Urban wild meat consumption and trade in central Amazonia

The switch from hunting wild meat for home consumption to supplying more lucrative city markets in Amazonia can adversely affect some game species. Despite this, information on the amounts of wild meat eaten in Amazonian cities is still limited. We estimated wild meat consumption rates in 5 cities in the State of Amazonas in Brazil through 1046 door-to-door household interviews conducted from 2004 to 2012. With these data, we modeled the relationship between wild meat use and a selection of socioeconomic indices. We then scaled up our model to determine the amounts of wild meat likely to be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers in central Amazonia. A total of 80.3% of all interviewees reported consuming wild meat during an average of 29.3 (CI 11.6) days per year. Most wild meat was reported as bought in local markets (80.1%) or hunted by a family member (14.9%). Twenty-one taxa were cited as consumed, mostly mammals (71.6%), followed by reptiles (23.2%) and then birds (5.2%). The declared frequency of wild meat consumption was positively correlated with the proportion of rural population as well as with the per capita gross domestic product of the municipality (administrative divisions) where the cities were seated. We estimated that as much as 10,691 t of wild meat might be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers within central Amazonia, the equivalent of 6.49 kg per person per year. In monetary terms, this amounts to US$21.72 per person per year or US$35.1 million overall, the latter figure is comparable to fish and timber production in the region. Given this magnitude of wild meat trade in central Amazonia, it is fundamental to integrate this activity into the formal economy and actively develop policies that allow the trade of more resilient taxa and restrict trade in species sensitive to hunting.     

Female mate choice,male migration,and the threat of infanticide in ringtailed lemurs

Summary Paternity determination by DNA fingerprinting is reported for a long-term study group of semi-free-ranging ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta), together with behavioral data collected independently. In 1985, fraternal twin males unfamiliar and unrelated to the resident ringtailed lemurs were introduced to the forest enclosure. Every mature resident male attacked the immigrants frequently across the next 5 months, whereas no female ever did. All observed estrous females showed sexual proceptivity toward the' immigrant males; three solicited copulation exclusively from them. Each female repelled sons, matrilineal brothers, and other resident males from attempting to copulate. Over a 5-year period, four of five females always reproduced with distantly related or unrelated males (Fig. 3). Despite low dominance status throughout the case study, an immigrant sired the off-spring of each female that was proceptive toward only the immigrants, demonstrating that female choice can override male dominance relations to determine reproductive success among male ringtailed lemurs. In the birth season following the 1985–1986 immigration, each of four females targeted one or two particular adult males for consistent attack across the period of infant dependency, beginning days after parturition. Paternity determinations, colony records, and subsequent study of two groups allowed 66 cases of this mode of maternal aggression to be documented. In each, the targeted male had not fathered the protected infant, and almost invariably, he was unrelated to the infant's mother. New mothers attacked every male that immigrated following their infants' conceptions and a few familiar males with whom they had not been seen to copulate during the previous breeding season. Recent attempts by immigrant males to kill infants confirmed the anti-infanticidal function of maternal targeting of males. All results were interpreted together to advance a prospective model of the mating system of ringtailed lemurs. Female avoidance of incest has led to the evolution of natal male dispersal. Subsequently, males should prefer to transfer into groups containing few and/or status-vulnerable males. We predict that, by killing others' infants, males simultaneously increase chances for success in females' next reproductive efforts and terminate current fathers' reproductive eligibility in a group. Basic hypotheses that await testing are that (a) raising an infant through weaning reduces a female's chances for reproductive success the following year and (b) males that demonstrate the capacity to promote the survival of infant offspring are most attractive to females as mates.     

Episodic targeting aggression and the histories of Lemur social groups

Summary Periodically, members of captive Lemur social groups target others for intense aggression. Over periods of several days, weeks, and sometimes months, one to three lemurs persistently follow and attack one or two particular group mates until the targets no longer associate with their group. Episodic targeting aggression is nonrandom with regard to time of year, group size and sex ratio, and the kinship, age, and gender of targets. The vast majority of episodes observed over the past 18 years at the Duke University Primate Center (DUPC) has occurred between like-sex adolescents and adults in conjunction with estrous cycling or infant births and most often after groups have reached apparent critical sizes. When unrelated adults have shared group membership, members of one family have almost invariably first targeted members of the other. In several groups, entire matrilines have gradually been evicted by members of another across periods of several years. When non-relatives have been absent, lemurs have evicted relatives that had previously formed separate subgroups. Episodic targeting aggression has been documented at the DUPC in over a dozen different social groups, comprising three different species. The phenomenon occurs repeatedly in groups held in a variety of large outdoor runs as well as in outdoor enclosures providing naturalistic space and physical structure. More-over, an appreciable number of recent observations in Madagascar suggest that the patterns we have documented well represent the phenomenon as it occurs in the wild. Targeting aggression based on group size, sex ratio, kinship and gender has been reported for no other primate taxon. We suggest that episodic targeting aggression reflects heretofore undescribed tactics in reproductive competition that may characterize many lemurid and indriid taxa. As such, the phenomenon has broad implications for the structure of lemur social groups and populations. Provisional models of the social dynamics and histories of Lemur social groups are presented for evaluation during upcoming field work.     

Evaluating day–night changes in shallow Mediterranean rocky reef fish assemblages by visual census

Ecological information on coastal fish distribution patterns and habitat use can be greatly improved by nocturnal samplings and observations. To this purpose, the structure of a Mediterranean fish assemblage inhabiting the shallow rocky littoral of Linosa Island (Sicily Strait, Italy) was examined by using visual census to detect possible diel variations in species composition and abundance. Day–night fish distribution patterns were investigated by multivariate and univariate analyses. Overall, 42 fish taxa belonging to 19 families were recorded: 35 during the day and 24 during the night. Seventeen species were common to both diurnal and nocturnal assemblages. Within the diurnal assemblage, Chromis chromis was the most represented species (37.2%), followed by Thalassoma pavo (23.2%) and Sparisoma cretense (10.8%). Within the nocturnal assemblage, the most abundant taxon was Atherina spp. (33.9%), followed by Apogon imberbis (26.4%) and Boops boops (11.5%). Our results indicated wide variation in the abundance and species composition during the day and during the night. Multi Dimensional Scaling plot showed a clear-cut separation between the two assemblages and analysis of similarities found significant differences as well. SIMPER analysis revealed that ten species individually contributed by more than 2.5% to the dissimilarity between diurnal and nocturnal assemblages, T. pavo, C. chromis and S. cretense being the first three species in order of decreasing percentage. ANOVA performed on species richness and fish abundance detected significant differences between diurnal and nocturnal assemblages, the latter showing far lower average values for both variables.     

An alternative mechanism to reduce intracapsular hypoxia in ovicapsules of Fusitriton oregonensis (Gastropoda)

Oxygen supply inside egg masses has been reported as a constraint of embryo development. Many species that enclose their eggs in jelly masses or ovicapsules have strategies to avoid or reduce intracapsular hypoxia. In some amphibian species, a decrease in the wall thickness of the egg capsule over time produces an increase in oxygen conductance of the wall, reducing the problem of intracapsular oxygen limitation. Previous studies of gastropods have reported a decrease in the thickness of the capsules during development. However, there are no studies relating capsule thinning to the oxygen limitation problem in this group. This study links the thinning of egg capsules with oxygen diffusion as a possible mechanism to reduce or avoid hypoxia inside the capsules of the gastropod Fusitriton oregonensis. Capsule thickness, capsule area, oxygen partial pressure inside and outside the capsule, and oxygen consumption of the embryos at early and late developmental stages were measured. The conductance and the diffusion coefficients of the capsule were estimated using these measurements. Results showed that (1) capsule thickness decreased throughout development by about 50%, (2) oxygen consumption of embryos increased from early to late stages, (3) oxygen partial pressure inside the capsule did not change during development, (4) conductance coefficient increased with time, and (5) estimation of diffusion coefficient was lower than amphibian egg jelly, shark capsules, egg fishes, and eggs of giant cuttlefish. The reduction in the thickness of the capsule wall and the associated increase in its conductance during embryonic development may reduce oxygen constraints, especially at late developmental stages.     

Promoting late-fall establishment of tall fescue with artificial soil covers to minimise soil erosion

Frequently, turfgrass seedings have been sown in the late fall, which usually results in a poor vegetative stand and the possibility of soil erosion the following spring. This study evaluates the effects of a spun-bonded polyester soil cover placed over a late-fall seeding on subsequent seedling growth and overwintering. Clemfine, Mustang, Rebel, and Rebel II cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) were sown on a silt loam soil in late fall (on 17 October in 1989 and 19 October in 1990) and allowed to grow with and without a soil cover until June. In the spring the temperature under the soil cover was greater than 2°C warmer than the uncovered soil from mid-April through May. Over the winter, leaf and root weights showed no detrimental effects from being under the cover. Individual cultivars grown under the cover produced 2 to 11 times greater leaf yields and 38 to 270% better stand establishment than those sown on the exposed soil. However, plant winter injury was observed under the soil cover in small soil depressions which accumulated water originating from thawing. All cultivars had similar amounts of growth under the cover. However, leaf yields for Rebel were 30-55% less than the other cultivars when grown under the cover and this was probably related to a low seed germination rate. The covers also promoted weed growth, which comprised from 34–65% of total leaf weights and was found to be negatively correlated (r = –0.66) to the yields of the sown grass. The soil cover was found to be beneficial to improving the success of seedling establishment of late seedings of tall fescue in cold areas.     

Unusual echolocation behavior in a small molossid bat, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Molossops temminckii,</Emphasis> that forages near background clutter

When searching for flying insects, Molossops temminckii uses unusual echolocation calls characterized by upward modulation of frequency vs time (UFM). Call frequency increases asymptotically in the relatively long (∼8 ms) pulses from a starting frequency of ∼40 kHz to a long narrowband tail at ∼50 kHz. When approaching a prey, the bat progressively increases the duration of calls and intersperses in the sequence broadband downwardly frequency-modulated signals with a terminal frequency of about 53 kHz, which totally replaces the UFM signals at the end of the approach phase. The sequence progresses to a capture buzz resembling those from other molossid and vespertilionid bats. The M. temminckii wing morphology is characterized by an average aspect ratio and a high wing loading, suggesting that it is more maneuverable than the typical Molossidae but less than typical Vespertilionidae. M. temminckii regularly forages near clutter, where it needs to pay attention to the background and might face forward and backward masking of signals. We hypothesize that the UFM echolocation signals of M. temminckii represent an adaptation to foraging near background clutter in a not very maneuverable bat needing a broad attention window. The broadband component of the signal might serve for the perception of the background and the narrowband tail for detection and perhaps classification of prey. Bats may solve the signal masking problems by separating emission and echoes in the frequency domain. The echolocation behavior of M. temminckii may shed light on the evolution of the narrowband frequency analysis echolocation systems adopted by some bats foraging within clutter.     

Environmentally friendly bleaching of cotton using laccases

A new strain of Trametes hirsuta was found to oxidize various cotton flavonoids. Here we show that laccases of this organism were responsible for oxidation of the flavonoids morin, luteolin, rutin and quercetin. Out of two laccases produced by T. hirsuta (60.7 and 51.0 kDa) the more prominent 60.7 kDa laccase was purified and showed K _m and k _cat values of 75.5, 20.9 and 49.4 μM and 72.5, 96.3 and 32.7 s⁻¹, hours on ABTS, syringaldazide and DMP, respectively. Pretreatment of cotton with the T. hirsuta laccase resulted in a whiteness increase of 8.5%.