Water chemistry and fish occurrence in outflows from two lakes recovering from acidification were studied during 2005–2010. The two lakes represented the regional extremes: while Lake Laka (LA) was the least acidified among the Bohemian Forest lakes, Lake Čertovo (CT) was the most acidified. Water chemistry improved downstream in either outlet due to mixing with less acidic water from tributaries. While pH of the LA stream was circumneutral and concentrations of ionic aluminium (Al_i) were low (< 50 μg.l^-1) except for temporary acidic episodes during snowmelt, the CT stream remained permanently acidified with Al_i concentrations (> 200 μg.l^-1) throughout the year and was considered as a reference site. Brown trout (Salmo trutta s.l.) survived in the LA stream already at 0.7 km from the lake. A stable trout population, including young-of-the-year fish increasing in numbers, was found in the LA stream between 2005 and 2010 despite the spring short-term acid episodes. Any recovery of the CT stream is unlikely as the outflow continued to be acidic at 1.5 km from the lake and Al_i concentrations were still by one order of magnitude higher than the limit acceptable by trout.

Genetic methods enable to reveal cryptic parental contributions in reproduction, especially in socially monogamous species. The rate of extra-pair paternity is generally low in raptors and owls and its presence in some species is tightly associated with sequential polyandry which can rarely occur in years with high food availability. In this study we investigated the mating system of the Tengmalm's owl (Aegolius funereus) in the Ore Mountains (Czech Republic). In this area, the species usually nests in high breeding densities which could increase an opportunity for extra-pair copulations. In total, 297 individuals (54 females, 47 males and 196 juveniles) from 46 nest boxes were genotyped at seven microsatellite loci. We present results of a five-year study and four extra-pair nestlings (2.3 %) were detected which did not result from sequential polyandry.

Species often express some differences in habitat choice which enable their co-occurrence in sympatry and this phenomenon is particularly noticeable for related taxa and during range shifts. Here, co-distribution of two sibling woodpeckers (Syrian woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus and great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major) in different types of urban, rural and riparian landscapes of Poland is presented. The Syrian woodpecker reached high densities in urban (city) landscape, but it was less common in town, rural and riparian areas, and everywhere it mostly occupied orchards and poplar and willow hedges. In contrast, the great spotted woodpecker was the dominant species in most areas, except city and everywhere was associated with forests or larger wooded areas (like parks). The Syrian woodpecker was dependent on the presence of softwood trees (poplars, willows), but it needed generally less than 40 % of wooded area in its territories, whereas the second species needed more than 70 %. The data presented here, together with information available from other areas in Central Europe, suggest that protection of Syrian woodpecker (species annexed in the European Union Bird Directive) should not be restricted to only rural landscapes but also needs to include its urban populations. Protection of this species should be focused on preservation of softwood tree hedges and woodlots and traditional orchards.

The montane water vole, Arvicola scherman, can be found at low altitude in northwestern Spain, where it has become a key pest in apple orchards. Its sustainable control entails the knowledge of its reproduction pattern, which is unknown for this region. Thus, we conducted a study on more than 800 voles caught monthly over two years in apple orchards located in Asturias. Sexual characteristics, body measurements and relative age class were recorded. Intra-annual changes in body mass, testicular volume and seminal vesicle length of males did not affect significantly reproduction at a population scale, since pregnant females were detected over the whole year and their occurrence did not show significant intra-annual differences. Consequently, the recruitment of young specimens was also continuous during the study period. Mild temperatures, even in winter, and ample food all the year around presumably meets the demands of physiological cost of continuous reproduction of A. scherman in this area. The implications of our results for facing this vole control in this agroecosystem are discussed. Furthermore, the information here reported might be useful to accurately assess the effect of sustainable control strategies on the reproductive biology of fossorial water voles in this and in similar environments.

The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), has disappeared in major parts of its mountainous habitats in west Asia. Asiatic cheetah is a critically endangered subspecies currently found only in central Iran. In this study, the feeding habits of Asiatic cheetah was investigated in two reserves in central Iran. Diet and prey selection of cheetah were assessed using two biomass models along with Jacob's selectivity index. We found no significant difference between biomass consumption based on each model between the reserves or between models inside each reserve. Over 90 % of species diet was composed of three medium-sized ungulates (i.e. 15–40 kg): wild sheep, wild goat and chinkara. Hares and other small mammals (less than 15 kg) made up the remainder of their diet. Asiatic cheetahs mainly preyed on wild sheep (Ovis vignei) which composed more than 50 % of consumed biomass. Wild sheep was identified as single staple prey, while chinkara (Gazella bennettii) was the most preferred prey despite its lower occurrence. Our study indicates that wild sheep, wild goat and especially chinkara are critical for persistence of Asiatic cheetah and must be particularly considered in conservation plans.

Reintroduction is a valuable tool for conserving threatened species, and pre-release training is widely considered to be crucial for successful soft-release. However, little is known about how behaviours of pre-released giant panda cubs are affected by their mothers being provided with man-made provisioned food versus mothers that naturally forage. In this study, we monitored two pairs of mother-cub giant panda pairs in Hetaoping, Wolong National Nature Reserve, China. One mother giant panda's diet was supplemented with man-made food and the other had entirely natural foraging conditions. We investigated differences in the cubs' learning ability about habitat selection, their feces abundance, and home range patterns during pre-release training and acclimatization between the two conditions. The results indicate that the cub whose mother had entirely natural food (CN) selected similar microhabitat to its mother (MN). The cub whose mother was supplemented with man-made food (CMF) differed from its mother (MMF) preferring microhabitats with higher proportions of canopy coverage and areas closer to shelter. Compared to natural feeding conditions, provisioning a giant panda mother with man-made food seemed to impact cub microhabitat selection, especially in variables describing the amount of canopy cover, proximity to water resources, and grass coverage. CMF showed no difference in preference between bamboo edge habitat and interior habitat, which differed from other pandas previously studied. Similar to her mother, the home range of CMF was significantly less than CN. Our study suggests that provisioning giant panda with man-made food may hinder behavioural development, such as microhabitat and home range selection, of giant panda cubs during the acclimatization period. We recommend lessening human intervention as much as possible for future pre-release reintroduction training. Anthropogenic interference should be limited as much as possible in pre-release reintroduction training programs and managers should strive to provide conditions similar to those found in the species' natural range in order to provide the highest probability of success for the reintroduced individual.

Snow voles from Zard Kuh in Zagros Mts., Western Iran, were identified as distinct from the European snow vole Chionomys nivalis and described as a species new to science under the name C. layi Zykov, 2004. This description was missed in subsequent years by majority of authors dealing with the genus Chionomys, and taxonomic identity of the new species remains uncertain. In this study we conducted the first testing ever performed on taxonomic status of C. layi. We sequenced cytochrome b (1140 bp) and nuclear growth hormone receptor ghr (870 bp) in topotypes of layi and used them, together with all available haplotypes for snow voles, in phylogenetic reconstructions. Topology of phylogenetic trees accorded published results and topotypes of layi nested within reference samples of C. nivalis. They hold a supported sister position against sequences from the geographically nearby Caucasus and Alborz. Kimura-2 parameter metrics retrieved relatively low divergence (3.2 ± 0.5) between samples from the Zagros and the Alborz Caucasus. We conclude that layi is synonymous with C. nivalis. Our results also show that the ancient refugium for the European snow vole in the Kopet Dagh was detached from the Hyrcanian refugium in the mesic mountains to the south of the Caspian Sea.

We studied prenatal and postnatal growth rates and maternal effects in fallow deer (Dama dama) populations in free-ranging habitats in the Carpathian Basin. Data in this five-year long study were collected from pregnant females from December to the end of the hunting season (February), from newborns (May-June) and from 4–12 months-old fawns (October-June) in southwestern Hungary (Lábod region). The aims were to analyze foetal growth rate, assess the interaction between prenatal growth and maternal condition, and to examine factors influencing birth mass, and to measure fawn growth rates. During the study period foetal body mass (BM), body length (BL) and head length (HL) showed sigmoid growth. Correlations (rP) among the three features (BM, BL and HL) ranged from 0.78 to 0.93. Foetal BM was a quadratic function of foetal BL in both sexes. Foetal BM was linearly and negatively related to maternal kidney-fat-index (KFI) and body mass. Average birth mass was greater in males (4.66 kg) than females (4.31 kg), and it was greater in the middle of the fawning season (in the middle of June) than in the beginning (in May). The BM and the KFI of the fawns decreased at the end of the winter (February, eight months of age) but increased thereafter. The growth analysis of fawns generally showed that males compared with the females were heavier and larger; however it was not manifested clearly in all cases.