The diet of the Iberian Wolf (Canis lupus signatus Cabrera, 1907) was studied in five ecologically different areas that together cover the whole range of distribution of the species in Spain. The study material included 251 stomach contents and some dropping samples collected between 1970 and 1985. Results are given in terms of frequency and percentage of biomass for each food item.Estimation of the biomass consumed was based on the weight of the fresh remains found in the stomachs. This method, in contrast with the conventional procedure of assigning standard weights, enabled quantification of carrion.To determine whether a food remain corresponded to a whole animal or to offal, an index of the nature of food was used. This index indicates the mean portion of food consumed for each item. In each area, the highest index values corresponded to wild or domestic ungulates which constitute the stapple prey of the wolf, or to whole carcasses obtained from industrial farms, whereas low index values corresponded to animal remains obtained in dumps.By weighing the index of the nature of food with the biomass percentage of each food item in the diet, an index of food availability was estimated. The values obtained for each area concurred with their respective abundance of resources.Likewise, an analysis was made on the mean gut weight in each area and related to differences in the amount of food consumed by wolves. Results concurred with the availability values of the food, but not with the degree of population expansion, which seems to be more dependent on the pressure of human control efforts.There are important differences in the wolf's diet from one area to another, but the dependence on domestic and/or wild ungulates is common to all areas studied. In area I (West Galicia), the diet is centered on the prey groups most often associated with human activities, wild prey being almost absent from the diet. In this area the wolf lives upon scraps from industrial poultry and pig farms, and domestic ungulates.In the areas II (Cantabrian Mountains) and IV (Demanda Mountains), the diet is more diversified, ranging from an almost exclusive dependence on wild ungulates with domestic ungulates as a complementary prey, to the opposite situation. , t. 55, n° 2, 1991. Brought to you by | University of Arizona Authenticated Download Date | 6/10/15 1:47 AM 240 MAMMALIA The area III (Douro Meseta) is a particular environment in that the lagomorphs were added to the conventional prey groups, according to season, sometimes becoming as important as these. MammaliaIn area V, wolves in Extremadura prey on both wild and domestic ungulates, while in Sierra Morena they prey almost exclusively on big game.The diet of young wolves was studied separately and compared with that of older individuals. In both groups, domestic ungulates had similar importance, but young wolves consumed more chickens, arthropods and fruit, while adults consumed more wild ungulates. Resume. -L'alimentation du loup iberique (Canis lupus signatus Miller, 1907) a et...

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation among specimens of the northwestern African hare (Lepus capensis schlumbergeri) and three European hares sampled in Spain (L. castroviejoi and L. granatensis, which are endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, and L. europaeus) was analyzed using seven restriction endonucleases. Fourteen haplotypes were found among the 34 animals examined. Restriction site maps were constructed and the phylogeny of the haplotypes was inferred. mtDNA of L. capensis was the most divergent, which is consistent with its allopatric African distribution and with an African origin of European hares. We estimated that mtDNA in hares diverges at a rate of 1.5-1.8% per MY assuming that the European and African populations separated 5-6 MYBP. Maximum intraspecies nucleotides divergences were 1.3% in L. capensis, 2.7% in L. castroviejoi, and 2.3% in L. granatensis but 13.0% in L. europaeus. The latter species contained two main mtDNA lineages, one on the branch leading to L. castroviejoi and the other on that leading to L. granatensis. The separation of these two lineages from the L. castroviejoi or L. granatensis lineages appears to be much older than the first paleontological record of L. europaeus in the Iberian peninsula. This suggests that the apparent polyphyly of L. europaeus is due not to secondary introgression, but to the retention of ancestral polymorphism in L. europaeus. The results suggest that L. europaeus either has evolved as a very large population for a long time or has been fractionated. Such a pattern of persistence of very divergent lineages has also been reported in other species of highly mobile terrestrial mammals. As far as mtDNA is concerned. L. europaeus appears to be the common phylogenetic trunk which has diversified during dispersion over the European continent and from which L. castroviejoi and L. granatensis speciated separately in southwest Europe.

A morphological study was carried out of the hares (Lepus) from Cape Province previously assigned to the subspecies L. capensis capensis, L. c. centralis, and L. c. grantii. The purpose of the study was to characterize the species L. capensis Linnaeus, 1758. In doing so, it was possible to distinguish two populations which we consider different species, as each shows homogeneous cranial, dental and pelage features. One of them, defined as L. capensis, is distributed near Cape Town not far from the coast, between Lambert's Bay and Cape Agulhas. The other species, defined as L. centralis, which includes L. grantii as a synonym, is distributed in central and western Cape Province. L. capensis and L. centralis have a parapatric distribution, with a small area of sympatry in a contact zone in Compagnies Drift area, near Lambert's Bay. With respect to cranial differences between the two species, L. capensis has a stronger maxilla and more robust dental series, while L. centralis has larger tympanic bullae. Among dental characters, L. centralis usually has a deeper groove and more abundant cement than L. capensis in the first upper incisor, and its internal lobe is squared, while in L. capensis is rounded. As for pelage color and pattern, L. capensis shows a more extended white ventral area than L. centralis. Our results are of interest for further research on taxonomic problems regarding Old World hare populations in which L. capensis is concerned.

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Morphologic variability and allozyme polymorphisms previously indicated that three different hare species coexist in the Iberian peninsula, Lepus europaeus, L. granatensis, and L. castroviejoi. Here, we show evidence of clear nuclear differentiation and distinctiveness among the three Iberian hare populations, applying 6 microsatellite loci to 100 hare specimens. This provides compelling information of a barrier to neutral gene flow between the three populations. In addition to previous results, our data confirm their status as distinct biological species. On the other hand, the genetic heterogeneity found between two natural L. europaeus populations, from the Iberian and Balkan peninsulas, provided useful information to assess the incidence of re-introduction programs in situations of isolated and locally adapted populations. These results suggest that re-stocking programs of L. europaeus in Spain using hares from non-Iberian populations should be avoided.