Radiotelemetry

Because ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) are elusive species in the wild, little is known of them. This study determines
the home range and circadian activity of this feline in the Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. This island has a wet
tropical rainforest. Using wooden box traps and Tomahawk traps, between July 2001 and May 2004 15 ocelots were
captured, and three other ocelots in 2009. Once captured, they were sedated and VHF collars were fitted, for the ones
captured in 2009 we fitted GPS collars. Camera-traps were used to get additional information from individuals without
collars and a more reliable data interpretation. The average home range of ocelots, obtained by radio-telemetry was 3.48
km2 (DE: 3.17) for males and 1.48 km2 (DE: 0.65) for females, although an adult male used an area of 9 km2. Males
traveled on average 1.15 km per day and females 0.7 km. Through telemetry and camera traps, we found that ocelots were
primarily nocturnal (Night = 63.2%; Day = 36.8%). Our results are similar to other studies; however, they suggest that
BCI ocelots have smaller home ranges due to the high availability of food and also by the high density of females within
the home ranges of males.

A major effort in species conservation is the construction of life-history models to better predict, identify, and respond to population changes. Yet demographic studies linking individual, environmental, and ecological factors to survival are rare. We used radio telemetry to monitor 47 adult Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) during five active seasons and four overwinter periods from April 2007–November 2011 in south-central Indiana, USA. The study period serendipitously encompassed an oak (Quercus spp.) mast failure and subsequent 50% decline in prey abundance, allowing us to test hypotheses about ecological effects on survival. We detected 10 mortalities. The causes of mortality during active seasons included predation (n  =  5), human persecution (n  =  2), and vehicle strike (n  =  1). Variation in active season survival was explained best by the interaction of sex and prey availability along with an effect of marking cohort. Seasonal survival estimates ranged from 0.720–0.983 with female survival decreasing by at least 15% the year after prey availability declined. Overwinter survival was high in general (n  =  2 mortalities), with estimates weakly affected by sex (male  =  0.966; female  =  0.990) and decreasing slightly with colder monthly temperatures. Although ecological effects were most powerful in our study, 30% of mortalities were associated with human activities. Focused education and outreach efforts may be useful for improving survival of Timber Rattlesnakes.

The European stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, is a flagship species for biodiversity conservation of old-growth forests and is protected under the Habitats Directive. Although it has been the focus of active research in the last two decades, many aspects of its ecology and habitat requirements for the larvae remain poorly known, particularly to what extent certain factors limit larval development. The objectives of this preliminary work were: (1) to explore the feasibility of a non-invasive method for detecting oviposition sites; (2) to attempt the characterisation of above-ground ecological factors recorded in the oviposition sites and (3) to quantify the number of traps and operators needed for obtaining a number of beetles suitable for statistical analysis. In 2014, twelve females were followed by means of radio-telemetry to detect potential ovi-position sites in a relict broadleaf forest of northern Italy. In 2015, emergence traps were set in nine sites selected from the 21 sites where females were recorded digging deeply in the soil near to dead wood during the previous year. Traps were checked during the 2015 and 2016 flight seasons. Overall, 15 stag beetles were detected (8 males and 7 females) from five emergence trap sites which were therefore regarded as real oviposition sites. All oviposition sites were characterised in terms of typology of dead wood, tree species , canopy openness, trunk diameter, dead wood volume, decomposition stage (five classes) and wood

Several studies have observed that bat species respond differently to landscape changes and that individuals tend to expand their home range when the habitat is not optimal. Tropical dry forest in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, shows a high habitat loss and fragmentation by anthropogenic causes. However, how bats use this fragmented landscape is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the temporal and spatial movements of bats fitted with radio transmitters in a fragmented region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. In July 2011, six bats belonging to three species were captured: an adult female of Artibeus lituratus, a juvenile female of A. jamaicensis, an adult male of Leptonycteris yerbabuenae (Family Phyllostomidae), and three adult females of Pteronotus parnellii (Family Mormoopidae) were fitted with a radio transmitter. Bats were monitored during night (18:00 to 06:00 h) from fixed stations for 17 days. The activity was obtained by quantifying the frequency of bearings in intervals of one hour. Simultaneous bearings were triangulated for locations, which were exported to a vector map where type of land use and vegetation was determined. The home range was calculated using two techniques: minimum convex polygon and fixed Kernel. A total of 75 bearings corresponding to an adult female of A. lituratus (n = 36, 48.0 %), three adults females of P. parnellii (n = 30, 40.0 %), and an adult male of L. yerbabuenae (n = 8; 10.6 %) were obtained. A juvenile female of A. jamaicensis was located on one occasion (1.3 %). Female of A. lituratus showed activity between 19:00 and 23:00 h and between 24:00 and 05:00 h, with a peak between 03:00 y 04:00 h. This bat widely used the area with preference to riparian vegetation. Based on their locations, a home range (Kernel 95 %) of 8,394 hectares and a minimum convex polygon of 2,587 hectares were estimated. The male of L. yerbabuenae showed activity only between 22:00 and 02:00 h and their locations were on agriculture land (n = 2). The observed activity of P. parnellii began at 20:00 h, it was increased to at 22:00 h (one activity peak between 01:00 and 3:00 h) and gradually declined until 06:00 h. The three females of P. parnellii were located in agricultural land (n = 4) and cultivated pasture (n = 1). The home range of A. lituratus observed in the present study is the largest reported for phyllostomid bats, possibly in response to landscape condition. Activity and locations of three females of P. parnellii and a male of L. yerbabuenae suggest that they occasionally use the study area in their way to more productive areas. Se ha observado que las especies de murciélagos responden de manera diferencial a los cambios en el paisaje y que los individuos tienden a ampliar su ámbito hogareño cuando el hábitat no es óptimo. Las selvas secas de la Planicie costera del Istmo de Tehuantepec, en México, presentan una alta pérdida y fragmentación por causas humanas. Sin embargo, se desconoce cómo los murciélagos usan este paisaje fragmentado. Por lo anterior, el objetivo de este estudio fue describir por primera vez los movimientos temporales y espaciales de murciélagos equipados con radio-transmisores en una zona fragmentada del Istmo de Tehuantepec. En julio de 2011 se capturaron seis murciélagos de tres especies: una hembra adulta de Artibeus lituratus, una hembra joven de A. jamaicensis, un macho adulto de Leptonycteris yerbabuenae (Familia Phyllostomidae) y tres hembras adultas de Pteronotus parnellii (Familia Mormoopidae), a los que se les adhirió un radio-transmisor. Durante 17 días de estudio, los murciélagos se buscaron a lo largo de la noche (18:00 a 06:00 h) desde estaciones fijas. La actividad se obtuvo al cuantificar la frecuencia de lecturas del rumbo en intervalos de una hora. Las lecturas de rumbo simultáneas fueron trianguladas para obtener puntos geográficos, mismos que se exportaron a un mapa vectorial en donde se determinó la cobertura de uso de suelo y vegetación. El área del ámbito hogareño se calculó mediante dos técnicas: polígono mínimo convexo y Kernel fijo. Se obtuvieron un total de 75 lecturas del rumbo, correspondientes a una hembra adulta de A. lituratus (n = 36, 48.0 %), tres hembras adultas de P. parnellii (n = 30; 40.0 %) y un macho adulto de L. yerbabuenae (n = 8; 10.6 %). Una hembra joven de A. jamaicensis se localizó en una

Being abundant, the badger (Meles meles L.) is one of the least concerned and thus one of the least studied animals in Bulgaria. The current paper deals with the first experience on capturing badgers for scientific purposes, the procedure of implanting radio-transmitters and the peculiarity of radio-telemetry on these fossorial animals. It examines the advantages and disadvantages of different capturing techniques on badgers and the use of radio-implants. The paper also presents the first data on radio-telemetry and internal body temperature, acquired through temperature sensor built in the implant for one adult female badger from Kyustendil region during the winter season.

The dispersion of nests and the migratory movements of female iguanas, Iguana iguana, were examined in the central llanos of Venezuela. In an area of extensive sandy soil, nests were dispersed while at the two other sites, where the soft soil was scarce, the iguana nests were aggregated in small (<25m dia.) sandy patches. Four radio telemetered females used moderately straight terrestrial paths to reach nest sites 0.8 to 1.5 km from their home sites, and they returned along nearly identical paths after about 7 days at the nest site. Females sharing a mating territory were observed to nest at sites 2.0 km apart, indicating probable gene flow between isolated nesting areas

We studied ranging patterns of syntopic folivorous and granivorous gerbils (Meriones tamariscinus Pallas, 1773 andMeriones meridianus Pallas, 1773, respectively) by means of radiotracking and live-trapping in Kalmykia, southern Russia. We hypothesized that ranging patterns exhibited by these rodents would differ in accordance with differences in their preferred diets. Trapping and radiotracking were performed from 23 May to 20 June 2000 on a 12 ha grid divided into 20 × 20 m squares. To assess ranging patterns we estimated the number of grid squares visited by an individual, 100% minimum convex polygon, mean squared distance from the center, maximal distance between individual locations, linearity index, and distance measures at various temporal scales. In accord with expectations, females of folivorousM. tamariscinus exhibited smaller ranges than females of granivorousM. meridianus. Contrary to our expectations both trapping and radiotracking data revealed similar “granivorous” ranging patterns in males of both species of gerbils. MaleM. meridianus andM. tamariscinus were similar in number of burrows used, home range size, and distances traversed. No temporal dependence of distance measures was revealed in either species; males of both species traversed similar distances regardless of time interval for distance measures so that single-night movements and multiday movements did not differ in either species. High food selectivity in maleM. tamariscinus is considered to be responsible for the “granivorous” pattern of space use in this folivorous species.

The rat streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes model is widely used to investigate the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. However, overt nephropathy is inexplicably slow to develop in this model compared with renal mass reduction (RMR) models. To examine whether blood pressure (BP) differences correlated with the time course of glomerulosclerosis (GS), BP was measured continuously throughout the course by radiotelemetry in control ( n = 17), partially insulin-treated STZ-diabetes (average blood glucose 364 ± 15 mg/dl; n = 15), and two normotensive RMR models (systolic BP &lt;140 mmHg)—uninephrectomy (UNX; n = 16) and 3/4 RMR by surgical excision [right nephrectomy + excision of both poles of left kidney (RK-NX); n = 12] in Sprague-Dawley rats. Proteinuria and GS were assessed at ∼16–20 wk (all groups) and at 36–40 wk (all groups except RK-NX). At 16 wk, significantly greater proteinuria and GS had developed in the RK-NX group compared with the other three groups (not different fro...