Sept. 15, 2010 1

Lecture Outline

1. Why take this Mammalogy course?2. Why Study Mammals?3. Approaches to Studying Mammals4. Mammal Characteristics (continued in next lecture)

Sept. 15, 2010 2

Why take Mammalogy 425?

Add breadth and depth to your understanding of Class Mammalia.

Integration – link what you have learned in previous courses into a comprehensive package.

Sept. 15, 2010 3

Why Study Mammals? 1. Consumptive resource 2. Transport (domestication literally shaped society) 3. Pets 4. Recreation 5. Safety (direct and indirect) 6. Medicine 7. Ecosystem health (e.g., conservation) 8. Reflection

Sept. 15, 2010 4

Consumptive resource Meat, hides, bones, fur, blubber,

horns/antlers, & sometimes organs

Sept. 15, 2010 5

Transport and utility

Sept. 15, 2010 6

Pets 39% of US households have a dog 33% of US households have a cat http://www.thebarkleypethotel.com/accommodations/canine_quarters.aspx

Sept. 15, 2010 7

Recreation and tourism 10.7 million hunters pursue big-game

annually (USFWS 2006) Wolf-based tourism at Yellowstone = $5 mil

Sept. 15, 2010 8

Safety Lions – 871 people injured or killed in Tanzania in last 15 years (NSF 2005)

Tsavo lions = 140 workers in Kenya (1898) (Smithsonian.com) Njombe lions = 1,500 people between 1932-1947 (Smithsonian.com)

Leopard of Rudraprayag – 125 victims (1918-1926) Leopard of Panar – killed 400 (1940s) Tigers

Champawat Tigress (early 1900s)– killed 200 people in Nepal and another 236 in India before she was tracked down an killed.

Bear Mother grizzly mauls 3 in Montana (7/2010) Mother grizzly attackes 3 bikers in Anchorage (7/2010) Grizzly attacks geologist in Alaska Range (6/2010) Grizzly attacks biker in Anchorage (6/2010)

Sept. 15, 2010 9

Safety (cont.) Vectors or reservoirs of human disease

The Plague (rats and prairie dogs) Hantavirus (rodents) Lyme disease (deer) Ebola (monkeys) Rabies (raccoons, skunks, fox, dogs,…)

Sept. 15, 2010 10

Medicine Animal testing

Development of treatments Ensure safety of food and drugs

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TMC) 700 kg of bear gall bladder each year (1 bear gall

bladder = 50g) (Yaoting 1994). Deer antler and velvet = arthritis, stress,

depression, sexual disorders,… Tiger penis

Sept. 15, 2010 11

Ecosystem health Conservation

Preserve biodiversity – core of life Prevent more extinctions

Saudi Gazelle (extinct 2008)

Sound management requires rigorous research and knowledge

Sept. 15, 2010 12

Environmental damage and human conflict Crop damage Invasive species

Rat Island in Alaska http://aprn.org/2010/09/01/rats-eliminated-from-aleutian-island/

Fox removal Livestock predation Predator control

Sept. 15, 2010 13

Reflection

By learning more about other mammals, we learn more about humankind. “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the

integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” Aldo Leopold

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin.

Sept. 15, 2010 14

Approaches to studying mammals 1. Field methods 2. Lab & Museum methods (Sept. 28 lab) 3. Systematic methods

Sept. 15, 2010 15

Field Capture & Marking

Trapping Net gunning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAj9GvCpCS8&feature=related

Tranquilizer darts Hair snares http://gallery.usgs.gov/videos/15

Feces Physical features (whale fins) Tags (implants, ear clips) Radiocollars

Sept. 15, 2010 16

Surveying & monitoring Radiotelemetry (VHF and GPS) Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags Powdertracking Fecal pellet surveys Track surveys Genetics

Feces, hair, bones

Sept. 15, 2010 17

Observation (Ex. LARS, Denali) Focal animal sampling – recording specific

behaviors or watching a specific individual Scan sampling – recording behavior at pre-

determined intervals

Sept. 15, 2010 18

Laboratory methods Physiological – study of how tissues and organs

function Nutrition Metabolism Reproduction

Genetics Population structure and dynamics Speciation Phylogeny

Sept. 15, 2010 19

Sept. 15, 2010 20

Sept. 15, 2010 21

DEER PELLET

DNA-filled coating

Sept. 15, 2010 22

Extract DNA

Sept. 15, 2010 23

Isolate pieces of DNA that are unique among individual deer

Microsatellite Markers

Sept. 15, 2010 24

Investigate population dynamics Abundance, survival, movement

Determine phylogeny and phylogeography AND…the technology will only improve!

Sept. 15, 2010 25

Systematics: The field of biology that deals with the diversity of living organisms, usually divided into the two subdisciplines of taxonomy and phylogenetics.

Taxonomy: The science of describing, naming, and classifying (grouping) organisms.

Taxon (plural: taxa): Any named group of organisms (not necessarily a clade). A subspecies respresents a "taxon," as does every hierarchical level up to Kingdom.

Phylogenetics: The field of biology that deals with the relationships between organisms, including the discovery of these relationships and the study of the causes (e.g., evolution) behind these patterns.

Systematic Methods

Sept. 15, 2010 26

Systematic methods Intraspecific variation – morphological,

physiological, behavioral, and spatial differences within a species.

Intraspecific phylogeography – geographic distribution of genealogical lineages within a species.

Species boundaries – identifying units of biodiversity

Classification – grouping species into progressively more inclusive categories.

Sept. 15, 2010 27

CLASSIFICATION: The process and practice of describing, defining and ranking taxa within a hierarchical series of groups; permits organizing and ordering knowledge about organisms, and creates a simplified language for conveying information about order in the diversity of life. In biology, we use the Linnean classification hierarchy (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species).

What’s a mammal?

Sept. 15, 2010 28

Simply… Classification = grouping species into progressively

more inclusive categories.

Sept. 15, 2010 29

What’s a mammal? Kingdom = Animalia

Phylum = Chordata Subphylum = Vertebrata

Class = Mammalia Order = Primates Family = Hominidae Genus = Homo Species = sapiens

Orders = 26 Species ≈ 5000

Sept. 15, 2010 30

Alaska tiny shrew

Sept. 15, 2010 31

Unique features (soft anatomy)

Hair Mammary glands Four chambered heart with left aortic arch Enucleated red blood cells Muscular diaphragm

Sept. 15, 2010 32

Hair (fur or pelage) Insulation Protection Camouflage Sensory

Sept. 15, 2010 33

Mammal hair:invagination Bird feather: evagination

Dermal vs. Epidermal

Sept. 15, 2010 34

Mammary glands Highly modified sweat glands Produce milk (mostly female) Number & location varies

Located high on side

Sept. 15, 2010 35

Mammary glands - structural variation

Hairs Nipples(most mammals)

Teat(e.g., cows)

Sept. 15, 2010 36

4-chambered heart with functional left aortic arch

Sept. 15, 2010 37

Enucleated red blood cells

Muscular diaphragm

Sept. 15, 2010 38

Common features (but not unique or not found in all mammals)

1. Endothermy (birds)

2. Give birth to live young (reptiles, fish,..)

Sept. 15, 2010 39

Next Lecture Common features of mammals (skeletal) Evolution

Sept. 15, 2010 40

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM