Density and Home Range of Cats in a Small Inhabited Mediterranean Island.

There is growing concern about effectively controlling cat populations due to their impact on biodiversity, especially on islands. To plan this management, it is essential to know the cat population size, sterilization rates, and space they use. Small inhabited islands can have very high cat densities; thus, this study aimed to evaluate cat density and home range on a small tourist island in the Spanish Mediterranean.

Nesting Ecology of European Hedgehogs () in Urban Areas in Southeast Spain: Nest Habitat Use and Characteristics.

Appropriate nesting sites are needed for the presence of European hedgehogs () in an area, along with food availability. However, little attention has been paid to them in the literature. This study aimed at analysing, for the first time, the environmental characteristics of nesting sites chosen by hedgehogs, their spatial distribution and the effect of sex and season on them in two types of urban parks in southeastern Spain.

Eating in the city: Experimental effect of anthropogenic food resources on the body condition, nutritional status, and oxidative stress of an urban bioindicator passerine.

Urban areas provide a constant and predictable supply of anthropogenic processed food. The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus Linnaeus, 1758), a declining urban bioindicator species, has recently been reported to have a high level of oxidative stress, with urban diet or pollutants proposed as the potential cause. In this study, we aimed to experimentally determine the effects of two urban trophic resource types (bar snack food leftovers and pet food) on sparrows' physical condition, plasma biochemical nutritional parameters, and blood oxidative status in captivity.

Combined effects of landscape composition and agrochemicals on frog communities amid sugarcane-dominated agroecosystems.

Global demand for crops will continue increasing over the next few decades to cover both food and biofuel needs. This demand will put further pressure to expand arable land and replace natural habitats. However, we are only beginning to understand the combined effects of agrochemicals and land-use change on tropical freshwater biodiversity.

Drivers of migrant passerine composition at stopover islands in the western Mediterranean.

Clues used by migrant birds to select sites for stopover are much less known than their reasons for leaving. Habitat characteristics and geographical location may affect the decision to use an island as a stopover site in different ways for different species. Thus, abundance and composition of migrants may be expected to differ between islands.

Recreational noise pollution of traditional festivals reduces the juvenile productivity of an avian urban bioindicator.

Noise is a pollutant of emergent concern for ecologists and conservation biologists. Recreational noise pollution, especially unpredictable and intermittent sounds, and its effects on wildlife and biodiversity have been poorly studied. Researchers have paid very little attention to the effect of noisy traditional festivals (fireworks and powder-guns).

Two new species of Manahunca, redescription of its type species, current conservation status of the genus and a survey of male glands in Stenostygninae (Opiliones: Laniatores: Biantidae).

Manahunca bielawskii Šilhavý, 1973, the type species of the genus Manahunca Šilhavý, 1973, is redescribed based on abundant material from the type locality, including new data on its morphological variability and penis morphology. A neotype for M. bielawskii is herein designated due to the unknown whereabouts of the original holotype.

A new Antillobisium species (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Bochicidae) from Cuba, with biogeographical and ecological remarks on the genus.

A new troglobitic species of the genus Antillobisium is described from Sancti Spiritus province, Cuba. Antillobisium tomasi n. sp.

Dawn chorus interpretation differs when using songs or calls: the Dupont's Lark case.

Background: Territorial songbirds vocalise intensively before sunrise and then decrease their vocal activity. This creates a communication network that disseminates essential information for both males and females. The function of dawn chorus in birds has been frequently interpreted according to seasonal variation of singing as the breeding season advances, but potential differences in seasonal variation of song and calls for the same species have not been taken into account.

Effect of wetland management: are lentic wetlands refuges of plant-species diversity in the Andean-Orinoco Piedmont of Colombia?

Accelerated degradation of the wetlands and fragmentation of surrounding vegetation in the Andean-Orinoco Piedmont are the main threats to diversity and ecological integrity of these ecosystems; however, information on this topic is of limited availability. In this region, we evaluated the value of 37 lentic wetlands as reservoirs of woody and aquatic plants and analyzed diversity and changes in species composition within and among groups defined according to management given by: (1) type (swamps, heronries, rice fields, semi-natural lakes, constructed lakes and fish farms) and (2) origins (natural, mixed and artificial). A total of 506 plant species were recorded: 80% woody and 20% aquatic.