Multilevel ecological interactions: Impact of weather, forest extreme events and seed production on squirrel population dynamics.

In resource-limited producer-consumer systems, environmental variables such as weather, habitat structure, and resource availability interact to shape consumer dynamics. We conducted a comparative analysis on territorial Fremont's squirrel (Tamiasciurus fremonti) in Arizona mountain ranges (three sites) and non-territorial Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in the Italian Alps (five sites) to investigate the effects of forest composition, pulsed seed resources, weather, and climate change-induced forest disturbances on population density. We also explored potential synchrony in spatial and temporal dynamics between squirrel populations, driven by endogenous and exogenous processes.

Movement response of small mammals to burn severity reveals importance of microhabitat features.

Disturbance events are increasing at a global scale, with cascading impacts to ecosystems and residents therein that include fragmentation and altered vegetation structure and composition. Such changes may disproportionately impact small mammal movements, risk perception, and community dynamics as smaller species perceive such changes at finer spatial scales. We examined movement response to burn severity, vegetation structure, and composition in Mexican woodrats (), a common but understudied small mammal species.

Modeling a hot, dry future: Substantial range reductions in suitable environment projected under climate change for a semiarid riparian predator guild.

An understanding of species-environmental relationships is invaluable for effective conservation and management under anthropogenic climate change, especially for biodiversity hotspots such as riparian habitats. Species distribution models (SDMs) assess present species-environmental relationships which can project potential suitable environments through space and time. An understanding of environmental factors associated with distributions can guide conservation management strategies under a changing climate.

The high cost of movement in an arid working landscape for an endangered amphibian.

Connectivity is essential for the maintenance of genetic diversity and stability of wildlife populations. Drought and changing precipitation regimes have caused natural aquatic amphibian breeding habitats to disappear or become isolated and have led to the replacement of natural surface water with artificial livestock water tanks. Terrestrial movement is the only means of responding to aquatic threats in arid landscapes and to allow population connectivity.

Shrub avoidance by an open-adapted ground squirrel in a shrub-encroached environment.

Habitat loss and degradation are leading drivers of the widespread decline in wildlife populations, and understanding how wildlife perceive and navigate their environment is useful for predicting responses to future landscape changes. Small mammals play an important role in their environments, however, many species are threatened by rapid environmental change. The Harris' antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii) is endemic to the Sonoran Desert but faces multiple landscape changes due to anthropogenic activity.

Effects of disturbances and environmental changes on an aridland riparian generalist.

Anthropogenic climate change and ecosystem disturbances can detrimentally affect habitats and species. Areas with concentrated biodiversity, such as aridland riparian zones, often yield the greatest number of vulnerable species. A better understanding of ecological and environmental relationships can guide more effective conservation strategies.

Use of infrared thermography to detect reactions to stressful events: does animal personality matter?

The study of the relationship between animal stress and personality for free-ranging animals is limited and provides contrasting results. The perception of stressors by an individual may vary due to its personality, and certain personality traits may help individuals to better cope with them. Using non-invasive infrared thermography (IRT), we investigated the link between physiological and behavioral components expressed during an acute stress event by free-ranging Fremont's squirrels (Tamiasciurus fremonti).

Using a substitute species to inform translocation of an endangered territorial mammal.

Substitute species can inform management strategies without exposing endangered species to unacceptable risk. Furthermore, experimental approaches may help to identify the causes of translocation failures, improving the chances of success. We used a surrogate subspecies, Tamiasciurus fremonti fremonti to test different translocation techniques to inform on potential management actions with regards to the endangered Mt.

Bridging conservation across the ex situ-in situ spectrum: Insights into the reproductive ecology of the threatened narrow-headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus).

Zoo-based (ex situ) conservation breeding programs provide invaluable opportunities to uncover enigmatic behaviors and traits of focal species under managed care, which can support research and conservation management efforts. A suite of factors and a limited range have yielded population declines in the threatened narrow-headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus). Better understanding its cryptic ecology and life history (e.

Adaptive management in a conservation breeding program: Mimicking habitat complexities facilitates reproductive success in narrow-headed gartersnakes (Thamnophis rufipunctatus).

Mimicking natural parameters and complexities in zoo conservation breeding programs can facilitate natural physiological and behavioral traits, which in turn can inform more effective species reintroduction efforts. To curtail population declines of threatened narrow-headed gartersnakes (Thamnophis rufipunctatus), the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation/Phoenix Zoo partnered with a multiagency conservation working group to develop an ex situ propagation-for-release program. Initially, Zoo staff followed common snake husbandry protocols of manually inducing brumation (i.

Occurrence of mesocarnivores in montane sky islands: How spatial and temporal overlap informs rabies management in a regional hotspot.

Interspecific interactions among mesocarnivores can influence community dynamics and resource partitioning. Insights into these interactions can enhance understanding of local ecological processes that have impacts on pathogen transmission, such as the rabies lyssavirus. Host species ecology can provide an important baseline for disease management strategies especially in biologically diverse ecosystems and heterogeneous landscapes.

Exotic Pet Trade as a Cause of Biological Invasions: The Case of Tree Squirrels of the Genus .

The trade of non-native pets, especially of non-domesticated and exotic animals, and their subsequent release and establishment of populations is one of the major pathways of introduction for invasive alien reptiles, amphibia, birds and mammals. Here, we use a group of arboreal mammals, tree squirrels of the genus , as a well-documented case study, reviewing the pathways of introduction, the current areas of non-native distribution, the rate of establishment success and the challenge and legal importance of species identification. We further illustrate the importance of early detection and effective monitoring methods and plans.

In-stream habitat availability for river dolphins in response to flow: Use of ecological integrity to manage river flows.

Population decline and extinction risk of river dolphins are primarily associated with flow alteration. Previous studies predominantly highlighted maintenance of adequate flow for low water seasons when habitats contract and the risk of local extinction escalates. Although river dolphins are sensitive to reduction in river flow, no studies quantify the relationships between flow and ecology of river dolphins to mitigate the potential adverse impacts of flow alteration.

Ecological responses to flow variation inform river dolphin conservation.

Many environmental flow (e-flow) studies and applications have predominantly used state-(i.e., at a single time point) and rate-(i.

Resource selection of a montane endemic: Sex-specific differences in white-bellied voles (Microtus longicaudus leucophaeus).

Resources that an individual selects contrasted against what is available can provide valuable information regarding species-specific behavior and ecological relationships. Small mammals represent excellent study organisms to assess such relationships. Isolated populations that exist on the edge of a species' distribution often exhibit behavioral adaptations to the extremes experienced by a species and can provide meaningful insight into the resource requirements of the species.

Seasonal flow dynamics exacerbate overlap between artisanal fisheries and imperiled Ganges River dolphins.

Here we quantify the effects of artisanal fisheries on the ecology of a small cetacean, the Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica, GRD), in a large river system of Nepal. We examine the size-classes of fisheries' catches, behavioural changes in GRD in response to fishing activities, and diel overlap between GRD and fishing activity. We observed high human exploitation rates (> 60% of the total catch per effort) of GRD-preferred prey sizes, indicating risks of high resource competition and dietary overlap, especially during the low water season when resource availability is reduced.

Factors affecting the persistence of endangered Ganges River dolphins ().

The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli (GBMK) River Basin in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh is among the world's most biodiverse river basins. However, human-induced habitat modification processes threaten the ecological structure of this river basin. Among the GBMK's diverse flora and fauna of this freshwater ecosystem, the endemic Ganges River dolphin (; GRD) is one of the most charismatic species in this freshwater ecosystem.

Does caching strategy vary with microclimate in endangered Mt. Graham red squirrels?

Food hoarding is a common behavior used by a variety of animals to cope with periods of low food availability. At the retreating edge of species' distribution, the stressful environment and unfavourable climate conditions may impose severe costs on hoarding behavior. Since relict populations are hotspots for evolution and adaptation, and considering that food hoarding behavior has a strong evolutionary basis, we decided to evaluate the occurrence of behavioral variability in the amount of food cached by the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus fremonti grahamensis).

Experimental removals reveal dietary niche partitioning facilitates coexistence between native and introduced species.

Niche overlap between native species and ecologically similar invaders can lead to competitive exclusion of threatened native species, but if two such species also co-occur naturally elsewhere, interactions between native and introduced populations may mirror coevolved niche partitioning that reduces competition and promotes coexistence.A single, insular population of Fremont's squirrel () the Mount Graham red squirrel (MGRS; ) in the Pinaleño Mountains, Arizona, USA, is critically endangered and resource competition with introduced Abert's squirrels () may threaten its long-term persistence. The species are naturally synoptic in other mountain sites, and both consume diets comprised primarily of conifer seeds and fungi.

Native lagomorphs suppress grass establishment in a shrub-encroached, semiarid grassland.

Shrub encroachment into arid grasslands has been associated with reduced grass abundance, increased soil erosion, and local declines in biodiversity. Livestock overgrazing and the associated reduction of fine fuels has been a primary driver of shrub encroachment in the southwestern United States, but shrublands continue to persist despite livestock removal and grassland restoration efforts. We hypothesized that an herbivory feedback from native mammals may contribute to continued suppression of grasses after the removal of livestock.

Mammals of Korea: a review of their taxonomy, distribution and conservation status.

The Korean Peninsula and its associated Pacific islands have a distinctive, yet poorly studied mammalian fauna. Korea was a land of invasions and wars for many centuries. The loss of large mammals per unit area that has occurred in Korea may have been greater than in any other country.

Phylogeographic and diversification patterns of the white-nosed coati (Nasua narica): Evidence for south-to-north colonization of North America.

White-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) are widely distributed throughout North, Central, and South America, but the patterns of temporal and spatial diversification that have contributed to this distribution are unknown. In addition, the biogeographic history of procyonid species in the Americas remains contentious. Using sequences from three mitochondrial loci (Cytochrome b, NAHD5 and 16S rRNA; 2201 bp) and genotypes from 11 microsatellite loci, we analyzed genetic diversity to determine phylogeographic patterns, genetic structure, divergence times, and gene flow among Nasua narica populations throughout the majority of the species' range.

Elevational distribution and morphological attributes of the entomopathogenic fungi from forests of the Qinling Mountains in China.

Entomopathogenic fungi are considered to be a safe microbiological pesticide alternative to chemical control. Efforts are underway to understand precisely their taxonomy and natural distribution through mycological and biodiversity studies based on molecular markers. Here, we present descriptions of the diversity of the entomopathogenic fungi in the genera Metarhizium and Beauveria found along the elevational gradients of the Qinling subtropical and temperate forests of Shaanxi province in China, using morphological aspects and molecular markers.