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Diversity
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Adaptive Evolution and Management in Small Mammals
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Adaptive Evolution and Management in Small Mammals

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2022) | Viewed by 6162

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jiapeng Qu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China
Interests: animal behaviour; population ecology; wildlife management
Dr. Wei Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Interests: animal behaviour; population ecology; wildlife management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a forthcoming Special Issue of Diversity focused on small mammals, which are  distributed in the wild throughout almost the entire terrestrial ecosystem, even in the oceans.

Small mammals are the animals with the highest morphological structure and the most perfect physiological function in the animal kingdom. Compared with other animals, mammals’ most prominent feature is viviparous birth and the feeding of their young with milk from the mother. Mammals adapt to a variety of complex living environments and have highly developed brains. There are around 2000 extant species of small mammals in the world. Although small mammals have been studied in terms of life history, population dynamics, behaviour and genetics, detailed studies on their adaption, evolution and management are still lacking.

This Special Issue is an exciting opportunity to combine and synthesize recent research on the adaptation, evolution and management of small mammals worldwide. We are inviting submissions of manuscripts focused on any of the above topics. Although specific case studies with broad implications are welcome, we encourage authors to submit large-scale and/or multi-specific studies, synthesis works and reviews that could improve our knowledge of the ecology and management of small mammals. If you are interested in this opportunity or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Dr. Jiapeng Qu
Dr. Wei Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • adaptation and evolution
  • wildlife management
  • small mammal

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 929 KiB  
Article
Forest Fragmentation and Developmental Stability of Wood Mice Apodemus sylvaticus: A Food-Mediated Effect?
by Mario Díaz and Teresa Morán-López
Diversity 2023, 15(3), 423; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15030423 - 13 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2047
Abstract
Generalist mice are key species for the long-term dynamics of fragmented forests due to their dual role as seed dispersers or predators of the dominant trees. Wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus, usually act as a net predator in woodlots due to higher winter [...] Read more.
Generalist mice are key species for the long-term dynamics of fragmented forests due to their dual role as seed dispersers or predators of the dominant trees. Wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus, usually act as a net predator in woodlots due to higher winter densities and earlier winter reproduction than in forests. Here we analyze the recruitment expectations of young mice born in woodlots in relation to food availability through an index of developmental stability that combined values of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) for six traits of the lower mandibles. FA was measured in young and adult mice caught at the end of the winter in control woodlots, food-supplemented woodlots and in a nearby large forest. Despite low sample sizes (n = 9 for young and n = 74 for adults), FA in young mice born in control woodlots were significantly higher than in those from food-supplemented woodlots and the forest and in all adults. Food limitation in woodlots was thus associated with increased developmental instability of young mice, but it had no effect on adults. Instability likely reduced the survival prospects of young mice through increased mortality, and this should be compensated by yearly recolonization of woodlots by adults from the agricultural matrix in autumn and winter. Future work analyzing mechanisms suggested here but using non-lethal methods will be important to clarify the impacts of FA on the population dynamics of wood mice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Evolution and Management in Small Mammals)
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21 pages, 4680 KiB  
Article
Phylogeography of the Plateau Pika (Ochotona curzoniae) in Response to the Uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
by Yinglian Qi, Xiaoyan Pu, Zhilian Li, Daoguang Song and Zhi Chen
Diversity 2023, 15(2), 307; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020307 - 20 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1792
Abstract
The evolution and current distribution of species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been significantly impacted by historical occurrences, including the uplift of the plateau and the Quaternary climate upheaval. As a remnant species, the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is a great [...] Read more.
The evolution and current distribution of species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been significantly impacted by historical occurrences, including the uplift of the plateau and the Quaternary climate upheaval. As a remnant species, the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is a great model for researching historical events. In this study, 302 samples from 42 sample sites were utilized to analyze the impact of historical events on the evolution and distribution pattern of plateau pikas. The genetic diversity, patterns of differentiation, and historical dynamics of the plateau pika were investigated using molecular markers that included four mitochondrial genes (COI, D-loop, Cytb, and 12S rRNA) and three nuclear genes (GHR, IRBP, and RAG1). The results showed that: (1) The genetic diversity of the plateau pika was high in the Tibetan Plateau (Hd = 0.9997, π = 0.01205), and the plateau pika evolved into five lineages that occupied different geographical areas, with lineage 1 (Group 1) in the south of the Yarlung Zangbo River, lineage 2 (Group 2) in the hinterland of the plateau, lineage 3 (Group 3) in the northeastern part of the plateau, lineage 4 (Group 4) in the Hengduan Mountains, and lineage 5 (Group 5) in the eastern part of the plateau. (2) The gene flow among the five lineages was low, and the differentiation level was high (Nm < 0.25; Fst > 0.25), indicating that the geographical barriers between the five lineages, such as the Yarlung Zangbo River, the Qaidam-Ghuong-Guide Basin, and the Lancang River, effectively promoted the population differentiation of the plateau pika. (3) The plateau pika first spread from the Hengduan Mountains to the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and then conducted small-scale migration and dispersal in several refuges across the plateau in response to climate changes during the glacial and interglacial periods. (4) Except for Group 1 and Group 4, all the other populations exhibited a rapid expansion between 0.06 and 0.01 Mya, but the expansion was considerably delayed or halted by the effects of climate change during the last glacial maximum (0.02 Mya). Overall, the plateau pika on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau exhibits high genetic diversity, and topographic obstacles, including mountains, valleys, and basins, created by the uplift of the plateau and climatic changes since the Quaternary period have played an important role in the differentiation and historical dynamics of the plateau pika population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Evolution and Management in Small Mammals)
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16 pages, 10792 KiB  
Article
Determining Extinction for Small Cryptic Species: The Morro Bay Kangaroo Rat
by Jaran Hopkins, Tim Bean and Francis Villablanca
Diversity 2023, 15(2), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020245 - 9 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1788
Abstract
One third of missing mammal species thought to be extinct have been rediscovered. Determining extinction correctly, without misinterpreting negative evidence, is difficult and takes significant effort, especially for small, cryptic species. The Morro Bay kangaroo rat (MBKR), Dipodomys heermanni morroensis, is a [...] Read more.
One third of missing mammal species thought to be extinct have been rediscovered. Determining extinction correctly, without misinterpreting negative evidence, is difficult and takes significant effort, especially for small, cryptic species. The Morro Bay kangaroo rat (MBKR), Dipodomys heermanni morroensis, is a small nocturnal rodent suspected of being extinct. This is because it has not been seen since 1986 despite three range-wide surveys conducted between 1995 and 2012, a recent scent-detecting dog survey, and over a dozen localized surveys. Causes of decline have been reported and the primary causes are thought to be development-driven habitat loss and ecological succession. Given this, we suspect that if the MBKR is extant, then it occurs in the periphery of its historical range. We summarize a survey of the Morro Bay sandspit, an area not previously considered part of MBKR’s range but that has the potential to be occupied. Inferences from the subspecies’ closest relative, Dipodomys heermanni arenae, were used to inform surveys and detection probability estimates for MBKR. Visual surveys of the sandspit in areas with the greatest probability of displaying signs yielded few occurrences of possible signs. Camera traps were deployed in winter and summer at locations with possible signs, but, despite occupancy model detection probabilities of 0.88 in winter and 0.97 in summer, there were no detections of MBKR. Given detection probability estimates inferred from Dipodomys heermanni arenae, the conditional occupancy estimate that MBKR are present on the sandspit but were missed by all cameras on all nights of surveying is extremely low (5 × 10−6). We conclude that the MBKR is not present on the Morro Bay sandspit, at least not in the habitat where its presence was most likely to be detected. Future surveys for this small, cryptic species will need to adapt to a combination of low expected occupancy and high expected detection probability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Evolution and Management in Small Mammals)
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