Volume 85, Issue 1

Viruses similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been discovered in bats of the genus Rhinolophus and in the Sunda pangolin, Manis javanica Desmarest, 1822, suggesting that these animals have played a key role in the emergence of the Covid-19 outbreak in the city of Wuhan, China. In this paper, we review the available data for sarbecoviruses (viruses related to SARS-CoV [2002–2003 outbreak] and SARS-CoV-2) to propose all possible hypotheses on the origin of Covid-19, i. e., involving direct transmission from horseshoe bats to humans, indirect transmission via the pangolin or another animal, with interspecies contamination between either wild animals or animals kept in cage. Present evidence indicates that Rhinolophus bats are the natural reservoir of all sarbecoviruses, and that two divergent SARS-CoV-2-like viruses have circulated in southern China (at least in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces) between August 2017 and March 2019 in captive pangolins destined for sale in wildlife markets. We performed a genetic analysis of seven seized pangolins found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2-like virus using mitochondrial DNA sequences extracted from Sequence Reads Archive data. The results reveal that the same SARS-CoV-2-like virus can be found in animals with distinct haplotypes, which means that they were probably captured in different Southeast Asian regions. Our interpretation is that some pangolins were contaminated in captivity (by other pangolins or by another species to be determined), suggesting that illegal trade of living wild mammals is at the origin of the Covid-19 outbreak. To definitely validate this hypothesis, it is however necessary to discover a virus almost identical to SARS CoV-2 (at least 99% of identity) in animals sold in wet markets. Although pangolins are good candidates, other mammals, such as small carnivores, should not be overlooked.

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative abundance and activity patterns of terrestrial carnivorous mammals living in San Pablo de Valdés Wildlife Reserve, which is located in Península Valdés (PV), Chubut province, Argentina. To this end, camera traps were placed in different plant communities of this reserve and they were used from January 2015 to December 2016. A total of 256 independent events, with a sampling effort of 1811 camera nights, were obtained. The following species were identified in order of relative abundance: Conepatus chinga , Lycalopex gymnocercus , Leopardus geoffroyi , Puma concolor , and Leopardus colocolo , and the activity patterns of the first three were estimated. Those of P. concolor and L. colocolo could not be estimated as insufficient independent events were obtained. Our results show a cathemeral activity pattern in C. chinga and L. geoffroyi and a more nocturnal pattern in L. gymnocercus . Our results highlight the need to expand the sampling area to obtain further details on the behavioral patterns and population parameters of the carnivores identified. Knowledge of ecological issues, such as relative abundance and activity patterns of carnivorous mammals, is imperative to formulate monitoring and conservation programs.

We assessed the density of argali ( Ovis ammon ) and ibex ( Capra sibirica ) in Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve and its neighbouring Koiluu valley. Sarychat is a protected area, while Koiluu is a human-use landscape which is a partly licenced hunting concession for mountain ungulates and has several livestock herders and their permanent residential structures. Population monitoring of mountain ungulates can help in setting measurable conservation targets such as appropriate trophy hunting quotas and to assess habitat suitability for predators like snow leopards ( Panthera uncia ). We employed the double-observer method to survey 573 km 2 of mountain ungulate habitat inside Sarychat and 407 km 2 inside Koiluu. The estimated densities of ibex and argali in Sarychat were 2.26 (95% CI 1.47–3.52) individuals km −2 and 1.54 (95% CI 1.01–2.20) individuals km −2 , respectively. Total ungulate density in Sarychat was 3.80 (95% CI 2.47–5.72) individuals km −2 . We did not record argali in Koiluu, whereas the density of ibex was 0.75 (95% CI 0.50–1.27) individuals km −2 . While strictly protected areas can achieve high densities of mountain ungulates, multi-use areas can harbour meaningful though suppressed populations. Conservation of mountain ungulates and their predators can be enhanced by maintaining Sarychat-like “pristine” areas interspersed within a matrix of multi-use areas like Koiluu.

Behavioral changes that reduce the risk of predation in response to predator-derived odor cues are widespread among mammalian taxa and have received a great deal of attention. Although voles of the genus Microtus are staples in the diet of many mammalian predators, including domestic cats ( Felis catus ), there are no previous studies on vole space utilization and activity levels in response to odor cues from domestic cats. Therefore, the objective of our study was to investigate responses of adult prairie voles ( Microtus ochrogaster ) living in semi-natural habitats to odor cues from domestic cat excreta. Contrary to expectations, neither adult males or females showed significant changes in space use or willingness to enter traps in response to cat odors. One hypothesis to explain our results are that prairie voles have not co-evolved with domestic cats long enough to respond to their odors. Other possible explanations include whether levels of odors in the environment were sufficient to trigger a response or that the perceived risk of predation from odor cues alone did not outweigh relative costs of changing space use and activity levels. Future studies should consider multiple factors when determining what cues are sufficient to elicit antipredatory behavior.

Although radio collars are widely applied in movement ecology, their use in animals with changing neck circumferences is challenging. We are proposing a model of a simple, cheap, and expandable collar that is suitable for the monitoring of young terrestrial mammals. We tested the collar on young crab-eating foxes. There was no register of injuries caused by the collar to the tagged animals, and they functioned appropriately. Thus, we hope this note will encourage further researchers to use our method to monitor the movement patterns of young animals, not only for canids but also for other species of terrestrial mammals.

Populations of endangered Ganges and Indus river dolphins have been under severe threat from diversion of river water by dams, barrages, and canal networks across the Indus and Ganges–Brahmaputra river basins. River dolphins prefer deep water and might enter irrigation canals in the dry-season, getting stranded there. Stranding can cause mortality and local population declines, and poses an emerging challenge to river dolphin conservation efforts. In Pakistan’s Indus river basin, stranding rates of Indus dolphins in irrigation canals are high, and well-coordinated rescue-release operations are undertaken. Despite commendable river dolphin rescue efforts in some parts of India, stranding cases are not always reported. From open-access media reports (2007–08 to 2017–18), I found 26 stranding cases of Ganges river dolphins from the Ghaghara–Sharada canal network across seven districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Of these, 62% reports were from 2015 to 2016. Most cases occurred in secondary and tertiary canal branches. Interviews with fishers, farmers, and government officials revealed low awareness of stranding cases. Stranded dolphins might have no chance of returning to their source habitat, unless rescued. From my results, I discuss how current barrage-canal operations could influence dolphin stranding risk, and their implications for flow management in the Ghaghara–Sharada river basin.

Small wild cats (SWC) are naturally cryptic species. The current study presents occurrence information and capture-rates on four SWC species found in the Brazilian Pantanal. The most commonly recorded SWC by camera trap was Leopardus pardalis . Leopardus colocolo and Puma yagouaroundi were relatively rare, while Leopardus guttulus was not recorded in any survey year. We interpret our findings based on the potential competitive influences of L. pardalis and practical implications of camera trap survey design. We recommend that future studies should design camera trap grids with spacing appropriate for SWC to more directly address questions on local population status and interspecific interactions.

Herein, we report six new records of bats for the Espírito Santo state, southeastern Brazil: Choeroniscus minor , Diaemus youngii , Micronycteris schmidtorum , Glyphonycteris daviesi , G. sylvestris , and Histiotus velatus . Fieldwork was conducted in the region of Reserva Biológica de Sooretama, northern Espírito Santo, increasing to 83 species the total of bat species known for the state. We also assigned the first voucher for Diclidurus albus at Espírito Santo, and we provide distributional information about all these species in Brazil and map their distribution in the Neotropics. These new occurrences increase the range, in Atlantic Forest, for all bat species reported here. We describe species measurements and provide comments on taxonomy for comparisons and to aid correct identification.

We present the first record of leucism of Molossus nigricans a chromatic disorder rarely documented in mammals of Honduras, as well as species’ biological and ecological information. In addition, we present the currently known distribution and altitudinal range of M. nigricans in Honduras, based on acoustic records, opportunistic findings and previous records. We confirm the presence of M. nigricans in sixteen departments of which four are new departmental records.

Although the water deer, Hydropotes inermis is one of the most common large mammals in South Korea (Republic of Korea), it had limited distribution along southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula and currently inhabits most of the peninsula after several releases in 1950s and 1960s. Currently, water deer was documented from Primorskiy Krai, Russia in the vicinity of northeastern border of North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea). The first report was a camer trapped water deer in 2019 about 45 km from North Korean border and we found the older harvest record of water deer in 2014 about 210 km from North Korea. Although the North Korean government translocated water deer from the west coast to the northeast in the 1950s and 1960s, range expansion or dispersal of water deer was not reported until these records. Further research is needed to confirm if they represent whether it’s a persistent population or transient dispersers.

Highly mobile species are considered to be the first to respond to climate change by transforming their ranges of distribution. There is evidence suggesting that Pipistrellus nathusii , a species capable of long-distance migration, is expanding both its reproduction and overwintering ranges to the North. We recorded the echolocation calls of bats at 16 sites in South-Western Finland on two consecutive winters, and detected calls of P. nathusii at one of the sites throughout the second winter. To our knowledge, this is the northernmost record of an overwintering P. nathusii , and contributes to evidence that the species is already responding to climate change.

The number of shrew species in Israel has been and still is the subject of debate. In this work we used for the first time a molecular marker, the cytochrome b gene, to investigate the number and identity of shrew species in Israel. Our molecular results confirmed the presence of four species: Crocidura leucodon , Crocidura suaveolens gueldenstaedtii , Crocidura ramona , and Suncus etruscus . The C. ramona sequences were found to differ from all other Crocidura species sequenced to date, supporting its status as a distinct species. Whether it is conspecific with Crocidura portali (described in 1920 from Israel and usually synonymized with C. suaveolens ), will require additional study. The sequences of Israeli C. suaveolens were found to be very similar to those of Iran, Turkey, and Georgia (i.e.,  C. suaveolens gueldenstaedtii ), in agreement with previous studies. The Israeli C. leucodon sequences, however, formed a distinct clade among C. leucodon . Finally, the S. etruscus sequences clustered with sequences from France, Italy, and Iran.

Due to their conservative morphology, the complexity of the taxonomic composition of the Myotis “ nattereri ” species complex was highly underestimated until recently. In recent studies, the form inhabiting the Caucasus region was allocated to the species Myotis tschuliensis . However, no molecular data was available from its type territory in Turkmenistan. We successfully isolated DNA from two paratypes of M. tschuliensis stored in the Zoological museum of Moscow State University and obtained partial sequences of the mitochondrial gene ND1. The analysis of the DNA showed that the specimens from the Caucasus and Turkmenistan undoubtedly belong to the same genetic lineage. However, morphometric analysis of cranial and dental features showed that the Caucasus and Turkmenistan populations differ from each other approximately to the same extent as M. tschuliensis from M . nattereri . It is possible that there is a still undescribed geographical race in the Caucasus. However, final clarification of the taxonomic status of this population requires more extensive studies, both genetic and morphological.