• 

  Comparative assessment on rodent impacts and cultural perceptions of ecologically based rodent management in 3 Afro-Malagasy farming regions 

  Constant, N.L.; Swanepoel, L.H.; Williams, S.T.; Soarimalala, V.; Goodman, S.M.; Massawe, A.T.; Mulungu, L.S.; Makundi, R.H.; Mdangi, M.E.; Taylor, P.J.; Belmain, S.R. (2020)

  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 ...
• 

  Citizen science confirms the rarity of fruit bat pollination of baobab (Adansonia digitata) flowers in southern Africa 

  Taylor, P.J.; Vise, C.; Krishnamoorthy, M.A.; Kingston, T.; Venter, S. (2020)

  The iconic African baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) has “chiropterophilous” flowers that are adapted for pollination by fruit bats. Although bat pollination of baobabs has been documented in east and west Africa, it has ...
• 

  Life history and habitat do not mediate temporal changes in body size due to climate warming in rodents 

  Nengovhela, A.; Denys, C.; Taylor, P.J. (2020)

  Temporal changes in body size have been documented in a number of vertebrate species, with different contested drivers being suggested to explain these changes. Among these are climate warming, resource availability, ...
• 

  Bat species richness and community composition along a mega-transect in the Okavango River Basin 

  Weier, S.M.; Keith, M.; Neef, G.G.; Parker, D.M.; Taylor, P.J. (2020)

  The Okavango River Basin is a hotspot of bat diversity that requires urgent and adequate protection. To advise future conservation strategies, we investigated the relative importance of a range of potential environmental ...
• 

  CORRIGENDUM: Integrative taxonomy resolves three new cryptic species of small southern African horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus) 

  Taylor, P.J.; MacDonald, A.; Goodman, S.M.; Kearney, T.; Cotterill, F.P.D.; Stoffberg, S.; Monadjem, A.; Schoeman, M.C.; Guyton, J.; Naskrecki, P.; Engelbrecht, A.; Richards, L.R. (2019)
• 

  Insect pest consumption by bats in macadamia orchards established by molecular diet analyses 

  Weier, S.M.; Moodley, Y.; Fraser, M.F.; Linden, V.M.G.; Grass, I.; Tscharntke, T.; Taylor, P.J. (2019)

  The diet of insectivorous bat species is difficult to study and the least invasive tool to gain information on these predators’ foraging preferences is the study of their faecal pellets. The aim of this study was to determine ...
• 

  Taxonomic anarchy or an inconvenient truth for conservation? Accelerated species discovery reveals evolutionary patterns and heightened extinction threat in Afro-Malagasy small mammals 

  Taylor, P.J.; Denys, C.; Cotterill, F.P.D. (2019)

  We respond to recent criticisms of supposed “taxonomic anarchy” which is said to hamper conservation efforts. Using examples from African small mammals, we document recent increases of 13% (rodents) and 18% (bats) over the ...
• 

  Natural vegetation and bug abundance promote insectivorous bat activity in macadamia orchards, South Africa 

  Weier, S.N.; Grass, I.; Linden, V.M.G.; Tscharntke, T.; Taylor, P.J. (Elsevier Ltd, 2018)

  Accelerating land use change is associated with the loss of species and their ecosystem services. South Africa is the world's largest producer of macadamias and the industry continues to grow. Insectivorous bat species are ...
• 

  Integrative taxonomy resolves three new cryptic species of small southern African horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus) 

  Taylor, P.; MacDonald, A.; Goodman, S.M.; Kearney, T.; Cotterill, F.P.D.; Stoffberg, S.; Monadjem, A.; Schoeman, M.C.; Guyton, J.; Naskrecki, P.; Richards, L.R. (The Linnean Society of London, 2018)

  Examination of historical and recent collections of small Rhinolophus bats revealed cryptic taxonomic diversity within southern African populations previously referred to as R. swinnyi Gough, 1908 and R. landeri Martin, ...
• 

  Predation by small mammalian carnivores in rural agro-ecosystems: An undervalued ecosystem service? 

  Williams, S.T.; Maree, N.; Taylor, P.; Belmain, S.R.; Keith, M.; Swanepoel, L.H. (Elsevier B.V., 2018)

  Africa is endowed with a diverse guild of small carnivores, which could benefit stakeholders by providing ecosystem services while fostering conservation tolerance for carnivores. To investigate the potential of small ...
• 

  Associated tympanic bullar and cochlear hypertrophy define adaptations to true deserts in African gerbils and laminate-toothed rats (Muridae: Gerbillinae and Murinae) 

  Nengovhela, A.; Braga, J.; Denys, C.; de Beer, F.; Tenailleau, C.; Taylor, P.J. (Anatomical Society, 2019)

  Hearing capabilities in desert rodents such as gerbils and heteromyids have been inferred from both anatomical and ecological aspects and tested with experiments and theoretical models. However, very few studies have focused ...
• 

  Species richness patterns and functional traits of the bat fauna of arid southern Africa 

  Monadjem, A.; Conenna, I.; Taylor, P.J.; Schoeman, M.C. (Associazione Teriologica Italiana, 2018)

  The bat fauna of arid regions is still poorly studied mostly due to a lack of interest in areas with low species richness and a low number of threatened species. In this study, we reviewed the status of bat diversity in ...
• 

  Diversity of haemoprotozoan parasites infecting the wildlife of South Africa 

  Harris, D.J.; Halajian, A.; Santos, J.L.; Swanepoel, L.H.; Taylor, P.J.; Xavier, R. (Creative Commons Attribution License, 2018)

  Tissue samples from wildlife from South Africa were opportunistically collected and screened for haemoprotozoan parasites using nonspecific PCR primers. Samples of 127 individuals were tested, comprising over 50 different ...
• 

  Economic value of bat predation services – A review and new estimates from macadamia orchards 

  Taylor, P.J.; Grass, I.; Alberts, A.J.; Joubert, E.; Tscharntke, T. (Elsevier B.V., 2018)

  The economic value of natural regulation of agricultural pests by bats has been estimated both by avoided cost models and by experimental predator-exclusion approaches. We review published studies globally from both ...
• 

  Species definitions and conservation: a review and case studies from African mammals 

  Groves, C.P.; Cotterill, F.P.D.; Gippoliti, S.; Robovsky, J.; Roos, C.; Taylor, P.J.; Zinner, D. (Springer, 2017)

  The nature of species, especially as applied to large mammals, is of major concern in conservation. Here, we briefly comment on recent thinking in alpha taxonomy, and assert that species are in essence evolutionary lineages, ...
• 

  Karyotypic evolution in Malagasy flying foxes (Pteropodidae, Chiroptera) and their hipposiderid relatives as determined by comparative chromosome painting 

  Richards, L.R.; Rambau, R.V.; Goodman, S.M.; Taylor, P.J.; Schoeman, M.C.; Yang, F.; Lamb, J.M. (Karger, 2016)

  Pteropodidae and Hipposideridae are 2 of the 9 chiropteran families that occur on Madagascar. Despite major advancements in the systematic study of the island’s bat fauna, few karyotypic data exist for endemic species. ...
• 

  Changes of bat species composition over altitudinal gradients on northern and southern aspects of the Soutpansberg mountain range, South Africa 

  Weier, S.M.; Linden, V.M.G.; Gaigher, I.; White, P.J.C.; Taylor, P.J. (De Gruyter, 2017)

  In order to gain insight into the pattern of bat species composition over altitude and the environmental variables driving the observed pattern, we compared data from moist southern and drier northern aspects of the ...
• 

  Bird and bat predation services in tropical forests and agroforestry landscapes 

  Maas, B.; Karp, D.S.; Bumrungsri, S.; Darras, K.; Gonthier, D.; Huang, J.C.C.; Lindell, C.A.; Maine, J.J.; Mestre, L.; Michel, N.L.; Morrison, E.B.; Perfecto, I.; Philpott, S.M.; Sekercioglu, C.H.; Silva, R.M.; Taylor, P.J.; Tscharntke, T.; Van Bael, S.A.; Whelan, C.J.; Williams-Guillen, K. (Cambridge Philosophical Society, 2016)

  Understanding distribution patterns and multitrophic interactions is critical for managing bat- and bird-mediated ecosystem services such as the suppression of pest and non-pest arthropods. Despite the ecological and ...
• 

  Are avian predators effective biological control agents for rodent pest management in agricultural systems? 

  Labuschagne, L.; Swanepoel, L.H.; Taylor, P.J.; Belmain, S.R.; Keith, M. (Elsevier Inc., 2016)

  Worldwide rodent pests are of significant economic and health importance. Controlling rodent pests will, therefore, not only benefit food security but also human and animal health. While rodent pests are most often ...
• 

  Past, present, and future distribution of Afromontane rodents (Muridae: Otomys) reflect climate-change predicted biome changes 

  Taylor, P.J.; Nengovhela, A.; Linden, J.; Baxter, R.M. (De Gruyter, 2016)

  Climate change constitutes a potential threat to montane biodiversity, particularly in low-altitude, tropical mountains; however, few data exist for the Afromontane taxa. In South Africa, the temperate grassland and fynbos ...

View more