Salema, Sarpa salpa is a commercial exploited species in the Atlantic Ocean with little available information for the essential population parameters, such as age, growth and reproduction. The present study aims to describe these parameters for S. salpa obtained off the coast of Portugal. Ages were estimated from the whole otolith readings; the minimum and the maximum ages observed were 0 and 14 years, respectively, corresponding to 5.2 and 41.4 cm of total length (TL). Whole otolith readings and back-calculation approaches were used to estimate the parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth function and the Akaike's information criterion value suggested that the second approach was the best one to describe the growth of salema: L∞ = 45.07 cm, k = 0.14 year−1 and t0 = −1.43 year. The species is a protandric hermaphrodite and the sex change process occurred between 28.6 and 40.9 cm TL. A short spawning season was identified, extending from September to November. The estimated length at first maturity for males was 24.5 cm TL, corresponding to an age of 2 years at first maturity. This species exhibited a determinate fecundity type and the relative annual fecundity varied between 462 and 2662 oocytes per gram of gutted weight.

The communication of temporal information about autobiographical events was investigated by asking 39 pairs of adults to describe to each other a remote autobiographical event. Each member of the participant pairs was then asked to date the event which they had described and also to date the event which was described to them. The date when the event narrator stated their event happened was compared with the date when the listener stated the event happened. Four different temporal communication strategies were identified. It was rare for individuals to communicate temporal information by giving a calendar date. Rather, the narrator gave either a life theme or chronological age, as a cue to when the event happened. The listener appears to use these cues in combination with their autobiographical knowledge, and an estimate of the narrator's age to produce a temporal information communication outcome.

Determining age is an important step when assessing growth, mortality, and yield ofcultivated and wild populations, but studies linking shell growth marks in the pearloyster Pteria sterna with the age of individuals are lacking. Thirtyjuveniles (20.0 ± 1.2 mm shell height), collected from a winter spatfall, were marked withthe fluorochrome calcein and kept in the field in culture containers. After day 16, thejuveniles were cleaned and their shells cut along the sagittal axis to determineperiodicity of micro growth bands formed in the inner shell layers and to estimate age.During this trial, fluorescent calcein marking succeeded in individuals larger than 20 mmshell height; these formed an average of 15 micro growth bands over the 16 days,representing 1 band per day. The marker created a wide fluorescent band containing threemicro growth marks, suggesting that calcein was incorporated into the shell over the firstthree days. The use of calcein was found to be an accurate method for validating the microgrowth band frequency of formation in P. sterna juveniles, which in turncan help to estimate age.

Age and length data of 291 franciscana dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei) incidentally captured on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul State (RS), southern Brazil, were used to fit growth curves using Gompertz and Von Bertalanffy growth models. A small sample of franciscanas (N = 35) from Buenos Aires Province (BA), Argentina, were used to see if there are apparent growth differences between the populations. Male and female franciscana samples from both areas were primarily (78–85%) <4 years of age. The Von Bertalanffy growth model with a data set that excluded animals <1 year of age provided the best fit to data. Based on this model, dolphins from the RS population reached asymptotic length at 136.0 cm and 158.4 cm, for males and females, respectively. No remarkable differences were observed in the growth trajectories of males and females between the RS and BA populations.

In the absence of growth rings it is difficult to give a precise time scale for processes associated with the re-establishment of tropical rain forest. This paper explores other methods by which a time scale may be constructed. The proportions of primary and secondary species, an index of similarity, biomass measurements, girth dimensions and gap size are all considered from sites in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Data from primary, secondary and experimentally cleared forest sites are compared to estimate the minimum time required for various phases involved in the re-establishment of tropical rain forest after disturbance. A simple model is proposed to accommodate the data and other estimates in the literature. The model predicts a minimum period for the stablization of secondary species numbers as 60–70 years and the replacement of primary species as 150 years at which point gap formation is initiated. After approximately 220–250 years biomass stabilizes while individual trees exist for over 500 years.

Two rattans species were studied in Côte d'Ivoire using a stage-classified matrix model to compare their demography and life histories. Respectively 854 and 1009 genets of Eremospatha macrocarpa (pleonanthic) and Laccosperma secundiflorum (hapaxanthic) were censused every 6 mo over 18 mo. The population growth rates of E. macrocarpa (λ = 0.979) and L. secundiflorum (λ = 0.959) were not significantly different from 1. This indicates that the populations were close to equilibrium. However, the difference between the stable stage distributions and the observed distributions indicated temporal variation in vital rates. Elasticity analysis showed that growth and fecundity had lower contributions to λ than the survival rates for the two species. A Life Table Response Experiment revealed that the survival of the first juvenile stage (all stems < 6 m in length), fecundity, growth of the second juvenile stage (at least one stem > 6 m in length) and adult (reproductive) survival highly contribute to the differences between the demography of the two species. Reproduction is postponed longer for L. secundiflorum than for E. macrocarpa and the mean remaining life span for adult genets is shorter for L. secundiflorum than for E. macrocarpa. Finally, our results suggest the existence of two trade-offs within reproduction which suggest that, although the two species have different demographic features, the λ of their populations are not significantly different from 1.

The availability of a population of mostly known-age African elephants Loxodonta africana from Amboseli National Park, Kenya, provided a unique opportunity to assess the use of dung bolus diameter for estimating age. A predictive equation for estimating dung bolus diameters from elephants of known age was derived and was found to follow the typical growth pattern exhibited by changes in shoulder height and foot length. The relationship between measurements of dung bolus and age was particularly strong when growth rates were high (age 0–25 years). The dung bolus growth curve from Amboseli elephants was similar to that derived from another wild population of African elephants, suggesting that dung bolus diameter can be used to assess age structure in areas where it is impossible to construct independent prediction curves of age and dung bolus.

The West-African neighbouring Gambia and Saloum estuaries function in different ways, the first being normal (saltier waters in the lower river, salinity range 0-38) and the second being inverse (saltier waters in the upper river, salinity range 36-90). The common cichlid species Sarotherodon melanotheron was collected in both systems over 16 months (June 2001 to September 2002) at five locations. We quantified reproductive traits from macroscopic examination of the gonads, oocyte counts and measurements, and growth from interpretation and measurements of an otolith sub-sample. There was a clear seasonal cycle of reproduction in the estuaries with a peak at the beginning of the wet season (May-July). Size at maturation was smaller in the more saline environment, the Saloum, for both females (170 mm in Gambia and 131 mm in Saloum) and males (162 and 113 mm respectively). The relative fecundity was lower and the oocyte size was bigger in the freshwater location of the Gambia river. Growth, estimated by counting the annual opaque zones on whole otoliths, was reduced in the hypersaline environment of the Saloum (L∞ = 198 mm, K = 0.26). Differences are less obvious between the growth in the Gambia (L∞ = 238 mm, K = 0.21) and that in the Saloum with a salinity of less than 60 (L∞ = 244 mm, K = 0.22). All these observations suggest that S. melanotheron is able to withstand saltier environments by limiting its growth, reducing the size-at-maturity, and changing its fecundity, but the most profound changes are only visible in hypersaline conditions.

The aim of this study was to investigate age-related growth in the Sumatran elephant Elephas maximus sumatranus and to use the derived relationship to determine the age structure of the wild elephant population in Way Kambas National Park (WKNP), Sumatra. Shoulder height, forefoot circumference and diameter of dung bolus were found to be related to age of captive Sumatran elephants using the Von Bertalanffy growth function. All length measurements were highly correlated with age in the Sumatran elephant and provide growth models for determining the age structure of wild populations. Female captive elephants reached their growth plateau earlier than male elephants who continued growing throughout the ages observed. There was no clear evidence of a secondary growth spurt in male elephants. The growth model relating dung diameter to age was used to predict the age structure of the wild elephant population in WKNP from dung measured along random line transects. The wild elephant population in WKNP is young and dominated by sub-adults (between 5 and 15 years of age). There are marked differences between the age structure of the population as revealed in the current survey and that reported from previous studies, suggesting that changes have occurred within the population in the intervening period. The use of dung diameter to predict age offers a robust field technique for use in situations where direct observations are limited, and the use of other age estimation methods is impractical. It is easily coupled with dung counts for estimating the size, age structure and biomass of elephant populations, and has considerable potential for investigating the effects of poaching on age structure and identifying where priority action should be directed in human–elephant conflict situations.

Borassus aethiopum is a dioecious palm tree of African savannas. A stage-classified matrix population model has been parametrized with field data (Lamto reserve, Ivory Coast). It enabled the study of the persistence of the population, and analysis of its sensitivity to different vital rates. Age of palms in each stage were estimated to complete the description of the palm life-history. The main results are: (1) The studied populations are very close to the equilibrium but the stable stage distribution (predicted by the model) and the observed distribution are significantly different indicating a former change in the vital rates. (2) Reproduction seems to be highly delayed (first reproduction on average at 114 y), while the estimated duration of the reproductive part of the life-cycle is relatively short (22 y).

The Indian false vampire bat Megaderma lyra produces a single young under captive conditions, which is altricial at birth. Empirical growth curves were derived by measuring length of forearm, body mass and length of the total gap of the fourth metacarpal–phalangeal joint. Length of forearm and body mass followed a linear pattern of growth until day 28 and subsequently reached stability. The length of the total gap of the metacarpal–phalangeal joint initially showed a linear increase up to 4 days, followed by a linear decrease until 34 days when it closed. A quantitative method of estimation of age was derived from values of length of forearm and length of the total gap of the fourth metacarpal–phalangeal joint during the preflight (first 28 days) and postflight stages, respectively. Width of the 95% confidence level was ± 1.2 days at a mean length of forearm of 51.6 mm, and ± 0.07 days at a mean length of the total gap of the fourth metacarpal–phalangeal joint of 1.89 mm. Initiation of flight occurred 24 days after birth. At 28 days of age, young were able to forage on their own. There was no significant difference in the growth pattern of young held in captivity compared to that of young grown under natural conditions.