This study investigates how habitat variation affects sett density, the number of animals per social group and group territory size in the badger (Meles meles). Identical methods were applied in three habitat types: lowland parkland with mixed woodland, pastoral farmland and upland rough pasture with moorland, representing areas of presumed good, medium and poor badger habitat, respectively. Contiguous main setts were identified and bait-marking was used to estimate territory size. Group size was estimated by direct enumeration. Variation in sett density, group size and territory size supported the hypothesis that badger group and territory size are influenced by habitat type. This was further supported by analyses of data from other studies in the British Isles. The implications for badger spatial ecology, badger survey techniques and the badger's role in the epidemiology of TB are discussed.

The social organization of female mountain gazelles was studied on Mount Carmel, Israel. The behaviour of distinctly recognized individuals was studied by year-round observations. Female gazelles lived in groups whose composition remained constant throughout the year, and new females did not freely enter the established groups. Group home ranges overlapped, but various groups replaced each other in the same area at different times of the day. Different groups tended to use different parts of the overlapping home range. In general, but especially in summer, the different groups largely avoided being synchronously together in the same area. The occurrence of two groups in the same area at the same time was a rare event and when it occurred, a high rate of agonistic interaction was observed between the groups. Hence, groups of female mountain gazelles hold and defend temporal territories against other female groups. Mean seasonal group size ranged between 3.4 and 6.4 and was largest during winter, when groups of females joined together occasionally and little agonistic interaction was observed between the groups. It is suggested that group size is affected by food availability and predation pressure.

Small mammal communities (shrews and rodents) were studied using mark-and-recapture techniques from November 1991 to June 1992 at six sites on the Accra Plains of Ghana. The sites were two traditionally protected ‘sacred groves’, two plots in the legally protected Shai Hills Resource Reserve, and two fire-protected sites: secondary forest and a Gmelina tree plantation. A total of 241 individuals representing four species of shrews and nine species of rodents was caught. Abundance, diversity, and composition of small mammals varied greatly between sites. Praomys tullbergi was the most abundant species in the sacred groves, whereas Mastomys erythroleucus dominated in the fire-protected site and in the plantation. The more open grassland areas in the Shai Hills were dominated by Lemniscomys striatus and Uranomys ruddi. Shrews were caught only in forests having dense leaf litter. Legally protected reserve sites had the highest diversity of small mammals but population densities were low. In contrast, the sacred groves had lower diversity levels but much higher population densities, resulting in 1.9 to 14.6 times the biomass of any of the other sites. The rodents Mus minutoides and Hylomyscus alleni and the shrews Crocidura buettikoferi and C. lamottei were found only in the sacred groves. Sacred groves play an important socio-cultural role. Their local ecological and economic importance as reservoirs for rare and useful plants is well known. This study shows that they are also important refuges for certain small mammal species and support characteristic mammal communities. An attempt to measure the impact of the invading exotic tree Azadirachta indica (neem tree) on small mammals was inconclusive, although trapping success was low in areas with dense stands of neem.

The courtship and mating behaviour of three empidid flies Empis trigramma, E. tessellata and E. opaca are described. In E. trigramma the male appears to use his complex genitalia to introduce a liquid ‘gift’ into the female's abdomen during copulation. This ‘gift’ is subsequently discharged and imbibed by the female. Such male ‘gifts’ may constitute a direct investment in their offspring, as females do not seem to acquire significant nutritional input from other sources. Males of E. opaca and E. tessellata present a ‘gift’ to the female, in the form of a dead insect, before mating takes place. Females will not mate with males which do not present a gift. Gifts presented during the period of sexual activity also appear to make a substantial contribution to female ovarian development. Some males seek to ‘cheat’ by presenting substitute gifts in the form of the fluff-bearing seeds of willows. In E. opaca such ‘cheats’ enjoyed a low rate of reproductive success, compared with males presenting food gifts. ‘Cheating’ appears to be an alternative mating tactic for males of this species.

Diets of red Cervus elaphus and roe Capreolus capreolus deer in Scottish plantation forests were assessed by botanical and chemical analyses of 144 rumen samples. Samples were taken for summer and winter from four forests with a range of deer densities and ratios. Red deer ate mainly grasses in summer, and a mixture of sedges, rushes, grasses and heaths (ericoid plants) in winter. Roe deer ate predominantly forbs (herbaceous plants other than graminoids) in summer, and a mixture of forbs, heaths and tree and shrub browse in winter. The two species ate significantly different quantities of forbs and grasses (P < 0.001). Both species ate more grasses and forbs in summer, and more heaths in winter (P < 0.05). There were few differences between forests for either red or roe deer in diet composition or its seasonal variation. Washed rumen contents of roe deer contained more nitrogen than did those of red deer (P < 0.05) in both seasons, and both species contained more nitrogen in summer than in winter (P < 0.05). Proportions of the main plant categories within rumens were compared with their abundance recorded in the ground flora. These comparisons showed roe deer to be highly selective, whilst red deer ate plants in proportions similar to their availability. Niche overlap increased and dietary niche breadths widened during the winter. The main overlap was for heaths Calluna vulgaris and Vaccinium myrtillus in winter. However, C. vulgaris is widespread and common and competition was considered to be more likely for forbs and possibly V. myrtillus: the use of some forb species by red deer in summer may limit their availability to roe deer in winter, when they remain an important dietary item. Consideration of the different digestive specializations of the two species suggested that any dietary competition is likely to affect roe deer more than red deer.

The normal diet of most small passerines contains insufficient calcium for effective eggshell formation and birds must often forage specifically for calcium-rich items in the environment. It has been demonstrated that anthropogenic acid precipitation can significantly reduce levels of available calcium in soil and the abundance of calcareous items such as snail shells. Recent research in areas adversely affected by acid precipitation on Continental Europe has suggested that reduced calcium availability has resulted in an increased incidence of eggshell defects in small birds. In this paper we present data from one of the areas of the U.K. most severely affected by acid precipitation and where snail abundance (0.36 snails per m2) and exchangeable soil calcium levels (0.02 mg g−2) were very low: lower than values at sites in the Netherlands where severe eggshell defects occurred. The provision of supplementary calcium and the examination of eggshells, however, provided no evidence that blue tits Parus caeruleus were constrained in their ability to form effective eggshells as a result of calcium deficiency. We suggest that other factors, besides low calcium availability, may be contributory to the high incidence of eggshell defects seen in other areas.

Seasonal changes in the species composition and fibre content of plant fragments in the rumen and the gross anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract were investigated in Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus in western parts of Spitsbergen (Nordenskiöld Land (NL), 78°N), where the tundra vegetation is relatively abundant, and on the island of Nordaustlandet ((NA) 81°N) where, in the polar desert, plants are scarce. Reindeer were killed while grazing on NL in autumn (n = 19) and in winter (n = 10) and on NA in summer (n = 10) and in winter (n = 3). Rumen contents included mainly mosses and grasses in specimens from NL and mainly Saxifraga spp. in specimens from NA. The plant cell wall content of the dry organic matter in the rumen-reticulum (RR) ranged from 55% to 77% and from 43% to 57% in NL and NA specimens, respectively, and did not vary between seasons. In autumn, the wet weight of the contents of the RR ranged from 13% to 20% of body mass (BM) in females on NL and from 14% to 24% of BM in adult reindeer in winter. On NA, the wet weight of the contents of the RR in adult animals ranged from 15% to 20% of BM in summer and from 15% to 17% of BM in winter in NA. The ratio of the wet weight of the contents of the distal fermentation chamber (DFC) to the wet weight of the contents of the RR was 1:8 in females in autumn, compared to 1:6–1:7 in adult animals on NL in winter. The ratio of the wet weight of the DFC to the wet weight of the RR ranged between 1:8–1:10 in summer, compared to 1:7 and 1:8 in winter. There were no significant differences in the size of plant particles in the RR contents in females from the two areas in any season, indicating that ruminal plant particle size was not influenced by the concentration of plant cell walls in the rumen contents. We conclude that the degree of filling of the gastrointestinal tract of these reindeer was therefore principally a function of plant fibre chemistry. Svalbard reindeer are adaptable intermediate feeders but they have, nevertheless, developed a large DFC similar to that of concentrate selectors.

Aspects of coexistence between the dwarf crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis and the Nile monitor lizard Varanus niloticus were studied in swamp rain forests of south-eastern Nigeria, central Africa. Crocodiles were significantly smaller than monitor lizards. There was no significant sexual size dimorphism in the examined sample of Varanus, whereas the female size exceeded the male size in Osteolaemus. The food niche breadth was narrower in young than in adults of both species, and V. niloticus showed a narrower niche breadth than O. tetraspis. Crabs constituted the main prey type category for both species, whereas vertebrates were more rarely preyed upon. The diet composition of males and females was similar in V. niloticus, but it was different in O. tetraspis. The general diet composition of the two species was similar (78.2% of overlap), and even the habitats where these two species were found were similar. These interspecific similarities suggest that O. tetraspis and V. niloticus could be potential competitors in the freshwater ecosystems of the Nigerian rainforest. However, it is suggested that the main prey type for these species (crabs) is not limited in the environment, which may minimize interspecific competition. Interference competition can also occur between these species, as suggested by one case of direct predation of the one species (V. niloticus) towards the other species (O. tetraspis). A case of cannibalism was observed in V. niloticus. This could indicate that intraspecific competition can be important for regulating the dynamics of monitor populations in the rainforests of south-eastern Nigeria.

Mammalian cervical vertebrae 6 and 7 and thoracic vertebra 1 possess many distinguishing characteristics. In the giraffe, bone morphology, muscle origins and insertions, as well as the location of the brachial plexus (described as many osteological and some soft tissue characters) are identical to those in other mammals but are all displaced posteriorly by one vertebra. There are two exceptions to these observations: the pre-sacral vertebral count is unchanged when compared with that in the okapi and C7 supports the first rib. Thus, one vertebra has been added in the neck of the giraffe between cervical 2 and 6, and some type of structural blending has occurred in the region of the first rib. The junction of the giraffe neck with the thorax is unusual and results in a protruding forelimb. It is possible that the unusual position of the neck relates to balancing of a cantilevered neck and head upon a relatively slight body. Characteristic drinking postures may have also influenced the observed anatomical modifications.

In the mating system of Ilyoplax pusilla, wandering females respond to courting, burrow-holding males that wave their chelipeds and enter their burrows. They pair in plugged burrows where mating occurs. Female I. pusilla spawned within 3 days of pairing, after which the male left. The opercula of females became decalcified, before, or more often after, pairing. Decalcification normally follows responsiveness to male courtship, but it is not necessary to produce female receptive behaviour, and pairing with a male in his burrow is not essential to evoke decalcification. After spawning, the numbers of calcified females gradually increased, and most ovigerous females were recalcified before larval release. The percentage of decalcified, single, non-ovigerous females in the population peaked near the full and new moons. The peak percentage of decalcified, non-ovigerous, paired females occurred 2 days later than that of decalcified, single, non-ovigerous females. Decalcified females did not always enter male burrows for mating. Some females remained in their own burrows and laid eggs fertilized with stored sperm. Spawning with stored sperm may be an adaptation to avoid the risk of predation and it enables females, not evicted by neighbouring males, to reproduce.

Swimming is the most important escape mechanism in lestid damselflies. The effect of lamellae autotomy and sexual size dimorphism on startle-response performance was studied experimentally in larvae of the lestid damselfly Lestes sponsa. In contrast with the prediction of McNeill (1960) that lamellae loss would not affect swimming speed in fast swimmers such as Lestes larvae, swimming performance decreased in a quadratic way with the removal of subsequent lamellae. Lamellae autotomy therefore will considerably reduce the probability of escape from a predator. Larger larvae swim faster than smaller ones of the same instar. This may contribute to a higher survival of larger larvae compared with smaller ones when confronted with both conspecific and heterospecific predators. Despite larvae showing sexual size dimorphism, with females being larger, no difference in swimming speed between the sexes was found.

Some cave-dwelling bat species such as Myotis myotis now also roost in buildings in parts of their range. I studied the effects of roost temperature and colony size on reproductive success of colonies of M. myotis located in buildings. Temperatures in attics fluctuated considerably and altered the thermal conditions at the roost during the breeding season. Inter-colony variation was recorded with respect to factors indicating reproductive success (number, growth, and mortality of juveniles until fledging). However, over-winter survival varied more between years than between colonies. Colony size did not influence development or mortality of juveniles. High average roost temperatures favoured development of juveniles but did not influence mortality. Unlike the situation in caves, large colony sizes are not advantageous in buildings

The following Applications were published on 30 September 1998 in Vol. 55, Part 3, of the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. Comment or advice on any of these Applications is invited for publication in the Bulletin and should be sent to the Executive Secretary (I.C.Z.N.), c/o The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K. (e-mail: iczn@nhm.ac.uk).