Late‐glacial recolonization and phylogeography of European red deer (Cervus elaphus L.)

The Pleistocene was an epoch of extreme climatic and environmental changes. How individual species responded to the repeated cycles of warm and cold stages is a major topic of debate. For the European fauna and flora, an expansion–contraction model has been suggested, whereby temperate species were restricted to southern refugia during glacial times and expanded northwards during interglacials, including the present interglacial (Holocene). Here, we test this model on the red deer (Cervus elaphus) a large and highly mobile herbivore, using both modern and ancient mitochondrial DNA from the entire European range of the species over the last c. 40 000 years. Our results indicate that this species was sensitive to the effects of climate change. Prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) haplogroups restricted today to South‐East Europe and Western Asia reached as far west as the UK. During the LGM, red deer was mainly restricted to southern refugia, in Iberia, the Balkans and possibly in Italy and South‐Western Asia. At the end of the LGM, red deer expanded from the Iberian refugium, to Central and Northern Europe, including the UK, Belgium, Scandinavia, Germany, Poland and Belarus. Ancient DNA data cannot rule out refugial survival of red deer in North‐West Europe through the LGM. Had such deer survived, though, they were replaced by deer migrating from Iberia at the end of the glacial. The Balkans served as a separate LGM refugium and were probably connected to Western Asia with genetic exchange between the two areas.     

Home range and activity patterns of male red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) in the alps

Summary From 1978 to 1981 in the Bavarian Alps (Southern West Germany) the home range and activity patterns of nine male red deer have been studied using radio-telemetry. The home range patterns definetely change with age. Younger stags first follow the patterns of their mothers, then often emigrate from these home ranges and establish new ones elsewhere. Except for the change in range at about 2^1/2 years of age, these patterns seem to be very constant in both spatial as well as seasonal position and the size of the home ranges. Winter and rutting ranges are relatively small, averaging 113 ha and 134 ha, respectively, whereas the mean size of the home ranges used from spring to autumn amounts to some 386 ha. Just as do the home range patterns, so also do activity patterns exhibit a marked annual cycle. The daily sum total of activity varies from about 9 h in winter to some 15 h in summer. The daily distribution of activity reveals a typical bimodal 24-h rhythm which in the course of the year also shows modifications according to the seasonally varying LD-ratio. In the discussion, earlier results on female red deer are compared to those of this study. Notable differences between sexes occur in the home range patterns and the annual cycle of daily activity.     

Genetic polymorphism of plasminogen and vitamin D binding protein in red deer (Cervus elaphus L.)

Genetic polymorphism was detected in the red deer (Cervus elaphus L.), plasma proteins, plasminogen (PLG) and vitamin D binding protein (GC) using antiserum to human proteins. The affinity of the antisera to deer plasma was less than 10% that of a human standard but they bound specifically to proteins of molecular weight expected for GC and PLG. Three codominant alleles of GC and five of PLG were observed. In a set 124 farmed deer calves and their parents, six calves had genotypes which were not consistent with the expectations of inheritance. Further inconsistencies were found when variation in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) and transferrin (TRF) was examined. Using genetic models which included pedigree error parameters the data were shown to be consistent with genetic inheritance of all loci in a data set containing approximately 4.8% (SE 1.4%) parent-progeny pedigree mismatches. In samples from four deer populations representative of the red deer introduced to New Zealand the GC and PLG polymorphisms provided a probability of paternity exclusion (PE) of between 0.34 and 0.54 and when IDH and TRF were also included the PE was between 0.46 and 0.66. The four populations differed significantly in allele frequency, which supports historical evidence that they originate from separate introductions of small numbers of European red deer.     

Molecular phylogeography of the red deer (Cervus elaphus) populations in Xinjiang of China: comparison with other Asian,European, and North American populations

To illustrate phylogeography of red deer (Cervus elaphus) populations of Xinjiang, we determined their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences, and then investigated geographic variations and phylogenetic relationships between Xinjiang populations and other populations from Asia, Europe, and North America. The C. elaphus mtDNA control region shared different copy numbers of tandem repeats of 38 to 43-bp motifs which clearly distinguished the Western lineage from the Eastern lineage of this species in Eurasia. The western lineage comprised the Tarim populations from southern Xinjiang and the European populations, all of which had four copies of the motifs. By contrast, the Eastern lineage consisted of populations from northern Xinjiang (Tianshan and Altai Mountains), other Asian areas (Alashan, Gansu, Tibet, Mongolia, and northeastern China), and North America, all of which shared six copies of the motifs. MtDNA phylogenetic trees showed that there are two major clusters of haplotypes which referred to the Western and Eastern lineages, and that subgroupings of haplotypes in each cluster were congruent with their geographic distributions. The present study revealed that a boundary separating the Western lineage from the Eastern lineage occurs between Tarim Basin and Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang. Meanwhile, North American populations were genetically closer to those of northern Xinjiang, northeastern China, and Mongolia, supporting that C. elaphus immigrated from northeastern Eurasia to North America through the glacier-induced land-bridge (Beringia) which had formed between the two continents after Late Pleistocene.     

贺兰山马鹿冬春季生境的选择

2007年12月～2008年1月和2008年4～5月,在贺兰山利用痕迹检验法和直接观察法对马鹿阿拉善亚种冬春季生境选择进行研究.通过在选定的15条沟段里进行调查,冬春季各测定了131个和181个样方的18种生态因子.结果表明,冬春季贺兰山马鹿在植被类型、优势乔木、灌木密度、灌木高度、灌木距离、坡向、坡位、海拔高度、距裸岩距离和隐蔽级10种生态因子上差异极显著(P ＜ 0.001),其余生态因子无显著差异(P ＜ 0.05),相对于冬季生境而言,马鹿春季更偏爱选择以油松和青海云杉为优势乔木的山地针叶林带,灌木密度大、高度高、距离近,半阴半阳坡的中坡位,海拔较高,距裸岩较近,隐蔽程度高的生境.典则判别系数显示冬春季马鹿在生境选择上存在一定程度的重叠,但春季马鹿的分布范围要比冬季更广一些,Wilk's λ值显示冬春季马鹿的生境选择具有较高的差异性(Wilk's λ = 0.683,x2 = 116.995,df = 13,P ＜ 0.001).逐步判别分析表明在区分冬春季马鹿生境方面有一系列生态因子发挥作用,依照贡献值的大小依次为:乔木密度、灌木距离、坡度、海拔高度、距水源距离、距裸岩距离和隐蔽级,由这7个变量构成的方程对冬春季马鹿生境的正确区分率达到79.9%,其中对春季的误判率为22.1%,对冬季的误判率为20.6%.     

Winter habitat use by Loggerhead Shrikes (Lanius Ludovicianus) in Mexico: separating migrants from residents using stable isotopes

Several species of migrant birds overlap in range on their wintering grounds with non-migrant conspecifics or other species that occupy a similar niche. Very little is known whether such overlap results in competition and subsequent habitat segregation since it is usually impossible to separate resident from migrant individuals. The Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a declining grassland species in North America that winters in the southern United States and Mexico. Using stable-hydrogen isotope (δD) analysis of feathers, we identified resident and migrant shrikes wintering in northeastern Mexico based on a latitudinal gradient in precipitation and feather δD values. Indicator species analyses showed that migrants occupied areas where bare ground was less available than those occupied by residents, a pattern which held when a more restricted set of birds from the extremes of the δD distribution were considered. This provides evidence for conspecific habitat segregation. Habitat differences were also found between sites occupied by shrikes and apparently suitable but unoccupied sites. Shrikes occupied more open sites that contained shorter tall shrubs and huisache (Acacia farneasiana) and fewer tall shrubs, mesquite (Prosopsis glandulosa) and huisache than unoccupied sites. The availability of suitable winter habitat and the potential competition between migrants and residents may be factors that influence the population dynamics of migrant shrikes in North America.     

Tracking habitat use of a long-distance migratory bird, the American redstart Setophaga ruticilla, using stable-carbon isotopes in cellular blood

The successful use of stable isotopes to track migratory animals between different seasons of the annual cycle depends, in part, on the turnover rate of isotopes in sample tissue. We examined whether stable-carbon isotopes in the blood of a long-distance migratory bird, the American redstart Setophaga ruticilla , sampled upon arrival to the temperate breeding grounds could be used to track the quality of habitat used the previous season on the tropical wintering grounds. Stable-carbon isotopes in red-blood cells sampled upon arrival (δ¹³C_RBC) were significantly less negative relative to: 1) plasma sampled upon arrival from the same individuals, 2) red-blood cells of redstarts recaptured more than a month later on the breeding grounds, and 3) nestling feathers grown at the same breeding location. δ¹³C_RBC was also significantly different between sexes, consistent with findings from the wintering grounds where sex-biased habitat use is known to occur. Although individuals likely integrate some isotopic signatures during migration, we provide evidence that cellular blood can be used to track the relative habitat use of migratory birds during the wintering period. Non-destructive methods of sampling stable-isotopes, such as this, are particularly useful because it provides a technique for tracking the patterns of habitat use and/or geographic location of migratory animals. Such approaches allow researchers to understand how events throughout the annual cycle interact to influence population dynamics.     

Gynogenic lines of onion (Allium cepa L.): evidence of their homozygosity

Haploid induction via gynogenesis offers the possibility of using doubled haploid (DH) inbred lines in onion breeding. A first DH line that originated from the open-pollinated (OP) cultivar Dorata di Parma was obtained after overcoming difficulties associated with the haploidy of the regenerants. Spontaneous chromosome doubling occurs seldom in onion. The first DH line obtained was cloned and selfed to produce sufficient seeds for genetic studies. The homozygosity of the DH gynogenic line was revealed on the basis of the low standard deviations of the bulb traits polar diameter, shape index and weight with respect to those of the S₁ line or the OP cultivar. In the DH line, moreover, segregation of RAPD and alpha esterase markers was not noted. Out of four primers revealing polymorphism at 16 ge-netic loci in the OP cultivar Dorata di Parma, none produced polymorphism in the DH gynogenic line. The Est-1 locus, homozygous in 22 plants (Est-1 ^1/1 in 3 and Est-1 ^2/2 in 19) and heterozygous (Est-1 ^1/2) in 11 plants of the OP cultivar, always carried the same alleles in the DH line. We also tested genetic stability during micropropagation of a second halpoid line obtained via gynogenesis from var. Senshyu Yellow. Seventeen plants of this line were tested to detect changes occurring during the tissue culture process. Again no polymorphism was observed. The high genetic homogeneity observed in the two gynogenic lines of onion could be related to the absence of the callus phase during the gynogenic process.     

GPS Based Daily Activity Patterns in European Red Deer and North American Elk (Cervus elaphus): Indication for a Weak Circadian Clock in Ungulates

Long-term tracking using global positioning systems (GPS) is widely used to study vertebrate movement ecology, including fine-scale habitat selection as well as large-scale migrations. These data have the potential to provide much more information about the behavior and ecology of wild vertebrates: here we explore the potential of using GPS datasets to assess timing of activity in a chronobiological context. We compared two different populations of deer (Cervus elaphus), one in the Netherlands (red deer), the other in Canada (elk). GPS tracking data were used to calculate the speed of the animals as a measure for activity to deduce unbiased daily activity rhythms over prolonged periods of time. Speed proved a valid measure for activity, this being validated by comparing GPS based activity data with head movements recorded by activity sensors, and the use of GPS locations was effective for generating long term chronobiological data. Deer showed crepuscular activity rhythms with activity peaks at sunrise (the Netherlands) or after sunrise (Canada) and at the end of civil twilight at dusk. The deer in Canada were mostly diurnal while the deer in the Netherlands were mostly nocturnal. On an annual scale, Canadian deer were more active during the summer months while deer in the Netherlands were more active during winter. We suggest that these differences were mainly driven by human disturbance (on a daily scale) and local weather (on an annual scale). In both populations, the crepuscular activity peaks in the morning and evening showed a stable timing relative to dawn and dusk twilight throughout the year, but marked periods of daily a-rhythmicity occurred in the individual records. We suggest that this might indicate that (changes in) light levels around twilight elicit a direct behavioral response while the contribution of an internal circadian timing mechanism might be weak or even absent.     

Taphonomy and habitat preference of North American pachycephalosaurids (Dinosauria,Ornithischia)

The traditional view of North American pachycephalosaurids holds that their domes are typically worn, as though they had undergone extensive fluvial transport, and that these animals therefore inhabited upland environments (e.g. piedmont/intermontane settings) relative to where their remains are typically found. Using a statistically robust sample of domes from Alberta, Canada, we subject these hypotheses to various forms of quantitative testing and show that: (1) domes typically exhibit minimal rounding; (2) dome roundness does not positively correlate with distance from the presumed intermontane origin; and (3) pachycephalosaurid remains are not relatively more abundant in intermontane than in alluvial or coastal plain palaeoenvironments. These findings contradict the traditional view of North American pachycephalosaurid dome taphonomy and support the argument that pachycephalosaurids frequented alluvial and coastal lowlands.     

Ante-mortem detection of chronic wasting disease in recto-anal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues from elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) using real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay: A blinded collaborative study

Prion diseases are transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) characterized by fatal, progressive neurologic diseases with prolonged incubation periods and an accumulation of infectious misfolded prion proteins. Antemortem diagnosis is often difficult due to a long asymptomatic incubation period, differences in the pathogenesis of different prions, and the presence of very low levels of infectious prion in easily accessible samples. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a TSE affecting both wild and captive populations of cervids, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose, muntjac, and most recently, wild reindeer. This study represents a well-controlled evaluation of a newly developed real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay as a potential CWD diagnostic screening test using rectal biopsy sections from a depopulated elk herd. We evaluated 69 blinded samples of recto-anal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT) obtained from USDA Veterinary Services. The results were later un-blinded and statistically compared to immunohistochemical (IHC) results from the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) for RAMALT, obex, and medial retropharyngeal lymph node (MRPLN). Comparison of RAMALT RT-QuIC assay results with the IHC results of RAMALT revealed 92% relative sensitivity (95% confidence limits: 61.52–99.8%) and 95% relative specificity (95% confidence limits: 85.13–99%). Collectively, our results show a potential utility of the RT-QuIC assay to advance the development of a rapid, sensitive, and specific prion diagnostic assay for CWD prions.     

Supplementary winter feeding of wild red deer Cervus elaphus in Europe and North America: justifications, feeding practice and effectiveness

1. Supplementary winter feeding of game animals, and particularly deer, is a common practice throughout northern (continental) Europe and parts of North America. Feeding is normally associated with maintaining high densities of animals for hunting, in terms of: (i) maintaining or increasing body weights and condition overwinter; (ii) improving reproductive performance and fertility; (iii) increasing overwinter survival; and (iv) reducing levels of damage caused to agriculture and forestry or the natural heritage. We consider the balance of evidence on the effectiveness of winter feeding of red deer Cervus elaphus in achieving these objectives. Where that evidence is equivocal, we attempt to reconcile apparent contradictions to evaluate the circumstances under which winter feeding may or may not be effective. 2. In general, feeding of red deer on open range appears to have relatively little effect on body weights or fecundity. Effects on increasing antler size and quality are variable and seem to depend on the degree to which animals may be mineral limited on native range. Effects on survival are similarly ambiguous. It is apparent, however, that to be effective in reducing mortality, any supplementation is required early in the season and not simply when heavy mortalities are already being experienced. If provision of supplementary foods is delayed until animals are perceived already to be in poor condition, such feeding may have little effect. 3. One of the primary goals of winter feeding in both Europe and the USA has become the prevention of environmental damage, particularly damage to commercial and native forests, while maintaining deer populations at densities suitable for hunting. Again, empirical evidence for effectiveness in this regard is inconclusive, with some studies showing a decrease in damage caused, some showing no effect and others showing a significant increase in local impact. 4. There are equally a number of problems associated with the provision of supplementary feeds overwinter. Those animals which come to the feeding stations may develop a reliance on the food supplement provided, reducing intake of natural forages to near zero; where feed provided is less than 100% of daily requirement, such animals may regularly lose, rather than gain condition. Feed provision is also extremely uneven at such feeding stations; dominant stags displace younger stags and hinds from the feed provided until they have themselves finished feeding. Concentrations of high densities of animals around small feed‐areas may also increase the risk of infection and lead to development of high parasite burdens. 5. In an attempt to assess the current status and distribution of supplementary winter feeding in Scotland, a questionnaire was circulated to a number of individual across the country. Results of this survey are summarized and conclusions presented on the likely effectiveness of current feeding practices in achieving their aims.     

Genetic Distances Among North American, British, and West African House Fly Populations (Musca domestica L.)

Allozyme and mitochondrial gene diversities were estimated in house flies, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), sampled in Iowa, USA; Berkshire, England; and Kudang, The Gambia. Comparison of genomic allele frequencies among the three populations indicated small differences between the English and American samples but very large distances between English or American and the African. The FST statistic was 0.65 +/- 0.09 for allozymes. Pairwise FST was 0.14 between the English and the American samples; FST was 0.65 between the African population and the English and American. Mitochondrial variation in the same flies was assessed by SSCP methods which revealed nine haplotypes, none of which were shared in common. FST was 0.637 for the mitochondrial haplotypes. The research indicates greatly restricted gene flow between Africa and the temperate regions.