Sexual reproduction imposes risks on participating adults through increased probability of injury, predation pressure, or parasite exposure. Evolutionary theory predicts that animals will tolerate parasite infection during reproduction at the expense of increased parasite load, resulting in individual trade-offs between the temporary costs of current reproduction against the long-term evolutionary benefits in the form of life-long production of viable offspring. We tested this hypothesis, predicting that participation in sexual reproduction increases parasite exposure by investigating ectoparasite load on sand lizards (Lacerta agilis). Using generalized additive models to correct for bimodal seasonal dynamics of ectoparasite activity, site and year, we found that ectoparasite load is higher in adults (animals that overwintered at least twice) than in subadults that overwintered once only. Between sexes of adult sand lizards, males had a higher number of blood-sucking ectoparasites than females. Our results indicate that both sexually-motivated extensive locomotion associated with territory defence and mate search in males, and increased energy uptake during gestation in females, contribute to elevated ectoparasite exposure. Increased host mobility associated with increased ectoparasite exposure leads to collateral burden of reproduction on sand lizard populations.

Physiological regulation of body temperature, set at a high level, is one of the key features of endothermic homeotherms, such as birds and mammals. However, many mammals and some birds have evolved the ability for temporal down-regulation of core body temperature. We investigated how variation in environment temperature and habitat primary productivity determine variation in daily body temperature down-regulation among mammalian species. Nearly half of the variation in minimum daily body temperature among species was explained by variation in both primary productivity and environmental temperature. Mammals expressing low minimum body temperature inhabited regions of low annual temperature with wide daily and seasonal temperature variation. Simultaneously, those regions were characterized by low productivity and low seasonality in productivity. Furthermore, regions characterized by a high level of among-year variation in environmental temperature, but not in primary productivity, were inhabited by species with low minimum body temperature, but only by those adapted to relatively humid conditions. Our results suggest that daily heterothermy can be selectively advantageous in the environmental circumstances when high energetic demands for maintaining endothermic homeothermy, physiological regulation of a high and stable body temperature, cannot be supported. The results corroborate the hypothesis that mammals that have evolved daily down-regulation of body temperature may have higher chances of surviving extinction events caused by climatic changes. Therefore, daily heterothermy adaptation in contemporary mammals represents a mechanism for surviving the ongoing global warming.

After declining in abundance due to commercial whaling during the 20^th century, populations of the Antarctic blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) have failed to recover to pre-exploitation levels. Using historical whaling data from 1926-1954, in combination with temperature data for the Southern Ocean, a gamma GLM with temporal dependency was fitted to 20,144 records of B. m. intermedia foetus size using Bayesian inference. There was a negative relationship between antecedent winter sea surface temperature (SST) in the Southern Ocean on foetus size. This relationship is proposed as being mediated by a positive effect of the extent of winter sea ice on Antarctic krill (Euphasia superba) abundance on which B. m. intermedia feed. There was also a positive density-dependent effect of a “krill surplus” at low B. m. intermedia population sizes. However, the positive effect of a “krill surplus” at low B. m. intermedia population size on foetus growth was reversed at elevated winter SST due to a proposed negative impact on E. superba recruitment. Projected increases in temperature in the Southern Ocean are predicted to compromise the growth rates of B. m. intermedia foetuses, with implications for the capacity of the subspecies to recover from overexploitation.

Livestock losses are often integral to human conflicts over carnivores; these conflicts threaten the livelihoods of many communities, as well as carnivore species survival. To begin assessing livestock depredation and conflict over carnivores in South Africa's Northern Cape Province, a farmers' union meeting was used to capture farmer (n = 22) perceptions of carnivores in 2017. Most farmers reported black-backed jackals and caracals (n = 11 and 10, respectively) as most frequently culpable for livestock losses. However, culpability and reported presence on farmlands by these and other carnivore species were not always aligned. Carnivores were generally perceived in a negative manner, with most respondents supporting livestock protection methods involving the removal or separation of carnivores from farmland, as opposed to those facilitating coexistence. Comprehensive socio-ecological investigation of factors relevant to improving human-carnivore coexistence of benefit to both farmers and wildlife is warranted in this region.

Bats are the second most numerous group of mammals in the world, after rodents. About 1,400 species have been described, of which 27 occur in Poland. All bats found in Poland are subject to strict species protection. Therefore, activities related to detention, including the treatment of injured, ill, or malnourished individuals, require appropriate permits. Caring for these mammals also requires knowledge of the biology and ecology of native species. Surveys were conducted in Polish wildlife rehabilitation centres, as well as among bat workers. The described interventions took place from September 2015 to September 2017. During this period, a total of 962 bats were taken under care. Most of the specimens required feeding and/or watering (645 specimens), 137 specimens suffered from injuries and/or diseases, 97 specimens were given emergency care, 77 specimens were taken from the environment without justified cause, and six specimens were born in captivity. Most of the interventions (760 individuals) resulted in the bats being released, 84 individuals remained under treatment or rehabilitation, 69 died, and a further 49 were euthanized. Statistical analysis showed a difference in the reasons for intervention and the intervention outcome between the care provided by rehabilitation centres and bat workers.

The availability of a suitable nesting site can be an important limiting factor for the reproduction of birds of prey, which are highly influenced by forest management and exploitation activities. Among them, the short-toed eagle (Circaetus gallicus) seems to tolerate logging activities carried out with traditional practices. This study aimed to investigate the habitat selection of 29 territorial pairs of this species in the Tolfa Mountains (Central Italy). Using Generalized Linear Models and the Information-Theoretic Approach, we compared the environmental features (i.e. land cover and topography) that characterize nesting sites in the study area. Additionally, we described the nest-site selection of the species by characterizing nine detected nests and comparing their characteristics with those of an equivalent number of nearby randomly selected sites. We found that, as expected, the short-toed eagle settles on hillsides covered by broad-leaved forests (both evergreen and deciduous) with open areas and away from agricultural areas. Moreover, the nests were found on steeper slopes, on trees extensively covered with climbing plants, possibly to hide them from predators and human disturbance. Our results suggest that, for the conservation of the short-toed eagle, careful management of woodland coppicing is required, as well as greater control of human disturbance.

Human activities have tremendous impact on the environment but the extent of this influence on animals is frequently unknown. Here we focus on a ubiquitous man-made landscape element, power line corridors in forested areas where vegetation is regularly mowed, and its effects on avian species richness and abundance. We surveyed bird communities at 35 sites in southern Czech Republic and found power line corridors hosted on average three more bird species and eight more individuals than transects in the surrounding forests. The lesser whitethroat (Sylvia curruca) and the tree sparrow (Passer montanus) were the most frequently detected species under power lines, suggesting the importance of these habitats for open-habitat specialists. Overall, we found positive effects of this human-altered landscape element on avian communities but future studies could focus on communities of other animals in this habitat with an emphasis on the presence of endangered species.

The hypophysis functions as a central gland of the neuroendocrine system for regulating fundamental body physiology. Upon aging, several hormones produced by the endocrine system are dramatically altered. Recently, Nothobranchius furzeri (the turquoise killifish) has become a popular model for aging studies because of its short lifespan and highly conserved aging phenotypes. However, the anatomical details of the major neuroendocrine system of the killifish have not been investigated so far. In this study, we have identified the pituitary and pineal glands of the turquoise killifish, which are critical components of the brain endocrine system. These two neuroendocrine glands were weakly attached to the main body of the killifish brain. The pineal gland was located on the dorsal part of the brain, while the pituitary gland was located on the ventral part. Brain sections revealed that cells in the pituitary and pineal glands were more densely situated than in other regions of the brain. Further, three-dimensional images of the pineal and pituitary glands demonstrated their distinctive cellular arrangements. Vasopressin intestinal peptide (VIP) was strongly expressed in the neurohypophysis of the pituitary gland. Glial cells were found inside the pineal gland, while astrocytes covered the outside. These findings illustrate basic features of the neuroendocrine system of N. furzeri.

Two evolutionary lineages of the fire salamander occur in central Europe: the typically striped subspecies Salamandra salamandra terrestris (Bonnaterre, 1789) and the typically spotted Salamandra salamandra salamandra (Linnaeus, 1758). In the Czech Republic, fire salamanders have traditionally been viewed as belonging to the S. s. salamandra evolutionary lineage. Nevertheless, the colour pattern of some individuals in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic resembles that of S. s. terrestris in having parallel continuous bands along the back. In this study, we investigated whether in the Czech Republic the presence of striped fire salamander phenotype could be associated with the genotype of S. s. terrestris. We sequenced the mitochondrial D-loop and two nuclear markers, Rag2 and PDGFRα, of 61 fire salamander individuals from the Czech Republic. To describe the geographical distribution pattern of the striped and spotted fire salamander phenotype in the Czech Republic, we evaluated colour phenotypes of 398 individuals from ten localities distributed so as to cover the whole country. We found no evidence of presence of genotypes corresponding to the S. s. terrestris lineage. We did, however, find that the striped phenotype is found mostly in the northwest of the Czech Republic, where both the striped and the intermediate phenotype occur significantly more frequently than in the rest of the country, where the spotted phenotype seems dominant. This finding indicates that Czech and Polish populations of S. salamandra show a degree of phenotypic pattern variation comparable to that observed in German populations, although at a local level the frequencies of the striped and spotted phenotype vary. It would be interesting to test whether a genetic toolkit responsible for the colour pattern is shared via genetic introgression between populations, or whether the striped phenotype of Czech fire salamanders evolved independently.

The Hybomys division (Muridae: Murinae: Arvicanthini) consists of four genera (Hybomys, Typomys, Dephomys, and Stochomys) endemic to the Guineo-Congolian rainforests of central Africa. Based on sequences from two mitochondrial (Cytb, 12S rRNA) and two nuclear (Rbp3, Ghr) genes, we present a fossil-calibrated molecular phylogeny of the Hybomys division, based on wider taxon and geographic sampling than previously published phylogenies. Species of Typomys formed a clade that was sister to a clade containing Hybomys and the sister genera Dephomys and Stochomys. Hybomys basilii and Hybomys lunaris were recovered as monophyletic, whereas Hybomys univittatus was recovered as polyphyletic and likely consists of at least three species. The divergence between the East African taxon H. lunaris, and the West and Central African taxa of Hybomys is estimated at 3.1 Mya. Based on molecular phylogenies and genetic distances, we infer that forms of Hybomys from both the highlands and lowlands of the Cameroon Volcanic Line, except for H. basilii, should be considered a single species for which Hybomys rufocanus is the oldest available name. As proposed, H. rufocanus would include the named forms badius and eisentrauti as synonyms, as well as populations north of the River Sanaga previously recognized as H. univittatus. Material from nearest the type locality of H. univittatus is sister to H. rufocanus, whereas other specimens currently recognised as H. univittatus from south of the River Ogooue and in the Congo Basin are sister to this H. rufocanus + true H. univittatus clade. Dating estimates place the origin and early diversification of the Hybomys division in the late Miocene, slightly preceding the radiation of most arvicanthine genera that inhabit savannah biomes. The historical biogeography of the Hybomys division appears to be congruent with hypothesized forest refugia, savannah barriers, and aridification cycles of the Neogene and Pleistocene.