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Scavenging is a common phenomenon, particularly amongst carnivorous vertebrates. By consuming carrion, vertebrate scavengers reduce resource availability for both pathogenic bacteria and their insect vectors. We investigated the ability of wild vertebrate scavengers to control agents of human diarrheal diseases (specifically Salmonella spp. and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli [STEC]) in oil palm plantations in Sabah (East Malaysia), and the existence of spillover effect whereby additional vertebrate scavengers from adjacent forest patches result in greater disease control in plantation sections near these forest edges. Experimental carcasses were removed by common scavengers (Varanus salvator, Canis lupus familiaris, and Viverra tangalunga) at different time points, and this determined the length of time that the carcasses persisted in the environment. The amount of pathogenic bacteria on the surfaces of filth flies collected above the experimental carcasses was positively correlated to the duration of carcass persistence, and reduction in pathogenic bacterial abundances was largely due to carcass consumption by these vertebrate scavengers. Instead of a predicted positive spillover effect (greater scavenger activity near forest edges, hence reduced pathogen abundance), we detected a weak inverse spillover effect in which STEC counts were marginally higher in plantation sections near forest patches, and human hunting along the forest-plantation boundaries could explain this. We propose that making oil palm plantations scavenger-friendly could yield great human health benefits for the millions of workers employed in this rapidly-expanding industry, without drastically changing current management practices.

Copyright of Raffles Bulletin of Zoology is the property of Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Raffles Bulletin of Zoology is the property of Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Raffles Bulletin of Zoology is the property of Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Raffles Bulletin of Zoology is the property of Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Raffles Bulletin of Zoology is the property of Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Raffles Bulletin of Zoology is the property of Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Hog-badgers (mustelid carnivorans classified in the genus Arctonyx) are distributed throughout East and Southeast Asia, including much of China, the eastern Indian Subcontinent, Indochina and the large continental Asian island of Sumatra. Arctonyx is usually regarded as monotypic, comprising the single species A. collaris F. Cuvier, 1825, but taxonomic boundaries in the genus have never been revised on the basis of sizeable series from throughout this geographical range. Based on a review of most available specimens in world museums, we recognize three distinctive species within the genus, based on craniometric analyses, qualitative craniodental features, external comparisons, and geographical and ecological considerations. Arctonyx albogularis (Blyth, 1853) is a shaggy-coated, medium-sized badger widely distributed in temperate Asia, from Tibet and the Himalayan region to eastern and southern China. Arctonyx collaris F. Cuvier, 1825, is an extremely large, shorter-haired badger, distributed throughout Southeast Asia, from eastern India to Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The world's largest extant badger, A. collaris co-occurs with A. albogularis in eastern India and probably in southern China, and fossil comparisons indicate that its geographical range may have extended into central China in the middle Pleistocene. The disjunctly distributed species Arctonyx hoevenii (Hubrecht, 1891), originally described within the order ‘Edentata’ by a remarkable misunderstanding, is the smallest and darkest member of the genus and is endemic to the Barisan mountain chain of Sumatra. Apart from A. hoevenii, no other Arctonyx occurs on the Sunda Shelf below peninsular Thailand. The natural history of each species of Arctonyx, so far as is known, is briefly reviewed. No claim to original US Government works. Journal compilation © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 154, 353–385. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirty-four polymorphic dinucleotide microsatellite loci were developed in the Malayan pangolin Manis javanica. Of the 34 markers, 32 and 18 were also amplified, respectively, in the Chinese pangolin ( Manis pentadactyla) and the African tree pangolin ( Manis tricuspis). Analysis of 24 Malayan, 12 Chinese and 2 African tree pangolins showed high levels of variability (heterozygosity ranging from 0.321 to 0.708). These are the first available microsatellite markers in Pholidota and will be an invaluable tool for evolutionary and conservation genetic studies in pangolins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Flying lemurs, or colugos, are among the most enigmatic mammals. They have the most extensive gliding membrane of any volant mammal (A), allowing them to traverse distances up to 136 meters . Current taxonomy recognizes just two colugo species, each assigned to a unique genus: the Sunda colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) and the Philippine colugo (Cynocephalus volans) . Because the evolutionary history of colugos is poorly known we undertook the first study to examine genetic variation in the broadly distributed Sunda colugo. Our results, combined with morphological data, provide compelling evidence that mainland, Javan, and Bornean colugo subspecies may be better recognized as distinct species, potentially tripling species diversity in the genus Galeopterus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Scavenging is a common phenomenon, particularly amongst carnivorous vertebrates. By consuming carrion, vertebrate scavengers reduce resource availability for both pathogenic bacteria and their insect vectors. We investigated the ability of wild vertebrate scavengers to control agents of human diarrheal diseases (specifically Salmonella spp. and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli [STEC]) in oil palm plantations in Sabah (East Malaysia), and the existence of spillover effect whereby additional vertebrate scavengers from adjacent forest patches result in greater disease control in plantation sections near these forest edges. Experimental carcasses were removed by common scavengers ( Varanus salvator , Canis lupus familiaris , and Viverra tangalunga ) at different time points, and this determined the length of time that the carcasses persisted in the environment. The amount of pathogenic bacteria on the surfaces of filth flies collected above the experimental carcasses was positively correlated to the duration of carcass persistence, and reduction in pathogenic bacterial abundances was largely due to carcass consumption by these vertebrate scavengers. Instead of a predicted positive spillover effect (greater scavenger activity near forest edges, hence reduced pathogen abundance), we detected a weak inverse spillover effect in which STEC counts were marginally higher in plantation sections near forest patches, and human hunting along the forest-plantation boundaries could explain this. We propose that making oil palm plantations scavenger-friendly could yield great human health benefits for the millions of workers employed in this rapidly-expanding industry, without drastically changing current management practices.