bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Foraging behaviour and home‐range utilization in a suburban Badger (Meles tneles) population
Authors: CRESSWELL W. J. , HARRIS S. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe size and distribution of home ranges, and the dispersion of latrines, was investigated to describe the use of space and degree of territoriality within a population of Badgers (Meles meles) living in the suburbs of Bristol. The movement patterns of different age and sex classes were studied, along with seasonal changes in various measures of activity. Part of the study area was surveyed in detail to compare the Badger's use of space with a variety of habitat parameters, and to examine the predictability of their foraging behaviour. Many of the results are in contrast to earlier studies on rural Badgers. Range sizes were variable, and inconsistent over time, many group ranges were not contiguous and those that were overlapped. Territorial boundaries were not obvious and latrines were clumped around sett sites. Age‐ and sex‐specific differences in movement activity were observed, along with an expansion of ranges in spring and a decrease in all forms of activity over the winter. Using multiple regression analysis, it was not easy to predict the foraging behaviour of suburban Badgers on the basis of 37 habitat variables sampled. There was some evidence of more structured foraging in the autumn, when more predictable food resources were available. The relevance of these observations to other studies on the ecology of Badger populations at varying densities and in different habitats is discussed.
The origins of lactation and the evolution of milk: a review with new hypotheses
Authors: BLACKBURN DANIEL G. , HAYSSEN VIRGINIA , MURPHY CHRISTOPHER J. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTLactation is central to mammalian reproduction, and an understanding of the origins of lactation is necessary to comprehend the early evolution of the Class Mammalia. In modern mammals, lactation is a staggeringly complex phenomenon involving morphological, physiological, biochemical, ecological, and behavioural adaptations. Because such a complex web of adaptations could not have arisen de novo, lactation must have begun as a much simpler process. Hypotheses regarding the original adaptive value of proto‐lacteal secretions invoke thermoregulatory, antibiotic, behavioural or nutritive functions. In this review, we evaluate each of these hypotheses and attempt to reconstruct the origins of lactation in the light of current concepts of the biology of early mammals and their ancestors, the origin of mammary glands, the evolution of extravitelline nutrient provision, and the physiology and biochemistry of milk synthesis and secretion. Drawing upon empirical evidence and theoretical considerations, we present a gradualistic scenario involving the following steps. First, incubation of eggs was aided by development of a vascularized abdominal incubation patch. Secondly, anti‐microbial secretions from cutaneous glands of the incubation patch enhanced survival of eggs or offspring. At this stage, these secretions could have supplemented vitelline nutrients (in much the same way as oviductal secretions do in monotremes), perhaps facultatively. Subsequently, hypertrophy and specialization of cutaneous glands accompanied the controlled production of a copious, nutritious secretion, which eventually evolved into a primary source of energy for development and growth of the offspring. We outline important events in the evolution of milk, and suggest studies likely to provide indirect tests of the evolutionary hypotheses discussed.
Bats and remedial timber treatment chemicals a review
Authors: MITCHELL‐JONES A. J. , COOKE A. S. , BOYD I. L. , STEBBINGS R. E. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTAll species of bat found in Britain have declined in numbers and all are classified as vulnerable or endangered. Their habitual use of roof voids for roosting and the formation of breeding colonies brings them into close contact with structural timbers which are often treated with long‐lasting pesticides to eradicate or prevent infestations of wood‐boring insects or wood‐rotting fungi. Some of the pesticides used have a considerable toxicity to mammals and are applied at a sufficiently high concentration to present a significant hazard to bats roosting on the treated timbers. Laboratory studies have shown that bats can be killed when they roost on timbers treated with lindane or pentachlorophenol, although some other chemicals, notably die synthetic pyrethroids, appear to be harmless. Numerous field incidents in which bats have been killed by remedial treatment chemicals emphasize the scale of the problem.
Mink (Mammalia; Carnivora; Mustelidae): correction of a widely quoted error
Authors: LINN IAN , BIRKS J. D. S. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTSince the European Mink Mustela lutreola and the introduced American Mink M. vison are now sympatric in some parts of the former's native range, and since the two species are similar in appearance, ecology, and behaviour, a need has arisen for a simple way of discriminating live specimens of the two species in the field. Many publications, particularly field guides, have recommended diagnosis on the basis of the presence of white hair on the upper lip of the European species, and its absence in the American species. This is a mistaken suggestion, which should be avoided by authors. American Mink seldom if ever show the large white moustachial bands seen in some European Mink, and may indeed have no white hairs on the upper lip; but white patches of lesser size are common enough to be a possible cause of confusion.
A review of age determination methods for the Stoat Mustela erminea
Authors: KING CAROLYN M. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractA sample of 166 Stoats collected from Craigieburn Forest Park, Canterbury, New Zealand, was used to assess the usefulness of seven different methods of age determination. All the methods made use of characters which do change with age, but not all are equally good at defining useful age classes. The recommended approach is to use a combination of skull and baculum measurements to identify young animals, followed by counting of the canine cementum annuli of adults. If the skull or baculum is broken or not available, visual assessment of the status of the nasal sutures, the lateral suprasesamoid tubercle of the femur and the wear of the carnassial teeth are the next best options for distinguishing the young. Kopein's index based on the closure of the pulp cavity of the canines, and the zonation visible in the periosteal bone of the mandible, are unreliable.
Dolphin swimming–a review
Authors: FISH FRANK E. , HUI CLIFFORD A. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractResearch into dolphin swimming has historically been guided by false assumptions of ‘effortless’, ‘high‐speed’ swimming. These assumptions have instigated the development of drag‐reduction hypotheses but tests of these hypotheses have generally had little success. The autecological approach has dominated recent efforts and has been more successful. In this review we summarize results of decades of research efforts to study these creatures. (1) Drag is minimized primarily by the streamlined shape of the body and appendages, with no known contributions from compliant dampening, dermal ridges, secretions, boundary layer heating, or skin folds. All indications are that the boundary layer is turbulent. (2) Muscles for the upstroke and downstroke of swimming dolphins provide approximately equal power. (3) Output force is enhanced by insertions occurring on the long processes of the vertebrae and on the subdermal connective tissue sheath. (4) Measured swimming speeds are lower than previously believed, with maximum reported routine speeds being approximately 3 m/s. (5) Porpoising behaviour appears to be the most energetically conservative manner in which to breathe when swimming at high speed. (6) Riding surf and wind waves involves the balance between the wave slope and the weight of the animal whereas riding the bow wave involves the interaction of the pressure wave in front of a ship and the drag of the dolphin.
Population regulation in the Wood MouseApodemus sylvaticus(L.)
Authors: WILSON W. L. , MONTGOMERY W. I. , ELWOOD R. W. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTWatts 1969 described the population cycle of the Wood Mouse Apodemus sylvaticus as a decline in numbers in spring, a stable period in summer and an increase phase in autumn. Aggression by adult males was considered an important aspect of population regulation limiting male survival in spring and juvenile recruitment in summer. However, recent studies of range behaviour and experimental investigations suggest that maleA. sylvaticusare not relevant in population regulation and that the principal regulating factors act on female reproductive success. Female reproductive activity is determined by spatial interactions which, in turn, are determined primarily by the density of females and the proportion of female immigrants in the population. The only impact adult males may have on population size is through infanticide and competition with the females for food.
A cladistic look at classification within the subfamily Macroscelidinae based upon morphology
Authors: CORBET G. B. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTRelationships amongst the 12 species of Macroscelidinae were reviewed by Corbet & Hanks (1968) using a purely phenetic approach. The same data base has been reassessed from a cladistic point of view. However, the polarity of very few character‐series can be assessed with any confidence. A ‘most‐probable’ cladogram is presented based upon the few characters for which polarity seems most convincing, and some alternatives are discussed. The same generic classification is supported but changes are suggested to the branching pattern within Elephantulus.
The ecology and reproduction of the Short‐snouted Elephant‐Shrew, Elephantulus brachyrhynchus, in Zimbabwe with a review of the reproductive ecology of the genus Elephantulus
Authors: NEAL B. R. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTThe reproductive ecology of Elephantulus brachyrhynchus was studied in an area of mixed woodland in the Scngwa Wildlife Research Area, Zimbabwe (18d̀10'S, 28d̀10'E). The year may be divided into three seasons: a cool dry season from mid‐May to mid‐August, a hot dry season from September to November, and a warm wet season from December to April. No seasonal changes were observed in body mass and male reproductive activity. Reproduction occurred throughout the year, but conceptions and litter size were significantly reduced during the cool season. The average litter size of 51 pregnancies was 1.6 (SD 0.49). Adult females had the capacity to produce five to six litters each year for a total annual production of 8.3 young per female.Information on the ecology and reproductive biology of other members of the genus was reviewed to determine latitudinal trends in various life‐history parameters.The pregnancy rate and litter size are not influenced by rainfall and exhibit no seasonal variation close to the equator. At intermediate latitudes (15–20d̀) both parameters are reduced during the cooler period of the year, and at higher latitudes breeding ceases during die period of declining photoperiod. Thus, most young are produced during the warm season when insects are likely to be most available. Litter size increases with latitude, particularly above 15d̀. This increase does not totally compensate for the reduced period of breeding at higher latitudes and so the annual production of young per female is reduced at the northern and southern limits of the range of the genus.There is a particular need to study the general habits of species living at higher latitudes to assess how they adapt during the cold winter months.
How spatial and temporal scales influence understanding of Sperm Whale distribution: a review
Authors: JAQUET NATHALIE 
Published: April 2008

AbstractFor much of the past two centuries, sperm whaling has been economically very profitable, and therefore whalers and, more recently, scientists have tried to understand Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) distribution and the factors controlling it. However, due to their deep‐living mode of life, their cosmopolitan distribution and our limited knowledge about their main prey species, the task has proved very difficult. This paper reviews studies of Sperm Whale distribution and the factors controlling it. The conclusions of these studies are very equivocal and often appear to contradict one another. It is suggested that this apparent confusion is mainly due to poorly defined spatial and temporal scales, the use of only one scale in most studies and the absence of consideration of the spatial and temporal scales at which relevant oceanographic processes occur. It is concluded that multiscale studies, covering the scales of oceanographic process, are needed to obtain a better understanding of Sperm Whale distribution.
Control of mammalian predators in game management and conservation
Authors: REYNOLDS J. C. , TAPPER S. C. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractWildlife management in modern environments has to contend with an inheritance of faunal and landscape changes caused by humans which affect the relationships between predatory and prey species. In both game management for harvesting, and in species preservation, this leads to difficult decisions about whether and how to manage predation.Predator control by humans is as old as livestock husbandry. The deliberate, often organized, destruction of many mammalian predator species has been a feature of human development in Europe ‐ and later in countries to which Europeans spread ‐ for centuries. Destruction to the point of extinction was practised for a number of reasons (self‐protection, protection of domestic stock, protection of wild game, fur, adventure, sport) which were rarely distinguished. Reduction of predator numbers specifically to allow an increased harvest of some game species was mainly a nineteenth century development, while the adoption of predator control to benefit endangered species for their own sake belongs to recent decades.We review scientific literature relevant to predator control in game management and in conservation. Understanding of the role of predation in prey population dynamics has changed considerably during the last 20 years, and predation is now credited with a much more powerful role than in the past. Increasingly it becomes possible not merely to understand what predator control achieves, but to predict when it might be valuable in management, and what strategy will best achieve the aims.Examples of conservation problems involving predation illustrate the complexity of decision‐making in management. Because of habitat loss, habitat degradation, altered predator communities, or altered predator‐prey ratios, predation losses often have increased significance in modern environments.Novel approaches potentially offer non‐lethal ways to manage mammalian predators. However, most are still in an exploratory phase and there have been no unqualified successes. The best tested approach, excluding predators from small areas by fencing, is discussed.In Britain, predator control to benefit small game populations and allow harvesting has been practised for nearly 200 years, and has undoubtedly played a role in shaping the present‐day fauna. Although earlier gamekeeping severely reduced the geographical range of several mammalian (and avian) predator species, nowadays predator control is subject to legal restrictions based on species' conservation status and humaneness. However, illegal persecution of species protected by law remains a persistent and significant conservation problem. The predator species legitimately targeted are successful, common and increasing in the modem environment, while wild populations of gamebirds and many other ground‐nesting birds are declining seriously in most areas.
The LAMP‐like protein p67 plays an essential role in the lysosome of African trypanosomes
Authors: Peck Ronald F. , Shiflett April M. , Schwartz Kevin J. , McCann Amanda , Hajduk Stephen L. , Bangs James D. 
Published: April 2008

SummaryRNAi knockdown was employed to study the function of p67, a lysosome‐associated membrane protein (LAMP)‐like type I transmembrane lysosomal glycoprotein in African trypanosomes. Conditional induction of p67 dsRNA resulted in specific ∼90% reductions in de novo p67 synthesis in both mammalian bloodstream and procyclic insect‐stage parasites. Bloodstream cell growth was severely retarded with extensive death after > 24 h of induction. Biosynthetic trafficking of residual p67, and of the soluble lysosomal protease trypanopain, were unimpaired. Endocytosis of tomato lectin, a surrogate receptor‐mediated cargo, was only mildly impaired (∼20%), but proper lysosomal targeting was unaffected. p67 ablation had dramatic effects on lysosomal morphology with gross enlargement (four‐ to fivefold) and internal membrane profiles reminiscent of autophagic vacuoles. Ablation of p67 expression rendered bloodstream trypanosomes refractory to lysis by human trypanolytic factor (TLF), a lysosomally activated host innate immune mediator. Similar effects on lysosomal morphology and TLF sensitivity were also obtained by two pharmacological agents that neutralize lysosomal pH – chloroquine and bafilomycin A1. Surprisingly, however, lysosomal pH was not affected in ablated cells suggesting that other physiological alterations must account for increased resistance to TLF. These results indicate p67 plays an essential role in maintenance of normal lysosomal structure and physiology in bloodstream‐stage African trypanosomes.
A novel autotransporter of uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis is both a cytotoxin and an agglutinin
Authors: Alamuri Praveen , Mobley Harry L. T. 
Published: April 2008

SummaryOne of the six predicted Proteus mirabilis autotransporters (ATs), ORF c2341, is predicted to contain a serine protease motif and was earlier identified as an immunogenic outer membrane protein in P. mirabilis. The 3.2 kb gene encodes a 117 kDa protein with a 58‐amino‐acid‐long signal peptide, a 75‐kDa‐long N‐terminal passenger domain and a 30‐kDa‐long C‐terminal translocator. Affinity‐purified 110 kDa AT exhibited chymotrypsin‐like activity and hydrolysed N‐Suc–Ala–Ala–Pro–Phe–pNa and N‐Suc–Ala–Ala–Pro–Leu–pNa with a KM of 22 μM and 31 μM, respectively, under optimal pH of 8.5–9.0 in a Ca2+‐dependent manner. Activity was inhibited by subtilase‐specific inhibitors leupeptin and chymostatin. Both the cell‐associated and purified form elicited cytopathic effects on cultured kidney and bladder epithelial cells. Substrate hydrolysis as well as cytotoxicity was associated with the passenger domain and was compromised upon mutation of any of the catalytic residues (Ser366, His147 and Asp533). At alkaline pH and optimal cell density, the AT also promoted autoaggregation of P. mirabilis and this function was independent of its protease activity. Cytotoxicity, autoaggregation and virulence were significantly reduced in an isogenic pta mutant of P. mirabilis. Proteus toxic agglutinin (Pta) represents a novel autotransported cytotoxin with no bacterial homologues that works optimally in the alkalinized urinary tract, a characteristic of urease‐mediated urea hydrolysis during P. mirabilis infection.
LysM, a widely distributed protein motif for binding to (peptido)glycans
Authors: Buist Girbe , Steen Anton , Kok Jan , Kuipers Oscar P. 
Published: April 2008

SummaryBacteria retain certain proteins at their cell envelopes by attaching them in a non‐covalent manner to peptidoglycan, using specific protein domains, such as the prominent LysM (Lysin Motif) domain. More than 4000 (Pfam PF01476) proteins of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes have been found to contain one or more Lysin Motifs. Notably, this collection contains not only truly secreted proteins, but also (outer‐)membrane proteins, lipoproteins or proteins bound to the cell wall in a (non‐)covalent manner. The motif typically ranges in length from 44 to 65 amino acid residues and binds to various types of peptidoglycan and chitin, most likely recognizing the N‐acetylglucosamine moiety. Most bacterial LysM‐containing proteins are peptidoglycan hydrolases with various cleavage specificities. Binding of certain LysM proteins to cells of Gram‐positive bacteria has been shown to occur at specific sites, as binding elsewhere is hindered by the presence of other cell wall components such as lipoteichoic acids. Interestingly, LysM domains of certain plant kinases enable the plant to recognize its symbiotic bacteria or sense and induce resistance against fungi. This interaction is triggered by chitin‐like compounds that are secreted by the symbiotic bacteria or released from fungi, demonstrating an important sensing function of LysMs.
The stellar population histories of early-type galaxies – III. The Coma cluster
Authors: Trager S. C. , Faber S. M. , Dressler Alan 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
We present stellar population parameters of 12 elliptical and S0 galaxies in the Coma cluster around and including the cD galaxy NGC 4874, based on spectra obtained using the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph on the Keck II Telescope. Our data are among the most precise and accurate absorption-line strengths yet obtained for cluster galaxies, allowing us to examine in detail the zero-point and scatter in the stellar population properties of Coma cluster early-type galaxies (ETGs). Recent observations of red sequence galaxies in the high-redshift Universe and generic hierarchical galaxy formation models lead to the following expectations for the stellar populations of local ETGs. (1) In all environments, bigger ETGs should have older stellar populations than smaller ETGs (‘downsizing’); (2) ETGs at fixed stellar mass form stars earlier and thus should have older stellar population ages in the highest density environments than those in lower density environments and (3) the most massive ETGs in the densest environments should have a small spread in stellar population ages. We find the following surprising results using our sample. (1) Our ETGs have single-stellar-population-equivalent (SSP-equivalent) ages of on average 5–8 Gyr with the models used here, with the oldest galaxies having SSP-equivalent ages of ≲10-Gyr old. This average age is identical to the mean age of field ETGs. (2) The ETGs in our sample span a large range in velocity dispersion (mass) but are consistent with being drawn from a population with a single age. Specifically, 10 of the 12 ETGs in our sample are consistent within their formal errors of having the same SSP-equivalent age, 5.2 ± 0.2 Gyr, over a factor of more than 750 in mass. We therefore find no evidence for downsizing of the stellar populations of ETGs in the core of the Coma cluster. We confirm the lack of a trend of SSP-equivalent age with mass in the core of the Coma cluster from all other samples of Coma cluster ETG absorption-line strengths available in the literature, but we do find from the largest samples that the dispersion in age increases with decreasing mass. These conclusions stand in stark contrast to the expectations from observations of high-redshift red sequence galaxies and model predictions. We suggest that Coma cluster ETGs may have formed the majority of their mass at high redshifts but suffered small but detectable star formation events at z≈ 0.1–0.3. In this case, previous detections of ‘downsizing’ from stellar populations of local ETGs may not reflect the same downsizing seen in look-back studies of RSGs, as the young ages of the local ETGs represent only a small fraction of their total masses.