•The aim of this study was to identify the conflict between wild boars and vineyards in one of its production centers in Iran with the help of species distribution models (SDMs). Attempts were made ...to study the areas that have potential for conflict, considering influential factors such as land use/land cover and landform, as well as the aspect of conflict niche‐breath separately. Then, according to the role of predator (like canis lupus), the appropriate plane was suggested.
Boars with high reproduction, wide distribution, and adaptability have great potential to conflict with human interests. Malayer County, in Hamedan Province, is one of the economic hubs of grape production and related products in Iran. Considering that the county's economic growth is based on this horticultural product, this study was conducted to detect conflict-prone areas in different land use/cover (LULC) types and landforms. The ensemble model of attack risk was developed using single tree and regression models and 10 topographic, vegetation, and human variables. The significant difference between conflict/non-conflict points in the LULC and landform maps was checked using the Chi-square test. The results showed a significant difference in the occurrence of conflict in different LULC classes (P < 0.05). The NDVI, the distance from spring, and the distance from vineyards were the three variables with the greatest effect in all models. The widest niche-breadth conflict in the LULC and landform types belonged to gardens and u-shaped valleys (B1 = 0.60, B2 = 0.95; B1 = 0.35, B2 = 0.91, respectively Those gardens in deeply incised streams and u-shaped valleys have the highest potential for conflict (65.68%). Based on the findings, in the event of a conflict, those arrangements of structural elements of the land landscape are effective, which increase the species' accessibility to the vineyards while providing security. In this study, long and permanent vegetation such as groves can increase the vulnerability of marginal orchards and agricultural lands. Programs to reduce the conflict with wild boars should be based on local adaptations, prey relations, the improvement of traditional cultivation, and securing the vineyards in Malayer County.
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•Literature related to antimicrobial resistance of wild boar in Europe is reviewed.•Growing interest in antimicrobial resistance in wild boar is highlighted.•Wild boar are carriers of ...antimicrobial resistant bacteria.•Research trends and future directions are discussed.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been recognized as an emerging and growing problem worldwide. Knowledge concerning AMR bacteria circulating in wildlife is currently limited, although it could provide important insights into AMR emergence and persistence. Across Europe, wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations have dramatically increased their distribution and number over the last decades. In the context of AMR dynamics, wild boar is a perfect model species to unveil the emergence, spread and persistence of AMR at the human-livestock-wildlife interface. Here, we summarize the current knowledge on the importance of wild boar as a reservoir of antimicrobial resistant bacteria, and its possible use as sentinel species for surveillance. Analyses of available data showed a rising interest on this topic in the last years, highlighting the growing concern on wild boar potential role as AMR facilitator and it is foreseen that the importance of antimicrobial resistance research in wild boar will continue to increase in years to come. Available studieshave been focused on specific bacterial species, particularlyE. coli, Salmonellaspp. andEnterococcusspp., bioindicators of AMR, and have been mainly conducted in three countries: Spain, Portugal and Germany.Strikingly, AMR surveillance in wild boar is uneven and still poorly allocated as many wild boar high-density countries do not yet have publications on the topic.Overall, accumulated data showed thatwild boar are carriers of antimicrobial resistant bacteria, withvariation in the prevalence of bacterial species and thepercentage of resistance to different antibiotics. Thelack of harmonized sampling and testing protocols makes it difficult to compare AMR in wild boar.The need for the establishment of standardised protocols keen to provide quantitative comparable data is highlighted. We finally suggest the long-term monitoring of wild boar as a sentinel species for AMR surveillance in order to inform public policies on this topic.
African Swine Fever Status in Europe Cwynar, Przemyslaw; Stojkov, Jane; Wlazlak, Klaudia
Viruses,
03/2019, Letnik:
11, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious disease that affects the domestic pig and wild boar population. The aim of this study was to describe the introduction and spread of the ASF virus in ...Western Europe (1960⁻1995) and in Eastern Europe (2007⁻2018), with particular emphasis on the current ASF situation in Poland and its challenges and future perspectives. The first ASF outbreak in Europe was reported in Portugal in 1957, with the virus spreading over most of Western Europe over the next 30 years. In Eastern Europe, the virus was first observed in Georgia in 2007, from where the disease spread quickly to other neighboring countries, reaching Poland in 2014. Since then, there have been 3341 confirmed cases in the wild boar population in Poland. Although there have been no confirmed cases of wild boars coming into contact with domestic pigs, the first notified case concerning domestic pigs was reported in July 2014. Since then, there have been a total of 213 confirmed outbreaks of ASF on Polish pig farms. Given the virulence of the ASF virus and the myriad of transmission routes across Europe, the monitoring of this disease must be a priority for Europe.
In Japan, hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes hepatitis in humans through the consumption of raw or undercooked meat, including game meat. In the present study, nationwide surveillance of HEV infection ...among a total of 5,557 wild animals, including 15 species, was conducted in Japan. The prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies in wild boar was 12.4%, with higher positive rates in big boars (over 50 kg, 18.4%) than in small individuals (less than 30 kg, 5.3%). Furthermore, HEV RNA was more frequently detected in piglets than in older boars. Interestingly, the detection of HEV among wildlife by ELISA and RT-PCR suggested that HEV infection in Sika deer was a very rare event, and that there was no HEV infection among wild animals except for wild boar, Sika deer and Japanese monkeys. In conclusion, wild boar, especially piglets, are at high risk of HEV infection, while other wild animals showed less risk or no risk of HEV transmission.
In Japan, the first patient with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome was reported in Yamaguchi in 2012. To understand the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) infection ...in this region, a retrospective surveillance in sika deer and wild boar in Yamaguchi was conducted using a virus-neutralizing (VN) test. The result revealed that 510 of the 789 sika deer and 199 of the 517 wild boars were positive for anti-SFTSV antibodies. Interestingly, seroprevalence in sika deer increased significantly from 2010–2013 to 2015–2020. The SFTSV gene was detected in one of the 229 serum samples collected from sika deer, but not from wild boars. In conclusion, SFTSV had spread among wild animals before 2012 and expanded gradually around 2013–2015 in Yamaguchi.
For 10,000 years pigs and humans have shared a close and complex relationship. From domestication to modern breeding practices, humans have shaped the genomes of domestic pigs. Here we present the ...assembly and analysis of the genome sequence of a female domestic Duroc pig (Sus scrofa) and a comparison with the genomes of wild and domestic pigs from Europe and Asia. Wild pigs emerged in South East Asia and subsequently spread across Eurasia. Our results reveal a deep phylogenetic split between European and Asian wild boars ∼1 million years ago, and a selective sweep analysis indicates selection on genes involved in RNA processing and regulation. Genes associated with immune response and olfaction exhibit fast evolution. Pigs have the largest repertoire of functional olfactory receptor genes, reflecting the importance of smell in this scavenging animal. The pig genome sequence provides an important resource for further improvements of this important livestock species, and our identification of many putative disease-causing variants extends the potential of the pig as a biomedical model.
Invasive species are a pervasive driver of global change with increasing media coverage. Media coverage and framing can influence both invasive species management and policies, as well as shed light ...on research needs. Using the wild boar (Sus scrofa) invasion in Argentina as a case study, we conducted a content analysis of media coverage and scientific articles. Specifically, we compared news and scientific articles based on their emphasis: ecological, economic, and health impacts and the overall perception portrayed in the news: "positive" when the articles emphasized benefits from wild boar and "negative" when focused on damage and/or loss. A literature search using Google news, Web of Science, Scielo, and Google Scholar yielded a total of 194 news articles and 37 research papers on wild boar in Argentina. More than half of the news articles focused on economic impacts of wild boar (56%) such as sport hunting, illegal hunting, and road accidents; while 27% focused on ecological impacts, and 10% on health impacts. In contrast, the majority of the scientific articles (65%) focused on ecological impacts of wild boar on native species and ecosystems; while 21% were related to health impacts and only 8.3% of scientific articles were related to economic impacts. This mismatch between media and science reveals a disconnection between social and scientific interests in wild boar and their management in Argentina, and it provides insights to research needs and prevention of management conflicts. Additionally, we found that 66.8% of news articles focused on "negative" aspects of wild boar, while 33.2% of news articles portrayed "positive" perceptions. This finding is very important because the management of invasive species such as wild boar usually requires lethal techniques, and the success of the programs depend on favorable social and political support. Good science communication is therefore key to helping scientists and managers perform more effective management actions.
1. The eruption of invasive wild pigs (IWPs) Sus scrofa throughout the world exemplifies the need to understand the influences of exotic and nonnative species expansions. In particular, the ...continental USA is precariously threatened by a rapid expansion of IWPs, and a better understanding of the rate and process of spread can inform strategies that will limit the expansion. 2. We developed a spatially and temporally dynamic model to examine three decades (1982-2012) of IWP expansion, and predict the spread of IWPs throughout the continental USA, relative to where IWPs previously inhabited. We used the model to predict where IWPs are likely to invade next. 3. The average rate of northward expansion increased from 6·5 to 12·6 km per year, suggesting most counties in the continental USA could be inhabited within the next 3-5 decades. The spread of IWPs was primarily associated with expansion into areas with similar environmental characteristics as their previous range, with the exception of spreading into colder regions. We identified that climate change may assist spread into northern regions by generating milder winters with less snow. Otherwise, the spread of IWPs was not dependent on agriculture, precipitation or biodiversity at the county level. The model correctly predicted 86% of counties that were invaded during 2012, and those predictions indicate that large portions of the USA are in immediate danger of invasion. 4. Synthesis and applications. Anti-invasion efforts should focus along the boundaries of current occupied range to stop natural expansion, and anti-invasion policies should focus on stopping anthropogenic transport and release of invasive wild pigs. Our results demonstrate the utility of a spatio-temporal examination to inform strategies for limiting the spread of invasive wild pigs.
Resource distribution, predation risk and disturbance in space and time can affect how animals use their environment. To date few studies have assessed the spatiotemporal trade-off between resource ...acquisition and avoidance of risks and human disturbance in small protected areas embedded in an urban matrix. A better understanding of the forage-safety trade-off in urban protected areas (UPA) is key to the design of evidence-based approaches to deal with the ever-increasing human-wildlife impacts typical of UPA. Herein, we analyzed camera trap data to evaluate how two ungulate species trade fear for food in a 60 km2 human-dominated UPA without natural predators. We found that wild boar (Sus scrofa) were predominantly active at night, while roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) showed a typical bimodal crepuscular activity pattern. Occupancy analysis indicated that deciduous forest and the presence of high seats for hunting played an important role in determining the space use of wild boar. For roe deer, we found indications that the presence of forest influenced space use, although the null model was retained among the top ranked models. Our results confirm that wild boar and roe deer are able to thrive in heavily human dominated landscapes characterized by intensive recreational use and hunting, such as protected areas embedded in an urban matrix.
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•We studied wild boar and roe deer activity and space use in an urban protected area.•Wild boar were nocturnal, while roe deer were crepuscular.•Forest availability was the main driver of wild boar and roe deer space use.•Behavioural adaptations resembled those found in similarly urbanized landscapes.•Wild boar and roe deer are able to thrive despite intensive recreation and hunting.
In 2007 African swine fever (ASF) arrived at a Black Sea harbour in Georgia and in 2014 the infection reached the European Union (EU), where it still expands its territory. ASF is a fatal viral ...disease affecting domestic pigs and wild boar of all ages with clinical presentations ranging from per-acute to chronic disease, including apparently asymptomatic courses. Until the detection of the first case inside the EU, infections in the current epidemic were mainly seen among pig farms with generally low biosecurity, and with incidental spill over to the wild boar population. In the EU, however, the infection survived locally in the wild boar population independently from outbreaks in domestic pigs, with a steady and low prevalence. Apart from the wild boar population and the habitat, the current epidemic recognizes humans as the main responsible for both long distance transmission and virus introduction in the domestic pig farms. This underlines the importance to include social science when planning ASF-prevention, -control, or -eradication measures. Based on experiences, knowledge and data gained from the current epidemic this review highlights some recent developments in the epidemiological understanding of ASF, especially concerning the role of wild boar and their habitats in ASF epidemiology. In this regard, the qualities of three epidemiological traits: contagiousity, tenacity, and case fatality rate, and their impact on ASF persistence and transmission are especially discussed.
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