The canine parvovirus, with its many variants, is responsible for a pivotal and common viral infection affecting millions of dogs and other carnivore species worldwide, particularly the wild ones, ...which are considered as the main reservoir hosts. To that end, this study investigated the presence of canine parvovirus (CPV) in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) living in wild habitats of several regions of Turkey. We randomly collected 630 archival fox stool specimens from rural areas of 22 provinces and used real-time PCR to detect CPV. Two of the 630 (0.3%) stool samples were positive for CPV-DNA, named Tr-Fox/128(Aydin) and Tr-Fox/159(Manisa). We attempted to isolate the virus in a MDCK cell line, and cytopathic effects were observed four days post-inoculation. Three regions corresponding to the CPV capsid protein VP2 gene from extracted DNA of positive samples were amplified by conventional PCR, and the products were visualised, purified, and Sanger sequenced. Three overlapping DNA raw sequence fragments, were read, assembled, and aligned to obtain approximately 1.5 kb-long regions that cover most of the VP2 gene, then deposited in GenBank. After comparing the isolates with parvovirus sequences data of domestic and wild carnivores by BLAST processing, our isolates' similarity rate with each other was 99.40%, with base differences in 9 nucleotide positions. They were classified as 2b variant closely related to isolates from dogs in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Italy, Thailand, and China. This study presents evidence of interspecies transmission of CPV, of which there are no reports on prevalence in wildlife carnivores of our country. Identification of CPV in red foxes threatens local and hunting dogs, which may contract the infection or disseminate it to other wild animal species or vice-versa.
Mountain ecosystems are sensitive to climate change, and climate-driven declines in primary producers can impact food webs. Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) seed, a valuable food resource ...for montane wildlife species, is threatened by climate change. Whitebark pine exhibit masting, and during a snow-tracking study of Rocky Mountain red foxes (Vulpes vulpes macroura Baird, 1852) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that happened to coincide with masting, we unexpectedly observed red foxes consuming whitebark pine seeds from red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Erxleben, 1777)) middens. Seed production then decreased the following year. To investigate whether whitebark pine seed availability affected winter foraging and habitat use by Rocky Mountain red foxes, we assessed interannual variance in our dietary and habitat use data. We found both seed consumption and use of habitats where seeds were available also decreased during the non-mast winter. Given the limitations of our small-scale, opportunistic analysis, we suggest that whitebark pine seeds may be an important food resource for montane red foxes and that their relationship warrants further research and consideration in conservation efforts for both species.
Mountain ecosystems are sensitive to climate change, and climate-driven declines in primary producers can impact food webs. Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) seed, a valuable food resource ...for montane wildlife species, is threatened by climate change. Whitebark pine exhibit masting, and during a snow-tracking study of Rocky Mountain red foxes (Vulpes vulpes macroura Baird, 1852) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that happened to coincide with masting, we unexpectedly observed red foxes consuming whitebark pine seeds from red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Erxleben, 1777)) middens. Seed production then decreased the following year. To investigate whether whitebark pine seed availability affected winter foraging and habitat use by Rocky Mountain red foxes, we assessed interannual variance in our dietary and habitat use data. We found both seed consumption and use of habitats where seeds were available also decreased during the non-mast winter. Given the limitations of our small-scale, opportunistic analysis, we suggest that whitebark pine seeds may be an important food resource for montane red foxes and that their relationship warrants further research and consideration in conservation efforts for both species.
Northern Canada is warming at 3 times the global rate. Thus, changing diversity and distribution of vectors and pathogens is an increasing health concern. California serogroup (CSG) viruses are ...mosquitoborne arboviruses; wildlife reservoirs in northern ecosystems have not been identified. We detected CSG virus antibodies in 63% (95% CI 58%-67%) of caribou (n = 517), 4% (95% CI 2%-7%) of Arctic foxes (n = 297), 12% (95% CI 6%-21%) of red foxes (n = 77), and 28% (95% CI 24%-33%) of polar bears (n = 377). Sex, age, and summer temperatures were positively associated with polar bear exposure; location, year, and ecotype were associated with caribou exposure. Exposure was highest in boreal caribou and increased from baseline in polar bears after warmer summers. CSG virus exposure of wildlife is linked to climate change in northern Canada and sustained surveillance could be used to measure human health risks.
•An approach to predict FRP Reinforced Concrete Beam shear capacity.•96 laboratory samples to determine the concrete beams reinforced shear strength.•Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) network is applied ...for modelling.•ELM is optimized by Chaos Red Fox Optimization Algorithm.
In reinforced concrete structures, the utilization of composite rebar has been increased by considering their high corrosion resistance, anti-magnetic properties, and significant tensile strength. According to the lower elasticity modulus of composite rebar in comparison with steel rebar, concrete beams reinforced including composite rebar possess a relatively lower shear strength by comparing with steel rebar. In addition, in concrete beam, reinforced shear failure by composite rebar is commonly brittle and requires precise performance prediction of the members. Thus, the reinforced concrete beams' shear strength by composite rebar is predicted utilizing an Extreme Learning Machine network based on Chaos Red Fox Optimization Algorithm (ELM-CRFOA) according to a wide range of data. The most important parameters, which are considered in this investigation, are the web width, beam effective depth, the strength of concrete compressive, the ratio of the shear span to depth, FRP longitudinal bars elasticity modulus, and ratio of the longitudinal reinforcement. This method's precision has been proved by having a comparison among the model predictions and the accumulated data and available shear design equations. According to the study outcomes, the presented model has precise outcomes in computing the concrete beams' shear strength in comparison with other existing relations. For assessing input parameters' impact on the FRP-reinforced concrete beams' shear strength, a sensitivity analysis is executed.
Background: Biomonitoring is an essential activity for identifying possible vectors and reservoirs of pathogens and predicting potential outbreaks. Wild red foxes are present in both sylvatic and ...synanthropic environments, making them potential carriers of zoonotic pathogens. Experimental studies have shown that both coyotes and red foxes can transmit SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in wild red foxes hunted in northern Poland. Methods: Oral swabs, blood clots or heat tissue samples were collected from 292 red foxes hunted in northern Poland. We used both molecular (RT-PCR) and serological (IFA) approaches to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections in the sampled animals. Results: We did not find any evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the collected samples, using both molecular and serological methods. Conclusions: Despite foxes having frequent contact with humans, human waste, and other animals, they do not appear to participate in the circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in our geographical region. Nevertheless, we believe that continuous biomonitoring should be performed to assess the SARS-CoV-2 epidemiological situation in the wild.
Display omitted
Micromechanics model, finite element (FE) simulation of microindentation and machine learning were deployed to predict the mechanical properties of Cu–Al2O3 nanocomposites. The micromechanical model ...was developed based on the rule of mixture and grain and grain boundary sizes evolution to predict the elastic modulus of the produced nanocomposites. Then, a FE model was developed to simulate the microindentation test. The input for the FE model was the elastic modulus that was computed using the micromechanics model and wide range of yield and tangent stresses values. Finally, the output load-displacement response from the FE model, the elastic modulus, the yield and tangent strengths used for the FE simulations, and the residual indentation depth were used to train the machine learning model (Random vector functional link network) for the prediction of the yield and tangent stresses of the produced nanocomposites. Cu–Al2O3 nanocomposites with different Al2O3 concentration were manufactured using insitu chemical method to validate the proposed model. After training the model, the microindentation experimental load-displacement curve for Cu–Al2O3 nanocomposites was fed to the machine learning model and the mechanical properties were obtained. The obtained mechanical properties were in very good agreement with the experimental ones achieving 0.99 coefficient of determination R2 for the yield strength.
Significant changes in the intensity or distribution of human activities, like during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, can cause rapid changes to the diversity, distribution and abundance of animals. ...These changes are usually viewed as positive for ecosystems. Here, we mapped the abundance and habitat associations of coastal vertebrates along approximately 50 km of ocean beaches on the Sunshine Coast in eastern Australia using baited trail cameras before (April–June 2018 and 2019) and during the April–May 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. Many Torresian crows (Corvus orru) occur in urban areas where they scavenge for human-derived food. When this food source collapsed during the COVID-19 lockdown, Torresian crows moved to beaches where we recorded a 6-fold increase in abundance. Torresian crows principally moved to beaches with greater extent of remnant vegetation and larger average tree height. Because anthropogenic food sources would be less abundant on these more natural beaches, rapid changes in the abundance of these aggressive feeders on beaches could result in Torresian crows 1) outcompeting scavengers like large raptors for naturally occurring carrion, 2) consuming insects, crustaceans and other small animals (like small mammals and reptiles) along more natural coastlines, causing potentially significant changes to animal assemblage structure along beaches, and 3) depredating eggs and hatchlings from nests of other birds. Our results highlight that the ecological effects of changes to human pressures are nuanced, depending strongly on the functional role and behaviour of species and the landscape attributes in which they interact with the broader assemblages and ecosystem.
•Changes in human activity result in changes to animal populations.•COVID-19 lockdowns provide an opportunity to test these effects.•We found six time higher crow abundance on beaches during lockdowns.•Synanthropic species like crows redistribute readily following change in conditions.•Ecological effects of human activity change depend on animal function and behaviour.
Anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) exposure in wild carnivores is a current and global concern due to continuous and widespread use worldwide. We studied the prevalence of ARs in liver samples of 25 red ...foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 3 European badgers (Meles meles) and 2 genets (Genneta genneta) from Alicante (Spanish Levante region) obtained in 2021 and 2022. In addition to trauma, poisoning by pesticides is the most frequent cause of death in wild carnivores in this region. The present research aims to explain a possible association between the fact of suffering from an infectious disease and the increase in ARs concentrations in the affected animals.
Both first- and second-generation ARs were analysed by HPLC/MS/TOF in liver samples. Apart from the cause of death, the influence of other variables such as age, sex and body weight were also assessed on AR liver concentrations. Potential health risks for individuals and populations in the study area have also been studied. Our research detected higher AR concentrations in the group of red foxes clinically diagnosed with infectious disease compared to the group of apparently healthy red foxes, mostly killed by trauma. Furthermore, our results lead us to suggest that red fox could be considered a good sentinel species for the risk of exposure to ARs in other wild mammals. All the livers analysed contained ARs and the most detected compounds in red fox were difenacoum, bromadiolone, brodifacoum, present in all the samples analysed, and flocoumafen (in 96 %). Additionally, 53 % of the animals had at least one second generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) above the threshold value reported as triggering adverse health effects (200 ng/g). Regarding this, the level of risk in red fox in this area might be classified as high and worrying. Moreover, we suggest that individuals and populations with weakened health due to other diseases (for example, infectious or parasitic diseases) might be more prone to high exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides and, very probably, would be more sensitive to suffering serious effects at lower doses of ARs.
Display omitted
•Anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) exposure in predator species is a current global problem.•Foxes that died from infectious diseases were more exposed to ARs.•AR hepatic levels exceeded the lethal threshold in 28 % of the foxes analysed.•The red fox can be a good sentinel species of AR exposure for threatened species.
PDF
