Wildlife Biology

From migration to nomadism: movement variability in a northern ungulate across its latitudinal range

by Luca Börger

Ecological Applications (in print) Co-authored with Navinder Singh (first author), Nils Bunnefeld, Holger Detki, and Goran Ericsson.

This is the first proper application of my net-squared displacement approach for modelling animal movements (Borger & Fryxell 2012).
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Understanding the causes and consequences of animal movements is of fundamental biological interest because any... more Understanding the causes and consequences of animal movements is of fundamental biological interest because any alteration in movement can have direct and indirect effects on ecosystem structure and function. It is also crucial for assisting spatial wildlife management under variable environmental change scenarios. Recent research has highlighted the need of quantifying individual variability in movement behavior and how it is generated by interactions between individual requirements and environmental conditions, to understand the emergence of population level patterns. Using a multi-annual movement dataset of 213 individual moose (Alces alces) across a latitudinal gradient (from 56° to 67° N) that spans over 1,100 km of varying environmental conditions, we analyze the differences in individual and population level movements. We tested the effect of climate, risk and human presence in the landscape on moose movements. The variation in these factors explained the existence of multiple movements (migration, nomadism, dispersal, sedentary) among individuals and seven populations. Hence, heterogeneity in the immediate environment can result in multiple movements within a species. Population differences were primarily related to latitudinal variation in snow depth and road density. Individuals showed both fixed and flexible behaviors across years, and were less likely to migrate with age in interaction with snow and roads. For the predominant movement strategy, migration, the distance, timing and duration at all latitudes varied between years. Males traveled longer distances and began migrating earlier in spring than females. Our study provides strong quantitative evidence for the dynamics of animal movements in response to changes in environmental conditions along with varying risk from human influence across the landscape. For moose, given its wide distributional range, changes in the distribution and migratory behavior are expected under future warming scenarios.

Phylogenetic Analysis of the Malaysian Rhinolopus and Hipposideros using mtDNA cytochrome b gene. PJTAS 34(2):281-294.

by M.T. Abdullah, PhD

Read Abdullah (2003)

The phylogenetic relationships among 10 species of Rhinolophus and 10 species of Hipposideros from Borneo and... more The phylogenetic relationships among 10 species of Rhinolophus and 10 species of Hipposideros from Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia were successfully inferred from the partial mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome (cyt) b sequences. Of the 413 nucleotide positions examined, there were 171 positions (41.4%), of which 164 positions (95.9%) were parsimoniously informative. The phylogenetic trees reconstruction using neighbour-joining (NJ), unweighted maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods suggest the monophyletic clustering of these families. The interspecific relationships within Rhinolophidae were completely resolved, while those within Hipposideridae were not fully resolved, as supported by the low bootstrap values. Overall, the phylogenetic analysis using partial mtDNA cyt b gene was useful to discriminate these complicated taxa and successfully revealed the misidentification of several specimens before due to their similar morphologies.

Keywords: Cytochrome b, Hipposideros, mitochondrial DNA, phylogenetics, Rhinolophus

Molecular phylogenetics and systematics of five genera of Malaysian murine rodents (Maxomys, Sundamys, Leopoldamys, Niviventer and Rattus) inferred from partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene.

by M.T. Abdullah, PhD

Nur Aida Md Tamrin and M. T. Abdullah. 2011. Journal of Science and Technology in the Tropics 7: 75-86. (SCOPUS-indexed).

We genetically analysed 50 specimens of Murinae from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, assigned to 12 species.... more We genetically analysed 50 specimens of Murinae from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, assigned to 12 species. Phylogenetic analyses of partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (476 base pairs) using four methods, namely, neighbour-joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian method resulted in similar statistically supported clades with minimal change in branching order. The analyses discovered that there were intermediate form of Maxomys species within M. whiteheadi and M. ochraceiventer populations. They display same external morphology as M. whiteheadi but genetically closer to M. ochraceiventer. Craniodental measurements showed significant differences between the three populations. Rattus and Sundamys appeared not fully resolved while Leopoldamys and Niviventer were steadily clustered. The intraspecific geographic variation in some species agrees with previous studies on the vicariance scenario and diversification of flora and fauna in Malaysia and Borneo.

Nur Aida Md Tamrin and M. T. Abdullah. 2011. Journal of Science and Technology in the Tropics 7: 75-86. (SCOPUS-indexed).

Is translocation a management tool?

by M.T. Abdullah, PhD

Biogeography and variation of the Malaysian fruit bat, Cynopterus brachyotis, in Sunda Shelf 2003

by M.T. Abdullah, PhD

Five more studies by BU, UKM & UNIMAS had tested and confirmed similar findings in this 2003 PhD study.

There are more then one species in the Malayan fruit bat, Cynopterus brachyotis, species complex based on the... more There are more then one species in the Malayan fruit bat, Cynopterus brachyotis, species complex based on the mophological and MtDNA cytochorome b analyses. The small form is found in the closed canopy forest while the larger form utilised the open habitat. There is a new species within the C. brachyotis populations yet to be described.

Mammals of Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Malaysian Borneo. 2011

by M.T. Abdullah, PhD

Some important species observed during the expedition.

We observed some species of small mammals  of Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Malaysian Borneo.
2011.... more We observed some species of small mammals  of Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Malaysian Borneo.
2011. Malaysian Academy of Science

Application of Genetics to Conservation of Canadian Reptiles

by David Galbraith

Andrew A. Chek, Kent A. Prior, David A. Galbraith, Stephen C. Lougheed. 2007. Herpetological Conservation 2:113-130 (Chapter 7)

Conservation genetics is principally concerned with 2 endeavours. The 1st approach uses genetic data to inform... more Conservation genetics is principally concerned with 2 endeavours. The 1st approach uses genetic data to inform questions centred on relationships among individuals, populations, species or higher-level taxa. Such questions may relate to connectivity among populations (gene flow) and the effects of past or present fragmentation events, forensic applications (animal or plant derivative identification) or the evolutionary affinities among taxa (phylogeny). The 2nd approach emphasizes quantification of genetic diversity at various hierarchical levels, to understand immediate (inbreeding) or future (ability to adapt to changing environments) consequences of reduced genetic variation. Relatively few populations of Canada’s 43 species of reptiles have been investigated using genetic techniques, which is unfortunate, because theory suggests these peripheral populations can harbour unique genetic variants, or be substantially genetically diverged from core populations. Examples from Canada and elsewhere can be used to illustrate some of the main sorts of inquiry within the 2 areas outlined above. Genetic markers have been useful in clarifying the bounds and affinities of reptile taxa and the related task of assessing the value of the taxon. Genetic markers can offer indirect measures of gene flow/migration between populations, although these estimates are ideally anchored by ecological assessments (mark-recapture, radiotelemetry studies). Gene flow/migration is important in determining the proportion of genetic variation unique to a given population. Perhaps more practically, the extent to which populations are genetically connected determines the scale and geographic bounds of management units and the likelihood that a given population can recolonize an area where a neighbouring population has been extirpated. Small population size is correlated with the loss of genetic variation (for example, through founder effect or genetic drift), which may impair the future adaptive capacity of a population or species as a whole. Small population size also results in inbreeding, which can lead to the accumulation of deleterious alleles that reduce fitness and make the population decline further. Other applications of genetic markers include their use in determining the sex of individuals, important when the species is monomorphic, where the species is difficult to handle, or where only a sample of the individual is available. Genetic markers are also of use for investigations of mating systems. Which and how many males and females breed in a population may have important consequences for wild management, captive breeding, or reintroduction measures. Finally, genetic markers may be applied for forensic purposes: establishing the provenance or identity of an individual or part thereof. The relatively small proportion of Canadian reptiles genetically investigated is not a reflection of inadequate laboratory capacity or expertise. Our experience suggests there is a willing supply of both geneticists and students eager to carry out such work; financial resources are more often the limiting factor. Where resources are available, we suggest 3 areas of study that could contribute to Canadian reptile conservation: taxonomic studies, particularly where species are marked by geographic variation in morphology, or where the distribution of species is discontinuous or spans very different environments; studies of the conservation value of peripheral populations; and using genetic information and GIS tools to assess the effect of habitat disturbance on population connectivity over relatively short time scales.

Measuring Late Quaternary Ursid Diminution in the Midwest

by Steve Wolverton

Wolverton & Lyman 1998

Paleobiologists generally agree that within the past 10,000 yr North American black bears (Ursus americanus) have... more Paleobiologists generally agree that within the past 10,000 yr North American black bears (Ursus americanus) have decreased in body and tooth size. Some researchers infer that diminution was gradual and continuous; thus, one might infer that a specimen is old if it is larger than an average-size modern bear. Ursid remains recovered in the 1950s from Lawson Cave, Missouri, that are larger than some modern bears have been reported to date to the late Pleistocene, but association with modern taxa, taphonomic considerations, and a radiocarbon date of 200 yr B.P. indicate that they are modern. Modern specimens from Lawson Cave and other parts of the American Midwest are relatively large compared to modern North American black bears from other areas, suggesting that many supposed late Pleistocene bears from the area might be modern also.

Caves, Ursids, and Artifacts: A Natural-Trap Hypothesis

by Steve Wolverton

Wolverton 2001

European cave deposits often contain the remains of extinct cave bears (Ursuss spelaeus and U deningeri) and artifacts... more European cave deposits often contain the remains of extinct cave bears (Ursuss spelaeus and U deningeri) and artifacts or human remains. Two twentieth-century explanations for the apparent association of the remains and artifacts are: 1) late Pleistocene hominids preyed upon the bears; and 2) late Pleistocene hominids and bears occupied the caves at different times thus making the remains and artifacts appear behaviorally associated when they are not. The former option is dismissed in most cases based on taphonomic criteria and ursid mortality data. In caves with multiple entrances-particularly cases where at least one entrance is a vertical shaft comprising a natural trap-another option serves to better explain the presence of ursid remains and artifacts in the same deposits. Ursid-bone assemblages created by accidental entrapment of bears in vertical shafts result in a distinctive mortality pattern. This pattern reveals proportionally more prime adult individuals than expected in a living population. A consideration of North American black bear (U americanis) physiology and behavior reveals that this distinctive mortality pattern should be expected from natural trap assemblages. Thus, in assemblages from caves with horizontal and vertical entrances, mortality data can be used to decipher whether ursids died from natural hibernation deaths, human predation, or accidental falls through vertical shafts.

Ethnobiology as a Bridge between Science and Ethics: An Applied Paleozoological Perspective

by Steve Wolverton

In Ethnobiology. Edited by E. N. Anderson, D. Pearsall, E. Hunn, and N. Turner 2011, pp. 115-132. Wiley-Blackwell. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

In the face of the global environmental crisis, ethnobiologists find themselves in a potentially helpful position.... more In the face of the global environmental crisis, ethnobiologists find themselves in a potentially helpful position. Ethnobiology represents one of a few bridging disciplines between the philosophical foundations of environmental ethics and the scientific foundations of environmental science. Environmental philosophers study what ought to be done to address environmental problems at multiple spatial and temporal scales (Borgerhoff-Mulder and Coppolillo 2005; Rolston 1988), focusing on what it means to value nature, how humans do value and should go about valuing nature, and how these ethical footings should inform science and policy. Environmental science incorporates functional roles for many scientific disciplines (Miller 2007). Environmental science and environmental ethics share the goal of curbing the environmental crisis through communication among practitioners from different fields, appreciation of diverse perspectives, and incorporation of vested parties in policies and management decisions (Penn and Mysterud 2007a). Practitioners of ethnobiology communicate and interact across disciplinary, cultural, and temporal boundaries (Lepofsky 2009; Nabhan 2009).Within ethnobiology, applied zooarchaeology (or “applied paleozoology” to include paleontology)—the study of animal remains from archaeological and paleontological sites to provide baseline information relevant to restoration ecology and conservation biology—transcends temporal boundaries and offers an example of a bridging perspective that links ethics to science.

An individual-based model of swan-macrophyte conflicts on a chalk river

by Kevin Wood

Wood, K.A., Stillman, R.A., Daunt, F. & O’Hare, M.T. (2012). An individual-based model of swan-macrophyte conflicts on a chalk river. In: (Eds. Boon, P.J. & P.J. Raven) River Conservation and Management. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester (UK): pp.339-343.

Foraging mute swans Cygnus olor can cause a substantial reduction of aquatic macrophyte biomass in chalk rivers in... more Foraging mute swans Cygnus olor can cause a substantial reduction of aquatic macrophyte biomass in chalk rivers in southern England. To reduce the adverse effects of this on ecology, hydrology and fisheries interests a river management strategy needs to be able to predict where and when grazing pressure will be greatest. To assess the suitability of mathematical modelling for this purpose, an individual-based model (IBM) was constructed and tested for swans grazing a 1.1km length of the River Frome and adjacent pasture land in Dorset, England. Comparison of predicted and observed data indicates that the model was good at estimating the number of swan days, macrophyte biomass depletion, swan feeding time and feeding patch use. The results indicate that IBMs used at the appropriate scale could help to reconcile river management conflicts involving swans.

Effects of species ecology and urbanization on accuracy of a cover-type model: A test using GAP analysis

by Chris McClure

McClure, C. J. W., L. K. Estep, and G. E. Hill. 2012 Effects of species ecology and urbanization on accuracy of a cover-type model: A test using GAP analysis. Landscape Urban Planning. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.01.011

Models of vertebrate distributions based on dominant vegetation cover or land-use classification are commonly used for... more Models of vertebrate distributions based on dominant vegetation cover or land-use classification are commonly used for conservation planning, but these models may be inappropriate for species that choose sites based on criteria other than land cover or within urban areas that are not adequately described by cover-type alone. We compared the accuracy of predicted occupancy of birds for a set of cover-type models—Alabama Gap Analysis Program's (ALGAP) vertebrate distribution maps—between an urban and a rural landscape in east-central Alabama. We performed analysis at two scales of investigation—0.03-km2 point-count surveys or 28.26-km2 landscapes—using point counts conducted during summers 2004–2006. We tested ALGAP's ability to predict the occupancy of habitat by birds grouped by life-history parameters: migrant, resident, insectivore, carnivore, and omnivore, forest dweller, and cavity nester. ALGAP performed well at the scale of entire landscapes but poorly at the scale of individual point counts. At the point-count scale, ALGAP was most accurate for species requiring interior forest conditions. At the landscape scale, ALGAP was more accurate in the rural landscape than the urban landscape, and it had higher commission errors in the urban landscape. Variation in the ability of ALGAP to predict species occupancy was likely due to (1) poor model performance when applied to species that choose sites using criteria other than cover type and (2) the inadequacy of ALGAP to describe a heterogeneous urbanized landscape. Our results highlight pitfalls of using land cover information to model species distributions in situations where it may be inappropriate.

Left out in the cold: Wildlife Documentary

by Shani Heckman

Wildlife documentary, documentary study, draft only, 2010

Why are nature films and wildlife films often excluded from the academy's study of documentary film?

more Why are nature films and wildlife films often excluded from the academy's study of documentary film?


“Animals are born, are sentient, are mortal. In these things they resemble man. In their superficial anatomy—less in their deep anatomy---in their habits, in their time, in their physical capacities, they differ from man. They are both like and unlike”
John Berger

“It is because man originally felt himself identical to all those like him that he came to acquire the capacity to distinguish himself as he distinguishes them—ie, to use the diversity of species for conceptual support for social differentiation.”
Levi-Strauss commenting on Rousseau’s reasoning for the Origins of Language

“and he cursed the automobile, said this no place for a hombre like I am in this new world of asphalt and steel […] all that’s left of the old days are damned old coyotes and me.” Don Edwards, “Coyote” theme song of Grizzly Man

Despite their influence on the arts and their importance to our survival, animals have received secondary status in our society and films focusing solely on them, and nature, are more often than not excluded in theoretical discussions of documentary film. Their voice is not debated, because they do not speak the language of humans.

Climate change and the decline of a once common bird

by Chris McClure

    Christopher J. W. McClure, Brian W. Rolek, Kenneth McDonald, and Geoffrey E. Hill

Published online in Ecology and Evolution (open access)

Climate change is predicted to negatively impact wildlife through a variety of mechanisms including retraction of... more Climate change is predicted to negatively impact wildlife through a variety of mechanisms including retraction of range. We used data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey and regional and global climate indices to examine the effects of climate change on the breeding distribution of the Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus), a formerly common species that is rapidly declining. We found that the range of the Rusty Blackbird retracted northward by 143 km since the 1960s and that the probability of local extinction was highest at the southern range margin. Furthermore, we found that the mean breeding latitude of the Rusty Blackbird was significant and positively correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation with a lag of six years. Because the annual distribution of the Rusty Blackbird is affected by annual weather patterns produced by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, our results support the hypothesis that directional climate change over the past 40 years is contributing to the decline of the Rusty Blackbird. Our study is the first to implicate climate change, acting through range retraction, in a major decline of a formerly common bird species.

Sex identification of wolf (Canis lupus) using non-invasive samples

by JOSE MARIA LOPEZ MARTIN

Seguimiento del lobo (Canis lupus) en Cataluña mediante el análisis genético de muestras no invasivas

by JOSE MARIA LOPEZ MARTIN

The influence of fish abundance on the otter (Lutra lutra) populations in Iberian Mediterranean jhabitats

by JOSE MARIA LOPEZ MARTIN

Organochlorine Residue Levels and Bioconcentration Factors in Otters (Lutra lutra L.) from Northeast Spain

by JOSE MARIA LOPEZ MARTIN

Cardiopulmonary helminth parasites of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Catalonia, northeastern Spain

by JOSE MARIA LOPEZ MARTIN

Behavioural response of wild rodents to the calls of an owl: a comparative study

by Colin Hendrie

Colin A. Hendrie, Scott M. Weiss and David Eilam

Effective anti-predator defence mechanisms depend on ef®cient recognition of possible predators. However, nocturnal... more Effective anti-predator defence mechanisms depend on ef®cient recognition of possible predators. However, nocturnal aerial predators, such as owls, present very few stimuli to enable their detection by potential prey. The most prominent of these are their territorial calls which are believed to provide suffcient stimuli to activate anti-predator defence mechanisms in species heavily predated upon by owls.To test this hypothesis, the behaviour of voles (Microtus socialis), dormice (Eliomys melanurus), jerboas (Jaculus jaculus), and spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) was analysed during and following exposure to playback of tape recorded calls of the tawny owl (Strix aluco). In response, voles crouched, and retreated to a small burrow present in the test arena; dormice also reduced the distances they travelled in the arena, and spent an increased amount of time around the burrow; jerboas crouched and froze during the playback of the owl call but not thereafter; spiny mice, however, displayed enigmatic behaviour in apparently ignoring the owl calls. The results, which demonstrate an induction of defensive behaviours to recorded
owl calls, support the results of others who have examined the effects of exposing wild rodents to live owls.