Dávid Czabán

Hungarian Natural History Museum

European beaver (Castor fiber L. 1758) is the biggest rodent species living in Europe. Beavers are semi-aquatic animals; they are defecating directly into the water; thus, they have an important role in spreading parasites related to water (e.g., protozoa and flukes). The first specimens of this once extinct rodent species in Hungary turned up in S...

A földikutyák nem csupán Magyarország legveszélyeztetettebb emlősállatai közé tartoznak, de állományváltozásaik nyomon követése is kifejezetten nehéz feladat. Egy hazai természetvédelmi beavatkozás során, amelynek célja a délvidéki földikutya új állományának létrehozása volt, olyan tapasztalatokra sikerült szert tenni, amelyek hozzájárulhatnak az á...

Near to the Bajai földikutya-rezervátum protected area (Blind mole rat Reserve of Baja), the home of the largest known population of Vojvodina blind mole rat, it became necessary to translocate a small population of blind mole rats from a solar power plantation construction site. In the course of the conservation action carried out in 2017. ten ind...

This report focuses on the faunal results of a mammalogical expedition, aimed to survey distribution, habitat preference, current density, threatening factors of birch mouse (Sicista) species inhabiting the Great Caucasus, as well as to assess their conservation status and to collect genetic samples for phylogenetic analyses. Sicista strandi was tr...

During fieldwork from 6 June to 20 July 2016, the first records of the European beaver (Castor fiber) in south-eastern Slovakia were made. Beavers are mainly nocturnal animals, and as such, they are rarely observed; therefore, our observations were based on searching for beaver presence signs: damaged trees, dams, signs of food consumption (chewed/...

During fieldwork from 6 June to 20 July 2016, the first records of the European beaver (Castor fiber) in south-eastern Slovakia were made. Beavers are mainly nocturnal animals, and as such, they are rarely observed; therefore, our observations were based on searching for beaver presence signs: damaged trees, dams, signs of food consumption (chewed/...

Previous studies (Krystufek et al. 2009, Říčanová et al. 2013) have provided solid ground to the understanding of phylogeography of European ground-squirrels (Spermophilus citellus) at the European level. Hungary, however, (used to) host large populations of this species, and hidden genetic diversity might have missed in previous sampling, which wa...

Being totally blind with no tail or pinnae, blind mole rats are the most specialised rodents for the subterranean lifestyle. However, they come to the surface occasionally due to unusual climatic events, for foraging, to collect hay for bedding material, for dispersal as subadults, due to intraspecific aggression, and in illness. The only previous...

The acoustic signals of shrews (Soricidae) are largely understudied. As shrews are very vocal animals it may be feasible to use acoustic methods in field studies to assess ecological and behavioral data. In this study, we present the first detailed analysis of the twittering calls of six Central European shrew species (Sorex minutus, Sorex araneus,...

We studied the impact of water level changes on the dynamic of small mammal communities in the Kis-Balaton wetland area of Hungary between 2005-2008. Reconstruction in wetland areas is often associated with flooding of the wetlands. These processes cause enormous changes for small mammals living there. During this period the maximum water level cha...

A szöcskeegerek jól bebetonozott rendszertanát orosz kutatók alakították az utóbbi évtizedekben, jellemzően kariológiai vizsgálatok eredményeire alapozva. Üdítő kivétel ez alól Méhely munkája, aki a Kárpát-medencében elszigetelten élő formát Sicista subtilis trizona-t alfaji rangon különítette el. A 2012-ben indított, OTKA által támogatott kutatási...

Sicista subtilis trizona, currently classified at the rank of subspecies, once occupied the grasslands of the Carpathian Basin, but today only two populations are known to exist: one in Hungary and another in Romania. Its taxonomic status was determined by examining the anatomy of male reproductive organ by Méhely more than a century ago. Then the...

The Southern birch mouse (Sicista subtilis) is a small-sized rodent species characteristic of the Palearctic steppes with westernmost occurrences in central Europe. The species was considered to be extinct in Transylvania (central Romania), but in our field survey we captured three living individuals near the city of Cluj-Napoca. On the basis of nu...

Recent research of blind mole rats of the species complex Nannospalax (superspecies leucodon) identified a small and fragmented population of these rodents on both sides of the Hungarian-Serbian border. Cytogenetic investigations proved that this population karyologically identical with the Vojvodina blind mole rat described earlier as Nannospalax...

Available data on the distribution and karyology of Nannospalax (superspecies leucodon) from the Carpathian Basin are summarized. We argue that four chromosomal forms of the species complex are endemic to the Carpathian Basin and their former and recent distribution based on museum specimens, literature overview and our own observations is mapped....

Hungary is on the northwestern limit of the distribution area of the lesser blind mole rat. The populations of the species are decreasing and now probably less than 800 individuals live in Hungary. Based on recent Israeli studies it has been proven that active speciation process is under way on the populations of mole-rats resulting in populations...