The Sicilian Wolf: Genetic Identity of a Recently Extinct Insular Population

Historically, many local grey wolf (Canis lupus) populations have undergone substantial reductions in size or become extinct. Among these, the wolf population once living in Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, was completely eradicated by human activity in the early decades of the 20th century. To gain a better understanding of the genetic identity of the Sicilian wolf, we used techniques for the study of ancient DNA to analyze the mitochondrial (mt) variability of six specimens stored in Italian museums. We were able to amplify a diagnostic mtDNA fragment of the control region (CR) in four of the samples. Two of the samples shared the same haplotype, differing by two substitutions from the currently most diffused Italian wolf haplotype (W14) and one substitution from the only other Italian haplotype (W16). The third sample showed a previously unreported wolf-like haplotype, and the fourth a haplotype commonly found in dogs. All of the wolf haplotypes analyzed in this study belonged to the mitochondrial haplogroup that includes haplotypes detected in all the known European Pleistocene wolves and in several modern southern European populations. Unfortunately, this endemic island population, which exhibited unique mtDNA variability, was definitively lost before it was possible to understand its taxonomic uniqueness and conservational value.

Bushmeat and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Lessons from Africa

Zoonotic diseases are the main contributor to emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) and present a major threat to global public health. Bushmeat is an important source of protein and income for many African people, but bushmeat-related activities have been linked to numerous EID outbreaks, such as Ebola, HIV, and SARS. Importantly, increasing demand and commercialization of bushmeat is exposing more people to pathogens and facilitating the geographic spread of diseases. To date, these linkages have not been systematically assessed. Here we review the literature on bushmeat and EIDs for sub-Saharan Africa, summarizing pathogens (viruses, fungi, bacteria, helminths, protozoan, and prions) by bushmeat taxonomic group to provide for the first time a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge concerning zoonotic disease transmission from bushmeat into humans. We conclude by drawing lessons that we believe are applicable to other developing and developed regions and highlight areas requiring further research to mitigate disease risk.

Fate of the Mongooses and the Genet (Carnivora) in Mediterranean Europe: None Native, All Invasive?

The Mediterranean Basin (MB), connected by cultural exchanges since prehistoric times, provides an outstanding framework to study species introductions, notably in mammals. Carnivores are among the most successful mammalian invaders. As such, a number of middle-sized representatives (“mesocarnivores”) such as the domestic cat and mongooses have been pinpointed for their deleterious impact on the native fauna. In the MB, three species of mongooses (Herpestidae) and one genet (Viverridae) are or have recently been recorded and none of them has been considered native: the Indian grey mongoose Herpestes edwardsii, the small Indian mongoose H. auropunctatus, the Egyptian mongoose H. ichneumon, and the common genet Genetta genetta. In order to clarify the history of introduction and status of the mongooses and genet in Europe, I review various bodies of evidence including (1) their natural history and relationships with humans in their native ranges, (2) their history of introduction in Europe, (3) the enlightenments—and sometimes contradictions—brought by recent genetic analyses on their dispersal histories, and (4) their range dynamics and ecological interactions with the European fauna. The species of herpestids and viverrids present in Europe fall into three categories: (1) introduced and spreading (G. genetta, H. auropunctatus), (2) introduced and extinct (H. edwardsii), and (3) natural disperser and spreading (H. ichneumon). In view of the reviewed evidence, there is weak support for a deleterious impact of the mongooses and genet on the European fauna (except possibly on the herpetofauna of small Adriatic islands in the case of H. auropunctatus), notably in comparison with genuine invasive species such as the black rat and the domestic cat. Rather than inefficient control programs such as those targeting H. ichneumon in Portugal and H. auropunctatus in Croatia, we suggest that a greater attention is focused on the restoration of large Carnivores (the natural regulators of mesocarnivore populations), mesocarnivore communities and natural habitats, to contribute to a more sustainable way of “managing” the mongooses and genet in Europe.

Assessing uncertainty in sighting records: an example of the Barbary lion

As species become rare and approach extinction, purported sightings can be controversial, especially when scarce management resources are at stake. We consider the probability that each individual sighting of a series is valid. Obtaining these probabilities requires a strict framework to ensure that they are as accurately representative as possible. We used a process, which has proven to provide accurate estimates from a group of experts, to obtain probabilities for the validation of 32 sightings of the Barbary lion. We consider the scenario where experts are simply asked whether a sighting was valid, as well as asking them to score the sighting based on distinguishablity, observer competence, and verifiability. We find that asking experts to provide scores for these three aspects resulted in each sighting being considered more individually, meaning that this new questioning method provides very different estimated probabilities that a sighting is valid, which greatly affects the outcome from an extinction model. We consider linear opinion pooling and logarithm opinion pooling to combine the three scores, and also to combine opinions on each sighting. We find the two methods produce similar outcomes, allowing the user to focus on chosen features of each method, such as satisfying the marginalisation property or being externally Bayesian.

Analysis of a herpetofaunal community from an altered marshy area in Sicily; with special remarks on habitat use (niche breadth and overlap), relative abundance of lizards and snakes, and the correlation between predator abundance and tail loss in lizards

A field survey was conducted in a highly degraded barren environment in Sicily in order to investigate herpetofaunal community composition and structure, habitat use (niche breadth and overlap) and relative abundance of a snake predator and two species of lizard prey. The site was chosen because it has a simple community structure and thus there is potentially less ecological complexity to cloud any patterns observed. We found an unexpectedly high overlap in habitat use between the two closely related lizards that might be explained either by a high competition for space or through predator-mediated co-existence i.e. the prevention of the competitive exclusion of one lizard over the other. We also found a strong positive correlation between predator density and tail damage in lizards and we suggest that tail damage is a direct consequence of snake activity (because no other natural predators occur in the area).

Is sexual size dimorphism in relative head size correlated with intersexual dietary divergence in West African forest cobras, Naja melanoleuca?

Sex-biased differences in dietary habits of snakes are often linked to pronounced sexual size dimorphism in absolute body size or in relative head size. We studied the food habits of free-ranging forest cobras (Naja melanoleuca) in southern Nigeria to find whether any intersexual dietary divergence is present in this species, and measured both museum vouchers and free-ranging specimens to find whether any intersexual divergence in relative head size is present. We demonstrated that: (1) head sizes increases more rapidly with SVL in females than in males, with a result that, at the same body length, the females tended to have significantly larger heads; (2) males and females were nearly identical in dietary habits, both if we consider prey size or prey type; (3) both sexes tended to prey upon relatively little sized preys. It is concluded that traditional evolutionary scenarios for explaining sexual dimorphism and food niche divergence are hardly valid in this case, and we need to look for entirely different hypotheses (e.g. linked to the sexual preference of males for females with larger heads).

Comparative feeding strategies and dietary plasticity of the sympatric cobras Naja melanoleuca and Naja nigricollis in three diverging Afrotropical habitats

Two cobra species are found in the forest block of southern Nigeria (West Africa). However, whereas the one species, the spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis), is often found in strongly altered habitats (including suburban areas), the other, the black forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca), is a typical forest species that is currently subject to a rapid decrease in population abundance because of intensive forest alteration and landscape modification in this part of Africa. We studied whether the body sizes, diets, and feeding strategies of these two species changed in relation to habitat type, and whether the ecological success of the one species versus the other in altered habitats depends upon greater dietary flexibility in prey type or prey size. Therefore, we divided our cobra records into three habitat categories: (1) suburbia, (2) plantation–forest mosaic, and (3) mature forest. We observed that sexual size dimorphism was minor in both species and in all habitat types, and that intersexual differences in prey composition and prey size were also minor. Nevertheless, there was a remarkable ontogenetic change in taxonomic composition of the diet for one species (N. nigricollis, with juveniles taking almost exclusively lizards and adults taking small mammals, birds, and lizards) but not the other. Remarkably, the species that is less adapted to life in suburban areas showed a reduction in mean body size from the forest to suburbia, which may also indicate suboptimal adaptation to strongly altered habitats. Prey size was similar for the two species and in the three habitat types, and the relationships between prey size and predator size were similar. Thus, it seems unlikely that flexibility in prey-size patterns explains the greater colonizing success of N. nigricollis. Nevertheless, and although both species exhibited remarkable dietary flexibility, leading them to prey upon homeotherms as well as heterotherms and upon terrestrial as well as arboreal and even aquatic prey, there were important interspecific differences in prey composition that may explain the ecological success of N. nigricollis. The success of N. nigricollis likely lies not in dietary flexibility but in the consistency with which its juveniles prey upon a single prey type (lizards, mainly Agama agama) that is so abundant in nearly every altered habitat in Nigeria and is a virtually unlimited food resource for young N. nigricollis. However, adults of this species also forage frequently upon commensal rodents and poultry, which may also help it to colonize man-made habitats.

Distribution and status of the Apennine hare Lepus corsicanus in continental Italy and Sicily

The current distribution of Lepus corsicanus (recently considered to be a distinct species from L. europaeus) in peninsular Italy and Sicily is presented in this paper. Our data suggest that L. corsicanus is declining markedly in mainland Italy, and perhaps also in Sicily, and that it should be categorised as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Conservation recommendations for this species are presented.

Ecological relationships in two Afrotropical cobra species (Naja melanoleuca and Naja nigricollis)

Aspects of comparative ecology were studied in the spitting cobra, Naja nigricollis, and the black forest cobra, Naja melanoleuca, from southeastern Nigeria. Both species were common and widely distributed in the study region. Naja melanoleuca inhabited mainly primary and secondary forest patches, but also plantations and suburbia. The two species differed significantly in terms of habitat types frequented. A logistic regression model showed that the presence of N. melanoleuca was significantly influenced by the presence of a unique macrohabitat category (primary swamp-forest), whereas the presence or absence of N. nigricollis did not correlate with any macrohabitat categories. Aboveground activity of both species was lowest during the hottest months of the dry season (December to February) and peaked during the wettest months of the wet season (June and July). Sexual size dimorphism was minor in both species, but N. melanoleuca attained a significantly greater body size than N. nigricollis. The adult sex ratio was approximately 1:1 in both species. Both species preyed on a wide variety of small to medium-sized vertebrates; adult N. melanoleuca fed with similar frequency upon mammals, frogs, and fish, whereas the young fed mainly upon fish. Adult N. nigricollis preyed mainly on lizards and to a lesser degree on mammals and frogs, whereas the young preyed with similar frequency upon lizards, frogs, and fish. Many of the prey of both these cobra species were terrestrial (rodents and shrews), but semiaquatic (frogs) and aquatic (fish) prey were also frequently taken. In both N. melanoleuca and N. nigricollis, egg laying probably occurred over a broad time-span, there was a positive relationship between maternal size and litter size, and reproduction first occurred when individuals attained a low proportion of their maximum size.

Large elapids and arboreality: the ecology of Jameson’s green mamba (Dendroaspis jamesoni) in an Afrotropical forested region

Several aspects of the ecology of Jameson’s green mamba Dendroaspis jamesoni jamesoni (Traill, 1843), a large-sized arboreal elapid snake, are studied in southern Nigeria. This species is common and widespread in the region studied. On the basis of the analysis of both the habitats of capture of the various specimens and the results of a logistical regression model, it seems that this species inhabits a wide variety of habitats (including secondary forest patches and the plantation-forest mosaic), and that its local distribution is not influenced by the presence of any macrohabitat parameter. Green mambas were observed both in the dry and in the wet season, without any statistical bias toward a particular season. Adult sex-ratio was approximately 1 : 1. Males were significantly longer than females. All adult mamba dietary records involved warm-blooded prey (mainly birds), whereas young mambas fed also upon lizards and toads. Nearly all the prey eaten by adult mambas were arboreal, and thus there was no support for the recent hypothesis that adult mambas develop an orientation to forage on terrestrial rodents. Male-male combats and matings were observed in December, January, and February (dry season), and gravid females were collected in April, May, and June (wet season). Females produced 7-16 eggs (mean 10.9), and litter size was Positively correlated with maternal length.