Long-term continuous observations of hunting lions Panthera leo in the Kruger National Park were used to assess the variables affecting hunting success of male and female lions. Generalized linear models revealed that seven variables had significant independent influences on hunting success, with the most important being the prey species hunted. Three types of variables were recognized: (1) lion related, where type of hunt, wind orientation, and the number of adults hunting; (2) prey related, where prey species and herd size; (3) environment related, where moon brightness, and grass height were significant. The sex of the lions had no effect on the overall probability of hunting success. Five second-order interactions significantly influenced the probability of hunting success, with the most important being the interaction between sex and the type of prey. The only significant third-order interaction containing the variable sex, was the inter-relationship with prey species and shrub cover. After removing the over-riding bias of the prey species, greater resolution of the factors affecting success was revealed. The major difference was that group size influences hunting success and concomitantly prey selection, promoting selection for medium-sized ungulates like zebra Equus burchelli and wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus by females, and males mainly capturing buffalo Syncerus caffer. We conclude that in African ecosystems, the hunting success of male and female lions varies with a range of combinations of lion-, prey- and environment-related variables. We demonstrate the hunting ability of male lions, which has perhaps been understated in other studies.

Two new species of terrestrial planarians in the family Geoplanidae, Geoplana franciscana and Notogynaphallia guaiana, from the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, are described. Both species have a multilayered lining in the female atrium. The study of specimens of N. goetschi, aimed at comparing it to N. guaiana, reveals the need for a re-description and review of N. goetschi.

Time-expanded and heterodyned echolocation calls of the New Zealand long-tailed Chalinolobus tuberculatus and lesser short-tailed bat Mystacina tuberculata were recorded and digitally analysed. Temporal and spectral parameters were measured from time-expanded calls and power spectra generated for both time-expanded and heterodyned calls. Artificial neural networks were trained to classify the calls of both species using temporal and spectral parameters and power spectra as input data. Networks were then tested using data not previously seen. Calls could be unambiguously identified using parameters and power spectra from time-expanded calls. A neural network, trained and tested using power spectra of calls from both species recorded using a heterodyne detector set to 40 kHz (the frequency with the most energy of the fundamental of C. tuberculatus call), could identify 99% and 84% of calls of C. tuberculatus and M. tuberculata, respectively. A second network, trained and tested using power spectra of calls from both species recorded using a heterodyne detector set to 27 kHz (the frequency with the most energy of the fundamental of M. tuberculata call), could identify 34% and 100% of calls of C. tuberculatus and M. tuberculata, respectively. This study represents the first use of neural networks for the identification of bats from their echolocation calls. It is also the first study to use power spectra of time-expanded and heterodyned calls for identification of chiropteran species. The ability of neural networks to identify bats from their echolocation calls is discussed, as is the ecology of both species in relation to the design of their echolocation calls.

The integrative patagial morphology of Draco volans was examined to elucidate the possible evolutionary pathway of origin of active patagia in the flying dragons and in extinct taxa that are thought to have possessed similarly constructed flight membranes. The area of the patagia and accessory aerodynamic surfaces is compared between Draco volans and Ptychozoon kuhli, a gekkonid with passive patagia. Comparisons of patagial area are also made between selected species of Draco. Scale architecture of the patagium of Draco is described and is related to pertinent aspects of the structure and properties of the integument. The relationships of these characteristics to the morphology of the ribs and their related musculature are emphasized. The overall assessment of these features in relation to patagial form is employed to develop an evolutionary scenario for the origin of active patagia.

In this study, the axial skeleton of 14 species of tupaiids (tree shrews) was analysed functionally and compared to that of other archontan mammals. Several differences that relate to differential substrate use were found in the ribs and vertebrae. These differences included cranio-caudal width of the ribs; number of thoracic, lumbar, and caudal vertebrae; cranio-caudal width of the atlas; orientation of the spinous process of the axis; length and cranio-caudal width of the spinous processes of the thoracic vertebrae; length of the spinous processes of the lumbar vertebrae; length and orientation of the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae; and the number of sacral vertebrae that articulate with the ilia. The ribs and vertebrae of the arboreal Ptilocercus lowii, the only ptilocercine, exhibit adaptations for a stable thorax that probably facilitate bridging locomotion. The vertebral columns of tupaiines, on the other hand, are more mobile and allow more flexion and extension of the spine; this increased flexion and extension increases stride length, which in turn increases speed in bounding or galloping mammals such as terrestrial tupaiines. It is proposed here that the attributes of the thorax of Ptilocercus are primitive for the Tupaiidae, that the ancestral tupaiid was arboreal, that the tupaiine condition is derived, and that the ancestral tupaiine was terrestrial. It is also proposed that: Ptilocercus may be primitive for the Archonta in its axial skeletal features; a stable thorax was first evolved in an arboreal ancestral archontan; the adaptations for stability of the thorax were retained in the Volitantia (dermopterans and chiropterans) for certain locomotor types, including gliding or flying; a mobile thorax evolved in conjunction with the shift to graspleaping in the ancestral euprimate. These scenarios may be further tested by quantitative analyses of vertebral osteology, as well as myological analyses of the epaxial musculature.

The grasping behaviour, locomotion and substrate use of the tree shrews Tupaia minor and T. tana were investigated in the Department of Zoological Research at the National Zoological Park in Washington, DC. Seven arboreal T. minor and five terrestrial T. tana were observed and videotaped for 10-min focal animal samples totalling 77 h of observation. Locomotion and substrate use were scored and images of grasping behaviour were captured from videotapes. Tupaia minor individuals were videotaped crossing dowels and the number of dowel crossings that included grasps were scored. In 84% of dowel crossings, T. minor individuals used either their hallux or their pollex to grasp the dowels. Tupaia minor was also more active, moved more quickly, was more arboreal, rooted less, reversed its feet more, flexed its forelimbs more and was more semi-plantigrade than T. tana. It is proposed that arboreal tupaiids, such as Ptilocercus lowii and T. minor, may represent better models for early primates than didelphid marsupials because they are capable of grasping and are more closely related to primates.

The social organization of the kinkajou Potos flavus is described from 380 h of observations on habituated, free-ranging animals. Individuals were most often alone while feeding at night, yet they regularly interacted in stable social groups. Four social groups were observed, each consisting of a single adult female, two adult males, one sub-adult and one juvenile. At least one breeding female was solitary and did not reside within a group. Social groups were consolidated primarily at denning sites and large fruiting trees by group feeding, allogrooming and scent marking. However, kinkajous were most often observed solitarily, as social feeding only occurred in 19.6 of total feeding bouts (mainly among males) and individuals rarely travelled together. Although the composition of social groups was polyandrous, males also copulated with non-group females which suggests a promiscuous mating system. Female-biased dispersal and patterns of male association seem to be patrilineal and based on resource defence. The evolution of social organization in the kinkajou is discussed in relation to predation risk, resource availability, and convergence with primates of similar fission–fusion socioecology.

We examined data on captive multi-mammate mice (Mastomys coucha) to assess differential maternal investment, and sex-specific resource allocation. Differences in maternal size were induced through manipulation of dietary protein in three treatment groups: low (10%), medium (15%) and high (20%) protein diets. Mothers on the 20% protein diet were significantly larger than those on the lower protein diets, and produced significantly more male than female offspring. Mothers on the lower protein diets did not produce sex-biased litters. There were no sex-specific differences in body size or body tissue composition of pups at birth or at weaning within each treatment group. At weaning, pups in the 20% protein treatment group had proportionately greater amounts of lean tissue and less body lipid reserves than pups in the 10% protein treatment group. Pups in the 20% protein treatment group were also larger, and had faster growth rates, than those in the 10% protein treatment group. Weaned pups in the 15% protein treatment group had the fastest growth rates and greatest energetic reserves of all of the treatment groups. Our results suggest that larger mothers on the high (20%) protein diet show differential investment in the sexes, not by allocating more resources to individuals of that sex, but by producing more male than female offspring.

Population dynamics, breeding patterns and spatial use of the garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus were studied for 3 years in a larch woodland in the Alps. Animals were caught with live-traps, once a month from May to September, and marked with transponder tags. Population density ranged from a minimum of 8.3 individuals/10 ha to a maximum of 49.4 individuals/10 ha when juveniles became trappable. The activity season of the garden dormouse lasts 5 months and allows the animals to reproduce only once a year. Birth rates fell between the middle of June and the middle of August. The dormouse population was characterized by high stability and adults continued to live in the same area from year to year. The main factor limiting the survival of individuals was winter mortality. Survival on the trapping grid through hibernation was 36–50% for adults and c. 32% for juveniles. During the mating season, males and females were aggregated and overlapped their ranges, and after the mating season, they spread out. The tendency of the reproductive females to have separate non-overlapping ranges is indicative of a probable territorial behaviour in females during gestation and lactation.

Distributions of flying-fox (Pteropus alecto and P. scapulatus) were examined in relation to use of habitat in the essentially natural landscape of northern Australia. There were differences between the species in terms of the vegetation used for roosting and foraging, which were related to the reproductive cycle and seasonal variation in temperature, rainfall and the availability of preferred foods. Important habitats of P. alecto varied seasonally and included floodplain, mangrove, monsoon rainforest, Melaleuca open-forest, and Eucalyptus miniata/E. tetrodonta open-forest and woodland. The minimum scale at which conservation of P. alecto should be attempted is in the order of 5000 km2, based on seasonal patterns of habitat use. The size of this area will make conservation via traditional reserves difficult and conservation of important habitats outside reserves will be needed. Habitats protected for the benefit of P. alecto will also benefit P. scapulatus but because P. scapulatus is more mobile, displays greater yearly variation in distribution and is less well understood than P. alecto, appropriate conservation actions are less certain.

Size and shape changes in the skull of South American spiny rats Proechimys spp. were investigated using geometric morphometrics. Six species were studied (P. guairae, P. poliopus, P. trinitatis, P. canicollis, P. mincae and Proechimys sp.) using 12 populations from Venezuela and Colombia. Proechimys poliopus, P. guairae and Proechimys sp. have undergone recent speciation coupled with chromosomal rearrangements. The separate analysis of size and shape showed that the only sexually dimorphic character is size; P. mincae is the smallest species and Proechimys sp. the largest. The populations are all recognizable by their shape, and populations of the same species share a common kind of shape modification. The prevalent non-uniform nature of morphological change in the skull shows how the various structures, such as those involved with audition, feeding and olfaction, are modified differently among species. Consequently, the modification of these different structures over a long time could reflect a progressive diversification of the microniche of each species.

The parasite diversity of Norwegian lemmings Lemmus lemmus was studied in northern Fennoscandia during a moderate population peak in 1997–98. Our aim was to study the parasites of lemmings in their normal mountainous habitats in anticipation of the next great lemming migration in northern Fennoscandia into the coniferous taiga. The blood parasites (Hepatozoon, Trypanosoma and Bartonella) found, Frenkelia sp., which invades the brain tissue of the host, and the pulmonary fungus Chrysosporium (Emmonsia) sp., have been detected previously in the Norwegian lemming, but an unknown fungus, and oocysts of Eimeria spp. have not been reported from L. lemmus before. The Norwegian lemming was found to have an exceptionally species-poor helminth fauna. Only one species of cestode (Andrya sp.) occurring in lemmings at the adult stage was found, and the cestodes of carnivores that commonly parasitize voles at the larval stage were totally absent. The distribution and abundance of vectors, and sympatric definitive hosts of parasites are predicted to have a major role in determining the parasites that lemmings will encounter during their mass movements in new habitats. However, it is predicted that parasitism by adult and larval helminths is not markedly affected by the habitat change associated with the mass migration.