Tail breakage and predatory pressure upon two invasive snakes (Serpentes: Colubridae) at two islands in the Western Mediterranean
Canadian Journal of Zoology, Ahead of Print. Tail breakage is an important anti-predator mechanism in snake populations, which can be used as a proxy for predation intensity as natural observations of predator –prey interactions are scarce. Frequency of tail breakage was calculated for two Iberian colubrids recently introduced in the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean, Spain): the Horseshoe Whip Snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis (Linnaeus, 1758)) in Eivissa and the Ladder Snake (Zamenis scalaris (Schin z, 1812)) in Formentera. The effect of sex, life stage, dorsal coloration pattern, body length, and body condition on f...
Source: Canadian Journal of Zoology - April 2, 2021 Category: Zoology Authors: M. Febrer-Serra N. Lassnig V. Colomar A. Sureda S. Pinya Source Type: research
Group hunting in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
Canadian Journal of Zoology, Ahead of Print. Cooperative hunting involves individual predators relating in time and space to each other ’s actions to more efficiently track down and catch prey. The evolution of advanced cognitive abilities and sociality in animals are strongly associated with cooperative hunting abilities as has been shown in lions, chimpanzees, and dolphins. Much less is known about cooperative hunting in seeming ly unsocial animals, such as the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758)). Using drones, we were able to record 159 hunting sequences of porpoises, out of which 95 sequences involv...
Source: Canadian Journal of Zoology - April 2, 2021 Category: Zoology Authors: Sara Torres Ortiz Johanna Stedt Henrik Skov Midtiby Henrik Dyrberg Egemose Magnus Wahlberg Source Type: research
Determining the influence of snow and temperature on the movement rates of wood bison (Bison bison athabascae)
Canadian Journal of Zoology, Ahead of Print. Snow is understood to limit wildlife movements, often being the most important determinant of winter movement for animals in the boreal forest. However, the combined effect of snow and temperature on the movement ecology of animals at high latitudes is less understood. Here, we used GPS-collar data from a small population of wood bison (Bison bison athabascae Rhoads, 1898) in northeastern Alberta, Canada, to develop a series of generalized additive mixed models characterizing the effect of cumulative snow depth, daily change in snow depth, and temperature on movement rates. Our ...
Source: Canadian Journal of Zoology - April 2, 2021 Category: Zoology Authors: A.H.C. Sheppard L.J. Hecker M.A. Edwards S.E. Nielsen Source Type: research
Landscape use by fishers (Pekania pennanti): core areas differ in habitat than the entire home range
We examined space use of fishers in their core versus their home range for levels of anthropogenic modifications (housing density, road density, silvicultural treatments), habitat types, and tree mortality. We found core areas contained more late-successional forest and minimal human activity compared with their territory. Their core had higher levels of dense canopy and higher amounts of conifer cover, while minimizing the amount of buildings, developed habitat, and low canopy cover. Fishers may in effect be seeking refugia by minimizing their exposure to these elements in their core. Conserving landscape components used ...
Source: Canadian Journal of Zoology - April 1, 2021 Category: Zoology Authors: Jennifer R. Kordosky Eric M. Gese Craig M. Thompson Patricia A. Terletzky Kathryn L. Purcell Jon D. Schneiderman Source Type: research
Two new freshwater planarian species (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Dugesiidae) partially sympatric in Argentinean Patagonia
This study is the first phylogenetic analysis of the genus Girardia in which we include the southernmost representatives of America here described, thus making it possible to incorporate them in global phylogenies. (Source: Canadian Journal of Zoology)
Source: Canadian Journal of Zoology - March 26, 2021 Category: Zoology Authors: M. Lenguas Francavilla L. Negrete A. Mart ínez-Aquino C. Damborenea F. Brusa Source Type: research
