The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of moonlight on the swarming activity of bats at an abandoned mine in southern Sweden. The mine serves as a hibernaculum for six species of insectivorous bats. Swarming activity at one of the mine entrances was measured on 12 nights between 1 August and 8 September 2000, by electronically counting the number of bats passing through an opening (about 30×40 cm) leading to a mine tunnel. The number of bat passes outside the mine was also counted, using a bat detector. Most bats were males, as confirmed by mist-netting outside the mine. Low frequency vocalizations, indicating territorial interactions, were heard frequently. The number of bats entering the mine was closely correlated with the number of bats flying outside, and neither was affected by moonlight. We conclude that the insectivorous bats at high latitudes may not have been exposed to significant nocturnal predator pressure, leading to the evolution of lunar phobia, as have many tropical bats.

The von Bertalanffy curve was used to examine growth patterns in both body length and mass of female and male polar bears Ursus maritimus live-captured near Svalbard, Norway. A longer growth period in males resulted in pronounced sexual dimorphism in both body length and mass. Males were 1.16 times longer and 2.10 times heavier than females. The asymptotic body length of female and male polar bears from Svalbard was smaller than that for polar bears in four of six previously studied populations. Asymptotic body mass of females from Svalbard was lower than other previously studied populations, while males were generally lighter. The reasons for the lighter bears in Svalbard are unclear, but we believe they were not related to sampling error, ecosystem productivity, or genetic differences. The high pollution load of polar bears in Svalbard may have affected body size but this potential factor could not be assessed. The generally smaller size of polar bears in Svalbard was consistent with density-dependent growth effects but again, information on population density relative to carrying capacity was insufficient to assess this hypothesis.

Plio-Pleistocene suid assemblages of sub-Saharan Africa seem to have been derived from the immigration of Asian tetraconodontines during the late Miocene and of Asian suines in the mid Pliocene. Lineages of both subfamilies display evolutionary changes that decrease the length of the premolar row and increase the length, height and complexity of the molars. Such changes have proved useful for estimating the relative ages of the sites from which suid fossils have been retrieved. They have also been used for interpreting the probable habitat and as evidence of environmental change through time. Isotopic analyses of tooth enamel from extant suid species generally confirm field observations of their dietary preferences. Similar analyses of suid dental enamel from Neogene localities of eastern Africa provide information that partly supports previous interpretations of the diets of extinct suid species. The increase in size and complexity of nyanzachoere teeth reflects their exploitation of C4 vegetation, although the nyanzachoeres did not acquire their grazing habits until after contemporary perissodactyls and proboscideans had become dedicated C4 grazers. In contrast to earlier interpretations, kolpochoeres and metridiochoeres were already dedicated grazers by the time they became significant components of the East African biota. Like their living counterparts, the warthogs and forest hogs, metridiochoeres were less water-dependent than kolpochoeres.

The pupillary response to the onset of bright light (10 000 lx) and darkness (4 lx) is compared in four species of Australian marsupials with different activity patterns. Maximal and minimal pupil width in relation to eye width was measured and the rate of change assessed. In the arrhythmic fat-tailed dunnart Sminthopsis crassicaudata, there were marked changes in pupil size with the range of pupil width to eye width of 0.73–0.10; constriction was rapid (54% s−1) and dilatation slower at 10% s−1. The crepuscular honey possum Tarsipes rostratus had a small range of pupil size at 0.56–0.46, with constriction and dilatation being slow at 4% s−1 and 3% s−1, respectively. The strictly nocturnal burrowing bettong Bettongia lesueur had a small pupil with a limited size range of 0.21–0.12; constriction at 25% s−1 outstripped dilatation at 7% s−1. The greater bilby Macrotis lagotis, also strictly nocturnal, had a small and immobile pupil with a fixed pupil width to eye width ratio of 0.08. In conclusion, contrary to most previous assumptions, pupil size is not fixed in marsupials, and not all nocturnal animals possess a wide pupil. Moreover, as a regulatory process, pupillary mobility reflects more than a differentiation between diurnal or nocturnal condition, and seems to correlate with specific visual requirements. The results of this study are discussed in relation to the lifestyle of the species and the associated illumination levels, and as a method of predicting the marsupials' periods of activity in the field.

Changes in hepatopancreas mass in nymphs, male and female Scorpio maurus fuscus (Scorpiones, Scorpionidae) from northern Israel, were followed through the year, and its percentage water content calculated. The hepatopancreas mass was positively correlated with body mass in males, females and nymphs, and changed significantly with season. In nymphs it ranged between 0.1549 g and 0.5351 g, in males between 0.1631 g and 0.3431 g, and in females between 0.2240 g and 0.6669 g. The hepatopancreas mass of males differed significantly from that of females during summer and autumn, and from nymphs during summer and winter. The hepatopancreas mass of nymphs differed significantly from that of females during autumn, winter and spring. In females, the hepatopancreas mass increased from autumn to spring. During that time, the embryonic diverticula (Ed) containing the embryos increase in number and size during embryogenesis. The depletion of the hepatopancreas mass is positively correlated with the Ed during the latter part of the gestation period before parturition. The percentage water content of the hepatopancreas ranged between 47.8% and 68.4%, and varied seasonally as well as between the genders. It is suggested that these changes in both hepatopancreas mass and water content are related to physiological events such as growing and moulting in nymphs, feeding and mating activities in males and the oogenetic cycle in females.

Rates of increase, survival and reproduction were studied in two re-introduced populations of mountain ungulates, the Pyrenean chamois (also named isard, Rupicapra pyrenaica) and the ibex (Capra ibex) in the French Alps. The populations were monitored from 1983 to 1998 (ibex) or 1984 to 1999 (isard) using capture, marking and resighting of individuals. Population rates of increase were estimated during the colonizing phase from: (1) a time series of estimates of population size; (2) projection matrices based on rates of survival and fecundity. Both populations had exponential rates of increase, with annual multiplication rates of 1.28 for isard and 1.30 for ibex. Age of first reproduction was 2 years in both species, with 77% of females breeding at this age in isard and 43% in ibex. From 3 years of age onwards, 90% of isard and 87% of ibex females bred each year. Survival rates of adult females, estimated using capture–recapture models, equalled 0.94 for isard and 0.98 for ibex, whatever the age and year. The projection matrix led to a slightly lower asymptotic multiplication rate than the time series of population size. Despite adult body size of the ibex being about twice that of the isard, no difference was detected in the intrinsic rate of increase between the two species. This supported the hypotheses of homogeneous life-history traits among ungulates, varying little with body size.

Bats seldom soar because it is behaviour generally associated with the use of thermals, which are normally of insufficient strength at night to support the behaviour. Daylight flying bats, however, such as the Samoan flying fox Pteropus samoensis may be able to exploit thermals for soaring. This may give the bats one of two advantages. It may reduce the energy costs of transport because gliding flight is much cheaper than active flapping flight. However, because less endogenous heat is generated by soaring, a second advantage may be that it reduces the thermal stress placed on these bats. Thermal stress is a factor that we have shown previously probably constrains the daylight flying behaviour of this species. Observations of the patterns of soaring behaviour at two sites on American Samoa in March and October 1995 supported the predictions of the energy saving but not the hyperthermia avoidance hypothesis. Soaring was a common behaviour under all conditions and was used extensively when conditions did not pose a threat of hyperthermia. In March, the bats also adopted flight patterns over time that exposed them to areas of the valleys where insolation was greatest, presumably increasing their risk of hyperthermia but bringing energy saving benefits. Modelling the expected heat flows during soaring and flapping flight using an established model revealed that soaring reduced the risk of hyperthermia, when flying in the shade of clouds, because of the energy savings resulting from reduced endogenous heat production. However, when soaring in sunlight, these savings are more than offset by the increased exogenous heat uptake, because a greater proportion of the wing surface is exposed when soaring. Despite its low endogenous energy cost, soaring in sunlight is not thermally advantageous, and the behaviour of the bats reflected this fact.

Pre-weaning growth rates, body composition, milk consumption and mass gain efficiency were measured in Australian fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus pups born in two consecutive breeding periods. Australian fur seals have the highest birth mass of any fur seal species (male 8.3 kg; female 7.2 kg). While their absolute pre-weaning growth rate (male 62 g·day−1; female 53 g·day−1) is similar to that of other temperate latitude fur seals, they have the longest birth-mass doubling time of any otariid species (134–136 days). Daily milk consumption increased from 400 g·day−1 (5 MJ·day−1) after birth to 675 g·day−1 (13.7 MJ·day−1) at age 210 day. However, mean mass-specific milk consumption (41 g·kg−1) is substantially lower than in other otariid species (58–70 g·kg−1) and, combined with a low mass gain efficiency (0.12 g·g−1), contributes to the low mass-specific growth rates observed. There were no significant differences in either absolute or mass-specific milk consumption between the sexes. Significant differences, however, were found between the sexes in the body composition of pups with females generally having larger body lipid stores than males for any given mass. Peak milk yield by Australian fur seal females is estimated at 0.60 MJkg−0.75, substantially less than in Antarctic fur seals. The low level of maternal energy transfer in Australian fur seals may reflect the relatively low marine productivity of their foraging areas.

The effects of intermittent feeding on the growth of oophagous Chirixalus eiffingeri and herbivorous Chirixalus idiootocus tadpoles were studied. Tadpoles were fed, once every 1, 2, 4, 8, 14, or 20 days (feeding treatments 1D, 2D, 4D, 8D, 14D, and 20D, respectively). At each feeding, C. eiffingeri were given yolk from chicken eggs, and those of C. idiootocus were given boiled spinach, ad libitum. For each species, each treatment consisted of 12 replicates of one tadpole each. For C. eiffingeri, the 1D feeding treatment was eliminated because the tadpoles were unwilling to eat daily. Chirixalus eiffingeri tadpoles in the 2D and 4D feeding treatments grew fastest, while tadpoles in the 20D treatment grew slowest. At least five tadpoles from each treatment, except 20D treatment, reached metamorphosis. Chirixalus idiootocus tadpoles in the 1D and 2D feeding treatments showed signs of growing, but tadpoles in the other four treatments did not grow at all. Only tadpoles in the 1D treatment reached metamorphosis. In another experiment, yolk digestion in the stomach of C. eiffingeri tadpoles was monitored. Yolk use was slow and egg yolk remained in the stomach for at least 8 days. Chirixalus idiootocus tadpoles could not tolerate long periods without food, probably because their digestive tract had a short clearance time and their stomach was incapable of long-term food storage. In contrast, between feedings, C. eiffingeri tadpoles seemed to mobilize food stored in their stomach, providing a continuous supply of nutrition to facilitate normal growth and development. These results and observations provide important insights into the maternal brood care of female C. eiffingeri.

Data obtained from the dissection of 1067 otters Lutra lutra were used to compare the causes of mortality in relation to age composition, time trends, and regions. Age determination was based on the analysis of incremental cementum lines in teeth. Major causes of mortality of otters were traffic accidents (69.9%), followed by natural deaths (6.6%), deaths in fish-traps (6%), hunting (4.1%), and other violent events (4.4%). No significant differences in mortality structure between the sexes were found. Resulting from a log-linear and a contrast analysis, significant differences in frequencies of mortality causes in relation to different time periods, regions and age classes of otters were observed. The frequency of otters dying from hunting or diseases was highest in youngest (AC I) and oldest (AC V) otters. Generally, the greatest differences between age classes resulted from comparison of frequencies of traffic-mortality, hunting, and fish-traps. Concerning time trends, the greatest differences were found in the periods before and after 1990. In addition to the increase of traffic-mortality, hunting and deaths in fish-traps influenced the distribution of mortality in different time periods. In eastern Germany, there is a clear difference in mortality between northern and southern regions. This results mainly from commercial fish-trapping being more common at the northern coast and lakes. However, in all different subsamples of time, region or age-class, traffic-killed otters amounted to >50% of all otters found dead.

Based on a computer-assisted method and regression analysis several structural parameters of the hair cuticle pattern of primary hairs of 94 mammalian species from seven orders were evaluated and compared between the different groups studied. Relevant relationships could only be demonstrated for directly scale-dependent parameters (scale area, scale perimeter, ratio of scale width to height). However, the species-specific shape and size of hair cuticle scales in mammals may be of certain value for biological interpretations of hair coat structure and function. This seems to be especially true for the Canidae and the Felidae, and even more for small mammals (insectivores, chiropterans, small rodents). In the latter group relationships between scale-dependent parameters and hair coat density indicate a homogeneity of hair coat structure which reflects effective insulation qualities.

The free-ranging feeding behaviours of five adult koalas Phascolarctos cinereus with varying degrees of tooth wear were investigated using acoustically sensitive radio telemetry. An increase in tooth wear was found to be associated with a significant increase in the average amount of time spent feeding, average number of leaves consumed and the average number of daily chews. This suggests that koalas compensate for tooth wear by increasing food intake. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the average number of chews per leaf and average chew rate, suggesting a greater investment in processing each leaf.

In the holm oak Quercus ilex dehesas of the Iberian Peninsula, several food types occur that can be selected by birds through the winter. In this framework, diet composition and diet selection of common cranes Grus grus was studied during a rainy wintering season. The winter diet of the common crane is mostly herbivorous in the holm oak dehesas of south-west Spain with <10% of items being of animal origin. Leaves and stems of sown cereal, bulbs, acorns and cereal grain are the most common vegetable food types. The diversity of the overall winter diet was similar among juveniles and among adults with and without juveniles in attendance. However, there were differences in diet composition between juvenile birds and their parents. Furthermore, the diet composition of adult cranes with juveniles in attendance was different from that of adult cranes without juveniles in attendance. Foraging abilities of juvenile cranes did not vary significantly through the winter, suggesting a low effect of experience on diet differences between age classes. Our results point toward the existence of diet differences among the three considered crane categories related with differential habitat selection by family groups. The monthly pattern of choice of each food type differed from those expected according to the monthly pattern of food availability in the study area. Cereal grain was the most preferred food type when it was available. When cereal seed germinated, cranes shifted to acorns and bulbs which were then more profitable.

A new species of the oligochaete family Parvidrilidae Erséus, 1999 is described from several subterranean waterbodies of southern Europe. A comparison with the type species suggests that the so called ‘genital body’ and ‘copulatory organ’ of the latter can be interpreted as the atrium and spermathecae, respectively. A critical analysis of the most important diagnostic features known is made to increase understanding of the real position of the Parvidrilidae in a natural system within the Oligochaeta. The parvidrilids seem to be closely related to the Phreodrilidae. Waiting for the results of molecular and ultrastructural analyses, and considering the dorsal crotchets ‘buried’ in the body wall as an autapomorphy for the phreodrilids, the rank of family for the parvidrilids is maintained on the basis of the three following autapomorphies: the location of the setae in a marked posterior position within the segments; the lateral development of the clitellum, with large clitellar cells in relation to the body diameter; the singular glandular pouches present in the mid-dorsal line of the mesosomial segments.

Two of the four living species of tapir (genus Tapirus) possess a distinct sagittal crest, but the development of this crest follows an unusual path in one species, T. terrestris. In T. pinchaque, T. bairdii, and T. indicus, as in other mammals, temporal ridges form on either side of the braincase, and, as postnatal ontogeny proceeds, these ridges migrate dorsad and mediad. In T. pinchaque and other mammals with a true sagittal crest, the temporal ridges eventually meet at the dorsal midline of the skull. In T. terrestris, paired temporal ridges never develop; instead, the crest simply erupts from the skull midline early in postnatal ontogeny. The sagittal crest continues to heighten, resulting in the tall crest that is characteristic of this species. Development of the sagittal crest is generally thought to be linked to the development of the temporalis muscle. Dissections of one adult and one neonate of T. terrestris indicate that the temporalis is strongly developed in this species and unusually extensive in its origin at an early age. A lack of comparative data forbids any conclusive statements about the relative development of this muscle as compared to that in other tapirs, but the unusual pattern of crest development seen in T. terrestris may be a consequence of the development of the temporalis muscle in this herbivorous ungulate. The pattern of crest development observed in T. terrestris is unique among tapirs, and perhaps among mammals. This explanation of the unusual sagittal crest morphology of T. terrestris is consistent with current interpretations of skull morphology and the taxonomy of Pleistocene Tapirus.

The agrimi goat Capra aegagrus cretica is unique to Crete and its offshore islands. It has been identified as a sub-species of the wild bezoar goat Capra aegagrus aegagrus Erxleben, 1777, which it closely resembles in horn shape, body form and coloration. This classification has been disputed by some researchers who claim that the agrimi are feral goats, derived from early domestic stock brought to the island by the first Neolithic settlers. In order to clarify this issue, DNA analyses (cytochrome b and D loop sequences) were carried out on tissue of live and skeletonized agrimi and compared to sequences of wild and domestic caprines. Results conclusively show the agrimi to be a feral animal, that clades with domestic goats (Capra hircus) rather than with wild Asiatic bezoar. This study demonstrates that morphometric criteria do not necessarily reflect genetic affinities, and that the taxonomic classification of agrimi should be revised.

Twenty-one cat owners from a 100 km2 area, centred on Carnforth, Lancashire, England, recorded each dead prey item delivered by their cat or cats during an 8-week period, following one of three experimental schedules, each of which required each cat to have a bell on a collar for only half of the time. The mean number of items each cat delivered to the owner was 2.9 in the 4 weeks when the cats had a bell attached, compared to 5.5 for the equivalent time when the bell was absent. The bell had no effect on the relative numbers of different prey types delivered, and there was no evidence that the cats adapted their hunting behaviour to reduce the effect of the bell over time.

The physical and morphological characteristics of red-fronted gazelles Gazella rufifrons kanuri Gray 1846 were determined in Waza National Park between September 1989 and December 1993 by describing body colour code and coloration, measuring body weight, body length, ear length, head length, horn length, hip height, shoulder height, tail length, and counting orbital glands from 141 carcasses. Mean body weight of red-fronted gazelles ranged from 7.8 kg for the young to 29.7 kg for the adult, while shoulder height varied from 38.7 cm in the young to 68.7 cm in the adult. Irrespective of age and sex, the shoulder height was lower than hip height by a fixed ratio of c. 1.04. Regardless of age and sex, orbital glands, though deeper in the adults, numbered nine with the highest concentration of four in the inter-digital fossae. The relationship between body weight and body length and horn length were significantly (P < 0.05, r = 0.8) positively correlated. The spatial appearance of horns, when viewed from the muzzle direction, is the most obvious physical and morphological characteristic for age and sex differenation of red-fronted gazelles in the field.

Geophilomorph and lithobiomorph centipedes were collected from 45 sampling sites spread across an area of c. 4000 km2 in north-east England. Data on physical variables were also collected at these sites, including the soil variables of pH, moisture content, organic content and compaction, which have been generally neglected in previous studies of centipede ecology. Fourteen species were found overall, evenly split between the two orders. Of these 14, three were ‘rare’ (≤ three individuals), six were ‘intermediate’ (10–50 individuals), and five were ‘common’ (100+ individuals). Analysis of presence/absence data on the intermediate species showed that the geophilomorphs were markedly synanthropic whereas the lithobiomorphs were not. More extensive analysis of the data on the five common species revealed a number of patterns, including: (1) a negative association between the two largest lithobiomorphs; (2) the importance of many predictor variables, including the soil variables, but with very different patterns for different species. Overall, synanthropic sites had the highest centipede diversities, but this effect was almost entirely caused by the synanthropic tendencies of the ‘intermediate’ geophilomorphs.

A small colony of little brown bats Myotis lucifugus was observed feeding on mosquitoes (Culicidae) inside a barn near Fairbanks, Alaska in June 2000. Observations were made visually and with a bat detector. All capture attempts were associated with feeding buzzes, indicating that the bats used echolocation to detect and track the insects, although the light was bright and the insects were easily seen by us. The capture efficiency of the bats was 92% (n = 100). The insects did not show any defensive behaviour in response to approaching bats.