Barn owl pellets were analyzed for comparing the small mammal fauna among three islands of Tuscan archipelago, Italy. Rarefaction analyses and diversity analyses were used on barn owl pellet samples at a total of 18 sites. Apodemus sylvaticus appeared the most abundant species in Elba and Capraia, and Mus musculus in Pianosa. Diversity profiles showed that Pianosa and Elba were very similar in terms of dominance and evenness profiles, whereas Capraia had higher dominance and lower evenness. Using our original data and literature review, we found that 5 species are found in Pianosa, 1 in Giannutri, 0 in Montecristo, 5 in Giglio, 7 in Elba, 6 in Capraia, and 1 in Gorgona. There was no effect of island area, human population size, or linear distance from mainland on species richness.

The CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) data set for the years 1990–2010 were analyzed to depict the main patterns of trade for tortoises and freshwater turtles of wild origin. About 2 million wild individuals were traded over 20 yrs of monitoring, with 48 species (of 335 turtle species in total) belonging to 10 distinct families being regularly traded and over 100 being at least occasionally traded. Most of the traded specimens belonged to the families Testudinidae, Geoemydidae, Emydidae, and Trionychidae (about 93% of trade). The trade of wild individuals reached its peak in the early 2000s, with this pattern being stronger in the Asian region. After the years 2003–2005, there was a substantial decrease in the number of wild exports from the Asian region, with a remarkable growth in the export numbers from the Nearctic region. It is unknown whether the reduction of exported Asian region turtle numbers depended on 1) CITES regulation and superv...

The correlates of species richness and conservation status of South American rodents were studied by analyzing the ranges of 791 species (belonging to 159 genera and 16 families). The distribution data (size of each species’ range in km 2 ) and the relative quantity of each macrohabitat type (in km 2 ) were obtained from the Global Mammal Assessment data bank of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Global Land Cover 2000, respectively. We excluded mainly island species from analyses but included those species that occur on both islands and the mainland. Habitats were grouped according to seven categories (shrubland, forest, grassland, savannah, wetlands, desert, and artificial). Mean range sizes varied significantly among families, with members of the family Cuniculidae having larger ranges than the species belonging to the rest of the families. Mean range size did not differ significantly between endemic and non-endemic taxa. There was a significant positive relation between total species richness and the availability of habitat types. Specialized species (i.e., those linked to a single habitat type) were found especially in forests, but shrublands and grasslands were also important. IUCN threatened species were distributed in a scattered way, and essentially in forests, grasslands, and shrublands. No region of the Neotropics housed more than two to three threatened taxa, apart from a spot in north-central Peru with five species. The richness of IUCN threatened species was higher in the montane forest ecosystems of the Andes, north-central Peru, than in other areas of South America. There was a mismatch between the hotspot maps for threatened and endemic species. The conservation implications of these patterns are discussed.

Although Togo is a relatively small country in West Africa, it is characterized by a wide variation of vegetation zones ranging from moist forests to arid savannahs, including the “Dahomey Gap”. There has been no comprehensive documentation of the native mammal fauna of Togo since 1893. Our review of the extant and extirpated mammals ofT ogo includes 178 species, with Chiroptera (52 species) and Rodentia (47 species) being the most speciose groups. This number does not include additional species recorded along the borders ofT ogo, and whose presence inside the country is not verified. Seven species of mammals are presumably extinct in the country but we confirmed that two species of large ungulates, reputed to be extinct, survive in remote forest habitats. Ecological Zone IV, sustaining the moist forest areas, and Ecological Zone I, inclusive of all the relatively undisturbed dry savannahs of the extreme North of the country are the most important regions for mammal diversity and conservation. RÉSUMÉ Liste annotée des mammifères non marins du Togo. Bien que le Togo soit un pays relativement petit, il est caractérisé par une grande variation de zones de végétation allant de la forêt humide aux savanes arides, y compris le « Dahomey Gap ». Aucune liste exhaustive sur les mammifères natifs du Togo n'a été réalisée depuis 1893. Notre révision des mammifères existants et disparus du Togo comprend 178 espèces; les groupes les plus riches en espèces sont les Chiroptères (52 espèces) et les rongeurs (47 espèces). Ce nombre n'inclut pas les espèces additionnelles signalées le long des frontières du Togo, et dont la présence à l'intérieur du pays n'a pas été vérifiée. Sept espèces de mammifères ont probablement disparu dans le pays, mais nous confirmons que deux espèces de grands ongulés présumées éteintes ont survécu dans des habitats forestiers isolés. La zone écologique IV, qui abrite la forêt humide, et la zone écologique I qui inclut les savanes sèches relativement intactes de l'extrême Nord du pays...

Venomous snakes are among the main sources of mortality for humans in rural regions, especially in tropical countries. In this study, a meta-analysis of quantitative community ecology studies on snake assemblages throughout the world was conducted in order to evaluate variation in the frequency of occurrence of venomous species and venomous individuals by habitat and continent. A bibliographic search was done by consulting “Google Scholar” and “ISI Web of Knowledge”. In total, 24,200 results were obtained from our bibliographic search, out of which 60 independent studies reporting raw and analyzable quantitative data from 81 distinct snake communities were retained and used for analyses. A snow-ball procedure was also used to uncover additional studies to include in the analyses. We gathered data on a total of 30,537 snake individuals, with an average of almost 30% of venomous individuals. The mean number of sympatric species was 19, whereas the mean number of sympatric venomous species was almost 5. Venomous snake species accounted for 24.4% of the total species in each community—almost the same as the overall percentage of venomous snake species known worldwide (about 24%). The frequency of occurrence of venomous individuals did not differ significantly between tropical and temperate snake communities, and the same was true for the frequency of venomous species within each community. Thus, the greater number of snakebites in tropical countries is not due to there being more venomous snake species or individuals. The total number of species and the number of venomous species observed in each community were positively correlated, and there was a significant difference among continents in terms of the mean number of species in each community. Within communities, there were inter-continental and inter-habitat differences in both the percentage of venomous species and in the percentage of venomous individuals. The Generalized Linear Model (GLM) revealed that the frequency of venomous species at a local scale depended only on the total number of species inhabiting a given site, whereas the frequency of venomous individuals within communities depended on both the total number of species and a habitat–continent interaction. Our meta-analysis could enable the appropriate authorities/agencies to take the relative abundance of venomous species/individuals within snake assemblages into consideration for a better positioning of the first aid centers in locations where snake antivenoms should be available.