摘要:

ABSTRACTA questionnaire, data from a public participation survey, past records and nestbox counts were used to review Dormouse distribution and status in Wales. At the turn of the century Dormice were reported from all Welsh counties. In the three decades from 1940 they were known from only seven 1‐km squares; this rose to 26 squares in the 1970s after a Mammal Society survey. Dormice are currently (1990–93) known from 107 1‐km squares, only 0.5% of Wales, and are clearly rare. They have recently been ‘rediscovered’ in North Wales and Glamorgan. However, despite an increase in recording effort, very few sites have been found in northern Wales, implying a decline in status, and relatively few in the west compared to the east. Large tracts of Dyfed and Powys, where there is some suitable habitat, seem to lack Dormice.More than half of known Dormouse sites are in the deciduous margins of conifer plantations (36%) or in oak Quercus spp. woods (22%), both likely to be poor‐quality habitats. Population densities at three sites are within the range of those measured in England. Forty per cent of known sites had some protected status, but 53% of sites were considered threatened, due to clear felling during forestry operations or lack of coppice woodland management.Dormouse distribution in Wales, on the western edge of the species' distributional range, seems to be strongly restricted by habitat suitability and climate. Many populations are likely to be threatened by replanting of ancient woodland and subsequent management harmful to the Dormouse's needs. Only 11% of ancient woodlands in Wales are large (>20 ha). Dormice may therefore often occur in small woods, where their survival is likely to depend critically on the maintenance of hedgerows between woods. A programme of practical conservation and research is proposed to safeguard Dormouse

ISSN:0305-1838    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1995.tb00449.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTAlthough the Red‐necked Wallaby is native to south‐east Australia and Tasmania, at least four colonies have become established in the UK and two of these still survive. Here we provide the first account of a colony that became established following the deliberate release of four individuals to an island in Loch Lomond, Scotland in 1975. Data presented here show that this population is well established, having grown to at least 26 individuals by 1992. Wallaby diet in winter (a critical period for survival in the other remaining UK population) is composed ofBlaeberry Vaccinium myrtillusand HeatherCalluna vulgaris, each making up 35% of the plant fragments by occurrence in faecal pellets, with grasses making up a further 13%. Two species of parasitic coccidian protozoa and four species of strongyle nematode were found in faecal samples from this colony but the infection rate was low compared with what limited published data exist for this species. The possible reasons for the success of this most northerly of the UK wallaby populations are its isolation, the maritime climate and vegetation structure of the inhabited a

ISSN:0305-1838    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1995.tb00450.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTWe review 69 studies of the diet of BadgersMeles melesL. in the former Soviet Union, using information from 58 Russian‐language papers. Animal foods occurred more frequently in the diet than vegetal foods and constituted, on average, 62% of all intake by volume. The most important individual food categories were insects (30% by volume) and small mammals (20% by volume), which appear to be staple foods of Badgers over virtually the whole of the former Soviet Union. Earthworms were mentioned in only a few reports and never exceeded 5% of the diet by volume. Other animal foods included birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, molluscs and carrion. Fruits were seasonally important in some areas while roots, tubers, bulbs, cereals and nuts were also eaten; but in general, the Soviet literature lacks detailed information about vegetal foods. Many authors comment on seasonal variation in the diet and there was statistically significant seasonal variation in the frequency with which small mammals, reptiles, insects and vegetal foods were eaten. No largescale geographical trends were apparent in the composition of the diet, but foods which were of minor importance overall, such as reptiles, amphibians and molluscs, were sometimes eaten with high frequency in particular localities. The results support the view that Badgers are opportunistic, generalist foragers, with a preference for animal foods when these are availabl

ISSN:0305-1838    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1995.tb00451.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0305-1838    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1995.tb00452.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTThe courtship and sexual behaviour in Macropodoidea (kangaroos, wallabies and rat‐kangaroos) is reviewed. Data from studies on free‐ranging and captive animals are included, because comparisons revealed no significant differences in type and pattern of behavioural elements. The use of sequential analysis permits quantitative comparisons between species as well as between age classes of any given species, with regard to aspects such as fixation, repetition and predictability of displays, but also with regard to homologies in behaviour.Mating systems in macropodoids, depending on distribution of resources for females, are diverse with respect to male/male competition. Correlating with basic types of the mating system, a variable degree of length and complexity in courtship is found. An attempt to compare the degree of ritualization is made by attributing point‐scores (on fixation, exaggeration, incompleteness and predictability of courtship sequences). The resulting point‐score is compared with a phylogenetic tree of the super‐family and with the basic types of mating systems to discuss influences of phylogeny and mate acquisition on ritualization

ISSN:0305-1838    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1995.tb00453.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Book reviewed in this article:The BadgerEdited by Dr Thomas J. Hayden.Antarctic SealsEdited by R. M. Laws.

ISSN:0305-1838    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1995.tb00454.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY