Vocal Repertoire and Intraspecific Variation within Two Loud Calls of the Small-Eared Greater Galago (Otolemur garnettii) in Tanzania and Kenya

© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel. All rights reserved. Vocal repertoires and call structure can provide insights into the behaviour and evolution of species, as well as aid in taxonomic classification. Nocturnal primates have large vocal repertoires. This suggests that acoustic communication plays an important role in their life histories. Little is known about the behavioural context or the intraspecific variation of their vocalisations. We used autonomous recording units and manual recorders to investigate the vocal behaviour and structure of loud calls of the small-eared greater galago (Otolemur garnettii)in Kenya and Tanzania. We describe the vocal repertoire, temporal calling patterns and structure of 2 loud calls of 2 subspecies: O. g. panganiensis and O. g. kikuyuensis. We found considerable intraspecific structural differences in both loud calls. These are congruent with the current subspecies classification. Differences in vocalisations among populations are not consistent with the "acoustic adaptation hypothesis," rather they are likely a result of geographic variation due to isolation caused by vegetational barriers in southern Kenya

Differential impact of anthropogenic noise during the acoustic development of begging calls in Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus)

In many bird species, nestling begging signals play a key role in the interaction between parents and their offspring during development. The information conveyed by begging calls can be disrupted by anthropogenic noise, which is one of the major threats to biodiversity in increasingly urbanized landscapes. Here, we describe the developmental change in acoustic structure of begging calls in nestling Eurasian Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus; begging calls are pure-tone, low-frequency, soft calls during the first days of development and gradually turn into white-noise, hiss-like, powerful calls of broadband frequency. This strong developmental variation highlights the importance of an extended sampling scheme in developmental studies. Furthermore, we pinpoint two phases where begging calls could be most vulnerable to masking by anthropogenic noise. First, during early development, begging calls are very soft and low-pitched, closer to high-intensity noise bands of traffic noise. Secondly, around day 11, begging calls show reduced tonality, which implies higher degradation, and relatively low amplitude, which implies reduced signal range. We encourage future research to describe acoustic development of begging calls in other species, to provide a robust foundation that will make noise mitigation policies more effective

Morphology, Activity Area, and Movement Patterns of the frugivorous monitor lizard Varanus bitatawa

The newly described Varanus bitatawa is a large, frugivorous, monitor lizard endemic to the northern Sierra Madre mountain range in Luzon, Philippines. This study presents the first description of its ecology from tracking and camera trapping. We captured five adult lizards weighing 1.0–5.1 kg with snout-vent lengths (SVL) from 40–66 cm and total lengths from 100–164 cm. Activity areas were non-overlapping with a mean of 12,400 m2 ; males (23,300 m2 ) had larger activity areas than females (5,200 m2 ). Capture and camera trap records indicate that lizards move most frequently between 1000 and 1500. Movements were characterized by straight line distances between trees with a mean distance travelled between trees of 79 m. Mean daily distance covered was 176 m with larger distances covered by males (228 m vs 142 m for females)

Monitoring birds, reptiles and butterflies in the St Katherine Protectorate, Egypt

Fifty-two bird species were recorded during transect and point count surveys of wadis in the St Katherine Protectorate in the mountainous southern region of the Sinai, Egypt. Two species are new to Egypt: Rock Nuthatch (Sitta neumeyer) and Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia). There were several other notable species: migrants such as Arabian Warbler (Sylvia leucomelaena) and Upcher’s warbler (Hippolais languida); and residents such as Verreaux’s Eagle (Aquila verreauxi), Hume’s Tawny Owl (Strix butleri) and Striated Scops Owl (Otus brucei).Estimates of bird density and descriptions of each wadi are given. Species diversity of wadis within the Ring dyke geological feature bounding the central mountain plateau was not significantly different from wadis outside. Species composition and numbers of individuals varied according to the distribution of water sources, natural trees and Bedouin gardens especially in fruit. These features appear to be particularly important as staging posts for migrants. Numbers ofsome birds increased around tourist areas. Observations of seven species of reptile and ten species of butterfly including endemics arealso presented. Recorded numbers of all groups depended heavily on the time of day

Recovery of cirl bunting, <i>Emberiza cirlus</i>, song diversity after translocation

AbstractIn order to improve conservation outcomes translocation or reintroduction of individuals may be necessary. When song learning birds are translocated, changes in the cultural diversity of song repertoires, or abnormal vocalizations, in the new population can be a problem. We monitored song production over 8 years in a reintroduced population of the cirl bunting (Emberiza cirlus). Chicks were removed from nests in Devon, UK, between 2006 and 2011, translocated at 6 days old to be hand‐reared and released in Cornwall, UK. Recordings at the release site in 2011 showed a significantly reduced population repertoire and individuals sang abnormal song types compared to the source populations in Devon. However, recordings in 2019, showed population song repertoire had reached the level of source populations of similar size, and song types were species typical. Our study shows that species can recover from a cultural bottleneck and suggests that, for some song learning birds, if translocation of nestlings is necessary it may not lead to long‐term problems for communication and thus population persistence. For future translocations of nestlings, we recommend that efforts are made to provide tutoring to enable song learning. This may be achieved by providing recordings, but may also include providing adult song tutors. In addition, playback of “normal” songs to translocated populations may aid in development of species typical song repertoires, although care must be taken that this is not disturbing the reintroduced birds.</jats:p

Group composition impacts reproductive output and population viability in captive white rhinoceros

Captive breeding programmes can play an important role in the conservation of species threatened with extinction in the wild. White rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum, have suffered drastic declines due to illegal poaching across their range, and captive populations have the potential to safeguard this species from extinction. However, white rhinoceros birth rates in captivity have been extremely low, and there is substantial variation in breeding success between different institutions. A better understanding of the factors limiting their reproduction in captivity could improve their breeding management and conservation potential. This study used studbook data (n = 467) and comparisons with wild populations in Kenya (n = 236) to assess the breeding performance and viability of the European captive southern white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum simum, population. Our results show that the European population is declining 2% annually under current demographic parameters. On average, just 10% of females calved annually, in comparison to almost 40% across wild populations. To become self-sustaining, this must increase to a minimum of 17%, though reaching this target may lead to additional management challenges. Further analyses using studbook (n = 134 individuals) and multi-institutional questionnaire data (n = 20 institutions) suggest that modifying the social structure of captive groups could improve female breeding success. Institutions housing larger groups had proportionally greater breeding success, and females were more likely to copulate if housed with another breeding female, and more receptive to bulls if housed in a group with a lower mean age. These findings highlight the importance of considering social conditions in captive breeding programmes, particularly for species with complex social systems and low reproductive rates

Multi-individual Microsatellite identification: a multiple genome approach to microsatellite design (MiMi)

Bespoke microsatellite marker panels are increasingly affordable and tractable to researchers and conservationists. The rate of microsatellite discovery is very high within a shotgun genomic dataset, but extensive laboratory testing of markers is required for confirmation of amplification and polymorphism. By incorporating shotgun next-generation sequencing datasets from multiple individuals of the same species, we have developed a new method for the optimal design of microsatellite markers. This new tool allows us to increase the rate at which suitable candidate markers are selected by 58% in direct comparisons and facilitate an estimated 16% reduction in costs associated with producing a novel microsatellite panel. Our method enables the visualisation of each microsatellite locus in a multiple sequence alignment allowing several important quality checks to be made. Polymorphic loci can be identified and prioritised. Loci containing fragment-length-altering mutations in the flanking regions, which may invalidate assumptions regarding the model of evolution underlying variation at the microsatellite, can be avoided. Priming regions containing point mutations can be detected and avoided, helping to reduce sample-site-marker specificity arising from genetic isolation, and the likelihood of null alleles occurring. We demonstrate the utility of this new approach in two species: an echinoderm and a bird. Our method makes a valuable contribution towards minimising genotyping errors and reducing costs associated with developing a novel marker panel. The Python script to perform our method of multi-individual microsatellite identification (MiMi) is freely available from GitHub (https://github.com/graemefox/mimi)

Is caching the key to exclusion in corvids? The case of carrion crows (Corvus corone corone)

Recently, two corvid species, food-caching ravens and non-caching jackdaws, have been tested in an exclusion performance (EP) task. While the ravens chose by exclusion, the jackdaws did not. Thus, foraging behaviour may affect EP abilities. To investigate this possibility, another food-caching corvid species, the carrion crow (Corvus corone corone), was tested in the same exclusion task. We hid food under one of two cups and subsequently lifted either both cups, or the baited or the un-baited cup. The crows were significantly above chance when both cups were lifted or when only the baited cup was lifted. When the empty cup was lifted, we found considerable inter-individual variation, with some birds having a significant preference for the un-baited but manipulated cup. In a follow-up task, we always provided the birds with the full information about the food location, but manipulated in which order they saw the hiding or the removal of food. Interestingly, they strongly preferred the cup which was manipulated last, even if it did not contain any food. Therefore, we repeated the first experiment but controlled for the movement of the cups. In this case, more crows found the food reliably in the un-baited condition. We conclude that carrion crows are able to choose by exclusion, but local enhancement has a strong influence on their performance and may overshadow potential inferential abilities. However, these findings support the hypothesis that caching might be a key to exclusion in corvids