Medium and large-sized mammals of a private protected wetland in the Cerrado-Amazon biological corridor, Brazil

Brazil is the world's richest country in biodiversity, including mammal species. In the Brazilian Cerrado biome, mammalian diversity is vast, with about 251 species, 32 of them are endemic and 22 listed as threatened species. In this work, we investigated species diversity of medium- and large-sized mammals in the private protected area RPPN Pontal do Jaburu (RPPN-PJ) and its surroundings, which is a flooded area located in an important biological corridor in the Cerrado-Amazon ecotone zone, a priority area for biodiversity conservation in Brazil. We used camera-trapping, active search (night and day), and track survey during dry season (Apr – Aug 2016). We recorded 29 mammal species, being the Carnivora order the most representative with 11 species. Regarding threat status, 35.7% of the recorded species were listed as threatened in Brazil and 32.1% worldwide. We highlight the high relative frequency of threatened species records such as Tapirus terrestris, Panthera onca, Blastocerus dichotomus, Pteronura brasiliensis, Priodontes maximus, and other, as well as the presence of the newly described aquatic mammal species Inia araguaiaensis. We stress the importance of RPPN-PJ and its surroundings for mammal conservation, which include complex habitats (wetlands) located in an important ecotone zone.

On the relevance of regional collections

Biological collections are the basis of the Earth’s biodiversity knowledge and most of them are regional collections. Here we present two collections from the Federal University of Espírito Santo—Mammal Collection (UFES-MAM) and the associated Animal Tissue Collection (UFES-CTA)—which have been the main repository for mammal specimens collected in Espírito Santo, mostly georeferenced (~ 90%), and available in public databases. Thus, our objective with this essay was to point out the contributions of these collections to the knowledge of the diversity of mammals in the Atlantic Forest. At the same time, we present the contributions they return to society and the scientific community, highlighting the main obstacles and challenges those regional collections face. Despite being regional, UFES-MAM and UFES-CTA stand out nationally for having biological material from a wide variety of species—mainly rodents, marsupials, and bats—also counting on a series of primate tissues collected during the outbreak of wild yellow fever in Southeastern Brazil from 2017 to 2018. These collecting efforts contributed to 42 new mammal species records for Espírito Santo, and 25 species that had already been registered in the state but were listed only in out-of-state collections or reported in literature without voucher specimens. We hope that the information reported here are examples of good practices and increase knowledge and visibility of the rich collection that these regional collections house.

Repeatability of endocrine traits and dominance rank in female guinea pigs

Background Glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisol) are associated with variation in social behavior, and previous studies have linked baseline as well as challenge-induced glucocorticoid concentrations to dominance status. It is known that cortisol response to an acute challenge is repeatable and correlates to social behavior in males of many mammal species. However, it is unclear whether these patterns are also consistent for females. The aim of this study was to investigate whether baseline and response cortisol concentrations are repeatable in female guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) and whether dominance rank is stable and correlated to baseline cortisol concentration and/or cortisol responsiveness. Results Our results show that cortisol responsiveness (after 1 h: R = 0.635, 95% CI = 0.229, 0.927; after 2 h: R = 0.764, 95% CI = 0.433, 0.951) and dominance rank (R = 0.709, 95% CI = 0.316, 0.935) of females were significantly repeatable after six weeks but not correlated. Baseline cortisol was not repeatable (R = 0, 95% CI = 0, 0.690) and also did not correlate to dominance rank. Furthermore, the difference in repeatability estimates of baseline and response values was due to high within-individual variance of baseline cortisol concentration; the amount of between-individual variance was similar for baseline cortisol and the two measures of cortisol responsiveness. Conclusions Females occupying different dominance ranks did not have long-term differences in cortisol concentrations, and cortisol responsiveness does not seem to be significantly involved in the maintenance of dominance rank. Overall, this study reveals the remarkable stability of cortisol responsiveness and dominance rank in a female rodent, and it remains an open question whether the magnitude of cortisol responsiveness is adaptive in social contexts for females.

Small mammals of background areas in the vicinity of the Karabash copper smelter (Southern Urals, Russia)

The dataset contains records of small mammals (Eulipotyphla and Rodentia) collected in the background (unpolluted) areas in the vicinity of Karabash copper smelter (Southern Urals, Russia) and the territory of the Sultanovskoye deposit of copper-pyrite ores before the start of its development. Data were collected during the snowless periods in 2007 (18 sampling plots), 2008–2010 (13 plots annually), 2011 (30 plots) and 2012–2014 (19 plots annually). The capture of animals was carried out in different types of forests (pine, birch, mixed and floodplain), sparse birch stands, reed swamps, marshy and dry meadows, border areas, a household waste dump, areas of ruderal vegetation and a temporary camp. Our study of small mammals was conducted using trap lines (snap and live traps). During the study period, 709 specimens of small mammals were caught, which belonged to five species of shrews and 13 species of rodents. The dataset may be highly useful for studying regional fauna and the distribution of species in different habitats and could also be used as reference values for environmental monitoring and conservation activities. Our dataset contains new information on occurrences of small mammals. It includes the peculiarities of their habitat distribution in the background areas in the vicinity of the large copper smelter and the deposit of copper-pyrite ores before the start of its development (Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia). All occurrence records of 18 mammal species with georeferencing have been published in GBIF.

Which Large- and Medium-Sized Mammals Use Commercial Short-Rotation Coppice as Habitat?

We surveyed occurrence and activity of large- and medium-sized mammals on six commercial mini-rotation short-rotation coppice (SRC) plantations in northern Germany by camera trapping in different seasons (winter, late summer). In total, eleven species (6–9 per site) were detected. This corresponds to the majority of mammal species occurring in the study region. Roe deer, wild boar and red fox were found across all sites. All other species were detected on fewer sites and some in only one of the seasons. Roe deer was the most active species both in terms of visit frequency (days with detection) and use intensity (detection numbers). With few exceptions on individual sites, all other species showed significantly lower activity. Number of detected species and activity of most of the species did not differ between seasons. Furthermore, there were no differences between near-edge and central areas of the crops with regard to the activity of the occurring species. Activity of individual species on different sites, however, differed considerably in some cases. Our results show that a wide range of mammal species are basically able to include SRC into their habitat utilisation. However, the sporadic use by most species indicates a rather limited current habitat value of the surveyed plantations. Options to increase the habitat value of SRC for mammals are suggested, but their effectiveness needs to be tested in future studies. Since the spatial and temporal scope of our study was limited and only SRC of a uniform age-class were considered, our results are not immediately applicable to other landscapes, seasons or types and management phases of SRC. Therefore, further research is required that considers these aspects as well as species-specific patterns of habitat selection in comparison to other habitat types.

Integrated Tick Management in the Upper Midwest: Impact of Invasive Vegetation Removal and Host-targeted Acaricides on Ixodes scapularis Infestation and Borrelia burgdorferi Prevalence of Small Mammals

Integration of tick management strategies has been suggested to overcome ecological variation in tick, host, pathogen, and habitat, yet empirical evidence assessing combined treatment effect on blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, is limited. In this 5-year study (2014-2018) we tested whether combining two methods targeting tick/mammal interactions could reduce juvenile I. scapularis parasitism of two small mammal species, Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque and Tamias striatus Linnaeus. Infection of small mammals with Borrelia burgdorferi was used to evaluate host exposure to feeding ticks. Using a factorial design, removal of invasive vegetation (Amur honeysuckle, Lonicera maackii Ruprecht and common buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica Linnaeus) was coupled with deployments of permethrin-treated cotton nesting materials (tick tubes) and evaluated against control sites. Removal of invasive vegetation resulted in lower captures of T. striatus suggesting that treatment impacted reservoir activity in the plots. Deployments of permethrin-treated cotton were effective at reducing the frequency of juvenile I. scapularis parasitism of P. leucopus by 91% across the study compared to controls. However, tick tubes did not offer consistent protection against mouse exposure to B. burgdorferi exposure. An additive negative effect was detected for juvenile tick intensity on P. leucopus when tick tubes were combined with invasive vegetation removal. We conclude that integration of these two methods provides very limited benefit and that permethrin treatment alone offers the best option for reducing I. scapularis infestation on P. leucopus.

The present status, distribution, demography, and diet of the Dahl’s Jird

Meriones dahli (Shidlovsky, 1962) was previously accepted to be a subspecies of M. meridianus (Pallas, 1773). However, it was later suggested that they are geographically isolated from each other. Although hybridological studies and differences in certain external characteristics support the idea that M. dahli is a separate species, there are still doubts on its species status, and the exact range of its distribution is not known. In this paper, we provide some taxonomic information about the species, and compare these with the information given in previous studies. We argue that some differences exist among Armenian population regarding external measurements. Recent studies indicate that M. dahli is currently only distributed in Turkey, as an endemic mammal species. We provide predictions about the distribution of M. dahli, and report the estimated population size to its maximum value. Food preference studies for this species, conducted under laboratory conditions, are also introduced for the first time. We discuss the ecological data obtained from field studies, and emphasize that the habitat of M. dahli is about to disappear. Consequently, the protection status of this species should urgently be changed to the CR category and conservation studies must be carried out immediately.

Small mammals in the diet of Barn Owls (Tyto furcata) in an urban area in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, with a new record of the dwarf mouse opossum (Cryptonanus)

Several studies emphasize the use of owl pellets in small mammal inventories in natural areas harboring high richness of rare species, but few Brazilian Atlantic forest localities have been surveyed by this method. The present study documents the species composition and abundance of small mammals in the diet of Tyto furcata in an urban area of the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, remarking on a new record of the dwarf mouse opossum genus Cryptonanus in the Atlantic forest. We analyzed 265 pellets regurgitated by a pair of T. furcata from November 2016 to September 2017 found in a nesting box. Analysis of the samples enabled finding a total of 596 individuals of four small mammal species. Mus musculus was predominant among the prey items (98.3%), while the native rodents Necromys lasiurus (1.3%) and Holochilus brasiliensis (0,17%) were much rarer. A single specimen of Cryptonanus sp. was identified among the diet items based on distinctive dental characters. The identification of this genus in the present study represents the second record in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and the sixth in the Atlantic Forest biome, suggesting that this marsupial occupies a wider ecological and biogeographic range. The present study underscores the relevance of owl pellets for small mammal surveys, even in urban and highly disturbed areas.

Registros de mamíferos presentes en el Área Marina Costera Protegida de Múltiples Usos Lafken Mapu Lahual, sur de Chile

The Lafken Mapu Lahual Coastal Marine Protected Area of Multiple Uses (Lafken Mapu Lahual), Osorno coast, southern Chile, is one of the first protected areas created in Chile during 2006, but only in 2019 its Management Plan was presented. This study provides information on its marine mammal species to be used in future biodiversity monitoring plans. The sighted mammals were recorded and counted through 18 navigation tracks and one observation point in the 2014-2015 austral breeding season. Five species were recorded systematically (one whale species, two dolphin species, one marine otter species and a one sea lion species). Two of them (Lontra felina and Balaenoptera musculus) are classified by the IUCN in the conservation category corresponding to Endangered. Laken Mapu Lahual is an important area for the species of whales that use it for their migratory route to the south of Chile.