Predation has long been implicated as a major selective force in the evolution of several morphological and behavioral characteristics of animals. The importance of predation during evolutionary ti...

Behavioral decisions made under the risk of predation: a review and prospectus

Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems

Cause, conseguenze e strategie di mitigazione Proponiamo il primo di una serie di articoli in cui affronteremo l’attuale problema dei mutamenti climatici. Presentiamo il documento redatto, votato e pubblicato dall’Ipcc - Comitato intergovernativo sui cambiamenti climatici - che illustra la sintesi delle ricerche svolte su questo tema rilevante.

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Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis.

Palaeontologists characterize mass extinctions as times when the Earth loses more than three-quarters of its species in a geologically short interval, as has happened only five times in the past 540 million years or so. Biologists now suggest that a sixth mass extinction may be under way, given the known species losses over the past few centuries and millennia. Here we review how differences between fossil and modern data and the addition of recently available palaeontological information influence our understanding of the current extinction crisis. Our results confirm that current extinction rates are higher than would be expected from the fossil record, highlighting the need for effective conservation measures.

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Has the Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived?

Sustainable Development Goals

Resumen: Se reportan 48 especies de mamiferos que pertenecen a 5 ordenes, 35 generos, y 17 familias para la region de Janos-Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. Se incluyen observaciones sobre su afinidad de habitat, y en algunos casos las abundancias relativas. A la lista de especies se adicionaron 27 especies que no fueron registradas pero cuya distribucion geografica incluye la region de estudio. El mamifero mas abundante en el area es el Cynomys  ludovicianus , mientras que Ursus americanus , Conepatus mesoleucus , Antilocapra  amaericana , Odocoileus virginianus y O. hemionus se registraron ocasionalmente. Myotis  thysanodes , M. yumanensis , Lasiurus cinereus , Sciurus nayaritensis y Erethizon dorsatum  son especies que se encontraron restringuidas a solo un tipo de vegetacion. Se registraron 15 especies que se encuentran en alguna categoria de conservacion para Mexico, de las cuales 8 especies estan en peligro de extincion, 3 amenazadas y 4 bajo proteccion especial. Este estudio evidencio que la presencia de colonias de Cynomys ludovicianus es determinante para el sostenimiento de la biodiversidad en la zona. Es parte de un proyecto para la creacion de la primera reserva de la biosfera para la proteccion explicita de pastizales en Mexico. Palabras clave: Mamiferos, diversidad, conservacion, perros llaneros, pastizales, Janos Casas Grandes, Chihuahua.

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Los mamíferos de la región de janos- casas grandes, chihuahua, méxico

Antibodies to hantaviruses in two species of sigmodontine rodents (Peromyscus maniculatus and Reithrodontomys sumichrasti) collected in central Mexico are reported. Peromyscus maniculatus, a common species throughout much of Mexico, is the reservoir of Sin Nombre virus (SNV), the etiologic agent of the great majority of cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in North America. Although the identity of the virus detected in P. maniculatus in Mexico could not be determined by these serologic results, our findings suggest that SNV may occur throughout the range of P. maniculatus in North America. If true, the failure to identify HPS in Mexico is not due to the absence of pathogenic hantaviruses in Mexico.

https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-wildlife-diseases/volume-37/issue-2/0090-3558-37.2.391/Serologic-Evidence-of-Hantavirus-Infection-in-Sigmodontine-Rodents-in-Mexico/10.7589/0090-3558-37.2.391.pdf

Serologic evidence of hantavirus infection in sigmodontine rodents in Mexico.

Guía de Campo de los Reptiles y Anfibios de la Costa de Jalisco, México

We present an inventory of the amphibians and reptiles of the San Vito de Coto Brus region, including the Las Cruces Biological Station, in southern Costa Rica, which is the result of a survey of the herpetofauna occurring in mountain forest fragments, pastures, coffee plantations, and other disturbed areas. We found 67 species, included 26 species of amphibians and of 41 of reptiles. We describe the distribution patterns of the community on the basis of the life zones, elevation, fragmentation, and degree of anthropogenic impact. We also provide some nouvelle data on the systematics of some select taxa, their geographical ranges, microhabitats, activity, and other relevant ecological and natural history features. Finally, we comment on the present conservation status of the herpetofauna in the region. Previous literature and collection records indicate a higher number of species occurring in this area, which suggests that some declines have occurred, especially of amphibians, in last decades.

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Diversity, natural history and conservation of amphibians and reptiles from the San Vito Region, southwestern Costa Rica

Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) have been eliminated from over 95% of their historic range in large part from direct eradication campaigns to reduce their purported competition with cattle for forage. Despite the longstanding importance of this issue to grassland management and conservation, the ecological interactions between cattle and prairie dogs have not been well examined. We address this issue through two complementary experiments to determine if cattle and prairie dogs form a mutualistic grazing association similar to that between prairie dogs and American bison. Our experimental results show that cattle preferentially graze along prairie dog colony edges and use their colony centers for resting, resembling the mutualistic relationship prairie dogs have with American bison. Our results also show that prairie dog colonies are not only an important component of the grassland mosaic for maintaining biodiversity, but also provide benefits to cattle, thereby challenging the long-standing view of prairie dogs as an undesirable pest species in grasslands.

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Gerardo Ceballos

Papers

Los mamíferos de la región de janos- casas grandes, chihuahua, méxico

Serologic evidence of hantavirus infection in sigmodontine rodents in Mexico.

Guía de Campo de los Reptiles y Anfibios de la Costa de Jalisco, México

Diversity, natural history and conservation of amphibians and reptiles from the San Vito Region, southwestern Costa Rica

Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs, Cattle, and the Conservation of North America's Arid Grasslands