Volume 81, Issue 5

An increasing number of free-ranging southern white rhinos ( Ceratotherium simum Burchell 1817) live in fenced and intensively managed reserves. They are often kept in small populations and depend on supplementary feeding in the dry season, which can influence their behaviour and distribution. We studied the distribution and social behaviour of free-ranging southern white rhinos in two smaller reserves in South Africa. In the first reserve, the rhinos (n=13) were supplementary-fed while in the second one, the rhinos (n=8) depended on natural grazing. Following the start of supplementary feeding in the first reserve, the rhinos changed their distribution and concentrated in areas around the feeding places. We observed (79 h of observation) the social behaviour of rhinos at places, where they frequently gathered and the agonistic interactions between them were significantly more frequent at the feeding places (in the first reserve) than at the natural grazing and resting area (in the second reserve). A sufficient number of feeding places and especially their good dispersion could help decrease the agonistic behaviour. Knowledge of the social behaviour of free-ranging rhinos at potentially competitive places in smaller reserves can also be very valuable for better understanding of behaviour of captive animals.

Species interactions determine the structure of biological communities. In particular, interference behavior is critical as dominant species can displace subordinate species depending on local ecological conditions. In carnivores, the outcome of interference may have important consequences from the point of view of conservation, especially when vulnerable species are the ones suffering displacement. Using 24 baited camera traps and a sampling effort of 2821 trap nights, we examined the activity patterns and spatial overlap of an assemblage of five sympatric carnivores in the Nahuelbuta Mountain Range, in southern-central Chile. In this forested landscape we found predominantly nocturnal activity in all species, but not for the puma ( Puma concolor ) and to a lesser extent, for the guigna ( Leopardus guigna ). In terms of spatial overlap, there was a non-significant negative relationship between the puma and the culpeo ( Lycalopex culpaeus ), and a positive relationship among the three smaller species of the assemblage, the guigna, the hog-nosed skunk ( Conepatus chinga ), and the Darwin’s fox ( Lycalopex fulvipes ). Culpeo displayed a negative spatial relationship with the three later species appearing to be a product of interference behavior. Species-specific ecological differences, including prey types and spatio-temporal partitioning among the carnivores appear to allow their coexistence.

Limiting abiotic conditions might shape boundaries of species distribution, while biotic factors influence such distributions through interspecific relationships. When two morphologically and or/ecologically similar species are geographically overlapped, a distribution displacement or a change in size or morphology is expected to minimize competition. Environmental niche modeling (ENM) might help us understand the relationship between distribution of a species’ pair and their relationship with environmental conditions, allowing us to test the possible existence of shared distribution patterns and/or displacements across wide geographic ranges. In this work, distribution patterns and climatic and geographic overlap are analyzed between two South American small carnivorans, Galictis cuja and Lyncodon patagonicus , using geographic information systems and ENM. Environmental tolerance of the latter species seems to be enclosed within the range of the former, with high geographic overlap. No evidence of niche displacement was found between them. G. cuja seems to be a more generalist species than L. patagonicus , and size difference (e.g. body size, dentition size) might be the mechanism that allows coexistence between these highly similar species, although future field studies might be needed to support this statement.

The Guiana Center of Endemism (GCE) extends across Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, north of the Amazon River and east of the Negro River in Brazil, and Venezuela to the south of the Orinoco River. Regarding diversity of nonvolant mammals, the Brazilian part of this center is less studied, especially the area corresponding to the north of the State of Pará. Seven field trips lasting 12–15 days each were conducted in five conservation units in northern Pará, in order to assess the nonvolant mammalian fauna. Small mammals were captured using conventional and pitfall traps. Medium-sized and large mammals were recorded through direct observations on diurnal transect censuses, collections, camera traps, indirect evidence, and in some cases, interviews. We recorded 60 species distributed in nine orders. Among other contributions, a recently described species of Monodelphis was collected, and the range distribution of Didelphis imperfecta was extended. In addition, the night monkey Aotus sp. was recorded on the east of the Trombetas River for the first time. The high number of records for game and/or threatened species evidences that the studied area is highly preserved, and the newly created protected areas are strategic for the conservation of mammals in the GCE.

The distance sampling is one of the most widely used techniques for estimating abundance and density, particularly for mammals. Managers/researchers sometimes sample unpaved roads assuming that these do not violate important assumptions. However, relatively few studies have attempted to address this, simultaneously comparing behavior between roads and transects, a key issue as behavior can potentially affect detection. Here, we used distance sampling to compare abundance and behavior of agoutis between transects and unpaved roads. We sampled an isolated agouti population during two contrasting seasons. Road densities (347–432 agoutis/km 2 for dry and wet seasons, respectively) were statistically similar to those from transects (373–322 agoutis/km 2 , respectively). However, road data had a different variance contribution, lower detection probability and poorer model fitting. We also found that agoutis move/interact and forage/feed differently on roads in comparison with transects and were more vigilant in transects than in roads during the first season we sampled (wet). Together, these findings indicated that (1) we detect agoutis differently on these two transect types and (2) road sampling more seriously violates the assumption of randomness of transects in relation to animals. We conclude that while avoiding roads is unfeasible given time and logistical limitations, researchers should be aware of the potential bias, making this clear when discussing and comparing their results.

In the not too distant past the name Alticola roylei was used to encompass mountain voles which are currently classified as six different species. Such wide use of the taxonomic name still blurs the lines among species of mountain voles in northern India and adjacent Pakistan. By studying museum vouchers we redefine the taxonomic and geographical scope of A. roylei , a mountain vole which is characterized by a combination of dark (hair-brown) dorsal fur and moderately long tail, bowed zygomatic arches, small bullae, and moderately complex third upper molars. Two names ( lahulius and cautus ) are listed as junior synonyms of roylei . We identified 19 localities as evidence on the presence of Royle’s mountain vole in Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal in India. Further three localities extend the range into Nepal. The total area of the species’ occurrence is estimated as 15,290 km 2 . Royle’s mountain vole is allopatric with respect to further two mountain voles of Nepal and northern India, Alticola stoliczkanus (a single case of sympatry in Manaslu) and Aticola montosus .

Gervais, in 1856, described the bats collected during Castelnau’s expedition through South America (1843–1847). We report that Phyllostoma angusticeps (Gervais, 1856), long treated as a junior synonym of Phyllostomus discolor (Wagner, 1843), is not a representative of the genus Phyllostomus . In fact, as we demonstrate, it represents the taxon known as Trachops cirrhosus . We also provide a summary, in tabular form, of the genera and species first described by Gervais (1856).

The white-lipped peccary (WLP) is the most endangered ungulate in the Neotropics. In the recent years, this species has undergone a large reduction in range size and experienced the loss of several populations. An emblematic case was the local extinction of this species from the Iguaçu National Park (INP) in the mid-1990s. After the report of this particular WLP disappearance, surveys conducted along the 2000s confirmed its absence in the park. However, in 2016, after 20 years of previous reports, we obtained five records of WLP herds, indicating a possible population recovery probably resulting from emigration. To effectively re-establish white-lipped peccary population and, consequently, restore its ecological role, urgent practical conservation measures are necessary.

Coendou spinosus is a rodent from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest with a cryptic behavior that hinders collection of information regarding its ecology. On October 2014, we observed an individual of C. spinosus above 2100 m of altitude, on the high-altitude grasslands of the Itatiaia National Park, feeding on the flowers of Camptosema scarlatinum. This is the highest altitude ever recorded and the first registration of vine species consumption and ground feeding behavior by the C. spinosus . Therefore, we recommend the undertaking of new studies to understand its ecological requirements and interspecific interactions.

Predation on arboreal squirrels is rarely observed directly. Here we report the observation of a predatory attack on a Neotropical pygmy squirrel, Sciurillus pusillus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803), by a white-throated toucan, Ramphastos tucanos , from north-eastern Peruvian Amazonia. The toucan plucked the squirrel from a trunk at ca. 8 m height in flight and then slammed the individual against a liana in an apparent attempt to kill the prey item. This is the first field observation on a predation attempt on S. pusillus , and adds further evidence for predatory habits in toucans.

The spectral bat ( Vampyrum spectrum ) is believed to be a tree-roosting species that never enters caves. In 2008, a single spectral bat was found roosting in a cave on Utila Island, Honduras. Analysis of recent reports and photos available online shows that the same individual is still intermittently present at the same roosting site as of 2016; this are the first data on spectral bat longevity in the wild.

Sorting specimens at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, we recovered a presumable specimen of Amphinectomys ; to assess its identity, we compared this new specimen with the holotype of Amphinectomys savamis and with a syntopic sample of Nectomys apicalis . The Ecuadorean Amphinectomys differs discretely from the holotype in a few cranio-dental traits and from N. apicalis in many and more evident traits. The holotype is larger than the new specimen, and neither specimen of Amphinectomys has similar proportional dimensions in comparison with N. apicalis . Therefore, we identified the Ecuadorean specimen as A. savamis , acknowledging some level of intraspecific geographic variation and extending its current known distribution northwestwards.