Published by De Gruyter

Volume 79 Issue 2

Issue of Mammalia

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Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available April 24, 2015

Frontmatter

Page range: i-iv

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Original Studies

July 16, 2014

Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) social organization in semiarid grasslands of San Luis, Argentina

María Belén Semeñiuk, Mariano L. Merino

Page range: 131-138

Abstract

Pampas deer ( Ozotoceros bezoarticus ) is a medium-sized South American cervid associated with savannas and grasslands in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Currently, four isolated population nuclei occur in Argentina, with the largest one located in the semiarid grasslands of San Luis Province. The aim of this work was to describe the social organization of this local population and to determine and analyze the factors that influence it. The most frequent groups found were mixed groups (34.82%), followed by solitary males (18.64%), and solitary females (15.00%). Differences in group type occurrence were found in three periods: dry, early rainy, and late rainy seasons. Mixed groups were more frequent during the dry season. The sexual segregation-aggregation statistic showed statistically significant segregation only in January and November. In addition, we analyzed the social grouping patterns during an annual cycle; the mean group size was 2.49±0.46 and Jarman’s typical group size was 3.84±1.08 (individuals/group). A mixed-model nested ANOVA showed marked differences in terms of group sizes between habitat types and seasons. The social organization of the Pampas deer in San Luis is similar to that of the other populations of this species, despite occupying a different environment type and exhibiting disparate feeding styles and density values.

June 13, 2014

Demographic trends of a reintroduced Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica victoriae population in central Spain

Pablo Refoyo, Cristina Olmedo, Ignacio Polo, Paulino Fandos, Benito Muñoz

Page range: 139-145

Abstract

One reintroduced population of Iberian ibex was monitored between 2000 and 2007 in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Central Spain) using the distance sampling method. The densities obtained from three samplings show a significant increase between 2000 (6.57 ind./km 2 ) and 2007 (33.16 ind./km 2 ) despite a range extension. After an initial period of balance, the sex ratio became unbalanced over time in favor of females. The age pyramid also changed after a dramatic population increase. The birth rate oscillated at relatively high values for the species (0.69–0.99 kids/female). The group size reduced significantly over time. Females with kids dispersed from the release area significantly less than males and mixed groups.

July 17, 2014

Circulating concentrations of gonadal and adrenocortical hormones in wild nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus)

Jennifer A. Howell-Stephens, Jack Mitchell Lockhart, Rachel M. Santymire, William J. Loughry

Page range: 147-158

Abstract

We performed a retrospective analysis of hormone concentrations found in blood sera from culled nine-banded armadillos ( Dasypus novemcinctus ) with the goal of identifying important sources of variation in, and relationships among, circulating levels of testosterone (males), estradiol and progesterone (females), and cortisol (all animals). Testosterone concentrations were greater in adult males than in yearling or juvenile males. Variation in estradiol was limited to significant differences across months, although no pair-wise comparisons between months were significant. Adult females had higher concentrations of progesterone than did juvenile and yearling females. Among adult females, progesterone varied significantly from year-to-year as well as month-to-month, and was positively correlated with body weight. Progesterone in yearling and juvenile females varied significantly from year-to-year, was positively correlated with levels of estradiol, and was higher in animals that were live-caught as opposed to shot. All animals that were live-caught exhibited higher cortisol concentrations than those that were shot. Among shot animals, there were no sex differences in cortisol concentrations but there were for live-caught armadillos. Live-caught adult females exhibited strong positive correlations of cortisol with estradiol and progesterone. Within each sex there was significant month-to-month variation in cortisol, with concentrations the lowest in June and July.

June 7, 2014

Do polygynous males of Akodon azarae (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) vary their mating tactics at low availability of females?

Florencia Bonatto, Andrea Steinmann, Daniela Gomez, José Priotto

Page range: 159-168

Abstract

We examined in Akodon azarae if at low availability of females (sex ratio biased toward males, 3:1), the mating tactics of males are determined by the number of receptive females to which they have access, or by the number of male competitors with which they interact. To test these hypotheses, we measured the home range size and overlap degree. At the beginning of the reproductive season, we studied spacing patterns using 57 and 30 home ranges established by reproductive males and females in three enclosure populations. We statistically compared our results with those previously obtained in enclosure populations with a sex ratio of 1:1. Male home range sizes were larger than those recorded in populations with a sex ratio of 1:1. The degree of male intra-sexual overlap increased about 3.5 times with respect to that observed under a sex ratio of 1:1. The increase in home range sizes and intra-sexual overlap degree of reproductive males reflects that A. azarae males may adjust their spacing strategy to increase their mating opportunities at low density of females. Our results suggest that at low breeding female availability, male mating tactics could be determined by the number of receptive females to which they have access.

June 17, 2014

Reproduction and postnatal development in the Yucatan vesper mouse

Jesús A. Panti-May, Ma. Cristina MacSwiney G., Silvia F. Hernández-Betancourt, Ofelia A. Valdes-Rodríguez

Page range: 169-176

Abstract

The vesper mouse, Otonyctomys hatti , is a rare species endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, the biology of which is practically unknown. This study reports, for the first time, on various aspects of the reproduction and postnatal development of O. hatti observed in captivity. A reproductive colony was formed initially with four females (one pregnant) and a male, captured in the El Edén Ecological Reserve, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The mice were kept in living chambers and reproduction chambers, and daily recordings were made of maternal conduct and developmental parameters in the young. In total, 15 young were born in eight litters. The mean litter size was 1.9 young, and the sex ratio was not different to 1:1. The neonates weighed an average of 3.6 g and were altricial at birth. The development of the young was slow; the eyes opened between days 11 and 13, although hearing and sense of smell developed earlier (9–11 days). Consumption of solids began between days 14 and 18, and weaning took place around day 21. The time period between mating and birth of the litter was 31–32 days. The reproductive and postnatal developmental aspects of O. hatti were similar to those reported for the phylogenetically proximal species Nyctomys sumichrasti .

June 17, 2014

Spatio-temporal patterns in the distribution of the multi-mammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis, in rice crop and fallow land habitats in Tanzania

Loth S. Mulungu, Valency Sixbert, Victoria Ngowo, Mashaka Mdangi, Abdul S. Katakweba, Protas Tesha, Furaha P. Mrosso, Margaret Mchomvu, Bukheti S. Kilonzo, Steven R. Belmain

Page range: 177-184

Abstract

An understanding of the dispersion patterns of a pest is an important pre-requisite for developing an effective management programme for the pest. In this study, rodents were trapped in two rice fields and two fallow fields for three consecutive nights each month from June 2010 to May 2012. Mastomys natalensis was the most abundant rodent pest species in the study area, accounting for >95% of the trapped rodent community. Rattus rattus , Dasymys incomtus , Acomys spinosissimus and Grammomys dolichurus comprised relatively small proportions of the trapped population. Morisita’s index of dispersion was used to measure the relative dispersal pattern (aggregate, random, uniform) of individuals across each trapping grid as a means of comparing rodent distribution in rice and fallow fields over time. This analysis revealed that the rodents in rice fields generally exhibited an aggregated spatio-temporal distribution. However, the rodents in fallow fields were generally less aggregated, approaching a random distribution in some habitats and seasons. Heat maps of trapping grids visually confirmed these dispersal patterns, indicating the clumped or random nature of captured rodents. ANOVA showed that the parameters of habitat (rice, fallow), crop stage (transplanting, vegetative, booting, maturity) and cropping season (wet, dry) all significantly impacted the number of rodents captured, with the vegetative, dry season, fallow habitat having the highest number of rodents; and the transplanting, wet season, rice habitat with the least number of rodents. Therefore, such spatio-temporal patterns can serve as a tool for developing stratified biodiversity sampling plans for small mammals and decision making for rodent pest management strategies.

July 18, 2014

Testing a long-standing hypothesis on the relation between the auditory bulla size and environmental conditions: a case study in two jird species (Muridae: Meriones libycus and M. crassus)

Fatemeh Tabatabaei Yazdi, Paolo Colangelo, Dominique Adriaens

Page range: 185-200

Abstract

Variation in mammalian auditory bulla size has been linked to environmental conditions, and has even been claimed to provide a habitat-specific survival value. Enlarged bullae are typically shared among species adapted to living in arid habitats. Previous studies suggest that jirds also exhibit this adaptive enlargement of the bulla. However, such claims are based on the observation on a limited number of specimens, and thus they provide no quantitative support for this hypothesis. Therefore, we tested this hypothesis using a combination of geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistical techniques on a large sample of two jird species that exhibit a wide and partially overlapping geographical (and hence climatic) range, i.e., Meriones crassus (Sundevall, 1842) and M. libycus (Lichtenstein, 1823). A total of 485 intact skulls of populations originating from Africa to the eastern Iranian Plateau were analysed. The covariation between auditory bulla shape and several geoclimatic variables was explored using the two-block partial least-squares method. To some degree, the results seem to support the hypothesis that morphological variation in the auditory bulla is, indeed, correlated with geoclimatic variation. However, this finding cannot be generalised at several levels, hence refuting the hypothesis of convergent correlations between geoclimatic conditions and bulla morphology. Species-specific differences were found at different levels, suggesting that if local responses are present, they may reflect interactions with phylogenetic constraints.

Publicly Available June 7, 2014

First records of Murina lorelieae (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Vietnam

Vuong Tan Tu, Raphaël Cornette, José Utge, Alexandre Hassanin

Page range: 201-213

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Abstract

In 2011, three specimens from an unknown species of tube-nosed bat (genus Murina ) were collected in montane moist forest at altitudes between 1117 and 1682 m in the Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve of Vietnam. We sequenced the mitochondrial COI gene from Ngoc Linh bats and performed comparisons with Murina sequences available in the nucleotide databases. The results suggested that the three unidentified specimens belong to Murina lorelieae , a species recently described from a single specimen collected in southern China. Nucleotide distances between specimens from Ngoc Linh and southern China are exceptionally low for M. lorelieae (1.25%) in comparison with three other Murina species, i.e., Murina cyclotis , Murina feae , and Murina huttoni (3.9–5.5%). We suggest that M. lorelieae is adapted to montane forests, which may have facilitated long-distance dispersal events between southern China and Vietnam during glacial periods of the Pleistocene. Morphological comparisons based on body-size measurements and geometric morphometric analyses of the skulls showed differences between Vietnamese specimens and the Chinese holotype of M. lorelieae . We proposed that the Vietnamese specimens belong to a distinct subspecies, M. lorelieae ngoclinhensis .

June 13, 2014

Rediscovery of the Hungarian birch mouse (Sicista subtilis trizona) in Transylvania (Romania) with molecular characterisation of its phylogenetic affinities

Tamás Cserkész, Zsuzsanna Aczél-Fridrich, Zsolt Hegyeli, Szilárd Sugár, Dávid Czabán, Orsolya Horváth, Gábor Sramkó

Page range: 215-224

Abstract

The Southern birch mouse ( Sicista subtilis ) is a small-sized rodent species characteristic of the Palearctic steppes with westernmost occurrences in central Europe. The species was considered to be extinct in Transylvania (central Romania), but in our field survey we captured three living individuals near the city of Cluj-Napoca. On the basis of nuclear interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 sequences, we assessed the taxonomic status of the newly found S. subtilis population by comparing them to available sequences, including the sequences of its subspecies. The Transylvanian samples were found to be genetically closest to the Hungarian samples of S. subtilis trizona. These new records extend the known geographic range of this rediscovered species and provide additional information on its habitat preference and external morphological features. Moreover, our phylogenetic tree reconstruction for seven Sicista taxa provides a basic insight into the phylogenetic relationships of the genus, placing the northern Eurasian taxa ( S. betulina and S. subtilis ) at the crown of the tree and the central Asian taxa at the base of the tree. The Transylvanian occurrence of S. subtilis trizona , which is endemic to the Carpathian Basin, is of high faunistic value as a result of an increase in the number of known populations of this subspecies – one of the most endangered rodents of Europe – from one to two.

June 19, 2014

Phylogenetic position of the giant house bat Scotophilus nigrita (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)

Peter Vallo, Petr Benda, Jaroslav Červený, Petr Koubek

Page range: 225-231

Abstract

The giant house bat Scotophilus nigrita , one of the largest vespertilioniform bat species in the world, is a poorly known taxon, especially with respect to its phylogenetic relationships to congeneric species. Its phylogenetic position was thus assessed by analysing DNA sequences of single mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b , S. nigrita was found to be paraphyletic with respect to continental African species S. colias , S. dinganii , S. nigritellus and S. viridis . Analysis of sequences of the nuclear zinc finger protein gene on the Y chromosome corroborated the general pattern of the cytochrome b phylogeny, although phylogenetic relationships were poorly resolved. These results clearly contradict the published data on S. nigrita from Kenya for both markers, rendering the hypothesis of historical hybridization with S. colias implausible and questioning the taxonomic affiliation of the particular Kenyan sequence. A deep split in the cytochrome b phylogeny between S. nigrita from West and Southern Africa reached sequence divergence values of 7.6% to 8.1%, a finding that supports taxonomic elevation of the two currently recognized subspecies into separate species S. nigrita and S. alvenslebeni .

Short Notes

June 7, 2014

Predation record of a Perote ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus perotensis) by a prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus)

José Arturo García-Domínguez, Edith Priego-Hernández

Page range: 233-236

Abstract

The Perote ground squirrel ( Xerospermophilus perotensis ) is an endangered microendemic species, restricted to a closed basin between the Mexican states of Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz. Information on its natural history is still limited, and there are no previous predation records for this species. Herein, we report a predation event on a Perote ground squirrel by a prairie falcon ( Falco mexicanus ) and discuss how we determined the taxonomic identity of the recovered prey remains.

June 20, 2014

Home range and shelter preferences of marsupial Didelphis aurita (Wied-Neuwied, 1826) in a fragmented area in southeastern Brazil

Cleverson Fraga de Oliveira, Clarissa Alves Rosa, Marcelo Passamani

Page range: 237-240

Abstract

Didelphis aurita (Wied-Neuwied, 1826) is a marsupial common in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado but understudied. Thus, we estimated the size of the home range and shelter preferences for three individuals (one male and two females) of D. aurita with spool-and-line and radio-tracking techniques in a forest fragment located in the transition area between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. The home range estimated by spool-and-line was 1.2±0.7 ha; 0.8±0.2 ha for radio-tracking and 1.8±0.5 ha for both methods together. We identified 20 different shelters, used more than once by individuals. The vine tangles were mostly used when compared with tree hollows and holes in the ground. Comparing with other studies, home range seems to be proportional to the fragment area, being larger in forest fragments surrounded by urban area than in fragments immersed in an agricultural matrix. We recommended more studies evaluating the use of space by D. aurita in different types of environments to conclude if the preference for vine tangles as shelter is a characteristic of the species or our sampling area, which has a large availability of shelters of this type.

July 5, 2014

Confirmation of threatened white-lipped deer (Przewalskium albirostris) in Gansu and Sichuan, China, and their overlap with livestock

Joelene Hughes, Justine Alexander, Kun Shi, Philip Riordan

Page range: 241-244

Abstract

In the last few decades China has undergone significant socio-economic changes, with potential negative implications for wildlife populations, particularly large mammals in rural areas, due to development and expansion of agricultural practices. White-lipped deer ( Przewalskium albirostris Przewalski, 1883), endemic to China and listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, have never been formally surveyed and the majority of observations were documented over 25 years ago. This oversight raises the question of whether white-lipped deer populations persist, especially at the edges of their global range. We document recent observations of white-lipped deer in Gansu and Sichuan, at the northern and southern limits of their currently accepted global range. Furthermore, analysis of faecal distribution across the landscape in Sichuan showed that the white-lipped deer overlap with domestic livestock, leading to the potential for resource competition between the wild and domestic ungulates. Comprehensive distribution surveys are required throughout China to aid successful conservation action for the threatened white-lipped deer.

June 13, 2014

Reassessing the breeding range limits for two long-distance migratory vespertilionid bats, Pipistrellus nathusii and Nyctalus leisleri in the Italian Peninsula

Leonardo Ancillotto, Danilo Russo

Page range: 245-248

Abstract

Nathusius’ pipistrelle ( Pipistrellus nathusii ) and Leisler’s bat ( Nyctalus leisleri ) are two long-distance migratory vespertilionids that mainly reproduce in northeastern and central Europe in summer and migrate southwest in autumn. Based on new records of reproductive females and nonvolant juveniles from central Italy, we reassess the breeding ranges of these species in the Italian Peninsula and shift their boundaries southward over 350 and 310 km, respectively, for P. nathusii and N. leisleri . To our best knowledge, the observations of reproductive P. nathusii we report are the southernmost recorded for Europe. Whether our data reflect an actual range expansion or previous insufficient knowledge has yet to be ascertained.

June 14, 2014

The Blasius’ horseshoe bat Rhinolophus blasii (Chiroptera, Rhinolophidae) still extends to Pakistan

Arshad Javid, Muhammad Shahbaz, Muhammad Mahmood-ul-Hassan, Syed Makhdoom Hussain

Page range: 249-251

Abstract

Specimens of Rhinolophus blasii were captured in Manawa, district Lahore, 43 years after the first and single ascertained record in Pakistan. External, cranial, and bacular measurements of R. blasii are given for the first time in the country.

Corrigendum

Publicly Available April 3, 2015

Corrigendum to: Differences in population parameters of Rattus norvegicus in urban and rural habitats of central Argentina

Isabel E. Gómez Villafañe, Regino Cavia, María Victoria Vadell, Olga V. Suárez, María Busch

Page range: 253-253

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About this journal

Objective
Mammalia is an international, multidisciplinary, bimonthly journal devoted to the inventory, analysis and interpretation of mammalian diversity. It publishes original results on all aspects of the systematics and biology of mammals with a strong focus on ecology, including biodiversity analyses, distribution habitats, diet, predator-prey relationships, competition, community analyses and conservation of mammals. The journal also accepts submissions on sub-fossil or recently extinct mammals.

Topics

Comparative, functional and evolutionary anatomy
Morphology
Classical and geometric morphometrics
Ecology
Evolutionary biology
Phylogeny and phylogeography
Biogeography
Taxonomy and nomenclature
Physiology
Behavior
Conservation

Article formats
Original Studies, Reviews, Short Notes