maintain healthy bat populations in cities, it is important to take into account not only the variety of food available but also its nutrient content and how easy it is for the bat to assimilate them.

Many Chiropteran species are gregarious, yet much remains to be learned about details of the sociality of most species. This is especially true for the endangered Eumops floridanus (Florida bonneted bat). Scant knowledge of the species’ natural history and ecological interactions has precluded the development of effective conservation strategies. We investigated several aspects of the social organization of E. floridanus roosting in bat houses in southwest Florida: group size, group composition, group stability, and seasonality of reproduction. Our findings suggest the species has characteristics more common to tropical bat species than temperate ones. The average roost size was 10 individuals, with colonies in a harem social structure all three times in the year they were assessed. Adults were much more likely than sub-adults to be recaptured at the same roosts during subsequent capture sessions. We suggest that the availability and distribution of roosts may alter the social structure of these bats and ultimately limit local populations. We did not find evidence of a distinct seasonal birthing period matching that of other temperate bat species. Results suggests the species is aseasonally polyestrous, making non-volant E. floridanus vulnerable to disturbance across a larger portion of the year than other bat species in the US.

This paper reports on a bat survey conducted in November 2011 in Mangolo Nature Park and Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park, both lowland forests located in Southeast Sulawesi. We recorded 22 species of bats that represents nearly 1/3 of the total bat species known to occur on Sulawesi. Three of these are endemic to Sulawesi and adjacent islands, whereas one species, Myotis cf. ridleyi was identified as a new distributional record for this island and with further investigation could prove to be an undescribed species. Our record of Chironax melanocephalus tumulus provided a range extension to the southeastern arm of Sulawesi. Two specimens of Hipposideros boeadii were topotypes and represent the first collections after the description of the type specimen. Collections of Rhinolophus arcuatus from this survey were only the second record of this species from island and represent a range extension. Specimens of Megaderma spasma celebensis were the first records of this species from Southeast Sulawesi. Species are discussed individually with external, cranial and dental measurements summarized. Based on this survey, the number of bat species now documented from the lowlands of Southeast Sulawesi represents the highest diversity yet recorded from a site on Sulawesi. This region is therefore a high priority for conservation and a hotspot for bat research in Indonesia, especially Sulawesi.

Jaguar and puma are the largest cats in the American continent. Competition between both species is expected due to similarities in diet and habitat use. The objective of this study was to test whether temporal separation exists between these two species and to analyze whether their activity patterns coincide with those of some of their potential prey. We used data from camera trapping to estimate activity patterns and measure the overlap between activity distributions using kernel density. The activity of jaguars and pumas overlapped extensively and followed those of some of their potential prey, suggesting a potential for competition.

At the turn of the 21st century, <100 Iberian lynx ( Lynx pardinus ) individuals were found to occur in Southern Spain. Research conducted when the species was that scarce identified Mediterranean scrubland as its breeding habitat. In recent years, the population has grown both in number of individuals and occupied surface. Here, we describe the use of olive tree plantations with low scrub density as breeding habitats by the Iberian lynx. Our results suggest that habitats that were formerly considered as non-suitable, such as agricultural land, could indeed host Iberian lynx breeding territories in areas with low scrubland coverage if wild rabbits are abundant.

Gestation periods in mammals are generally in line with scaling laws. There are several exceptions in which species of relatively similar size and degree of neonatal maturation show a significant difference in gestation length. For example the giraffids have a very long gestation period, compared to bovids of similar size. By using published data about the placental surface area at term, we show that in ungulates this surface area is more tightly correlated to the average fetal growth rate than to fetal and placenta weight. These data suggest that, within one type of placenta, gestation length and placental surface area are associated parameters.

Striped hyenas have a widespread distribution in arid and semi-arid areas of Africa and Asia. However, very little is known about their population status or ecology. We used camera traps to estimate the population size and waterhole use patterns of striped hyenas visiting artificial waterholes in the Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan. The population size of hyenas at waterholes was estimated, using capture-recapture (identified from unique stripe patterns) method, to be nine animals in 2010 and 10 animals in 2012. Waterhole visits occurred almost entirely at night, with monthly visitation rates increasing in the hotter summer months and as the duration from the last rainfall increased. In conclusion, our results suggest that the Dana Biosphere Reserve provides safe drinking opportunities for a small population of striped hyenas and the use of these permanent artificial waterholes increases in the late summer months.

Prey killing behaviours in juvenile wild cats are subject to most influence by their mothers and siblings. The learning strategies enable an individual to create opportunities for conspecifics to participate in operant conditioning. We present for the first time video recordings of two southern tigrinas learning to capture and kill a live cavy ( Cavia aff. aperea ). The videos demonstrate release and recapture of the prey multiple times, likely as practise for development of hunting skills. Predation skills are particularly important for survival during adverse conditions such as low prey population densities, which commonly occur for some time after young cats become independent. In addition to providing the first description of the learning of predation behaviours in this species, our results offer general information on the ecology of Leopardus guttulus , a species recently recognised as distinct.

Cuniculus paca is considered locally threatened in some parts of its range mainly because of hunting pressure and habitat loss. The species is widely distributed in South and Central America. Agouti’s distribution in Brazil is broad, although there is no information on its occurrence in the Northeast region and in the western part of Rio Grande do Sul state. The species presents a marginal distribution in northeastern Uruguay. Here, we describe 16 new records of the species in the Pampa region, including the western part of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil and Uruguay, expanding the C. paca known distribution.

We surveyed the status of the endemic deer mouse Peromyscus maniculatus exiguus from San Martin Island, Baja California, Mexico where the population is numerous. A total of 89 adult rodents of P. m. exiguus were caught, 51 of which were parasitized by the flea Tunga monositus (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae); prevalence was 57% and the mean infection intensity was 1.8 parasites per host. No significant differences in prevalence were found between both sexes and between sites. Our results showed a higher infection percentage than those reported in previous studies for the species.