Distribution and population density of badgers Meles meles in Luxembourg

1. The distribution and density of Eurasian badgers Meles meles in Luxembourg was estimated by gathering information about the location of badger setts with a questionnaire survey, by visiting 708 setts in order to classify them as ‘main setts’ or ‘outliers’, and by estimating social group size by directly counting emerging badgers. 2. Badgers were found to be widely distributed in Luxembourg, with a minimum main sett density of 0.17 setts/km². Setts were sited preferentially in forest habitat. The mean minimum group size was 4.6 badgers. 3. The Luxembourg badger population was conservatively estimated to contain at least 2010 adult and young badgers (95% CI 1674–2347) in spring 2002, equivalent to a density of 0.78 adult and young badgers/km² (95% CI 0.65–0.91). This is moderate compared to most of continental Europe.     

Space Use and Survival of White-Tailed Deer in an Exurban Landscape

Abstract: Exurban development is nonmetropolitan, residential development characterized by a human population density and average property size intermediate between suburban and rural areas. Although growth in exurban areas is outpacing that of urban, suburban, or rural landscapes, studies of deer (Odocoileus spp.) ecology in exurban areas are nonexistent. During 2003–2005, we studied space use (i.e., seasonal home-range and core-area size and habitat use relative to human dwellings) and survival of 43 female white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) in an exurban setting near Carbondale, Illinois. Deer had larger home ranges than most suburban deer populations and generally smaller home ranges than rural deer populations. When we analytically controlled for habitat use, deer exhibited a subtle avoidance of human dwellings, especially during the fawning season. The annual survival rate was among the highest reported in the literature at 0.872 (SE = 0.048). Only 5 deer (cause-specific mortality rate = 0.091) were harvested by hunters, indicating major obstacles for wildlife managers when attempting to manage deer in exurban areas using traditional hunter harvest.     

Male shrikes punish unfaithful females

The costs to females of participating in extrapair copulationsis an interesting but hitherto neglected topic in behavioralecology. An obvious potential cost to females is male physicalsanctions. However, although retaliation and punishment by malepartners has been proposed as a basic cost for female extrapairbehavior in theory, it has not been experimentally demonstrated.We studied the breeding biology of the lesser gray shrike (Laniusminor) and combined field observations and a field experimentto show that (1) there is a high intrusion rate during the female'sfertile period, and extrapair copulations occur in this population;(2) by detaining females during the fertile phase, males wereinduced to retaliate physically against their partners, therebyincreasing costs related to female extrapair behavior; and (3)there were no obvious costs to males of punishing their mates.DNA fingerprinting reveals that extrapair paternity is rareor absent in this population. Although we cannot conclude thatmonogamy at the genetic level is the result of male retaliation,we do show that male physical sanction is a cost that deceptivefemales have to assume. Males' strategies based on coercionshould be considered when explaining variation in extrapairpaternity across species.     

Molecular evolution of seminal proteins in field crickets

In sexually reproducing organisms, male ejaculates are complex traits that are potentially subject to many different selection pressures. Recent experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that postmating sexual selection, and particularly sexual conflict, may play a key role in the evolution of the proteinaceous components of ejaculates. However, this evidence is based almost entirely on the study of Drosophila, a species with a mating system characterized by a high cost of mating for females. In this paper, we broaden our understanding of the role of selection on the evolution of seminal proteins by characterizing these proteins in field crickets, a group of insects in which females appear to benefit from mating multiply. We have used an experimental protocol that can be applied to other organisms for which complete genome sequences are not yet available. By combining an evolutionary expressed sequence tag screen of the male accessory gland in 2 focal species (Gryllus firmus and Gryllus pennsylvanicus) with a bioinformatics approach, we have been able to identify as many as 30 seminal proteins. Evolutionary analyses among 5 species of the genus Gryllus suggest that seminal protein genes evolve more rapidly than genes encoding proteins that are not involved with reproduction. The rates of synonymous substitution (dS) are similar in genes encoding seminal proteins and genes encoding "housekeeping" proteins. For the same comparison, the rate of fixation of nonsynonymous substitutions (dN) is 3 times higher in genes encoding seminal proteins, suggesting that the divergence of seminal proteins in field crickets has been accelerated by positive Darwinian selection. In spite of the contrasting characteristics of the Drosophila and Gryllus mating systems, the mean selection parameter omega and the proportion of loci estimated to be affected by positive selection are very similar.     

DOES LARGE BODY SIZE IN MALES EVOLVE TO FACILITATE FORCIBLE INSEMINATION? A STUDY ON GARTER SNAKES

A trend for larger males to obtain a disproportionately high number of matings, as occurs in many animal populations, typically is attributed either to female choice or success in male-male rivalry; an alternative mechanism, that larger males are better able to coercively inseminate females, has received much less attention. For example, previous studies on garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) at communal dens in Manitoba have shown that the mating benefit to larger body size in males is due to size-dependent advantages in male-male rivalry. However, this previous work ignored the possibility that larger males may obtain more matings because of male-female interactions. In staged trials within outdoor arenas, larger body size enhanced male mating success regardless of whether a rival male was present. The mechanism involved was coercion rather than female choice, because mating occurred most often (and soonest) in females that were least able to resist courtship-induced hypoxic stress. Males do physically displace rivals from optimal positions in the mating ball, and larger males are better able to resist such displacement. Nonetheless, larger body size enhances male mating success even in the absence of such male-male interactions. Thus, even in mating systems where males compete physically and where larger body size confers a significant advantage in male-male competition, the actual selective force for larger body size in males may relate to forcible insemination of unreceptive females. Experimental studies are needed to determine whether the same situation occurs in other organisms in which body-size advantages have been attributed to male-male rather than male-female interactions.     

CHANGES IN WORKING TIME ARRANGEMENTS OVER TIME AS A CONSEQUENCE OF WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT

Existing longitudinal studies on the relationship between working time arrangements (WTA) and work-family conflict have mainly focused on the normal causal relationship, that is, the impact of WTA on work-family conflict over time. So far, however, the reversed relationship, that is, the effect of work-family conflict on adjustments in WTA over time, has hardly been studied. Because work-family conflict is highly prevalent in the working population, further insight in this reverse relationship is invaluable to gain insight into secondary selection processes. The aim of this study is to investigate whether work-family conflict is prospectively related to adjustments in work schedules, working hours, and overtime work, and to explore sex differences and different time lags in this relation. Data of the prospective Maastricht Cohort Study were used. To study the effect of work-family conflict on a change from shift- to day work over 32 months of follow-up, male three-shift (n?=?727), five-shift (n?=?932), and irregular-shift (n?=?451) workers were selected. To study effects of work-family conflict on reduction of working hours over 12 and 24 months of follow-up, respectively, only day workers (males and females) were selected, capturing 5809 full-time workers (≥36?h/wk) and 1387 part-time workers (<36?h/wk) at baseline. To examine effects of work-family conflict on refraining from overtime work over 12 months of follow-up, only day workers reporting frequent overtime work at baseline were selected (3145 full-time and 492 part-time workers). Cox regression analyses were performed with adjustments for age, educational level, and presence of a long-term illness. Work-family conflict was associated with a significantly increased risk of changing from shift- to day work over 32 months of follow-up in three-shift workers (relative risk [RR]?=?1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19–2.63) but not in five-shift workers (RR?=?1.32, 95% CI 0.78–2.24) and irregular-shift workers (RR?=?0.81, 95% CI 0.50–1.31). Within day workers, work-family conflict among full-time workers was associated with a significantly increased risk of reducing working hours during 1 yr of follow-up in women (RR?=?2.80, 95% CI 1.42–5.54) but not men (RR?=?1.34, 95% CI 0.81–2.22). In part-time workers, work-family conflict was associated with a significantly increased risk of reducing working hours during 1 yr of follow-up both in women (RR?=?1.99, 95% CI 1.04–3.82) and men (RR?=?4.03, 95% CI 1.28–12.68). Whereas the effects of work-family conflict on a reduction of working hours somewhat decreased among female full-time workers after 2 yr of follow-up (RR?=?2.13, 95% CI 1.24–3.66), among male full-time workers the effects increased and reached statistical significance (RR?=?1.53, 95% CI 1.05–2.21). Work-family conflict was not significantly associated with refraining from overtime work over 1 yr of follow-up. This study shows that work-family conflict has important consequences in terms of adjustments in work schedules and working hours over time, with considerable sex differences. The study thereby clearly illustrates secondary selection processes both in shift- and day workers, with significant implications for labor force participation, emphasizing the need for prevention of work-family conflict (Author correspondence: Nicole.Jansen@epid.unimaas.nl).     

Estimating the household costs of human–wildlife conflict in China’s giant panda national park

Human–wildlife conflict is a major cause of losses resulting from the establishment of protected areas, most of which are borne by the communities within these areas. It is therefore important to establish a compensation system for such losses. This study measures the total costs of human-wildlife conflict by surveying communities within and surrounding China's Giant Panda National Park. The results show that the primary visible costs from human–wildlife conflict, which include crop loss, livestock depredation, property damage, and human fatalities and injury, were 2185.6 Yuan ($316.9) per household. Approximately 64.9% of households were affected by this conflict in 2020. For each affected household, the average visible costs per capita was 952.6 Yuan ($138.1) or 7.2% of per capita net income. When converting well-being losses caused by human-wildlife conflict into economic costs, we consider visible costs and hidden costs (e.g., transaction, opportunity, and health costs). This study shows that human–wildlife conflict reduced per capita net income by 15.3% and significantly affected household well-being. The average cost of the well-being loss caused by human-wildlife conflict was 38.5 % of per capita net income.     

Additional considerations for gray wolf management after their removal from Endangered Species Act protections

Mech (2010) provided a review of options involving regulated, public hunting of gray wolves (Canis lupus) when states regain control of wolf management. We agree with his general conclusion that the use of lethal management should focus more in areas of conflict and less in wilderness areas, especially near protected places like national parks. Here, we expand on Mech's work and provide additional considerations that could be incorporated into state management plans to make them more acceptable to an increasingly diverse group of interested stakeholders, including: 1) the use of human dimensions research to understand the conditions under which stakeholders find lethal management acceptable, and to evaluate the acceptability of agency efforts to increase tolerance for wolves; 2) employing preventative measures to protect livestock and pets, especially in cases where wolf packs are highly visible to the public; and 3) selective use of sport hunting in areas where wolf impacts are deemed unacceptable. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

Inhibition of female mating by male accessory gland substances in the ground beetle Leptocarabus procerulus

The ground beetle Leptocarabus procerulus (Chaudoir) possesses seminal substances that have a physical function to form mating plugs and a physiological function to induce female refractory behaviour, which act together to hinder female remating. Little is known about the physiological properties of the substances inducing female refractory behaviour, especially with respect to their secretory organ, dose‐dependency, molecular characteristics and the effect of female maturity. By injecting male‐derived substances into females, substances that induce female refractory behaviour are shown to be produced in the male accessory gland but not in the testis. Injection of extracts from the accessory gland increases the female refractory period at moderate doses but not at lower or higher doses. By contrast, injection of extracts from the testis reduces the female refractory period at high doses. The lack of an effect of accessory gland substances at higher doses could be the result of an anomalous effect of unnaturally large doses of seminal products by direct injection, the toxicity of seminal substances that deter female responses, or counteraction by injected substances that promote female receptivity. The accessory gland substances lose their activity when heated, although the testis substances do not. Females without mature eggs tend to reject mating entirely, although variation in the number of mature eggs (one or more) is not associated with the female refractory period, indicating the limited effect of female reproductive maturity. These findings may help to clarify the physiological basis of the evolution of the elaborated male mating behaviour in L. procerulus.     

Sexual selection targets cetacean pelvic bones

Male genitalia evolve rapidly, probably as a result of sexual selection. Whether this pattern extends to the internal infrastructure that influences genital movements remains unknown. Cetaceans (whales and dolphins) offer a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis: since evolving from land‐dwelling ancestors, they lost external hind limbs and evolved a highly reduced pelvis that seems to serve no other function except to anchor muscles that maneuver the penis. Here, we create a novel morphometric pipeline to analyze the size and shape evolution of pelvic bones from 130 individuals (29 species) in the context of inferred mating system. We present two main findings: (1) males from species with relatively intense sexual selection (inferred by relative testes size) tend to evolve larger penises and pelvic bones compared to their body length, and (2) pelvic bone shape has diverged more in species pairs that have diverged in inferred mating system. Neither pattern was observed in the anterior‐most pair of vertebral ribs, which served as a negative control. This study provides evidence that sexual selection can affect internal anatomy that controls male genitalia. These important functions may explain why cetacean pelvic bones have not been lost through evolutionary time.