Early hominid evolution and ecological change through the African Plio-Pleistocene

The consumption of figs (the fruit of Ficus spp.; Moraceae) by vertebrates is reviewed using data from the literature, unpublished accounts and new field data from Borneo and Hong Kong. Records of frugivory from over 75 countries are presented for 260 Ficus species (approximately 30% of described species). Explanations are presented for geographical and taxonomic gaps in the otherwise extensive literature. In addition to a small number of reptiles and fishes, 1274 bird and mammal species in 523 genera and 92 families are known to eat figs. In terms of the number of species and genera of fig-eaters and the number of fig species eaten we identify the avian families interacting most with Ficus to be Columbidae, Psittacidae, Pycnonotidae, Bucerotidae, Sturnidae and Lybiidae. Among mammals, the major fig-eating families are Pteropodidae, Cercopithecidae, Sciuridae, Phyllostomidae and Cebidae. We assess the role these and other frugivores play in Ficus seed dispersal and identify fig-specialists. In most, but not all, cases fig specialists provide effective seed dispersal services to the Ficus species on which they feed. The diversity of fig-eaters is explained with respect to fig design and nutrient content, phenology of fig ripening and the diversity of fig presentation. Whilst at a gross level there exists considerable overlap between birds, arboreal mammals and fruit bats with regard to the fig species they consume, closer analysis, based on evidence from across the tropics, suggests that discrete guilds of Ficus species differentially attract subsets of sympatric frugivore communities. This dispersal guild structure is determined by interspecific differences in fig design and presentation. Throughout our examination of the fig-frugivore interaction we consider phylogenetic factors and make comparisons between large-scale biogeographical regions. Our dataset supports previous claims that Ficus is the most important plant genus for tropical frugivores. We explore the concept of figs as keystone resources and suggest criteria for future investigations of their dietary importance. Finally, fully referenced lists of frugivores recorded at each Ficus species and of Ficus species in the diet of each frugivore are presented as online appendices. In situations where ecological information is incomplete or its retrieval is impractical, this valuable resource will assist conservationists in evaluating the role of figs or their frugivores in tropical forest sites.

Fig-eating by vertebrate frugivores: a global review.

Social flexibility, that is, the expression of different types of social systems within one species, has been reported in several mammalian taxa, including rodents. However, sociality in rodents has been studied mostly in captivity and the results are often regarded as laboratory artifacts. We present field data for 2 populations of the striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio), a diurnal muroid rodent from southern Africa. The 2 populations inhabit different environments and demonstrate differences in social organization. R. pumilio in the arid succulent karoo lives in social groups, comprising multiple adults of both sexes that share 1 nest and the same territory. Striped mice in the moist grasslands of South Africa are solitary. Females inhabit exclusive territories and territories of males overlap those of several females; association between the sexes appears to be restricted to mating. Home ranges of females in the grasslands were 6 times larger and home ranges of males were 10 times larger than their counterparts in the succulent karoo. Onset of reproductive activity occurred earlier and at a significantly lighter body weight in grasslands. In the succulent karoo, sexually mature offspring remain in their natal group without reproducing. We suggest that group living in the succulent karoo is in response to habitat saturation and the benefits of philopatry, whereas living alone in the grasslands may be a response to limiting resources, such as food.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/4094292.pdf

Intraspecific variation in the spatial and social organization of the african striped mouse

http://drnissani.net/MNISSANI/ElephantCorner/ElephantBrain_shoshani.pdf

Elephant brain. Part I: gross morphology, functions, comparative anatomy, and evolution.

To elucidate the history of living and extinct elephantids, we generated 39,763 bp of aligned nuclear DNA sequence across 375 loci for African savanna elephant, African forest elephant, Asian elephant, the extinct American mastodon, and the woolly mammoth. Our data establish that the Asian elephant is the closest living relative of the extinct mammoth in the nuclear genome, extending previous findings from mitochondrial DNA analyses. We also find that savanna and forest elephants, which some have argued are the same species, are as or more divergent in the nuclear genome as mammoths and Asian elephants, which are considered to be distinct genera, thus resolving a long-standing debate about the appropriate taxonomic classification of the African elephants. Finally, we document a much larger effective population size in forest elephants compared with the other elephantid taxa, likely reflecting species differences in ancient geographic structure and range and differences in life history traits such as variance in male reproductive success.

/pdf/genomic-dna-sequences-from-mastodon-and-woolly-mammoth-4pxmixm7hs.pdf

Genomic DNA sequences from mastodon and woolly mammoth reveal deep speciation of forest and savanna elephants

/pdf/east-african-mammals-an-atlas-of-evolution-in-africa-volume-1l6dmneiss.pdf

Brian Bertram

Papers

East African Mammals : an Atlas of Evolution in Africa, Volume III Part B (Large Mammals), by Jonathan Kingdon. Academic Press, London, £55.