The temperature sensor in board house of GPS radio-collar is for monitoring the ambient temperature of collared animals. We assumed that the effect of body heat of an animal on the temperature sensor would result in biased temperature reading and evaluated the reading by using GPS3300S collars (Lotek Wireless Inc.). We examined the bias by comparing the temperatures readings among collar sensors and two temperature loggers, i.e. an internal logger wrapped by artificial heaters inside the fur of sika deer (Cervus nippon) on the board house for representing the animal body, and an external logger for measuring ambient temperature. We managed two loggers working synchronically with the sensor and regarded the difference between loggers as animal body-ambient-difference, and the temperature difference between the external logger and the sensor as sensor bias. We confirmed that the body heat affected the sensors positively with body-ambient-difference. We designed the collar for reducing sensor bias by creating spacer between the board house and the animal neck by one or two plates for insulating body heat and combining an aluminum membrane pasted on the house and the mid-plate for reflecting body heat. Increasing the spacer width and pasting reflecting membrane reduced sensor bias in both single- and double-spacer designs. A 12-mm single-spacer design with one house reflecting membrane worked best and bias decreased to 2.1°C at 70°C body-ambient-difference.

We assessed the distribution, occupancy, and activity patterns of two rupicaprids viz., Himalayan goral Nemorhaedus goral and Himalayan serow Capricornis thar in the western part of the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, Sikkim, using camera traps during 2009–2010. Goral had the highest photo-capture rate (# photo/100 days) of 6.37 ± 3.02 in temperate habitats (n = 169) followed by 1.82 ± 1.27 in subalpine habitats (n = 41). Serow had the highest photo-capture rate of 1.65 ± 0.88 in subalpine habitats (n = 53) followed by 0.58 ± 0.34 in temperate habitats (n = 19). The estimated detection probability was 0.57 for goral and 0.46 for serow. Detection probabilities were negatively related to human presence. Occupancy of goral (0.27) was slightly lesser than serow (0.30). Denser tree cover, warmer aspect and sites far away from tourist trails were the best predictors for the occupancy of goral. Denser tree cover, higher elevation and warmer aspect were the best predictors for the occupancy of serow. Spatial separation between these two species was not clear although different activity peaks were observed. To ensure the survival of these species, protection measures are required to keep their habitats free from anthropogenic activities.

Horizontal and elevational distributions of Apodemus peninsulae, A. draco and A. latronum are illustrated. A total of 1,355 museum specimens were identified by their cranial measurements and the size of t7 cusp on the first upper molar in 180 localities of Russia, Mongolia, China, Taiwan, Korea, Myanmar, India and Japan. Apodemus peninsulae belonged to “the northern pattern”, A. draco to “the southern China pattern” with “the Hengduan Shan pattern”, and A. latronum to “the Hengduan Shan pattern”, respectively, among nine distributional patterns reported previously. The distribution of A. latronum did not extend eastward from the Min Jiang along 104°E, and southward from the Jinsha Jiang between 101°E and 104°E in eastern and southeastern Sichuan, China. Relative compositions of elevational occurrence where the three species of Apodemus showed a gradual decrease ranging from 500 m to 3,500 m classes in A. peninsulae, the greatest concentration in the 2,000–2,500 m classes between 500 m and 4,500 m classes in A. draco, and a gradual increase from 1,500 m to 5,000 m classes in A. latronum, respectively. Elevation where mice were collected in localities related significantly and negatively with latitudes except for A. latronum. The three species were collected mainly in deciduous and coniferous forest. Critical reinvestigation is needed for A. peninsulae and A. draco collected from several provinces in China.

The role of the Orii's flying-fox, Pteropus dasymallus inopinatus, in the reproduction of Mucuna macrocarpa was investigated through captive and wild observations on Okinawajima Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. When Orii's flying-fox fed on flowers of M. macrocarpa, it pushed its nose to the basal portion of the flowers to feed on nectar. This caused the hard petals of flowers to explode and consequently opened the carina. When a flying-fox's face pointed in the same direction as a flower, there was a significantly higher explosive opening rate compared with approaches from the side or the opposite direction (χ² test; P < 0.001). In total, in the captive setting, 32.2% of the flowers exhibited explosive opening. During such events, stamens with pollen and pistils emerged and attached to the throat and forehead of the flying-fox. Other main flower visitors were the brown-eared bulbul, the Japanese white-eye, the Japanese bush warbler, and the honeybee, but they did not stimulate explosive opening. These observations demonstrate that the Orii's flying-fox is the only explosive opener and the primary pollinator of this flower. On the other hand, flying-foxes sometimes damaged flowers. However, this does not appear to be a serious problem for M. macrocarpa, which has a large number of flowers.

Skull morphological characters are used for species and subspecies identification in the manatees, but no comparative study has investigated skull growth. We examined progressive ossification in the cranial sutures of 251 skulls of West Indian manatees, 19 skulls of African manatees and 17 skulls of Amazonian manatees. Degrees of cranial suture fusion were evaluated based on gross observations of skull specimens. Our results suggest that ossification patterns in occipital region sutures follow a fixed sequence in living manatees. In all manatees, the suture between the sphenoid and occipital bones fused first, while the supraoccipital-exoccipital synchondrosis fused last. The ossification sequence observed in manatees was not found in descriptions of other mammals, including the dugong. We concluded that this ossification sequence is a unique, common character of living manatees. We also found two differences in the sequence of occipital region development in two subspecies of the West Indian manatee. The shape of the Foramen magnum is considered to be an important character for the classification of the two subspecies of the West Indian manatee. The different ossification sequences detected in this study are probably reflected in the different shapes of the Foramen magnum.

Rivers are habitats favored by insectivorous bats. The Japanese large-footed bat (Myotis macrodactylus) is one of such species strongly associated with rivers. To clarify the population structure and migration pattern of M. macrodactylus, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogeography was investigated in 15 subpopulations along three rivers (Tokachi, Ishikari and Teshio Rivers) on Hokkaido Island, northern Japan. Of 267 bats examined, nine mtDNA cytochrome b haplotypes were identified and separated into two major genetic clades, which did not reflect geographic distributions within and among the river regions. Principal component analysis of mtDNA haplotypes showed that most subpopulations in Ishikari and Teshio of the three river regions were grouped into one genetically related group, whereas those in the Tokachi river region were remotely related to those of the other two river regions. The results could be ascribed to no geographic barriers preventing bats' migration between the former two river regions. By contrast, it is possible that the Daisetsuzan and Hidaka mountain ranges play a role as effective geographic barriers against migrations of this species between the Tokachi and Ishikari/Teshio river regions.