Functional morphology of the female genital organs in the wild ring-tailed coati (Nasua nasua) in the northeastern Peruvian Amazon

2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (7) ◽  
pp. 496-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Mayor ◽  
D. Montes ◽  
C. López-Plana
Keyword(s):  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Reproductive Pattern ◽  
Peruvian Amazon ◽  
Wild Female ◽  
Nasua Nasua ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Vaginal Cytology ◽  
Female Genital

This study examines the functional morphology of genital organs of 45 wild female ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua (L., 1766)) in the Peruvian Amazon. The coati shows a seasonal reproductive pattern, with a concentration of births between January and March. The pregnancy rate during the reproductive season was 64.7%. Mean litter size was 4.2 fetuses and mean ovulation rate was 4.5 follicles per pregnant female, resulting in a low rate of embryo or oocyte mortality of 9.8%. The observed vaginal pattern in our study suggests that vaginal cytology could be a useful indicator for the phase of estrus. The present evaluation provides reproductive information that may be a key component in the development of management strategies for both captive and wild coati populations.

A preliminary study of regeneration in wild populations of threatened endemic Hawaiian palms (Pritchardia; Arecaceae)

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melany H. Chapin ◽  
Mike Maunder ◽  
Katherine E. Horak
Keyword(s):  
Seed Predation ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Human Colonization ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Term Management

Island floras have been subject to catastrophic changes since human colonization; the Hawaiian Islands exemplify this pattern of species decline and ecological change. Archaeological and historic findings support the former existence of coastal, lowland and interior Pritchardia dominated forests. Wild Pritchardia populations are highly fragmented and exhibit poor or absent regeneration in the wild. This study records seed predation, goat grazing, pig damage, and human harvesting on six wild populations of three species and outlines requirements for the long-term management of wild populations. Only one population of the six studied was found to contain seedlings. Recommended conservation management strategies are outlined.

scholarly journals Assessing the Psychological Priorities for Optimising Captive Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Welfare

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake Stuart Veasey
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Asian Elephants ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Human Care ◽  
Species Specific

The welfare status of elephants under human care has been a contentious issue for two decades or more in numerous western countries. Much effort has gone into assessing the welfare of captive elephants at individual and population levels with little consensus having been achieved in relation to both the welfare requirements of captive elephants, or their absolute welfare status. A methodology capable of identifying the psychological priorities of elephants would greatly assist in both managing and assessing captive elephant welfare. Here, a Delphi-based Animal Welfare Priority Identification System© (APWIS©) is trialled to evaluate the reliability of the methodology and to determine the welfare significance of individual behaviours and cognitive processes for Asian elephants (Elaphus maximus). APWIS© examines the motivational characteristics, evolutionary significance and established welfare impacts of individual behaviours and cognitive processes of each species being assessed. The assessment carried out here indicates appetitive behaviours essential for survival in the wild, together species-specific social and cognitive opportunities are likely to be important to the welfare of Asian elephant in captivity. The output of this assessment, for the first time, provides comprehensive species-specific psychological/welfare priorities for Asian elephants that should be used to inform husbandry guidelines, habitat design and management strategies and can also provide a valuable reference tool for Asian elephant welfare assessment. The effective application of these insights could lead to substantive improvements in captive Asian elephant welfare.

Are any populations 'safe'? Unexpected reproductive decline in a population of Tasmanian devils free of devil facial tumour disease

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Farquharson ◽  
R. M. Gooley ◽  
S. Fox ◽  
S. J. Huxtable ◽  
K. Belov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Management ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Significant Decline ◽  
Tasmanian Devil ◽  
Devil Facial Tumour Disease ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Reproductive Rates

Context Conservation management relies on baseline demographic data of natural populations. For Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii), threatened in the wild by two fatal and transmissible cancers (devil facial tumour disease DFTD: DFT1 and DFT2), understanding the characteristics of healthy populations is crucial for developing adaptive management strategies to bolster populations in the wild. Aims Our analysis aims to evaluate contemporary reproductive rates for wild, DFTD-free Tasmanian devil populations, and to provide a baseline with which to compare the outcome of current translocation activities. Methods We analysed 8 years of field-trapping data, including demographics and reproductive rates, across 2004–16, from the largest known DFTD-free remnant population at Woolnorth, Tasmania. Key results Surprisingly, we found a dramatic and statistically significant decline in female breeding rate when comparing data collected from 2004–2009 with data from 2014–2016. Unfortunately we do not have any data from the intermediate years. This decline in breeding rate was accompanied by a subtle but statistically significant decline in litter sizes. These changes were not associated with a change in body condition over the same period. Furthermore, we could not attribute the decline in breeding to a change in population size or sex ratio. Preliminary analysis suggested a possible association between annual breeding rate and coarse measures of environmental variation (Southern Oscillation Index), but any mechanistic associations are yet to be determined. Conclusions The decline in breeding rates was unexpected, so further monitoring and investigation into potential environmental and/or biological reasons for the decline in breeding rate are recommended before the arrival of DFTD at Woolnorth. Implications Our results provide valuable data to support the conservation management of Tasmanian devils in their native range. They also highlight the importance of continued monitoring of ‘safe’ populations, in the face of significant threats elsewhere.

scholarly journals Is canine distemper virus (CDV) a lurking threat to large carnivores? A case study from Ranthambhore landscape in Rajasthan, India

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 14220-14223
Author(s):  
Nadisha Sidhu ◽  
Jimmy Borah ◽  
Sunny Shah ◽  
Nidhi Rajput ◽  
Kajal Kumar Jadav
Keyword(s):  
Canine Distemper Virus ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Canine Distemper ◽  
Preliminary Assessment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Effective Conservation ◽  
Insight Into

Canine distemper virus (CDV) was reported in wild tigers from Russia and recently from India.  Very few studies, however, have been carried out to gain an insight into the prevalence of the disease in India, particularly in the wild.  CDV is the etiological agent of one of the most infectious diseases of domestic dogs.  With the aim of exploring the threat CDV poses for tigers, a preliminary assessment was carried out to determine its prevalence from villages near Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan, India.  Free-roaming dog populations within a 4-km-radius of the park’s periphery were tested for antibodies against CDV.  The seroprevalence of CDV antibodies in the sampled dogs was 86% (95% CI 78–91 %), indicating the probability of the dogs acting as a reservoir and having been exposed to CDV in the past.  The seroprevalence of CAV antibodies was 44.23% (95% CI 35–54 %) and CPV antibodies was 95.19% (95% CI 91–99 %).  This could threaten the tiger populations in the park, considering the close proximity of dogs to tigers.  It is, therefore, crucial to assess disease threats at the domestic-wildlife interface and to establish management strategies for more effective conservation practices in the landscape.  

Reproductive patterns and energy management strategies of females of the fiddler crab Leptuca uruguayensis with short reproductive seasons

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agustina Marciano ◽  
Laura Susana López-Greco ◽  
Karine Delevati Colpo
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Fiddler Crab ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Somatic Growth ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Breeding Strategy ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Income Breeding ◽  
Size Number

Reproduction is a costly process that depends on the management of available resources. Here, we aimed to understand the energetic strategies of females of the fiddler crab Leptuca uruguayensis (Nobili 1901), in a population with short reproductive seasons. For this, we developed an integrated approach to recognize the brooding time, spawning pattern modulated by female size, number of spawns per female, and content of reserves in the ovary and hepatopancreas. Based on the condition of the ovary and hepatopancreas, the reproductive season was divided into three periods. In each of these periods, it was possible to record a spawning event, which was mainly represented by large females. Most of the females had one spawn during the breeding season, and only large females had two spawns, with an interval of approximately two months. We propose that L. uruguayensis presents a mixed capital-income breeding strategy associated with the female size and period of the reproductive season. We conclude that large females make the greatest reproductive effort for the population, because they can have two spawns, whereas medium and small females make a low contribution because they are still investing energy in somatic growth to increase fecundity in the next reproductive season.

scholarly journals Shelter competition between the invasive western tubenose goby and the native stone loach is mediated by sex

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dagmara Błońska ◽  
Jarosław Kobak ◽  
Joanna Grabowska
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Stone Loach ◽  
Tubenose Goby ◽  
Nesting Site ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Proterorhinus Semilunaris

<p>Shelter, regarded as a protection against predators and/or nesting site, constitutes one of the basic resources for which organisms compete in the wild. Ponto-Caspian gobies are a good example of a territorial species, which can have negative impact on native species with similar biology due to competitive interactions. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the potential impact of the invasive Ponto-Caspian western tubenose goby <em>Proterorhinus semilunaris</em> on the native stone loach <em>Barbatula barbatula</em> through shelter competition. We used male and female gobies in their reproductive season to test whether they would be more aggressive towards native stone loach, accounting for different light conditions in a limited shelter competition scenario. The results of our study showed that both tested species occupied the shelter mostly during the daylight. Only male goby reduced the shelter occupancy of stone loach despite the fact that interspecific aggressive acts were very rare. It was associated with the nest guarding by male gobies, considering that the study was conducted during their reproductive season. Based on our results, it is possible that, under natural conditions, male tubenose goby would force stone loach to stay away from the shelter, especially in late spring and early summer, when gobies are in reproductive state. This might affect stone loach populations by devoiding them of optimum sites and increasing their exposure to predators. </p>

Thyroid iodine and serum thyroid hormone levels in wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from central Michigan

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1116-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. E. Watkins ◽  
D. E. Ullrey
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Odocoileus Virginianus ◽  
Wild Female ◽  
Complete Diet ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Total Thyroxine ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Serum Thyroid Hormone ◽  
Thyroid Hormone Levels ◽  
Wild Deer

Three wild, female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) collected in Missaukee County, Michigan, during February and March 1979 had lower (P < 0.01) serum total thyroxine (T4), free T4 (FT4), and triiodothyronine (T3) levels, thyroid iodine (I) concentration, and body weights than 17 captive does fed a complete diet. Thyroid weight per metabolic body weight (body weight (kilograms)0.75) was greater (P < 0.01) in the wild deer. These data indicate malnutrition and incipient I deficiency in the wild deer.

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