Notes on two brief surveys of the small mammal fauna on the Rooiberg, Ladismith, southern Cape Province

Two brief (3½ days each) trapping surveys of the small mammal fauna in fynbos vegetation on the Rooiberg mountains were conducted at the beginning and end of the rodent breeding season in 1978. Four study areas were selected at different altitudes and in different vegetation types. A total of six rodent, three shrew and one small carnivore species were captured. Estimates of density and biomass are given and were found to be relatively high for fynbos communities at the end of the breeding season (March). Differences were found between the fauna inhabiting north-facing and south-facing slopes

Book Reviews

Book Review 1Book Title: Zoological Catalogue of Australia Vol. 34. Hemichordata, Tunicata, CephalochordataBook Authors: Editors A. Wells & W.W.K. Houston1998. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 298pp.Book Review 2Book Title: Biodiversity dynamics and conservation: the freshwater fish of tropical AfricaBook Author: Christian Léveque 1997. ISBN 0 521 570336. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Book Review 3Book Title: Biology and ecology in southern African estuariesBook Author: Alan K. Whitfield Ichthyological Monographs of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, No.2. 1998. ISBN 0-86810-333-0. Hardcover, 223 pp.Book Review 4Book Title: The Southern synthesis. Fauna of Australia Vol. 5Book Authors: P.L. Beesley, G.J.B. Ross & A. Wells 1998. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.Book Review 5Book Title: The Kingdon field guide to African mammalsBook Author: Jonathan Kingdon1997. Academic Press (locally available at Russell & Friedman. Box 73, Halfway House) 465pp. ISBN 0-12-408355-2.Book Review 6Book Title: Cooperative breeding in mammalsBook Authors: Edited by Nancy G. Solomon & Jeffrey A. FrenchCambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 1997. 390 pp. ISBN 0521 4591 3

Book Reviews

Book Review 1Book Title: Mammoths, Mastodonts & Elephants; Biology, Behaviour, and the Fossil RecordBook Author: Gary HaynesCambridge University Press 1991. 413 pp.Book Review 2Book Title: A Fieldguide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar (Second Edition)Book Authors: Frank Glaw & Miguel VeneesM, Venees & F. Glaw Verlags GbR,  Köln, December 1994. 48O pagesBook Review 3Book Title: The Physiology of Reproduction; Second edition 1993Book Authors: Editors in Chief: E, Knobil & J.D. Neill Associate Editors: G.S. Greenwald, C.L. Markert & D.W. PfaffA two volume set, 3302 pages. Raven Press, New YorkBook Review 4Book Title: The Economics of Non-Human SocietiesBook Author: Gordon TullockPallas Press, March 1994 Tuscon, Arizona. 87 pages.Book Review 5Book Title: Bird Atlas of BotswanaBook Author: Huw PenryUniversity of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg. 319 pages.Book Review 6Book Title: Colobine Monkeys: their Ecology, Behaviour and EvolutionBook Authors: A. Glyn Davies & John F. OatesCambridge University Press, Cambridge UK (1994). Pages xiii + 415.Book Review 7Book Title: Water Relations of Terrestrial ArthropodsBook Author: N.F. HadleyAcademic Press. 1994. 356 page

Distributional range, ecology, and mating system of the Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis) family Bathyergidae

Abstract: Interpopulation variation in life-history patterns are influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Life-history patterns have been intensely studied in the eusocial African bathyergid species, largely neglecting the solitary species. Of these solitary genera, the Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis (Pallas, 1778)) is endemic to South Africa with a disjunct distribution across its range. Knowledge regarding this species is rudimentary; therefore, this study aimed to investigate the current distribution of the species with particular attention to common ecological variables, differences in body size between localities and sexes, as well as its reproduction and mating system. Georychus is a habitat specialist restricted to specific ecological areas. A lack of sexual size dimorphism and correlation between male testis size and number of females in the population, suggests a polygynous mating system, facilitated by the spatial distribution of the sexes. A positive relationship between male testes size and percentage of females in populations sampled suggests that larger sperm reserves (i.e., larger testes) are required in populations with a higher percentage of females. In addition, mating variables (testicular size and litter size) are linked to ecological factors (elevation, aridity, soil type, and vegetation type) that could impact mate searching, mating success, and food resources

Age determination and age structure of a striped fieldmouse, Rhabdomys pumilio, population from the Cape Flats

The validity of predicting the age of Rhabdomys pumilio by age-related changes in tooth appearance, dimensions and position, in body mass and head-body length is tested against 47 known-age mice. Body mass can be used to determine the age of individuals of less than 7 weeks old (≤ 26 g). Thereafter, the only reliable technique of age determination Involves a visual evaluation of the degree of molar tooth wear. Five wear classes are described and used to assess the age of 780 R. pumilio collected during a five-year period. The annual cycles of population age structure and size were dependent on seasonal recruitment and were Influenced by the duration of the peak breeding period. The growth rate, especially of females, is reduced in winter, and maturity appears to be delayed until spring, when breeding commences

Daily and seasonal temperatures in the burrows of African rodent moles

Burrow, soil surface and ambient temperatures were compared in mesic and xeric climates in tropical and sub-tropical Africa. In all the areas studied there was a similar daily pattern of change in the temperature of the soil surface and the burrow air but the magnitude of the changes and the time of day at which maximal and minimal temperatures occurred varied. In all areas, changes in burrow temperature were of a lower amplitude than those above ground. Mean monthly subsoil temperatures show that the annual amplitude of temperature fluctuation is greatest at the soil surface and diminishes with increasing depth. At depths greater than 0,6 m mean annual soil temperatures vary minimally. The depth at which this occurs is to some extent dependent upon soil type and ground cover. The mean daily burrow temperatures also show that the daily amplitude of temperature fluctuation is less with increasing depth. The subtropics show marked seasonal changes in mean burrow and above-ground temperatures whereas the available information in the literature shows that little seasonality occurs in the tropics. We suggest that this regional difference in temperature profiles may lead to the seasonality in breeding and in moulting shown by rodent moles from the subtropics and for the absence of this seasonality in rodent moles from the tropics

case of natural queen succession in a captive colony of naked mole-rats, Heterocephalus glaber

Naked mole-rats occur in large colonies where usually a single queen monopolizes reproduction. Queen succession occurs from within usually as a result of aggressive encounters with subordinate females that queue for reproductive succession following colony instability, which inevitably results in death of either the queen or the challenging conspecific. We monitored a queen succession following the death of the breeding male in a colony of the naked mole-rat, Heterocephalus glaber, prior to, during as well as after replacement of the original breeding female. The response of the pituitary luteotrophs was investigated in the non-reproductive females during this period of instability by the administration of endogenous gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) and evaluating the subsequent luteinising hormone (LH) response in the blood. Larger and older non-breeding females engaged in aggressive encounters that culminated in death. The new breeding successor which arose from within the colony was a large female who continued to procreate. The six  non-breeding females that were killed during reproductive takeover were larger and older females which exhibited elevated basal circulating LH concentrations as well as increased pituitary sensitivity as measured by the amount of releasable LH to an exogenous GnRH challenge. By contrast, non-breeding females that survived the succession were smaller and younger animals with reduced basal and GnRH challenged LH concentrations. Likewise, five non-breeding males which were heavier and older than those non-breeding males which survived were killed. These animals did not, however, show elevated basal or exogenous GnRH challenged LH  concentrations when compared to the surviving males. The non-breeding animals of both sexes which survived the reproductive takeover event represented individuals which posed a minimal threat to the new successor and hence promoted the continuation of the marked reproductive skew that is prevalent in this highly inbred colonial subterranean hystricomorph.Key words: naked mole-rat, Heterocephalus glaber, luteinizing hormone, queen, reproductive replacement, succession

A Case of Natural Queen Succession in a Captive Colony of Naked Mole-Rats,Heterocephalus glaber

16 p.Objetivos: Identificar las características demográficas y patológicas de los pacientes con estenosis laríngea y describir los desenlaces del manejo endoscópico según sus características, elección de técnica quirúrgica y uso de fármacos adyuvantes. Metodología: Cohorte de pacientes con diagnóstico de estenosis laríngea recibiendo manejo quirúrgico endoscópico en el Hospital Infantil Universitario Infantil San José entre el 2010 y 2014. Seguimiento durante 1 año evaluando desenlaces de éxito (mejoría sintomática, retiro de traqueostomía, no requerimiento de cirugía abierta). Resultados: Incluye 38 casos con seguimiento de 47 meses (RIQ 24-62). El 75,7% de pacientes fueron niños, con mediana de edad de 7 meses (RIQ 4-36). Todos tenían compromiso subglótico y 92.7% fueron adquiridas por intubación endotraqueal. Un 71,4% fueron manejados con dilatadores rígidos, asociado a Mitomicina C en el 82%. Se requirió una mediana de 1 dilatación (RIQ 1-2), obteniendo mejoría sintomática en el 74,1%. El 24,3% de los pacientes fueron adultos, con mediana de edad de 32 años (RIQ 30-52). Un 70% fueron manejados con técnicas combinadas (dilatador neumático, microdebridador y radiofrecuencia), asociado a Mitomicina C en el 90%. Se requirió una mediana de 1,5 dilataciones (RIQ 1-2) obteniendo mejoría sintomática en el 100%. Conclusiones: El manejo endoscópico de las estenosis laríngeas en pacientes pediátricos y adultos presenta desenlaces exitosos con menor morbilidad y estancia hospitalaria, inclusive en pacientes con estenosis severas