Continuing surveys on the pselaphine fauna in China have revealed four undescribed species of the genus Batrisodes: Batrisodes angustelytratus sp. n. (with Pachycondyla ant) and B. longwangshanus sp. n. from Zhejiang, B. bamian sp. n. (with Pseudolasius ant) from Hunan, and B. songxiaobini sp. n. (with Formica ant) from Yunnan. The genus Batrisodellus is placed as a junior synonym of Batrisodes...

The first granulometrical analysis of soil samples from nesting banks of the Malachite Kingfisher Alcedo cristata is reported. In total 56 samples from the Kinshasa area were analysed. Three standardised particle size fractions were determined in all groups of samples (percentage of sand, clay and silt). Mean particle percentage of soil samples from banks occupied by Malachite Kingfishers avera...

Anthropogenic disturbance is a relevant and widespread facilitator of environmental change and there is clear evidence that it impacts natural populations. While population-level responses to major anthropogenic changes have been well studied, individual physiological responses to mild disturbance can be equally critical to the long-term survival of a species, yet they remain largely unexamined...

Many birds living in regions with seasonal fluctuations in ambient temperatures (T(a)) typically respond to cold by increasing insulation and adjusting metabolic rate. Seasonal variation in thermal physiology has not been studied for the Caprimulgiformes, an order of birds that generally have basal metabolic rates (BMR) lower than predicted for their body mass. We measured the metabolic rate an...

Fifteen fecal samples from peacocks (Pavo cristatus) in Saudi Arabia contained oocysts of Eimeria riyadhae n. sp. in two peacocks and oocysts of E. arabica n. sp. in one peacock. Sporulated oocysts of Eimeria riyadhae are ellipsoidal, 27-30.5 x 20.5-25 (28.8 +/- 1.3 x 22.4 +/- 1.6) micron, with a two-layered wall and bilobed polar body, but without a micropyle or residuum. The sporocysts are ov...

Terrestrial landscapes surrounding aquatic habitat influence the persistence of amphibian spatially structured populations (SSPs) via their crucial role in providing estivation and overwintering sites, facilitating or hampering dispersal colonisation, consequently maintenance loss genetic diversity. To highlight landscape drivers variation, we investigated relationship between level variation m...