Baylisascaris procyonis is a common parasitic nematode of the raccoon Procyon lotor. In intermediate or accidental hosts, including humans, B. procyonis can cause severe disease and mortality, and the parasite is increasingly viewed as an important wildlife conservation and public health concern. The prevalence of B. procyonis was assessed over a 4-year period in a population of raccoons in a forested region of lower New York. Prevalence ranged from 0% (undetected) to 21%, which was relatively low compared to values reported in other studies from the north-east. During year three of the study, a subset of the raccoon population was experimentally manipulated through altered resource distribution to enhance the contact of individuals. Within the manipulated subpopulation, prevalence of B. procyonis increased to 54% which was significantly greater than prevalence in the same subpopulation before perturbation or than prevalence among raccoons that were not subject to increased intraspecific contact. These observations suggest that altered resource distributions that directly influence raccoon behaviour may indirectly play a role in the ecology of B. procyonis.

While many animals respond to seasonal variation in their environment, animals such as pocket gophers Thomomys bottae that live below ground might seem to be buffered against such variation. In some areas, however, the patterns of burrowing activity by pocket gophers are tied to the seasons, one factor of which is rainfall. Variation in activity patterns may result from the ease of digging in moist soil or increased food availability during the wet season. Previous simulation modelling work suggests that food availability influences burrowing patterns, while soil conditions do not. Thus, field experiments were used to investigate how soil conditions and food availability influence seasonal burrowing activity. Results indicate that an increase in soil moisture initiates activity. After this initial increase in activity, mound production declines and reaches a steady rate, which can be supported by vegetation availability, in agreement with previous model results. Our findings support the idea that moist soil promotes a burst of digging activity, potentially for burrow maintenance when soil becomes easily workable, and the eventual growth of vegetation provides the food necessary to support continued activity.

Duncan (1937) provided detailed information that has been widely used to date names of new taxa described in early volumes of the Proceedings. The examinations reported here suggest that at least at the point where the year of publication is important Duncan was usually correct, and although exceptions are reported they are not of great consequence (although 14 of 42 volumes are anomalous). These exceptions relate to cases where the published pages differed from a multiple of the signature size by a couple of pages or so. Over the 41 volumes examined, two or more techniques were used to provide, economically, text needed to complete an article that would have over-run the number of signatures planned for the issue. The importance of retaining wrappers and binding them in is demonstrated by what can be learned from them.

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.

Habitat selection was studied in two rhinolophid (Chiroptera) species, Rhinolophus mehelyi and R. euryale, breeding in the same roost in south-west Spain. The first analysis of habitat selection by R. mehelyi is provided, and the hypothesis explored that despite their close relatedness, in sympatry the two bat species showed different habitat preferences. For both species, the least preferred habitats were open habitats such as scrubland, grassland and arable land. As found elsewhere, R. euryale preferred broadleaved woodland. In addition, R. mehelyi also foraged in habitats characterized by loose trees, such as the ‘dehesa’, a semi-natural oak savanna. The progressive disappearance of the dehesa, jeopardized by land-use change, may not harm R. euryale, but could represent a threat to R. mehelyi, which would then be restricted to dense woodland, possibly competing with other bat species, including R. euryale. To conserve both species, the maintenance of a variety of wooded habitats of differing density is recommended.

Most mammals exhibit seasonal variation in the reproductive capacity of one or both sexes. While the female southern hairy-nosed wombat Lasiorhinus latifrons is a known seasonal breeder, the extent of seasonality in the male has not been documented. To examine this, gross body measurements including scrotal diameter and the dimensions of the accessory gland bulge were recorded and male reproductive tracts were examined between 1993 and 2000. Testes, epididymides and accessory glands from all males were dissected free of connective tissue and weighed. In addition, matched semen samples were collected over four time points in 2000 corresponding to the breeding season (September), immediately post-breeding season (November), during the non-breeding season (January), and immediately before the onset of the next breeding season (June) as determined from female reproductive status. Semen was collected by electro-ejaculation and analysed for volume, sperm number and motility characteristics. Ejaculate volume, total ejaculate sperm number, percentage motile sperm, and the sperm motility rating and index were all significantly elevated in September and significantly lower in November and January. This correlated with a significant increase in body weight, peri-cloacal gland width, and the weights of the prostate, Cowper's glands, urethral bulb and crus penis. The data confirm that male reproduction in the southern hairy-nosed wombat, like that of the female, is highly seasonal with a peak in reproductive capacity occurring in August–September and a reduction by November.

To monitor the biodiversity quality of rainforest fragments in the eastern region of the Ivory Coast, the density of at least one important invertebrate group needs to be determined. This has been possible for nocturnal hunting spiders from the family Ctenidae using a novel combination of sampling and census techniques. The reflective characteristics of the eyes of these spiders meant that individuals were readily located using headlamps. Collections were made along transects (total length 5.5 km), adopting a distance sampling protocol. Density was estimated using distance sampling models. More than 2600 ctenids (15 species) were captured and identified. Seven of these species were present in sufficient numbers for density assessment. The combined density of these seven most common species in degraded forest fragments (0.124 m−2) was only half that in less disturbed forest (0.240 m−2). Ctenidae are a promising candidate for future monitoring of invertebrate groups in the rainforest.