Jacob Kleeman

Mammalogy

1) Species Latin Names

a. Order Didelphimorphia

i. Caluromysiops irrupta(black-shouldered opossum)

1. Diet consist of nectar, fruit, small rodents
2. Nocturnal
3. Prehensile tail
b. Order Didelphimorphia

i. Hyladelphys kalinowskii(Kalinowski's mouse opossum)

1. deciduous premolars
2. arboreal
3. nocturnal
c. Order Didelphimorphia

i. Didelphis virginiana (Virginia opossum)

1. prehensile tails
2. Nocturnal
3. Terrestrial but well adapted climber
d. Order: Artiodactyl
i. Family: Giraffidae

Portfolio

1. Species: Okapia johnstoni (okapi)

a. Long black tongue used for foraging and grooming
b. Unique color pattern for blending into surroundings
c. Young spend first two months in hiding period were they build
nest

e. Order: Artiodactyl
i. Family: Camelidae

1. Species : Lama pacos (alpaca)

a. Spit when threatened
b. Social hierarchy
c. Fine coat that absorbs ambient humidity

f.

Order: Artiodactyl

i. Family: Suidae
1. Species: Hylochoerus meinertzhageni (giant forest hog)
a. Cheek pads contain scent glands
b. Largest of the Suidae family
c. Unable to root and practice coprophagy

g. Macroscelidea

i. Petrodromus tetradactylusfour-toed

elephant-shrew

1. Four toes instead five

2. Insectivore
3. Diurnal

ii. Rhynchocyon cirneicheckered

1. Checkered patterned fur
2. Carnivore
3. Terrestrial

elephant-shrew

iii. Rhynchocyon chrysopygusgolden-rumped

elephant-shrew

1. Dermal shield for protection

2. Monogamous
3. Flexiable snout
h. Order: Carnivora
i. Family: Felidae

i.

1. Species: Caracal caracal (caracal)

a. elongated and black-tufted ears
b. pupils shrink to circles instead of slits
c. Largest of African small cats
Order: Carnivora
i. Family : Ailuridae

1. Species: Ailurus fulgens (red panda)

a. Plantigrade locomotion
b. Mainly folivore
c. Premolars have more than one cusp
j.

Order: Carnivora
i. Family: Viverridae

1. Species: Genetta piscivora (aquatic genet)

a. Piscivore
b. Palms and soles hairless
c. Specialized teeth for aquatic prey

k. Order: Cetacea
i. Family: Monodontidae

l.

1. Species: Delphinapterus leucas (beluga)

a. Lack dorsal fin
b. Use suction to trap fish in mouth
c. Milky white skin
Order: Cetacea
i. Family: Delphinidae
1. Species: Cephalorhynchus commersonii (Commerson's dolphin)

a. High speed swimmer

b. Mostly white with black pattern
c. No beak
m. Order: Cetacea
i. Family: Iniida

1. Species: Inia geoffrensis (Amazon river dolphin)

a. Pink coloration
b. Diverse fish diet
c. heterodont dentition

n. Order: Chiroptera
i. Family: Phyllostomidae

1. Species : Desmodus rotundus (vampire bat)

a. Specialized limbs
b. Sharp needle like teeth
c. sanguivore
o. Order: Chiroptera
i. Family : Pteropodidae
1. Species : Acerodon jubatus (golden-capped fruit bat)

a. Largest of all bats

b. Endemic to island
c. No echolocation
p. Order: Chiroptera
i. Family Vespertilionidae

1. Species Myotis vivesi (fish-eating bat)

a. Piscivore
b. Wing has High aspect ratio for carrying fish
c. Highly modified urinary system

q. Order: Dermoptera

i. Species: Galeopterus (Sunda flying lemur)

1. Arboreal
2. Webbed feet
3. Nocturnal

r.

Order: Dermoptera

i. Species: Cynocephalus volans (Philippine flying lemur)

1. Glider
2. Crepuscular
3. Extensive membrane

s. Order: Hyracoidea

t.

i. Species Dendrohyrax arboreus( eastern tree hyrax)

1. Lack of obvious tail
2. Arboreal
3. folivore
Order: Hyracoidea

i. Species Procavia capensis (rock hyrax)

1. tusk-like incisors
2. gregarious
3. folivore

u. Order: Hyracoidea

i. Species Dendrohyrax dorsalis(western tree hyrax)

1. Lower crown cheekteeth
2. Dorsal scent gland
3. Arboreal

v. Order: Monotremata
i. Species Ornithorhynchus anatinus (duck-billed platypus)

1. Webbed limbs
2. Aquatic hunters
3. Venomous

w. Order: Monotremata

i. Species Tachyglossus aculeatus (short-beaked echidna)

1. lack external pinnae and teeth

2. long sticky tongue
3. semi-fossorial

x. Order: Monotremata

i. Species Zaglossus bartonieastern long-beaked echidna

1. Long rostrum
2. Nocturnal
3. Largest monotreme

y. Order: Diprotodontia

i. Species Wyulda squamicaudata (scaly-tailed possum)

1. Prehensile tail
2. Nocturnal
3. Hairless scaly tail

z. Order: Diprotodontia

i. Species Wallabia bicolor (swamp wallaby)

1. Specialized fourth digit on hindfoot

2. Nocturnal
3. herbivores

i)

Order Paucituberculata

(1) Caenolestes convelatusblackish (shrew opossum)

(a) Auditory communication
(b) Forager
(c) terrestrial

(2) Caenolestes caniventer(gray-bellied shrew opossum)

(a) Crepuscular
(b) Terrestrial
(c) Solitary

(3) Lestoros inca(Incan shrew opossum)

(a) Reduced incisors
(b) Low metabolic rate
(c) Tactile wiskers for communication

ii) Microbiotheria

(1) Dromiciops gliroides(monito del monte)

(i) Nocturnal
(ii) Arboreal
(iii) Insectovore
iii) Dasyuromorphia

(1) Myrmecobius fasciatus(numbat)

(a) Blunt dentation
(b) Polygynous
(c) Terrestrial

(2) Sarcophilus harrisii(Tasmanian devil)

(a) Fat stored in tail
(b) Highly aggresive
(c) Nocturnal

(3) Dasyurus maculatus(spotted-tailed quoll)

(a) Only quoll with spots on tail
(b) Terrestrial
(c) Polygynous
iv) Peramelemorphia

(1) Peroryctes raffrayana(Raffray's bandicoot)

(a) Highly specialized hindfeet
(b) Long non prehensile tail
(c) Omnivore

(2) Macrotis lagotis(greater bilby)

(a) Long sticky tongue
(b) Fossorial
(c) Nocturnal

(3) Macrotis leucura(lesser bilby)

(a) three stout toes with curved claws
(b) digger
(c) omnivores
v) Notoryctemorphia

(1) Notoryctes caurinus(northern marsupial mole)

(a) Fossorial
(b) Posterior opening pouch
(c) Solitary
(2) Notoryctes typhlopssouthern
(a) Lack eyes
(b) Shovel like claws
(c) Noexternal ears
vi) Proboscidea

marsupial mole

(1) Elephas maximusAsiatic elephant

(a) Smaller ears than that of African counter part
(b) Females dont have tusks
(c) Can run up to 48mph

(2) Loxodonta africanaAfrican bush elephant

(a) Heaviest land mammal
(b) Can go without water for long periods
(c) Skin is 2.5 inches thick

(3) Loxodonta cyclotisAfrican forest elephant

(a) Largest brain of land mammals
(b) Use trunk as snorkel when swimming
(c) Travel in groups of 2-8
vii) Sirenia

(1) Dugong dugondugong

(a) Paddle shaped tail
(b) Shallow water dwellers
(c) Social

(2) Trichechus inunguisAmazonian

(a) Herbivore
(b) two axillary mammae
(c) fully aquatic

(3) Trichechus manatusWest

(a) Sloughing skin
(b) Tropical inhabitants
(c) Herbivore
viii) Cingulata

manatee

Indian manatee

(1) Dasypus hybridussouthern long-nosed

(a) Long snouts
(b) Can hold breath for six minutes
(c) Nocturnal

armadillo

(2) Dasypus novemcinctusnine-banded

(a) Largest range of armadillos
(b) Crepuscular
(c) Opportunistic feeders

(3) Priodontes maximusgiant

(a) Largest of armadillos
(b) Terrestrial
(c) Forager
ix) Afrosoricida

armadillo

armadillo

(1) Chrysospalax trevelyanigiant

(a) No external ears
(b) Nocturnal
(c) Burrowers

golden mole

(2) Limnogale mergulusaquatic

(a) Webbed feet
(b) Nocturnal
(c) Forager

tenrec

(3) Geogale auritalarge-eared

(a) 34 dentation
(b) postpartum oestrus
(c) use sound to locate prey

tenrec

x) Pilosa

(1) Choloepus didactylussouthern two-toed

(a) Grooved hair that collects algae
(b) Low metabolic rate
(c) Arboreal

(2) Myrmecophaga tridactylagiant

(a) Largest anteater
(b) Long sticky tail
(c) Insectivore

(3) Cyclopes didactylussilky

(a) Arboreal
(b) Nocturnal
(c) Insectivore
xi) Pholidota

anteater

anteater

(1) Manis tricuspistree pangolin

(a) Arboreal
(b) Diurnal
(c) Quadrupedal/bipedal locomotion

(2) Manis temminckiiground

(a) Terrestrial

pangolin

sloth

(b) Insectivore
(c) Specialized stomach

(3) Manis pentadactylaChinese

(a) Burrower
(b) Nocturnal
(c) Long sticky tongue
xii) Lagomorpha

(1) Romerolagus diazivolcano

(a) Lives on volcanos
(b) Herbivore
(c) Monogamous

(2) Lepus othusAlaskan

(a) Short ears
(b) Crepuscular
(c) Robust skulls

rabbit

hare

(3) Ochotona royleiRoyle's

(a) Coprophagia
(b) Herbivore
(c) Do not hay cure
xiii) Scandentia

(1) Tupaia gliscommon

pangolin

pika

tree shrew

(a) Diurnal
(b) Semiterrestrial
(c) Forager

(2) Tupaia tanalarge tree shrew

(a) Monogamous
(b) Elongated claws for climbing and digging
(c) Forager

(3) Urogale everettiMindanao

(a) Omnivore
(b) Canine second incisors
(c) Heavy rostrum
xiv) Erinaceomorpha

tree shrew

(1) Atelerix albiventrisfour-toed

(a) Nocturnal
(b) Solitary
(c) Omnivore

(2) Atelerix frontalissouthern

(a) Run 6-7 mph
(b) White banned face
(c) Monogamous

hedgehog

African hedgehog

(3) Podogymnura trueiMindanao

(a) Terrestrial
(b) Carnivore

gymnure

(c) Olfactory reception

xv) Tubulidentata

(1) Orycteropus aferaardvark

(a) No fat layer
(b) Burrower
(c) Insectivore
xvi) Rodentia

(1) Cuniculidaepacas
(a) Forager
(b) Terrestrial
(c) Nocturnal
(2) Idiurus macrotislong-eared

scaly-tailed flying squirrel

(a) Glider
(b) Long tail
(c) Arboreal

(3) Orthogeomys grandisgiant

(a) Fossorial
(b) Small eyes and ears
(c) Burrower

xvii)

Perissodactyla

pocket gopher

(1) Rhinoceros unicornisIndian rhinoceros

(a) Horn made from agglutinated hairs
(b) Mineral lickers
(c) Herbivores

(2) Tapirus terrestrisBrazilian

(a) Herbivores
(b) Solitary
(c) Mountain climber

tapir

(3) Equus caballushorse

(a) single-digit oval-shaped hooves
(b) gallop locomotion
(c) dominance hierarchy
xviii) Soricomorpha

(1) Sorex fumeussmoky

(a) Terrestrial
(b) Nocturnal
(c) Carnivores

shrew

(2) Cryptotis meridensisMerida

small-eared shrew

(a) Fossorial
(b) Forager
(c) nesting

(3) Notiosorex crawfordidesert

(a) Aggressive hunter
(b) Fast metabolic rate
(c) 3 cheekteeth
xix) Primates

shrew

(1) Gorilla gorillawestern gorilla

(a) Knuckle walking locomotion
(b) Dominance hierarchy
(c) Herbivore

(2) Pan troglodyteschimpanzee

(a) Brachiation locomotion
(b) Groomers
(c) Use tools

(3) Papio anubisanubis baboon

(a) Grazer
(b) Social
(c) Dominance hierarchy
Order PrimatesPrimates
Order SoricomorphaShrew and Mole-like Insectivores
Order ArtiodactylaArtiodactyls

Order MacroscelideaElephant Shrews

Order RodentiaRodents
Order PerissodactylaHorses, Rhinos, Tapirs
Order PholidotaPangolins
Order TubulidentataAardvark
Order LagomorphaPikas, Hares, and Rabbits
Order CarnivoraCarnivores
Order ChiropteraBats
Order CetaceaWhales
Order DiprotodontiaKangaroo and Relatives (not considered further)
Order MonotremataMonotremes
Order HyracoideaHyraxes
Order DermopteraFlying Lemurs
Order DidelphimorphiaOpossums
Order DasyuromorphiaDasyuromophs (not considered further)
Order MicrobiotheriaMicrobiotheres (not considered further)
Order PaucituberculataCaenolests (not considered further)
Order ScandentiaScandentians
Order PeramelemorphiaParamelemorphs (not considered further)
Order NotoryctemorphiaNotoryctemorphs (not considered further)
Order ProboscideaElephants
Order SireniaDugongs, Manatees, and Sea Cows
Order CingulataCingulate Edentates
Order AfrosoricidaTenrecs and Golden Moles
Order PilosaSloths and Anteaters
Order ErinaceomorphaHedgehogs and Relatives

Popular media articles

Title: Is Climate Change Increasing the Disease Risk for Arctic Marine Mammals?
Source:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140214-seals-beluga-whalearctic-disease-health-science/
Summary: Due to climate change the cases of new parasites are infecting the
population of marine mammals such as seals and whales. These marine mammals
have never encountered these parasites and have no immune defense so they are
dying out at alarming rate.
Reaction: Climate change is a risk on many levels but I never considered the relocation
of mammals because of habitat loss to have the side effect of them dealing with new
diseases. I find it very worrisome because if animals have no defense against these
new parasites they encounter than how can their population be sustainable. I wonder
how many species will be wiped out due to the unforeseen consequence of climate
change.

Title: Bats are worth $1 billion to agriculture

Source: http://news.sciencemag.org/environment/2015/09/bats-are-worth-1-billionagriculture
Summary: Bats are beneficial to crop production based on a new study. Bats eat pest
that damage corn crops and increase crop yield by 1.4%.
Reaction: I knew bats were good for crops because of their droppings are nutrient rich
for fertilizer but I didnt know they were so effective in pest control. The idea that having
a roost of bats by your fields is a natural pest control is very promising for the

conservation of bat species. I wonder if this method of pest control could be applied to
other struggling plants that are devastated by insects.
Title: Cracking Down on Illegal Ivory Could Get Easier in Thailand
By: By Rachael Bale, National Geographic
Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/151217-ivory-technology-scannerThailand/
Summary: A group of Thai scientist have developed a new scanner that can identify
legal ivory from Thai domestic elephants and illegal African elephant ivory. This scanner
can be operated by none specialist quickly and non-destructive by analyzing material
within the ivory in place of time consuming dna forensics now in place.
Reaction: I think this is great step in thwarting poaching of elephants. This kind
advancement in technology will help. I just think if they really wanted to stop poaching
like this they would devalue the ivory so there would not even be a market for this ivory
preventing the senseless killing of these animals.

Synthesis reports
Topic 1: large prides and territories are beneficial for African lions
The benefits of lions has to do with mostly with three factors reproduction
success, resources, and safety. Prides can range in numbers from a few adult lions and
dependent offspring large prides of 30-40 adults and dependent offspring. These larger
prides have larger territories in forested areas and smaller in open land areas due to
abundance of resources and the ability defend their territory. More resources leads to
better reproduction chances.

The larger prides are able to defend and come out beneficial when aggressive
encounters occur. The females will gauge the size of prides with roaring and will pursue
more aggressively when they know they outnumber neighboring prides.
Reproduction success and mortality rates increase when there is a larger amount
of female lions. So in larger prides females can form larger subgroups to protect their
young when threated by males of other prides which prevents infanticide.
The importance of this subject ties closely to the overall health of the ecosystem
in Africa. Lions are the top predators in that area and serve a system of balance.
Without these predators the populations of animals would become a detriment to
themselves because of the amount of resources available. Overpopulation of those
species would cause their food source mainly vegetation to become scares resulting
more competition and lower over health of the habitat.
It is also important the size and diversity of these prides of is kept in check. The
size of a pride is dependent on the amount of resources available in a particular area.
The more resources available the larger the pride able to be sustained. The larger of the
pride are mostly in areas where there is prey that is non migratory. If prey were
migratory the pride would have to move with it and run into competing prides in different
territories.
The diversity within prides and neighboring prides is achieved when male lions
take over a territory and kill the dependent cubs to bring the females back into a
breeding state. It is also achieved when daughter strike out on their own to join or form
new prides. These neighboring prides have better relations for the first two years

because the female lions dont treat those like every other until after that two year
period. If all this didnt happen than there wouldnt be much depth to the gene pool and
diversity could not occur.
In one of the studies a period of 38 years worth of data had been
analyzed. This would put the time period for the start of the collection in the early 70s.
Within this time period the way we collect and record data has changed. This means
that a more recent data collection could give a more accurate view on effect that
environmental conditions have on pride size and territory.
Stricter conservation efforts have been employed over a period of almost a half
century. I think this will have an impact on the results and analysis. I also think that data
will change given climate change may impact the reproduction timing and behavior of
their prey so lion behavior may change drastically based on were their food is and its
abundance.
Some questions that came to mind are that behavior and future population. Like
why does the male lion kill all of the cubs, why not just the males so that there will be
more females to breed with in the future? Why do the daughters of female lions leave?
How will populations adjust to the changes of environment when prey behavior
changes?

TOPIC 2: giraffe welfare in captivity

Giraffes have long been a part of the captivity system we use for zoos and
conservation. Consideration for their welfare has become an issue for captive
animals in zoos because they display stereotypic behavior. Some of these
behaviors can be seen as laying, locomotive frequencies and oral behaviors.
Correlations can be drawn based on size of area of captivity and feed
restrictions. These behaviors are present in the wild but in captivity they are
seen as a product of smaller enclosures and other factors.
When the behaviors of wild giraffe are compared to captives ones the
welfare is assessed and seen to be better when they have bigger enclosures.
This is seen through increased rumination. Rumination values being an indicator
of stress. Feed restriction also being a factor when they are forced to move
around to get food.
The stresses of captivity could play a part in the success of breeding. This
needs to be addressed as loss of habitat can reduce populations and cause less
genetic diversity, so breeding programs will become more important in the
upcoming years.
This topic is important because of three main issues: fiscal restrictions,
popularity of giraffes in zoos and information about the natural habits. Each one
of these issues has inherent positives and negatives but have to be dealt with to
have success in conservation and management of this species.

The first issue being fiscal restrictions meaning the amount of money
available to care for them. The amount of space within an enclosure is one of the
most important aspects to the welfare of these animals. They are larger and need
space to run. The problem is that zoos usually have a limited amount of
resources when it comes to the money needed to purchase enough land for all
the animals within the zoo. This causes unnatural habitats which these animals
have a hard time thriving even though they dont have to stress about things like
predation and starving.
The popularity of this species is paramount to the amount of time and
money we as a culture spend on the conservation effort. It is said to say that the
more cute and cuddly an animal is the more time and money it gets. Any child
going to a zoo for the first time stands in awe at this towering animal. A giraffe is
a great animal to look at as well as study but it would not even break the top ten
list of animals that could benefit more from the time and money we spend on it.
That said they are important to understanding the natural environment in
which they live in because they are a predominant species on the landscape of
Africa. When studying them in their natural environment we can get some ideas
about their health in a captive system by comparing the behavior seen.
There are problems when it comes to studying them as issues arise in
forms of techniques, time management and available budgets.
In most of the studies I have read there always seems to be a problem
collecting natural data in the wild. It seems one of two things happen. The first

being that when getting close enough to get information the observer effects the
behavior of the subjects. This causing the information collected to not be truly
natural because they dont know if thats how they really act when humans are
not around. The other thing that happens is that when they are far enough away
to not affect the behavior of the animal than they cant get a good enough view of
the behaviors they are trying to observe.
The last two problem are dependent on each other. If they dont have
enough money to spend on equipment or staff they are limited on the amount of
research they can do. This causes gaps in the research. A study that needs data
from all seasons may not be feasible because they cant stay year round to
collect data. Some methods may be to expensive to be cost effective in the field
so they abandoned even though they would be best for collecting data.
All these problems that cause gaps in research data can be dealt with if
we just throw money at it but that is not an option based on availability of funds.
So for now we will have to collect data as based we can and hope we can
improve the welfare of captive animals in the future.
Some questions that arose while I read through some studies are as
follow.

How can we truly know the best way to have giraffes in captivity if none

of the zoos have the same environmental conditions as Africa like weather and
light? Why cant observers use camouflage so they can observe subjects more
naturally? Why doesnt zoos plant natural trees and other foliage that can
survive in these habitats so they can feed more naturally?

Topic 3: feeding habitits

The feeding habits of mammals are wide in range from carnivores to insectivores to
herbivores and omnivores. The larger carnivore eat the herbivores with the exception of whales
who eat large quantities of small invertebrate. The herbivores eat plants and grasses which can
dictate were they live and if they are stationary or migratory. Most of the smaller mammals can
be insectivores like the anteater or the pangolin.
These feeding habits can exploit niches that have evolved with or are directed. In the
case of the anteater they have evolved a long sticky tongue that enables it to collect its prey.
This evolved into a morphological niche that dictates what habitat it can thrive in. The other
path is a learned behavior as in primates. They have learned to use the morphological niche the
apposable thumb to utilize tools to gain access to termite mounds. Furthermore squirrels have
adapted to changes in their environment to utilize the abundance of two types of acorn that
can be stored or eaten right away. This mostly depends on the availability of different
resources.
Each of these feeding habits are utilized to fit the needs of the species. Why is this
important to management and conservation, because the availability of resources and
management of habitats. Most animals can adapt to changing resources and if need be find an
alternative source of food. This is best described in carnivores. If a lion cant find a gazelle to
hunt they can prey upon a zebra or other large animal.

With some species this is not the case especially in herbivore in the wild. Like the koala
who only eats eucalyptus or the giant panda that feeds on bamboo. There are even rarer
feeders like the pen tailed shrew who only drink nectar from the bertam palm. All these animals
have a set way in which they feed and change in their habitat could destroy their population.
This is becoming increasing alarming because of habitat loss around the world. Each day we lose
habitat to deforestation and over development. At the rate we are going not only will species not have
a place to live but they will have nothing to eat as well. We need to further regulate the places that we
develop in order to keep these species abundant.
There are still areas in this research that need to be further studied because there is a lot of
information not known about some species. For example there are new species being discovered each
year and the little we know about them can be affected by the habitat they live in and what they feed
on. They may eat a certain kind of bug that we deem a pest so we get rid of it and that reduces the
species population that feeds on it.
The pesticide and herbicides we use is ever changing and still not fully understanding the effect
it may have on the feeding habits of some species.
Discussion questions. Why would an animal like the koala feed on such a nutrient poor plant?
How do ungulates know not to eat the whole grass so that it will recover? Why do some primates seek
out more fermented fruit?

Final reflection
I have learned so much in this where do I start. I guess in the beginning with evolution of
mammals. I had long known on a basic level that mammals evolved from reptiles. What I didnt
know was the extent of that evolution. I thought over a few million years we just became
mammals by growing hair and becoming warm blooded. I had no idea that a major evolutionary
change was the jaw that lead to the formation of the ear. To think that a single jaw bone would
give way to a better way of processing our food and being able to hear predators was just
outside of my understanding.
The simplest of things came together to make us the most dominant species on earth. A
better way to breathe allowed us to eat and breathe at the same time. It seems so trivial when
you tell someone that this evolution in our physiology helped us tremendously. It is the small
details in the evolution of mammals that made me want to learn more.
This came after a tedious not so fun lesson on how classification. Learning about the
evolution in this process was informative. How we went from classifying animals from just what
their morphology was to now actually using their DNA is mind blowing. It has really opened up
the door to truly classify mammals.
When it classification I would have never know the term eutherian or monotreme. To
think that there are mammals that laid eggs. Even mammals that lived in pouches like
marsupials. To think that they instinctively know to climb up to the pouch is amazing to me.
Somewhere in their DNA it is instinctive.
I learned a lot about the four primary senses visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory. The
binocular vision in primates. How it evolved for depth perception to navigate through the trees
and how being able to see color evolved from identifying the nutrition in leaves. That olfactory
is very important when it comes to scents because thats how a lot of animals communicate
and mark territory.

One of the best subjects I learned was about primates. To learn about were a lot of our
behaviors come from was truly informative. Like how when we evolved binocular vision we also
had to evolve socially to compensate for prevention of predation. That grooming isnt just to
stay clean but it is a social tool for primates. Swinging through trees was the technical term
before this class now I know is called brachiation.
That locomotion is among number of ways that I have learned are way more efficient
than our form of locomotion. Like hopping or ricocheting in kangaroos and some lemurs. Even
gliding in marine mammals is better than what we do. Only one type of mammals can truly fly
and that is the bat. I knew that fact but I didnt know how complex the orders of bats got and
how many species there is.
Bats adapt so well to their environmental needs that they live in almost every region of
the world. Other animals adapt well to their environments as well. Like those that have shorter
limbs in colder regions to conserve heat. Bears that go into a type of hibernation because food
is scarce in the winter. Animals that time out the seasons for breeding in optimal conditions.
Seasons that play a large role for migratory species so they move to were the best feeding can
occur.
I feel as if it wasnt just one thing that helped me learn the most. It was multitude of
different tools that enabled me to learn each aspect of the curriculum. It all started with
walking into the class for the lecture which is based off of preoutlined power point slides. This is
the introduction to the material. It allowed me to soak in the initial material and ask any glaring
questions I had. It also showed what I already knew and aspects I needed to read more about.
That leads to the reading and reading questions that came along with them. Reading the
book is were a flood of unfiltered information is taken in. Further and more in-depth
information is obtained through this process. It allows me to go at my own speed and reread
things that I feel are important. Guiding this are the reading questions, helping me absorb the
information that not only I feel is important but you as a professor feel is important and may be
need to be discussed in class further.
Discussing topics in class expands the overall understanding by opening up a dialogue
with you but also my peers. This is important because they are for the most part on the same
level of understanding and I can gain perspective on the topics without having to jump to a PHD
level of understanding. The more we discuss the deeper my understanding becomes and it
helps form a picture of the topic that just looking at terms and facts cannot fully formulate.
While knowing the facts are important, like knowing the names of orders and species the
sharing of ideas show the extent of a persons grasp on a subject.
That said when studying for the exams all of this was infused to allow me to cement the
information for further use. I may not be able to regurgitate every order because I could have
spent more time memorizing them but from studying I know enough to recognize the major
groups and their characteristics. Memorizing facts and names then understanding that
information is what allowed me to learn in this class.

As an instructor I feel like there wasnt much that you could do to improve the class. The
lectures were informative and well-paced. The reading was just enough to learn the
information but not overwhelming to the point of mind numbness. The reading questions
invoked discussion but were not tedious. The exams made me memorize the information and
test how much I knew of the material.
The only thing I would change about the class is the amount of hands on experience.
The lack of this may be because this was more of an intro class for mammology but never the
less I would have liked more labs. The skulls lab and the locomotion lab were some of my
favorite classes and Im sure the trapping lab was just as fun. Those are the type of instructional
tools I find best when trying to learn.
The facts and figures are important but true learning of a subject is hands on. I like to
see what I am learning up close so that its not just an idea but a physical representation of
information. If budget allowed I would have loved to go to natural animal reserve like the Pine
Barrens or to a zoo to get understanding of the information in real time.
The portfolio brought all the information I learned by hitting on all the aspects of the
curriculum. The first part being the species profiles. This throughout the semester allowed me
to accumulate information about a wide variety of orders, families and species. Having to name
all the orders as well as some species kept me up to date on just how many mammals there are.
I now know characteristics of orders that I never even knew existed.
The popular media part of the portfolio wasnt hard but I had the most fun with.
Selecting articles that are in the scope of todays culture was informative. It showed me the
issues that are at the forefront of peoples minds. Reading articles like the illegal ivory trade
was more informative now because of the knowledge I have gained from the class about the
morphology of animals and conservation so I can understand more in-depth about the issues
presented in the article.
This also goes for synthesis reports. Based on the knowledge gained from this class I
understood the articles better. Before doing this portfolio I would have never research the
communication behaviors of lions or the welfare of captive animals. Now I have the interest
and the knowledge to understand the articles I read.
I would improve the portfolio by requiring more hands on stuff. Like going out into
environment and observing an animal first hand. I also would have required to watch a
documentary or two as perspective in combining popular media as well as research.
As a whole I enjoyed this class and completing this portfolio. It took me out of my
comfort zone and really ingrained the knowledge and ideas that mammals are a very important
part of the environment. As I said in the beginning of the semester I didnt really like animals
and had no interest in learning about them. This class has changed that for me. You have
peaked my interest in animals enough to where I am seriously considering going into the field
of conservation. For that and the knowledge you have imparted on me I thank you.

SOURCES:
See attached articles