Volume 82, Issue 2

Members of the genus Eupleres are poorly known insectivorous carnivorans belonging to the family Eupleridae (order Carnivora), which are endemic to Madagascar. Recently, using morphological characters, the two previously recognized subspecies of Eupleres goudotii were raised to the species level, with E. goudotii occurring in the humid forests of the island, largely in the east, and Eupleres major in northwestern dry deciduous forests. Using some of the few museum specimens and fresh tissue samples available for this genus, we assessed differences between these two forms based on the cytochrome b gene. The results show that individuals identified as E . major , based on a combination of morphological characters and collection locality, do not form a monophyletic group, and the level of polymorphism within the genus is not in agreement with the recognition of two species. Additional molecular data, in particular from nuclear markers, are needed to verify these results.

The ocelot is one of the most studied felid species in the neotropics yet most of our current knowledge comes from tropical rain forests and protected areas. Therefore, we lack a comprehensive understanding on how the species abundance varies in terms of ecological parameters across its full distribution range. This is particularly true for the species population in the Northern Hemisphere, as data of ocelot populations occurring in tropical dry forests are scarce. In this study, we focused on: a) generating population data (density and sex ratios), based on camera-trapping, for ocelot occurring in the vast and understudied tropical dry forest of the western Pacific of Mexico. b) Comparing the variation in species abundance and density across its distribution range, including a larger set of studies from the Northern Hemisphere, contrasting parameters between rain forests and tropical seasonal ecosystems and re-examining the assumed relationship between precipitation and ocelot abundance. Overall, we identified 17 ocelots in our study sites and estimated an average density of 23.7 individuals (ind) per 100 km 2 with a female to male ratio >1. No significant differences in ocelot density was found between seasonal tropical forests and rain forests studies (Wilcoxon test, W=71, p=0.7675). Moreover, we found no support for the relation between ocelot density and precipitation (only when restricting our analysis to rain forest data the fit of the regression model was close to be significant, R 2 =0.2463, p=0.07107). Our results indicate that tropical seasonal ecosystems and dry forest in particular, may present ocelot population with similar levels of abundance than tropical rain forests. We observed that precipitation is a poor predictor of ocelot abundance. In our study, we observed that overall local ecological factors (e.g. prey abundance and interspecific interactions) influenced the spatial and temporal abundance of ocelots.

Mule deer Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque 1817) populations in southern New Mexico have declined significantly since the 1980s, similar to trends across the arid Southwestern USA. Because production of fawns is critical to population growth, we evaluated factors influencing fecundity in two mule deer populations in southern New Mexico. Conception, litter size and survival of ≥ 1 fawn to weaning were all affected by maternal age, with older (age 8 and older) females exhibiting reproductive senescence as compared to prime-aged (age 2–7) females for the latter two traits despite achieving similar condition as did prime-aged females. Litter size and survival to weaning were also positively affected by increasing spring precipitation and survival to weaning was also positively affected by increased maternal condition, and size during late gestation. Unlike most previous work, reproductive senescence was evident in mule deer in our study populations, possibly because deer in both populations were in poor condition and older females produced on average 0.24 (95% CI=0.10–0.42) fawns through weaning compared to 0.76 (95% CI=0.60–0.94) for prime-aged females. The positive effect of precipitation during gestation on litter size and fawn survival also indicated that both income (i.e. nutritional intake) and capital (i.e. body reserves) were important determinants of fecundity in our arid Southwestern populations. The relatively early onset of senescence compared to the lifespan of female mule deer indicates that more intensive management of female age structure may be necessary to enhance population-level productivity.

Seasonality of climate promotes differences in abundance and species composition of parasites, affecting host-parasite interactions. Studies have reported seasonal variation in bat-flies, which are obligate bat ectoparasites. We characterized the bat-fly load of three insectivores [ Pteronotus davyi (Gray), Pteronotus parnellii (Gray) and Pteronotus personatus (Wagner)] and one nectarivorous [ Leptonycteris yerbabuenae (Martínez and Villa-R.)] bat species in a tropical dry forest to test the existence of seasonality in response to the availability of resources during the wet and dry seasons. We collected 3710 bat-fly specimens belonging to six species and two genera from 497 bats. Most of the ectoparasite load parameters examined (mean abundance, mean intensity, richness, etc.), including comparisons among reproductive conditions and sex of the host, were similar in both seasons. Prevalence was the parameter that varied the most between seasons. The six bat-fly species were found in all bat species except P. personatus . The latter species and L. yerbabuenae had four and five bat-fly species in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. This study provides significant information of ectoparasites ecology in relation to seasonality, contributes to the understanding of host-parasite relationships in tropical dry forests and discusses the relevance of the abiotic and biotic factors that could impact host-parasite interactions.

Mountains provide important habitats for many species and often have high levels of biodiversity and endemism. Habitat associations of terrestrial small mammals were investigated at Wakefield Farm at the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa from July 2015 to January 2016. Sherman live traps were used to capture small mammals on 35 grids in six different habitats. A total of 472 individuals, from 14 species, were recorded, comprising: 10 rodents, three shrews and one golden mole. Species diversity differed across habitats and seasons. The riparian habitat had the highest species richness, diversity and abundance of small mammals. Species composition also differed across habitats with the indigenous forest and rocky outcrops supporting the most distinct assemblages.

The phylogenetic position of the Ancash leaf-eared mouse Phyllotis definitus remains unresolved, as this species has been considered to be related to Phyllotis magister , Phyllotis xanthopygus or Phyllotis andium by several authors. The objective of this study was to clarify the phylogenetic position of P. definitus using 801 base pairs of cytochrome b sequences. A matrix constituted by 43 specimens was subjected to maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference analyses. Our results indicate that P. definitus is a member of the “ andium / amicus ” group and is closely related to Phyllotis pearsoni , supporting a set of chromosomal and morphological characters previously identified for this group.

The taxonomic status and nomenclature of the golden lemming ( Lemmus obensis chrysogaster) remained a puzzle for more than 100 years. It was considered either as an independent species Lemmus chrysogaster or as a subspecies of Lemmus trimucronatus or Lemmus sibiricus . In the most authoritative checklists, without further evidence, it was transferred to the synonym of Lemmus amurensis . However, the type material and specimens from type locality have not been revised since 1903. Here we fill this gap. The sequence of the cytochrome b gene from topotype clearly indicates that the golden lemming is a younger synonym of L. trimucronatus .

One group of Ateles chamek (Humboldt 1812) was observed during 12 days in the Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade municipality, in the state of Mato Grosso. During that time fecal samples (n=10) were collected and molecular sequencing was used to confirm species identification. The results suggest that the particular pattern of facial hair color observed in this group may be used for differentiation from other sub-populations; however, a deeper study is required for confirmation of these results. This record represents the most southwestern observation of this species, and increases the geographic distribution of A. chamek for about 16 km into the southern Brazilian Amazon. Taking into consideration the threatened status of this species of monkey, and that this region is under constant intensive deforestation, it is important to highlight that ecological studies and conservation activities require urgent development.

The Neotropical genus Platyrrhinus includes 21 small- to medium-sized bat species. Until recently, the known distribution of Platyrrhinus fusciventris in Brazil was restricted to the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Herein, we report the easternmost record of this species, extending its distribution to the Caatinga biome, in Northeastern Brazil, Sergipe state. The specimen reported extends the known eastern limit of the species distribution by more than 800 km, suggesting that this species, although preferring rainforest habitats, also possesses the plasticity to exploit resources of the seasonal dry forests, as the Caatinga.

Quantitative ecological data needs to inform management of the endangered, endemic Sri Lankan leopard. Estimating habitat-specific leopard density and prey availability provides important baselines and improved understanding of the island-wide population. We used remote cameras in a spatially explicit capture-recapture framework to estimate leopard density (11.7 adult individuals/100 km 2 ) and distance sampling to estimate prey density, within Horton Plains National Park. Sambar density was 178/km 2 within the central grasslands, which represent a spatially anchored resource for sambar and in turn, a highly clumped, abundant resource for leopards. This study represents the first robust estimate of leopard density in Sri Lanka’s montane zone.

Knowledge of the jaguar population is needed in French Guiana that faces an increase of human-jaguar conflicts. We carried out a camera trap survey to assess jaguar local density and home range size in a preserved coastal area of French Guiana. We ran spatially explicit capture recapture (SECR) models. In our model, the scale parameter σ , that is linked to the home range size, was larger for males ( σ =3.87±0.59 SE km) than for females ( σ =2.33±0.30 SE km). The assessed jaguar density was 3.22±0.87 SE ind. 100 km −2 , which should be considered as an optimal density in a French Guiana coastal area.

European wild rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) are prolific herbivores, affecting natural and agricultural ecosystems. We installed 10 experimental units, each consisting of two fenced plots, one excluding all herbivores and one allowing rabbit access only, to estimate the impact of rabbit grazing in three vegetation types occurring in two dominant habitat types on Lemnos Island, Greece. Plant productivity was significantly higher in barley crops than on both fallow land and Mediterranean scrublands. Rabbit grazing caused significant reduction of productivity in barley crops and Mediterranean scrublands, but not on fallow land. Selective feeding and seasonal food availability may have shaped patterns of rabbit impact.

We sampled three exotic species of rats ( Rattus exulans , Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus ) by live-trapping along two transects on Tutuila, American Samoa and searched for evidence of mycophagy by examining fecal pellets. We found spores of three species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi ( Septoglomus constrictum , Rhizophagus clarus and Rhizophagus fasciculatus ) in 19 of the 26 samples examined. All the three species of rats consumed sporocarps, with R. clarus being the most widely consumed. We suggest that mycophagy by exotic rats is common in American Samoa and may facilitate invasion of exotic plants such as the tree Falcataria moluccana .

Nectomys is a cricetid genus of medium-large sized oryzomyines broadly distributed in creeks and rivers of lowland South America. It has been mentioned in two localities, one in Bolivia and another in Argentina in Pleistocene assemblages. After revising the fossils that supported both records we conclude that they are not Nectomys . The record from Bolivia is Reigomys primigenus . The record from Argentina is attributable to Scapteromys . In conclusion, past occurrences of Nectomys are restricted to those of undifferentiated Quaternary age from Brazilian caves. The unexpected connections between fossils described here are discussed to explore the rationality behind detected misidentifications.