Results of a 4-year study in Sangay National Park, Ecuador, indicated that the mountain tapir Tapirus pinchaque, consumes a wide variety of woody and non-woody plant taxa primarily as a foliose browser, and has a preference for some nitrogen-fixing plants. The more closed-cover Andean forest and chaparral habitats contain a greater abundance of mountain tapir-favoured food than the more open grassland paramo, riverine meadow, and pampas vegetation types. Andean forests are considered the most critical habitat for the survival of this tapir because of their provision of cover and food. Field observations and results of faecal germination experiments show that the mountain tapir assists in the successful seed dispersal of many species of Andean plants. Significant regressions between: (1) seed germination and (2) both the natural logarithm (ln e) of the preference ratio and the dietary abundance of food species indicate a mutualism between the mid to high montane-dwelling mountain tapir and the plants it consumes. A significant relation during the past 2 to 3 million years is proposed between: (1) the crossing of the Panamanian Isthmus and the occupation of the mid to high northern Andes by ancestors of the mountain tapir, and (2) the rise of the Andes and formation of the montane forest and paramo ecosystems above c. 2000 m elevation.

Utah Lake, Utah, U.S.A. harbours an endemic catostomid fish, the June sucker Chasmistes liorus, that is recognized as being endangered. Since 1981, post-1935 representatives of the June sucker have generally been considered to be examples of a self-propagating hybrid. Utah Lake has contained another endemic catostomid, the webug sucker Chasmistes fecundus that was regarded as a true species until 1981 when it was judged to be an extirpated sterile hybrid. Since then, fisheries biologists have not attempted to identify it. This review makes a comparative examination of the published descriptions of the internal and external anatomy of these two species, plus the third catostomid of Utah Lake, the Utah sucker Catostomus ardens. The Utah sucker purportedly crossed with a form of the June sucker that has supposedly since been expunged, to produce hybrids. On the basis of comparative morphology and the consideration of temporal changes in the habitat and piscifauna of Utah Lake, the authenticity of supposed hybridism in the webug sucker, and in the contemporary June sucker, is analysed. The conclusion is reached that there is insufficient evidence to deem these taxa hybrids, or the webug sucker, extinct.

The small population and limited range of the Samoan flying fox Pteropus samoensis has generated concern regarding the survival of this large, diurnally active bat. During 1995–96, surveys were conducted monthly in six study valleys on Tutuila Island, American Samoa, to assess population size. The amount of diurnal and nocturnal activity was investigated to gauge the accuracy of diurnal surveys, and territorial behaviours were observed to determine how they influenced local dispersion. Individuals showed long-term fidelity to a series of roosts and small core areas that were used both nocturnally and diurnally. Territorial defence was observed only of temporary feeding territories in fruiting or flowering trees. Bats defended food resources by aerial patrols and extended aerial chases in which intruders were frequently bitten. Foraging movements changed seasonally, with up to 80% of individuals observed bypassing study valleys. The mean density of bats observed within the study valleys was 6.1 bats/km2 (range = 0.9–18.5 bats/km2). Pteropus samoensis were active both nocturnally and diurnally with greatest activity in late afternoon and evening, 16:00–22:00. Because bats were most active at night, it is probable that daytime surveys of flying bats undercount the number of individuals present. Greatest densities were found in valleys that were contiguous with large tracts of forest inaccessible to people. Most observations of roosting bats were of solitary males on dead branches that jutted above the forest canopy, while females and dependant young roosted below the canopy, hidden within vegetation. Adult male–female pairs were rarely seen together other than during the mating period in August–January. The population has increased following a ban on hunting, but reliance on mature forest makes long-term species survival dependant on protection of the limited mature forest remaining and continued hunting restrictions.

Effect of arboreal activity on nesting site selection in Apodemus argenteus was examined by using nest boxes, a footprint recording technique, and live-trapping. Although the breeding season of A. argenteus was from April to September, the use of nest boxes placed on the trunks of trees was observed only from late July to September when use of the arboreal habitat by A. argenteus became active. Nesting site selection of A. argenteus was closely associated with their spatial activity.

Recent studies show that the availability of prey influences the ecology of otters by regulating breeding, carrying capacity and mortality. Mediterranean habitats experience extreme seasonal variation in water flow – a stress period can occur in summer when water flows and levels are low with long periods of drought, while torrential floods usually occur in autumn and spring. Reservoirs can affect this situation by further influencing water flow regimes and acting as a barrier. Our data show the close relationship between the amount of food (fish) available to otters and their use of a stretch of water and the otter density there. The adjustment of the number of individuals (and carrying capacity) in an area can be seen from their mortality, a decrease in their reproductive success, or migration. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that otters are food-limited. Torrential rains, summer droughts and dams for water management have repercussions for otter populations in as much as they affect their prey-species. Barbels Barbus spp. and, secondarily, nases Chondrostoma spp. are shown to be important to otter ecology and breeding in Mediterranean Iberian rivers. The conservation and management of the otter in these habitats must not ignore the management of food sources. In order not to affect otter populations, the effect of the reservoirs and their dams also must be considered. The release and cessation of floodwater from reservoirs must be progressive and mimic more closely the flow regime of natural rivers.

Differences in facial skeletal form arise in part through differences in growth and in part through differences in embryonic patterning and proportioning. This study examines post-natal facial growth, sexual dimorphism and adult differences within and between two primate species: Cebus apella and Cercocebus torquatus. The species were chosen because they are phylogenetically distant yet present roughly similar adult morphologies. The comparison of ontogenetic, sexual and phylogenetic differences between these species illuminates the relationship between pre-natal proportioning, growth, sexual dimorphism and evolutionary change in the facial skeleton.

The quantitative analytical methods used in this study are taken from the geometric morphometric toolkit. Additionally, facial growth is examined through scanning electron microscope studies of bone growth remodelling. The main findings are that adult sexual dimorphism differs markedly between the studied species. In both species, however, it arises through extension in males relative to females of a common size–shape growth trajectory plus late divergence of growth between the sexes. This similarity contrasts with the findings that growth remodelling in the facial skeleton and size-related shape changes in the face of each species differ. Thus, variations in facial form between species seem to be the result of pre-natally established differences in form plus post-natal growth divergence, whilst the different sexual dimorphisms of these species arise through the action of similar growth processes on divergent growth trajectories. The implications of these findings for the interpretation of adult variations in facial form and growth are considered.

Two expeditions were carried out during September 1997 and March 1999 to confirm the current existence of Mesocricetus auratus in northern Syria. Six females and seven males were caught at different sites near Aleppo. One female was pregnant and gave birth to six pups. Altogether, 30 burrows were mapped and the structures of 23 golden hamster burrows investigated. None of the inhabited burrows contained more than one adult. Burrow depths ranged from 36 to 106 cm (mean 65 cm). Their structure was simple, consisting of a single vertical entrance (gravity pipe) that proceeded to a nesting chamber and at least one additional food chamber. The mean length of the entire gallery system measured 200 cm and could extend up to 900 cm. Most burrows were found on agricultural fields preferentially on leguminous cultures. The distribution of golden hamsters is discussed in association with historical data, soil types, geography, climate and human activities. All 19 golden hamsters were transferred to Germany and, together with three wild individuals supplied by the University of Aleppo, form a new breeding stock.

The emergence of Daubenton's bats Myotis daubentonii from a priory in the north of England was recorded to assess the impact of an annual music festival. Bat emergence was related to measured environmental variables using generalized linear modelling. The temperatures inside and outside the priory were significant predictors of the numbers of bats emerging. Sunset time was a significant predictor of the time of bat emergence. The timing of bat emergence was significantly later during the music festival, but there was no significant difference in the number of bats emerging. The bats left the priory up to 47 min later on festival nights than one would expect them to emerge in the absence of the festival. The results on the patterns of bat emergence were used to make recommendations regarding the timing of the music festival in the following year to minimize detrimental impacts on the bat colony.

The variable keratin appendages of the forestomach epithelium on both sides of the reticulo-omasal orifice, emerging in early summer and disappearing towards the winter in the moose Alces alces L. were studied. During the study period, droppings of the free-ranging moose were collected randomly for faecal particle size distribution analysis. The morphological distribution, size and abundance of keratin end caps was recorded in moose that had died of various causes, and it correlated with the particle size distribution observed in faeces. The fusiform keratin filter of the reticulo-omasal orifice seems to reflect the forage quality and use. It is suggested that this filter prevents the passage of non-fragmented foliage and twig fragments of excessive size during the period of rapid and non-selective intake of high-quality mature forage and it disappears before the short growing season of easily available succulent vegetation with a high nutrient content.

The Asiatic wild ass Equus hemionus, or khulan, once ranged across much of Central Asia, but is now globally threatened. The largest free-ranging populations are now restricted to a 250-km wide area (range 100–400 km) across the Gobi Desert region of southern Mongolia. Over the last 23 years the population has moved further north and east into its former range. Surveys conducted in the 1970s and 1980s estimated that the Mongolian population contained fewer than 15 000 animals and was declining as a result of human exploitation and livestock competition. Aerial surveys (one in autumn 1994, two in spring 1997) were flown as line transects over portions of the khulan's range in Mongolia and ground surveys (five in spring, summer, and autumn 1994–97) were conducted by vehicle and foot. Sample sizes and areas surveyed were larger than previous surveys, and our methods were often more systematic. Population size was estimated at 33 000–63 000 wild asses in Mongolia. Animal density ranged from 4.2±1.3 to 19.1±3.2 per 100 km2. Mean group size ranged from four to 35 animals in the south-western Gobi, four to seven animals in the southern Gobi, and three to 18 in the south-eastern Gobi. Our data suggest that Mongolia is the most important stronghold for the conservation of E. hemionus. Conservation management continues to be challenging because intensive studies on khulan biology and ecology are just beginning. As a free-market economy continues to emerge in Mongolia, pressure from resource extraction interests and nomadic livestock herders to remove the khulan's protected status, permit harvesting and halt population growth and expansion, also makes implementation of research and conservation management programs more imperative.

Satellite telemetry was used to identify the foraging distributions of three congeneric species of albatrosses that nest in the tropics/subtropics. Breeding waved albatrosses Phoebastria irrorata from the Galápagos Islands travelled to the productive upwelling near the Peruvian coast and nearby areas during the rearing period in 1996. Black-footed albatrosses P. nigripes and Laysan albatrosses P. immutabilis nesting in the Hawaiian Islands and tracked during the 1997–98 and 1998–99 breeding seasons also performed long foraging trips, to continental shelf areas of North America. In both years, breeding black-footed albatrosses made long trips to the west coast of North America (British Columbia to California). In 1997–98, breeding Laysan albatrosses travelled primarily to the north of the Hawaiian Islands and reached the waters of the Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska. In 1998–99, Laysan albatrosses had a complete breeding failure, and no long trips by breeders were tracked as a result. These three species mixed short and long trips during the chick-rearing period, but not the brooding period nor incubation period. Waved albatrosses made only long trips during the incubation period. Analysis of movement patterns showed that the core feeding areas during long trips were located over the continental shelves of North and South America. The data on foraging biology of these species have implications for assessing bycatch risk in commercial fisheries.

The taxonomy and distribution of cephalochlamydid cestodes are reviewed. This group is primarily specific to pipid anurans and occurs naturally across sub-Saharan Africa. Paracephalochlamys gen. nov. has two large lateral testes (sometimes doubled or absent on one side) on the anterior margin of each segment, while Cephalochlamys Blanchard, 1908 has three to 23 small testes scattered in lateral fields. Paracephalochlamys papilionis sp. nov. infects Pseudhymenochirus merlini in Sierra Leone. The distribution of Cephalochlamys species is inferred from the previous literature and numerous new records. Cephalochlamys namaquensis (Cohn, 1906) occurs in Xenopus laevis laevis in Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, X. l. poweri (new host record) in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.), X. l. victorianus in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and D.R.C., X. l. sudanensis (new host record) in Cameroon and Sudan, and the ranid anuran, Rana angolensis, in Zimbabwe. Anthropogenic dispersal of C. namaquensis, together with X. l. laevis, has occurred to localities in the south-western United States and Isle of Wight, U.K. Cephalochlamys compactus sp. nov., differentiated from C. namaquensis by a less well developed median ovarian cavity and more compact vitellarium, occurs in Xenopus muelleri in Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, D.R.C., Zimbabwe and South Africa, X. borealis in Kenya, X. clivii in Ethiopia, R. angolensis in Ethiopia and R. occipitalis in Nigeria. Cephalochlamys representatives of uncertain specific status have been recorded in X. gilli (new host record) in South Africa, X. pygmaeus and X. fraseri-like hosts (new host records) in the D.R.C., X. tropicalis (new host record) in Nigeria and R. occipitalis in Gabon. Despite the ability of some species to infect distantly related amphibians, the distribution of cephalochlamydid taxa amongst their principal hosts, pipids, can be related to the allopolyploid evolution of this anuran family.