Pérez-Barbería, F.J. & Walker, D.M. (2018) Dynamics of social behaviour at parturition in a gregarious ungulate. Behavioural Processes 150, 75-84

Group living is the behavioural response that results when individuals assess the costs vs benefits of sociality, and these trade-offs vary across an animal’s life. Here we quantitatively assess how periparturient condition (mother/non-mother) and births affect the dynamics of social interactions of a gregarious ungulate, and how such can help to explain evolutionary hypotheses of the mother-offspring bond. To achieve this we used data of the individual movement of a group of Scottish blackface sheep (Ovis aries) marked with GPS collars and properties of mathematical graphs (networks). Euclidean pair-wise distance between sheep were threshold at different percentiles to determine network links, and these thresholds have a profound effect on the connectivity of the resulting network. Births increased the average pair-wise distance between mothers, and between mothers and non-mothers, with less effect on the distance between non-mothers. Mothers occupied peripheral positions within the flock, more evident following births. Associations between individuals (i.e. network community change) were highly dynamic, though mothers were less likely to change community than non-mothers, especially after births. Births hampered individual communication within the flock (assessed via network closeness centrality), especially in mothers. Overall leadership (lead positioning relative to flock movement) was not associated to reproductive condition, and individual leadership rank was not affected by births. A ten minute GPS acquisition time was adequate to capture complex social dynamics in sheep movement. The results on mother’s isolation behaviour support the hypotheses of selection for maternal imprint facilitation, reducing risks to nursing alien offspring, and group/multilevel selection on group formation.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376635717305144?via%3Dihub

Carranza, J., Roldán, M. & Barbanti Duarte, J.M., (2018)  Lack of mate selectivity for genetic compatibility within the red brocket deer Mazama americana complex. Mamm. Biol. 88: 168-175.

Red brocket deer Mazama americana includes at least two lineages that differ at the level of karyotypes and phylogenetic relationships based on mtDNA. Also, hybrids between them have been proved to be nonviable or infertile. Since successful breeding is hampered, we expect selection to have produced a precopulatory barrier between these lineages based on courtship behaviour, to prevent investment in unsuccessful breeding. Here we made experiments with specimens in captivity to investigate mating preferences for partners belonging to the same or different karyotypes or lineages, along with a white-tailed deer buck (Odocoileous virginianus) as an outgroup control. Behaviours were video recorded and analysed by using Generalized Linear Mixed Models, with the interacting females and males as random subjects. The results show that although red brocket females never accepted copulations with the control male, trials involving pairs of red brocket deer may or may not end with copulation regardless as to whether the partners belonged to the same or different lineages. Although some male and female behaviours differed when pairs belonged to the same or different lineages, our results do not support the existence of a precopulatory barrier between lineages in the red brocket deer complex. We discuss the implications for sympatric speciation and species conservation.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1016/j.mambio.2017.09.006

Carranza, J., Yoong, W.A., Mateos, C., Caño Vergara, B., Gómez, C.L., Macías, V. (2017) Reproductive phenology of Creole horses in Ecuador in the absence of photoperiod variation: The effects of forage availability and flooding affecting body condition of mares.  Animal Science Journal 88, 2063-2070.

Horse reproduction tends to be seasonal. The main adjusting factor in their original temperate ranges is photoperiod variation, although it is absent in equatorial areas where horses were introduced by European colonizers. Hence, dates of reproduction in these areas may be influenced by factors affecting mares’ conditions and the success of foaling. Here we study reproductive timing in Creole horses in Ecuador reared in an extensive production system. We found that foaling peaked in August. Mares’ conditions showed one peak in June-July, before the start of the breeding season, and another in December, and it was highly variable along the year. Mares’ conditions increased after a period of vegetation growth and thus appeared negatively associated with the increment of grass greenness (normalized difference vegetation index data). Seasonal flooding of some pasturelands during March and April appeared to seriously impair mares’ conditions and probably influenced the timing of foaling toward the dry season. Our results evidenced that horse breeding in these equatorial areas tended to be seasonal and point to some key factors that influence phenology by affecting body condition of mares, which may have implications for horse biology and management.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/asj.12818

Carranza, J., Roldan, M., Carvalho-Peroni, E.F., Barbatini-Duarte, J.M., (2017) Weak premating isolation between two parapatric brocket deer species Mammalian Biology 87:17–26

Brocket deer Mazama nemorivaga and M. gouazoubira occur at the Amazon basin and southern areas, respectively, in parapatric distribution ranges. Both species can interbreed in captivity, although hybrids have serious fertility problems. Therefore, we expect natural selection to favour behavioural barriers against interspecific mating. We carried out no-choice tests with individuals of both species in captivity, along with white-tailed deer (Odocoileous virginianus) as outgroup. Behaviours were video recorded and analysed by using Generalized Mixed models, with interacting females and males as random subjects. Trials never led to copulation when the white-tailed-deer male was involved. Copulations within brocket deer species were more likely to occur when the individuals belonged to the same species (82.4%) but they also occurred quite frequently in interspecific interactions (35.7%). We identified some courtship behaviours, in males and females, which associated with a higher copulation probability or showed differences in frequency when performed to partners of the same or different species. In conclusion, our results reveal that the occurrence of facilitating behaviours and copulations were more common in intraspecific interactions, evidencing discrimination between species, but also that the precopulatory barrier was not strong between both brocket deer species.

Carranza etal2017

Martínez-Jauregui, M., Linares, O., Carranza, J., Soliño, M. (2017) Dealing with conflicts between people and colonizing native predator species. Biological Conservation 209: 239-244.

The conflicts associated with the return of flagship species and the consequences of exotic species invasion have been extensively assessed, but there is a lack of information about conflicts derived from the colonization of common native species. The present study aims to assess the perception of different profiles of stakeholders regarding the spread of a native medium-sized mammal found in Spain: the case of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon L.), which can compromise the conservation of rabbit and red-legged partridge and the economic activity of rural areas. Using a sample of 116 landowners and 251 hunters and multiple bounded uncertainty choice data, we analyzed the stakeholders’ perception of predators, the stakeholders’ preferences of different management measures for predator control, and the role of local people for controlling the Egyptian mongoose.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716305833

Valencia, J., Mateos, C., de la Cruz, C., Carranza, J. (2017) Maternal allocation in eggs when counting on helpers in a cooperatively breeding bird. Journal of Avian Biology 48, 536–543

For cooperatively breeding birds, it has been proposed that breeders should reduce their investment in eggs when they count on helpers, because this can be compensated for by helpers provisioning of nestlings. Data from some species have supported this prediction, but this is not the case in others. It has also been proposed that mothers should not reduce but rather increase investment if the presence of helpers enhances the reproductive value of offspring, a pattern that might also influence egg production as long as helpers are predictable for laying females. Here, we studied maternal expenditure in eggs and clutches in the Iberian magpie, to see whether mothers reduce their expenditure at the egg stage in the presence of helpers. Our results show that investment in clutches varied depending on the year, date in the season and age of the mother, but there were no reductions in maternal expenditure per individual egg when they counted on helpers. On the contrary, a pattern emerged in the opposite direction of more investment in eggs associated with the future presence of helpers at the nestling stage. Our data suggest that the predictability of helpers, along with the type of benefits accrued from the contribution of helpers, may be crucial to understanding the reaction of mothers at egg production.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jav.01020

Pérez-González, J., Costa, V., Santos, P., Carranza, J.,  Zsolnai, A., Fernández-Llario, P., Monteiro, N.M., Anton, I., Beja-Pereira, A. (2016) Heterozygosity decrease in wild boar mating system. A case of outbreeding avoidance? Journal of Zoology 302, 40-48.

In sexually reproducing organisms, the specific combinations of parental alleles can have important consequences on offspring viability and fitness. Accordingly, genetic relationship between mates can be used as a criterion for mate choice. Here, we used microsatellite genetic markers to estimate the genetic relationship between mating pairs in the wild boar, Sus scrofa. Males, females and foetuses proceeding from Portugal, Spain and Hungary were genotyped using 14 microsatellite markers. The genetic relationship between mates was estimated using different measures of foetus heterozygosity. We found that the observed heterozygosity of foetuses was lower than that expected under random mating. This result occurred mainly when Sd² (relatedness of parental genomes) was used as the heterozygosity measure. After simulations, we concluded that the observed low heterozygosity was possibly due to outbreeding avoidance. Outbreeding avoidance based on genetically different genomes might play an important role in species evolution and its genetic conservation.

https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jzo.12426

Herruzo, A.C., Martínez-Jaúregui M., Carranza, J., Campos, P. (2016) Commercial income and capital of hunting: an application to forest estates in Andalucía. Forest Policy and Economics 69: 53-61.

This paper presents and applies an experimental agroforestry accounting system (AAS) to measure the commercial income and capital of hunting activities in a large territorial area. This application goes beyond the conventional system of national agriculture and forestry accounts. The methodology developed allows the independent valuation of both environmental and manufactured capital which in turn allows the disaggregation of hunting income and other economic indicators by type of capital. The spatial distribution of these economic indicators can also be provided. Results show positive current total capital income but residual manufactured capital income current losses. An underlying economic rationale explaining this phenomenon is offered.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934116300910

Leite de Oliveira, M., Henrique de Faria Peres, P., Vogliotti, A., Grotta-Neto, F., Diaz Koester de Azevedo, A., Cerveira, J.F.,  Batista do Nascimento, G., Peruzzi, N.J., Carranza, J., Maurício Barbanti Duarte, J.M. (2016) Phylogenetic signal in the circadian rhythm of morphologically convergent species of Neotropical deer. Mammalian Biology 81, 281-289

Deer species included in the genus Mazama descend from two different clades that experienced a strong evolutionary convergence in morphology and behaviour when they adapted to Neotropical forests. We would expect that circadian activity rhythms also converged according to habitat features or responded to temporal niche segregation in sympatric species. We used camera trapping in four study areas, rep-resenting three main biomes in Brazil, together with data taken from the literature, to analyse activity patterns of five Mazama species in four biomes in South America. Our results show that clade assignment was the main predictor of diurnal versus nocturnal activity, thus suggesting a phylogenetic constraint rather than any other ecological influence on circadian activity. We discuss how the evolutionary history of both lineages may have influenced their activity patterns.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1616504716300052

Carranza, J., Salinas, M., de Andrés, D., Pérez-González, J. (2016) Iberian red deer: paraphyletic nature at mtDNA but nuclear markers support its genetic identity. Ecology and Evolution 6 (4), 905–922.

Red deer populations in the Iberian glacial refugium were the main source for postglacial recolonization and subspecific radiation in north-western Europe. However, the phylogenetic history of Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and its relationships with northern European populations remain uncertain. Here, we study DNA sequences at the mitochondrial control region along with STR markers for over 680 specimens from all the main red deer populations in Spain and other west European areas. Our results from mitochondrial and genomic DNA show contrasting patterns, likely related to the nature of these types of DNA markers and their specific processes of change over time. The results, taken together, bring support to two distinct, cryptic maternal lineages for Iberian red deer that predated the last glacial maximum and that have maintained geographically well differentiated until present. Haplotype relationships show that only one of them contributed to the northern postglacial recolonization. However, allele frequencies of nuclear markers evidenced one main differentiation between Iberian and northern European subspecies although also supported the structure of both matrilines within Iberia. Thus, our findings reveal a paraphyletic nature for Iberian red deer but also its genetic identity and differentiation with respect to northern subspecies. Finally, we suggest that maintaining the singularity of Iberian red deer requires preventing not only restocking practices with red deer specimens belonging to other European populations but also translocations between both Iberian lineages.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ece3.1836