Recently added

We are excited to announce that the repository will soon undergo an upgrade, featuring a new look and feel along with several enhanced features to improve your experience. Please be on the lookout for further updates and announcements regarding the launch date. We appreciate your support and look forward to unveiling the improved platform soon.

Mammal Research Institute: Recent submissions

  • The positive effect of plant diversity on soil carbon depends on climate 
    Spohn, Marie; Bagchi, Sumanta; Biederman, Lori A.; Borer, Elizabeth; Brathen, Kari Anne; Bugalho, Miguel N.; Caldeira, Maria C.; Catford, Jane A.; Collins, Scott L.; Eisenhauer, Nico; Hagenah, Nicole; Haider, Sylvia; Hautier, Yann; Knops, Johannes M.H.; Koerner, Sally E.; Laanisto, Lauri; Lekberg, Ylva; Martina, Jason P.; Martinson, Holly; McCulley, Rebecca L.; Peri, Pablo L.; Macek, Petr; Power, Sally A.; Risch, Anita C.; Roscher, Christiane; Seabloom, Eric W.; Stevens, Carly; Veen, G.F. (Ciska); Virtanen, Risto; Yahdjian, Laura (Nature Research, 2023-10-19)
    Little is currently known about how climate modulates the relationship between plant diversity and soil organic carbon and the mechanisms involved. Yet, this knowledge is of crucial importance in times of climate change ...
  • Kin recognition for incest avoidance in Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis 
    Leedale, Amy E.; Vullioud, Philippe; Seager, David; Zottl, Markus; Glauser, Gaetan; Clutton-Brock, Tim H. (Royal Society Publishing, 2024-10)
    Across taxa, breeding among close relatives is usually avoided because it incurs fitness costs to offspring. Incest is often averted through the dispersal of either sex from the natal area to breed. In some philopatric ...
  • Spatial patterns of large African cats : a large-scale study on density, home range size, and home range overlap of lions Panthera leo and leopards Panthera pardus 
    NAms, Vilis; Parker, Dan M.; Weise, Florian Johannes; Patterson, Bruce D.; Buij, Ralph; Wageningen, P.B.; Radloff, Frans G.T.; Vanak Ashoka, Abi Tamim; Tumenta, Pricelia N.; Hayward, Matt W.; Swanepoel, Lourens H.; Funston, Paul J.; Bauer, Hans; Power, R. John; O'Brien, John; O'Brien, Timothy G.; Tambling, Craig; DeIongh, Hans H.; Ferreira, Sam M.; Owen‑Smith, Norman; Cain, James W.; Fattebert, Julien; Croes, Barbra M.; Spong, Goran F.; Loveridge, Andrew J.; Houser, Ann Marie; Golabek, Krytyna A.; Begg, Colleen M.; Grant, Tanith; Trethoman, Paul; Musyoki, Charles; Menges, Vera; Creel, Scott; Balme, Guy A.; Pitman, Ross T.; Bissett, Charlene; Jenny, David; Schuette, Paul; Wilmers, Christopher C.; Hunter, Luke T.B.; Kinnaird, Margaret F.; Begg, Keith; Owen, Cailey R.; Steyn, Villiers; Bockmuehl, Dirk; Munro, Stuart J.; Mann, Gareth K.H.; DuPreez, Byron D.; Marker, Laurie L.; Huqa, Tuqa J.; Cozzi, Gabriele; Frank, Laurence G.; Nyoni, Phumuzile; Stein, Andrew B.; Kasiki, Samuel M.; MacDonald, David W.; Martins, Quinton, E.; VanVuuren, Rudie J.; Stratford, Ken; Bidner, Laura R.; Oriol-Cotteril, Alayne; Maputla, N.W. (Nakedi Walter); Maruping-Mzileni, Nkabeng; Parker, Tim; Van't Zelfde, Maarten; Isbell, Lynne A.; Beukes, Otto B.; Beukes, Maya (Wiley, 2023-04)
    1. Spatial patterns of and competition for resources by territorial carnivores are typically explained by two hypotheses: 1) the territorial defence hypothesis and 2) the searching efficiency hypothesis. 2. According ...
  • Robustly estimating the demographic contribution of immigration : simulation, sensitivity analysis and seals 
    Christian, Murray; Oosthuizen, W. Chris; Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt; De Bruyn, P.J. Nico (Wiley, 2024-05)
    Identifying important demographic drivers of population dynamics is fundamental for understanding life-history evolution and implementing effective conservation measures. Integrated population models (IPMs) coupled with ...
  • Functional and morphological divergence in the forelimb musculoskeletal system of scratch-digging subterranean mammals (Rodentia: Bathyergidae) 
    Montoya-Sanhueza, German; Bennett, Nigel Charles; Sumbera, Radim (Wiley, 2024-09)
    Whether the forelimb-digging apparatus of tooth-digging subterranean mammals has similar levels of specialization as compared to scratch-diggers is still unknown. We assessed the scapular morphology and forelimb musculature ...
  • Land use influences the diet of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in South Africa 
    Kennedy Overton, E.; Bernard, A.; Renaud, P.C.; Hall, Grant; Guerbois, C.; Fritz, H.; Prugnolle, F.; Rougeron, V. (Elsevier, 2024-10)
    Please read abstract in the article.
  • Reproductive phenology is a repeatable, heritable trait linked to the timing of other life-history events in a migratory marine predator 
    Oosthuizen, W.C.; Pistorius, P.A.; Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt; Altwegg, R.; De Bruyn, P.J. Nico (Royal Society, 2023-07)
    Population-level shifts in reproductive phenology in response to environmental change are common, but whether individual-level responses are modified by demographic and genetic factors remains less well understood. We ...
  • The dissection of a despotic society : exploration, dominance and hormonal traits 
    Majelantle, T.L. (Tshepiso); Ganswindt, Andre; Hart, Daniel William; Hagenah, Nicole; Ganswindt, Stefanie Birgit; Bennett, Nigel Charles (Royal Society, 2024-05)
    Naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) live in large colonies with one breeding female (queen), one to three breeding males (BMs) and the remainder are non-reproductive subordinates. The animals have a linear dominance ...
  • Cryptorchidism in the sub-Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus tropicalis 
    Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt (Springer, 2023-11)
    The prevalence of cryptorchidism, a condition when one or more testes failed to move to their proper position(s), was evaluated for sub-Antarctic fur seals from Gough Island, South Atlantic. The reproductive tracts of ...
  • Long-term stability in the circumpolar foraging range of a Southern Ocean predator between the eras of whaling and rapid climate change 
    Derville, Solene; Torres, Leigh G.; Newsome, Seth D.; Somes, Christopher J.; Valenzuela, Luciano O.; Vander Zanden, Hannah B.; Baker, C. Scott; Berube, Martine; Busquets-Vass, Geraldine; Carlyon, Kris; Childerhouse, Simon J.; Constantine, Rochelle; Dunshea, Glenn; Flores, Paulo A.C.; Goldsworthy, Simon D.; Graham, Brittany; Groch, Karina; Grocke, Darren R.; Harcourt, Robert; Hindell, Mark A.; Hulva, Pavel; Jackson, Jennifer A.; Kennedy, Amy S.; Lundquist, David; Mackay, Alice I.; Neveceralova, Petra; Oliveira, Larissa; Ott, Paulo H.; Palsbollj, Per J.; Patenaude, Nathalie J.; Rowntree, Victoria; Sironi, Mariano; Vermeulen, Els; Watson, Mandy; Zerbini, Alexandre N.; Carroll, Emma L. (National Academy of Sciences, 2023-02-27)
    Assessing environmental changes in Southern Ocean ecosystems is difficult due to its remoteness and data sparsity. Monitoring marine predators that respond rapidly to environmental variation may enable us to track ...
  • LoCoH : nonparameteric kernel methods for constructing home ranges and utilization distributions 
    Getz, Wayne Marcus; Fortmann-Roe, Scott; Cross, Paul C.; Lyons, Andrew J.; Ryan, Sadie J.; Wilmers, Christopher C. (Public Library of Science, 2007-02-14)
    Parametric kernel methods currently dominate the literature regarding the construction of animal home ranges (HRs) and utilization distributions (UDs). These methods frequently fail to capture the kinds of hard boundaries ...
  • Identifying potential measures of stress and disturbance during a captive to wild African elephant reintegration 
    Pretorius, Yolanda; Eggeling, Tamara; Ganswindt, Andre (Public Library of Science, 2023-10-03)
    There is increasing evidence of compromised welfare for elephants managed in captivity. Should such facilities eventually close, more elephants will need to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the wild. The goal of ...
  • Factors that affect owl ecology in an agricultural matrix in east Gauteng 
    Hannweg, Caroline Grace (University of Pretoria, 2019-11)
    Anthropogenic impacts are extensive and affect species at individual and population levels as well as communities. To understand these anthropogenic impacts we have to understand various factors, such as agriculture, and ...
  • Snakebite epidemiology, outcomes and multicluster risk modelling in Eswatini 
    Padidar, Sara; Monadjem, Ara; Litschka-Koen, Thea; Thomas, Brent; Shongwe, Nondusimo; Baker, Clare; Mmema, Lindelwa; Sithole, Trevor; Murray, James; Casewell, Nicholas R.; Pons, Jonathan; Lalloo, David G.; Harrison, Robert A.; Stienstra, Ymkje; Dlamini, Wisdom M. (Public Library of Science, 2023-11-10)
    BACKGROUND Halving snakebite morbidity and mortality by 2030 requires countries to develop both prevention and treatment strategies. The paucity of data on the global incidence and severity of snakebite envenoming causes ...
  • Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing bushbabies (Mammalia: Galagidae) in a biodiversity hotspot of northern South Africa 
    Halajian, Ali; Cuozzo, F.P.; Heyne, Heloise; Sauther, Michelle L.; Linden, Birthe; Linden, Jabu; Linden, Jabu; Tordiffe, Adrian Stephen Wolferstan; Rampedi, Kgethedi Michael; Hornok, Sándor (Elsevier, 2024-03)
    South Africa has six species of primates, three of which are bushbabies (family Galagidae). Very little information is available on their parasites due to the lack of longitudinal studies, although Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, ...
  • A female-biased gene expression signature of dominance in cooperatively breeding meerkats 
    Campbell, C. Ryan; Manser, Marta B.; Shiratori, Mari; Williams, Kelly; Barreiro, Luis; Clutton-Brock, Tim H.; Tung, Jenny (Wiley, 2024-11)
    Dominance is a primary determinant of social dynamics and resource access in social animals. Recent studies show that dominance is also reflected in the gene regulatory profiles of peripheral immune cells. However, the ...
  • Tracking the foraging migrations of Marion Island southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) during their first year of life 
    McIntyre, Trevor; Oosthuizen, W. Chris; Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt; Hindell, Mark A.; Reisinger, Ryan Rudolf; Tosh, Cheryl A.; Van den Hoff, John; De Bruyn, P.J. Nico (Wiley, 2024-04)
    The first year of life is critical for large mammals to acquire foraging and predator avoidance skills. Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) pups wean at approximately three weeks of age and depart on their first ...
  • Photo-identification and satellite telemetry connect southern right whales from South Georgia Island (Islas Georgias del Sur) with multiple feeding and calving grounds in the southwest Atlantic 
    Kennedy, Amy; Carroll, Emma L.; Zerbini, Alexandre N.; Baker, C. Scott; Bassoi, Manuela; Beretta, Nazarena A.; Buss, Danielle L.; Calderan, Susannah; Cheeseman, Ted; Collins, Martin A.; Costa-Urrutia, Paula; Ensor, Paul; Groch, Karina; Leaper, Russell; Olson, Paula; Passadore, Cecilia; Riet-Sapriza, Federico G.; Vermeulen, Els; Vilches, Florencia; Wood, Andrew G.; Jackson, Jennifer A. (Wiley, 2024-04)
    The sub-Antarctic waters of South Georgia Island (Islas Georgias del Sur, SG/IG) are a regularly visited feeding ground for southern right whales (Eubalaena australis, SRW) in the southwest Atlantic. Satellite telemetry ...
  • First direct observation of a successful southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) birth in South African coastal waters 
    Shuttleworth, Loraine; Appleby, Ash; Appleby, Robin; Vermeulen, Els (Wiley, 2024-04)
    No abstract available.
  • Ancestral African bats brought their cargo of pathogenic Leptospira to Madagascar under cover of colonization events 
    Cordonin, Colette; Gomard, Yann; Monadjem, Ara; Schoeman, M. Corrie; Le Minter, Gildas; Lagadec, Erwan; Gudo, Eduardo S.; Goodman, Steven M.; Dellagi, Koussay; Mavingui, Patrick; Tortosa, Pablo (MDPI, 2023-07)
    Madagascar is home to an extraordinary diversity of endemic mammals hosting several zoonotic pathogens. Although the African origin of Malagasy mammals has been addressed for a number of volant and terrestrial taxa, the ...