Volume 83, Issue 2

Studying elusive species of conservation concern might be difficult for technical and ethical reasons. However, censuses can be based on the observation of activity indices. When coupled to non-invasive genetic methods this approach can provide extremely precise information about population size, individual movements and diseases. However, the design of optimal sampling is dependent on a knowledge on group distribution and possible variations of detectability of index targets. The aim of this study was to document the distribution of Yunnan snub-nosed monkey indices in space and time in that perspective. Based on transects carried out across the range of a fed population and on counts along the trail across the range of a wild group, we show that 2–3 day stays of a group in a place of some hectares were sufficient to get an homogeneous distribution of indices. Furthermore, the number of indices found were dependent on both pig presence and season. On the other hand, on a large scale of 100 km 2 indices were spatially distributed as nested clusters. Indices distribution indicated a strong preference towards southern slopes and altitudes ranging between 2900 and 3400 m. Those observations pinpoint the importance of considering spatial scale to organise sampling designed to estimate population distribution.

In Nepal, the Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni was documented from the Mustang and Humla districts until 2013. In 2016, we observed a young ram in the Dolpa district, providing the third locality record. We compiled historical data and our own observation data from 2013 to 2016 to discuss the present distribution of the Tibetan argali in Nepal. We suggest reassessing the National Red List to reclassify it as either “endangered” or “vulnerable”. We recommend management of livestock numbers, promotion of traditional practice of rotational grazing and raising conservation awareness, especially among herders visiting the argali habitat, for long-term conservation of the species in Nepal.

Information on how wildlife is affected by pine plantation clearcutting is relevant for designing management strategies to promote biodiversity conservation in productive systems. By comparing the number of records of carnivores in a mosaic of pine plantations and native forest remnants before and after pine harvesting, we assessed the effect of plantation clearcutting on carnivore presence in ten sampling areas in Central Chile. We also included a number of covariates to account for their potential confounding effects, for example, the distance between each site and the nearesting human settlement and vegetation cover. A total of 10 species were observed, but no negative effect of clearcutting on carnivore presence was detected. Only the culpeo fox ( Lycalopex culpaeus ) responded positively to the harvesting of pine plantations. The threatened kodkod ( Leopardus guigna ) was absent in clearcut areas and the number of records increased in forests or plantations with a dense understorey. The domestic dog ( Canis lupus familiaris ) responded positively to human settlements and seems to prefer more open areas. The number of records for the Puma ( Puma concolor ) and the domestic cat ( Felis silvestris catus ) was too few, and hence, we could not make any inference regarding these two species. The other species recorded showed different responses to one or more of the included covariates. Although our results showed that the recording of some species could change in the short term after pine harvesting, future studies should assess the impact of clearcutting at a much higher scale, both in terms of space and time.

The Caatinga, a Brazilian biome that covers an area of 740,000 km 2 , is characterized by semi-arid climatic conditions with high temperatures and irregular rains throughout the year. The present study verified the structure of the local bat community and the seasonal variation in the abundance of bats and their diversity. We sampled four points on Serra dos Macacos and Serra de Antenor, in the municipality of Tobias Barreto, Sergipe. Field campaigns were conducted monthly between February and November 2011 in the region of the Serra dos Macacos, with the same sampling effort being applied in the dry and rainy seasons. A total sampling effort of 95,040 m 2 ⋅h resulted in the capture of 104 specimens, representing 15 species belonging to the families Phyllostomidae (12 sp.), Vespertilionidae (2 sp.) and Mormoopidae (1 sp.). The Jackknife 1 estimate indicated the occurrence of 21.3±2.07 species in the study area. There was no difference in species diversity between the two stations (t=0.65, p=0.51). The guild of frugivorous and nectarivorous bats were the most abundant in both seasons, and most representative in the rainy season. Significant seasonal difference was found in the abundance of bats between the dry and rainy seasons (χ 2 =16.96; df=1; p<0.05). The results were consistent with other Caatinga studies in terms of species richness and diversity, and community structure, with a predominance of nectarivorous bats and seasonal variation in the community structure.

European wild rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus cuniculus ) have been recently recognized as serious crop pests on Lemnos Island, Greece. With an aim to understand the population dynamics, rabbit reproduction was studied in relation to environmental and intrinsic factors, by a postmortem examination of 273 adults (162 males, 111 females), collected from February 2007 to January 2008. Reproductive activity peaked in the spring and was higher in agricultural than in phryganic habitats for females [pregnant: agricultural 74.5%, phryganic 54.0%, p=0.041; average number of implanted embryos: agricultural 5.56±0.21 standard error (SE), phryganic 4.07±0.21 SE, p=0.0002], but not for males (fertile: agricultural 38.8%, phryganic 31.2%, p=0.308). Classification tree models included explanatory variables with monthly time lags to detect important effects. The male reproductive status (i.e. proportion fertile) was favored by a low maximum temperature in the sampling month (<21.5°C), whereas under a higher maximum temperature male fertility was favored by a high vegetation quality (>14.2% crude protein, CP), good body condition and low mean temperature (<20.5°C). A low maximum temperature at conception (<20.0°C; 1 month time lag) favored pregnancy status (i.e. proportion pregnant). At a higher maximum temperature, pregnancy was favored by a high vegetation cover (>86.8%) at conception. Vegetation quality higher than 10.9% CP resulted in a medium to high number of implanted embryos (2 months time lag), further determined by a high vegetation cover (>90.8%; 2 months time lag) and a low population density (<1.9 ind·ha −1 ). The results identified temperature and habitat quality as prime drivers of reproduction, and ultimately population dynamics. Such information could prove useful for successful rabbit management on Lemnos and other similar areas.

This study describes the use of hair traps as a complementary method to obtain samples for stable isotope analysis from medium- and large-sized mammals. We sampled three protected areas within the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Traps formed an enclosure of ~16 m 2 composed of two barbed-wire strands at different heights, baited with corn, salt, fruits and cinnamon powder. Samples were identified using hair microstructure. We identified 11 species – four globally and six nationally threatened – of which 63.6% were frugivorous. We found high species richness with a small sampling effort, indicating that hair traps can prove useful for isotopic ecology and other applied ecological studies.

The North African ground squirrel, Atlantoxerus getulus , is a Maghreb endemic whose northern limit in the central Atlantic plains of Morocco was located south of the Safi city. New observations show that the species is extending its range in the central Atlantic plains of Morocco and provide indications about its ecology in the new range. Field observations and enquiries of local populations conducted in the spring and summer of 2017 found the species 50 km further from the old limit. This expansion to the north along the Atlantic coast seems to have occurred recently and the species has become rather abundant only since 2–4 years. Atlantoxerus getulus settled in various habitats: low walls (52.8% of cases), abandoned quarries (18.9%), rock piles (stones) (15.1%), cliffs (7.5%) and traditional abandoned reservoirs (5.7%). The diet of this species in the region includes wild plants, cereals, and some damages to cultivated legumes and fruits are observed. In this conquest of new territories in the North Abda region, the anthropogenic habits of this squirrel may have negative effects on the human, poultry and livestock health.

The primary aim of this study was to establish for the very first time the results on the rodent fauna gathered from the ongoing Neolithic excavations at the Tepecik-Çiftlik site in southern Cappadocia (Niğde, Turkey). So far, the fauna being study is represented by species of arvicolines ( Microtus cf. arvalis and Arvicola cf. amphibius ), murines ( Mus cf. musculus ), sousliks ( Spermophilus xanthoprymnus ), hamsters ( Mesocricetus brandti ) and mole-rats ( Spalax xanthodon ), and their remains are described in detail. Paleoenvironmental assumption based on common preferences of the fauna elements indicates, at first sight, a rather dry steppe environment with sparse plant cover or perennial short grasses. On the other hand, the presence of Arvicola cf. amphibius points out streams and marsh-like vegetation cover with bodies of water . The predation or burn marks observed on some specimens and the presence of subterraneous rodents raise questions concerning their taphonomy.

The molecular phylogeny of extant genets (Carnivora, Viverridae, Genetta ) was generated using all species with the exception of the Ethiopian genet Genetta abyssinica . Herein, we provide the first molecular phylogenetic assessment of G. abyssinica using molecular sequence data from multiple mitochondrial genes generated from a recent record of this species from the Forêt du Day (the Day Forest) in Djibouti. This record represents the first verified museum specimen of G. abyssinica collected in over 60 years and the first specimen with a specific locality for the country of Djibouti. Multiple phylogenetic analyses revealed conflicting results as to the exact relationship of G. abyssinica to other Genetta species, providing statistical support for a sister relationship to all other extant genets for only a subset of mitochondrial analyses. Despite the inclusion of this species for the first time, phylogenetic relationships among Genetta species remain unclear, with limited nodal support for many species. In addition to providing an alternative hypothesis of the phylogenetic relationships among extant genets, this recent record provides the first complete skeleton of this species to our knowledge and helps to shed light on the distribution and habitat use of this understudied African small carnivore.

Cytochrome b sequences from South American specimens of the water opossum Chironectes minimus exhibit uncorrected pairwise differences of 0.6% or less among samples collected thousands of kilometers apart (in Guyana, Bolivia and southeastern Brazil). Despite published evidence of population divergence from recent analyses of craniodental morphology, our results suggest extensive gene flow or recent range expansion across the South American landscapes currently occupied by this seldom-collected species.

In this study, we investigate the geographic distribution of the Tule shrew ( Sorex ornatus juncensis ), an endemic subspecies of the San Quintin plains associated with coastal vegetation. Records on this shrew are scarce; herein, we provide knowledge about its current conservation status and report the presence of one Tule shrew specimen, something that has not happened since 1926. The distribution of the Tule shrew is associated with coastal vegetation, limited to the San Quintin plains, with scarce records. Field trips were conducted during 2013–2015 in the San Quintin plains and San Pedro Martir range of the Baja California Peninsula. The sampling effort was 3250 trap nights. One specimen of S. o. juncensis was recorded in association with coastal sage-scrub vegetation and identified following the original description, based on its narrower skull relative to Sorex ornatus ornatus . We used a mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequence (384 bp) to confirm this identification and compare genetic distances using the Kimura’s two-parameter nucleotide substitution model vs. other populations of the ornatus group. We found a genetic divergence of less than 1.0% based on sequences from specimens collected from Sierra San Pedro Martir, El Rosario and Sierra La Laguna. In the locality of the S. o. juncensis specimen collected, the original vegetation consists of patches of coastal scrubs, which cover an area of less than 1 km 2 , affected by agriculture and habitat fragmentation. We reallocated the taxonomic level of the Tule shrew inhabiting the plains of San Quintin in the Baja California Peninsula to subspecies as S. o. juncensis based on geographic isolation, morphometric characteristics and coloration differences vs. S. o. ornatus . The population inhabiting San Quintin plains is subjected to strong pressure due to habitat loss.

The Southeast Asian species Mus (Mus) cookii Ryley 1914 has been previously reported from southern China, Nepal, northeastern and peninsular India, Myanmar, north and central Thailand and Vietnam. A cytochrome b ( Cytb ) gene analysis revealed the presence of M. cookii which significantly expands the known western range of this species. However, it is unclear whether the M. cookii population in the Pothwar region represents a historical or recent westward range expansion or, on the contrary, a relictual source population that further experienced an historic eastward range expansion into Southeast Asia.

We report the first record of the Santa Marta mouse Nephelomys maculiventer in Venezuela based on a specimen from the Northern Andes in the Sierra de Perijá. This record increases the number of mammalian species documented in Venezuela to 404 and extends the geographic distribution range of N . maculiventer approximately 80 km northwest from the closest locality in Colombia. With this discovery, we update the ecological and conservation information for the species as well as the taxonomy of the genus Nephelomys .