Chinese goral (Naemorhedus griseus) are a threatened species in Thailand and the focus of captive breeding for possible reintroduction. However, little is known of their biology or what factors in the captive environment affect welfare. Our objective was to determine the impact of gender, season, and management on goral adrenal activity. We hypothesized that differences in fecal glucocorticoid ...

In some sexually dichromatic passerines, juvenile males retain a plumage similar to that of adult females through their first year or longer (delayed plumage maturation). The Tawny-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila hypoxantha) is a sexually dichromatic species in which, to the human eye, the juveniles look like females. We analyzed the species’ stages of plumage maturation by reflectance spectromet...

The concept of biodiversity embraces a multifaceted and hierarchical analysis of the complexity of life, with implications in many areas of science, philosophy, ethics, politics, and even religion. Three levels are included in the commonly accepted definitions: genetical, species, and ecosystem diversity, going from the intraspecific level to the landscape. Here, I argue that a fourth level, ne...

Zoos and other ex situ wildlife institutions can play an important role in species conservation by maintaining populations for education and research, as sources for potential re-introduction or reinforcement, and as ambassadors for financial support of in situ conservation. However, many regional zoo associations are realizing that current captive populations are unsustainable, with many progr...

Most mammals are characterized by a lack of parental care by the male sex. This is particularly true in highly polygynous, sexually selected species and species in which fathers remain only weakly associated with their offspring. Here we report observations suggesting the existence of male parental care in the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx, Primates: Cercopithecinae), one of the most sexually dim...

1. Understanding the trophic status of consumers in freshwater habitats is central to understanding their ecological roles and significance. Tadpoles are a diverse and abundant component of many freshwater habitats, yet we know relatively little about their feeding ecology and true trophic status compared with many other consumer groups. While many tadpole species are labelled herbivores or det...

b Department of Ecology and Marine Resources, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas 10 (CSIC), Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208 Vigo, Spain 11 *Corresponding author: Tel. and fax: +34.982.254.681; e-mail: 12 [email protected]. 13 14

Male song sparrows sing repertoires of 4–13 distinct song types and have proved a valuable model for testing hypotheses concerning the function and evolution of song complexity. Captive female song sparrows solicit more copulations in response to playback of larger repertoires, yet it remains unclear whether male repertoire size influences female mate choice in natural situations. We used long-...

In the early 20th century, after hundreds of years of gradual decline, the California condor emerged as an object of intensive scientific study, an important conservation target, and a cultural icon of the American wilderness preservation movement. Early condor researchers generally believed that the species’ survival depended upon the preservation of its wilderness habitat. However, beginning ...

Dramatic declines and extinctions of amphibian species have occurred worldwide over the last three decades owing to the introduction of chytridiomycosis. This emerging infectious disease is caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a virulent water-borne pathogen of many amphibian species. It has caused epidemic waves of high mortality as it spread through susceptible wild po...