The invasive American mink (Neovison vison) preys on native fauna. The pilot phase of the Hebridean Mink Project (HMP) ran from 2001–2006 at a cost of £1.6 million and successfully removed the species from 1100 km² of the southern islands of the Hebridean Archipelago, the Uists. Mink were also controlled in South Harris to prevent reinvasion. 532 mink were removed, and no further animals were caught or recorded in the eradication area in the last six months of the project. The entire archipelago is now being trapped using techniques developed from the pilot phase. The programme used an adaptive approach, learning as the project proceeded. The lessons learned were also applied to two other scenarios. These included the Isle of Mull, where with limited resources, trapping is carried out by volunteers, and the development of a national management plan in Ireland, where the species is widespread and farmed. The strategies and techniques developed in the Hebrides were modified to fit these differing scenarios. These are discussed together with an exploration of how we can increase our capacity to manage the species over larger landscape scales.

The magnitude of intraspecific variation in the frequency of multiple paternity, and patterns in its relationship with other variables, was investigated in wild populations of the Japanese wood mouse Apodemus speciosus. The genotypes of 34 females and their offspring were determined on the basis of five microsatellite loci. A high proportion of litters (61.8% = 21/34 litters) were found to have been sired by multiple males. There was high variation in the proportion of multiple paternity in association with sampling localities and/or sampling years (27.3%–78.3%), which was higher than the interspecific variation shown by the proportion of multiple paternity across all studies (40.0%–65.2%) in the genus Apodemus (five species). This large magnitude of intraspecific variation might potentially affect the interpretation in previous studies making interspecific comparisons, and should therefore be taken into account as an important variable.

The mastication system of the southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) was examined by means of gross anatomy and three dimensional image analysis. Three-dimensional computed tomography image analysis revealed that the mandibles medio-laterally rotated during the mastication. The temporal muscle dorso-medially pull the dorsal part of the mandubular bones, and the masseter muscle latero-rostrally operates the ventro-lateral part of the mandibles. The two muscles may contribute to the opening of the mandibles to enlarge the oral cavity and to house the contractile tongue. In contrast the medial and lateral pterygoid muscles may act as a closer of the mandible to medially pulling the ventro-medial part of the mandibles. The extraordinarily specialized mastication mechanism is functionally similar to that of the giant anteater. Although the muscles of the giant anteater show a more complicated structure in the temporal and masseter muscles than those of the southern tamandua, the weight distribution rate of mastication muscles is not so different between the two species. We suggest that the morphological design of the elongated skull and the derived feeding mastication are common in both species, and that the distribution pattern of the muscle weight has not drastically changed within the evolutionary history in Vermilingua and Myrmecophagidae.

Thainycteris aureocollaris is a rare vespertilionid bat species reported from remote forest habitats of Lao PDR, Vietnam, and Thailand. In 15 September 2015, one Vespertilionid bat with a well-defined ochraceous collar running from the base of ears across the throat was collected at Shuijia Village, Guizhou Province, China. Based on its morphological characteristics and phylogenetic inference using partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, it was identified as T. aureocollaris, representing the first record of the species in China. This northernmost occurrence largely extends the species' potential distribution area, and through Maxent modeling, its potentially suitable habitats are mapped herewith.

Occurrence of bark-feeding damage by sika deer (Cervus nippon) was examined at 26 mixed plantations comprised of both sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) in Mie Prefecture, central Japan. There was no significant difference in damage ratios with the tree species in plantations with only slight damage. In plantations with a damage ratio over 5% in either tree species, hinoki cypress was debarked at a higher ratio than sugi. Hinoki cypress was damaged over a longer period than sugi. More effective countermeasures against debarking might be required for a longer period for hinoki cypress than for sugi trees.

Taiwan Island is thought to have formed around 6.0 million years ago, but, the formation of a ‘proto-Taiwan’ began around 9.0 million years ago. During the late Miocene, the proto-Taiwan is thought to have been a part of the Asian mainland. During the Pleistocene, Taiwan Island was again occasionally connected with the Asian mainland. Several mammal species migrated from the Asian mainland to Taiwan during Pleistocene glacial periods. Despite the connections between Taiwan and the Asian mainland, Taiwan has some endemic mammal species. Recent genetic evidence suggests that arboreal squirrels (Petaurista alborufus, P. philippensis, Belomys pearsonii, and Tamiops maritimus) adapted to Taiwan's mountainous forests are endemic species. Since these squirrels may have similarly evolved from separate ancestral stock in Taiwan, we investigated the phylogenetic relationship of Perny's long-nosed squirrel (Dremomys pernyi) from Taiwan and the Asian mainland by using mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences. The Taiwanese form was distantly related to the mainland form, showing deep genetic difference (10.18–10.88%). Therefore, D. pernyi could include at least two distinct species, with the Taiwanese form being a species endemic to Taiwan.

Food provided by householders represents a key resource for urban red foxes Vulpes vulpes. Using long-term video footage, we examined how patterns of feeding site attendance varied with season, sex, and likely residence status. For foxes attending frequently (proportion individual attendance >15%) we found feeding site attendance highest for females in spring, probably because of feeding dependent young, and lowest for both sexes in autumn because of changes in seasonal food abundance or in time spent in other activities. For infrequent attenders (proportion individual attendance <15%), females attended most often in autumn and winter, coinciding with the dispersal period. Male attendance was not higher during the breeding season. Our combined results show how feeding site attendance changes throughout the year relative to potential intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

We collected bat carcasses at three wind farms in Taiwan, located along the west coast mostly near the sea and/or in former coastal wetland habitats. We found 43 bat carcasses, mostly of common aerial-hawking species such as Pipistrellus abramus and Scotophilus kuhlii, but the island endemics Eptesicus serotinus horikawai and Myotis formosus flavus were also recovered. All bat species affected are believed to remain on the island all year. As far as we know this is the first report of bat fatalities at wind energy facilities in eastern Asia.