Volume 86, Issue 1

Understanding the predator–prey relationship is essential for implementing effective conservation management practices on threatened species. Leopard is a threatened apex mammalian predator that plays a crucial role in ecosystem functions in India’s tropical forest. We assessed the diet and activity pattern of leopards in relation to their prey using diet analysis and camera trapping data from Similipal Tiger Reserve, eastern India. Our results indicated that leopard prefers medium-sized prey such as wild pig, common langur and barking deer represented 60% of the total biomass consumed collectively. Results of 6413 camera trap night in 187 locations revealed that leopards showed cathemeral activity pattern and exhibited positive co-occurrence pattern and significant spatial and temporal overlap with their main prey, the wild pig. However, leopards showed very low spatial and temporal overlap with the second main prey, the common langur. Leopards avoided humans and showed low spatial and temporal overlap with humans. Our findings reveal that a trade-off might drive leopard activity between consuming prey and avoiding anthropogenic disturbances like human activity.

Dolichotis patagonum (common name: mara) is a large sized rodent, endemic of Argentina, which raises its juveniles in burrows. It has recently been categorized as vulnerable. This is the first study to evaluate D. patagonum interactions with potential predators in the surroundings of the dens. We monitored 20 burrows, using camera-traps, with a total of 5644 camera-days, obtained over two years (2015 and 2016). Five potential predator species were detected ( Lycalopex griseus , Puma concolor , Leopardus geoffroyi , Salvator sp. and Chaetophractus villosus ). L. griseus and L. geoffroyi were the species with the highest frequency of visits. Both species were photographed attacking the juveniles. Four out of five potential predator species registered presented agonistic interactions with adults of mara. Overlap between all species analyzed and mara was low to moderate, and potential predator visits to the surrounding of the burrows did not vary according to the presence of juveniles. Our results suggest that in this system, predators behave as opportunistic predators of mara’s juveniles. Mara’s social and reproductive behavior varies along the distribution range of the species, therefore it is of great ecological value to analyze and understand the variations of its interactions with predators in different regions and environments.

This study reports movement patterns and home range estimates of an Andean fox ( Lycalopex culpaeus ) in Cotopaxi National Park in Ecuador, representing the first GPS-tagging of the species. The GPS functioned well during the 197-day tracking period. Home range sizes ranged between 4.9 and 8.1 km 2 , depending on the estimation method. Movement speeds averaged 0.17 km/h at day versus 0.87 km/h at night, and distance traveled averaged 0.23 km at day versus 0.89 km at night. These preliminary results highlight the importance of collecting unbiased, high-quality data which enables an enhanced understanding on mammal behavior and human/animal interaction.

We do not have a complete knowledge of the bat species presence in West Central Brazil domain and still do not understand how bats respond to the ecosystems rapid vanishing. We quantified bat diversity in the Parque Estadual de Terra Ronca (PETER), a Cerrado protected area. Additionally, we report an extension of the Hsunycteris thomasi distribution known only in the Amazon and the western portion of Brazil. Over 1.440 m 2  h of mist netting and five nights of automatic recording, we recorded five families and 38 species, while the Jackknife first-order estimator predicted the occurrence of 25 species. Besides the register of species for the area, the novelty is the increase in the potential distribution area of H. thomasi in Norwest’s and north of the Midwest of Brazil. We also report the presence of at least one Lonchophylla dekeyseri population, an endemic to Cerrado. The lack of bat captures within the cotton plantation suggests the impoverishment of the bat assemblages due to the extensive loss of native habitats.

The distribution of invasive alien Pallas’s squirrels ( Callosciurus erythraeus ) has expanded mainly toward the southeast with continuous forest in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Recently, however, squirrels have been sighted in residential areas with only a few green spaces. We examined the habitat selection of squirrels in a city with small fragmented green spaces by censusing the animals along a 6.7 km route. Twenty-three presence data were obtained in 10 grids, which were much larger than the mean home ranges of the species, suggesting that a squirrel population had already been established in this area. Although woods of <5 ha were reported to be unsuitable squirrel habitats, the study area only had two green spaces with >5 ha, and 90% of presence data were obtained in green spaces with <5 ha. This indicates that squirrels can establish a population even in areas with small fragmented green spaces. The squirrels selected areas close to evergreen and deciduous woods, but they avoided those closer to residential areas. Since small fragmented woods, such as evergreen trees, are widely distributed in the central parts of Kanagawa Prefecture, the squirrels may use them as stepping stones to expand their range.

Few studies have explicitly examined habitat use by shrews ( Sorex spp.) in the boreal forest of western North America. We conducted pitfall trapping in six common xeric habitat types in Yukon, Canada, to determine their relative use by shrews. The overall capture rate was 0.47 shrews per 100 trap nights (TN), with a total sampling effort of 3652 TN. Cinereus shrews ( Sorex cinereus ; 0.25 per 100 TN) were the most common species, followed by dusky shrews ( Sorex monticolus ; 0.14 per 100 TN) and American pygmy shrews ( Sorex hoyi ; 0.08 per 100 TN). Shrew capture rates and species richness was low in all habitat types sampled. Cinereus shrews were captured in similar numbers in boreal mixedwood forest and alpine shrub habitats, and rarely in other lowland forest habitat types. Dusky shrews were captured largely in alpine shrub habitats, while pygmy shrews were captured only in lowland forest habitat types. The relative use of alpine shrub habitat by cinereus shrews and dusky shrews was not expected. Our data was limited by low captures; however, we provide a first approximation of the relative use of common forest types and subalpine shrub habitat in the boreal forest of northwestern Canada.

In this study, we reveal the behavior of raccoon dogs and other mammals on two types of latrines: already-existing latrines in the field and artificial latrines created from the feces of a captive individual. From September to November 2019, we used camera traps at already-known (eight sites), and artificial latrines (four sites), and recorded the mammalian species that visited, their behavior types, and the duration of time spent at the latrines. Our camera traps detected eight species visits, including raccoon dogs, masked palm civets, and rodents (Muridae). In raccoon dogs, sniffing, urination, defecation, and passing were observed, and the numbers of defecation and passing occurrences were significantly higher in the already-existing latrines. The duration time of the raccoon dogs was significantly longer at the artificial latrine; however, the time decreased as days elapsed. Masked palm civets frequently visited the artificial latrines, where the number of rubbings was significantly higher. The Muridae did not differ in their proportion of foraging behavior between the two latrine types, indicating that both were used as feeding sites without distinction. The results of this study indicate that raccoon dog latrines affect not only raccoon dogs but also other mammals.

The distribution of the American mink in the wild, originating either from accidental escapes or intentional releases from fur farms, was mapped for the first time in Greece, based on opportunistic data collected from 2010 to 2020. Greece is a key actor in Europe’s fur industry, with most mink farms operating in the northwest. Massive intentional releases by activists took place in the late 2000s, while accidental escapes regularly occur. Most mink were recorded in the Region of Western Macedonia, in NW Greece, within and around the core areas of fur farms, where feral populations became established. Animals were also found further south in the Regions of Thessaly (central Greece) and Central Macedonia (northern Greece). Half of mink records were close to protected areas and almost two-thirds near to watercourses. Many animals were away from the water and on high altitudes, with theoretically less favourable conditions for their survival. We also examine possible directions of further mink range expansion in Greece and neighbouring countries through the river network. Mink invasion progress in Greece is little known, thus, the subject is in urgent need of study, as mink is the alien mammal with the highest impact on the European native fauna.

We describe a new subspecies of Finlayson’s squirrel ( Callosciurus finlaysonii ) from Hon Nghe Island in the Gulf of Thailand. This island is located off the coast of southern Vietnam. In addition, we discussed the phylogenetic relationships among C. finlaysonii subspecies distributed on the isolated islands in the Gulf of Thailand. The new subspecies ( C. finlaysonii honnghensis ), which is endemic to Hon Nghe Island, differs from other C. finlaysonii subspecies in pelage colouration. The mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences showed that this squirrel is closely related to C. finlaysonii albivexilli and C. finlaysonii frandseni , which are endemic to the Koh Kut and Koh Chang islands, respectively, suggesting that the three subspecies diverged approximately 30,000 years ago. After the last glacial maximum, many small islands were formed by the sea level rise in the Gulf of Thailand, which was a consequence of global warming. Following the continuous fragmentation of the Sunda Continent, each C. finlaysonii subspecies could have evolved in each geographically isolated island in this gulf. Thus, studying C. finlaysonii subspecies may be used to track the recent geological history of the Gulf of Thailand.

Molecular phylogenies support the monophyly of Desmodilliscus braueri and Pachyuromys duprasi as a clade basally split from all other gerbillines. While this monophyly supports their placement in a single tribe (Desmodilliscini), no morphological synapomorphies exist among desmodilliscines. This study compares the scale-independent cranial shapes of these two species using geometric morphometrics to determine how they differ and/or converge. Tribal synapomorphies, should they exist, may appear as interspecifically invariable cranial regions. No such invariable cranial regions were detected. The two species significantly differed in cranial size and shape. A small part of shape variation was allometric, with a weak unique allometric effect. No sexual size nor shape dimorphism was found. The sister taxa greatly differed in almost all cranial features, with Pachyuromys (when compared to Desmodilliscus ) having a larger-sized cranium, with a larger bulla and suprameatal triangle, a more posteriorly placed palatine foramina, and more anteriorly shifted (and reduced) rostral cranial structures, due to being crowded by the hypertrophied bulla. Cranial variation patterns are consistent with the literature. The extreme morphological divergence among these species is explained by the distant divergence time and ecological differences. Absence of cranial shape synapomorphies does not preclude synapomorphies in other craniodental morphological features (e.g., detailed morphology of the dentition and cranial foramina) or in other morphological structures, such as the postcranial skeleton.

Rodents of the genus Hylaeamys , are a group of cryptic species previously included in the Oryzomys capito complex. In Brazil are represented by six species, distributed in different biomes. However, the limits of their geographic distributions and taxonomy have not yet been well defined. In particular, the taxonomy for Hylaeamys seuanezi is unstable. Based on the analysis of bony structures and supported with geometric morphometric techniques, we characterize and compare the average shape from populations in four localities from Southern Bahia, Brazil. We review 145 individuals and we create morphological landmarks in skulls, mandibles, scapulae, and pelvis. In all the structures there were statistically significant differences between populations, in which the average shape from the Igrapiúna population was the most differentiated. Our results also showed differences between the pelvis of males and females, reporting for the first time sexual dimorphism for H . seuanezi . Finally, we provide a morphological diagnosis between the populations and postulate that such differences may be correlated with environmental and climatic factors that could be exerting negative pressures on H. seuanezi ; as has been evidenced with other species of rodents and other mammals.