Mammal Research最新文献

The White-lipped Peccary (WLP) is a large-sized mammal that lives in groups and needs large, preserved areas to survive. Over the last decades, the distribution area of the WLP has been reduced, being absent from areas where its occurrence is expected, such as the central region of southwestern Goiás, Brazilian Midwest. Therefore, here we presented eight new records of WLP in southwestern of Goiás state, with information on group size and landscape context. WLPs were recorded by camera trap, and we extracted the percentage of native cover (NC%), mean of Euclidean nearest-neighbor distance (MENND), and largest native patch area (LP (hectares)) in the landscape occupied by them. The WLP group size ranged from 1 to 52 individuals in anthropized landscapes (4.6 to 30.7 of NC%), with a MENND range of 89.4 to 165 m and LP ranged from 48.8 to 297.9. These findings could be an indication that the species is returning to use the region. However, we stress that this area may not support viable WLP populations in the long-term due to the level of anthropization of the studied landscape.

Vehicle collisions with wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are reported almost everywhere this species is found. However, this is one of the least studied and characterized forms of damage that these invasive animals cause in the United States (U.S.). We analyzed 518 wild pig-vehicle collisions (WPVCs) that took place statewide in Georgia between 2015 and 2021. From that dataset, we analyzed several parameters in order to better understand and characterize these accidents on a scale that had previously not been done in the U.S. Wild pig-vehicle collisions were reported from 105 out of the 159 counties in Georgia, increasing in number annually over the seven-year period. WPVCs were most likely to occur in the fall (37%). A duration weighted time of day analysis showed that WPVCs were most frequent at dusk. Most (97%) reported accidents were caused by live wild pigs, with the remainder being due to collisions with already dead or road-killed pigs. Most (86%) collisions involved a single wild pig while the remainder occurred with two or more pigs. Collisions occurred mostly with passenger cars on dry, straight, and level two-lane blacktop roads under dark, unlighted conditions. Nine percent of the vehicle accidents involving wild pigs resulted in injuries to the drivers and passengers. Some of the most severe injuries reported were caused by swerving to avoid striking wild pigs. No human fatalities were recorded due to these accidents. Wild pig-vehicle collisions are costly and dangerous and should be closely monitored and mitigated by the agencies responsible for motorist safety, transportation infrastructure, and wildlife management.

The dietary preferences of most rodents, especially in tropical countries, are poorly known. In the tropics, rodent diversity can be high and several species can coexist in the same habitats. In order to better document the dietary habits of Southeast Asian murid and diatomyid rodents, we examined microwear patterns in 21 species, with a particular focus on those living in karst habitats. Five variables of microwear scars (scratches and pits) were counted and measured on the dental facet of the first molar hypocone. We observed large variation and overlap in microwear patterns between and within genera, suggesting that feeding ecology is diverse (mostly generalist omnivorous species) within species and genus. For species living in agro-ecosystems, few differences were observed when we compared sympatric species within a genus, suggesting that niche partitioning is not achieved by feeding, neither in terms of diet composition nor in the way food is processed, or that food items are more homogeneous in terms of physical properties that affect microwear patterns. Differences between sympatric species were more pronounced in forest or karst contexts, suggesting that specialisation and niche differentiation have persisted in more preserved environments. Finally, differences were also observed in urban ecosystems suggesting that the communities of rodents evolved niche partitioning in these human-modified habitats. Our results also revealed differences in microwear patterns between karst and non-karst rodents, with all karst species showing a trend towards increasing numbers of small scratches and small pits. This suggested that the karst environment may influence the dietary habits of rodents, either in terms of the composition of the diet or by altering the general characteristics of the food.