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Research Articles (Mammal Research Institute): Recent submissions

  • Collective close calling mediates group cohesion in foraging meerkats via spatially determined differences in call rates 
    Engesser Sabrina; Manser, Marta B. (Elsevier, 2022-03)
    During group movements, many socially living and group-foraging animals produce contact calls. Contact calls typically function to coordinate and maintain cohesion among group members by providing receivers with information ...
  • A vast icefish breeding colony discovered in the Antarctic 
    Purser, Autun; Hehemann, Laura; Boehringer, Lilian; Tippenhauer, Sandra; Wege, Mia; Bornemann, Horst; Pineda-Metz, Santiago E.A.; Flintrop, Clara M.; Koch, Florian; Hellmer, Hartmut H.; Burkhardt-Holm, Patricia; Janout, Markus; Werner, Ellen; Glemser, Barbara; Balaguer, Jenna; Rogge, Andreas; Holtappels, Moritz; Wenzhoefer, Frank (Elsevier, 2022-02)
    A breeding colony of notothenioid icefish (Neopagetopsis ionah, Nybelin 1947) of globally unprecedented extent has been discovered in the southern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The colony was estimated to cover at least 240 ...
  • Nutrient addition drives declines in grassland species richness primarily via enhanced species loss 
    Muehleisen, Andrew J.; Watkins, Carmen R.E.; Altmire, Gabriella R.; Shaw, E. Ashley; Case, Madelon F.; Aoyama, Lina; Brambila, Alejandro; Reed, Paul B.; LaForgia, Marina; Borer, Elizabeth; Seabloom, Eric W.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Amillas, Carlos Alberto; Biederman, Lori; Chen, Qingqing; Cleland, Elsa E.; Fay, Philip A.; Hagenah, Nicole; Harpole, Stan; Hautier, Yann; Henning, Jeremiah A.; Knops, Johannes M.H.; Komatsu, Kimberly J.; Ladouceur, Emma; MacDougall, Andrew; McCulley, Rebecca L.; Moore, Joslin L.; Ohlert, Tim; Power, Sally A.; Stevens, Carly J.; Wilfahrt, Peter A.; Hallett, Lauren M. (Wiley, 2023-03)
    Declines in grassland diversity in response to nutrient addition are a general consequence of global change. This decline in species richness may be driven by multiple underlying processes operating at different time-scales. ...
  • Linking changes in species composition and biomass in a globally distributed grassland experiment 
    Ladouceur, Emma; Blowes, Shane A.; Chase, Jonathan M.; Clark, Adam T.; Garbowski, Magda; Alberti, Juan; Arnillas, Carlos Alberto; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Barrio, Isabel C.; Bharath, Siddharth; Borer, Elizabeth; Brudvig, Lars A.; Cadotte, Marc W.; Chen, Qingqing; Collins, Scott L.; Dickman, Christopher R.; Donohue, Ian; Du, Guozhen; Ebeling, Anne; Eisenhauer, Nico; Fay, Philip A.; Hagenah, Nicole; Hautier, Yann; Jentsch, Anke; Jonsdottir, Ingibjorg S.; Komatsu, Kimberly J.; MacDougall, Andrew; Martina, Jason P.; Moore, Joslin L.; Morgan, John W.; Peri, Pablo L.; Power, Sally A.; Ren, Zhengwei; Risch, Anita C.; Roscher, Christiane; Schuchardt, Max A.; Seabloom, Eric W.; Stevens, Carly J.; Veen, G.F. (Ciska); Virtanen, Risto; Wardle, Glenda M.; Wilfahrt, Peter A.; Harpole, W. Stanley (Wiley, 2022-12)
    Global change drivers, such as anthropogenic nutrient inputs, are increasing globally. Nutrient deposition simultaneously alters plant biodiversity, species composition and ecosystem processes like aboveground biomass ...
  • Over 80% of Africa's savannah conservation land is failing or deteriorating according to lions as an indicator species 
    Robson, Ashley; Trimble, Morgan; Bauer, Dominik; Loveridge, Andrew; Thomson, Paul; Westerntbz, Guy; Lindsey, Peter Andrew (Wiley Open Access, 2022-01)
    Calls to increase the global area under protection for conservation assume existing conservation areas are effective but, without adequate investment, they may not be. We collected survey data from expert respondents on ...
  • Fossorial adaptations in African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) and the unique appendicular phenotype of naked mole-rats 
    Montoya-Sanhueza, German; Saffa, Gabriel; Sumbera, Radim; Chinsamy, Anusuya; Jarvis, Jennifer U.M.; Bennett, Nigel Charles (Nature Research, 2022-06-01)
    Life underground has constrained the evolution of subterranean mammals to maximize digging performance. However, the mechanisms modulating morphological change and development of fossorial adaptations in such taxa are ...
  • Male blue wildebeest increase activity during the rut, but not at the expense of rest 
    Malungo, Illke B.; Gravett, Nadine; Ganswindt, Andre; Manger, Paul R. (Springer, 2023-06)
    Rest is a state of adaptive inactivity that increases the efficiency of activity by regulating its timing and reducing energy use when activity is not beneficial. Thus, animals can go without rest when specific demands, ...
  • Fence management and time since pack formation influence African wild dog escapes from protected areas in South Africa 
    Stone, David W.; Kelly, Chris; Marneweck, David G.; Druce, Dave J.; Hopcraft, J. Grant C.; Marneweck, Courtney J. (Elsevier, 2022-12)
    In human-dominated and highly fragmented landscapes, keeping wildlife within reserve boundaries is vital for conservation success. In South Africa, fences are a widely employed conservation management tool for protected ...
  • Rostrum abnormalities in the endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea) in South Africa 
    Frainer, Guilherme; Elwen, Simon Harvey; Dines, Sasha; James, Bridget; Vermeulen, Els; Penry, Gwenith; Vargas-Fonseca, O. Alejandra; Atkins, Shanan; Conry, Danielle S.; Gridley, Tess (Wiley, 2023-07)
    Morphological abnormalities in wild animals can be indicators of the underlying health of a population and may be determined through routine photographic surveys. Here, we assess unusual rostrum conditions in Indian Ocean ...
  • The elusive role of prolactin in the sociality of the naked mole-rat 
    Gilbert, James D.; Rossiter, Stephen J.; Bennett, Nigel Charles; Faulkes, Christopher G. (Elsevier, 2022-07)
    Despite decades of research into the evolutionary drivers of sociality, we know relatively little about the underlying proximate mechanisms. Here we investigate the potential role of prolactin in the highly social naked ...
  • Strong and lasting impacts of past global warming on baleen whales and their prey 
    Cabrera, Andrea A.; Schall, Elena; Berube, Martine; Anderwald, Pia; Bachmann, Lutz; Berrow, Simon; Best, Peter B.; Clapham, Phillip J.; Cunha, Haydee A.; Dalla Rosa, Luciano; Dias, Carolina; Findlay, Kenneth Pierce; Haug, Tore; Heide-Jorgensen, Mads Peter; Hoelzel, A. Rus; Kovacs, Kit M.; Landry, Scott; Larsen, Finn; Lopes, Xenia M.; Lydersen, Christian; Mattila, David K.; Oosting, Tom; Pace, Richard M.; Papetti, Chiara; Paspati, Angeliki; Pastene, Luis A.; Prieto, Rui; Ramp, Christian; Robbins, Jooke; Sears, Richard; Secchi, Eduardo R.; Silva, Monica A.; Simon, Malene; Vikingsson, Gisli; Wiig, Oystein; Oien, Nils; Palsboll, Per J. (Wiley, 2022-04)
    Global warming is affecting the population dynamics and trophic interactions across a wide range of ecosystems and habitats. Translating these real-time effects into their long-term consequences remains a challenge. The ...
  • Demographic consequences of changes in environmental periodicity 
    Conquet, Eva; Ozgul, Arpat; Blumstein, Daniel T.; Armitage, Kenneth B.; Oli, Madan K.; Martin, Julien G.A.; Clutton-Brock, Tim H.; Paniw, Maria (Wiley, 2023-03)
    The fate of natural populations is mediated by complex interactions among vital rates, which can vary within and among years. Although the effects of random, among-year variation in vital rates have been studied extensively, ...
  • Stress in an underground empire 
    Medger, Katarina (The Royal Society, 2022-03)
    The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) and the Damaraland mole-rat (Fukomys damarensis) live in large colonies in underground tunnel systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Most members of the colonies are suppressed ...
  • Tissue oxidative ecology along an aridity gradient in a mammalian subterranean species 
    Jacobs, Paul Juan; Hart, Daniel William; Merchant, Hana N.; Janse van Vuuren, Andries Koch; Faulkes, Christopher G.; Portugal, Steven J.; Van Jaarsveld, Barry; Bennett, Nigel Charles (MDPI, 2022-11-18)
    Climate change has caused aridification which can alter habitat vegetation, soil and precipitation profiles potentially affecting resident species. Vegetation and soil profiles are important for subterranean mole-rats ...
  • Bite force in the strictly subterranean rodent family of African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) : the role of digging mode, social organization and ecology 
    Kraus, Andrea; Lovy, Matej; Mikula, Ondrej; Okrouhlik, Jan; Bennett, Nigel Charles; Herrel, Anthony; Sumbera, Radim (Wiley, 2022-09)
    Bite force is an ecologically relevant performance trait that has been measured to better understand the adaptations to diet and habitat use. Moreover, bite force is relevant in understanding reproductive success, as well ...
  • Shepherding sub-Saharan Africa's wildlife through peak anthropogenic pressure toward a green anthropocene 
    Lindsey, Peter Andrew; Anderson, S.H.; Dickman, A.; Gandiwa, P.; Harper, S.; Morakinyo, A.B.; Nyambe, N.; O’Brien-Onyeka, M.; Packer, C.; Parker, A.H.; Robson, A.S.; Ruhweza, Alice; Sogbohossou, E.A.; Steiner, K.W.; Tumenta, P.N. (Annual Reviews, 2022)
    Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA’s) iconic biodiversity is of immense potential global value but is jeopardized by increasing anthropogenic pressures. Elevated consumption in wealthier countries and the demands of international ...
  • Aggression, boldness, and exploration personality traits in the subterranean naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) disperser morphs 
    Majelantle, Tshepiso Lesedi; Ganswindt, Andre; Pirk, Christian Walter Werner; Bennett, Nigel Charles; Hart, Daniel William (MDPI, 2022-11-09)
    Animal personality traits (consistent behavioral differences between individuals in their behavior across time and/or situation) affect individual fitness through facets, such as dispersal. In eusocial naked mole-rat ...
  • Quantification of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of stress in the rock hyrax Procavia capensis living in an urban green space 
    Carlin, Elisabetta; Somers, Michael J.; Scheun, Juan; Campbell, R.; Ganswindt, Andre (Wiley Open Access, 2022-01)
    Despite the abundance of rock hyrax Procavia capensis within South Africa’s urban areas, there is not much information available about the effect of anthropogenic activities on rock hyrax wellbeing. To determine the potential ...
  • Dental development and first premolar homology in placental mammals 
    McKay, Calum J.; Welbourn-Green, Claudia; Seiffert, Erik R.; Sallam, Hesham; Li, Jessica; Kakarala, Sophia E.; Bennett, Nigel Charles; Asher, Robert J. (Pensoft Publishers, 2022-05-20)
    Macroscelidid afrotherians and canid carnivorans possess four premolar loci, the first of which is not replaced. Previous work suggests that the first premolar in macroscelidids is a retained deciduous tooth, but in Canis ...
  • Defining the link between oxidative stress, behavioural reproductive suppression and heterothermy in the Natal mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus natalensis) 
    Jacobs, Paul Juan; Finn, Kyle T.; Janse van Vuuren, Andries Koch; Suess, Tobias; Hart, Daniel William; Bennett, Nigel Charles (Elsevier, 2022-08)
    Sub-lethal effects, such as oxidative stress, can be linked to various breeding and thermophysiological strategies, which themselves can be linked to seasonal variability in abiotic factors. In this study, we investigated ...