Importance of termites in the diet of the aardwolf Proteles cristatus in South Africa

Analysis of 81 faecal samples collected from seven different localities in South Africa revealed that termites are the most important food item in the diet of the aardwolf. Trinervitermes was found to be the most important genus of termite in the faeces from six of the seven localities, whilst other genera of termites, ants, other insects and millipedes mostly occurred as traces in the faeces. No vertebrate remains or traces of carrion were found.Analise van 81 mismonsters uitsewe verskillende omgewings in Suid-Afrika versamel het getoon dat termiete die belangrikste kositem in die die荤t van die aardwolf is. Trinervitermes is die belangrikste termietgenus in die mismonsters uit ses van die sewe omgewings, terwyl slegs spore van ander termietgenera, miere, ander insekte en duisendpote in die mis waargeneem is. Geen werweldier- oorblyfsels of aas is gevind nie

A note on condition indices for adult male Impala, Aepyceros melampus

No Abstrac

Efficacy of 22Na turnover in ecophysiological studies of carnivores

22Na turnover rates gave overestimates of mean 23Na intake in both brown hyaenas (449,9%, range 54,7-991,2 ) and aardwolf (336,0%, range 118,4-776,0 ). There was also no significant relationship between 22Na turned over and 23Na ingested in either species. It would therefore be impossible to utilize this technique to determine food intake in these species. Further uncertainties pertaining to the dietary content of the predator and the distribution of body sodium in the prey, cast doubts on the applicability of the technique for use in carnivore studies

Plasma androgen concentrations in initial samples from spotted hyaenas immobilized with Zoletil (CI-744) reflect hormonal status estimated by GnRH challenge and immobilization stress response

The use of single samples to assess the androgen status of animals can be problematic owing to extensive short-term fluctuations in the concentrations of these hormones. Thus, this study evaluated a number of estimates for both testosterone and androstenedione status in the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta),namely, initial samples, the immobilization stress response and the response to exogenous GnRH administration, for their mutual consistency. This study found that in animals immobilized with Zoletil and maintained on halothane, all three estimates show a good consistency. Moreover, the large variance in androgen status reported here within the sexes explains earlier contradictory results, and implies that the debate concerning the sex-specific differences in plasma androgens is confounded by other variables such as the reproductive and social status of the individuals included in the analysis

Gamma Ray Fresnel lenses - why not?

Fresnel lenses offer the possibility of concentrating the flux of X-rays or gamma-rays flux falling on a geometric area of many square metres onto a focal point which need only be a millimetre or so in diameter (and which may even be very much smaller). They can do so with an efficiency that can approach 100%, and yet they are easily fabricated and have no special alignment requirements. Fresnel lenses can offer diffraction-limited angular resolution, even in a domain where that limit corresponds to less than a micro second of arc. Given all these highly desirable attributes, it is natural to ask why Fresnel gamma ray lenses are not already being used, or at least why there is not yet any mission that plans to use the technology. Possible reasons (apart from the obvious one that nobody thought of doing so) include the narrow bandwidth of simple Fresnel lenses, their very long focal length, and the problems of target finding. It is argued that none of these is a "show stopper" and that this technique should be seriously considered for nuclear astrophysics.Comment: Presented at "Gamma Wave 2005", Bonifacio, September 2005. To be published in "Experimental Astronomy

On the Dissection of Rectangles into Right-Angled Isosceles Triangles

AbstractWe consider the problem of dissecting a rectangle or a square into unequal right-angled isosceles triangles. This is regarded as a generalization of the well-known and much-solved problem of dissecting such figures into unequal squares. There is an analogous “electrical” theory but it is based on digraphs instead of graphs and has an appropriate modification of Kirchhoff's first law. The operation of reversing all edges in the digraph is found to be of great help in the construction of “perfect” dissected squares

Population biology of house mice (Mus musculus L.) on sub-Antarctic Marion Island

Based on mark-recapture models, house mouse densities on sub-Antarctic Marion Island changed seasonally (up to 10-fold) and differed between habitats. Peak densities occurred towards the end of summer (May). On both the hummocky beach and vegetated lava study grids, densities at the end of summer were significantly higher than those recorded during 1979/80. During the rest of the year densities were significantly lower on these study grids than those recorded during 1979/80. Length of the breeding season (6,5 months) and mean litter size (7,24 ± 1,7) were of the same order as those recorded during 1979/80, as were age and sex specific mortality patterns. The incidence of pregnancy (7,27 litters/season) was higher (not significant) than that recorded during 1979/80. Prenatal mortality was positively correlated with ovulation rate. Differences in annual trends may result from yearly changes in environmental conditions and do not support speculation that these may have resulted from medium-term changes in climatic conditions in the sub-Antarctic

A preliminary note on the effect of season on the reproductive tract of the eland bull Taurotragus oryx

No Abstrac

The occurence of foetal dwarfism in the Angora goat

No Abstrac

Carcass composition of the giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa

No Abstrac