Non-volant Mammals Research Articles

Non-volant mammals of the ‘Lago di Tarsia’ Regional Nature Reserve and Special Conservation Area (IT93100055; Cosenza, Southern Italy)

In this study we improved the knowledge about terrestrial mammals (excluding Chiroptera) of the 'Lago di Tarsia' Regional Nature Reserve (Special Conservation Area; Cosenza; Southern Italy), collecting a large amount both of direct and indirect original data (including road-killing remains and items obtained by small mammal traps, owl pellets, and phototraps), and bibliographic ones. We obtained 424 records belonging to 22 taxa classified at species level and one requiring a further taxonomic diagnosis (Microtus savii vel brachycerchus). Hystrix cristata Linnaeus, 1758, Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) and Martes sp. were the taxa with the highest number of records (> 10%). Sciurus meridionalis (Lucifero, 1907), Martes foina (Erxleben, 1777), Glis glis (Linnaeus, 1758), Apodemus cfr. flavicollis (Melchior, 1834), Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778, Talpa romana (Thomas, 1902), Rattus cfr. rattus (Linnaeus, 1758), Arvicola amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758) were the taxa with the lowest number (<1%). Almost half of the records have been obtained by indirect traces (hairs, excrements, fingerprints, burrows, etc.). Records from owl pellets represented an important percentage. Although the study area is restricted in size, the high environmental heterogeneity make possible the co-occurrence of a high number of species, including specialized taxa (e.g., forest mammals, mustelids and Soricomorpha). Some species, occurring in the neighbouring, although not recorded in our study (e.g. Sorex spp., Neomys sp., Elyomis quercinus Linnaeus, 1766), could be confirmed improving the research effort. Further studies are necessary in this regard, also focusing on the role of this reserve as dispersal corridor for rare carnivores, occurring in the massifs and rivers neighbouring to the Reserve (e.g. Lutra lutra Linnaeus, 1758 and Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758).

Parasite association in non-volant small mammals in Brazil

Parasite association in non-volant small mammals in Brazil

High richness of non-volant mammals in a seasonal forest fragment in southeastern Brazil

The seasonal forest formations of the Atlantic Forest are a threatened and poorly known habitat. We present here a list of the non-volant mammals occurring in a 515‑ha forest fragment known as Santa Maria and located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Our surveys are based on live trap captures, camera traps, and active searches for footprints, as well as secondary data. We list 29 species of non-volant mammals in the fragment, recorded between 1996 and 2021. One species found in the fragment, Leontopithecus chrysopygus, is globally endangered. Two species are classified as "vulnerable" in the global red list: Myrmecophaga tridactyla, and Tapirus terresris. One species, Panthera onca, is classified as "critically endangered" in São Paulo state. The red howler, Alouatta guariba, was not recorded after 1999 and has probably been extirpated in the fragment. We show that the number of non-volant mammal species in Santa Maria fragment is high, in relation to its size. The fragment is also in a strategic position, between the Morro do Diabo state park and the Black Lion Tamarin Ecological station, the two largest protected areas in the region. Considering its high mammal richness and its possible role as stepping stone for the local fauna, we recommend that the fragment become a protected area.

Habitat Heterogeneity and Geographic Location as Major Drivers of Cerrado Small Mammal Diversity Across Multiple Spatial Scales

The Cerrado biome is one of the global hotspots of biodiversity, and non-volant small mammals represent a significant portion of Cerrado species richness (45%) and endemism (86%). Nevertheless, we still lack a comprehensive picture of small mammal diversity patterns and drivers throughout the Cerrado. Here we surveyed small mammals across 45 sites to address species richness, abundance, and composition patterns and their drivers within and across sites, habitats, and localities at the world’s most diverse tropical savanna. As hypothesized, we found: (1) rich assemblages (12–21 species) characterized by few abundant and several intermediate-level and rare species; dominated by oryzomyine and akodontine cricetid rodents, and thylamyine and marmosine within marsupials, each tribe showing distinct habitat requirements; (2) strong habitat selectivity, with assemblages composed of forest dwellers, savanna specialists, and grassland inhabitants; and (3) similar species richness (α-diversity) but high species turnover (β-diversity) across sites, habitats, and localities, suggesting that horizontal stratification (within localities) and geographic location (across the Cerrado) are key drivers of small mammal diversity in tropical savannas. Thus, habitat heterogeneity and geographic location can be inferred as the main factors shaping species richness, abundance, and composition across the analyzed multiple spatial scales. Moreover, we found that geographical distance as well as the distance to neighbor biomes better explained species turnover, indicating landscape history and phylogenetic constraints as the major determinants of Cerrado small mammal diversity, as also evidenced for plants and other animal groups. These data highlight the need to preserve the mosaic of habitats across the different regions of the biome to conserve most of the Cerrado biodiversity.

Biogeographical Importance of the Livingstone Mountains in Southern Tanzania: Comparative Genetic Structure of Small Non-volant Mammals

The Livingstone Mountains (LM; also known as the Kipengere Range) found in south-western Tanzania at the northern end of Lake Nyasa are an important region for understanding the biogeography of Eastern Africa. The two branches of the East African Rift Valley meet here and the mountains might represent stepping stones for colonization and migration between different parts of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot (especially the link between the Eastern Arc Mountains, EAM, and the Southern Rift Mountains, SRM), as well as an efficient barrier to gene flow for taxa living in drier savannahs in lower elevations. Here we combine new mitochondrial sequence data from 610 recently sampled rodents and shrews with available georeferenced genetic data (3538 specimens) from southern Tanzania, northern Malawi/Zambia and northern Mozambique and compare the spatial genetic structure among different taxa. There is no universal phylogeographic pattern in taxa preferring humid montane habitats. For some of them, the Makambako Gap acts as a barrier between the SRM and the EAM, but other taxa can bridge this gap. Barriers within the EAM (frequently) and within the SRM (sometimes) appear more important. The Rukwa rift between the SRM and the ARM is an important barrier that perhaps can only be crossed by taxa that are not that strictly tied to humid montane environments. For mammals living in lower-elevation savannah-like habitats, the LM can act as a strict barrier to gene flow, and together with the Ufipa Plateau, Lake Nyasa and the EAM create a very similar phylogeographic pattern with three recognizable genetic groups in most savannah-dwellers. The Livingstone Mountains thus appear to be one of the most important biogeographic crossroads in Eastern Africa.

Comparative biogeography of volant and nonvolant mammals in a temperate island archipelago

AbstractIsland biogeography theory is a foundational ecological concept that describes how island or habitat patch size and isolation predict biodiversity, but few have studied how the effects of island biogeography vary with life history characteristics of temperate mammal communities. From 2014 to 2020, we surveyed volant and nonvolant mammals within the Apostle Islands archipelago (Wisconsin, USA) using camera trapping, live trapping, and acoustic monitoring. We used linear regression and information‐theoretic model selection to evaluate the effects of island size and isolation on indices of biodiversity. We also examined the effects of life history characteristics (i.e., body mass, winter inactivity) on the relative abundance and distribution of each species on the islands and the mainland. For volant mammals, island size and isolation were not associated with any metrics of diversity. We found island size was positively associated with nonvolant mammal species richness and diversity, but not species evenness. Island isolation was not a significant predictor for small nonvolant mammal diversity, although both size and isolation appeared to influence island biogeography of medium‐large nonvolant mammals. We also found that the interaction between winter inactivity and body mass influenced the vagility of nonvolant mammals in the archipelago. Our results suggest that life history characteristics are important in mediating species responses to biogeography, supporting the dispersal‐limitation nonequilibrium view of island biogeography theory, particularly for nonvolant mammals.

Diversity and inventory of non-volant small mammals in southern Anhui

Diversity and inventory of non-volant small mammals in southern Anhui

Seasonal variation of non-volant small mammals in Gibe Sheleko national park, Southwestern Ethiopia

The species composition and abundance of small mammals can vary within space and time. The main objective of this study was to assess seasonal variation of non-volant small mammals from randomly selected Acacia woodland, bushland, farmland, grassland, riverine forest and wooded grassland habitats in Gibe Sheleko National Park, southwestern Ethiopia. Data were collected using 49 Sharman live traps in 70 x 70 m sized square girds from December, 2018 to August, 2020. Capture mark recapture technique was applied to estimate population size of the existing small mammals and the data were analyzed using a chi-square test. A total of 1160 individual small mammals belonging to 10 species and 2 families were recorded. Three non-captured species: Hystrix cristata, Xerus rutilus and Tachyoryctes splendens were also identified. There was a significant (χ2= 31.12, df = 1, P < 0.05) difference in the total abundance of small mammals between seasons. Of the total individuals captured, 675(58.19%) were trapped during the wet season while 485(41.81%) individuals were during the dry season. Significant seasonal variation was also observed in the total abundance of both sexes, i e. males (χ2= 11.99, df = 1, P < 0.05) and females (χ2= 20.24, df = 1, P < 0.05). Among age groups, significant statistical seasonal variation was shown in adults (χ2=15.14, df = 1, P < 0.05) and young (χ2=44.61, df = 1, P < 0.05) but not significant in sub-adults (χ2=0.75, df = 1, P >0.05). The identified small mammals exhibited seasonal changes in their abundance associated with changes in climatic and environmental conditions. However, a long-term and annual based study is required to see the overall dynamics of existing small mammals.

Species Diversity of Non-Volant Small Mammals Between Lowland and Highland of Gunung Serapi, Kubah National Park, Sarawak

The study of non-volant small mammals was conducted at Kubah National Park (KNP), Sarawak for eight days between November 2018 until February 2019. The objective of this study was to determine the species diversity of non-volant small mammals at the highland (>750 – 805 m a.s.l.) and lowland (<200 m a.s.l.) at KNP. The elevation of Gunung Serapi is 911 m a.s.l. but the highest accessible area is at 805 m a.s.l. The distance between two sampling sites is approximately 4.5 km. Humidity and temperature measurement were also recorded at both sites. A total of 50 cage traps were set up at the highland and 50 cage traps at the lowland. The baits that were used in this study were oil palm and banana. A total of 26 individuals from 11 species, eight genera and four families were captured. However, there is no significant difference in species diversity between low and high elevations because the elevation of KNP was not high enough to distinguish species that are highland or lowland specialist.

Small non-volant mammals from Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco, a fragment of tropical dry forest in western Ecuador

Basic diversity studies of small non-volant mammals are scarce in western Ecuador, evidencing a knowledge gap regarding the mammalian fauna in the region. These organisms play key roles in important ecological processes and may be affected by several anthropogenic factors. Herein we report the results of a rapid assessment of marsupials and rodents of Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco (Guayas province), a fragment of dry forest surrounded by urban development. Between October 2016 and March 2017, we trapped rodents and marsupials with Sherman and Tomahawk live traps; also, we conducted direct observations and searched for skeletal remains. We recorded nine species of small non-volant mammals, seven native and two invasive. The marsupial Marmosa simonsi was the most frequently captured species. We reported three previously unrecorded species for this reserve: Sigmodon peruanus, Aegialomys baroni, and Rhipidomys latimanus. We recommend continued monitoring of the mammalian fauna of Cerro Blanco using alternative techniques such as pitfall traps, canopy live traps, and analysis of owl pellets. These efforts will permit a better understanding of the marsupial and rodent assemblage in this important site for biodiversity conservation in coastal Ecuador, a region that unfortunately faces intense human pressure.

NONVOLANT MAMMALS IN A FRAGMENT OF ARBOREAL CAATINGA IN NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL

The state of Paraiba is one of those with the most degraded Caatinga that presents the large gap of knowledge concerning the mammal fauna. Mammals are among the taxa most affected by this. In this sense, we evaluated non-volant mammals’ richness and composition between March 2013 and February 2020 in a Caatinga fragment (121 ha). We used active search (336 hours) and camera traps (1,200 night traps). We recorded 20 species, including four threatened ones. Carnivora was the most representative order (7 species), followed by Rodentia (4 species). The richness of non-volant mammals found represents 35.6 % of the total number of such species in the Caatinga. This species richness is greater than that found in other studies in the state. The presence of these mammal species was mainly due to the recovering vegetation that resulted from the great planting effort and also due to cessation of hunt, cattle and sheep breeding that had existed on the farm for over thirty years. Our findings highlight the importance of this particular reserve due to the large number of species registered.

Area, isolation and climate explain the diversity of mammals on islands worldwide.

Insular biodiversity is expected to be regulated differently than continental biota, but their determinants remain to be quantified at a global scale. We evaluated the importance of physical, environmental and historical factors on mammal richness and endemism across 5592 islands worldwide. We fitted generalized linear and mixed models to accommodate variation among biogeographic realms and performed analyses separately for bats and non-volants. Richness on islands ranged from one to 234 species, with up to 177 single island endemics. Diversity patterns were most consistently influenced by the islands’ physical characteristics. Area positively affected mammal diversity, in particular the number of non-volant endemics. Island isolation, both current and past, was associated with lower richness but greater endemism. Flight capacity modified the relative importance of past versus current isolation, with bats responding more strongly to current and non-volant mammals to past isolation. Biodiversity relationships with environmental factors were idiosyncratic, with a tendency for greater effects sizes with endemism than richness. The historical climatic change was positively associated with endemism. In line with theory, we found that area and isolation were among the strongest drivers of mammalian biodiversity. Our results support the importance of past conditions on current patterns, particularly of non-volant species.

Geographic and ecological segregation in an extinct guild of flightless birds: New Zealand’s moa

The nine currently recognized species of moa (Order – Dinornithiformes; Bonaparte 1853) suffered extinction soon after New Zealand was settled by humans.  They were the result of an evolutionary radiation that produced a unique guild of birds – giant, and totally wingless species that evolved in the absence of non-volant mammals.   Recent advances in dating and paleoclimatology, and compilations of data on distributions of the nine species of moa, along with information on the geographic, topographic, climatic and edaphic characteristics of sites from which moa remains have been recovered, enabled us to test whether their evolutionary radiation truly was ‘adaptive’, producing ecologically distinct species.  Randomization, resampling analyses of moa distributions across North and South Islands revealed highly significant geographic and ecological segregation, with different species tending to occupy different islands, regions within islands, or elevations within regions.  Quadratic Discriminant Analyses demonstrated niche segregation at even finer scales, including that based on vegetation-defined habitats and on local climatic, topographic and edaphic conditions.  Moa distributions also appear to have been dynamic over time, shifting in their upper elevational limits as climatic conditions changed and vegetative zones shifted upward during the Holocene Epoch.  Our ongoing studies are building on the results presented here to explore the temporal dynamics of moa distributions, assess differential responses of moa species to natural and anthropogenic drivers, and determine how these forces may have combined to cause the extinction of moa just a few centuries ago.

Asynchronous ecological upheavals on the Western Mediterranean islands: New insights on the extinction of their autochthonous small mammals

Comparative studies on extinction scenarios are an invaluable contribution to enhance our understanding of their patterns and mechanisms underpinning them. This paper presents new radiocarbon dates based on specimens of five extinct mammal species from Mallorca and Sardinia. The new evidence permits to reanalyse the extinction dynamics on both islands. Radiocarbon ages directly obtained on bone collagen from these species show evidence of different extinction patterns on Mallorca and Sardinia. For Mallorca the most reliable scenario is a mass extinction of all non-volant mammal species as an immediate consequence of the first human irruption on the island. However, for Sardinia, the extinction of autochthonous mammals lasted over several millennia. The new radiocarbon dates of the last occurrence of endemic mammals suggest a sequence of punctuated extinction events throughout the late Sardinian Holocene. These events are here tentatively related to successive human colonisation waves. The current lack of chronological dates for some Sardinian fossil mammals impedes to outline a more accurate pattern of extinction events. The present paper points that Mallorca have been more vulnerable than Sardinia to the external disturbances introduced by humans. We suggest that the capacity of each island to absorb external perturbations could be related to the island area, the duration of the isolated evolution and the degree of faunal complexity.

Selection and stability validation of reference gene candidates for transcriptional analysis in Rousettus aegyptiacus

Bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight and their body temperature can reach up to 42 °C during flight. Additionally, bats display robust type I IFN interferon (IFN-I) responses and some species constitutively express IFN-α. Reference genes with stable expression under temperature oscillations and IFN-I release are therefore critical for normalization of quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) data in bats. The expression stability of reference genes in Rousettus aegyptiacus remains elusive, although this species is frequently used in the infection research. We selected ACTB, EEF1A1, GAPDH and PGK1 as candidate reference genes and evaluated their expression stability in various tissues and cells from this model bat species upon IFN-I treatment at 35 °C, 37 °C and 40 °C by qRT-PCR. We employed two statistical algorithms, BestKeeper and NormFinder, and found that EEF1A1 exhibited the highest expression stability under all tested conditions. ACTB and GAPDH displayed unstable expression upon temperature change and IFN-I treatment, respectively. By normalizing to EEF1A1, we uncovered that GAPDH expression was significantly induced by IFN-I in R. aegyptiacus. Our study identifies EEF1A1 as the most suitable reference gene for qRT-PCR studies upon temperature changes and IFN-I treatment and unveils the induction of GAPDH expression by IFN-I in R. aegyptiacus. These findings are pertinent to other bat species and may be relevant for non-volant mammals that show physiological fluctuations of core body temperature.

The Non-Volant Terrestrial Small Mammals at Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, Kedah, Malaysia

An eight days survey of non-volant small mammals was conducted at the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve in the state of Kedah, Malaysia. To sample the small mammals, we placed 100 cage traps and 50 bucket pitfall traps randomly along the existing man-made trails in four sampling sites within the study area. Total trapping effort for the cage traps was 796 trap nights, while the total trapping effort for the bucket pitfall traps was 400 trap nights. Overall, 24 non-volant small mammal individuals represented by seven species from the Family Muridae were captured. The Red spiny rat, Maxomys surifer, was the most dominant species accounting for 42% of the total individuals captured. We also caught the Chestnut white-bellied rat (Niviventer fulvescens) which is a new record for the study area. Although sampling was conducted only briefly, our study has demonstrated that Ulu Muda Forest Reserve still holds a high diversity of forest rat species, some of which are of international or regional conservation concern. Increasing the sampling effort, i.e., by surveying more areas over a longer period, would likely increase the possibility of capturing more small mammal species in this area.

Habitat fragmentation amplifies threats from habitat loss to mammal diversity across the world’s terrestrial ecoregions

<h2>Summary</h2> Global biodiversity is increasingly threatened by anthropogenic environmental change. While there is mounting evidence that habitat loss is a key threat to biodiversity, global assessments typically ignore additional threats from habitat fragmentation. Here, we present a species-area model that integrates habitat size and connectivity, considering species habitat preference and dispersal capacity, patch size, inter-patch distances, and landscape matrix permeability. We applied the model to predict threats from habitat loss and fragmentation to non-volant mammal diversity across the world's ecoregions. We predict that, on average, 10 mammal species are committed to extinction due to habitat loss and fragmentation (range 0–86). On average, 9% of loss is due to fragmentation (range 0%–90%). Considering both habitat loss and fragmentation, our model can be used for large-scale explorative assessments to inform and evaluate strategies for minimizing biodiversity loss and for optimizing habitat conservation and restoration.

Aposematism in mammals.

Aposematic coloration is traditionally considered to signal unpalatability or toxicity. In mammals, most research has focused on just one form of defense, namely, noxious anal secretions, and its black-and-white advertisement as exemplified by skunks. The original formulation of aposematism, however, encompassed a broader range of morphological, physiological, and behavioral defenses, and there are many mammal species with black-and-white contrasting patterns that do not have noxious adaptations. Here, using Bayesian phylogenetic models and data from 1726 terrestrial nonvolant mammals we find that two aspects of conspicuous coloration, black-and-white coloration patterns on the head and body, advertise defenses that are morphological (spines, large body size), behavioral (pugnacity), and physiological (anal secretions), as well as being involved with sexual signaling and environmental factors linked to crypsis. Within Carnivora, defensive anal secretions are associated with complex black-and-white head patterns and longitudinal black-and-white body striping; in primates, larger bodied species exhibit irregular patches of black-and-white pelage; and in rodents, pugnacity is linked to sharp countershading and irregular blocks of white and black pelage. We show that black-and-white coloration in mammals is multifunctional, that it serves to warn predators of several defenses other than noxious anal secretions, and that aposematism in mammals is not restricted to carnivores.

Surveillance of the rabies-related lyssavirus, Mokola in non-volant small mammals in South Africa.

The reservoir host of Mokola virus (MOKV), a rabies-related lyssavirus species endemic to Africa, remains unknown. Only sporadic cases of MOKV have been reported since its first discovery in the late 1960s, which subsequently gave rise to various reservoir host hypotheses. One particular hypothesis focusing on non-volant small mammals (e.g. shrews, sengis and rodents) is buttressed by previous MOKV isolations from shrews (Crocidura sp.) and a single rodent (Lophuromys sikapusi). Although these cases were only once-off detections, it provided evidence of the first known lyssavirus species has an association with non-volant small mammals. To investigate further, retrospective surveillance was conducted in 575 small mammals collected from South Africa. Nucleic acid surveillance using a pan-lyssavirus quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay of 329 brain samples did not detect any lyssavirus ribonucleic acid (RNA). Serological surveillance using a micro-neutralisation test of 246 serum samples identified 36 serum samples that were positive for the presence of MOKV neutralising antibodies (VNAs). These serum samples were all collected from Gerbilliscus leucogaster (Bushveld gerbils) rodents from Meletse in Limpopo province (South Africa). Mokola virus infections in Limpopo province have never been reported before, and the high MOKV seropositivity of 87.80% in these gerbils may indicate a potential rodent reservoir.

Notes on small mammals diversity at Perlis State Parks, Wang Kelian, Perlis, Malaysia

Three surveys were conducted to document diversity on small mammals at Perlis State Park, Wang Kelian, Perlis, Malaysia from 2019 until 2020. For each survey, a total of 50 cage traps, 10 mist-nets and two four-bank harp traps were set up for three-trapping nights along a 500 m transect line to sample small mammals. The opportunistic observation was also applying to record the incidence of small mammals. In total, 17 species of small mammals were documented during these surveys. Of these, seven species are volant small mammals, and ten species are non-volant small mammals. The family with the most diverse species was Pteropodidae with five species and Cynopterus brachyotis being the most dominant species (n = 46). Interestingly, these surveys report new distributional records for three small mammal species in Perlis State Park, though several studies have been conducted previously. This information demonstrates that there may be more species yet to be recorded from this study site. Comparing the species similarity between our study site and several state parks in Peninsular Malaysia shows that Perlis State Parks also holds a relatively high diversity of small mammals. Therefore, adequate conservation measures such as recognizing this state park as an important conservation area are needed to ensure valuable small mammals’ sustainability.