Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-81). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2008. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-230).

Large-scale, multispecies monitoring programs are used widely to assess changes in wildlife populations; however, they often assume constant detectability when documenting species occurrence. This assumption is rarely accurate because animal populations vary considerably across time and space. Furthermore, detectability of a species can be influenced by a number of physical, biological, or anthropogenic factors (e.g., weather, seasonality, topography, sampling methods, urban development). Analyses of habitat factors affecting occupancy and detection of mammalian species have not been conducted in the Paraguayan Chaco. To address this gap in the literature and provide conservation recommendations, I estimated site occupancy rates using species-specific detection probabilities for focal mammalian species at 3 study sites in the Chaco ecoregion of Paraguay. During remote camera surveys conducted August - November 2011 - 2012, I used photographic data and model selection techniques to assess the influence of different survey and site covariates on occupancy of several focal mammalian species: maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi), puma (Puma concolor), crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus), collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris), and giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). I recorded 2,034 photographs of 24 mammalian species at 64 camera sites; among those, 1,353 photographs and 529 independent survey-detections were of these 9 focal species. Detection of maned wolves and peccaries was higher in 2011 than 2012; other species did not show significant differences in detection by year. Peccaries were detected more frequently during higher temperatures, but foxes were detected more frequently during lower temperatures. The crab-eating fox was the species occupying the most sites (68%) and white-lipped peccary was the rarest, occupying only 30% of the study area. Anthropogenic disturbances (i.e., urban areas, paved roads, and human structures) negatively affected most species. Maned wolves and collared peccaries appeared to prefer grasslands, while puma and crab-eating fox used areas closer to water. White-lipped peccaries appeared to be most common or widely-distributed at the Toro Mocho study site. My research will provide land managers and conservation planners with an understanding of how mammals are distributed across the Paraguayan Chaco, as well as informing future decisions concerning land use and development by the rural human population. To further broad-scale conservation goals, wildlife biologists in Paraguay should seek partnerships with rural stakeholders to mitigate the effects of continuing agro-industrial development. Moreover, additional protected areas and buffers should be sought to maintain lands in natural conditions, including large areas set aside as wildlife reserves.

The jaw musculature and its innervation in the Chrysochloridae studied is typicaly mammalian except that the m. temporalis occupies the whole of the orbito-temporal fossa. The antemolar teeth are specialized, while the molars are simple and primitive. Normally the diet of Golden Moles consists of earthworms, insects in all stages of development and millipedes. The firm implantation of the antemolar teeth can be correlated with their function of catching the prey, while the molars are adapted for a worm-like diet. The available evidence indicates that the genera Bematiscus and Chrysospalax are more primitive than the other Golden Moles. Since Golden Moles feed on insects in all stares of development and millipedes, they can be considered as being of economic importance.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Few Pleistocene paleontological faunas are published in detail for most of Central America. Probably the richest locality of vertebrates in Central America is at Tomayate, El Salvador, and dates to the early-middle Pleistocene. Literature about late Pleistocene vertebrate species from Guatemala is especially scarce. The purpose of the present paper is to introduce the late Pleistocene mammalian remains from Chivacabé, in the western highlands of Guatemala. The Chivacabé fauna radiocarbon dates to between 15,700 and 12,920 calendar years ago. The specimens recovered from excavations between 1977 and1992 are probably only a small portion of the entire fauna likely to exist under 4 to 5 m of redeposited tephra and valley alluvium. Recovered specimens include at least one individual of Glyptotherium sp., three individuals of Cuvieronius cf. C. hyodon, one individual of Equus sp., and two individuals of Odocoileus cf. O. virginianus. One specimen that originally was thought to represent a deer antler is in fact a hyoid bone of Cuvieronius. Previous reports of 'peccary' and Eremotherium from Chivacabé are not supported by archived fossils. No faunal specimens exhibit supposed human modification marks purported by previous investigators; all aberrations observed on the bones and teeth can be explained by other taphonomic processes. The Chivacabé fauna represents one of the very few late Pleistocene faunas from Guatemala described thus far. A preliminary list of late Pleistocene localities known in Guatemala suggests that detailed studies of these faunas are warranted.

Here we report on a new fossil locality, şerefköy-2, from the Yataĝan Basin of southwestern Turkey that preserves a well-sampled, abundant, and diverse mammal fauna. Indeed, after three field seasons, more than 1200 catalogued specimens representing 26 mammal species belonging to 14 genera make the şerefköy-2 mammalian assemblage one of the richest Late Miocene fauna from Anatolia. Five hipparionines, six bovids, including the rare and enigmatic Urmiatherium rugosifrons and the presence of Pliohyrax graecus, strongly support affinities with Late Miocene faunas from Samos Island, Greece. Through a consideration of the identified material and the subsequent comparison with material from well-known Balkan and Anatolian faunas, a Middle Turolian (MN12) age for şerefköy-2 is indicated.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, November 2014. / Unable to load abstract.

No description available.