The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is one of the most endangered felids in the world, and a high proportion of its populations occur in hunting grounds managed for red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) ...and wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), both game species of high socio-economic value and the latter a key prey species for the lynx. In this case study from south-eastern Portugal, we evaluated the game management practices, the abundance of partridges and rabbits (expressed as Kilometric Abundance Index), and the occurrence of mesocarnivores in four hunting grounds, two with and two without breeding lynx. In all grounds game management was conducted but in those where lynx occurred, full-time gamekeepers were employed and hunting was the major source of income. The results showed that grounds with breeding lynx had higher KAI values for partridges and rabbits, together with reduced mesocarnivores occurrence (particularly red fox Vulpes vulpes and stone marten Martes foina), compared to those without breeding lynx. Our results confirm that lynx occurrence fits within the management traits of those hunting grounds in Iberia aiming to increase partridges and rabbits for sustainable hunting, as they act as ‘natural’ gamekeepers. This could be considered as a ‘win-win’ situation; successful for lynx’s establishment and small game conservation.
Zooarchaeological and palaeontological assemblages, especially those located in karst cavities, are usually the product of the activity of several taphonomic biological agents. This is also the case ...of the Upper Pleistocene site of Cova del Coll Verdaguer (Barcelona, Iberian Peninsula), where hyenas accumulated most of the ungulates, bears used the cave to hibernate and for birthing cubs, and humans occasionally visited the cave. The main aim of this study is to investigate the role played by medium-sized mammalian carnivores in the formation of Unit 3 (the Sala Sal de Llop chamber). For this purpose, we analysed Lynx pardinus and Vulpes vulpes remains, on the one hand, and leporid remains, on the other, applying different taphonomic (breakage and surface modifications) zooarchaeological (skeletal parts frequencies, age at death) and spatial methods (GIS, geostatistics, refits). Regarding medium-sized carnivores, the results indicate a predominance of adult individuals, a fairly complete anatomical representation (especially in the case of the lynx), the refitting of several elements (in the case of the lynx, many of them clustered in the same area), and the presence of tooth marks on some remains. This data points to the natural death of these animals inside the cave, and suggests they were subsequently scavenged by other carnivores. With respect to leporids, adult individuals predominate, the most abundant elements are innominate bones and those from the distal segment of the appendicular skeleton, and there is evidence of carnivore damage on several remains. In accordance with these results, the leporid assemblage is interpreted mainly as a non-ingested assemblage caused by the feeding activity of the Iberian lynx and, to a lesser extent, the red fox. Thus, the combination of all these analyses indicates that the medium-sized terrestrial carnivores did not play a merely passive role, but were also accumulators and modifying agents, at least in terms of the leporid remains. Although ungulates are not the focus of this study, we have also discussed the potential role of Iberian lynx and red fox in accumulating and modifying them. This work adds to previously published studies indicating that Cova del Coll Verdaguer is the product of mixed occupations of different carnivore taxa, suggesting that lynxes and foxes used the cave as a safe place to rest, transport their prey and consume it. Therefore, this study will shed more light on the relationships between human groups and different carnivore taxa at Cova del Coll Verdaguer and, by extension, in the European Upper Pleistocene, demonstrating that the study of fossil collections can contribute significantly towards extending our knowledge on past carnivore and human behaviour.
•Zooarchaeological, taphonomic, and spatial analysis of lynxes, foxes, and leporids.•The leporids are related to the feeding behaviours of the Iberian lynx and red fox.•Iberian lynx and red fox used the cave as a shelter, and not as a birthing den.•Neanderthals, large and medium carnivores are actively involved in site formation.
The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) may be the first charismatic felid to become extinct in a high-income country, despite decades of study and much data that show extinction is highly probable. The ...International Union for Conservation of Nature categorizes it as critically endangered; about 200 free-ranging individuals remain in two populations in southern Spain. Conservation measures aimed at averting extirpation have been extensively undertaken with 4 of the former 10 Iberian lynx populations recorded 25 years ago. Two of the four populations have been extirpated. The number of individuals in the third population have declined by 83%, and in the fourth the probability of extirpation has increased from 34% to 95%. Major drivers of the pending extinction are the small areas to which conservation measures have been applied; lack of incorporation of evidence-based conservation, scientific monitoring, and adaptive management into conservation efforts; a lack of continuity in recovery efforts, and distrust by conservation agencies of scientific information. In contrast to situations in which conservation and economic objectives conflict, in the case of the Iberian lynx all stakeholders desire the species to be conserved.Original Abstract: Resumen:El lince iberico (Lynx pardinus) puede ser el primer felino carismatico que se extinga en un pais desarrollado, a pesar de decadas de estudio y muchos datos que muestran que su extincion es altamente probable. La Union Internacional para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza lo clasifica como en peligro critico; quedan alrededor de 200 individuos en libertad en dos poblaciones en el sur de Espana. Se han tomado medidas de conservacion extensivas dirigidas a evitar la desaparicion de 4 de las 10 poblaciones de lince iberico registradas hace 25 anos. Dos de esas 4 poblaciones han desaparecido. El numero de individuos en una tercera poblacion ha disminuido un 83% y, en la cuarta, la probabilidad de extincion ha incrementado del 34% al 95%. Las principales causas de la situacion actual son el pequeno tamano de las areas en las que se han aplicado las medidas de conservacion; la falta de incorporacion de medidas basadas en la evidencias, de seguimiento cientifico y de manejo adaptativo en los esfuerzos de conservacion; la falta de continuidad en los esfuerzos de recuperacion y la desconfianza de las agencias de conservacion en la informacion cientifica. En contraste con situaciones donde los objetivos economicos y de conservacion entran en conflicto, en el caso del lince iberico todas las partes interesadas desean que la especie sea conservada.
The role that apex predators play in ecosystem functioning, disease regulation and biodiversity maintenance is increasingly debated. However, the positive impacts of their presence in terrestrial ...ecosystems, particularly in human-dominated landscapes, remain controversial. Limited experimental insights regarding the consequences of apex predator recoveries may be behind such controversy and may also impact on the social acceptability towards the recovery of these species. Using a quasi-experimental design and state-of-the-art density estimates, we show that mesopredator abundances were reduced after the restoration of an apex predator, with evidence of resonating positive impacts on lower trophic levels. Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus reintroduction was followed by the reduction of the abundance of mesocarnivores (red foxes Vulpes vulpes and Egyptian mongooses Herpestes ichneumon by ca. 80%) and the recovery of small game of high socio-economic value (European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus and red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa). The observed mesopredator reduction resulted in an estimated 55.6% less rabbit consumption for the entire carnivore guild. Our findings have important implications for the social acceptability of Iberian lynx reintroductions, which crucially depend on the perception of private land owners and managers. Under certain circumstances, restoring apex predators may provide a sustainable and ethically acceptable way to reduce mesopredator abundances.
Large carnivores and the EU LIFE programme Navarro, Alberto; Köhncke, Arnulf; Oliveira, Teresa ...
Global ecology and conservation,
August 2024, 2024-08-01, Volume:
52
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Most large carnivore populations have increased in recent decades in Europe. Along with the adoption of the EU Habitats Directive in 1992, the EU launched a funding program entirely dedicated to ...environment, nature protection and climate action, the European LIFE programme. Here, we explore the investment of this programme in large carnivore conservation across Europe, from its implementation in 1992 to 2020 (28 years), with respect to budgets, species considered, economic factors and the geographical distribution of the projects. A total of 153 projects have directly or indirectly targeted large carnivores, with a total budget of ca. 338.2 M€ (EU contribution >194.1 M€). Despite the transboundary character of most large carnivore populations, only 5.8 % of projects worked across national borders. Large carnivores did not receive equal attention within the programme, and EU Member States from Southern Europe accumulated 77.7 % of the projects. The region of Abruzzo (Italy) has been granted with the highest number of projects (n= 28), followed by Castilla y León (Spain, 16 projects). At national level, the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) did not correlate with the number of LIFE projects granted, but the proportion of the GDP invested in the protection of biodiversity and landscapes (positively). However, at the level of European regions (NUTS 2), those regions with lower average per capita GDP were more frequently granted with LIFE projects. We discuss several factors affecting the distribution of projects across Europe, and we make recommendations for future investments in maximizing large carnivore conservation under this program.
Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection is considered one of the most serious disease threats for the endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) Over 14 years (2008-2021), we investigated FeLV infection ...using point-of-care antigen test and quantitative real-time TaqMan qPCR for provirus detection in blood and tissues in lynxes from Andalusia (Southern Spain). A total of 776 samples from 586 individuals were included in this study. The overall prevalence for FeLV antigen in blood/serum samples was 1.4% (5/360) (95% CI: 0.2-2.6), FeLV proviral DNA prevalence in blood samples was 6.2% (31/503) (95% CI: 4.1-8.6), and FeLV proviral DNA in tissues samples was 10.2% (34/333) (95% CI: 7-13.5). From a subset of 129 longitudinally sampled individuals, 9.3% (12/129) PCR-converted during the study period. Our results suggest that FeLV infection in the Andalusian population is enzootic, with circulation of the virus at low levels in almost all the sampling years. Moreover, since only one viremic individual succumbed to the infection, this study suggests that lynxes may therefore control the infection decreasing the possibility of developing a more aggressive outcome. Although our results indicate that the FeLV infection in the Iberian lynx from Andalusia tends to stay within the regressive stage, continuous FeLV surveillance is paramount to predict potential outbreaks and ensure the survival of this population.
...of their analyses, the authors conclude that: "many systems appear to be generally stable or improving." ...African elephants (Loxodonta africana)911 are thought to have declined from about 25 ...million to about 1 million between 1800 and 1970, at a rate of 1.4 million per decade, compared to just 0.13 million per decade over 1970-2016. ...tiger (Panthera tigris) populations in India, which have shown signs of recent increase due to conservation efforts, still number fewer than 3,000 individuals8, just 7% of their former counts at the turn of the twentieth century12. ...bison (Bison bison) now number only about 500,000 individuals compared to the millions that previously ranged across North America, and occupy less than 1% of their pre-European colonization range, despite an increasing population trend since 197013. ...assessments of population change should be anchored by data, and empirical estimates of populations are more widely available over relatively recent timeframes.
Current global change scenarios demand knowledge on how anthropogenic impacts affect ecosystem functioning through changes in food web structure. Frugivorous mesocarnivores are a key link in trophic ...cascades because, while their abundance and behaviour are usually controlled by apex predators, they can provide high‐quality seed‐dispersal services to plant communities. Thus, the recent rewilding of large carnivores worldwide can trigger cascading effects for plants.
We investigated the top‐down effects of an apex predator (Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus) on seed‐dispersal services mediated by two mesocarnivore species (red fox Vulpes vulpes and stone marten Martes foina) at the plant community level by comparing areas with and without lynx in a Mediterranean mountain range in Southern Spain.
We collected scats of mesocarnivores (n = 1575) to assess frugivory and seed dispersal of 15 plant species over two consecutive fruiting seasons and two habitat types (open and forest). Specifically, we assessed the effect of lynx presence on (i) seed occurrence and fleshy‐fruit biomass per scat, (ii) number of scats containing seeds and (iii) diversity of dispersed seeds.
The quantity and diversity of dispersed seeds drastically decreased under predation risk for both mesocarnivore's species. Seed dispersal by stone martens was negatively affected by the presence of lynx, with a marked reduction in the number of scats with seeds (93%) and the diversity of dispersed seeds (46%). Foxes dispersed 68% fewer seeds in open habitats when coexisting with lynx, probably leading to differential contributions to seed‐dispersal effectiveness among habitats.
Our study reveals a novel trophic cascade from apex predators to plant communities. The behavioural responses of frugivorous mesocarnivores to predation risk and the reduction in the intensity of their faecal deposition pattern are probably related to their lower abundance when co‐occurring with apex predators. While rewilding apex predators is a successful conservation tool, attention should be paid to cascading effects across food webs, particularly where frugivore megafauna is missing and mesocarnivores provide unique services to plants.
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Resumen
El escenario actual de cambio global demanda más conocimiento sobre cómo los impactos antrópicos afectan al funcionamiento de los ecosistemas a través de cambios en la estructura de la red trófica. Los mesocarnívoros frugívoros son un eslabón clave en las cascadas tróficas ya que, si bien su abundancia y comportamiento suelen estar controlados por los superdepredadores, pueden proporcionar servicios de dispersión de semillas de alta calidad a las comunidades de plantas. Así, la reciente recuperación de grandes carnívoros en todo el mundo puede desencadenar efectos en cascada para las plantas.
Investigamos los efectos en cascada de un superdepredador (lince ibérico Lynx pardinus) sobre los servicios de dispersión de semillas mediados por dos especies mesocarnívoras (zorro rojo Vulpes vulpes y garduña Martes foina) a nivel de toda la comunidad de plantas y comparando áreas con y sin lince en las montañas mediterráneas del sur de España.
Recolectamos excrementos de mesocarnívoros (n = 1575) para evaluar la frugivoría y la dispersión de semillas de 15 especies de plantas durante dos temporadas de fructificación consecutivas y en dos tipos de hábitat (abierto y forestal). Específicamente, evaluamos el efecto de la presencia de linces sobre (i) la presencia de semillas y la biomasa de frutos por excremento, (ii) el número de excrementos que contenían semillas y (iii) la diversidad de semillas dispersadas.
La cantidad y diversidad de semillas dispersadas disminuyeron drásticamente bajo el escenario de riesgo de depredación para ambas especies de mesocarnívoros. La dispersión de semillas por las garduñas se vio afectada negativamente por la presencia del lince, con una marcada reducción en el número de excrementos con semillas (93%) y la diversidad de semillas dispersadas (46%). Los zorros dispersaron un 68% menos semillas en hábitats abiertos cuando coexistieron con el lince, lo que probablemente condujo a una contribución diferente en la efectividad de la dispersión de semillas entre hábitats.
Nuestro estudio revela una nueva cascada trófica desde los superdepredadores hasta las comunidades de plantas. Las respuestas comportamentales de los mesocarnívoros frugívoros al riesgo de depredación y la reducción de sus patrones de marcaje fecal probablemente estén relacionados con su menor abundancia cuando coexisten con los superdepredadores. Aunque la recuperación de los superdepredadores es una herramienta de conservación exitosa, se debe prestar atención a sus efectos en cascada en las redes tróficas, particularmente en escenarios donde la megafauna frugívora ha desaparecido y los mesocarnívoros brindan servicios únicos a las comunidades de plantas.
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Aim
Large carnivores are currently recolonizing parts of their historical ranges in Europe after centuries of persecution and habitat loss. Understanding the mechanisms driving these recolonizations ...is important for proactive conservation planning. Using the brown bear (Ursus arctos) and the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) as examples, we explore where and when large carnivores are likely to expand into human‐dominated landscapes and how varying levels of resistance due to human pressure might impact this recolonization process.
Location
Iberian Peninsula.
Methods
We used ensembles of species distribution models to relate species occurrence data to climate, topography and satellite‐based land‐cover predictors at a 10 km spatial resolution. Resulting predictions of suitable habitat areas were fed into a dispersal model to simulate range expansion over the 10 time‐steps for different human pressure scenarios. Finally, we overlaid predictions with protected areas to highlight areas that are likely key for future connectivity, but where human pressures might hamper dispersal.
Results
We found widespread suitable habitat for both species (bear: 30,000 km2, lynx: 170,000 km2), yet human pressure limits potential range expansions. For brown bears, core habitats between the Cantabrian and Pyrenean populations remained unconnected despite suitable habitat in between. For lynx, we predicted higher range expansion potential, although high human pressures in southern coastal Spain negatively affected expansion potential.
Main conclusions
Our results highlight that the recolonization potential of brown bears and lynx in the Iberian Peninsula is likely more constrained by lower permeability of landscapes due to human pressure than by habitat availability, a situation likely emblematic for large carnivores in many parts of the world. More generally, our approach provides a simple tool for conservation planners and managers to identify where range expansion is likely to occur and where proactively managing to allow large carnivores to safely disperse through human‐dominated landscapes can contribute to viable large carnivore populations.
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