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FIG. 5 in When ivory came from the seas. On some traits of the trade of raw and carved sea-mammal ivories in the Middle Ages

FIG. 5. — Lewis Chessmen, Trondheim, third quarter of the 12th century. National Museums Scotland. Height: 6 to 10 cm (Photo © National Museums Scotland).

FIG. 1 in When ivory came from the seas. On some traits of the trade of raw and carved sea-mammal ivories in the Middle Ages

FIG. 1. — The Symmachi Panel. Rome, late 4th-early 5th century. Victoria and Albert Museum: 212-1865. Height: 29.6 cm (Photo © Victoria and Albert Museum, London).

FIG. 7. — 12 in When ivory came from the seas. On some traits of the trade of raw and carved sea-mammal ivories in the Middle Ages

FIG. 7. — 12th century seal matrix of a tax collector named Snorri. York Museums: YORYM 1973.5.29. Diameter: 3 cm (Photo York Museums, CC-BY SA 4.0).

FIG. 10 in When ivory came from the seas. On some traits of the trade of raw and carved sea-mammal ivories in the Middle Ages

FIG. 10. — Pair of ceremonial staffs carved in narwhal tusks, England, 2nd quarter of the 12th century. A, Victoria and Albert Museum: A. 79-136; B, National Museums Liverpool: 1995.42. Lengths: A, 117 cm (Photo © Victoria and Albert Museum); B, 110 cm (Photo © National Museums Liverpool).

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Natural selection on antihelminth antibodies in a wild mammal population

An effective immune response is expected to confer fitness benefits through improved resistance to parasites but also energetic costs which negatively impact fitness-related traits such as reproduction. These fitness costs and benefits of an immune response are likely to depend on host age, sex, and levels of parasite exposure. Few studies have examined the full extent to which patterns of natural selection on immune phenotypes vary across demographic groups and environments in the wild. Here, we assessed natural selection on plasma levels of three functionally distinct isotypes (IgA, IgE and IgG) of antibodies against a prevalent nematode parasite measured in a wild Soay sheep population over 25 years. We found little support for environment-dependent selection or reproductive costs. However, antibody levels were negatively associated with parasite egg counts and positively associated with subsequent survival, albeit in a highly age- and isotype-dependent manner. Raised levels of anti-parasite IgA best predicted reduced egg counts but this did not predict survival in lambs, whilst in adult females increased anti-parasite IgG predicted reduced egg counts and improved survival. Our results highlight the potential importance of age-dependent selection on immune phenotypes in nature, and that patterns of selection can vary even amongst functionally-related immune markers.

opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

Varying genetic imprints of roads and human density in North American mammal populations

Road networks and human density are major factors contributing to habitat fragmentation and loss, isolation of wildlife populations and reduced genetic diversity. Terrestrial mammals are particularly sensitive to road networks and encroachment by human populations. However, there are limited assessments of the impacts of road networks and human density on population-specific nuclear genetic diversity, and it remains unclear how these impacts are modulated by life history traits. Using generalized linear mixed models and microsatellite data from 1444 North American terrestrial mammal populations we show that taxa with large home range sizes, dense populations, and large body sizes had reduced nuclear genetic diversity with increasing road impacts and human density, but the overall influence of life history traits was generally weak. Instead, we observed a high degree of genus-specific variation in genetic responses to road impacts and human density. Human density negatively affected allelic diversity or heterozygosity more than road networks (13 versus 5-7 of 25 assessed genera, respectively); increased road networks and human density also positively affected allelic diversity and heterozygosity in 15 and 6-9 genera, respectively. Large bodied, human-averse species were generally more negatively impacted than small, urban-adapted species. Genus-specific responses to habitat fragmentation by ongoing road development and human encroachment likely depend on the specific capability to (i) navigate roads as either barriers or movement corridors, and (ii) exploit resource-rich urban environments. The non-uniform genetic response to roads and human density highlights the need to implement efforts to mitigate the risk of vehicular collisions, while also facilitating gene flow between populations of particularly vulnerable taxa.

Fig. 5 in Habitat Preferences And Activity Patterns Of The Larger Mammal Community In Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia

Fig. 5. Mean Relative Abundance Indice (± SEM) for 12 most frequently encountered mammal species in PPWS at camera trap locations closer (black bars) and further (open bars) than 11-km from nearest village. RM red muntjac; EWP Eurasian wild pig; B banteng; E Asian elephant; LIC large Indian civet; EAP east Asian porcupine; L leopard; CPC common palm civet; D dhole; LC leopard cat; G gaur; and PTM pig-tailed macaque.

Fig. 4 in Habitat Preferences And Activity Patterns Of The Larger Mammal Community In Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia

Fig. 4. Mean Relative Abundance Indices (± SEM) for 12 most frequently encountered mammal species in PPWS at camera trap locations in DDF (black bars) and SEGF (open bars). RM red muntjac; EWP Eurasian wild pig; B banteng; E Asian elephant; LIC large Indian civet; EAP east Asian porcupine; L leopard; CPC common palm civet; D dhole; LC leopard cat; G gaur; and PTM pig-tailed macaque.

Fig.6 in Habitat Preferences And Activity Patterns Of The Larger Mammal Community In Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia

Fig.6. Activity patterns, % of all encounters within each hour, of red muntjacs and Eurasian wild pigs from camera-traps in PPWS.

Fig. 2 in Habitat Preferences And Activity Patterns Of The Larger Mammal Community In Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia

Fig. 2. Increase in species richness (species recorded) with total cumulative number of camera trap nights within Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary (Dec 08–Aug 09).

opencc-by-4.0May 2023View details →

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF NOCTURNAL MAMMALS OF TAITA HILLS, KENYA

Sound samples from PhD dissertation by Hanna RostiThese sound samples include calls of following speciesS1 Paragalago rondoensis, Saadani National Park, Tanzania, recorded by C. HempS2 Paragalago orinus, Pugu Tanzania, recorded by A. PerkinS3 Paragalago cocos, Shimba Hills National Reserve, Kenya, recorded by H. RostiS4 Paragalago zanzibaricus zanzibaricus, Zanzibar, Jozani, Tanzania, recorded by H. RostiS5 Paragalago zanzibaricus udzunwensis, Matundu, recorded by P. HonessS6 Paragalago granti, Mdimba, Tanzania, recorded by S. BearderS7 Taita dwarf galago from Mbololo forest, Taita Hills, Kenya, recorded by H. RostiS8 Taita dwarf galago from Ngangao forest, Taita Hills, Kenya, recorded by H. RostiS9 Paragalago cocos, Diani Beach Kenya, recorded by H. RostiS10 Taita tree hyrax singing, Mbololo forest, Taita Hills, Kenya, recorded by H. RostiS11 Long 22 min recording of Taita tree hyrax singing, Mbololo forest, Taita Hills, Kenya, recorded by H. RostiS12 Rock hyrax song, Israel. Recorded by A. IlanyS13 Strangled thwack from Taita Hills, Kenya, recorded by H. RostiS14 Dendrohyrax arboreus calls from Nanuyki, Kenia, recorded by H. RostiS15 Dendrohyrax dorsalis calls from Ostrava Zoo, Czechia, recorded by H. Rosti

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Fig. 1 in Helminth Fauna In Carnivoran Mammals From Uzbekistan

Fig. 1. Map showing investigated regions in Uzbekistan. 1— Northeast (Tashkent, Syrdaryn, Jizzakh regions); 2 — East (Fergana, Andijan, Namangan regions); 3 — Central (Samarkand, Bukhara, Navoi regions), 4 — Southern (Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya regions); 5 — North-Western (Khorezm region).

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Fig. 2 in Helminth Fauna In Carnivoran Mammals From Uzbekistan

Fig. 2. Carnivorans of Uzbekistan and some of their helminths: a — Vulpes vulpes; b — Canis familiaris; c — C. aureus; d — Felis lybica; e — F. catus; g — F. chaus; 1 — Dioctophyma renale; 2 — Taenia hydatigena; 3 — Dirofilaria immits; 4 — Toxocara canis.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Trait-based sensitivity of large mammals to a catastrophic tropical cyclone: DNA metabarcoding data

Extreme weather events perturb ecosystems and increasingly threaten biodiversity1. Ecologists emphasize the need to forecast and mitigate the impacts of these incidents, which requires knowledge of how risk is distributed among species and environments, but the scale and unpredictability of extreme events complicates assessment1–4. These challenges are compounded for large animals ('megafauna'), which play crucial ecological roles but are hard to study5. Traits such as body size, dispersal ability, and habitat affiliation are among the hypothesized determinants of animals' vulnerability to natural hazards1,6,7. However, it has rarely been possible to test these propositions or, more generally, to link short- and longer-term effects of weather-related disturbance8,9. Here, we show how large herbivores and carnivores in Mozambique responded to Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai, the deadliest storm on record in Africa, across scales ranging from individual decisions in the hours after landfall to community-level responses nearly 20 months later. Animals occupying low-elevation habitats exhibited strong spatial responses to rising floodwaters. Body size predicted species' subsequent numerical responses: small-bodied species exhibited the greatest population declines. We trace this sensitivity to limited mobility, which increased likelihood of death during the flood and constrained animals' capacity to withstand food shortages afterward. Our results identify potentially general trait-based mechanisms underlying animal responses to severe weather and may help to inform strategies for wildlife conservation in a volatile climate. <ol> <li>Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, (2022).</li> <li>Smith, M. An ecological perspective on extreme climatic events: A synthetic definition and framework to guide future research. J. Ecol. 99, 656-663 (2011).</li> <li>Ummenhofer, C. C., & Meehl, G. A. Extreme weather and climate events with ecological relevance: a review, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 372, 20160135 (2017).</li> <li>Jentsch, A., Kreyling, J., & Beierkuhnlein, C. A new generation of climate-change experiments: events, not trends. Front. Ecol. Environ. 5, 365-374 (2007).</li> <li>Pringle, R. M., et. al. Impacts of large herbivores on terrestrial ecosystems. Current Biology 33, R584-R610 (2023).</li> <li>Spiller, D. A., Losos, J. B., & Schoener, T. W. Impact of a catastrophic hurricane on island populations. Science 281, 695-697 (1998). </li> <li>Schoener, T. W., & Spiller, D. A. Nonsynchronous recovery of community characteristics in island spiders after a catastrophic hurricane. PNAS 103, 2220-2225 (2006).</li> <li>Pruitt, N., Little, A. G., Majumdar, S. J., Schoener, T. W., & Fisher, D. N. Call-to-Action: A global consortium for tropical cyclone ecology. TREE 34, 588-590 (2019).</li> <li>Lin, T. C., Hogan, J. A., & Chang, C. T. Tropical cyclone ecology: a scale-link perspective. TREE 35, 594-604 (2020).</li> </ol>

opencc-zeroDec 2023View details →

Stranded marine mammals, sea turtles and seabirds in Paraná and Santa Catarina from August 2018 to August 2023

To assess the potential impacts from oil and gas production in deep waters of Brazil's Santos Basin, the Brazilian environmental agency (IBAMA) required PETROBRAS, the main oil company in the basin, to implement the "Projeto de Monitoramento de Praias da Bacia de Santos" (Santos Basin Beach Monitoring Project - PMP-BS). This project has been operating along the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, since August 2015, collecting data from stranded seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals. This dataset includes records from August 2018 to August 2023, along the Paraná and Santa Catarina coastlines. During this period, 58151 animals of at least 93 species were recorded (883 unidentified animals). From this total, 88.6% were dead and 11.4% alive when first observed. This dataset complements previous ones from the same area, and is a high-intensity monitoring effort essential to understand temporal and geographical variation of stranded animals. This data will allow future works aimed at understanding the impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems and environmental changes over time.

opencc-zeroDec 2023View details →

Distance from available surface water of mammals in Ruaha National Park

In Africa, burgeoning human populations promote agricultural expansion and the associated demand for water. Water abstraction for agriculture from perennial rivers can be detrimental for wildlife, particularly when it reduces water availability in protected areas. Ruaha National Park (Ruaha NP) in southern Tanzania, one of the largest parks in Africa, contains important wildlife populations, including rare and endangered species. The Great Ruaha River (GRR) is the main dry-season water source for wildlife in the Park. Water offtake from this river for large-scale irrigation and livestock production up-stream of the Park has caused large expanses of this formerly perennial river within the Park to dry out during the dry season. The dry season distribution of a species in relation to surface water is considered an indicator of its dependence on water and ability to cope with the loss of surface water. We investigated how diminishing surface water availability during three dry seasons (2011–2013) affected herbivores' distance to water in Ruaha NP. The distance held by herbivores to water is shaped by a range of factors including dietary category. We determined changes in the locations of available surface water throughout the dry season using standardized ground transects, close to and leading away from the GRR, to map the locations of nine herbivore species. Functional responses of herbivores, i.e. their change in distance to water between early and late dry season, indicated that distance to water was (i) shortest in buffalo and waterbuck (grazers), (ii) similar for plains zebra (grazer), elephant and impala (mixed feeders), (iii) larger in giraffe and greater kudu (browsers) and (iv) largest in generalist feeders (warthog, common duiker). The substantial species' differences in surface water dependence broadly fit predicted species differences in their ability to cope with anthropogenic reduction in surface water in Ruaha NP.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Application of LiDAR to assess the habitat selection of an endangered small mammal in an estuarine wetland environment

Light detection and ranging (lidar) has emerged as a valuable tool for examining the fine-scale characteristics of vegetation. However, lidar is rarely used to examine coastal wetland vegetation or the habitat selection of small mammals. Extensive anthropogenic modification has threatened the endemic species in the estuarine wetlands of the California coast, such as the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris; SMHM). A better understanding of SMHM habitat selection could help managers better protect this species. We assessed the ability of airborne topographic lidar imagery in measuring the vegetation structure of SMHM habitats in a coastal wetland with a narrow range of vegetation heights. We also aimed to better understand the role of vegetation structure in habitat selection at different spatial scales. Habitat selection was modeled from data compiled from 15 small mammal trapping grids collected in the highly urbanized San Francisco Estuary in California, USA. Analyses were conducted at three spatial scales: microhabitat (25 m2), mesohabitat (2,025 m2), and macrohabitat (10,000 m2). A suite of structural covariates was derived from raw lidar data to examine vegetation complexity. We found that adding structural covariates to conventional habitat selection variables significantly improved our models. At the microhabitat scale in managed wetlands, SMHM preferred areas with denser and shorter vegetation, and selected for proximity to levees and taller vegetation in tidal wetlands. At the mesohabitat scale, SMHM were associated with a lower percentage of bare ground and with pickleweed (Salicornia pacifica) presence. All covariates were insignificant at the macrohabitat scale. Our results suggest that SMHM preferentially selected microhabitats with access to tidal refugia and mesohabitats with consistent food sources. Our findings showed that lidar can contribute to improving our understanding of habitat selection of wildlife in coastal wetlands and help to guide future conservation of an endangered species.

opencc-zeroFeb 2024View details →

High-precision body mass estimators for small mammals: A case study in the Mesozoic

Body mass is a pivotal quantity in palaeobiology but must be estimated from an imperfect fossil record. We analyse the precision of skeletal predictors of mammalian body mass as a mean to inform the Mesozoic mammal record, including a new eutriconodont from North America. We focus on the critical small end of the size spectrum – critical because the earliest mammals were small, because small size persisted onto the stems of the major extant radiations, and because small mammals compose a large proportion of crown diversity. Linear regressions based on extant small mammals indicate a universal correlation of body mass with observed measurements, but with clear differences in precision. Postcranial predictors outperform jaw and dental metrics, with certain femoral joint dimensions providing surprisingly precise estimations. Overall, our data indicate small-mammal evolution during the Mesozoic unfolded in patterns of underappreciated complexity. Studying these dynamics is only possible when estimating body mass within a strict, highly focused phylogenetic context. The heuristic value of the estimators we provide here are not limited to the Mesozoic but are phylogenetically justified for any small-bodied mammal regardless of age.

opencc-zeroFeb 2024View details →

Land cover preferences and spatiotemporal associations of ungulates within a Scottish mammal community

In the degraded and modified environment of the Scottish Highlands, novel ungulate communities have arisen following local extinctions, reintroductions, and the introduction of non-native species. An understanding of the dynamics and interactions within these unique mammal communities is important as many of these mammals represent keystone species with disproportionate impacts on the environment. Using a camera trap survey, we investigated land cover preferences and spatiotemporal interactions within a Scottish ungulate community: the sika deer (Cervus nippon), the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), the red deer (Cervus elaphus), and the wild boar (Sus scrofa). We used generalised linear models to assess land cover preferences and the effect of human disturbance; spatiotemporal interactions were characterised using time interval modelling. We found sika deer and roe deer preferred coniferous plantations and grasslands, with sika deer additionally preferring woodland. For red deer, we found a slight preference for wetland over woodland; however, the explained variance was low. Finally, wild boar preferred grassland and woodland and avoided coniferous plantations, heathland, and shrubland. Contrary to our expectations, we found no evidence that human disturbance negatively impacted ungulates distributions, potentially because ungulates temporally avoid humans or because dense vegetation cover mitigates the impacts of humans on their distributions. Furthermore, we detected a spatiotemporal association between sika deer and roe deer. Although the underlying cause of this is unknown, we hypothesise that interactions such as grazing facilitation or an anti-predator response to culling could be driving this pattern. Our work provides a preliminary analysis of the dynamics occurring within a novel ungulate community, but also highlights current knowledge gaps in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms dictating the observed spatiotemporal associations.