Evaluation of Camera Trapping for Estimating Red Fox Abundance

ABSTRACT The nature reserve Serra da Malcata, Portugal, was recently considered a site for Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) reintroduction. Because of potential disease risk posed by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in the area, a reliable estimate of fox abundance was critical for a dependable reintroduction program. We adapted camera-trapping techniques for estimating red fox abundance in the reserve. From July 2005 to August 2007, we conducted 7 camera-trapping sessions, allowing for individual identification of foxes by physical characteristics. We estimated abundance using the heterogeneity (M_h) model of the software program CAPTURE. Estimated density ranged from 0.91 ± 0.12 foxes/km²to 0.74 ± 0.02 foxes/km². By estimating red fox density, it is possible to define the number of foxes that must be sampled to assess the presence of potential fox-transmitted diseases that may affect lynx reintroduction.     

Coral successions in Upper Tortonian reefs in SE Spain

Martin, Jose M., Braga, Juan C. & Rivas, Pascual 1989 07 15: Coral successions in Upper Tortonian reefs in SE Spain. Lethaia , Vol. 22, pp. 271–286. oslo. ISSN 0024–1164,
During the Upper Tortonian (Upper Miocene), the Almanzora river corridor, a small Neogene basin in SE Spain, harboured coral reefs growing in three different environments: in fan deltas, beyond the influence of coarse terrigenous sedimentation; in the abandoned lobes of a delta complex; and on coastal margins. All of these reefs are composed of several successive beds, each of which may be made up mainly of Porites embedded in silt or of an initial Porites level followed by a silt-free Tarbellastraea level on top. Porites may be associated with corallines. This structure is interpreted as being the result of an ecological succession repeated over and over again. A pioneer association consisting mainly of Porites . by colonizing the substrate and continuing to grow through relatively adverse silt-deposition conditions, prepares the ground for Tarbellastraea to take over. A return to the previous conditions halts the growth of the Tarbellastraea colonies and the Porites association once more establishes itself in the silt, or else the renewed rate of deposition is sufficiently heavy to suffocate the whole bioconstruction.* Ecological succession. coral reefs, Tortonian, southeast Spain .     

Comparative studies of Trypanosoma vespertilionis Battaglia and Trypanosoma dionisii Bettencourt & França

SYNOPSIS. In diphasic blood agar media Trypanosoma vespertilionis developed spheroid clusters as compared to rather long, sausage-shaped (sometimes branched) clusters formed by Trypanosoma dionisii. The former species attained a greater population density (∼6 × 10⁷ organisms/ml) than the latter (∼ 2 × 10⁷ organisms/ml). Greater numbers of epimastigotes, some in active binary divisions, were observed during the logarithmic phase of growth, and morphologic changes occurred during cultivation which correlated with increased acidity and a depletion of glucose. Maximum numbers of trypomastigote forms were found during the stationary and early death phases. Most of the forms observed after 20 days were sphaeromastigotes. Glucose concentrations decreased to 0 M in T. vespertilionis and to 4.4 × 10⁻⁵ M in T. dionisii cultures during the stationary and death phases. By the 12th day of incubation cultures of T. vespertilionis were more acid (pH 5.5) than those of T. dionisii (pH 6.5). No antigenic changes during cultivation of each of the parasites were detected by immunodiffusion. Trypanosoma vespertilionis and T. dionisii contained common and specific antigens. At least 2–3 common antigens were detected in extracts reacted against heterologous antisera. Specific antigens were observed as nonidentical lines formed by extracts reacted against homologous and heterologous antisera and with antisera absorbed with heterologous antigens. At least 2 specific antigens were evident in extracts of T. vespertilionis and 1 in extracts of T. dionisii.     

Ozone Alteration of Nitrate Reduction in Soybean

Soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] were harvested at various periods after a 2 h exposure to determine the effects of ozone on nitrate reductase and selected metabolites related to nitrate reduction. Ozone initially depressed the concentrations of reducing sugars, amino acids, and nitrate reductase activity. On subsequent days following exposure, amino acid and protein levels were higher than the respective controls while the levels of reducing sugars and nitrate reductase activity returned to control levels. The ozone depression of nitrate reduction was not the result of a direct ozone reaction with the nitrate reductase protein but rather an interference with reactions that supplied the NAD(P)H needed for nitrate reduction.     

Field and experimental evidence of the effect of Jenynsia multidentata, a small omnivorous–planktivorous fish, on the size distribution of zooplankton in subtropical lakes

1. Small cladocerans, copepod nauplii and rotifers often dominate the zooplankton community in tropical and subtropical lakes. This is probably because of high predation pressure by small omnivorous–planktivorous fish, but experimental evidence is scarce.
2. This study used two approaches to test the effect of the small omnivorous–planktivorous fish species Jenynsia multidentata , which is frequently abundant in (sub)tropical eutrophic lakes in South America, on the size distribution of zooplankton. In Lake Blanca (Uruguay), which lacks any piscivores, we sampled seasonally for both fish and zooplankton. We also conducted an outdoor mesocosm experiment with treatments containing or lacking J. multidentata .
3. Together, the empirical and experimental data suggest that J. multidentata predation plays an important role in modulating the size structure of the zooplankton community in subtropical lakes. In the absence of J. multidentata , stocked large-sized zooplankters like Daphnia obtusa were abundant in the experiments, while small-sized zooplankton dominated in the presence of fish, as they did in the lake itself from spring to the end of the season.     

Variation in mutualisms: the spatiotemporal mosaic of a pollinator assemblage

Variation in time (annual and seasonal) and space (between- and within-population) is examined for the pollinator assemblage of Lavandula latifolia (Labiatae), an insect-pollinated, summer- flowering, evergreen shrub of Mediterranean woodlands in southeastern Spain. Lavandula latifolia is pollinated there by nearly 85 species of comparatively long-tongued Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera. The diversity, composition and abundance of pollinators varied markedly between years. Lepidopteran taxa prevailed numerically in one year, hymenopterans in four years, and both groups had similar abundance in the remaining year. The vast majority of pollinators exhibited significant annual differences in average abundance. Only 35.7% of taxa were recorded in all of the six study years. The pollinator assemblage had marked seasonal dynamics. Important changes in species richness, abundance and composition took place over the flowering season of L. latifolia (nearly 3 months). Only 21.7% of insect taxa occurred throughout the flowering season. Lavandula latifolia populations at different distances from water courses differed broadly in the abundance and composition of pollinators. Hymenopterans dominated numerically at the water-distant sites, whereas lepidopterans prevailed in populations growing in the vicinity of streams. Only 40.7% of taxa were recorded at all of the four study populations. Within the same plant population, horizontal distances of the order of 25 m resulted in significant changes in pollinator composition. Variations at the four scales considered combine to produce, from the viewpoint of L. latifolia, a spatio-temporal mosaic of pollinators. As these differ broadly in frequency of pollen transfer, size of pollen loads deposited, and between-flower flight distance patterns, spatio-temporal variation will predictably result in inconsistent or contradictory selective pressures on the plant, thus hindering specialization in relation to particular pollinators.     

New fossil record of Lactoridaceae in southern South America: a palaeobiogeographical approach

Lactoridaceae are a monotypic family confined to Masatierra Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean. It grows in the understorey of a subtropical montane rain forest. Lactoridaceae most probably originated in southern South Africa in the Cretaceous, with the oldest records in the Turonian–Campanian, and reached its widest palaeogeographical distribution by the Maastrichtian, extending into Australia, India, Antarctica, and North and South America. In this paper, we report a new fossil find of lactoridaceous tetrads from the early Miocene of eastern Patagonia, southern South America. This record is the youngest and geographically one of the closest to the extant Lactoris distribution area. Patagonian fossil material shows greater similarities to extant L. fernandeziana Phil. than to any other described morphotaxon. The family may have migrated into South America, either via Africa (through the Atlantic Ocean) or Antarctica, by the Maastrichtian, growing in eastern Patagonia up to the early Miocene. Arid conditions established in this region by the middle–late Miocene onwards would have determined the restriction of forests to the western lands. Lactoridaceae may have followed a similar migration pattern towards the Pacific coast of South America. The shifting of Lactoridaceae towards Masatierra Island would have occurred in the last 4 Myr by long‐distance dispersal events (perhaps by birds). © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158 , 41–50.     

The importance of traditional farmland areas for steppe birds: a case study of migrant female Great Bustards Otis tarda in Spain

A detailed knowledge of the habitat requirements of steppe birds living in farmland habitats is necessary to identify agricultural practices compatible with their conservation. The globally threatened Great Bustard Otis tarda is a partial migrant in central Iberia, but factors affecting its winter habitat use have not been identified. We assessed habitat differences between breeding and wintering areas and winter habitat selection of radiotagged migrant female Great Bustards in central Spain. Of 68 tagged females, 35% moved to wintering areas located 64.3 ± 24.0 km south of their breeding areas, and 80% wintered in a single area of c. 236 km². A census of the population in this area identified it as one of the most important wintering areas of this species in the world, holding c. 1500 individuals. There were significant differences between breeding and wintering habitats of individually marked migrant females. Compared with breeding areas, wintering areas of migrant females were located further from roads and urban nuclei, had lower human population densities and area of urban developments, and a higher diversity of land‐use types, with less cover of cereals and more vineyards and olive groves. Within this area, radiotracked migrant females preferred sites with more vineyards and a lower land‐use diversity. Our results highlight the importance of traditional Mediterranean dry farmland mosaics, and suggest that different conservation strategies are needed for migrant and resident populations in winter to secure the conservation of suitable wintering habitat for Great Bustards in the Iberian Peninsula.