A Theft-Resistant Adjustable Security Box for Digital Cameras

Abstract: Remote camera traps are becoming an increasingly popular, affordable, and valuable tool for wildlife research. However, theft and vandalism of these camera systems can result in substantial financial loss and loss of valuable data. We developed an adjustable steel camera security box to protect our Cuddeback® (Non Typical, Inc., Park Falls, WI) digital scouting cameras. Our cameras were deployed for 160 days and experienced no theft or vandalism during that time. Our armored camera box successfully protected our equipment and data, can be sized to accommodate any brand of camera, and can be used in a variety of field situations.     

Estimating consumable biomass from body length and order in insects and spiders

1. Current models used to estimate insect prey biomass for diet studies use whole weight. However, a large proportion of an arthropod's body is taken up by an indigestible exoskeleton, leading to erroneous estimation of the food intake of insectivorous animals. 2. Linear mixed effect models were used to obtain equations to predict consumable biomass from body length for a variety of Neotropical insects and spiders. These data were obtained by feeding taxa of various orders to groups of 100 social spiders and comparing pre‐ and post‐consumption weights using size‐matched controls. 3. Significant linear relationships were found relating body size to consumed biomass for all orders, with slopes ranging from 1.276 to 4.011 and R² values from 0.476 to 0.929. For orders other than spiders and Orthoptera, the increase in weight with size exhibited negative allometric scaling, suggesting a decrease in tissue density, or an increase in internal air space, with size. 4. Although there were significant differences across taxonomic orders in the proportion of biomass consumed, within most orders the proportion consumed did not differ significantly with body size. The estimated regression coefficients may be used by other workers to estimate consumable biomass of arthropod prey for studies requiring large sample sizes or non‐lethal sampling of rare or endangered species.     

Inferring Geographic Isolation of Wolverines in California Using Historical DNA

ABSTRACT Delineating a species' geographic range using the spatial distribution of museum specimens or even contemporary detection-non-detection data can be difficult. This is particularly true at the periphery of a species range where species' distributions are often disjunct. Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are wide-ranging mammals with discontinuous and potentially isolated populations at the periphery of their range. One potentially disjunct population occurred in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA, and appears to have been extirpated by the 1930s. Many early 20th century naturalists believed that this population was connected to other populations occurring in the Cascade Range of northern California, Oregon, and Washington, USA, but a recent analysis of historical records suggests that California wolverines were isolated from other populations in North America. We used DNA extracted from museum specimens to examine whether California wolverines were isolated. Both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA data indicate that California wolverines were genetically distinct from extant populations, suggesting long-term isolation. We identified 2 new control region (mitochondrial DNA) haplotypes located only within California. We used these data and referenced sequences from the Rocky Mountains, USA, to make inferences regarding potential wolverine translocations into California. In addition, we used these genetic data to make inferences about wolverine conservation throughout western North America.     

Intraspecific versus interspecific variation in Miocene Great Basin mylagaulids: implications for systematics and evolutionary history

The Mylagaulidae are a family of burrowing rodents abundant in Miocene faunas from western North America. Recent taxonomic revisions of mylagaulids from the Great Plains suggest that their systematics may be best understood on a regional basis. Previous studies addressed the taxonomy and evolutionary history of mylagaulids from the Great Basin, but recent discoveries of specimens, new phylogenetic data, and more detailed stratigraphical information necessitate a thorough reanalysis of their relationships and occurrences. We present a revision of the systematics of the mylagaulids from the Great Basin. In addition to rare large mylagaulids of uncertain taxonomic affinity, we recognize four species of mylagaulids distributed throughout Oregon and Nevada from the late Hemingfordian through to the early late Hemphillian: Alphagaulus vetus, Hesperogaulus gazini, Hesperogaulus wilsoni, and a new species from the genus Hesperogaulus. All species are known from large sample sizes of isolated premolars, allowing consideration of ontogenetic variation in determining the key morphological differences that allow recognition of different species. Although the number of enamel lakes varies within a given taxon, the presence of some of these lakes is taxonomically significant. This result emphasizes the importance of understanding ontogeny in describing species of fossil hypsodont mammals. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 164 , 427–450.     

Urban catchment hydrology overwhelms reach scale effects of riparian vegetation on organic matter dynamics

1. Urbanisation severely affects stream hydrology, biotic integrity and water quality, but relatively little is known about effects on organic matter dynamics. Coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) is a source of energy and nutrients in aquatic systems, and its availability has implications for ecosystem productivity and aquatic communities. In undisturbed environments, allochthonous inputs from riparian zones provide critical energy subsidies, but the extent to which this occurs in urbanised streams is poorly understood. 2. We investigated CPOM inputs, standing stocks, retention rates and retention mechanisms in urban and peri‐urban streams in Melbourne, Australia. Six streams were chosen along a gradient of catchment urbanisation, with the presence of reach scale riparian canopy cover as a second factor. CPOM retention was assessed at baseflow via replicate releases of marked Eucalyptus leaves where the retention distance and mechanism were recorded. CPOM and small wood (>1 cm diameter) storage were measured via cores and direct counts, respectively, while lateral and horizontal CPOM inputs were assessed using riparian litter traps. Stream discharge, velocity, depth and width were also measured. 3. CPOM inputs were not correlated with urbanisation, but were significantly higher in ‘closed’ canopy reaches. Urbanisation and riparian cover altered CPOM retention mechanisms, but not retention distances. Urban streams showed greater retention by rocks; while in less urban streams, retention by small wood was considerably higher. CPOM and small wood storage were significantly lower in more urban streams, but we found only a weak effect of riparian cover. 4. These findings suggest that while riparian vegetation increases CPOM inputs and has modest/weak effects on storage, catchment scale urbanisation decreases organic matter availability. Using an organic matter budget approach, it appears likely that the increased frequency and magnitude of high flows associated with catchment urbanisation exerts an overriding influence on organic matter availability. 5. We conclude that to maintain both organic matter inputs and storage, the restoration and protection of streams in urban or rapidly urbanising environments relies on the management of both riparian vegetation and catchment hydrology.     

Changes in Kit Fox Defecation Patterns During the Reproductive Season: Implications for Noninvasive Surveys

Abstract: Noninvasive survey methods based on analyzing DNA extracted from feces can be useful for carnivores that are difficult to study by other methods. Changes in fecal deposition patterns associated with reproduction in kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis) might affect results of such surveys. We used a trained dog to collect fresh scats on 2-km transects in the home ranges of 11 radiocollared female kit foxes in January, February, and March 2008 and determined sex of the individual that deposited the scats by amplifying the zinc finger protein gene. Female foxes give birth in mid-February to mid-March. We found a similar number of scats each month. In January, the sex ratio of the scats was not different from the expected 1:1. However, in February there were almost 2 male scats for every female scat and in March there were >8 male scats for every female scat. Comparing March to January, there were more male scats on all 11 transects and fewer female scats on 10 of 11 transects. Around the time pups are born, both sexes appear to show changes in fecal deposition patterns that make it easier to find male scats and harder to find female scats. Effects of these changes on survey results will vary depending on the purpose and design of the survey. Surveys to determine distribution and relative abundance would probably not be negatively affected by these changes. However, if surveys to estimate abundance are conducted during the reproductive season, they could result in an underestimate of population size unless the increased heterogeneity in scat detectability is taken into account.     

Spatial ecology of bluetongue lizards (Tiliqua spp.) in the Australian wet–dry tropics

New technologies for quantifying animal locations enable us to document habitat‐selection patterns of cryptic taxa in extraordinary detail. Northern bluetongues (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia) and centralian bluetongues (Tiliqua multifasciata) are large heavy‐bodied scincid lizards that are broadly sympatric in the wet–dry tropics of north‐western Australia. We used data from GPS‐based radiotelemetry (n = 49 lizards, tracked for 2–121 days, total n = 61 640 locations) to examine the size, internal structure and overlap of lizard home ranges. Despite substantial habitat differences at our two study sites (semi‐arid and relatively pristine habitat at Keep River National Park, Northern Territory, vs. highly disturbed and fragmented flood plain habitat in an agricultural area near Kununurra, Western Australia), home ranges were similar between the two areas, and between the two species. Our radio‐tracked lizards continued to disperse into previously unused areas throughout the duration of the study, so that the total areas used by lizards continued to increase. Based on the minimum convex polygon method, total home ranges averaged 4 ha (range 2–12 ha), but only about two‐thirds of each home range was used intensively. Each home range had multiple core areas, and overlap of core as well as peripheral areas (especially with same‐sex conspecifics) was high at the disturbed (Western Australia) site where lizard densities were high. The concentration of lizard activity within small core areas, often used by multiple individuals, suggests that these heavily used sites are critical to lizard conservation. However, the lizards' infrequent long‐distance displacements also make them vulnerable to changes in the wider landscape mosaic. Because GPS‐based radiotelemetry can quantify habitat use at finer spatial and temporal scales than earlier technologies, it can provide a robust base for management of at‐risk fauna.     

The impact of experimental fire regimes on seed production in two tropical eucalypt species in northern Australia

Abstract This study investigated the effect of three experimental fire regimes on the fecundity, ovule development and seedfall of two common wet-dry tropical savanna eucalypts, Eucalyptus minima and Eucalyptus tetrodonta, in northern Australia. Both species flower early in the dry season and ovule development occurs during the dry season. This coincides with a period of frequent fires. The three fire regimes considered were applied for four years between 1990 and 1994. These regimes were (i) Unburnt, (ii) Early, fires lit early in the dry season, and (iii) Late, fires lit late in the dry season. The treatments were applied to nine catchments (15–20 km²) with each fire regime replicated three times. Fire intensity typically increases as the dry season proceeds. Therefore, early dry season fires generally differ from late dry season fires in both their intensity and their timing in relation to the reproductive phenology of the eucalypts. Late dry season burning significantly reduced the fecundity of both species, whereas Early burning had no significant effect. Ovule success was significantly reduced by the Early burning for both species. The Late burning significantly reduced ovule success in E. tetrodonta, but not in E. miniata. The results suggest that fire intensity and fire timing may both be important determinants of seed supply. Fire intensity may be a determinant of fecundity, whereas fire timing in relation to the reproduction phenology may have a significant impact on ovule survival. Both fire regimes resulted in a substantial reduction in seed supply compared with the Unburnt treatment. This may have a significant impact on seedling regeneration of these tropical savanna eucalypts.