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Thomas J. O'Shea

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas J. O'Shea.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1988

Genetic variability in the Florida manatee ( Trichechus manatus )

Tissue was obtained from 59 manatee ( Trichechus manatus ) carcasses salvaged from 20 counties in Florida. Allozyme phenotypes at 24 structural loci were determined by gel electrophoresis. Averages for the proportion of polymorphic loci and mean heterozygosity were 0.300 (range, 0.167-0.417) and 0.050 (range, 0.028-0.063), respectively. These estimates are equivalent to or higher than those generally reported for other species of marine mammals and do not support the hypothesis that body size and heterozygosity in mammals are related inversely. Among-region gene diversity accounted for only 4% of the total diversity. High rates of gene flow probably account for genetic homogeneity across regions. An F-statistic analysis revealed a general tendency toward excess homozygosity within regions. Management efforts to prevent future reductions in population size that would erode existing genic diversity should continue.

Journal of Mammalogy↗
USGS1982

Auditory evoked potentials in the West Indian Manatee (Sirenia: Trichechus manatus )

Potentials evoked by clicks and tone pips were recorded by fine wires inserted extracranially in four West Indian manatees ( Trichechus manatus ) in air. Sounds were delivered via padded ear phones. Averaging a few thousand trials at 20/s reveals early peaks at N5.4 (‘vertex’ negativity to a frontal reference, at 5.4 ms), P7.6, N8.8, P9.5 — probably equivalent to waves IV and VII of the typical mammalian auditory brainstem response (ABR). Averaging 100 trials at <4/s suffices to reveal a complex sequence of later peaks including N25, P80, N150 and P190; consistent smaller peaks are visible when several hundred trials are averaged. Using tone pips with a rise and fall time of 2–5 ms the carrier frequency becomes important. Evoked potential wave forms are not the same at different frequencies, bringing out the fact that frequency is not a scalar that can be compensated for by intensity. Therefore the method was not used to obtain audiograms; however the largest EPs occur in the range of 1–1.5 kHz. EPs are found up to 35 kHz; almost no evoked potential is discernible at 40 kHz but the undistorted intensity available was limited. This is in reasonable agreement with the theoretical expectation for the upper limit of behavioral hearing from Heffner and Masterton based on head size and aquatic medium. Among several ear phone placements, that over the external auditory meatus was the most effective, but only slightly so. The external canal is presumably fluid or tissue filled and sound enters over a large area. Comparing data for two species on the most effective range of frequencies and the power spectra of their vocalizations, T. manatus is lower than T. inunguis in both respects. The results show the utility and limitations of the method of recording extracranial evoked potentials to sounds, especially for large and valuable animals under makeshift conditions.

Journal of Comparative Physiology A↗
USGS1980

Ecological observations on an East African bat community

The structure and ecology of bat faunas is a subject of interest to mammalogists (Findley, 1976; Wilson, 1973). Syntopic African bat communities, however, have received little study in comparison with neotropical faunas (cf. Fleming et al. , 1972; LaVal and Fitch, 1977; McNab, 1971). Verschuren (1957) presented natural history information and species accounts for a localized central African bat fauna. Foraging related characteristics of a Rhodesian community have also been analyzed (Fenton, 1975; Fenton et al. , 1977), but not on a seasonal basis. Other reports on African bat faunas are restricted to regional summaries (cf. Koopman, 1975 or Rosevear, 1965) and do not consider ecological aspects of a single localized community. The purpose of our study was to follow species composition, reproduction, and foraging related characteristics of an East African bat fauna over a full annual cycle.

Mammalia↗
USGS1977

Nocturnal and seasonal activities of the pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus

Nocturnal and seasonal activities of pallid bats ( Antrozous pallidus ) were observed in central Arizona. The pallid bat night is characterized by two roaming periods with an intervening period of night roosting. Foraging pallid bats have a characteristic style of flight well suited to the taking of relatively large, substrate-roving or slow flying prey. After the initial foraging period pallid bats locate one another through vocal communication and gather in night roosting clusters where they enter torpor. Durations and scheduling of nocturnal activities vary seasonally. Cool months are characterized by smaller colonies of bats, greater fidelity to certain colony sites, slower and later emergence, briefer foraging periods and longer periods of night roosting. Up to 75 percent of the time spent away from diurnal retreats is devoted to night roosting in the autumn. Young are born in June, and during most of the summer adult males do not seem to occur sympatrically with females and young. Females and young appear to forage together in July and August, when little fidelity is shown to roosting sites, large colonies exist, emergence is faster and earlier, and more time is spent in foraging than in cooler months. In mid-August a postbreeding dispersal occurs. These activities and behaviors are discussed in terms of the energetic demands on the bats and the socialization of young.

Journal of Mammalogy↗
USGS1976

Home range, social behavior, and dominance relationships in the African unstriped ground squirrel, Xerus rutilus

A field study of home range, social behavior, and dominance relationships in the African unstriped ground squirrel, Xerus rutilus , was conducted in semi-arid bushland near Kibwezi, Kenya. Ground squirrels lived alone or in small groups in isolated burrow systems and had broadly overlapping home ranges. They were neither territorial or colonial. Home ranges were estimated by visual observation of marked animals and those of males were considerably larger (mean=7.01 hectares (ha); n=4) than those of females (mean=1.37 ha; n-6). A continuum of agonistic behavior ranging from threat to combat is described, although actual combat was rarely observed. Sexual behavior includes a stereotypical tail display by adult males. Dominance relationships, based on 542 observed encounters between marked individuals, include a consistent male dominance over females and a fairly constant linear hierarchy among all individuals with shared home ranges. Similarities in the behavior of African ground squirrels and tree squirrels ( Sciurus ) are discussed.

Journal of Mammalogy↗
USGS1976

Roosting ecology of the pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus

Daytime roosting behavior of pallid bats ( Antrozous pallidus ) was studied in central Arizona. Bats were present in the area from March or April until November and roosted in cliffs in colonies generally including 20 or more individuals. Pallid bats were highly selective in their choice of roost sites and minimized diurnal energy output by adaptive hypothermia and behavioral thermo-regulation. In spring and autumn the bats roosted in vertical crevices responsive to changes in ambient temperatures. Here temperatures remained low and the bats were torpid for much of the day, but when the crevices became heated in the late afternoon the bats were passively warmed prior to emergence. Deep, horizontal crevices were preferred in summer; cliffs function as massive heat sinks, and in summer crevice temperatures remained moderate and relatively stable. Throughout most of the day both the deep parts of the crevices and the body temperatures of the bats remained close to 30ºC; at this body temperature pallid bats have unexpectedly low metabolic rates (Trune, 1974). By adjusting their positions and closeness to other bats in the thermal gradient within the crevice, bats dissipate heat early in the day, maintain a low metabolic rate through most of the fat and elevate the body temperature prior to emergence in the evening. Of vital important to pallid bats in the summer are social behaviors that promote communal roosting at "traditional" crevices.

Journal of Mammalogy↗
USGS1976

Fat content in migratory central Arizona Brazilian free-tailed bats, Tadarida brasiliensis (Molossidae)

Fat content of migratory Tadarida brasiliensis was determined during the spring, summer and fall of 1972 in the Verde Valley of Arizona. Fat indices were highest in March arrivals, generally declined throughout the summer, and were lowest in September. In both 1972 and 1973 bats had arrived at the study area by mid-March. In 1971 bats were last noted at the area in mid-October while in 1972 they had disappeared by late September. On the basis on physiological calculations it is estimated that bats collected in March 1972 possessed sufficient fat reserves to carry them a mean distance of 716 km north of the study area while September bats had only enough reserves to fly 386 km southward, about 160 km short of the nearest known Sonora wintering locality. It is suggested that in spring the bats may have a more rigidly timed migration and so put on excess fat to counter an uncertain environment to the north. The fall migration may be triggered by more unpredictable events, such as the passage of cold fronts, and less fat reserves may be required for movements into more favorable southern locales.

Arizona↗