Summary: Brandt & Macdonald (2011)

It is presently thought that "familiarity" can be used as a proxy of quality, as familiarity of potential mating partners can influence mate choice. Social rodent species tend to favour mating with unfamiliar males, while solitary species show a preference for familiar males. Brandt & Macdonald (2011) investigated the role of familiarity in female mate choice in the harvest mouse Micromys minutus, using a two-stage controlled choice experiment. When females were presented only with olfactory cues, they showed no preference for familiar or unfamiliar males. However, when females were presented with live males, oestrus females they showed a clear preference for familiar males, while dioestrus females favoured unfamiliar males. Brandt & Macdonald (2011) also found that male weight affected female response, with oestrus females favouring familiar males that were heavier. In contrast, dioestrus females reduced their preference for unfamiliar males if they were heavier than familiar males. This study provides support for the hypothesis that female harvest mice favour familiar males as mates. Brandt & Macdonald (2011) also note that male size and female reproductive state can influence female preferences.

Summary: Carnaval et al. (2009)

Regions with high species endemism and considered to be threatened (conservation priority) are categorised as biodiversity hotspots. In the face of rapid environmental change, effective conservation may be difficult because biodiversity distribution data are too sparse. Carnaval et al. (2009) suggest that late quaternary climate fluctuations helped to shape present-day diversity in temperate and boreal systems and provide a general context for understanding current patterns of endemism. They compared alternative hypotheses of assemblage-scale responses to late Quaternary climate change using frogs as indicator species, ecological niche models under palaeoclimates and simultaneous Bayesian analyses of multispecies molecular data. They suggest that a hotspot for conservation priority lies within the Brazilian Atlantic forest hotspot. Furthermore, they show that the southern Atlantic forest was climatically unstable relative to the central region, and it served as a large climatic refugium for neotropical species in the late Pleistocene. Carnaval et al. (2009) suggest that this sets new priorities for conservation in Brazil and establishes a validated approach to biodiversity prediction for other understudied, species-rich regions.

Summary: Schino & Marini (2011)

Group-living animals experience numerous conflicts of interests during social life and can minimize the costs of overt aggression through reconciliation. Patterns of reconciliation and their differential use vary and have rarely bee studied. Schino & Marini (2011) studied the postconflict behaviour of captive mandrills Mandrillus sphinx and found that animals use contact and noncontact postconflict affiliation differently depending on their former opponent. Manrills used contact affiliation to reconcile with relatives and the original aggressor (if it was of a lower rank), but were more likely to use noncontact affiliation when reconciling with "repeat-aggressor" opponents. The use of both types of affiliation reduced the likelihood of renewed aggression. Schino & Marini (2011) suggest that accessibility to individuals and danger (likelihood of receiving aggression) modulated the use of conciliatory patterns. They suggest that more studies of flexible conciliatory strategies are needed.

Summary: Akre et al. (2009)

Social behaviour of group-housed foxes at different ages can be influenced by social preference for conspecifics. It is important to understand how social preference changes in order to prevent exposure to possible social stressors. Akre et al. (2009) investigated how familiarity influences social preference and motivation to seek social contact in female silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) at 9 and 24 weeks of age. Foxes were tested at both ages, and were given a choice between an empty cage, a cage with a familiar female and a cage with an unfamiliar female (same age). They predicted that young cubs would favour familiar social contact for reassurance in a novel situation, while motivation to disperse would weaken this preferencee in older females. They found that, at 9 weeks of age, cubs favoured contact with a conspecific, regardless of familiarity. This preference disappeared at 24 weeks of age, with females increasing aggression towards the unfamiliar animal. Akre et al. (2009) suggest that the motivation for cubs seeking contact with conspecifics is possibly play-related, while motivation for juveniles to increase aggression could be associated with competition.