An Ecological Study of Sminthopsis crassicaudata (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae) II.* Behaviour and Social Organization

1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
SR Morton

The behaviour of Sminthopsis crassicaudata was studied by mark-recapture techniques at Werribee, Vic., from 1972 to 1976. Observations of nocturnal behaviour were also made at Fowlers Gap Station, N.S.W. S. crassicaudata usually nest solitarily in the breeding period (August–March), but up to 70% of individuals share nests in groups of from two to eight during the non-breeding period (April–July). These nest-sharing groups are impermanent and appear to be random aggregations of individuals. Most nest-sharing in the breeding period involves pairs of a male with an oestrous female. Both males and females inhabit large overlapping ranges in the breeding and non-breeding periods. Males seem to move their nest sites more frequently than females; this supposition is supported by observations of nocturnal behaviour. The ranges of individuals are unstable in space and are best described as 'drifting home ranges'. The only animals that may become territorial are breeding females, and these probably defend only a small area around the nest. Males do not appear to defend their range at any time. The adaptive significance of the social system is discussed. * Part I, Aust. Wildl. Res., 1978, 5, 151–62.

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 405 ◽  
Author(s):  
TM Bubela ◽  
DCD Happold

Mastacomys fuscus is a grass-eating rodent of south-eastern Australia that lives mainly in subalpine habitats where snow covers the ground for about four months of the year. Radiotelemetry revealed that in summer the females were territorial. Home ranges of males were larger than those of females and overlapped extensively with the home ranges of other males and with the home ranges of up to three females. In winter, males and females huddled together in communal nests. The locations of nest sites, cover, water and grass also determined the spatial organisation of individuals. The evidence suggests that M. fuscus is not monogamous, but there were insufficient data to determine whether polygyny or promiscuity is the preferred mating system. The social organisation of this species, solitary in summer and communal in winter, is a response to the cold snowy winters and the limited time for reproduction in summer. The social organisation of M, fuscus is different from that of the other conilurine rodents of Australia, but similar to that of rodents that live in other alpine regions of the world.


Behaviour ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 64 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 305-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.C. Thompson

AbstractThe social system of the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) was investigated. The area used by males and females expands after weaning, then stabilizes and remains the same in location and extent for life. The home range of an established individual is broadly overlapped by the home ranges of several other animals. Each established individual is regularly in contact with only a limited number of recognized neighbours with which it has well-established dominance relationships. Individual recognition promotes lowered aggressive levels between neighbours which allows each squirrel to use its entire home range evenly. Aggressive behaviour is directed toward strange squirrels, either young or immigrants, which attempt to enter this system. Thus, the established individuals hinder the settlement of new animals. Young squirrels born in a given locality have a greater chance of establishing than do immigrants. The relevance of the findings to population regulation is discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Dique ◽  
Jim Thompson ◽  
Harriet J. Preece ◽  
Deidré L. de Villiers ◽  
Frank N. Carrick

Koala dispersal was investigated as part of a detailed ecological study of a nationally significant koala population located 20 km south-east of Brisbane, Queensland. From 1996 to 2000, 195 koalas from three sites were captured and fitted with radio-collars. A total of 40 koalas (23 males and 17 females) dispersed from these sites. Most (93%) dispersing individuals were 20–36 months of age. Three adult females (more than 36 months old) dispersed and no adult males dispersed during the study. A significantly higher proportion of young males dispersed than females. Dispersal occurred between June and December, with most dispersal of males commencing in July and August and that of females commencing between September and November prior to, and early in, the annual breeding season. The mean straight-line distance between the natal and breeding home ranges for males and females was similar and was measured at 3.5 km (range 1.1–9.7 km) and 3.4 km (range 0.3–10.6 km) respectively. Dispersing males and females tended to successfully disperse south and west of their natal home ranges and were generally unable to successfully disperse to urban areas within the study area, as a high proportion of the mortality of dispersing koalas was associated with attacks by domestic dogs and with collisions with vehicles on roads. Information from other studies indicates that most young koalas disperse from their natal areas. It is likely that the social behaviour and mating systems of koala populations provide mechanisms for young koalas to disperse. The potential role of dispersal in the dynamics of regional koala populations is discussed.


1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
SR Morton

Reproduction in Sminthopsis crassicaudata was studied at three sites in south-eastern Australia: Werribee, Vic., Fowlers Gap Station, N.S.W., and Willandra National Park, N.S.W. At Werribee, the breeding season covered the period July-February. Individual females attempted to raise two litters during this season; there was no significant difference between the numbers of young weaned from first and second litters. Some females bred in two seasons, but it is unlikely that any males did so. At Fowlers Gap Station, breeding occurred in the same months as at Werribee, but there was variation between years in the onset of reproduction. At Willandra National Park, breeding occurred in the period June-December. There was no evidence of unseasonal, opportunistic breeding at either of these sites. As judged by pit-trapping, populations of invertebrate animals peaked in summer at Fowlers Gap Station, and probably at Werribee. Changes in weight and fat reserves also suggest that autumn and winter were periods of depressed food supply. The adaptive significance of the double-litter system and polyoestry is discussed. It is concluded that the overall biology of S. crassicaudata reflects adaptation to a fluctuating food supply. * Part II, Aust. Wildl. Res., 1978, 5, 163–82.


1980 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-162
Author(s):  
VERNON L. ALLEN
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Gulbarshyn Chepurko ◽  
Valerii Pylypenko

The paper examines and compares how the major sociological theories treat axiological issues. Value-driven topics are analysed in view of their relevance to society in times of crisis, when both societal life and the very structure of society undergo dramatic change. Nowadays, social scientists around the world are also witnessing such a change due to the emergence of alternative schools of sociological thought (non-classical, interpretive, postmodern, etc.) and, subsequently, the necessity to revise the paradigms that have been existed in sociology so far. Since the above-mentioned approaches are often used to address value-related issues, building a solid theoretical framework for these studies takes on considerable significance. Furthermore, the paradigm revision has been prompted by technological advances changing all areas of people’s lives, especially social interactions. The global human community, integral in nature, is being formed, and production of human values now matters more than production of things; hence the “expansion” of value-focused perspectives in contemporary sociology. The authors give special attention to collectivities which are higher-order units of the social system. These units are described as well-organised action systems where each individual performs his/her specific role. Just as the role of an individual is distinct from that of the collectivity (because the individual and the collectivity are different as units), so too a distinction is drawn between the value and the norm — because they represent different levels of social relationships. Values are the main connecting element between the society’s cultural system and the social sphere while norms, for the most part, belong to the social system. Values serve primarily to maintain the pattern according to which the society is functioning at a given time; norms are essential to social integration. Apart from being the means of regulating social processes and relationships, norms embody the “principles” that can be applied beyond a particular social system. The authors underline that it is important for Ukrainian sociology to keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of axiology and make good use of those ideas because this is a prerequisite for its successful integration into the global sociological community.


2014 ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Pamela Labra Godoy ◽  
Rodrigo Fuentealba J.

Resumen: Los procesos de formación de profesores han estado fuertemente influenciados por una lógica aplicacionista y una visión fragmentada y prescriptiva de la naturaleza del conocimiento. Se puede observar una enseñanza basada en la oralidad, en un bajo trabajo práctico y una escasa vinculación con la realidad educativa y los requerimientos del contexto. Se hace necesario que en dichos procesos se reconozca a los futuros profesores como sujetos de conocimiento con quienes se debiese generar una estructura curricular práctica activa y reflexiva.El reconocer la complejidad de los procesos que se llevan a cabo en el contexto educacional, hace necesario transitar desde una lógica instrumental/mecanicista, proceso-producto a una perspectiva epistemológica donde se rescate el dinamismo del ámbito educacional y la complejidad del sistema social en que éste se encuentra inserto. Palabras clave: Formación Inicial Docente - Construcción de Conocimiento Profesional – Prácticas – Reflexión Profesional Abstract Teacher education processes have been heavily  influenced by application logic, as well as, to a fragmented and prescriptive vision of the nature of knowledge, instead of the construction of it. A teaching process based on the predominance of oral discourse, low practical work, and a limited relation with educational reality and context needs, has been  observed. It seems necessary to recognize student - teachers as knowledge subjects with whom there should be an active/reflective curricular activity, and also recognize the complexity of the processes that take place in the educational context. In other words, it is necessary to move from an instrumental, process/ product perspective towards an epistemological perspective able to recognize the dynamism in the educational system and the complexity of the social system in which it is immersed. Key Words: Initial Teacher Formation- Professional Knowledge Construction- Practicum- Professional Reflection


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-149
Author(s):  
E. Chelpanova

In her analysis of books by Maya Kucherskaya, Olesya Nikolaeva, and Yulia Voznesenskaya, the author investigates the history of female Christian prose from the 1990s until the present day. According to the author, it was in the 1990s, the period of crisis and transformation of the social system, that female Christian writers were more vocal, than today, on the issues of the new post-Soviet female subjectivity, drawing on folklore imagery and contrasting the folk, pagan philosophy with the Christian one, defined by an established set of rules and limitations for the principal female roles. Thus, the folklore elements in Kucherskaya’s early works are considered as an attempt to represent female subjectivity. However, the author argues that, in their current work, Kucherskaya and other representatives of the so-called female Christian prose tend to choose different, objectivizing methods to represent female characters. This new and conservative approach may have come from a wider social context, including the state-imposed ‘family values’ program.


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