bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A review of factors affecting deer dispersion and their relevance to management
Authors: STAINES BRIAN W. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTFactors affecting the dispersion of deer are reviewed, and their relevance to the management of British species. Most of the information is taken from studies of European Red and Roe deer, and also from North American species. Home range/territory size is discussed; individual home range sizes vary within species, and are largely associated with habitat structure and/or climate. It is suggested that traditional behaviour and social factors may be important in limiting home range size and deer distribution. The role of food, shelter and freedom from disturbance are reviewed in relation to deer dispersion and movements. It is suggested that deer will occupy areas with a good combination of all the major factors rather than the best of any one. Suggestions for research on British species, with a view to management, are put forward.
On the phyletic relationships of the Tree shrews
Authors: CAMPBELL C. B. G. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTThe Tree shrews (family Tupaiidae) were earlier grouped with the Elephant shrews (family Macroscelididae) in the suborder Menotyphla of the Insectivora. Following a proposal of Carlsson (1922), many workers, and notably Le Gros Clark, have presented evidence that the Tree shrews should be regarded as primitive or basal Primates. Simpson (1945) accepts them as such in his classification of the Mammalia. This view, because of the wide interdisciplinary interest in Primate evolution, has been widely accepted and has been of considerable influence. It has not, however, been without its opponents. This review critically analyses the evidence for and against accepting the Tree shrews as Primates.
The prey of the Barn owl (Tyto alba alba) in East Norfolk
Authors: BUCKLEY JOHN , GOLDSMITH JOHN G. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractSome 5000 Barn owl pellets, collected from sites in East Norfolk during the past decade, have been examined. The most important prey species, by weight, were the Field vole (Microtus agrestis) 52%, the Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) 17%, and the Common shrew (Sorex araneus) 12%. The prey varies over different habitats; Wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and Bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) forming a higher proportion in localities with hedges, scrub and woodland than in open grasslands. These results are comparable with those of other recent work. However, when compared with studies conducted over 30 years ago, it would appear that the Field vole now constitutes a higher proportion, and the Brown rat a lower proportion, of the prey taken.
On the relationship between sub‐fossil and recent British Water voles
Authors: MONTGOMERY W. I. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractSub‐fossil remains of Arvicola from cave deposits dating from the Upper Palaeolithic through to the Romano‐British have been analysed and compared with recent material. The results suggest that only one species of Arvicola has been present in Central England during the past 12,000 years and that, during this time span, there have been trends towards an increase in size and towards a decrease in pro‐odonty.
Freeze‐marking rodents with a pressurized refrigerant
Authors: LAZARUS A. B. , ROWE F. P. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe effectiveness of a pressurized refrigerant, dichlorodifluoromethane (CCl2F2) for the freeze‐marking of rodents was investigated. Application for 4 sec or longer was equally effective in marking both shaven and unshaven laboratory mice (Mus musculus). Two species of wild iats, Rattus norvegicus and R. rattus, were also successfully marked by applying the refrigerant to unshaven animals for periods of 5–10 sec. Attempts at marking coypus (Myocastor coypus) were less successful. General anaesthesia was found to be unnecessary in the case of unshaven rats and mice since the refrigerant itself produced a local anaesthetic effect. The use of the refrigerant in conjunction with stencils to obtain more specific markings is discussed.
World whale stocks
Authors: GAMBELL RAY 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe history of whaling is very largely one of repeated over‐exploitation of the various whale stocks which became available through discovery or technological advance. Modern whaling has similarly caused considerable reductions in the numbers of some species in the major whaling grounds.Stock assessment methods are based on catch and effort statistics, biological information including age and reproductive status, marking and sightings records.Catch effort data have to be used with caution, because of changes in species preference, shifts in the whaling grounds and national fleet variations. With allowance made for these factors, cumulative catches adjusted for recruitment can be used to estimate the initial stock number. Changes in stock density after known catches also lead to abundance estimates. Logarithmic regression of age composition data are used to find the total mortality rates. The natural mortality can be estimated from early season catches in a fishery or pre‐fishery year classes caught more recently; fishing mortality is found by subtraction, which again leads to abundance estimates. Mathematical approaches incorporating recruitment estimates from actual age composition data and theoretical population models have been employed. Additional estimates come from mark release‐recapture experiments and direct sightings counts from whaling vessels and research ships. The latter are the only means of estimating the protected species.The yields which the various stocks can sustain are calculated from direct observations and theoretical considerations of the changes in recruitment, largely due to increased pregnancy rates and the lower ages at sexual maturity which occur in exploited stocks.The results of all the available analyses have been compared and combined to produce the population estimates and yields tabulated. The object of whale management is to bring all stocks to the levels providing the maximum or optimum sustainable yields. These are defined in terms of numbers at the moment, but may be expressed as biomass in the future.
Barn owl predation on the Harvest mouse
Authors: BUCKLEY JOHN 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTThe occurrence of the Harvest mouse as a prey species in Britain is limited by its distribution and, where it is found, it forms only a small percentage of the Barn owls' total prey. Data collected at a study site in East Norfolk during the years 1969–1973, suggest that in parts of Norfolk this mouse forms more of the owls' prey than in other parts of the country. There was a marked seasonal fluctuation in the numbers of Harvest mice taken by the owls and there was also some variation in the total numbers consumed each year. A small number of pelves were aged and sexed to give information on which individuals in the population are most vulnerable to Barn owl predation.
A study of Common seals in the Wash
Authors: VAUGHAN R. WILLIAM 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe large population of Common seals in the Wash has been studied over a number of years. Aerial surveys, although useful for counting seals present at any one time, do not give a total count of the population. Various other methods including tagging, track counting and analysis of hunting returns have been used to make a population estimate. The seal population has not been significantly affected by hunting, and water storage schemes proposed for the Wash are unlikely to cause much disturbance.
Day and night activity of Grey seal bulls
Authors: ANDERSON SHEILA S. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractWhile some activity patterns in seals have been related to tidal rhythms, little work was done on diurnal rhythms until the recent development of image intensifying devices which facilitate night viewing. Individual bulls were studied over several 24‐hour periods and the frequency of behavioural items was recorded during 10‐min periods each hour. No significant differences were recorded between day and night activity levels, except in the frequency of ‘Looks’, nor was there any relationship between activity and tide state. The thesis that optimization of time spent ashore (and therefore ‘at risk’ both ecologically and energetically) is achieved by maintaining a constant level of activity through the 24‐hour period is discussed. It is concluded that night time activity of Grey seal bulls can be inferred from observations made in daylight hours.
A review of studies on captive Harvest mice (Micromys minutus (Pallas))
Authors: TROUT R. C. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractPublished studies relating to captive Harvest mouse biology are frequently descriptive. The biology of reproduction is the most studied aspect and many details of courtship, gestation, nest building, breeding rate and development of the young are now understood. Other aspects of the biology, including social behaviour, sensory abilities and food eaten are discussed. Data from various sources concerning the daily activity rhythm and the metabolism of Harvest mice are compared.
Studies on the distributions of Apodemus sylvaticus (L.) and A. flavicollis (Melchior) in Britain
Authors: MONTGOMERY W. I. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe known distributions of A. sylvaticus and A. flavicollis were examined with respect to four woodland classifications and two soil types. The distribution of A. flavicollis in Britain is associated with drier areas and with the distribution of mature, deciduous woodland. A. sylvaticus is found in both wet and dry areas and is distributed independently of deciduous woodland.
Reproductive seasonality of the nyala Tragelaphus angasi; The interaction of light, vegetation phenology, feeding style and reproductive physiology
Authors: ANDERSON J. L. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIn Ndumu Game Reserve, South Africa, it was found that nyala males exhibited no seasonal sexual cycle. Although conceptions occurred throughout the year, there was a bimodal pattern of conceptions with the peaks in autumn and spring.After referring to other African bovids which also have bimodal patterns of reproductive activity, it was concluded that the cues for the two peaks are as yet unknown but must be provided by light or photoperiod. The factors which ultimately decide the amplitude of the peaks are vegetation phenology and feeding style of the animal. In nyala, peaks are masked by the occurrence of post‐partum oestrous cycles and a gestation period of approximately 7 months.
History, distribution, status and habitat requirements of the Harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) in Britain
Authors: HARRIS STEPHEN 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThis paper reviews the past known history of the Harvest mouse and presents the results of a survey of the distribution and status of the animal in Britain. Data are included which demonstrate the wide variety of habitats colonized by the Harvest mouse and the diversity of monocotyledonous plants that can be utilized for nest building. The survey has shown that there is no evidence of a decline in the distribution or abundance of this animal in Britain during the last century, and that the sparsity of earlier records was probably due to the lack of competent recorders.
Energy flow through small mammal populations
Authors: FERNS P. N. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIn order to compile an annual or seasonal energy budget for a small mammal population, it is necessary to derive estimates of standing crop, consumption, egestion, digestion, excretion, assimilation, respiration, growth and reproduction. This review gives an account of the methods available for compiling such budgets, and uses results obtained from a study of Microtus agrestis in south west Britain as a worked example. This population was live–trapped on twenty occasions during the course of 2 years. Total energy flow was 309 kJ/m2 in the first year and 173 kJ/m2 in the second. The average coefficient of digestibility of the natural diet was 54–3%, the average net production efficiency was 1 –0% and the average gross ecological efficiency was 1 –2%. Peak energy flow occurred in spring and late summer each year, and coincided with peaks in the abundance and growth rate of the grasses which formed the main source of food. Previously published estimates show that the annual flow of energy is higher amongst small mammal populations inhabiting open habitats, such as grasslands, than it is in successionally more mature habitats, such as woodlands.
The use of arboreal runways by the woodland rodents, Apodemus sylvaticus (L.), A. flavicollis (Melchior) and Clethrionomys glareolus (Schreber)
Authors: MONTGOMERY W. I. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe use of arboreal runways by the rodents, Apodemus sylvaticus, A. flavicollis and Clethrionomys glareolus, was investigated in the deciduous woodland of Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, England. Longworth live traps were tied to horizontal and inclining branches of trees and shrubs up to 3 m. Arboreality was extensive in all three species, although less in C. glareolus than in either Apodemus species. There was no indication that A. flavicollis consistently used arboreal runways more than A. sylvaticus but the data suggest that the peak of arboreal activity of these congeners occurred in different seasons. In A. sylvaticus, males were more arboreal than females and adults were more arboreal than juveniles. In, 4. flavicollis, juveniles were trapped significantly more often on arboreal runways than adults. The reasons for, and the consequences of, arboreality in small rodents are discussed.
Town Mouse, Country Mouse: adaptation and adaptability in Mus domesticus (M. musculus domesticus)
Authors: BERRY R. J. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe generally accepted idea that the house mouse is a single, world‐wide species which owes its success largely to commensalism with man is wrong. There are at least five European and two Asian species lumped together under the nameMus musculus, plus another fourteen Asian species in the same genus. The house mouse of western Europe is the one that has been introduced to the Americas and Australasia, as well as being domesticated in the laboratory and ‘fancy’ strains; it is properly described asMus domesticus.A complication of this particular species is the existence of chromosomal races involving the fusion of pairs of chromosomes, apparently at random. These races seem to be reproductively isolated from normal (2n = 40) mice. They have been described in southern Europe and northern Britain.Genetical studies of wild‐living mice have shown the operation of powerful natural selection, contrary to earlier assumptions that most of the polymorphic variation in the species (especially that revealed by electrophoresis) was neutral. The effects of such selection are reduced (but not eliminated) by the deme structure of established mouse populations; this social structure is much less rigid than some laboratory experiments have suggested, because of opportunism by individual mice in replacing dead or debilitated animals, and filling new niches as these become available.Virtually every mouse population is unique, since a population tends to be founded by a small group of animals drawn from a genetically variable ancestral population. This differentiation has allowed laboratory workers to develop inbred strains with characteristic properties; it has also resulted in over 130 sub‐species being described from wild caught animals. A substantial proportion of these latter have probably arisen by instant sub‐speciation through the founder effect. This is well illustrated by the mice of the Faroe islands, which are often quoted as standard examples of extremely rapid evolution.The adaptive properties of the house mouse that have made it such an effective pest and such a good laboratory animal have enabled it to colonize habitats as different as Antarctic tundra and tropical atolls. The species is an ideal one for the general biological task of dissecting the traits that contribute to this adaptability; the material is largely available for this task in the diversity of local forms established in different habitats and characterized genetical varieties maintained in the laboratory. More is known aboutM. domesticusthan any other mammal, except possibly man; the time is ripe for fusing laboratory work on reproduction, mortality, and behaviour with the information increasingly coming from field studies of wild‐living animals.
The food of suburban foxes (Vulpes vulpes), with special reference to London
Authors: HARRIS STEPHEN 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe food of foxes in suburban London was examined using stomach contents and den litter analysis. A great diversity of food was taken. Adult foxes killed nearer to the city centre were found to eat significantly fewer earthworms, domestic pets and wild mammals, but more scavenged food items, than foxes killed closer to the suburban fringe. Cubs killed closer to the city centre ate significantly fewer earthworms and insects, and more pet birds, pet mammals and scavenged food items than cubs killed nearer the periphery of the suburban area. Although seasonal trends in food selection were apparent, they were not as pronounced as those observed in studies of rural foxes. At no time of the year did a single food item predominate in the diet of adult foxes. Passeriformes were the most important single food item in the diet of young cubs, but there was no correlation between the number of Passeriformes eaten and their abundance, nor between annual changes in the abundance of small birds and mean fox birth litter size and productivity. Most foxes examined were in good body condition; there was no seasonal variation in body weight, although fat content did vary seasonally. A complementary survey in Bristol on losses of domestic pets to foxes revealed that 07% of pet cats and 80% of other pets kept outdoors were killed in a year. Damage to garden Crops was negligible.
The function of social hunting in larger terrestrial carnivores
Authors: LAMPRECHT JÜRG 
Published: April 2008

AbstractField data on several social terrestrial carnivores, relevant to the function of social hunting, are reviewed in relation to the hypotheses that this function is (1) the ability to catch and kill stronger and faster prey, (2) the ability to cope effectively with interference competition from other carnivores at the kill, (3) unrelated to hunting and competing for food. Hypotheses (2) and (3) are found to comply with the data more often than the widely‐accepted hypothesis (1). This conclusion affects the question of when and how big game hunting favours sociality in a carnivorous species.ZusammenfassungDie biologische Bedeutung sozialen Jagens beigrösseren LandraubtierenNicht jeder Vorteil, den ein Merkmal seinem Träger bringt, ist gleichzeitig die biologische Bedeutung oder Funktion (im engeren Sinn) dieses Merkmals. Aus der Erörterung des Unterschiedes zwischen Vorteil und Funktion im Hinblick auf die Funktion des sozialen Jagens ergab sich die Hauptfrage dieser Arbeit: Welche Anforderungen der Umwelt bewirken, dass Jagdgruppen so gross sind, wie man sie antrifft, und nicht kleiner?Am in der Literatur vorhandenen Datenmaterial von 9 Raubtierarten (Löwe, Gepard, Fleckenhyäne, Hyänenhund, Wolf, Dhole, Gold‐ und Schabrakenschakal und Koyote) wurden die folgenden drei Hypothesen kritisch geprüft: (1) Jagdhypothese: Grössere Gruppen dienen dem Finden, Fangen oder Überwältigen stärkerer oder schnellerer Beute. (2) Konkurrenzhypothese: Grössere Gruppen dienen der wirkungsvolleren Verteidigung oder dem rascheren Auswerten der toten Beute angesichts der inner‐ oder zwischenartlichen Konkurrenz. (3) Nebeneffekthypothese: Die Selektionsfaktoren, die grössere Gruppen begünstigen (z.B. Konkurrenz urn Geschlechtspartner, Raubfeindvermeidung, Bewachen der Jungen) haben nicht direkt mit Jagd oder Nahrungsaufnahme zu tun.Entgegen einer verbreiteten Ansicht erwies sich die Jagdhypothese nur selten und nur für kleine Gruppen von 2–3 Individuen als die wahrscheinlichste (Gnukalbjagd der Hyänen; Goldschakal; s. Tabelle 4). Das gegenwärtige Datenmaterial spricht öfter für Konkurrenz‐bewältigung als die Funktion des sozialen Jagens (Löwen; Hyänen z.B. bei Zebrajagd; Hyänenhund; Schabrakenschakal; Koyote), während bei Löwenmännchen‐, Gepardmännchen‐gruppen und Wolfsrudeln am ehesten die Nebeneffekthypothese zutrifft. Die Funktion des sozialen Jagens kann je nach dem sozialen Kontext (Löwe), dem Beutetyp (Hyäne) oder den ökologischen Bedingungen eine andere sein und ist nicht unbedingt ein Charakteristikum der betreffenden Art.Eine solche Analyse der Selektionsfaktoren, die die Sozialstruktur der Raubtiere formen, kann ausserdem Hinweise auf die Evolution sozialer Verbande bei friihen carnivoren Hominiden geben.
Photoperiod and reproduction in captive female Northern fur seals*
Authors: SPOTTE STEPHEN , ADAMS GARY 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe reproductive cycles of captive female Northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) were unaffected over two consecutive years by a photoperiod that differed substantially from that of the natural range. Breeding was observed in July and August, or at the same time as in the wild. Growth was comparable in captive and wild fetuses, indicating a similar timing of delayed implantation of the blastocysts.
National mammal guides: a review of references to Recent faunas
Authors: HICKMAN GRAHAM C. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractOver four hundred reference guides to the mammalian faunas of almost one hundred and fifty countries, dependencies, and well known, geographically isolated areas are listed, including approximately 60% of the total number of countries found in a current atlas.Although guides to national mammalian faunas have served as useful synopses for large countries and a useful sub‐division for large physiographic/ecological areas, most countries either lack a comprehensive reference to the identity, distribution, behaviour, and local literature on mammals, or the existing work has long required revision. Included in this report is a reference list of some important supra‐national areas, preceeding a cross‐referenced national listing (by current names, with a chronological listing of references within the country).National mammal guides are not only an invaluable reference source for the professional, but are also an important stimulus to the layman and government at all levels to take an interest in and appreciate the faunal heritage of mammals found within a country.