The sciurid tribe Marmotini has a distinctive, highly specialized reproductive profile characterized by annually produced litters of many offspring, each of small mass and fast growth rate. However, not all genera of marmotines follow the reproductive profile of the tribe. In fact, included in the tribe are squirrels with the highest and lowest energetic investment into reproduction of the enti...

Dental microwear consists of microscopic damage features on the occlusal surfaces of tooth enamel and reflects physical properties of the diet, as well as enamel structure and post-mortem history of the tooth. Microwear analysis has been used to infer the diets of extinct mammals through comparison of features on fossil teeth with those on teeth of living mammals with known diets. A method for ...

Overwinter survival of hibernators is directly influenced by the fat reserves accumulated during active season. The European ground squirrel, Spermophilus citellus, an endangered flagship species open grasslands central and southeastern Europe, no exception. Considering anthropogenic changes affecting its habitats in northern Serbia, we studied species? feeding habits subjecting feces to microh...

Six species of rodents from Kern County, California, were inoculated subcutaneously with western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) virus to determine their susceptibility to infection and their potential as natural hosts. Ammospermophilus nelsoni, Citellus beecheyi, Dipodomys heermanni, Dipodomys nitratoides, Peromyscus maniculatus, and Sciurus griseus were readily infected. Infection was usually ...