HOT SPOTS OF GENETIC DIVERSITY DESCENDED FROM MULT... [Evolution. 2010] - PubMed result

HOT SPOTS OF GENETIC DIVERSITY DESCENDED FROM MULT... [Evolution. 2010] - PubMed result: "ABSTRACT Species that inhabit naturally fragmented environments are expected to be spatially structured and exhibit reduced genetic diversity at the periphery of their range. Patterns of differentiation may also reflect historical processes such as recolonization from glacial refugia. We examined the relative importance of these factors in shaping the spatial patterns of genetic differentiation across the range of an alpine specialist, the North American mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus). Contrary to fossil evidence which suggests a single southern refugium, we detected evidence for additional refugia in northern British Columbia and the Alaskan coast using both mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA. A core area of elevated genetic diversity characterized both regions, and molecular dating suggested a recent Pleistocene split was followed by demographic expansion."

Shelter Competition, Caveman, Giant Cave Bear Extinction | Megafauna, Humanity-Caused Extinction | LiveScience

Shelter Competition, Caveman, Giant Cave Bear Extinction | Megafauna, Humanity-Caused Extinction | LiveScience: "Giant cave bears thought to have once dined on each other might have been driven to extinction by the advance of humanity, scientists now suggest."

Wildlife thrive because of hunting | Greeley Tribune

Wildlife thrive because of hunting | Greeley Tribune: "Some African countries have tried bans on hunting. There are two examples of this: Kenya and Tanzania. Tanzania closed hunting in 1973 and reopened it in 1978 after poaching reduced its elephant population by more than half. Once hunting reopened, the elephant rebounded to a current population of about 125,000.

In 1977, Kenya banned hunting and has never reopened it. The costs have been staggering. According to the African Conservation Foundation, 70 percent of Kenya's wildlife outside national parks has been poached out. Kenya's elephants fared even worse: Between 1979 and 1989, the elephant population fell from 130,000 to 17,000.

In the 2007 hunting season in South Africa, 16,394 foreign hunters spent $91 million, according to the South African Professional Hunters Association. The association estimates that 70,000 jobs are created by South Africa's game-ranching industry.

In 2010, district councils in Tanzania will receive $600,000 as their share of hunting license revenues from the 2009 season."

Red List Overview

Red List Overview: "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. From its small beginning, the IUCN Red List has grown in size and complexity and now plays an increasingly prominent role in guiding conservation activities of governments, NGOs and scientific institutions."

The relationship between forage cell wall content and voluntary food intake in mammalian herbivores - MEYER - 2010 - Mammal Review - Wiley Online Library

The relationship between forage cell wall content and voluntary food intake in mammalian herbivores - MEYER - 2010 - Mammal Review - Wiley Online Library: "It is generally assumed that animals compensate for a declining diet quality with increasing food intake. Differences in the response to decreasing forage quality in herbivores have been postulated particularly between cattle (ruminants) and horses (hindgut fermenters). However, empirical tests for both assumptions in herbivorous mammals are rare."

The management of wild large herbivores to meet economic, conservation and environmental objectives - GORDON - 2004 - Journal of Applied Ecology - Wiley Online Library

The management of wild large herbivores to meet economic, conservation and environmental objectives - GORDON - 2004 - Journal of Applied Ecology - Wiley Online Library: "Wild large herbivores provide goods and income to rural communities, have major impacts on land use and habitats of conservation importance and, in some cases, face local or global extinction. As a result, substantial effort is applied to their management across the globe. To be effective, however, management has to be science-based. We reviewed recent fundamental and applied studies of large herbivores with particular emphasis on the relationship between the spatial and temporal scales of ecosystem response, management decision and implementation.
Long-term population dynamics research has revealed fundamental differences in how sex/age classes are affected by changes in density and weather. Consequently, management must be tailored to the age and sex structure of the population, rather than to simple population counts."

Evolution and function of horns and hornlike organs in female ungulates - KILTIE - 2008 - Biological Journal of the Linnean Society - Wiley Online Library

Evolution and function of horns and hornlike organs in female ungulates - KILTIE - 2008 - Biological Journal of the Linnean Society - Wiley Online Library: "Here I examine (1) the taxonomic distribution of horns and hornlike organs in females and evidence on the evolutionary history of the trait; (2) behavioural evidence on the uses of horns and hornlike organs by females and socio-ecological correlations with female hornedness or hornlessness; and (3) evidence on the role of genes and hormones in controlling the expression of female horns"

Nutrition integrates environmental responses of ungulates - Parker - 2009 - Functional Ecology - Wiley Online Library

Nutrition integrates environmental responses of ungulates - Parker - 2009 - Functional Ecology - Wiley Online Library: "Nutrition influences most aspects of animal ecology: juvenile growth rates and adult mass gain, body condition, probability of pregnancy, over-winter survival, timing of parturition, and neonatal birth mass and survival. We provide an overview among ungulates of the extent of these influences resulting from interactions among bioenergetics, foraging, and nutritional demands."

Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat? - Mendoza - 2007 - Journal of Zoology - Wiley Online Library

Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat? - Mendoza - 2007 - Journal of Zoology - Wiley Online Library: "Hypsodont (i.e. high-crowned) teeth have been interpreted as an indicator of feeding preferences and habitat selection in ungulates. For this reason, the degree of hypsodonty has been used for estimating the diet of ancient taxa and in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The goal of this study is to elucidate the relative importance of grass consumption and open habitat foraging in the development of hypsodont teeth, using novel computer techniques of knowledge discovery applied to a dataset of 134 species of artiodactyls and perissodactyls distributed among thirteen families."

EVOLUTION OF HORNS IN UNGULATES: ECOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY - JANIS - 2008 - Biological Reviews - Wiley Online Library

EVOLUTION OF HORNS IN UNGULATES: ECOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY - JANIS - 2008 - Biological Reviews - Wiley Online Library: "The savanna ungulate faunas of the North American Miocene were broadly similar to those of present-day East Africa in terms of overall morphological and taxonomic diversity. However, the predominant ungulates of the African faunas are bovids, which possess bony horns that are primitively sexually dimorphic in their occurrence. The predominant ungulates of the North American Tertiary were equids, camelids and oreodonts, which all lacked horns. A limited number of horned ruminants were present, but these were largely Miocene immigrants from Eurasia. Horns were also absent from the large-bodied herbivores in the endemic faunas of South America and Australia."