Journal of Zoology最新文献

{"title":"Mammal coloration as a social signal—the debate is still open: a comment on Howell and Caro (2024)","authors":"V. Penteriani","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13210","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142555309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Further thoughts on comparative analyses of coloration","authors":"Tim Caro, Natasha Howell","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13227","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13227","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Responding to our recent publication (Howell & Caro, <span>2024</span>), Penteriani (<span>2024</span>) raises some important issues about independent measures used to tease out predictions about the social significance of coloration, the taxonomic level at which to conduct comparative analyses, and how to score colour patterns. For example, across terrestrial non-volant mammals, we found little evidence of social signalling involving coloration or colour patterns based on coarse social and ecological associations. Our independent measures were activity cycle, where we expected diurnal mammals to be more colourful; social group size, where we expected more social mammals to be more colourful; sexual dimorphism, with dimorphic species (showing evidence of sexual selection) expected to be more colourful; mating system, with polygynous species expected to be more colourful owing to the possible use of colour patches in male–male competition over mates; and congener overlap, where we expected species in danger of hybridization to be more colourful in order to signal species identity. Using these coarse measures, we found rather few significant associations, raising questions as to whether our independent measures were sufficiently sensitive to uncover signatures of social communication involving colour patterns. In part, our variables were dictated by the large breadth of species we examined. These were, in effect, ‘lowest common denominators’ that are documented for every species; they were not nuanced. Whether a solitary lifestyle means that individuals are less likely to signal socially is difficult to answer – we appreciate that these are not necessarily correlated.</p><p>The second issue is the taxonomic levels over which we analysed data. Findings at the Class level may not be reflected at the Order level; Order-level results may not be replicated at the Family level, and so on (Martins, <span>1996</span>). Using comparative phylogenetic methods, many of our predictions did not hold up across the Class, or some Order levels for which we had sufficient data, even though we often based our hypotheses on associations already uncovered by others at Genus or Family levels. Thus for bears, conspicuous faces and chest bibs do seem to signal individual identity (Penteriani et al., <span>2020</span>, <span>2023</span>; although not tested phylogenetically owing to small sample size), but this association is washed out at the level of carnivores when other non-ursid species are included. What to do? Unfortunately, there is no clear solution. Higher taxonomic levels with greater numbers of species allow more statistical power and enable general conclusions to be formulated; lower taxonomic levels generate specific conclusions for certain groups, but species numbers can be so low for some groups that statistical tests are questionable. In our recent paper (Howell & Caro, <span>2024</span>), we opted for the higher-level analyses; in others we ha","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jzo.13227","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142555310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reproductive health from hair: Validation and utility of hair progesterone analysis in the Asian black bear, Ursus thibetanus","authors":"T. Shimamoto, T. Taki, A. Kumaki, A. Motohashi, H. Tamatani, G. Oshima, J. Tanaka, T. Yamamoto","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13213","url":null,"abstract":"Hair hormone analysis has received increasing attention in the fields of wildlife management and conservation over the last decade. However, few studies focused on sex steroid hormones, even though hair sex steroid hormone analysis has the potential to provide information on an individual's reproductive health, leading to a better understanding of animal reproductive biology and the assessment of individual and population health. Here, we tested the assay validation and examined whether hair progesterone concentration (HPC) differs between different sexes and age classes in the Asian black bear, <jats:italic>Ursus thibetanus</jats:italic>. We also investigated the effects of reproductive condition, age, and body condition index (BCI) on HPC to determine the utility of hair progesterone analysis in bears. The assay validation was reported in our study. We found a significantly higher HPC in adult females than in juvenile females and juvenile and adult males. In addition, we found no effects of age and BCI on HPC but a significant positive effect of reproductive condition, as the HPC in breeding adult females was significantly higher than in nonbreeding adult females. These results suggest that hair progesterone analysis has the potential to evaluate the reproductive condition of Asian black bears.","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142179727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring resource patch occupancy: patch size, but not connectivity, explains the abundance of spider kleptoparasites in golden orb webs","authors":"M. Gregorič, S. G. Quiñones‐Lebrón, M. Kuntner, I. Agnarsson","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13212","url":null,"abstract":"The ideal free distribution (IFD) theory predicts that individuals are free to move among habitat patches and distribute among them “ideally,” in order to maximize individual evolutionary fitness. Size and quality of habitat patches then should directly impact the number of individuals occupying them, and connectivity of habitat patches likely plays a role if dispersal is limited. However, habitat patches can be distributed so that movement no longer can be considered free, for example, when patches are isolated. Challenges stemming from patch delimitation and detection rate of occupants further complicate efforts attempting to resolve such patterns. Here, we utilize as habitat patches the orb webs of four different populations belonging to three golden orb weaver spider species, <jats:italic>Nephila pilipes</jats:italic> (Fabricius, 1793), <jats:italic>Nephilingis livida</jats:italic> (Vinson, 1863), and <jats:italic>Trichonephila clavipes</jats:italic> (Linnaeus, 1767), and the obligate spider kleptoparasites (Argyrodinae, Theridiidae) that are associated with their webs. We examine how the IFD predicts the abundance of kleptoparasites under different patterns of patch size and distribution. We found that larger host webs, that is, habitat patches that contain more resources, are occupied by a higher number of kleptoparasitic spiders, regardless of their degree of isolation. Although the free movement prediction is often violated in natural systems, we find no evidence for habitat patch connectivity affecting the abundance of kleptoparasites, indicating that their dispersal ability facilitates the location and colonization of habitat patches regardless of their isolation. Therefore, our results support the interaction between argyrodine kleptoparasitic spiders and the webs of golden orb weavers to be a suitable natural system for studying the IFD.","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142223629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multimodal courtship communication in a wolf spider","authors":"M. M. Lallo, G. W. Uetz","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13209","url":null,"abstract":"Many animals communicate using multiple sensory modes (e.g., vibratory, visual, chemical), and there is current interest in the role of multimodal signals in mate choice. We tested the hypotheses that male <jats:italic>Gladicosa bellamyi</jats:italic> wolf spiders (Lycosidae) court females using multimodal signals and that these signals were related to male mating success. Using a laser Doppler vibrometer and video camera, we characterized the vibratory and visual courtship signals of male <jats:italic>G. bellamyi</jats:italic>. Males courted females with a vibratory signal made of three components: pulses of stridulation, abdominal percussion, and a third unknown percussive element (presumed to arise from rapid abdomen tapping), along with two unique visual displays, a foreleg extension/tap and squared leg arch. Female <jats:italic>G. bellamyi</jats:italic> show no apparent vibratory signals, but possess visual receptivity displays comparable to some other female lycosid species. We found a strong correlation between the vibratory stridulation component and the visual foreleg extension/tapping display of males, suggesting a multimodal signal. Higher rates of courtship signaling, both visual and vibratory, were associated with increased copulatory success. We conclude that male <jats:italic>G. bellamyi</jats:italic> exhibits multimodal courtship communication, with simultaneous complex vibratory signals and visual displays, and that higher rates of these signals increase the probability of mating in this species.","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142223627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lodge-building in rodents: relationships with ecological and natural history factors","authors":"J. Qiu,&nbsp;C. Schradin","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13207","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jzo.13207","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Mouse-like rodents often take cover in natural shelters or burrow underground where they build simple nests. A few species build extensive shelters above ground, called lodges, mounds or houses. Here, we present the first phylogenetically controlled comparative study on the ecological factors of habitat heterogeneity, environmental aridity and fire risk related to nesting habits in mouse-like rodents (Myomorpha, 326 genera). Twenty species from seven genera were found to build lodges, and they mainly occur in arid environments with low fire risk. Most lodge-building species (14 out of 20) belong to the pack rats (genus <i>Neotoma</i>), which in phylogeny only represent one event of evolution of lodge building and therefore limit the statistical power of the phylogenetically controlled analysis. The Bayesian phylogenetic mixed-effects models show a phylogenetic signal of 0.43 for 515 Myomorpha species. Under this moderate to strong phylogenetic relatedness, we did not find specific factors being associated to the evolution of sheltering habit in Myomorpha. We suggest studying the importance of aridity combined with low fire risk for lodge building on the species level, for example, by studying the limits of species distribution ranges depending on these factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142179726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The anatomy of mastication in a toothless mammal: Morphological characteristics of the temporomandibular joint in the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)","authors":"K. Hayashi, S. C. Nicol, M. Sugisaki, T. Amemiya","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13208","url":null,"abstract":"The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a distinguishing feature of mammals, and in most mammals includes an articular disc that buffers the loads placed on it by mastication. The disc is well developed in mammals with significant lateral masticatory jaw movements but is absent in toothless mammals, including extant monotremes, although histological studies of developing monotremes have shown rudimentary discs that fail to mature. Platypus (<jats:italic>Ornithorhynchus anatinus</jats:italic>) grind their food between keratinous pads in the maxillae and lower jaws and are the only edentulate mammals that masticate their food. In this study, we characterize the anatomy of the TMJ of the adult platypus to see if we can reconcile the anatomy, including the absence of the articular disc, with the mandibular movements observed in video recordings. We studied the gross anatomy of the maxillofacial region and the microstructure using microcomputed tomography (micro‐CT) and histological examination. Platypuses had well‐developed masticatory muscles but lacked an articular disc between the mandibular condyle and glenoid fossa. The surface of the glenoid fossa was slightly concave than that of the condylar head was correspondingly slightly convex. The pre‐ and postglenoid processes were not well developed. Micro‐CT showed dense trabecular bone in the anterior part of the condyle, where the lateral pterygoid muscle attached. Histological analysis showed that the surfaces of the condyle and glenoid fossa consisted of dense, avascular and thickened fibrous connective tissue. In addition, well‐developed synovial folds were present. These anatomical characteristics are consistent with both anterior and lateral movements of the mandible, while the thick layer of connective tissue substitutes for a disc by absorbing the mechanical stresses associated with mastication. The failure of the disc primordium to develop cannot be attributed to a lack of muscle development, but the distribution of stresses in the toothless platypus jaw is likely to be different from those in a masticating eutherian.","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142223628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vertebrate scavenging in Australia is shaped by a complex interplay of bioregional, seasonal and habitat factors","authors":"E. E. Spencer,&nbsp;C. R. Dickman,&nbsp;A. Greenville,&nbsp;P. Barton,&nbsp;E. G. Ritchie,&nbsp;T. M. Newsome","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13200","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jzo.13200","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Carcass scavenging by vertebrates is a critical ecosystem service that is influenced by environmental factors such as season and habitat. However, there is limited understanding of the role that these factors play in shaping scavenging patterns across different bioregions. We used camera traps to monitor vertebrate scavengers at 120 kangaroo (Family: Macropodidae) carcasses that were positioned across different seasons (warm/cool) and habitats (open/closed canopy) in three disparate desert, subalpine and temperate bioregions in Australia. Our survey identified 27 species that scavenged carcasses and revealed clear differences in scavenging patterns across the three bioregions. Carcass use was highest for feral cats, birds of prey, corvids and red foxes in the desert bioregion; for reptiles and dingoes in the temperate bioregion and for feral pigs, possums and dingoes in the subalpine bioregion. Bioregional differences in scavenger guild composition explained &gt;4.6 times more variation in scavenger guild dissimilarity than season and &gt;9.8 times more variation than habitat. Further, habitat had few effects on scavenger communities or carcass detection and use, whereas season was a strong predictor of these responses. Across bioregions, there were some general seasonal and habitat scavenging trends, with mammals and birds often using carcasses more frequently in cooler seasons and birds detecting carcasses faster in open habitat. However, there was also extensive within-bioregion seasonal variation. For example, depending on bioregion, some animals scavenged more frequently or detected carcasses faster in warmer seasons (i.e. birds and reptiles). Our results show that vertebrate scavenging is mediated by a complex interplay of environmental variables, especially seasonality, which may operate differently across bioregions. These findings have implications for understanding variability in vertebrate scavenging patterns and, in turn, functionally redundant or complementary scavenging processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jzo.13200","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142179728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatiotemporal plasticity of prey selection in the wolf","authors":"I. Belardi,&nbsp;J. Borkowski,&nbsp;L. Lazzeri,&nbsp;R. Banul,&nbsp;G. Pacini,&nbsp;A. Poerling,&nbsp;F. Ferretti","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13205","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jzo.13205","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Under an optimal foraging scenario, prey selection would be expected to occur when food resources are abundant. A positive frequency-dependent prey selection would elicit prey switching when the abundance of main food resources decreases, potentially favouring community resilience to the effects of intensive, selective predation on a single prey. We assessed whether a positive frequency-dependent prey selection by the wolf <i>Canis lupus</i> occurred in two areas hosting abundant populations of wild ungulates, one in northern (Słowiński National Park, Poland) and the other one in southern (Maremma Regional Park, Italy) Europe, throughout a cold semester. In Słowiński, ungulate community was dominated by red deer <i>Cervus elaphus</i> (57% availability) over wild boar <i>Sus scrofa</i> (35%) and roe deer <i>Capreolus capreolus</i> (8%); wild boar and fallow deer <i>Dama dama</i> (43–37%) were more abundant than roe deer (20%) in Maremma. In both areas, wolf diet was dominated by wild ungulates, with a major use of red deer in Słowiński and wild boar in Maremma. Prey selection occurred in both areas, and it was addressed towards the most abundant prey in Słowiński, that is, the red deer, but only towards the wild boar in Maremma, where the fallow deer was used according to availability. In Slowinski, high red deer density may have driven wolf prey selection, while the shifting of activity rhythms of the fallow deer in the Maremma as antipredator response to wolf presence may have reduced predation. Despite its comparable densities between the two areas, the wild boar was selected in Maremma and under-used in Słowiński. Results provide partial support to positive frequency-dependent selection, emphasising the spatiotemporal plasticity of wolf–prey relationships. The relative role of prey density and other factors (e.g., antipredator behavioural responses) should be assessed at longer temporal scales.</p>","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jzo.13205","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142179729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Geographic variation in developmental plasticity among populations of the canyon treefrog in response to temperature and pond-drying","authors":"C. I. Hernández-Herrera,&nbsp;H. A. Pérez-Mendoza,&nbsp;J. Fornoni","doi":"10.1111/jzo.13202","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jzo.13202","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding how species respond to environmental changes, particularly in the context of climate change, is crucial for biodiversity conservation. This study focuses on the plastic responses of canyon tree frog (<i>Dryophytes arenicolor</i>) larvae to variations in temperature and pond-drying, examining potential consequences of climate change. Frog larvae serve as an excellent model due to their high responsiveness to environmental cues during development. We analysed the impact of temperature and pond-drying on morphological and life-history traits, via a common garden experiment with individuals from three distinct populations with different ecological conditions. The experiments revealed significant differences in responses among populations, indicating geographic variation in plasticity. Pond-drying treatments led to reduced survival and reduction of morphological traits and growth, challenging the assumption that tadpoles have adaptive responses to drying conditions. In contrast, temperature treatments showed variable effects, with elevated temperatures generally favouring growth rates, reducing metamorphosis time, and having population-specific morphological shifts. We emphasize the importance of considering both morphological and life-history traits, as well as geographic variation, in assessing species' vulnerability to climate change. Furthermore, the integration of environmental standardized plasticity index (ESPI) and relative distances plasticity index (RDPI) in amphibian developmental plasticity will allow to quantify and compare plastic responses among populations and even other amphibian species in which these metrics are obtained in the future. Our results underscore the complexity of phenotypic plasticity, revealing genotype–environment interactions. These findings contribute valuable insights into the potential adaptability of <i>D. arenicolor</i> populations to ongoing climate changes, highlighting the need for comprehensive inter-population studies for a more nuanced understanding of species' responses to environmental change, and suggest that certain populations may be more vulnerable to extinction or better equipped to handle climate change based on their ability to adapt to environmental change.</p>","PeriodicalId":17600,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jzo.13202","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141945143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}