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Revue Scientifique Et Technique... Aug 2010Every region of the world is concerned by potential mammal invasions, as humans are already present on all the world's land masses. All these invasions are a result of... (Review)
Review
Every region of the world is concerned by potential mammal invasions, as humans are already present on all the world's land masses. All these invasions are a result of species introductions by humans for one reason or another. The authors briefly review the known movements and observed consequences of mammal-related invasions. They take examples from all five continents, as well as from a few island systems. The ancient introduction of game species, and later of domestic species, has been followed more recently by movements of commercial species. We are now seeing the emergence of what are known as entertainment species. In a number of cases, such introductions have led to the establishment of new epidemiological cycles that previously might never have been thought possible. According to current indicators, this phenomenon is not on the wane.
Topics: Africa; Americas; Animal Migration; Animals; Asia; Australia; Europe; Humans; Introduced Species; Mammals; Oceania
PubMed: 20919577
DOI: No ID Found -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Aug 2023Nesting behaviour in mammals has been investigated in a wide variety of species but to date there has not been any scholarly review of the incidence and roles of these... (Review)
Review
Nesting behaviour in mammals has been investigated in a wide variety of species but to date there has not been any scholarly review of the incidence and roles of these nests. Not all mammals build nests but, while some large species regularly build nests, nest-building behaviour is more commonly associated with small mammals weighing less than a kilogram. Quantitative data for the amounts of different materials used in a nest are rarely reported but mammal nests are typically constructed from fresh (rather than dead) plant materials. Animal-derived materials seem to be rare in nests, but anthropogenic materials are reported. Few studies have examined the roles these different materials play but more physically robust materials provide support for the structure. Many mammal nests have maternity roles, but a variety of other roles were recognized. A wide range of mammalian orders use nests for resting and environmental protection. Less common roles were as sites for torpor or hibernation, or as a refuge from predation, or the materials may have anti-parasite properties. These different roles were often not mutually exclusive. It is hoped that this review will stimulate interest in the functional properties of mammalian nests. It also suggests various themes that would be interesting areas for future research. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolutionary ecology of nests: a cross-taxon approach'.
Topics: Humans; Pregnancy; Animals; Female; Mammals; Ecology; Conservation of Natural Resources; Nesting Behavior; Predatory Behavior
PubMed: 37427481
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0138 -
Circulation Research Apr 2020Maturation is the last phase of heart development that prepares the organ for strong, efficient, and persistent pumping throughout the mammal's lifespan. This process is... (Review)
Review
Maturation is the last phase of heart development that prepares the organ for strong, efficient, and persistent pumping throughout the mammal's lifespan. This process is characterized by structural, gene expression, metabolic, and functional specializations in cardiomyocytes as the heart transits from fetal to adult states. Cardiomyocyte maturation gained increased attention recently due to the maturation defects in pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte, its antagonistic effect on myocardial regeneration, and its potential contribution to cardiac disease. Here, we review the major hallmarks of ventricular cardiomyocyte maturation and summarize key regulatory mechanisms that promote and coordinate these cellular events. With advances in the technical platforms used for cardiomyocyte maturation research, we expect significant progress in the future that will deepen our understanding of this process and lead to better maturation of pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte and novel therapeutic strategies for heart disease.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Heart Diseases; Humans; Myocytes, Cardiac; Pluripotent Stem Cells
PubMed: 32271675
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.119.315862 -
Current Protein & Peptide Science 2019As a major component of biologically active compounds in the body, proteins contribute to the synthesis of body tissues for the renewal and growth of the body. The high... (Review)
Review
As a major component of biologically active compounds in the body, proteins contribute to the synthesis of body tissues for the renewal and growth of the body. The high level of dietary protein and the imbalance of amino acid (AA) composition in mammals result in metabolic disorders, inefficient utilization of protein resources and increased nitrogen excretion. Fortunately, nutritional interventions can be an effective way of attenuating the nitrogen excretion and increasing protein utilization, which include, but are not limited to, formulating the AA balance and protein-restricted diet supplementing with essential AAs, and adding probiotics in the diet. This review highlights recent advances in the turnover of dietary proteins and mammal's metabolism for health, in order to improve protein bioavailability through nutritional approach.
Topics: Animals; Biological Availability; Dietary Proteins; Humans; Nutrients
PubMed: 30678625
DOI: 10.2174/1389203720666190125111235 -
Marine Pollution Bulletin Feb 2016Underwater noise, whether of natural or anthropogenic origin, has the ability to interfere with the way in which marine mammals receive acoustic signals (i.e., for... (Review)
Review
Underwater noise, whether of natural or anthropogenic origin, has the ability to interfere with the way in which marine mammals receive acoustic signals (i.e., for communication, social interaction, foraging, navigation, etc.). This phenomenon, termed auditory masking, has been well studied in humans and terrestrial vertebrates (in particular birds), but less so in marine mammals. Anthropogenic underwater noise seems to be increasing in parts of the world's oceans and concerns about associated bioacoustic effects, including masking, are growing. In this article, we review our understanding of masking in marine mammals, summarise data on marine mammal hearing as they relate to masking (including audiograms, critical ratios, critical bandwidths, and auditory integration times), discuss masking release processes of receivers (including comodulation masking release and spatial release from masking) and anti-masking strategies of signalers (e.g. Lombard effect), and set a research framework for improved assessment of potential masking in marine mammals.
Topics: Animal Communication; Animals; Aquatic Organisms; Behavior, Animal; Hearing; Mammals; Noise; Oceans and Seas
PubMed: 26707982
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.12.007 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Mar 2023Wild mammals are icons of conservation efforts, yet there is no rigorous estimate available for their overall global biomass. Biomass as a metric allows us to compare...
Wild mammals are icons of conservation efforts, yet there is no rigorous estimate available for their overall global biomass. Biomass as a metric allows us to compare species with very different body sizes, and can serve as an indicator of wild mammal presence, trends, and impacts, on a global scale. Here, we compiled estimates of the total abundance (i.e., the number of individuals) of several hundred mammal species from the available data, and used these to build a model that infers the total biomass of terrestrial mammal species for which the global abundance is unknown. We present a detailed assessment, arriving at a total wet biomass of ≈20 million tonnes (Mt) for all terrestrial wild mammals (95% CI 13-38 Mt), i.e., ≈3 kg per person on earth. The primary contributors to the biomass of wild land mammals are large herbivores such as the white-tailed deer, wild boar, and African elephant. We find that even-hoofed mammals (artiodactyls, such as deer and boars) represent about half of the combined mass of terrestrial wild mammals. In addition, we estimated the total biomass of wild marine mammals at ≈40 Mt (95% CI 20-80 Mt), with baleen whales comprising more than half of this mass. In order to put wild mammal biomass into perspective, we additionally estimate the biomass of the remaining members of the class Mammalia. The total mammal biomass is overwhelmingly dominated by livestock (≈630 Mt) and humans (≈390 Mt). This work is a provisional census of wild mammal biomass on Earth and can serve as a benchmark for human impacts.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Swine; Deer; Biomass; Cetacea; Caniformia; Sus scrofa
PubMed: 36848563
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2204892120 -
American Journal of Physiology.... Jan 2015The diving physiology of aquatic animals at sea began 50 years ago with studies of the Weddell seal. Even today with the advancements in marine recording and tracking... (Review)
Review
The diving physiology of aquatic animals at sea began 50 years ago with studies of the Weddell seal. Even today with the advancements in marine recording and tracking technology, only a few species are suitable for investigation. The first experiments were in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. In this paper are examples of what was learned in Antarctica and elsewhere. Some methods employed relied on willingness of Weddell seals and emperor penguins to dive under sea ice. Diving depth and duration were obtained with a time depth recorder. Some dives were longer than an hour and as deep as 600 m. From arterial blood samples, lactate and nitrogen concentrations were obtained. These results showed how Weddell seals manage their oxygen stores, that they become reliant on a positive contribution of anaerobic metabolism during a dive duration of more than 20 min, and that nitrogen blood gases remain so low that lung collapse must occur at about 25 to 50 m. This nitrogen level was similar to that determined in elephant seals during forcible submersion with compression to depths greater than 100 m. These results led to further questions about diving mammal's terminal airway structure in the lungs. Much of the strengthening of the airways is not for avoiding the "bends," by enhancing lung collapse at depth, but for reducing the resistance to high flow rates during expiration. The most exceptional examples are the small whales that maintain high expiratory flow rates throughout the entire vital capacity, which represents about 90% of their total lung capacity.
Topics: Animals; Diving; Dolphins; Humans; Lung; Oxygen; Seals, Earless; Spheniscidae; Whales
PubMed: 25411360
DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00264.2014 -
Current Biology : CB Jun 2023Within mammals, different reproductive strategies (e.g., egg laying, live birth of extremely underdeveloped young, and live birth of well-developed young) have been...
Within mammals, different reproductive strategies (e.g., egg laying, live birth of extremely underdeveloped young, and live birth of well-developed young) have been linked to divergent evolutionary histories. How and when developmental variation across mammals arose is unclear. While egg laying is unquestionably considered the ancestral state for all mammals, many long-standing biases treat the extreme underdeveloped state of marsupial young as the ancestral state for therian mammals (clade including both marsupials and placentals), with the well-developed young of placentals often considered the derived mode of development. Here, we quantify mammalian cranial morphological development and estimate ancestral patterns of cranial shape development using geometric morphometric analysis of the largest comparative ontogenetic dataset of mammals to date (165 specimens, 22 species). We identify a conserved region of cranial morphospace for fetal specimens, after which cranial morphology diversified through ontogeny in a cone-shaped pattern. This cone-shaped pattern of development distinctively reflected the upper half of the developmental hourglass model. Moreover, cranial morphological variation was found to be significantly associated with the level of development (position on the altricial-precocial spectrum) exhibited at birth. Estimation of ancestral state allometry (size-related shape change) reconstructs marsupials as pedomorphic relative to the ancestral therian mammal. In contrast, the estimated allometries for the ancestral placental and ancestral therian were indistinguishable. Thus, from our results, we hypothesize that placental mammal cranial development most closely reflects that of the ancestral therian mammal, while marsupial cranial development represents a more derived mode of mammalian development, in stark contrast to many interpretations of mammalian evolution.
Topics: Pregnancy; Animals; Female; Marsupialia; Biological Evolution; Placenta; Mammals; Skull
PubMed: 37119816
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.009 -
Conservation Biology : the Journal of... Feb 2021Over the past 1000 years New Zealand has lost 40-50% of its bird species, and over half of these extinctions are attributable to predation by introduced mammals.... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Over the past 1000 years New Zealand has lost 40-50% of its bird species, and over half of these extinctions are attributable to predation by introduced mammals. Populations of many extant forest bird species continue to be depredated by mammals, especially rats, possums, and mustelids. The management history of New Zealand's forests over the past 50 years presents a unique opportunity because a varied program of mammalian predator control has created a replicated management experiment. We conducted a meta-analysis of population-level responses of forest birds to different levels of mammal control recorded across New Zealand. We collected data from 32 uniquely treated sites and 20 extant bird species representing a total of 247 population responses to 3 intensities of invasive mammal control (zero, low, and high). The treatments varied from eradication of invasive mammals via ground-based techniques to periodic suppression of mammals via aerially sown toxin. We modeled population-level responses of birds according to key life history attributes to determine the biological processes that influence species' responses to management. Large endemic species, such as the Kaka (Nestor meridionalis) and New Zealand Pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), responded positively at the population level to mammal control in 61 of 77 cases for species ≥20 g compared with 31 positive responses from 78 cases for species <20 g. The Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) and Grey Warbler (Gerygone igata), both shallow endemic species, and 4 nonendemic species (Blackbird [Turdus merula], Chaffinch [Fringilla coelebs], Dunnock [Prunella modularis], and Silvereye [Zosterops lateralis]) that arrived in New Zealand in the last 200 years tended to have slight negative or neutral responses to mammal control (59 of 77 cases). Our results suggest that large, deeply endemic forest birds, especially cavity nesters, are most at risk of further decline in the absence of mammal control and, conversely suggest that 6 species apparently tolerate the presence of invasive mammals and may be sensitive to competition from larger endemic birds.
Topics: Animals; Conservation of Natural Resources; Forests; Mammals; New Zealand; Predatory Behavior; Rats
PubMed: 31893568
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13456 -
PeerJ 2023Diseases vary among and within species but the causes of this variation can be unclear. Immune responses are an important driver of disease variation, but mechanisms on... (Review)
Review
Diseases vary among and within species but the causes of this variation can be unclear. Immune responses are an important driver of disease variation, but mechanisms on how the body resists pathogen establishment before activation of immune responses are understudied. Skin surfaces of mammals are the first line of defense against abiotic stressors and pathogens, and skin attributes such as pH, microbiomes, and lipids influence disease outcomes. Sebaceous glands produce sebum composed of multiple types of lipids with species-specific compositions. Sebum affects skin barrier function by contributing to minimizing water loss, supporting thermoregulation, protecting against pathogens, and preventing UV-induced damage. Sebum also affects skin microbiome composition both via its antimicrobial properties, and by providing potential nutrient sources. Intra- and interspecific variation in sebum composition influences skin disease outcomes in humans and domestic mammal species but is not well-characterized in wildlife. We synthesized knowledge on sebum function in mammals in relation to skin diseases and the skin microbiome. We found that sebum composition was described for only 29 live, wild mammalian species. Sebum is important in dermatophilosis, various forms of dermatitis, demodicosis, and potentially white-nose syndrome. Sebum composition likely affects disease susceptibility, as lipid components can have antimicrobial functions against specific pathogens. It is unclear why sebum composition is species-specific, but both phylogeny and environmental effects may drive differences. Our review illustrates the role of mammal sebum function and influence on skin microbes in the context of skin diseases, providing a baseline for future studies to elucidate mechanisms of disease resistance beyond immune responses.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Sebum; Skin Diseases; Mammals; Lipids; Microbiota; Anti-Infective Agents
PubMed: 38144187
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16680