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Breaking the constraint on the number of cervical vertebrae in mammals: On homeotic transformations in lorises and pottos

Mammals almost always have seven cervical vertebrae. The strong evolutionary constraint on changes in this number has been broken in sloths and manatees. We have proposed that the extremely low activity and metabolic rates of these species relax the stabilizing selection against changes in the cervical count. Our hypothesis is that strong stabilizing selection in other mammals is largely indirect and due to associated pleiotropic effects, including juvenile cancers. Additional direct selection can occur due to biomechanical problems (thoracic outlet

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Diversity, distribution and conservation of land mammals in Mauritania, North-West Africa

Detailed knowledge about biodiversity distribution is critical for monitoring the biological effects of global change processes. Biodiversity knowledge gaps hamper the monitoring of conservation trends and they are especially evident in the desert biome. Mauritania constitutes a remarkable example on how remoteness and regional insecurity affect current knowledge gaps. Mammals remain one of the least studied groups in this country, without a concerted species checklist, the mapping of regions concentrating mammal diversity, or a national assessment of their conservation status.

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A ghost fence-gap: surprising wildlife usage of an obsolete fence crossing

Wildlife fencing has become more prevalent throughout Africa, although it has come with a price of increased habitat fragmentation and loss of habitat connectivity. In an effort to increase connectivity, managers of fenced conservancies can place strategic gaps along the fences to allow wildlife access to outside habitat, permitting exploration, dispersal and seasonal migration. Wildlife can become accustomed to certain movement pathways and can show fidelity to these routes over many years, even at the path level. Our study site

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Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data

Aim: Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert-based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species. Location:

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Occurrence records of small and medium sized mammal species in Tana River Basin, Kenya

The dataset represents 501 mammal records. This include 213 occurrence records of mammal species recorded in a field expedition undertaken in mid Tana River Basin (TRB) ecosystem (Bangal, Garissa, Bura and Hola), in between 1st to 7th November 2019. A total of 38 different small and medium sized mammal species of 11 orders were recorded from above expedition. Order Cetartiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates), Carnivora (Carnivorans) and Primates (Primates) were the most common. Of the 213 mammal observations counted in the entire

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Palaeoecological and palaeoenviromental reconstruction of the upper Miocene vertebrate karstic site of Corral de Lobato, central-eastern Spain

We report stable isotopic analyses for dental enamel of fossil mammals from the Miocene (~7.1 Ma, MN13, middle Turolian) Corral de Lobato locality, Guadalajara, Spain, and compare it with adjacent localities of the Iberian Range. This multidisciplinary research allows the assessment of the palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological and palaeoclimatic conditions that were in place in the central-eastern area of the Iberian Peninsula at this time. Herbivore tooth enamel δ13C values point to the presence of two environments: open woodland/arid C3 grassland and

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The adaptive significance of coloration in mammals

Coloration is a diagnostic tool for identifying mammals, but inquiry into its function has lain dormant for almost a century. Recently, the topic has been revived and modern phylogenetic methods have been applied to large data sets, allowing researchers to assess, for the first time, the relative importance of three classic hypotheses for the function of coloration in mammals: concealment, communication, and regulation of physiological processes. Camouflage appears to be the single most important evolutionary force in explaining overall coloration

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The Isotopic Ecology of East African Mammals

The stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen have been used to trace diet and habitat selection of the larger mammals of East Africa. 238 individuals of 43 species from montane forests and grasslands in Kenya and Tanzania have been analyzed. The results show that carbon isotopes discriminate between (1) grazers and browsers in savanna grasslands, (2) forest floor and savanna grassland herbivores and (3) forest floor and forest canopy species. Nitrogen isotopes discriminate between (4) carnivores and

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A Model for Generating Aspects of Zebra and Other Mammalian Coat Patterns

A model is put forward which is capable of generating chemical maps whose concentration contours are similar to the patterns seen on the flanks of zebras, cats and other mammals. The model derives from the reaction diffusion kinetics invented by Turing (1952) and it is assumed that the necessary molecular apparatus is present in each cell of a two-dimensional array and that the cells are in diffusion contact. The model was expressed in differential equation form and solved digitally under

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A survey of wildlife populations at Wassaniya forest reserve in Sokoto State, Nigeria

A survey of wildlife populations was conducted between May to September 2009, at Wassaniya forest reserve between Tangaza and Gudu Local Government Areas of Sokoto State, Nigeria. The study area was purposively divided into four main plots based on vegetation density and human interference. Three sample plots each measuring 0.5 ha were randomly selected and demarcated in each main plot for data collection and as replicates. Data was collected using both direct and indirect methods. The direct method was by

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