The endangered Ganges river dolphin heads towards local extinction in the Barak river system of Assam, India: Plea for conservation
This article provides an exhaustive review of the distribution (past and present), population, ecology, threats and conservation recommendations of the Ganges river dolphin in the Barak river system of Assam, India. Further, the article includes data obtained from the recent surveys conducted by the authors in the Barak river system. (Source: Mammalian Biology)
Source: Mammalian Biology - March 21, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Influence of vegetation and abiotic factors on habitat use by insectivorous bats in subtropical mountain forests
Publication date: Available online 16 March 2019Source: Mammalian BiologyAuthor(s): Marcial Alejandro Rojo Cruz, Susana Zuloaga-Aguilar, Ramón Cuevas-Guzmán, María Cristina MacSwiney González, Luis Ignacio Iñiguez-DávalosAbstractForest structure and abiotic factors influence the habitat use of many mammals. For insectivorous bats, characteristics such as plant density, canopy cover, temperature, relative humidity and other seasonal changes over the course of the year can be important as regulators of food resource accessibility, and consequently of their nutritional health. The aim of this study was to determine the ...
Source: Mammalian Biology - March 18, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Work behaviour and biting performance in the cooperative breeding Micklem’s mole-rat Fukomys micklemi (Bathyergidae, Rodentia)
Publication date: March 2019Source: Mammalian Biology, Volume 95Author(s): Paul A.A.G. Van Daele, Niels Desmet, Radim Šumbera, Dominique AdriaensAbstractFor the first time social organisation was studied in a family of wild-caught Micklem’s mole-rat Fukomys micklemi (Sekute cytotype 2n = 56) from Zambia. Fukomys mole-rats are chisel-tooth diggers, using the incisors to excavate burrow systems. Data were collected on work behaviour and analysed against morphological variables and biting performance, the latter especially with regards to the work related to the use of the feeding apparatus. In accordance with patterns...
Source: Mammalian Biology - March 16, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
No lunar phobia in insectivorous bats in Kenya
Publication date: Available online 15 March 2019Source: Mammalian BiologyAuthor(s): Simon Musila, Wiesław Bogdanowicz, Robert Syingi, Aziza Zuhura, Przemysław Chylarecki, Jens RydellAbstractWe monitored foraging insectivorous bats along walked transects in forest and farmland at Arabuko-Sokoke Forest in coastal Kenya, using a heterodyne bat detector. The main purpose was to test whether aerial-hawking insectivorous bats that feed in open places (in this case mostly Scotophilus and Scotoecus spp.) show lunar phobia, i.e. restricting their activity on moonlit nights. Such behavior would be an expected response to the threa...
Source: Mammalian Biology - March 16, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Vertical Stratification in Foraging Activity of Chaerephon plicatus (Molossidae, Chiroptera) in Central Thailand
This study investigated the stratification in foraging activity of C. plicatus at approximately 0, 100, and 200 m above ground level by using a helium-filled balloon-kite. The activity of C. plicatus aloft (100 m and 200 m) on average was six to twelve times higher than that close to the ground. Peak activity corresponded with the top of the nocturnal stable boundary layer, which is also the layer of maximum temperature and wind speed. Nilaparvata lugens has been found flying at the altitude where peak bat foraging activity occurs, which suggests that C. plicatus actively follows these migratory insects in the air. T...
Source: Mammalian Biology - March 16, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Genetic diversity and population structure of white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) in the Pantanal, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest from Brazil
Publication date: Available online 8 March 2019Source: Mammalian BiologyAuthor(s): Fernanda de Góes Maciel, Danilo Aqueu Rufo, Alexine Keuroghlian, Anna Carolina Russo, Nathalia Moreschi Brandt, Nataly Fernandes Vieira, Bruna Moura da Nóbrega, Alessandra Nava, Marcello Schiavo Nardi, Anah Tereza de Almeida Jácomo, Leandro Silveira, Mariana Malzoni Furtado, Natália Mundim Tôrres, Cristina Yumi Miyaki, Leandro Reverberi Tambosi, Cibele BiondoAbstractIn general, habitat fragmentation is associated with a reduction in gene flow that can reduce the genetic diversity, and, consequently, a species ability to survive environm...
Source: Mammalian Biology - March 9, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Tiger density, dhole occupancy, and prey occupancy in the human disturbed Dong Phayayen – Khao Yai Forest Complex, Thailand
Publication date: March 2019Source: Mammalian Biology, Volume 95Author(s): Dusit Ngoprasert, George A. GaleAbstractLarge carnivores have been declining due to a combination of factors including habitat loss and fragmentation, prey loss, and direct persecution. Tiger Panthera tigris and dhole Cuon alpinus are endangered and emblematic of problems facing large carnivores globally. We estimated tiger density, dhole occupancy and prey availability within the Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai Forest Complex, a World Heritage Area in Thailand that has potential as a ‘recovery site’ for both species. Camera traps were set near bait st...
Source: Mammalian Biology - March 6, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Phylogeography of Martes foina in Greece
Publication date: Available online 1 March 2019Source: Mammalian BiologyAuthor(s): Alexandros Tsoupas, Myrto Andreadou, Malamati A. Papakosta, Nikoletta Karaiskou, Dimitrios E. Bakaloudis, Evaggelos Chatzinikos, Anastasios Sakoulis, Alexandros Triantafyllidis, Christos G. VlachosABSTRACTMartes foina is a member of the family Mustelidae, found throughout Europe and central Asia. Attempts to study the genetic structure and the phylogeography of European M. foina populations have been recent, none of which took place in Greece. The present work aims to 1) study the genetic diversity of Greek Martes foina populations, 2) analy...
Source: Mammalian Biology - March 4, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Spatial and temporal variability in the distribution, daily activity and diet of fennec fox (Vulpes zerda), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and African golden wolf (Canis anthus) in southern Tunisia
In this study, we investigated the habitat, the daily activity and the trophic niche overlap of three carnivores found in southern Tunisia, namely the fennec fox (Vulpes zerda), the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the African golden wolf (Canis anthus) over seasons. To achieve this goal, we surveyed 300-meter transects in Sidi Toui National Park (N=29) and in Oued Dekouk Natural Reserve (N=24) over a year. Using information provided by camera trap photos and scats analysis; we determined daily activities and diets of the three canids. African golden wolves and red foxes shared most of their habitat in the two areas, especially...
Source: Mammalian Biology - February 25, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Tiger density, dhole occupancy, and prey occupancy in the human disturbed Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai Forest Complex, Thailand
Publication date: Available online 22 February 2019Source: Mammalian BiologyAuthor(s): Dusit Ngoprasert, George A. GaleAbstractLarge carnivores have been declining due to a combination of factors including habitat loss and fragmentation, prey loss, and direct persecution. Tiger Panthera tigris and dhole Cuon alpinus are endangered and emblematic of problems facing large carnivores globally. We estimated tiger density, dhole occupancy and prey availability within the Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai Forest Complex, a World Heritage Area in Thailand that has potential as a ‘recovery site’ for both species. Camera traps were set ...
Source: Mammalian Biology - February 23, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Work behaviour and biting performance in the cooperative breeding Micklem’s mole-rat - Fukomys micklemi (Bathyergidae, Rodentia)
Publication date: Available online 20 February 2019Source: Mammalian BiologyAuthor(s): P.A.A.G. Van Daele, N. Desmet, R. Šumbera, D. AdriaensAbstractFor the first time social organisation was studied in a family of wild-caught Micklem’s mole-rat Fukomys micklemi (Sekute cytotype 2n = 56) from Zambia. Fukomys mole-rats are chisel-tooth diggers, using the incisors to excavate burrow systems. Data were collected on work behaviour and analysed against morphological variables and biting performance, the latter especially with regards to the work related to the use of the feeding apparatus. In accordance with patterns obs...
Source: Mammalian Biology - February 21, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Spatial and temporal variabilities in the distribution, daily activity and diet of fennec fox (Vulpes zerda), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and African golden wolf (Canis anthus) in southern Tunisia
In this study, we investigated the habitat, the daily activity and the trophic niche overlap of three carnivores found in southern Tunisia, namely the fennec fox (Vulpes zerda), the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the African golden wolf (Canis anthus) over seasons. To achieve this goal, we surveyed 300-meter transects in Sidi Toui National Park (N=29) and in Oued Dekouk Natural Reserve (N=24) over a year. Using information provided by camera trap photos and scats analysis; we determined daily activities and diets of the three canids. African golden wolves and red foxes shared most of their habitat in the two areas, especially...
Source: Mammalian Biology - February 14, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Editorial Board
Publication date: January 2019Source: Mammalian Biology, Volume 94Author(s): (Source: Mammalian Biology)
Source: Mammalian Biology - February 9, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Supplementary food reduces home ranges of European wild rabbits in an intensive agricultural landscape
Publication date: Available online 8 February 2019Source: Mammalian BiologyAuthor(s): Carlos Rouco, Isabel C. Barrio, Francesca Cirilli, Francisco S. Tortosa, Rafael VillafuerteAbstractUnderstanding use of space in free ranging populations that cause damage to agriculture can help in the design of measures aimed at reducing their impact. Food availability is known to determine use of space in terrestrial vertebrates so, providing alternative food sources during a specific time period may help the management of vertebrate pests by reducing their ranging behavior. We investigated space use by a crop damaging species, the Eur...
Source: Mammalian Biology - February 9, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
GIS-based habitat mapping and population estimation for the Gulf Coast kangaroo rat (Dipodomys compactus) in the Carrizo Sands Region of Texas, USA
Publication date: Available online 24 January 2019Source: Mammalian BiologyAuthor(s): Laura M. Bliss, Joseph A. Veech, Ivan Castro-Arellano, Thomas R. SimpsonAbstractThe Gulf Coast kangaroo rat, Dipodomys compactus, is one of five kangaroo rat species occurring in Texas (USA) and probably the least studied. This endemic species has specific habitat requirements, primarily deep loose sand and minimal canopy cover from woody vegetation. On the northern edge of its geographic range, populations of the species are limited to the Carrizo Sands Region and are likely isolated from larger populations farther south. Using a geograp...
Source: Mammalian Biology - January 25, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
