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Rodents generate negative consequences for smallholder farmers in Africa that directly impact household and livestock damage, food security, and public health. Ecologically Based Rodent Management (EBRM) seeks sustainable solutions for the mitigation of rodent damage through assessments of rodent population dynamics, agro‐ecosystems, and socio‐cultural contexts. We adopt a comparative approach across 3 rural Afro‐Malagasy smallholder farming regions in South Africa, Tanzania, and Madagascar to assess the household impacts of rodent pests and current perceptions and preferences associated with several rodent control measures. We conducted focus group questionnaires and interviews in different study site locations. Rodents assert multiple impacts on Afro‐Malagasy farmers demonstrating recurrent and emerging agricultural and household costs, and public health impacts. We identify a significant knowledge gap in educating communities about the application of different EBRM approaches in favor of acute poisons that are perceived to be more effective. Cultural issues and taboos also have a significant impact on the social acceptance of rodent hunting as well as biological control using indigenous predators. We advocate for an enhanced investigation of the socio‐cultural beliefs associated with different rodent practices to understand the factors underlying social acceptance. A collaborative approach that integrates the perspectives of target communities to inform the design of EBRM initiatives according to the specific agro‐ecosystem and socio‐cultural context is necessary to ensure programmatic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although important advances have been made in recent years in the taxonomy of different families and subfamilies of Malagasy bats, those belonging to the Vespertilioninae remain partially unresolved. Herein using a mitochondrial marker (cytochrome b) as the point of departure for 76 specimens of Malagasy vespers and appropriate African taxa, we diagnose the six taxa of this subfamily on the island by overlaying different morphological and bioacoustic characters on the clade structure of sequenced animals. The species include: endemic Neoromicia matroka, which is sister to African N. capensis; endemics N. malagasyensis and N. robertsi, which form sister species; a member of the genus Hypsugo, which is sister to African H. anchietae and described herein as new to science; Pipistrellus hesperidus for which Madagascar animals are genetically close but distinct from African populations of the same species; and endemic P. raceyi, which shows segregation of eastern (mesic) and western (dry) populations and its sister species relationships are unresolved. While the external and craniodental measurements, as well as bioacoustic variables, allow only partial differentiation of these six species of Vespertilioninae, molecular characters provide definitive separation of the taxa, as do male bacular morphology. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The newly described molossid bat, Chaerephon atsinanana Goodman et al., 2010, endemic to eastern Madagascar, shows notably high levels of phylogeographic and genetic structure compared with allopatric Chaerephon leucogaster Grandidier, 1869 from western Madagascar. Such highly significant structuring of haplotypes among altitudinally and latitudinally stratified population groups is contrary to the expected panmixia in strong flying bats. The null model of concordance in historical demographic patterns across these two Chaerephon species was not supported. Mismatch and Bayesian skyline analyses indicated ancient stable C. atsinanana populations of constant size during the last two major Pleistocene glacial periods, making retreat into and expansion from glacial refugia an unlikely explanation for such high levels of structure, in accordance with expectations for tropical bats. Analyses were consistent with post-refugial population expansion in the less diverse and structured C. leucogaster during the end of the last Pleistocene glacial period. We hypothesise that the pronounced genetic structuring in C. atsinanana may result from female philopatry. Furthermore, differing demographic histories of the two species may have been shaped by differing climate or habitat preferences, consistent with evidence from MaxEnt ecological niche modelling, which shows differences in variables influencing the current predicted distributions. Fossil Quaternary pollen deposits further indicate greater stability in past climatic patterns in eastern versus western Madagascar. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 18-40. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examined patterns of morphological and genetic variation in Chaerephon leucogaster on Madagascar, Mayotte in the Comoros Archipelago and the Tanzanian island of Pemba. Measurements of animals revealed differences in the degree of sexual dimorphism and size variation. In addition, the population on Mayotte was identical in size to those from western Madagascar. Cytochrome b genetic distances across samples were also low, while animals from Pemba and Mayotte shared cytochrome b haplotypes with Malagasy bats. Overall, there was no clear concordance between variation in haplotype distribution, latitude or gender.

The article discusses research on the patterns of morphological and genetic variation in Mormopterus jugularis, a species of Malagasy Molossidae found in Madagascar. According to the study of a number of Mormopterus jugularies living in different bioclimatic regions of Madagascar, sexual dimorphism takes place and females are smaller in size than males. The study also found that there were no morphological variation found in animals living in different parts of the island and different bioclimatic zones.

The island of Madagascar, situated off the southeast coast of Africa, shows the first evidence of human presence ~ 10,000 years ago; however, other archaeological data indicates a settlement of the modern peoples of the island distinctly more recent, perhaps > 1500 years ago. Bushpigs of the genus Potamochoerus (family Suidae), are today widely distributed in Madagascar and presumed to have been introduced from Africa at some stage by human immigrants to the island. However, disparities about their origins in Madagascar have been presented in the literature, including the possibility of endemic subspecies, and few empirical data are available. Furthermore, the separation of bushpigs in Madagascar from their mainland relatives may have favoured the evolution of a different repertoire of immune genes first due to a founder effect and then as a response to distinct pathogens compared to their ancestors. Molecular analysis confirmed the species status of the bushpig in Madagascar as P. larvatus, likely introduced from the central region of southern Africa, with no genetic evidence for the recognition of eastern and western subspecies as suggested from previous cranial morphology examination. Investigation of the immunologically important SLA-DQB1 peptide-binding region showed a different immune repertoire of bushpigs in Madagascar compared to those on the African mainland, with seventeen exon-2 haplotypes unique to bushpigs in Madagascar (2/28 haplotypes shared). This suggests that the MHC diversity of the Madagascar populations may have enabled Malagasy bushpigs to adapt to new environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chiropteran fauna of Madagascar comprises eight of the 19 recognized families of bats, including the endemic Myzopodidae. While recent systematic studies of Malagasy bats have contributed to our understanding of the morphological and genetic diversity of the island's fauna, little is known about their cytosystematics. Here we investigate karyotypic relationships among four species, representing four families of Chiroptera endemic to the Malagasy region using cross-species chromosome painting with painting probes of Myotis myotis: Myzopodidae (Myzopoda aurita, 2n = 26), Molossidae (Mormopterus jugularis, 2n = 48), Miniopteridae (Miniopterus griveaudi, 2n = 46), and Vespertilionidae (Myotis goudoti, 2n = 44). This study represents the first time a member of the family Myzopodidae has been investigated using chromosome painting. Painting probes of M. myotis were used to delimit 29, 24, 23, and 22 homologous chromosomal segments in the genomes of M. aurita, M. jugularis, M. griveaudi, and M. goudoti, respectively. Comparison of GTG-banded homologous chromosomes/chromosomal segments among the four species revealed the genome of M. aurita has been structured through 14 fusions of chromosomes and chromosomal segments of M. myotis chromosomes leading to a karyotype consisting solely of bi-armed chromosomes. In addition, chromosome painting revealed a novel X-autosome translocation in M. aurita. Comparison of our results with published chromosome maps provided further evidence for karyotypic conservatism within the genera Mormopterus, Miniopterus, and Myotis. Mapping of chromosomal rearrangements onto a molecular consensus phylogeny revealed ancestral syntenies shared between Myzopoda and other bat species of the infraorders Pteropodiformes and Vespertilioniformes. Our study provides further evidence for the involvement of Robertsonian (Rb) translocations and fusions/fissions in chromosomal evolution within Chiroptera.