Controlling infections shared by wildlife and livestock requires the understanding and quantification of interspecific interactions between the species involved. This is particularly important in ...extensive multi-host systems, in which controlled domestic animals interact with uncontrolled, abundant and expanding wild species, such as wild ungulates. We have, therefore, quantified the interspecific interactions between wild boar (Sus scrofa) and free-ranging cattle in Mediterranean Spain, along with their spatio-temporal variability. GPS-GSM-collars were used to monitor 12 cows and 14 wild boar in the Doñana National Park between 2011 and 2013. Interactions were defined as encounters between cattle and wild boar within a spatio-temporal window of 52 m and 1 hour. On average, each wild boar interacted with one cow 1.5 ± (SE) 0.5 times per day, while each cow interacted with one wild boar 1.3 ± 0.4 times per day. The frequency of interaction was significantly higher during crepuscular hours owing to the overlap of both species' activity, and also during spring and autumn, probably owing to a higher individual aggregation around shared resources. Finally, the frequency of interaction was higher near the most significant shared resources (e.g. water points) but was lower in areas with dense vegetation. The results presented here show the usefulness of GPS monitoring as regards quantifying interactions and helping to clarify the process of pathogen transmission at the wildlife-livestock interface in Mediterranean Spain, along with the main spatio-temporal risk factors. In a changing scenario in which European populations of wild ungulates are increasing, more efficient measures with which to control interactions are required to meet the demands of farmers and managers. Our results, therefore, provide directional hypotheses that could be used to design disease control programmes.
The wide spread mosquito Culex pipiens pipiens have two forms molestus and pipiens which frequently hybridize. The two forms have behavioural and physiological differences affecting habitat ...requirements and host selection, which may affect the transmission dynamic of Cx. p. pipiens-borne diseases.
During 2013, blood engorged Cx. p. pipiens mosquitoes were captured in urban, rural and natural areas from Southern Spain. In 120 mosquitoes, we identified the blood meal origin at vertebrate species/genus level and the mosquito form. The presence and molecular lineage identity of avian malaria parasites in the head-thorax of each mosquito was also analysed.
Mosquitoes of the form pipiens were more frequently found in natural than in urban areas. The proportion of Cx. pipiens form molestus and hybrids of the two forms did not differ between habitat categories. Any significant difference in the proportion of blood meals on birds between forms was found. Birds were the most common feeding source for the two forms and their hybrids. Among mammals, dogs and humans were the most common hosts. Two Plasmodium and one Haemoproteus lineages were found in mosquitoes, with non-significant differences between forms.
This study supports a differential distribution of Cx. p. pipiens form pipiens between urban and natural areas. Probably due to the similar feeding sources of both mosquito forms and their hybrids here, all of them may frequently interact with avian malaria parasites playing a role in the transmission of Plasmodium.
Human-elephant conflict (HEC) is a recurring problem that appears wherever the range of elephants and humans overlap. Different methods including the use of electric fences are used worldwide to ...mitigate this conflict. Nonetheless, elephants learn quickly that their tusks do not conduct electricity and use them to break down fences (fence-breakers).
In Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya, destructive elephants (Loxodonta africana) were monitored between 2010 and 2013. The fence-breaking rate reached four incidents (fence-breaking) per elephant per 100 days. Ten bull males and 57 females were identified as fence-breakers. The bulls were involved in 85.07% and the females in 14.93% of incidents. The Kenya Wildlife Service approved detusking (partial cutting of tusks) in four of the 10 fence-breakers as a way of preventing them from breaking down fences, thereby mitigating HEC in the Conservancy. The result of the detusking was a drastic six-fold reduction in damage to fences (range: 1.67 to 14.5 times less fence-breaking) by the four worst fence-breaker elephants, because with trimmed tusks elephants lack the tools to break down fences. Detusking could not totally eliminate fence destruction because, despite lacking their tools, elephants can still destroy fences using their heads, bodies and trunks, albeit less effectively. On the other hand, apart from inherent aesthetic considerations, the detusking of elephants may have certain negative effects on factors such as elephants' social hierarchies, breeding, mate selection and their access to essential minerals and food.
Elephant detusking seems to be effective in drastically reducing fence-breaking incidents, nonetheless its negative effects on behaviour, access to food and its aesthetical consequences still need to be further studied and investigated.
The European population of Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata arquata, a near‐threatened wader subspecies, has undergone pronounced population declines over the past 30 years. To assess the demography ...and viability of its global population, we surveyed studies quantifying demographic rates (productivity and survival) and complemented this review with new estimates of survival probability at the flyway scale. Then, using a demographic model, we estimated population growth rates while accounting for the range of variation of demographic parameters, and compared these estimates (expected based on demographic rates) with those observed based on population censuses. Both observed and expected average growth rates were negative but the observed rates were higher than estimates from demographic models (λ = 0.98–0.99 compared with 0.85–0.95). This discrepancy implies that there is geographical variation in the demography of different populations that is not fully covered by current demographic data, namely unstudied regions with higher productivity. According to our calculations, at the flyway scale, productivity is currently c. 0.57 fledglings per pair per year, higher than the average reported productivity of 0.29, but lower than the 0.68 needed to achieve a stable global population size (λ = 1). Adult survival, estimated at 0.90, was the most sensitive parameter determining population growth rates, but the low productivity levels over the last few decades seems to be the most probable cause of population declines. The negative population growth rates require immediate conservation actions to preserve adult survival and increase the extremely low productivity in western and northern European populations to values above 0.68 fledglings per pair per year. We hope our synthesis on the demographic status of Curlew in Europe will encourage the collection of more demographic data and allow concrete management goals at the flyway scale to be established in order to recover the global population of this iconic species.
Genetic differentiation in historically connected populations could be the result of genetic drift or adaptation, two processes that imply a need for differing strategies in population management. ...The aim of our study was to use neutral genetic markers to characterize C. pyrenaica populations genetically and examine results in terms of (i) demographic history, (ii) subspecific classification and (iii) the implications for the management of Iberian ibex.
We used 30 neutral microsatellite markers from 333 Iberian ibex to explore genetic diversity in the three main Iberian ibex populations in Spain corresponding to the two persisting subspecies (victoria and hispanica). Our molecular analyses detected recent genetic bottlenecks in all the studied populations, a finding that coincides with the documented demographic decline in C. pyrenaica in recent decades. Genetic divergence between the two C. pyrenaica subspecies (hispanica and victoriae) was substantial (FST between 0.39 and 0.47). Unexpectedly, we found similarly high genetic differentiation between two populations (Sierra Nevada and Maestrazgo) belonging to the subspecies hispanica. The genetic pattern identified in our study could be the result of strong genetic drift due to the severe genetic bottlenecks in the studied populations, caused in turn by the progressive destruction of natural habitat, disease epidemics and/or uncontrolled hunting.
Previous Capra pyrenaica conservation decision-making was based on the clear distinction between the two subspecies (victoriae and hispanica); yet our paper raises questions about the usefulness for conservation plans of the distinction between these subspecies.
Long-term studies of community composition and relative abundance are key tools in wildlife management and biodiversity conservation. However, few studies of this kind are available for Mediterranean ...carnivores, especially in the Iberian Peninsula, a hotspot of mammal biodiversity in Europe. We used 15 years of carnivore monitoring data from the Doñana National Park, one of the most representative areas for carnivores in Iberia, to obtain population trends for the main Mediterranean carnivore species. They were positive for red fox, stable for badger and Egyptian mongoose, and negative for common genet and Iberian lynx. The importance of long-term datasets and the implications of the results for the studied species at global level are discussed, above all for species whose population trends are less well known. This is the case of the Egyptian mongoose, for which we present novel information on its long-term population trend in Europe, and of the Iberian lynx, an endangered species with a clear negative trend in this well-protected area.
A new regulation has led to the prohibition of recreational hunting on estates located within Spanish National Parks (NPs). Before the ban, eleven NPs in Spain had already reported negative ...ecological consequences associated with high densities of wild ungulates. The new situation that has occurred after the ban signifies that policies with which to control populations of wild ungulates in NPs, most of which do not have a sufficient natural capacity to regulate populations, depend exclusively on the parks' authorities. The banning of recreational hunting implies a series of social, ecological, economic and logistic challenges. The control of wild ungulate populations in NPs requires: i) the legal basis for culling; ii) social acceptance as regards removing animals and the extractive procedures employed in NPs; iii) the long-term monitoring of wild ungulates and the damages that they cause, and iv) sufficient financial and human resources. A more integrated management and policy plan is, therefore, required, which should be supported by two pillars: i) the sustainability of natural resources and the conservation of functional environments, and ii) providing society with explanations regarding the need to manage wild ungulates. In order to bridge the potential gap between these key pillars, it is important to involve stakeholders in the decision-making processes concerning wild ungulate management. The forthcoming changes in Spanish NPs provide a promising opportunity to make a substantial improvement to wild ungulate management in these protected areas. This management approach could, moreover, serve as an example and be transferred to other protected spaces.
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•Ungulates are locally overabundant, and the numbers of those in Spanish National Parks are increasing.•There are generally no natural predators, or they are at densities ineffective to limit ungulate populations.•Recreational hunting is among the most effective management tool to limit ungulates, but it has been banned in NPs.•The lack of alternatives suggests that controlling populations depends on the parks’ authorities.•Involving stakeholders in the decision-making processes concerning wildlife management is a key aspect.
1. Vector and host communities, as well as habitat characteristics, may have important but different impacts on the prevalence, richness and evenness of vector-borne parasites. 2. We investigated the ...relative importance of (1) the mosquito community composition, (2) the vertebrate community composition and (3) landscape characteristics on the prevalence, richness and evenness of avian Plasmodium. We hypothesized that parasite prevalence will be more affected by vector-related parameters, while host parameters should be also important to explain Plasmodium richness and evenness. 3. We sampled 2,588 wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and 340,829 mosqitoes, and we performed vertebrate censuses at 45 localities in the Southwest of Spain. These localities included urban, rural and natural landscapes that were characterized by several habitat variables. 4. Twelve Plasmodium lineages were identified in house sparrows corresponding to three major clades. Variation partitioning showed that landscape characteristics explained the highest fraction of variation in all response variables (21.0%-44.8%). Plasmodium prevalence was in addition explained by vector-related variables (5.4%) and its interaction with landscape (10.2%). Parasite richness and evenness were mostly explained by vertebrate community-related variables. 5. The structuring role of landscape characteristics in vector and host communities was a key factor in determining parasite prevalence, richness and evenness, al-though the role of each factor differed according to the parasite parameters studied. These results show that the biotic and abiotic contexts are important to explain the transmission dynamics of mosquito-borne pathogens in the wild.
Scientists have the tendency to communicate their scientific accounts using linearly structured narratives (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion; IMRAD). Likewise, the linear narrative is ...dominant - due to force of habit - when scientists prepare films about their research. Yet, this does not necessarily have to be the case for the new generation of scientists-as-filmmakers, who is trained to appreciate and apply alternative narrative structures. We evaluated the narrative structures of scientists from Swiss universities and research centres. Before the filmmaking courses, 94.1% of participants would use the linear narrative structure in their films, while the remaining participants would use one of the other alternative narrative types. However, after participating in the filmmaking courses, the number of potential users of the linear narrative fell almost 11-fold, and this type of narrative became the least popular. By contrast, after the courses the before-climax-backwards narrative experienced a 79-fold increase in potential use. The parallel, frame and end-backwards narratives had seven-, six- and four-fold increases, respectively. The filmmaking courses also dramatically increased the number of types of narratives that participants would consider using. Filmmaking courses for scientists help scientists-as-filmmakers make a clean break from linear narrative structures in favour of other more varied structures.
Living organisms are exposed to a wide range of substances - internal and external - which act like reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative damage accurs when the balance between ROS and antioxidant ...defenses is altered. Urbanization and parasite infection are both important sources of ROS with different harmful effects on wildlife health, but the potential synergies between both factors are poorly known. Here, we analyse the oxidative stress of wild juvenile male house sparrows (Passer domesticus) along an urbanization gradient in relation to the infection status by three common blood parasites (Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon) and bird body condition. We analysed samples from 688 birds captured at 45 localities from southern Spain grouped into triplets including an urban, a rural and a natural habitat, with 15 localities per habitat type. We measured i) thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels as indicator of the oxidative damage to lipids, and the activity of three antioxidant enzymes ii) glutathione peroxidase (GPx), iii) superoxide dismutase (SOD) and iv) glutathione reductase (GR) as indicators of bird's antioxidant capacity. Birds infected with Haemoproteus and urban birds showed significantly and marginally higher levels of TBARS than uninfected and rural birds, respectively. The relationship between TBARS and body condition is different regarding the infection status (significative) and habitat (marginally significant) being negative for Haemoproteus infected and urban birds but positive for uninfected and non-urban birds. The antioxidant activity was significantly lower in Plasmodium infected birds but marginally higher in Leucocytozoon infected birds than in uninfected ones. Individuals with higher body condition had higher GPx and SOD activity in relation to a lower GR activity. Overall, these results suggest that blood parasites infections and urbanization affect the oxidative status of wild birds and highlight the role of bird's body condition on the regulation of the oxidative stress status.
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•Urbanization, malaria and body condition affects the oxidative status of birds.•Irds infected by Haemoproteus showed higher oxidative damage to lipids (TBARS).•Urban birds tended to have higher TBARS levels than rural ones.•Plasmodium infected birds showed a lower antioxidant activity (GPx, SOD and GR).•The activity of GPx and SOD increases but GR decrease with higher body condition.
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