Mammal Study

The concrete walls of check dams are considered a physical barrier for aquatic and semiaquatic animals that inhabit mountain streams. Traveling behaviors around concrete check dams by the Japanese water shrew Chimarrogale platycephalus, a semi-aquatic mammal, were directly observed via radio-tracking in Kamikoshi Stream in central Honshu, Japan. Traveling behaviors were mainly observed on the wet concrete walls and in the backfill sediments of check dams. Chimarrogale platycephalus generally crossed the wall directly, and route selection was affected by the traveling direction of C. platycephalus and the surface wetness of the concrete wall. Detouring behavior around the concrete walls was observed visually only once during the survey period. Using modulation of sounds on a FM receiver, the movements of C. platycephalus were detected in their hiding places along the stream. Some individuals frequently ceased movement within the backfill sediments. Our results suggest that existing concrete check dams do not prohibit the shrew's movements between upstream and downstream of the river and that backfill sediments may be utilized as resting places.

In Africa, the Cape hare (Lepus capensis) population is under threat from multiple stresses. For its efficient conservation planning, it is crucial to provide comprehensive information on various ecological aspects. To this end, we assessed the dietary composition of the Cape hare in relation to food availability in the North Sahara Desert. The investigation was conducted in spring in three Tunisian National parks (i.e., Bouhedma, Sidi Toui, and Jbil) with typical arid and desert ecosystems. Food availability was estimated using the quadrat point approach for each park while diet composition was assessed using microhistological analysis of faecal samples. Results revealed that 19 of 98 plant species were consumed by Cape hares. Poaceae family, present in all three parks, was the primary source of food. Asteraceae and Brassicaceae were the next most preferred diets. Woody species were eaten but their proportion in the diet depended on the availability of herbaceous plants. Our results tend to show that Cape hares select high quality diet depending on the availability of food, but further studies across four seasons at different spatial scales may eventually lead to further information about these issues.

Southeast Asia contains a diverse array of squirrels, with several species living sympatrically. However, limited data are available on how the squirrels coexist and share resources in the same habitat. Here, we examined resource-use variation between sympatric Callosciurus finlaysonii and C. caniceps in two habitats of northeastern Thailand: dry dipterocarp forest (DDF) and dry evergreen forest (DEF). Both species were bimodally crepuscular and did not differ in daily activity patterns. Callosciurus caniceps was fewer in number than C. finlaysonii in DDF, but they had similar frequencies in DEF. The two species generally consumed different plant species, though some preferred fruits overlapped. Callosciurus finlaysonii from DEF remained higher in the trees than C. caniceps; all nests at elevated locations belonged to C. finlaysonii. When feeding, the preferred height of both species varied depending on food availability. In DEF, C. caniceps dominated C. finlaysonii during interactions. Together, our observations indicate that sympatry is possible because the two species differ in food choice and/or engage in vertical zonation.

In a changing environment, dietary patterns of mammalian predators are influenced by many factors. In an agricultural area in south-western Hungary, where the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the top predator and has a stable population, our aim was to analyse how the diet composition based on scat samples changed over a longer period (first survey occasion: 1992–1997, n = 350; second survey occasion: 2012–2014, n = 237). Based on the analysis from 12 main food types, a shift in the dietary pattern of the fox was found. When comparing the results from the second survey with those of the first survey, small mammals were consumed less frequently (relative frequency of occurrence, 39.2% vs. 26.8%, respectively), while plants (mainly fruits; 19.0% vs. 26.7%), invertebrates (11.0% vs. 15.0%), and wild boar (0.9% vs. 7.5%; including piglets in the second survey) were consumed more frequently. These four main food types together comprised > 70% of the difference between diet composition from the two surveys. The trophic niche breadth had a narrower mean value in the first, than in the second survey. The dietary shift can be related to intensification of agricultural production and increased frequency in presence of wild boar in the area.

We describe a specimen of the extinct Javan tiger Panthera tigris sondaica in the Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS (FMNH) in Helsinki, Finland. This specimen has not previously been described in the literature. It consists of the complete skeleton of a subadult individual collected in the nineteenth century, supposedly in Java. We confirmed the specimen's identity as a Javan tiger with a DNA analysis, an identification which was supported by a morphological examination. In addition to this Javan tiger specimen, we also subjected a few other old, wild-caught tiger specimens in the collections of the FMNH to DNA analysis. Notable results of these analyses were the identification of two twentieth-century flat skin specimens of the South China tiger P. t. amoyensis, which still survives in captivity but is extinct in the wild, and a probable Malayan tiger P. t. jacksoni skull specimen. Results of a DNA analysis of one further nineteenth-century specimen, a mounted skin of a juvenile, were inconclusive beyond establishing that it originates from the Sunda Islands; however, certain features of this specimen's pelage suggest that it, too, may be a Javan tiger.

Static skull morphological variation in the large Japanese field mouse (Apodemus speciosus) was analyzed using different indices of variability. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed sexual dimorphism in cranium and mandible sizes, among a total of 89 skulls (45 males and 44 females). The coefficient of variation (CV), standard deviation (SD), and residuals of the standard deviation (RSD) were regressed onto the mean (M) of each skull measurement. The CVs did not differ significantly between sexes and exhibited an inverse relationship with the M of skull measurements. Moreover, the CVs for the pre-orbital region and mandibular height tended to be larger than those for the inter- and post-orbital regions. The allometric trends revealed isometry and positive allometry in the pre-orbital region, and negative allometry in the inter- and post-orbital regions. These findings imply a general trend toward ontogenetic skull growth in rodents, as reported in previous studies. Univariate analyses demonstrated significant differences between sexes in several variables, as did canonical discriminant analysis. In conclusion, we suggest that the sexes mainly differ with respect to skull size, despite exhibiting similar trends in variability among skull variables.

Otters (Lutra lutra) mark territories by depositing feces on prominent spots, like rocks or large tussocks of grass. However, sometimes they defecate on intentionally mounded heaps made of mud and/or plant material. We show that in sites occupied by otters the frequency of heap-making significantly increases with the frequency of otters occurrence and is independent of the availability of naturally occurring potential marking spots. Constructing a heap is presumably costly, and thus heap-making could be an honest signal of propensity for defending territory. We propose that it should positively correlate with the quality of the territory and its owner.

The trap-neuter-release method, which has been used to control stray cat populations in many countries, is thought to be more efficient than the trap-removal method because neutered cats returning to their home ranges can prevent the influx of other cats, which would otherwise take advantage of the unoccupied areas. To test territory occupying patterns of stray cats, the present study used radio tracking to estimate the home ranges of the cats living in Mt. Dobong, Korea. Total six cats (three males, three females) were radio tracked for 3–6 months. The mean home range size of the cats was relatively small (17.9–37.9 ha), and the home range sizes of males (21.6–37.9 ha) and females (17.9– 20.9 ha) were not significantly different. The home ranges of both male and female cats overlapped substantially, so that home ranges were not used exclusively at least within a sex. Furthermore, the overlap areas were associated with food-rich locations, such as garbage boxes. Therefore the present study failed to support the hypothesis that the cats would use their home ranges exclusively, thereby suggesting that the efficacy of the trap-neuter-return method should be reconsidered.