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Twenty-one sites were surveyed for star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) activity during May-October, 2001 and 2002. Star-nosed moles were live-trapped and their habitat characteristics were quantified and compared to habitat characteristics at nonuse sites, as well as capture sites of three other small mammal species: the short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda), the whitefooted mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus). Star-nosed moles were captured at sites characterized by moist, clay-loam soils with a slightly acidic pH, prominent horizontal cover, and a nearby water source. Starnosed mole habitat was similar to that of short-tailed shrews and white-footed mice, but differed from that of meadow voles. / Department of Biology

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2008. / Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences. Includes two articles published in the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 2007 v. 34 (4) p. 567-573 and March 17, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 273-312)

Patterns of genetic diversity in natural systems are influenced by landscape heterogeneity over spatial and temporal scales. Certain natural or anthropogenic landscape features may facilitate or impede organism dispersal and subsequent gene flow. Characterizing the geographical distribution of genetic diversity and identifying the factors contributing to population genetic structure is imperative for maintaining functional connectivity between isolated populations across a fragmented landscape. In this study, I combined genetic data and high-resolution land cover information to investigate patterns of population genetic structure in the threatened eastern hog-nosed snake (Heterodon platirhinos) at its northern range limit in Ontario, Canada. First, using putatively neutral microsatellite markers, I found evidence of genetic differentiation between two geographically disjunct regional populations: in the Carolinian region of southwestern Ontario, and along the eastern shoreline of Georgian Bay. Spatial and non-spatial Bayesian clustering algorithms also detected population genetic structure within each regional population. I found evidence of weak structure within Georgian Bay, roughly corresponding to regions north and south of Parry Sound. A genetic cluster at Wasaga Beach, located at the southern terminus of Georgian Bay, was highly differentiated from other populations, despite its geographic proximity to Georgian Bay. Excess homozygosity and reduced allelic diversity in Wasaga Beach compared to other sampled populations imply a population bottleneck event. Secondly, I inferred the role of landscape features on eastern hog-nosed snake dispersal and subsequent gene flow in the Georgian Bay regional population. Using techniques derived from electrical circuit theory, I estimated pairwise resistance distances between individuals by assigning costs to landscape features that are predicted to impede hog-nosed snake movement: open water, wetland, settlement and agriculture, and roads. Landscape features did not influence genetic structure within Wasaga Beach. However, I found weak evidence for an effect of landscape features, particularly open water and roads, on gene flow in eastern Georgian Bay. This study is the first to examine potential factors driving population genetic structure of eastern hog-nosed snakes and provides an empirical foundation for future tests of demographic models and spatially explicit simulations of gene flow. / Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2012-10-30 11:58:05.094

The Leptonycteris yerbabuenae is found in southern Arizona, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Some females are migratory, mating in southern Mexico, and migrating to maternity roosts in northern Mexico and southern Arizona to give birth. Twelve microsatellite loci markers and the Mitochondrial DNA Control Region (CR) were amplified to examine population structure and phylogenetic relationships among roosts. Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from L. yerbabuenae. A total of sixteen localities in AZ and Mexico were sampled. The mtDNA CR fragment resulted in 102 haplotypes. The phylogenetic analyses resulted in two clades, but no observable geographic structuring. The average FST value across all loci and all sampled localities was 0.022. Program STRUCTURE analyses indicate one population (K=1) throughout the sampling area. These results suggest movement between maternity colonies and transient roosts in Arizona, Sonora, and Chamela, Management recommendations based on these results would be to manage as a single population.

Molecular techniques, particularly noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) and nondestructive sampling (NDS), are increasingly being used as tools to study the ecology of free-ranging mammals. A specific application of these methods is the molecular sexing of species for which external sex differentiation is challenging. Star-nosed moles (Condylura cristata) are a little-studied species in which females possess a peniform clitoris making them externally indistinguishable from males. To my knowledge, no studies have employed NDS to study any aspect of their ecology. I therefore sequenced fragments of one X-chromosome (Zfx) and two Y-chromosome (Sry and Zfy) genes from known-sex specimens, and designed species-specific primers to co-amplify these loci from hair, claw and fecal samples of 16 star-nosed moles. I found all tissue types were highly (90-100%) reliable for sex determination. I envision that this NDS method will facilitate future capture-and-release studies on the natural history and social structure of this fascinating, semi-aquatic mammal.

Thesis (doctoral)--Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 12, 2008). Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [111]-131).

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Orientador: Augusto Shinya Abe / Coorientador: Omar Jorge Sabbag / Banca: Verônica Oliveira Vianna / Banca: Leonardo Susumu Takahashi / Resumo: O estudo avaliou a viabilidade da criação comercial do jacaré-do-papo-amarelo (Caiman latirostris) no Estado de São Paulo, em sistema de criação intensivo (farming). Foram identificados itens relevantes aos custos na atividade e os parâmetros relacionados à rentabilidade e viabilidade da atividade num horizonte de projeto de 15 anos. No primeiro caso foi avaliada uma propriedade com foco na produção de carne e pele, onde foram obtidos valores positivos para o valor presente líquido (VPL) e taxa interna de retorno (TIR) superior a 40% mostrando uma alta atratividade econômica. No segundo caso foi avaliada uma propriedade com foco na produção de matrizes e reprodutores para serem vendidos para a implantação/renovação de novos plantéis. Neste segundo caso a atividade não se mostrou economicamente viável / Abstract: This study evaluated the viability of commercial farms of broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) in the State of São Paulo, in a farming system. Items of relevance to the cost of the activities, and the parameters related to the profitability and viability of the farming were indentified. In the first case a property was evaluated focusing on the production of meat and skin, where positive values for the net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) exceeding 40% were obtained showing a high economic attractiveness. In the second case a property was evaluated with focus on producing matrices and reproducers to be sold to the implantation / renovation of new breeding stocks. In this second case the activity was not economically viable / Mestre