Home - Shrew
Bibliography - List of Publications
- Shrew Photo Gallery - Shrewists
on e-mail - Links - Current
inquiries - Announcements
Shrew Talk
Archive
"SHREW TALK" - Vol. 1, No. 26 - 08 December
1997
SHREW TALK - 08 December 1997 - Vol. 1, No. 26
Number of Recipients: >283
.
Contents of this Issue
.
o Research
1. IUCN, SSC: A reply to SHREW TALK Vol. 1/25
2. Onset of breeding season in Myosorex varius
3. Re: Baiting shrew traps: An appetizer for raccoons...
4. Re: Baiting shrew traps and use of drift fences
5. Re: Trapped shrews in discarded bottles
6. Re: Identifying shrew species without killing them
o Shrew-Mateur
1. Shrews in the house / Virus alert?
o Shrew Bibliography: New Papers / Books
1. Shrew helminths: A List of Publications by Vasilij V. Tkach
2. A few new references to shrews from Estonia and Kazakhstan
3. Publications available from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4. Suncus etruscus film
5. A review of "The Shrew Bibliography" (Spixiana 20, 1997)
o What's New on the Shrew (ist's) Site
o Shrew Talk Instructions
.
***********************************************************************
o RESEARCH
***********************************************************************
1) IUCN, SSC: A reply to SHREW TALK Vol. 1/25
.
From: Tapir <tapir@tapirback.com>
Subject: Re: SHREW TALK: Vol. 1, No. 25 - 02 December 1997
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 14:10:45 -0700
.
Dear Werner,
>Conservation Action Plan). I have made offers to extend this network
to the >IUCN / Insectivore Specialist Group. I would very much appreciate
receiving >any comments from the IUCN members. What can be done for
the conservation >of threatened shrew species? How can we help? The
Shrew (ist's) Site would >be willing to act as a mediator and a possibility
for fund-raising.
I am a member of the IUCN, though not a shrewist. I'm in the SSC/Tapir
Specialist Group. I'm fairly new to this organization. One of the things
I like best about the IUCN is the amount of autonomy given to groups within
the organization, and to members within the groups. However, this can have
its downside as well as the positive aspects - depending on the people
involved. In the end, a lot depends on the Chair and members of the Specialist
Groups. The IUCN itself offers a framework, provides guidelines and mentor-like
help. The rest is up to individual initiative - and you know what that
can mean - good things happen, or disaster (i.e., nothing happens).
I noticed that the Insectivore and Tree Shrew groups did not contribute
anything to the June-December "Species," the bi-annual newsletter
(153 pages this time) where groups tell what they're doing and have done
recently, and generally try to post a state-of-the-conservation message
on their species. Possibly the group is not very active right now? I'm
sorry, I don't know more about this particular subset of the SSC. Whether
they respond to your offers or not, you are doing tremendous work for the
shrews; my personal opinion is that having an alliance of some type would
benefit the people involved and the shrews.
Best wishes,
Sheryl Todd
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sheryl Todd ~ The Tapir Gallery ~ Tapir Preservation Fund http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/
tapir@tapirback.com Tapir Talk info & archives: http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/tt.htm
Deputy Chair, IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group Co-Editor, IUCN/SSC TSG Newsletter
P.O. Box 1432, Palisade, CO 81526 USA Fax (970) 464-0377 "Promoting
the Welfare of Tapirs Everywhere" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_______________________________________________________________________
2) Onset of breeding season in Myosorex varius
.
From: "Rod Baxter" <baxter@ufhcc.ufh.ac.za>
Organization: University of Fort Hare
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 15:03:17 GMT+120
.
Dear Werner,
...now i have just returned from Grahamstown SA where I have been working
with Mike Bedford and Ric Bernard on the fertilization events in Myosorex
varius and on Saturday I head out to the field.
As you know, most of my recent work deals with rodents but recently
I have discovered indications of fostering in M. varius. During October
I was trapping as part of an on going project but I had out extra traps
in order to collect shrews for the Mike Bedford fertilization study. That
particular field trip also filled in an important gap in my data on the
onset of breeding in M. varius. There were very good mid-winter rains (this
is most unusual) and the breeding started just after mid-winter. Other
data I have from four other sites in SA confirm this - but at this particular
site I have variable data depending on the onset of the rains. I want to
write this up in the next few months.
Many thanks for Shrew Talk - I find many of the postings interesting
and I am hoping to index my collection of the newsletter because I now
find I cannot remember all that they contain. I will add the postings onto
my bibliographic database to achieve the necessary cross-referencing.
Best wishes Rod
----------------------------------------------------------
Rod Baxter e-mail: baxter@ufhcc.ufh.ac.za
Dept of Zoology fax: 27 [0]40-6022168
University of Fort Hare tel: 27 [0]40-6022164 P/Bag X1314 5700 Alice
SOUTH AFRICA
_______________________________________________________________________
3) Baiting shrew traps: An appetizer for raccoons... A reply to Stuart
Niven (Shrew Talk 1/25)
.
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 14:57:21 -0600
From: Joe Whittaker <joeshrew@siu.edu>
Subject: Re: SHREW TALK: Vol. 1, No. 25 - 02 December 1997
.
In my trapping with smelly bait I have also run into problems with
raccoons, skunks and opossum. Prior to and during my small mammal trapping
I set large Hav-A-Hart traps for the medium-sized mammalian opportunists.
Once I trap them, I relocate the pesky opportunists. This removal trapping
in concert with frequent trap checks has worked well for me. The students
would probably enjoy seeing the medium sized mammals too. The skunks in
particular are interesting.
Personally, I would not recommend cutting holes in aluminum live traps.
Here in Illinois I've seen rice rats and Peromyscus spp. easily chew through
and enlarge holes in small Sherman traps. We've even had some mortality
from animals getting stuck and suffocated trying to get through holes.
Good luck with the raccoon battle.
Joe Whittaker Zoology Department Southern Illinois University Carbondale,
IL 62901 (618) 453-4124 (618) 549-4359
_______________________________________________________________________
4) Baiting shrew traps and use of drift fences A reply to Julie Fuller
(Shrew Talk 1/25)
.
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 14:05:07 -0600
From: Joe Whittaker <joeshrew@siu.edu>
Subject: Shrew Talk
.
Julie,
As far as baiting my pitfall traps I usually just place a lump of bait
into the pitfall. Since I keep them dry this works well. Since you will
be keeping water in them you may need to come up with something else. Maybe
you could float the bait on little pieces of styrofoam, wood or something.
A lot of the pitfalls with water I've seen get fairly smelly on their own
quickly as invertebrates and herptiles fall in and die.
As far as drift fences, they are simply a strip of aluminum flashing
(or like material) which can be erected to serve as barrier to normal movements
and "funnels" animals into a pitfall. There are numerous sources
which describe drift fence use and I have included a couple citations you
should be able to get from your library:
Prince. 1941. Water traps capture the pygmy shrew (Microsorex hoyi)
in abundance. The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 55:72.
Mengak and Guynn. 1987. Pitfalls and snap traps for sampling small
mammals and herpetofauna. The American Midland Naturalist, 118: 284-288.
Gibbons and Semlitsch. 1981. Terrestrial drift fences with pitfalls:
an effective technique for quantitative sampling of small mammal populations.
Brimleyana, 7:1-17.
The following papers appear in Merritt, J. F, G. L. Kirkland, Jr.,
and R. K. Rose (ed.s), Advances in the Biology of Shrews. 1994. Carnegie
Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 18. Pittsburgh, PA.
Kirkland and Sheppard. 1994. Proposed standard protocol for sampling
small mammal communities.
Handley and Varn. 1994. The trapline concept applied to pitfall arrays.
If you have trouble getting these last two let me know and I can mail
you a copy (they are both fairly short and they provide a good review of
pitfall literature).
I meant to send Werner Haberl at SHREW TALK a copy of my last message
to you and deleted it by mistake. If possible could you send him that correspondence?
I'll send a copy of this to him.
Good luck with the project and let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Joe
Joe Whittaker Zoology Department Southern Illinois University Carbondale,
IL 62901 _______________________________________________________________________
5) Re: Trapped shrews in discarded bottles A reply to Dick Davis (Shrew
Talk 1/25)
.
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 14:57:21 -0600
Subject: Re: SHREW TALK: Vol. 1, No. 25 - 02 December 1997
.
Dear Dick,
Concerning shrews and bottles, you may be interested in a paper "A
comparison of two survey methods for shrews: Pitfalls and discarded bottles"
from 1990 that was in American Midland Naturalist 124:191-194. We found
the remains of 290 shrews of three species in 72 bottles (mean per bottle
= 4; range 1-39). Relative frequencies of shrew species from discarded
bottles were significantly different from those determined by pitfall trapping
in the same area.
Regards - George Feldhamer (feldhamer@zoology.siu.edu)
_______________________________________________________________________
6) Re: Identifying shrew species without killing them A reply to Steven
Petersen (Shrew Talk 1/25)
.
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 15:23:04 -0600
From: Joe Whittaker <joeshrew@siu.edu>
.
Steven Petersen,
I saw your information request in Shrew Talk and wanted to respond.
I'm not sure if you saw what I had sent in as a response to a request from
Lisa Hartman. It is mainly concerned with methodology I've been using in
a mark-recapture study of Blarina carolinensis. (Shrew Talk Vol. 1/24,
November 24, 1997).
As far as identifying your species (Sorex cinereus, S.hoyi, S. monticolus,
S. arcticus, and S. palustris), I know nothing about S. monticolus, but
S. articus and S. palustris should be fairly distinct based on size and
pelage characteristics. The problem I forsee would be between S. cinereus
and S. hoyi. I would recommend keeping a blunt probe and a hand lens with
you in the field. It should be possible (in theory) to attempt to check
the shrews' teeth without killing them. When I started my Ph. D. project
here I had hoped to employ this methodology with southeastern shrews (S.
longirostris) and S. hoyi. The two of them can be differentiated by medial
tines and upper unicuspids.
Let me know if I can be of any further help. Good luck with your project,
Joe
Joe Whittaker Zoology Department Southern Illinois University Carbondale,
IL 62901
***********************************************************************
o SHREW-MATEUR
***********************************************************************
1) Shrews in the house / Virus alert?
.
From: Richard C. Lehr <RCLehr@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 23:02:58 EST
Subject: Re: shrew in the house & hanta
.
Came across your website and wondering if you had some answers. I live
south of Helena Mt. USA, at 5800 ft. in the Helena National Forest. We
have had a deer mice problem in our house which we have been fighting,(and
losing I might add), until recently when my traps have not produced any
mice. What they have caught are shrews! Not on a steady basis, but 3 over
a period of about 9 weeks. I know virtually nothing about them. Do they
eat mice? Do they infest houses similiar to mice? We are presently still
finding ways to combat the mice because of Hanta Virus. Do shrews also
carry the virus? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
While not a student, reasearcher, or involved in work of any kind with
these small mammals I am facinated about the world of animals in which
I live, even the smaller ones. I live in the mountains and love watching
the wildlife----at times I feel that I am the being observed instead of
the other way around. I look forward to future topics. Once again thank
you.
Rick
***********************************************************************
o SHREW BIBLIOGRAPHY: New Papers
***********************************************************************
ÒThe Shrew BibliographyÓ is a collection of more than 6000 references
to research on the biology of the Soricidae (Insectivora, Mammalia) and
small mammal ecology. More info: http://members.vienna.at/shrew/shrewbib.html
To announce your new research papers/books, please follow the instructions
(separate fields with the character "#"): Author(s)#Year#Title#Journal&Page
No.#Abstract#Keywords#Address *I* would appreciate receiving a reprint
of your paper and/or a list of your publications to add to the bibliography.
_______________________________________________________________________
1) Shrew helminths: A List of Publications by Vasilij V. Tkach
.
From: "Vasilij V. Tkach" <vvt@tkach.kiev.ua>
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 19:53:41 +0200 (EET)
.
Diplomesodon pulchellum:(...) It occurred so that I was the first helminthologist
who examined helminths of this shrew. I did it on the fixed materials from
Kazakhstan and my colleague from Turkmenistan examined freshly caught animals.
We described four new tapeworm species from it (references are marked with
asterisk). All cestodes of D.p. occurred to be specific and new! I have
no photo of this shrew. However, some data are given in the Volume 4 of
the "Mammals of Kazakhstan" (in Russian). Hope you know about
that book.
---------------------------------------------------
Kiseljuk A.I., Tkach V.V. Findings of mammals included in the Ukrainian
Red Book, in Carpathian state natural national park. Vestnik zoologii,
1987, N 1, P.74 (in Russian).
* Tkach V.V., Velikanov V.P. A new cestode species (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae)
from desert shrew. - News of faunistics desert shrew. - News of faunistics
and systematics, Kiev: Naukova dumka, 1990, P.7-10 (in Russian).
Tkach V.V. Cestodes of genus Triodontolepis (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae)
of the Ukrainian fauna, with description of cysticercoid T.torrentis.-
Vestnik zoologii, 1991, N 2, P.3-10 (in Russian).
Tkach V.V. Larval stages of helminths in small mammals of the Ukrainian
fauna.- Parasite-Host-Environment, Sofia, 1991, P.259.
* Tkach V.V.,Velikanov V.P. Pseudhymenolepis turkestanica sp.n. (Cestoda:
Hymenolepididae), a new cestode from shrews.- Annales de Parasitologie
Humaine et Comparee, 1991, 66, N 2, P.54-56.
Tkach V.V. Helminths of insectivores from East Carpathians: peculiarities
of the fauna, distribution and circulation. - In: International conference
"The East Carpathians fauna: its present state and prospects of preservation".
Materials. - Uzhgorod, 1993, p.325-327 (in Russian).
* Velikanov V.P., Tkach V.V. New cestode species (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae)
from desert shrew.- Vestnik zoologii, 1993, N 5, p. 3-11 (in Russian).
Tkach V.V. First report on the helminths of insectivores from the Danube
delta. - Analele Stiintifice ale Institutului Delta Dunarii, 1993, 2 ,
197-201.
Tkach V.V. Description of cysticercoid of Coronacanthus vassilevi Genov,
1980 (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae). - Parasite, 1994, 1, 161-165.
Tkach V.V., Bray R.A. Prosolecithus danubica n.sp. (Digenea: Dicrocoeliidae),
a new digenean from shrews on islands of the Danube delta. Parasite, 1995,
2, N 2,133-140.
Tkach V.V. The role of insectivores in helminths circulation: ecological
interconnections.- 2-nd European Congress of Mammalogy. Abstract book.
Southhampton, 1995, p.156.
Tkach V., Fedorchenko A. Helminths of insectivores in the Danube delta:
regional peculiarities. - 2-nd European Congress of Mammalogy. Abstract
book. Southhampton, 1995, p.156.
Iskova N.I., Sharpilo V.P., Sharpilo L.D., Tkach V.V. Catalogue of
helminths of Ukraine. Trematodes of terrestrial vertebrates. - Kiev, 1995,
93 p. (in Russian).
Tkach V.V. Helminths of insectivores in Ukrainian Carpathians and Transcarpathian
region. In: 7-th International Helminthological Symposium. 19-22 September
1995. Kosice, 1995, p.44.
Tkach V.V., Zhumabekova B.K. On the helminths fauna of shrews in South-Eastern
Kazakhstan. - In: "Parasitology in the Ukraine. Yesterday, Today and
Tomorrow:. Proceedings of the Jubilee Conference of USSP", Kiev, 1996,
p.101-110 (in Russian).
Tkach V.V., Lisitsina O.I. Gammarid crustaceans as intermediate hosts
of hymenolepidid cestodes parasitizing water shrews in Ukrainian Carpathians.
Parassitologia, 1996, 38, N 1-2 (VII European Multicolloquium of Parasitology.
2-6 September 1996. Parma, Italy, 1996), p.79.
Tkach V.V., Swiderski Z.P. Larval morphology of hymenolepidid cestodes,
parasites of water shrews. Parassitologia, 1996, 38, N 1-2 (VII European
Multicolloquium of Parasitology. 2-6 September 1996. Parma, Italy, 1996),
p.80.
Swiderski Z., Tkach V. Ultrastructure of the infective eggs of the
hymenolepidid cestode, Ditestolepis tripartita (Zarnowski, 1955), a parasite
of shrews. Acta Parasitologica, 1997, 42 (1), 46-54.
Tkach V.V., Kornyushin V.V. On the systematic position of Hymenolepis
blarinae Rausch et Kuns, 1950 (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae), with re-description
of the holotype. Systematic Parasitology, 1997, 37, 21-25.
Tkach V.V., Swiderski Z. Late stages of egg maturation in the cestode
Pseudhymenolepis redonica Joyeux et Baer, 1935 (Cyclophyllidea, Hymenolepididae),
a parasite of shrews // Acta Parasitologica.- 1997.- 42, N 2.- P.97-108.
Tkach V.V., Kornyushin V.V. Terrestrial molluscs in the life cycles
of some helminths from insectivores in Ukraine // Heldia, 1997, 4, N. 5,
118-119.
_______________________________________________________________________
2) A few new references to shrews from Estonia and Kazakhstan
.
These references and copies of the papers were sent in by Jevgeni Shergalin,
Estonia, who can also supply further photocopies or translations of specific
papers from the countries of the former USSR. Thank you! (WH)
-------------------------------------------------
Kashkarov, R.D., D.Y. Kashkarov. 1994. (A new find of Suncus etruscus
Savi in Kazakhstan and observation of its mode of life under artificial
conditions of maintenance.) Selevinia 1(2): 12-14.
Olzhabekova, K.B., B.B. Kasabekov. 1995. (Seasonal dynamics in the
sexual activity of Sorex asper Thomas, 1914 and Sorex minutus Linnaeus,
1766 in the Zailiyskiy Alatau Mts.) Selevinia 3: 55-57.
Kuuse, S. 1990. (Morphometrical characters and their statistical reliability
in distinguishing sympatric species of shrews (Sorex, Insectivora) in Estonia.)
P. 51-65 In: (Modern status of fauna of Estonia. Insects and mammals. Papers
on Zoology.). Acta et Commentationes Universitatis Tartuensis. N875, Tartu.
85 pp.
_______________________________________________________________________
3) Publications available from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
.
Decher, J., D.A. Schlitter, R. Hutterer. 1997. Noteworthy records of
small mammals from Ghana with special emphasis on the Accra Plains. Annals
of Carnegie Museum 66(2): 209-227.
Hutterer, R., D.A. Schlitter. 1996. Shrews of Korup National Park,
Cameroon, with the description of a new Sylvisorex (Mammalia: Soricidae).
Pp. 57-66, in Contributions in Mammalogy: A Memorial Volume Honoring Dr.
J. Knox Jones, Jr. (Genoways, H.H. and R.J. Baker, eds.). Museum of Texas
Tech University, 315 pp.
_______________________________________________________________________
4) Suncus etruscus film
.
I (WH) want to thank Prof. P. Vogel for sending me a video copy of
this film for my private use.
"Les aventures du plus petite mammifere du monde". A Film
by S.-Y. Collet and C. Lemire. Co-production: Leo Productions (J.-L. Burgat)
& France 3. 1997.
_______________________________________________________________________
5) A review of "The Shrew Bibliography"
(Spixiana 20, 1997)
.
by M. Hiermeier, as it appeared in Spixiana 20(3), 1997 (in German).
-------------------------------------------------
Spixiana (ISSN 0341-8391), 20 (3) (München, 01. November 1997).
.
Hiermeier, M.: Spixiana 20 (3): 324.
37. Haberl, W.: The Shrew Bibliography, CD-ROM Version, 1995. ISBN
3-9500483-0-8. Apple MacIntosh / MSDOS/ Windows kompatibel.
Die Erforschung der Spitzmäuse (Mammalia: Insectivora: Soricidae)
hat während der letzten zehn Jahre einen immensen Aufschwung erfahren,
wobei sich der Autor selbst intensiv mit dieser Gruppe beschäftigt.
Die vorliegende CD stellt eine sehr wertvolle und umfangreiche Datenbank
der relevanten Literatur dar. Enthalten sind auch Felder wie "abstracts"
und "keywords", die eine effiziente Suche nach bestimmten Themen
ermöglichen. Zeitschriften und Bücher zu verschiedenen Themen
(Ökologie, Verhalten, Anatomie, Histologie, Genetik, Physiologie,
Räuber, Parasiten, Paläontologie, Reproduktion, Entwicklung,
Ultrastruktur, Zytologie, Medizinische Forschung, Systematik, Taxonomic,
Evolution, Fang und Methoden, Zucht im Labor, Zoogeographie, Schutz etc.)
als auch nicht publizierte Daten (z.B. Beiträge auf Treffen, Dissertationen,
Thesen) wurden berücksichtigt. Die Datenbank liegt in mehreren Formaten
vor. Befindet man sich im Besitz von Microsoft Access, so ist der Zugriff
ein Kinderspiel. Ist dies nicht der Fall, erfordert es einige Fachkenntnisse,
die Daten für den Anwender nutzbar zu machen. Trotz dieser Schwierigkeiten
ist diese Bibliographie eine zu empfehlende Anschaffung für jede größere
Zoologische Bibliothek und den Spezialisten. Der relativ hohe Preis ist
durch den großen Aufwand des Autors und die niedrige absetzbare Stückzahl
durchaus gerechtfertigt. Es ist zu hoffen, daß diese Bibliographie
in regelmäßigen Zeitabständen eine Überarbeitung erfahren
wird.
M. Hiermeier
(Comment: ...it is also a "Kinderspiel" for Macintosh users.
- WH)
***********************************************************************
o WHAT'S NEW ON THE SHREW (ist's) SITE?
***********************************************************************
http://members.vienna.at/shrew
o Last Update: October 1997
o Number of Visitors (Date: 07 December 1997): >5380
o Number of "Shrewists on E-mail": >167 (registered on
the website)
***********************************************************************
o SHREW TALK INSTRUCTIONS
***********************************************************************
TO POST TO THE GROUP
All replies to the Shrew Talk inquiries should be posted to the group.
However, if you prefer to reply to someone personally, *I* would appreciate
receiving a copy of the mail (Cc or Bcc) and/or a summary of the "outcome".
Reply to shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at
- include the words "Shrew Talk" in the subject line.
SHREW TALK is archived and back issues can be read at: http://members.vienna.at/shrew/shrewtalk.html
If you would like mail to go to Werner Haberl rather than to the group,
DO NOT include the words "Shrew Talk" in the subject line and/or
please indicate in the body of the letter that it is personal.
To be removed from the list, write to the same address and ask to be
removed. ***********************************************************************
==================================================================
Dr. Werner Haberl Editor, SHREW TALK (http://members.vienna.at/shrew/shrewtalk.html)
Hamburgerstr. 11, A-1050 Vienna, Austria
Email: shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at URL: http://members.vienna.at/shrew
(The Shrew (ist's) Site)
The Shrew Bibliography (> 6000 references) (available on CD ROM)
==================================================================
This web site was created by
Dr. Werner Haberl. Address: Hamburgerstrasse
11, A-1050 Vienna, Austria.
E-mail: shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at
URL: http://members.vienna.at/shrew
