Habitat selection by vulnerable golden bandicoots in the arid zone

In 2010, vulnerable golden bandicoots (Isoodon auratus) were translocated from Barrow Island, Western Australia, to a predator-free enclosure on the Matuwa Indigenous Protected Area. Golden bandicoots were once widespread throughout a variety of arid and semi-arid habitats of central and northern Australia. Like many small to medium-sized marsupials, the species has severely declined since colonisation and has been reduced to only four remnant natural populations. Between 2010 and 2020 the reintroduced population of golden bandicoots on Matuwa was monitored via capture-mark-recapture data collection which was used in spatially explicit capture-recapture analysis to monitor their abundance over time. In 2014, we used VHF transmitters to examine the home range and habitat selection of 20 golden bandicoots in the enclosure over a six-week period. We used compositional analysis to compare the use of four habitat types. Golden bandicoot abundance in the enclosure slowly increased between 2010 and 2014 and has since plateaued at approximately one quarter of the density observed in the founding population on Barrow Island. The population may have plateaued because some bandicoots escape through the fence. Golden bandicoots used habitats dominated by scattered shrubland over spinifex grass more than expected given the habitat’s availability. Nocturnal foraging range was influenced by sex and trapping location, whereas diurnal refuge habitat was consistent across sex and trapping location. Our work suggests that diurnal refuge habitat may be an important factor for the success of proposed translocations of golden bandicoots.

Host–parasite interactions of rodent hosts and ectoparasite communities from different habitats in Germany

Background Small mammals are important maintenance hosts of ectoparasites as well as reservoir hosts for many arthropod-borne pathogens. In Germany, only a few studies have investigated ectoparasite communities on small mammals in their natural habitats. The aim of this study was to assess the species diversity and parameters influencing the mean intensity and prevalence of macroscopically visible ectoparasites, such as fleas, predatory mites and ticks. Methods A total of 779 small mammals and 3383 ticks were available from earlier investigations for the data analysis of the current study from three differently structured study sites. In addition, fleas and predatory mites were collected from the captured rodents and taxonomically identified. Regression analyses were conducted on the group (ticks/mites/fleas) and species levels using hurdle models for the abundance of ectoparasite groups and a negative binomial model for the abundance of species. Results Nearly 90% of the small mammals analyzed were infested with ectoparasites, with an average of 7.3 specimens per host. Hosts were infested with up to six species of ectoparasites simultaneously. In total, 12 flea, 11 mite and three tick species were detected. Ticks were more prevalent than fleas or mites, with > 80% of the hosts in urban and forest areas hosting ticks and around 60% of hosts presenting fleas, and only 20–40% of hosts presenting mites. Polyparasitism had a statistically significant influence on the prevalence of the investigated tick, mite and flea species, with odds ratios of > 1.0. Trapping location, season and host characteristics had significant influences on some—but not all—of the investigated species. Conclusions The diversity of flea species was unexpectedly high and higher than that reported in comparable studies, which can be explained by the differently structured habitats and regions examined in this study. Polyparasitism was a key influencing factor and had a positive effect on the prevalence and/or abundance of the predominant tick, flea and mite species occurring on small mammals. Season, trapping location, host species and sex of the host species also had an influence on the prevalence and mean intensity of certain, but not all, ectoparasite species.

RATS TRAPPING AT DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION IN LIWA BOTANICAL GARDEN, LAMPUNG, INDONESIA

Motivation/Background: Rat is cosmopolitan animal which means they can live in all type of places worldwide, including highlands, lowlands, rice fields, forests, and settlements. A high rat population can have an impact on losses in various fields of human life. The Liwa Botanical Garden is one of the areas developed for tourism so the presence of rats is important to note. Method: This study aims to determine the success rate of rat catching in Liwa Botanical Garden by different type of trapping location, namely bamboo groves, houses, river banks, and gardens. The traps were set every day for 10 days. The observations included the number of individual, the type of rat, sex and size of the trapped mice. All the data obtained were analyzed descriptively. Results: The live trapping resulted in 11 individuals of small mammals belongs to three species namely Rattus exultant, Hylomys suillus and Suncus murinus. Among the four trapping location, bamboo groves is the place that catches the most, and the females were trapped more than the males.

Social wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) beer trapping in Finland 2008-2012: a German surprise

Beer trapping has been carried out annually in the summer in south western Finland (Turku) from 2008 to 2012 inclusive. In 2012, an additional trapping programme was conducted in southern (Helsinki), central (Kuopio) and northern (Kevo) Finland, which also included another trapping location in the south western (Turku) region. The traps were always presented for seven days in each location. While the median wasp Dolichovespula media (Retzius, 1783) was present in all locations, the common wasp Vespula vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 was found in five out of six locations (20 traps per site). The Kevo individual represents the northernmost record for the median wasp species. The German wasp Vespula germanica (Fabricius, 1793) was surprisingly common in south western and southern Finland. Vespula germanica has a short history of occurrence in Finland and seems to have shifted its range northwards, possibly due to climate change. Some common species of the genus Dolichovespula Rohwer, 1916 were likely underrepresented, because they are not very attracted by beer.