Potential errors in scat identification are rarely accounted for and might contribute to substantial bias of the Selleck Antiinfection Compound Library final results. Using molecular methods, we evaluate the accuracy of species identification based on morphological characteristics of mammalian mesocarnivore scats collected in two areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Our results revealed that error rates in
species assignment of scats based on morphology were highly variable, ranging from 14%, for putative red fox Vulpes vulpes samples, to 88%, for putative wildcats Felis silvestris. The developed models revealed that putative species, season, study area and target species abundance are among the factors involved in identification accuracy. However, the low variability explained suggests that unaccounted factors also had significant effects on accuracy rates. The error rates in scat species assignment constitute a potential
click here source of bias in ecological studies, with serious consequences for the management of threatened species, as unrealistic estimates of status and distribution are prone to occur. Our results suggest that scat identification accuracy rates are circumstance-specific and therefore should not be transferred or extrapolated. We suggest that scat-based studies should implement measures (molecular or others) that allow researchers to determine their own circumstance-specific error rates in scat identification, which should be incorporated in subsequent analyses, ensuring reliable ecological inferences. “
“Amphisbaenians Lck are reptiles specialized for a fossorial lifestyle, which may limit their opportunities for microhabitat selection in comparison with epigeal reptiles. We hypothesized that, given the fossorial habits of amphisbaenians, a detailed analysis of the physical and chemical properties of the soil may reveal their patterns of habitat use. We investigated microhabitat and soil use by a population of the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni from the Chafarinas Islands (North-West Africa) and compared them with those available in the habitat.
Results showed that some soil physical and chemical characteristics determined microhabitat use by T. wiegmanni. Amphisbaenians selected soils that were relatively sandy, basic, carbonated and shallow, having a high cover of medium-sized rocks, whereas they avoided marine salinized, more acid and deeper heavy-textured soils (i.e. with percentages of silt comparatively high), and those covered mainly by small rocks. No differences were found between soils with and without influence of seabird colonies, although this was the main driver of soil chemical variations in these Islands. Vegetation cover per se did not seem to have a direct influence on microhabitat use. We discuss how energetic costs of burrowing and the direct and indirect influences of soil chemical properties could explain these patterns of habitat use.