The external morphology of native (Bulgarian) and non-native (Slovak) populations of Neogobius melanostomus was examined using standard distance-based measurements and, in addition, comparison of fin ray number between populations was made. Five of the 29 morphological characters measured differed between populations, both for males and females. The non-native population was characterised by a smaller mouth and eye, shorter pre-dorsal distance and greater inter-orbital distance. Three characters, post-orbital distance, head depth and minimal body depth, differed between populations only in females, though the overall trend was the same in both sexes. A lower head depth value, greater post-orbital distance and minimal body depth was recorded for females from the non-native population. The range in fin ray numbers was similar between native and non-native populations. Populations differed, however, in the frequency of pectoral fin rays. Individuals with 17 pectoral fin rays were more common in the non-native range, their proportion in the native range being low. In contrast, individuals with 19 pectoral fin rays occurred more commonly in the native range. This difference was consistent for both sexes. The differences between populations are discussed within the context of differing environments and the “ship transport” hypothesis.

The epidermis structure of the studied specimens of Cottus gobio and C. poecilopus from the Morava watershed showed important differences. We noted a lower number of sacciform secretory cells in C. gobio, and also differences in relation to reproductive activity (the decrease in the number of secretory cells during the spawning period in both species). Significant differences were found in the erythrocyte count (1.90 ± 0.15 T.l^-1 in C. gobio and 1.57 ± 0.07 T.l^-1 in C. poecilopus), whereas the leucocyte count did not differ. A three-day-long exposure in higher temperature and lower oxygen saturated water conditions caused a marked increase in both blood parameters. These differences can be related to the distant physiological and ethological requirements of the species.

We recorded and analysed the songs of ten male icterine warblers (Hippolais icterina) in České Budějovice (Czech Republic) to identify mimicry. Imitations represented 76.2 % of the total time of all songs and we detected 42 mimicked species. Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), blackbird (Turdus merula), common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) were the most common species imitated. Principal components analysis (PCA) detected individual variability in the species mimicked. The length of recording needed to detect 95 % of species mimicked was assessed to be 8.2 minutes.

We described the genetic variation of cytochrome b gene sequences of blind mole rats in Turkey. We examined 47 individuals belonging to nine cytotypes of three superspecies Nannospalax leucodon, N. xanthodon and N. ehrenbergi in the 402bp gene sequence of cytochrome b. Phylogenetic analyses showed that relationships between cytotypes were well supported, but deeper divergence between species showed insignificant relationships. Cytotypes of N. xanthodon with low diploid number of chromosomes from western Turkey formed a monophyletic group distinct from the populations with higher number of chromosomes (2n = 56-60). The monophyly of N. xanthodon was supported with respect to N. leucodon (2n = 56) in the Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenies. The divergence between two analyzed cytotypes of N. ehrenbergi (2n = 52, 2n = 56) was 9.4 %, and the Kilis cytotype (2n = 52) appeared as the basal branch of the whole analysed dataset. N. ehrenbergi cytotypes were paraphyletic and they formed unsupported relationships with previously described N. galili (2n = 52), N. golani (2n = 54), N. carmeli (2n = 58) and N. judaei (2n = 60) from Israel. The results of this study showed that the Nannospalax species complex most likely represents more species than currently recognized, especially in N. xanthodon. We suggest that cytotypes of N. xanthodon and N. ehrenbergi from Turkey should be investigated in detail as possible candidates for being separate species.

An isolated population of the common hamster, forming the western border of the species range in Poland was analysed by the use of 16 microsatellite loci and the mtDNA control region in two consecutive generations. The genetic diversity and the effective population size in this population are low. We found the evidence for ancient bottleneck in this population, but the results of tests for recent reduction of Ne were ambiguous. However, population functions properly i.e. it is in HW equilibrium, Fis and relatedness coefficients do not indicate inbreeding. It indicates that even isolated and small populations of the common hamster have good chance of survival on the condition of the protection and restoration of the habitats. Moreover, the sexrelated differences in dispersal in the common hamster were demonstrated through the relatedness analysis.

Diet composition of the golden jackal (Canis aureus, L.) in Bulgaria, where the largest jackal population in Europe occurs, has been studied by scat analysis in a typical and newly occupied agricultural environment. The study was carried out during late summer and early autumn, a period when small mammal density is high. The food of the jackal typically consisted of small-sized and wild-living prey species. Rodents have been found to represent the primary food of the jackal (biomass estimation: 59.3 %, mainly Microtus spp.), and the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus, 20.1 %) and plants (19.7 %, mainly fruits) are secondary foods. Other prey, such as birds (mainly passerines), reptiles and invertebrates had been consumed in a low biomass ratio. No remains of wild ungulate and domestic animals have been detected in the studied scats.

Summer and autumnal activity patterns of juvenile and adult Dryomys nitedula were investigated in the wild using infrared motion sensor cameras. The study revealed that the forest dormouse is mainly crepuscular and nocturnal during the summer and autumn. Foraging activity started on average 8 min before sunset in June and shifted towards 26 min after sunset in September. The activity usually ended 40 min before sunrise independently of the season. The investigative activity around the nestboxes had three main periods: one between 20:00 and 22:00, one around midnight between 00:00 and 01:00, and a third one before sunrise between 4:00 and 6:00. Diurnal activity was also recorded but it occurred mainly in autumn and was restricted to the nestbox entrance; animals never switched nestboxes during the day if not disturbed. During the night activity, dormice used to investigate almost all nestboxes within their territory. However they showed preferences for only a few nestboxes which were used more frequently as daytime resting sites.

The natural diet of goitred gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) was studied over the period of a year in northern Xinjiang, China using microhistological analysis. The winter food habits of the goitred gazelle and domestic sheep were also compared. The microhistological analysis method demonstrated that gazelle ate 47 species of plants during the year. Chenopodiaceae and Poaceae were major foods, and ephemeral plants were used mostly during spring. Stipa glareosa was a major food item of gazelle throughout the year, Ceratoides latens was mainly used in spring and summer, whereas in autumn and winter, gazelles consumed a large amount of Haloxylon ammodendron. Because of the extremely warm and dry weather during summer and autumn, succulent plants like Allium polyrhizum, Zygophyllum rosovii, Salsola subcrassa were favored by gazelles. In winter, goitred gazelle and domestic sheep in Kalamaili reserve had strong food competition; with an overlap in diet of 0.77. The number of sheep in the reserve should be reduced to lessen the pressure of competition.

The diet of fennec fox has been investigated for the first time from scats collected during one year in three localities of the north-eastern Algerian Sahara: Guemar and Sanderouce (near Oued Souf) and Bamendil (near Ouargla). In Guemar, 160 items in 20 scats were identified including 93 insects (58.1 %), 11 plant fragments (6.9 %) and 38 dates of Phoenix dactylifera (23.8 %). In terms of biomass, with 37.4 % plant material was the most abundant, followed by birds (29.9 %) and mammals (14.9 %). In Sanderouce, 491 items in 37 scats were identified including 377 insects (77.1 %), 10 plant fragments (2.0 %) and 29 dates (5.9 %). In terms of biomass mammals (56.6 %) were far more abundant than squamates (15.4 %) and vegetal food (12.8 %). In Bamendil, 1246 items in 57 scats were identified; insects were the most numerous (87.9 %) followed by mammals (only 3.7 %), however the biomass of mammals was the highest (63.5 %) followed by birds (19.8 %) and insects (5.5 %). As was suggested by behavioural records, the diet of the fennec fox was mainly carnivorous, but included a significant amount of vegetal items, particularly dates collected in oases.

According to a hypothesis addressing the evolution of eusociality in mole-rats, the female (queen) is not able to raise her (first) offspring without a mate and thus to found a family. Therefore, we predict that the reproductive male (king) has to be socially faithful. In this study we tested this prediction and addressed the related question whether or not the presentation of a new female provokes enhanced sexual interest in male Ansell's mole-rats (Fukomys anselli).

We performed behavioral partner preference tests in Ansell's mole-rats where two animals of choice were presented to a subject without allowing direct access. The kings spent significantly more time sniffing an unfamiliar queen or female than their own mate. If given the choice between an unfamiliar queen and her respective non-reproductive daughter, however, the tested kings significantly preferred the queen. In contrast, queens did not show a preference for either their own mate, an unrelated unfamiliar king, or a non-reproductive male.

In a second experiment, we allowed the males to access the compartment of an unfamiliar female while their respective family stayed in an adjacent compartment. Only the non-reproductive adult males seized their chances to copulate with the unfamiliar female whereas the kings remained faithful. When reversing the test condition (i.e. females were given access to an unfamiliar male), aggressiveness of the males impeded sexual encounters in most cases. We recorded only three copulations, all of them between queens and non-reproductive males.

We conclude that the reproductive status is crucial for reproductive decisions. Furthermore, the presence of family members influences the kings' behavior. Since in Ansell's mole-rats, repeated copulations over a longer period of cohabitation are necessary for ovulation and fertilization, the kings' sexual fidelity could have been expected. We postulate that the maintenance of Ansell's mole-rats' families depends on the kings' faithfulness.

In humans, CD46 has been detected on the acrosomal membrane in sperm, in contrast to widespread surface expression on somatic cells where it plays a key role in the protection from complement attack. In rodents, CD46 is expressed solely on the acrosomal membrane of mature sperm and their immediate precursors, spermatids. A monoclonal antibody against the short consensus repeat (SCR1) ectodomain of CD46 blocks binding of human sperm to zona-free oocytes in vitro. However, CD46-knockout mice are fertile and have an accelerated spontaneous acrosome reaction. Wild-caught field mice (Apodemus) also exhibit a rapid acrosome reaction and CD46 is not expressed in Apodemus sperm. CD46 may, therefore, play a role in stabilization of the acrosomal membrane. Two other complement regulatory proteins, CD55 and CD59, are localized on the plasma membrane of mammalian sperm. In human sperm, CD55 and CD59 are expressed also on the inner acrosomal membrane. It remains to be clarified what is the role of CD46, CD55 and CD59 during fertilization and what are the advantages of not expressing CD46 in field mice sperm.