Twenty-four ill or dead desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) were received between March 1992 and July 1995 for necropsies from the Mojave and Colorado deserts of California (USA). Diseases observed in these animals included cutaneous dyskeratosis (n = 7); shell necrosis (n = 2); respiratory diseases (n = 7); urolithiasis (n = 3); and trauma (n = 5). In tortoises with cutaneous dyskeratosis th...

Conservation policy in the giant Galápagos tortoise, an iconic endangered animal, has been assisted by genetic markers for ~15 years: mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite loci have been used to delineate thirteen (sub)species, between which hybridization is prevented. Here, comparative reanalysis of a previously published NGS data set reveals a conflict with traditional markers. Genetic diversi...

We study crossing vortices in strongly anisotropic Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta single crystals. Using scanning Hall probe microscopy and Bitter decoration techniques, we find an asymmetry of magnetic field profiles produced by pancake vortices (PVs), which are interacting with Josephson vortices (JVs), near the surface of the crystal. We attribute the observed asymmetry to a substantial tilt (14-18 deg...

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago located in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Their isolation from the mainland allowed the establishment of different faunas on each of them. While in Mallorca the Pliocene fauna was composed of the so called Myotragus-fauna (mainly consisting of a bovid, a glirid and a soricid), in Menorca it was constituted by the giant rabbit-fauna (mainly consisting of a...

Understanding the relationships between environmental variables and wildlife activity is an important part of effective management. The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), an imperiled species of arid environments in the southwest US, may have increasingly restricted windows for activity due to current warming trends. In summer 2013, we deployed 48 motion sensor cameras at the entrances of to...

Growing pressure to develop public lands for renewable energy production places several protected species at increased risk of habitat loss. One example is the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), a species often at the center of conflicts over public land development. For this species and others on public lands, a better understanding of their habitat needs can help minimize negative i...

Reptiles live in a range of different habitats from tropical forests to temperate zones where the climate may change on seasonal or daily basis. The thermal environment is major determinant how efficiently they can achieve optimum preferred body temperatures and, terms physiologically temperatures, these not be possible natural environment. In this paper, null models have been employed evaluate...

Restoration of extirpated species via captive breeding has typically relied on population viability as the primary criterion for evaluating success. This criterion is inadequate when species reintroduction is undertaken to restore ecological functions and interactions. Herein we report on the demographic and ecological outcomes of a five-decade-long population restoration program for a critical...

The Seychelles Giant Tortoise Conservation Project captive breeding programme for the Seychelles tortoises Dipsochelys arnoldi and D. hololissa is described. Successful hatching occurred in 2002 and the reasons for this success discussed. Important factors are enclosure design, social structure and the use of artificial incubation. Methods for sexing hatchlings are discussed. There may be great...

in this study morphological characterization of leukocyte and erythrocyte were investigated in central asian tortoise (testudo horsfieldii) in iran. 7 males and 7 females were used in this study. erythrocyte and leukocyte morphology were described using wright´s technique. the sizes of erythrocyte and their nuclei were measured using an ocular micrometer under objective lenses (100x). results o...