Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Carnivore conservation depends on the sociopolitical landscape as much as the biological landscape. Changing political attitudes and views of nature have shifted the goals of carnivore management from those based on fear and narrow economic interests to those based on a better understanding of ecosystem function and adaptive management. In parallel, aesthetic and scientific arguments against lethal control techniques are encouraging the development of nonlethal approaches to carnivore management. We anticipate greater success in modifying the manner and frequency with which the activities of humans and domestic animals intersect with those of carnivores. Success should permit carnivore populations to persist for decades despite human population growth and modification of habitat.

/pdf/human-carnivore-conflict-and-perspectives-on-carnivore-v47shy8h3a.pdf

Human-Carnivore Conflict and Perspectives on Carnivore Management Worldwide

The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome contributes significantly to host nutrition and health. However, relationships involving GI microbes, their hosts and host macrohabitats remain to be established. Here, we define clear patterns of variation in the GI microbiomes of six groups of Mexican black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) occupying a gradation of habitats including a continuous evergreen rainforest, an evergreen rainforest fragment, a continuous semi-deciduous forest and captivity. High throughput microbial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing indicated that diversity, richness and composition of howler GI microbiomes varied with host habitat in relation to diet. Howlers occupying suboptimal habitats consumed less diverse diets and correspondingly had less diverse gut microbiomes. Quantitative real-time PCR also revealed a reduction in the number of genes related to butyrate production and hydrogen metabolism in the microbiomes of howlers occupying suboptimal habitats, which may impact host health.

/pdf/habitat-degradation-impacts-black-howler-monkey-alouatta-1dn2xeqc1x.pdf

Habitat degradation impacts black howler monkey ( Alouatta pigra ) gastrointestinal microbiomes

In vertebrates, melanin-based coloration is often associated with variation in physiological and behavioural traits. We propose that this association stems from pleiotropic effects of the genes regulating the synthesis of brown to black eumelanin. The most important regulators are the melanocortin 1 receptor and its ligands, the melanocortin agonists and the agouti-signalling protein antagonist. On the basis of the physiological and behavioural functions of the melanocortins, we predict five categories of traits correlated with melanin-based coloration. A review of the literature indeed reveals that, as predicted, darker wild vertebrates are more aggressive, sexually active and resistant to stress than lighter individuals. Pleiotropic effects of the melanocortins might thus account for the widespread covariance between melanin-based coloration and other phenotypic traits in vertebrates.

https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_2EC1D375BAD5.P001/REF.pdf

Pleiotropy in the melanocortin system, coloration and behavioural syndromes.

Statistical Inference from Capture Data on Closed Animal Populations

We evaluated the accuracy and precision of tooth wear for aging gray wolves (Canis lupus) from Alaska, Minnesota, and Ontario based on 47 known-age or known-minimum-age skulls. Estimates of age using tooth wear and a commercial cementum annuli-aging service were useful for wolves up to 14 years old. The precision of estimates from cementum annuli was greater than estimates from tooth wear, but tooth wear estimates are more applicable in the field. We tended to overestimate age by 1-2 years and occasionally by 3 or 4 years. The commercial service aged young wolves with cementum annuli to within ±1 year of actual age, but under estimated ages of wolves ≥9 years old by 1-3 years. No differences were detected in tooth wear patterns for wild wolves from Alaska, Minnesota, and Ontario, nor between captive and wild wolves. Tooth wear was not appropriate for aging wolves with an underbite that prevented normal wear or severely broken and missing teeth.

/pdf/accuracy-and-precision-of-estimating-age-of-gray-wolves-by-53dstwbuxp.pdf

Accuracy and precision of estimating age of gray wolves by tooth wear

Home Range, Activity, and Daily Movements of Coyotes

We radio-tracked 10 coyotes (Canis latrans) from April 1996 to March 1998 on Fort Riley Military Reserva- tion, Kansas, to compare movements, habitat use, and survival between resident (breeders and pack associates) and transient coyotes. Home ranges of resident coyotes were mutually exclusive, whereas those of transient coyotes over- lapped the home ranges of other coyotes. Excursions from home ranges were made by all resident pack associates but not by resident breeders. Grassland habitats were used more than expected by resident coyotes but less than expected by transients. Woodlands and cultivated lands were used more than expected by transients. Transient coyotes used areas between the home ranges of resident family groups. Annual survival rates were higher for resident than for transient coyotes. Avoidance of resident coyotes by transient coyotes may explain differences in space and habitat use by coyotes. Resume : Nous avons suivi 10 Coyotes (Canis latrans) par radio-telemetrie, d'avril 1996 a mars 1998, dans la reserve militaire de Fort Riley, Kansas, pour comparer les deplacements, l'utilisation de l'habitat et la survie chez les coyotes residants (les reproducteurs et les individus associes a la meute) et les coyotes de passage. Les domaines des coyotes residants etaient mutuellement exclusifs, alors que les domaines des coyotes de passage chevauchaient les domaines d'autres coyotes. Tous les coyotes associes a la meute et residants s'aventuraient hors de leur domaine, mais pas les reproducteurs residants. Les coyotes residants frequentaient les prairies plus que prevu, alors que les coyotes de pas - sage les utilisaient moins que prevu, mais ils frequentaient les boises et les terres cultivees plus que prevu. Les coyotes de passage utilisaient egalement des zones entre les domaines de groupes familiaux residants. Les taux annuels de survie etaient plus eleves chez les coyotes residants que chez les coyotes de passage. Les coyotes de passage evitent les coyotes residants, ce qui peut expliquer les differences dans les choix d'habitats chez les deux groupes.

Space and habitat use by resident and transient coyotes.

Concerns about forest fragmentation and its conservation implications have motivated numerous studies that investigate the influence of forest patch area and forest edge on songbird distribution patterns. The generalized effects of forest patch size and forest edge on animal distributions is still debatable because forest patch size and forest edge are often confounded and because of an incomplete synthesis of available data. To fill a portion of this gap, we incorporated all available published data (33 papers) in meta-analyses of forest edge and area effects on site occupancy patterns for 26 Neotropical migrant forest-nesting songbirds in eastern North America. All reported area effects are confounded or potentially confounded by edge effects, and we refer to these as “confounded” studies. The converse, however, is not true and most reported edge effects are independent of patch area. When considering only nonconfounded studies of edge effects, only 1 of 17 species showed significant edge avoidance and 3 had significant affinity for edges. In confounded studies, 12 of 22 species showed significant avoidance of small patches and edges, and 1 had an affinity for small patches and edges. Furthermore, average effect sizes averaged across studies or species tended to be higher for confounded studies than for edge studies. We discuss three possible reasons for differences in results between these two groups of studies. First, studies of edge effects tended to be carried out in landscapes with greater forest cover than studies of confounded effects; among confounded effects studies, as forest cover increased, we observed a nonsignificant trend towards decreasing strength of small patch or edge avoidance effects. Thus, the weaker effects in edge studies may be due to the fact that these studies were conducted in forest-dominated landscapes. Second, we may have detected strong effects only in confounded studies because area effects are much stronger than edge effects on bird occurrence, and area effects drive the results in confounded studies. Third, edge and area effects may interact in such a way that edge effects become more important as forest patch size decreases; thus, both edge and area effects are responsible for results in confounded studies. These three explanations cannot be adequately separated with existing data. Regardless, it is clear that fragmentation of forests into small patches is detrimental to many migrant songbird species.




Resumen:  La preocupacion sobre la fragmentacion de bosques y sus implicaciones en conservacion ha motivado numerosos estudios que investigan la influencia del area de parches de bosque sobre los patrones de distribucion de aves canoras. Los efectos generalizados del tamano del parche y del borde de bosque sobre la distribucion de animales aun son debatibles porque el tamano y borde a menudo son confundidos y porque la sintesis de los datos disponibles es incompleta. Para llenar parte de este hueco, incorporamos todos los datos disponibles publicados (33 articulos) sobre meta analisis de los efectos de borde y area sobre los patrones de ocupacion de sitios de 26 especies de aves canoras migratorias Neotropicales que anidan en bosques del este de Norte America. Todos los efectos de area estan enmascarados o potencialmente enmascarados por los efectos de borde, y nos referimos a estos como estudios “enmascarados.” Sin embargo, lo contrario no es verdad y la mayoria de los efectos de borde reportados son independientes del area del parche. Al solo considerar estudios de efectos de borde no enmascarados, solo 1 de 17 especies mostro evasion significativa del borde y 3 tenian afinidad significativa por los bordes. En estudios enmascarados, 12 de 22 especies mostraron evasion significativa de parches pequenos y bordes, y 1 tenia afinidad por parches pequenos y bordes. Mas aun, el promedio del tamano de parche promediado para los estudios o especies tendia a ser mayor en los estudios enmascarados que en los estudios de borde. Hablamos tres posibles razones para la diferencias en resultados entre estos dos grupos. Primero, hubo una tendencia a efectuar los estudios de efectos de borde en paisajes con mayor cobertura forestal que los paisajes de estudios de efectos enmascarados; entre los estudios de efectos enmascarados, a medida que incremento la cobertura forestal observamos una tendencia no significativa hacia la disminucion en los efectos de parche pequeno o evasion de borde. Por lo tanto, los efectos mas debiles en estudios de borde pueden deberse al hecho de que estos estudios se llevaron a cabo en paisajes dominados por bosques. Segundo, pudimos haber detectado efectos fuertes solo en estudios enmascarados porque los efectos de area son mucho mas fuertes que los efectos de borde sobre la ocurrencia de las aves, y los efectos de area guian los resultados en estudios enmascarados. Tercero, los efectos de borde y de area pueden interactuar de tal manera que los efectos de borde son mas importantes a medida que decrece el tamano del parche de bosque; por lo tanto, tanto los efectos de borde como de area son responsables de los resultados en estudios enmascarados. Estas tres explicaciones no se pueden separar correctamente con los datos existentes. No obstante, es claro que la fragmentacion de bosques es perjudicial para muchas especies de aves canoras migratorias.

Edge and Area Effects on the Occurrence of Migrant Forest Songbirds

Yellow and red feathers pigmented by carotenoids can signal a bird's condition and are important to both female choice and male-male competition. Melanin-based ornaments are thought to be less effective than carotenoid ornaments as indicators of condition, though their signal function is still relatively unstudied. We examined both carotenoid and melanin-pigmented feather ornaments in a single species, the Kentucky Warbler (Oporornis formosus). Both males and females of this species have melanin-pigmented ornamentation (black crown, black face) and carotenoid-pigmented ornamentation (lemon-yellow undersides). Melanin-pigmented plumage patches were larger in males than females, and males had brighter breast plumage, with a larger ultraviolet component, than females. Among males in the wild, individuals in better condition had more extensive black caps and faces, but not brighter-yellow breasts. Males with larger black caps were more likely to attract mates. This work demonstrates that, in a specie...

Philip S. Gipson

Papers

Accuracy and precision of estimating age of gray wolves by tooth wear

Home Range, Activity, and Daily Movements of Coyotes

Space and habitat use by resident and transient coyotes.

Edge and Area Effects on the Occurrence of Migrant Forest Songbirds

Do melanin- or carotenoid-pigmented plumage ornaments signal condition and predict pairing success in the kentucky warbler?