Volume 84, Issue 5

The creation of new populations through reintroductions in their former range is still necessary for the long-term conservation of the Iberian lynx ( Lynx pardinus ). A large-scale assessment of habitat suitability is a necessary prerequisite for evaluating the possibility of carrying out lynx reintroductions. We modelled habitat suitability for the Iberian lynx in the Iberian Peninsula using MaxEnt. Lynx presence data for 2010–2013 from Andujar-Cardeña and Doñana populations were used. Habitat variables were quantified using the CORINE Land Cover. This habitat suitability model predicted an environmentally suitable area of 87,747 km 2 , which represents 14.08% of the whole Iberian Peninsula. Of the total suitable habitat identified, 45% is located in a large continuous area in the south-western quadrant coinciding with the historical range of the species in the mid-20th century. However, there are also relevant patches mainly in the north-eastern quadrant. About 55% of the potential area suitable for the lynx falls outside protected areas. If Iberian lynx populations are to attain levels that will facilitate their long-term survival, it will be necessary to consider potential habitat for the species throughout the whole of the Iberian Peninsula.

The striped hyena Hyaena hyaena is listed “Vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the Mediterranean region as its population and range are decreasing in most countries. In Algeria, the distribution and status of this species have not been reviewed for nearly 30 years. A field survey was conducted during the last 10 years in many regions and suitable habitats in order to update this information. Our results show that the striped hyena was eradicated from some northern areas of its former range, but still occurs in most regions of Algeria. Causes of mortality are reported and conservation measures are suggested in order to keep sustainable populations.

Chaetophractus villosus was once distributed from the south of Bolivia and Paraguay to the northwest of Patagonia, where the species survived in glacial refugia during Pleistocene. After the ice retreated, the species expanded its distribution further south reaching Chubut River. In the last two centuries, the species colonized the rest of Patagonia on both sides of the Andes and was introduced in Tierra del Fuego (TDF) in 1982, where it expanded its distribution range along 484 km 2 until 2005. A single mitochondrial Control Region haplotype (HC) was described across Argentine Patagonia based on the low number of samples. This lack of variability was exceptional and impressive, taking into account that the northern neighboring areas of distribution are considered ancestral due to the haplotype richness. Here, we added new field and genetic data and compiled recent bibliography to update the biogeography and phylogeography of the species in southern South America. To explain the unprecedent lack of genetic variability, we discussed three main aspects: a historical biogeographic aspect related to the natural barriers for the species, a strong stochastic component, and the possible adaptive advantages of the only mitochondrial lineage detected, whose colonization and acclimatization to the new environment were mediated by man. We also estimated that the current distribution range in TDF is about 8527 km 2 .

We report the first record of the rare Koepcke’s spear-nosed bat Gardnerycteris koepckeae collected outside of Peru, based on morphological and cytochrome b data. The species was found at the National Natural Park Alto Fragua Indi-Wasi, Department of Caquetá, Colombia. This record extended the species distribution 1400 km north from the northernmost known locality in Huanhuachayo, Ayacucho, Peru. This finding suggests that G. koepckeae is distributed over middle elevations along the eastern slope of the Andean-Amazonia foothills in Peru and Colombia, similar to other Phyllostomid bats, such as Vampyressa melissa and Lonchophylla handleyi . We reviewed the threatened category of G. koepckeae , currently categorized as Data Deficient (DD), according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but considered as Endangered (EN) in recent papers. Based on this new record, we suggest that the species should be included in future assessments as Near Threatened (NT) or Vulnerable (VU) based on its wider distribution along the Andean-Amazonian foothills of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and probably the Orinoco slope of the Andes of Colombia and Venezuela.

Diet analysis is essential to fully understanding the biology of a species and its function within the ecosystem, and is also key in identifying food web interactions and the population dynamics of predators and prey. There is currently little information on the diet of small to mid-sized carnivores due to their elusive behavior. We used a DNA-based method to analyze the vertebrate prey of the Pallas’s cat ( Otocolobus manul ) in the Gongga Mountain Nature Reserve of southwestern China, a global biodiversity hotspot region. We confirmed 14 scat samples containing the Pallas’s cat DNA from 100 small carnivore scats collected at altitudes between 3200 and 4900 m, and then performed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifications using primers targeting the vertebrate mitochondrial 12 S rRNA gene with a blocking oligonucleotide specific to the predator sequence. We identified a total of 18 prey taxa, including nine mammals, eight birds and one fish. Our results show that pikas (in 79% of the scats) and birds (in 50% of the scats) are the predominant prey consumed by the Pallas’s cat in our investigation area. The most important finding in our study is that Cypriniformes species were found in the Pallas’s cat’s diet, exhibiting dietary diversification consistent with the accessible fauna of the surrounding environment. In order to increase the detectability of both typical and rare vertebrate prey items, we constructed a blocking primer to inhibit the amplification of the Pallas’s cat DNA.

The rusty-spotted cat Prionailurus rubiginosus is the smallest wildcat in the world, endemic to India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Although new occurrence records have recently been reported from different geographic localities in India and Nepal, there is still a lack of information on its biology and habitat use that are required for its conservation planning. Herein, we report results from systematic, long-term (2014–2018) camera trapping in Kanha Tiger Reserve, India, to evaluate the habitat use, suitability and activity pattern of the rusty-spotted cat and model its local distribution with habitat and anthropogenic covariates. Thick canopied forest and rugged terrain were found to be extensively used and preferred by the rusty-spotted cat. It was also recorded in the multiple-use buffer zone forests in close proximity to agriculture. The species is nocturnal and its activity seems to coincide with its major prey. The guiding philosophy of tiger reserves in India is to use the tiger as an umbrella species for biodiversity conservation, and often these reserves are intensively managed to enhance tiger and prey populations. This approach, however, may not cater to the requirements of other less charismatic sympatric species, and those of the rusty-spotted cat also need to be considered for its continued survival.

Previous studies have shown that skunks present negative interactions with foxes. However, recently published observations have demonstrated that southern spotted skunk ( Spilogale angustifrons ) individuals follow gray foxes ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ) in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve (TCBR) in Mexico. In this paper, we reported the same interaction in other locations in the TCBR and evaluated whether this interaction is casual or statistically positive. In this analysis, we included data pertaining to three skunk species ( S. angustifrons , Conepatus leuconotus , and Mephitis macroura ) and U. cinereoargenteus . We sampled 172 sites using camera traps from 2011 to 2018 for a total effort of 49,764 trap-days. The four studied species were nocturnal; the overlap coefficient between foxes and skunks varied from 0.70 to 0.83. Of the 32 consecutive records between S. angustifrons and U. cinereoargenteus , 11 showed that individuals of this skunk species closely followed U. cinereoargenteus and that these encounters were not random (time interval <1 min). We did not find evidence of a behavioral association of U. cinereoargenteus with C. leuconotus and M. macroura .

We studied the population viability of two common marsupials, Didelphis marsupialis and Didelphis virginiana , based on field data and published ecological and genetic information. Using the VORTEX v. 10. 2.6 program, a 100-year simulation was performed with 1000 iterations for five populations of D. marsupialis and six of D. virginiana . A low probability of extinction was observed in both species, particularly for D. virginiana (0.000–0.007). Population size is higher considering a metapopulation dynamics approach versus individual populations for the two marsupials: 498.25 individuals for D. marsupialis and 367.41 individuals for D. virginiana . The estimated mean genetic diversity was high for both D. marsupialis ( H e  = 0.77–0.78) and D. virginiana ( H e  = 0.79–0.82). The survival of both species over time could be expected to increase if a metapopulation dynamics is favored over the coming decades, despite a 1.3% loss rate of forest cover. The monitoring of population size and genetic diversity is highly recommended to validate the trends suggested by the model; this is especially true for D. marsupialis , a species associated with conserved areas that are becoming progressively less abundant. This research provides information on the responses of common mammalian species to environmental changes such as deforestation.

Bats play an important role by providing ecosystem services including pollination, seed dispersal, forest regeneration and insect pest control and also serve as bio-indicators. In the present study, we present an acoustic guide to the calls of nine species of bats from Gujarat belonging to families Rhinopomatidae ( Rhinopoma hardwickii , Rhinopoma microphyllum ), Emballonuridae ( Taphozous melanopogon , Taphozous longimanus and Taphozous nudiventris ), Rhinolophidaea ( Rhinolophus lepidus ), Hipposideridae ( Hipposideros galeritus ) and Vespertilionidae ( Scotophilus heathii , Pipistrellus ceylonicus ). Discriminant function analysis was used to classify the bat calls to the species level using leave-one-out cross validation. Analysis was carried out separately for constant frequency (CF) calls and frequency-modulated (FM) calls. Bats echolocating with CF calls were classified with 100% success, while in the case of FM calls, the calls were classified with 66.7% accuracy. In species-rich communities, care should be taken while using echolocation calls to identify bats producing FM calls. More such call libraries of bats from other parts of India are needed for non-invasive documentation of chiropteran fauna in different biogeographic zones.

In a radio-tracking study of the edible dormouse Glis glis in Poland, 20 transmitters out of 125 used showed traces of gnawing, presumably by other dormice. All gnawed devices were found in a high-density population (8.0–9.5 individuals/ha) and none in low-density populations (2.5–5.5 individuals/ha). Sex, reproductive activity and season had no perceived impact on the damage done to the transmitters.

Semiaquatic habits evolved in several Sigmodontinae rodent species, but this issue remains poorly studied. The marsh rat Holochilus vulpinus (Brants, 1827) has been associated with palustrine wetland environments and exhibits several morphological traits related to the semiaquatic habit. However, its swimming behavior and the way its morphological specializations contribute to it have not been evaluated so far in this species. This note focuses on describing and quantifying the swimming behavior and swimming performance of H. vulpinus. In order to address these issues, five individuals of H. vulpinus , four adults and one subadult, were filmed while swimming and their performance was quantified. The obtained results indicate that the swimming mode is bipedal paddling, alternating the stroke of the hind feet. The quantitative indicators also qualify H. vulpinus as a good swimmer compared to other terrestrial and semiaquatic mammals.