Tracking British Mammals

The sero-prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in British marine mammals.

Serum samples from 101 stranded or bycatch cetaceans from British waters were screened for Toxoplasma gondii-specific antibodies using the Sabin Feldman Dye Test. Relatively high seropositivity was recorded in short-beaked Delphinus delphis and this study presents the first documented case of Toxoplasma in a humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae.

Evaluation of micro-GPS receivers for tracking small-bodied mammals

GPS telemetry markedly enhances the temporal and spatial resolution of animal location data, and recent advances in micro-GPS receivers permit their deployment on small mammals. One such technological advance, snapshot technology, allows for improved battery life by reducing the time to first fix via postponing recovery of satellite ephemeris (satellite location) data and processing of location...

Habitat tracking, stasis and survival in Neogene large mammals.

Species response to environmental change may vary from adaptation to the new conditions, to dispersal towards territories with better ecological settings (known as habitat tracking), and to extinction. A phylogenetically explicit analysis of habitat tracking in Caenozoic large mammals shows that species moving over longer distances during their existence survived longer. By partitioning the fos...

Tracking Mammals with Fluorescent Pigments: a New Technique

A Tracking Technique to Locate Small Mammals at Low Densities

To optimize our livetrapping of low-density populations of lemmings (Dicrostonyx kilangmiutak) and voles (Microtus oeconomus) (0.2-0.4 animals/ha) in the Arctic tundra, we developed a powdered-slide tracking technique to determine if burrows were occupied. Painted microscope slides covered with talcum powder on a thin oil base were placed at all burrows on trapping grids, and only those burrows...