Our study assesses reversal learning in wild striated caracaras (Phalcoboenus australis). Our data was live coded by hand and later entered into a CSV file. The CSV file contains individuals' binary response across trials per task. Variables are defined as following:date (mm/dd/Y), ID (individual), age (HY, hatch-year; JUV, juvenile; SA, sub-adult; AD, adult), sex (F, female; M, male), task (AL, associative learning; RL, reversal learning), color (LB, light blue; DB, dark blue), session (set of trials corresponding to a single day), trial (trial number), succ (0, incorrect; 1, correct), cumsum (cumulative sum of correct choices), cumTrial (cumulative trial number, i.e., pooled across sessions), crit (0, no; 1, yes, i.e., whether an individual has met criterion by that trial number), critTrial (trial in which individual first reached criterion). Our R script for analyzing the data is fully annotated.

The Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) represents the only European Pteromyini species. Thus, it is biogeographically unique due to its specialised anatomy and biology as a volant rodent. As a result of habitat fragmentation and destruction, Siberian flying squirrels experience severe and ongoing population declines throughout most of their distribution. While considered Least Concern throughout their immense Eurasian distribution, this species is red-listed as Vulnerable and even Critically Endangered in parts of its range. More knowledge about the population structure and overall biology is needed to improve conservation efforts for this umbrella and flagship species of old-growth boreal forests. Here, we present the first chromosome-level genome assembly of any Pteromyini, represented by P. volans (Uoulu_pteVol_1.0). The final assembly has a total length of 2.85 Gbp in 19 chromosome-scale scaffolds with only minor differences in the chromosomal structure compared to other Sciuridae. All chromosome-scale scaffolds show indications for telomeres at both ends; the N50 value and BUSCO, as well as k-mer completeness scores, are high with 157.39 Mbp and 97 – 99 %, respectively, indicating chromosome-level quality of the assembly. Based on whole-genome data from 17 rodent species, P. volans clusters according to known evolutionary relationships. Additionally, we present a new 16,511 bp long mitogenome unveiling differences from known conspecific mitogenomes. We propose the utility of the new reference genome for further research and development of conservation-applied genetic methods.

The MIDOG 2025 Atypical Training Set contains atypical and normal mitotic figure subclassification for the entire MIDOG++ dataset, encompassing 11,939 mitotic figures from all 7 domains of MIDOG++ for which we provide a three expert blinded majority vote result.In this version, we fixed a minor error of one repeated entry and one missing entry in the csv file.

The MIDOG 2025 Atypical Training Set contains atypical and normal mitotic figure subclassification for the entire MIDOG++ dataset, encompassing 11,939 mitotic figures from all 7 domains of MIDOG++ for which we provide a three expert blinded majority vote result.In this version, we fixed a minor error of one repeated entry and one missing entry in the csv file.

Background: This study investigated boldness-shyness as a personality trait in free-flying ravens. Through the utilisation of audio playbacks of aerial or ground-dwelling predators, designed to elicit a startle response in the birds, we sought to elucidate the influence of between-individual behavioural differences, stimulus type, age and sex on ravens’ startle responses. Analysis: We analysed nine boldness-shyness related behaviour variables for (1) consistent between-individual differences by using the R functions ICC and rptr, (2) for influences of stimulus type, age and sex through linear mixed models (LMMs) and bootstrap-coupled estimation plots and (3) possiblem habituation effects by calculating the delta between each trial a bird participated in and afterwards entering these deltas into LMMs as well. Results: Our findings do not corroborate boldness-shyness as a consistent personality trait in free- flying ravens, however, they indicate that the manifestation of boldness in this species could be shaped by age and type of stimulus.

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), a vulnerable big cat native to Central Asia, faces an ongoing population decline due to habitat loss and human activities. Despite its conservation importance, genomic resources for this species remain limited. High-quality reference genomes are essential for assessing genetic diversity, structural variation, and evolutionary history. To address this gap, we have generated a long-read-based and proximity-ligation scaffolded de novo genome assembly of a male snow leopard. The final assembly has a total length of 2.46 Gb in 280 scaffolds, of which the 19 largest correspond to the 18 autosomes and the X chromosome. The scaffold N50 is 145.76 Mb, and the L50 is seven scaffolds. BUSCO and compleasm scores are 98.7 % and 98.9 % of identified Carnivora orthologs. Telomeric sequences were identified on at least one end of 18 out of 19 chromosomes. Scaffolds corresponding to the Y chromosome were identified and mapped. Additionally, the assembly's annotation identified a repeat content of 42.27 % and 25,391 genes. We produced a high-quality, long-read-based chromosome-level assembly of a male snow leopard, as evidenced by the data above. As a first assembly of a male genome, it can serve as a suitable reference genome for the species. The Y chromosome scaffolds provide a glimpse into the chromosome organization and interspecies differences.

Habitat selection of ungulates is influenced by various factors, with human interactions playing a significant role. Human disturbances through hunting strongly affect ungulate behaviour, often forcing them to modify their habitat choices by avoiding areas where the risk from humans outweighs other habitat benefits. Gaining insights into these dynamics of human-wildlife interactions is essential for reducing conflicts between hunting objectives and wildlife conservation efforts. Here, we used GPS tracking data of 32 female red deer (Cervus elaphus) to derive resource selection functions, analysing habitat selection of animals with both hunting and no-hunting zones within their home range in Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany. Red deer habitat selection differed distinctly between hunting and no-hunting zones. In the hunting zone, red deer more strongly selected closed forests, indicating a priority for safety. This pattern was particularly strong during daylight hours (i.e., the primary time of hunting) during which they also greatly reduced their movement. During night-time, when hunting risk was absent, red deer strongly selected open habitats and increased their movement rate. Conversely, red deer consistently selected open habitats and had similar movement rates during both day and night in the no-hunting zone, reflecting a preference for foraging grounds when not influenced by hunting. Our results highlight red deer’s ability to distinguish between and adapt to areas of varying risk within their home range. These insights are critical for targeted wildlife management and conservation. On the one hand, they demonstrated that hunting can be strategically used as a management tool to control red deer habitat use, reducing their presence and thus potentially their impact on specific areas. On the other hand, the finding that hunting distinctly influences red deer habitat selection and movement highlights the value of no-hunting zones for the conservation of natural behaviour of ungulate populations.

The Ural owl (Strix uralensis) is a large member of the Strigidae family and inhabits Eurasian forests ranging from Germany to Japan. However, it faces increased range reduction, particularly at its southwestern distribution edges. Despite being considered ‘Least Concern’ by the IUCN, local populations have become threatened in Central Europe due to severe habitat loss. Reintroduction programs aim to restore these populations by closing distribution gaps and facilitating natural recolonization of suitable habitats. To support these efforts, genomic resources have become an established tool to assess genetic diversity, geographic structure, and potential inbreeding, crucial for maintaining the genetic health and adaptability of newly established populations. Here, we present a de novo genome assembly and transcriptome of the Ural owl based on ONT long-reads, Omni-C Illumina short-reads, and RNASeq data. The final assembly has a total length of 1.26 Gb, of which 96.42% is anchored into the 42 largest scaffolds. The scaffold and contig N50 values of 88.65 Mb and 21.74 Mb, respectively, a BUSCO/compleasm completeness of 97.5%/99.65% and k-mer completeness of 95.18%, emphasize the high quality of this assembly. Furthermore, annotation of the assembly identified 17,650 genes and a repeat content of 12.48%. This new highly contiguous and chromosome-level assembly will greatly benefit Ural owl conservation management by informing reintroduction programs about the species’ genetic health and contributing a valuable resource to study genetic function in greater detail across the whole Strigidae family.

The Neural Crest Domestication Syndrome (NCDS) hypothesis suggests that selection pressures for tameness during animal domestication result in a down-regulation of neural crest cell migration and proliferation, providing a mechanistic explanation to traits commonly observed across domesticates. We test the viability of this hypothesis via a derived prediction. According to the NCDS hypothesis, neural crest-derived structures should be reduced throughout the entire organism in domesticated variants compared to their wild ancestors. Here we test this prediction by comparing the larynx of the wolf and the domestic dog. Anatomical landmarking of the cricoid and thyroid cartilages confirmed absolutely and relatively shorter vocal folds and smaller larynges in mesocephalic dogs compared to wolves. Additional quantification of the laryngeal anatomy shows normal (mesocephalic) dogs to have a smaller cricoid diameter and shape-altered thyroid shields. As an exploratory extension, we further quantify the concrete anatomical changes to the laryngeal cartilages caused by brachycephaly, finding that a flattened thyroid shield and ventral cricoid ring fit the symptomatic descriptions of laryngeal collapse. Our comparison of larynges of wolves and dogs are in line with the NCDS-derived prediction and support the validity of the Neural Crest Domestication Syndrome Hypothesis.

This dataset contains thermal drone imagery for the purpose of multi-object tracking (MOT) of wildlife, specifically focusing on red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and wild boar (Sus scrofa). The data was collected using aerial thermal sensors under field conditions and is intended to support research in automated wildlife monitoring, species differentiation, and animal behavior analysis.The dataset comprises a total of 886 sequences showing animals, divided into a training set of 714 and a test set of 172 sequences. Each sequences consists of one or multiple animal instances including spatial and temporal tracking information to facilitate object detection and trajectory prediction tasks.