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Teratological anomalies are congenital abnormalities manifested in the body structure of an organism because of developmental aberrations. These congenital abnormalities, also known as teratological forms, are rare in ticks (Ixodida) and include cases of asymmetries, atrophies, gynandromorphs, and schizomelies. Such teratological anomalies are underreported in Asia, as evidenced by the relatively few published works on this subject. Here, we describe five cases of teratological anomalies in the ixodid ticks Amblyomma cordiferum Neumann, Amblyomma helvolum Koch, and Dermacentor taiwanensis Sugimoto from Taiwan and the Philippines. These are the first records of teratologies in D. taiwanensis and A. cordiferum and only the second report for A. helvolum. Additionally, these are the first published accounts of teratological anomalies in ixodid species from Taiwan and the Philippines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of mammalian species worldwide have adapted to urban environments following the alteration and fragmentation of natural habitats. In recent years, the masked palm civet (Paguma larvata) has increased in several highly populated cities in Taiwan. Twelve‐years (2010–2021) of civet records in Taichung (the largest city in central Taiwan) from the rescue center of Taichung Wildlife Conservation Group report the population of civets has grown steadily since 2017, with the number of records in 2020 (n = 58) and 2021 (n = 55) approximately 5 times of that in 2010–2014 (mean ± SD = 5.0 ± 2.6). Our objective was to use the records from the rescue center to evaluate the potential sexual dimorphism of urban civets, explore temporal variation of civet activity and age structure, identify major threats to civets inhabiting urban areas, and investigate the environmental characteristics surrounding civet nesting sites in urban environments. The civet breeding season lasts from spring to autumn, with primary mating season in spring. The main cause of mortality in adults was dog attack followed by car accident, while the main rescue reason for young civets was because they were considered orphans following human interferences. Many civets in urban areas inhabit locations where >90% of the land cover is covered by buildings and man‐made structures, and even nest inside buildings. Our results demonstrated the need for new civet conservation and management policies to minimize dog attacks on civets to enhance co‐existence between wildlife and humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amblyomma helvolum Koch is an Asiatic reptile-associated tick that usually inhabits tropical forests and is primarily parasitic on varanids, skinks, and snakes. In Taiwan, A. helvolum has been reported on Elaphe carinata (Taiwan stink snake) and Ptyas mucosa (Oriental rat snake). Herein, we report new host records of A. helvolum in Taiwan from the following squamate species: Diploderma swinhonis (Swinhoe's japalure), Eutropis longicaudata (Long-tailed sun skink), Oligodon formosanus (Taiwan kukri), Sphenomorphus incognitus (Brown forest skink), and Trimeresurus stejnegeri (Chinese green tree viper). In addition, we present an overview of the distribution of A. helvolum across its range and its association with reptilian microbial agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CapsuleA Crested Goshawk population recently colonizing an urban area of Taiwan is characterized by earlier egg-laying dates, a higher ratio of mixed-age pairs and higher nesting success. AimsTo compare breeding time, productivity and pairing pattern of Crested Goshawk populations between urban and rural areas. MethodsA total of 117 nests, comprising 49 rural and 68 urban ones, were monitored in Taichung, central Taiwan over six years. Age of parents, egg-laying date, clutch size and number of fledglings were recorded from each nest. ResultsThe urban Crested Goshawk bred 34 days earlier on average than the rural population with a significantly higher nesting success. Mixed-age pairs occurred in a higher frequency in urban (30.9%) than in rural (14.3%) areas. Predation (55.6%) and inclement weather (27.8%) were the two main factors causing nesting failures in rural areas, whereas neither occurred in the urban area. ConclusionWe conclude that the urban Crested Goshawk population benefits from high food supply and low predation risk. The year-round abundance of prey might increase the breeding success of young adults and advance their breeding schedule, which coincidently shifts the brooding period away from the heavy rainy season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecologists have long theorized that apex predators stabilize trophic systems by exerting a net protective effect on the basal resource of a food web. Although experimental and observational studies have borne this out, it is not always clear what behavioural mechanisms among the trophically connected species are responsible for this stability. Fear of intraguild predation is commonly identified as one such mechanism in models and mesocosm studies, but empirical evidence in natural systems remains limited, as the complexity of many trophic systems renders detailed behavioural studies of species interactions challenging. Here, we combine long-term field observations of a trophic system in nature with experimental behavioural studies of how all the species in this system interact, in both pairs and groups. The results demonstrate how an abundant, sessile and palatable prey item (sea turtle eggs, Chelonia mydas ) survives when faced by three potential predators that all readily eat eggs: an apex predator (the stink ratsnake, Elaphe carinata ) and two mesopredators (the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus , and kukri snake, Oligodon formosanus ). Our results detail how fear of intraguild predation, conspecific cannibalism, habitat structure and territorial behaviour among these species interact in a complex fashion that results in high egg survival.