Complex patterns of gene flow and convergence in the evolutionary history of the spiral-horned antelopes (Tragelaphini).

The Tragelaphini, also known as spiral-horned antelope, is a phenotypically diverse mammalian tribe comprising a single genus, Tragelaphus. The evolutionary history of this tribe has attracted the attention of taxonomists and molecular geneticists for decades because its diversity is characterised by conflicts between morphological and molecular data as well as between mitochondrial, nuclear and chromosomal DNA. These inconsistencies point to a complex history of ecological diversification, coupled by either phenotypic convergence or introgression.

Southern Africa's Great Escarpment as an amphitheater of climate-driven diversification and a buffer against future climate change in bats.

Hosting 1460 plant and 126 vertebrate endemic species, the Great Escarpment (hereafter, Escarpment) forms a semi-circular "amphitheater" of mountains girdling southern Africa from arid west to temperate east. Since arid and temperate biota are usually studied separately, earlier studies overlooked the biogeographical importance of the Escarpment as a whole. Bats disperse more widely than other mammalian taxa, with related species and intraspecific lineages occupying both arid and temperate highlands of the Escarpment, providing an excellent model to address this knowledge gap.

Tipping points induced by palaeo-human impacts can explain presence of savannah in Malagasy and global systems where forest is expected.

Models aimed at understanding C-savannah distribution for Australia, Africa and South America support transition to forest at high mean annual precipitation (MAP), and savannah grasslands of Madagascar have recently been reported to be similarly limited. Yet, when savannah/grassland presence data are plotted against MAP for the various ecosystems across the Malagasy Central Highlands, the relationship does not hold. Furthermore, it does not always hold in other sites on other continents.

Rapid ecological specialization despite constant population sizes.

Background: The bushbuck, , is a widespread and ecologically diverse ungulate species complex within the spiral-horned antelopes. This species was recently found to consist of two genetically divergent but monophyletic lineages, which are paraphyletic at mitochondrial (mt)DNA owing to an ancient interspecific hybridization event. The Scriptus lineage () inhabits the north-western half of the African continent while Sylvaticus () is found in the south-eastern half.

Phylogeography and population genetics of the endemic Malagasy bat, s.s. (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae).

(Hipposideridae), a bat species endemic to Madagascar, is widespread across the island and utilizes a range of habitat types including open woodland, degraded habitats, and forested areas from sea level to 1,325 m. Despite being widely distributed, there is evidence that exhibits morphological and bioacoustic variation across its geographical range. We investigated the fine-scale phylogeographic structure of populations in the western half of the island using extensive spatial sampling and sequence data from two mitochondrial DNA regions.

Cryptic diversity in Hipposideros commersoni sensu stricto (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) in the western portion of Madagascar.

Background: The Commerson's leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros commersoni sensu stricto, is endemic to Madagascar and is relatively common in the western portion of the island, where it is found in areas, including forested zones, from sea level to 1325 m. A previous study on morphological patterns of geographic variation within the species highlighted the presence of two distinct morphotypes; larger individuals in the north portion of the island and smaller individuals in the south. The main aim of this study was to use a combination of craniodental morphology and molecular data (mitochondrial and nuclear) to test previous hypotheses based on morphology and clarify the evolutionary history of the species group.

Analysis of patterns of bushmeat consumption reveals extensive exploitation of protected species in eastern Madagascar.

Understanding the patterns of wild meat consumption from tropical forests is important for designing approaches to address this major threat to biodiversity and mitigate potential pathways for transmission of emerging diseases. Bushmeat consumption has been particularly poorly studied in Madagascar, one of the world's hottest biodiversity hotspots. Studying bushmeat consumption is challenging as many species are protected and researchers must consider the incentives faced by informants.