Distribución y aspectos poblacionales del lobo Ibérico en la provincia de Ourense

Para determinar el área de distribución del lobo en la provincia de Ourense (noroeste de España) se realizaron prospecciones de campo consistentes en itinerarios de muestreo para localizar indicios y se enviaron cuestionarios a los Agentes del Servicio de Conservación de la Naturaleza de la Xunta de Galicia y a las Sociedades de Cazadores del área de estudio. Los resultados se registraron sobre cuadrículas U.T.M. 10x10 Km. Se constata presencia del lobo en el 79,2% de las cuadrículas estudiadas, estimando el área de distribución en la provincia en 6.400 km2. Para la localización de los grupos familiares inicialmente se prospectó el territorio a nivel de cuadrículas U.T.M. 10x10 Km y en función de los resultados y la información recibida se eligieron determinadas zonas para realizar estaciones de escucha y espera. Determinamos durante el periodo de estudio la existencia de 25 grupos familiares. La densidad estimada en la provincia es de 2,10 – 3,28 lobos /100 km2. De los casos de mortalidad conocidos entre enero de 1999 y abril de 2002 (n=37), un elevado porcentaje se debió a atropellos (70,27%) principalmente en dos vías concretas y un 8,10% correspondió a envenenamientos. Actualmente la densidad del lobo en Ourense es superior a la obtenida en provincias limítrofes, pero amenazas de origen antrópico tanto directas (veneno, persecución ilegal...) como indirectas (incendios forestales, grandes infraestructuras viales, parques eólicos...) pueden estar condicionando la existencia de grupos familiares e incluso la presencia de la especie en determinadas zonas

Monitoring wolf populations using howling points combined with sign survey transects

Wolves respond to simulated howling, especially during the mating and breeding seasons. Simulated howling points are, therefore, commonly used by many wolf researchers around the world to estimate pack numbers in a given area. A large amount of information is available on various pack breeding areas in Asturias, the only region in north-western Spain where the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus, Cabrera 1907) is not classed as a game species. Wolf research began there in the early 1980s. We present the results of the latest study on population status, conducted between July and November, 2001. Using sampling transects to detect wolf scat and scratch marks and designated howling and observation points, twenty one (21) wolf packs were definitely located, with two others considered “likely”. Nineteen (19) packs were detected using howling points (n=314). The results of this study show that simulated howling points and sampling transects are reliable and inexpensive way of detecting wolf packs

Distribución y aspectos poblacionales del lobo Ibérico (Canis lupus signatus) en las provincias de Pontevedra y A Coruña (Galicia)

Para determinar el área de distribución del lobo en las provincias de Pontevedra y A Coruña se realizaron itinerarios de muestreo y se enviaron cuestionarios a los Agentes de Medio Ambiente de la Xunta de Galicia y a las Sociedades de Cazadores del área de estudio. Los resultados se representaron en cuadrículas U.T.M. 10x10 Km. Se ha confirmado la presencia del lobo en el 67,05% de las cuadrículas del área de estudio. La especie se distribuye de forma continua en ambas provincias, donde estimamos un área de distribución de 6.400 km2 en la provincia de A Coruña y 3.200 km2 en la de Pontevedra, ocupando principalmente el área montañosa de la Dorsal Gallega y el occidente de A Coruña; esta última zona está conectada con el resto del área de distribución del lobo en Galicia a través del norte de la provincia de Pontevedra. Para la localización de las manadas se muestreó el territorio a nivel de cuadrícula U.T.M. 10x10 Km, y en las zonas donde se detectó una mayor concentración de indicios, se realizaron estaciones de escucha y espera con el fin de localizar la presencia de manadas (cachorros y adultos). Se determinó la presencia de 29 manadas (14 en la provincia de A Coruña y 15 en Pontevedra), de las cuales se confirmó la reproducción del 52%. Se ha estimado un tamaño poblacional para la provincia de A Coruña entre 87-129 lobos (1,36-2,02 lobos/100 Km2) y entre 95-140 para la provincia de Pontevedra (2,97-4,38 lobos/100 Km2). Las zonas de mayor densidad se localizaron en la Dorsal Gallega. Se han localizado algunas manadas en áreas muy humanizadas, lo que podría explicar que la principal causa de mortalidad conocida entre enero de 2000 y octubre de 2003 (n=29) sea el atropello (n=21)

Wolf habitat selection when sympatric or allopatric with brown bears in Scandinavia

Habitat selection of animals depends on factors such as food availability, landscape features, and intra- and interspecific interactions. Individuals can show several behavioral responses to reduce competition for habitat, yet the mechanisms that drive them are poorly understood. This is particularly true for large carnivores, whose fine-scale monitoring is logistically complex and expensive. In Scandinavia, the home-range establishment and kill rates of gray wolves (Canis lupus) are affected by the coexistence with brown bears (Ursus arctos). Here, we applied resource selection functions and a multivariate approach to compare wolf habitat selection within home ranges of wolves that were either sympatric or allopatric with bears. Wolves selected for lower altitudes in winter, particularly in the area where bears and wolves are sympatric, where altitude is generally higher than where they are allopatric. Wolves may follow the winter migration of their staple prey, moose (Alces alces), to lower altitudes. Otherwise, we did not find any effect of bear presence on wolf habitat selection, in contrast with our previous studies. Our new results indicate that the manifestation of a specific driver of habitat selection, namely interspecific competition, can vary at different spatial-temporal scales. This is important to understand the structure of ecological communities and the varying mechanisms underlying interspecific interactions

Growth velocity in children with environmental enteric dysfunction is associated with specific bacterial and viral taxa of the gastrointestinal tract in Malawian children

Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is characterized by diffuse villous atrophy of the small bowel. EED is strongly associated with stunting, a major public health problem linked to increased childhood morbidity and mortality. EED and subsequent stunting of linear growth are surmised to have microbial origins. To interrogate this relationship, we defined the comprehensive virome (eukaryotic virus and bacteriophage) and bacterial microbiome of a longitudinal cohort of rural Malawian children with extensive metadata and intestinal permeability testing at each time point. We found thirty bacterial taxa differentially associated with linear growth. We detected many eukaryotic viruses. Neither the total number of eukaryotic families nor a specific viral family was statistically associated with improved linear growth. We identified 3 differentially abundant bacteriophage among growth velocities. Interestingly, there was a positive correlation between bacteria and bacteriophage richness in children with subsequent adequate/moderate growth which children with subsequent poor growth lacked. This suggests that a disruption in the equilibrium between bacteria and bacteriophage communities might be associated with subsequent poor growth. Future studies of EED and stunting should include the evaluation of viral communities in addition to bacterial microbiota to understand the complete microbial ecology of these poorly understood entities

Child stunting is associated with low circulating essential amino acids

AbstractBackgroundStunting affects about one-quarter of children under five worldwide. The pathogenesis of stunting is poorly understood. Nutritional interventions have had only modest effects in reducing stunting. We hypothesized that insufficiency in essential amino acids may be limiting the linear growth of children.MethodsWe used a targeted metabolomics approach to measure serum amino acids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and other metabolites using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in 313 children, aged 12–59months, from rural Malawi. Children underwent anthropometry.FindingsSixty-two percent of the children were stunted. Children with stunting had lower serum concentrations of all nine essential amino acids (tryptophan, isoleucine, leucine, valine, methionine, threonine, histidine, phenylalanine, lysine) compared with nonstunted children (p<0.01). In addition, stunted children had significantly lower serum concentrations of conditionally essential amino acids (arginine, glycine, glutamine), non-essential amino acids (asparagine, glutamate, serine), and six different sphingolipids compared with nonstunted children. Stunting was also associated with alterations in serum glycerophospholipid concentrations.InterpretationOur findings support the idea that children with a high risk of stunting may not be receiving an adequate dietary intake of essential amino acids and choline, an essential nutrient for the synthesis of sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids

Habitat selection by brown bears with varying levels of predation rates on ungulate neonates

In northern Eurasia, large carnivores overlap with semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces). In Scandinavia, previous studies have quantified brown bear (Ursus arctos) spring predation on neonates of reindeer (mostly in May) and moose (mostly in June). We explored if habitat selection by brown bears changed following resource pulses and whether these changes are more pronounced on those individuals characterised by higher predatory behaviour. Fifteen brown bears in northern Sweden (2010–2012) were fitted with GPS proximity collars, and 2585 female reindeers were collared with UHF transmitters. Clusters of bear positions were visited to investigate moose and reindeer predation. Bear kill rates and home ranges were calculated to examine bear movements and predatory behaviour. Bear habitat selection was modelled using resource selection functions over four periods (pre-calving, reindeer calving, moose calving, and post-calving). Coefficients of selection for areas closer to different land cover classes across periods were compared, examining the interactions between different degrees of predatory behaviour (i.e., high and low). Bear habitat selection differed throughout the periods and between low and high predatory bears. Differences among individuals’ predatory behaviour are reflected in the selection of habitat types, providing empirical evidence that different levels of specialization in foraging behaviour helps to explain individual variation in bear habitat selection

Testing the influence of habitat experienced during the natal phase on habitat selection later in life in Scandinavian wolves

Natal habitat preference induction (NHPI) occurs when characteristics of the natal habitat influence the future habitat selection of an animal. However, the influence of NHPI after the dispersal phase has received remarkably little attention. We tested whether exposure to humans in the natal habitat helps understand why some adult wolves Canis lupus may approach human settlements more than other conspecifics, a question of both ecological and management interest. We quantified habitat selection patterns within home ranges using resource selection functions and GPS data from 21 wolf pairs in Scandinavia. We identified the natal territory of each wolf with genetic parental assignment, and we used human-related characteristics within the natal territory to estimate the degree of anthropogenic influence in the early life of each wolf. When the female of the adult wolf pair was born in an area with a high degree of anthropogenic influence, the wolf pair tended to select areas further away from humans, compared to wolf pairs from natal territories with a low degree of anthropogenic influence. Yet the pattern was statistically weak, we suggest that our methodological approach can be useful in other systems to better understand NHPI and to inform management about human-wildlife interactions

Brown bear behaviour in human-modified landscapes: The case of the endangered Cantabrian population, NW Spain

Large carnivores are recolonizing parts of their historical range in Europe, a heavily modified human landscape. This calls for an improvement of our knowledge on how large carnivores manage to coexist with humans, and on the effects that human activity has on large carnivore behaviour, especially in areas where carnivore populations are still endangered. Brown bears Ursus arctos have been shown to be sensitive to the presence of people and their activities. Thus, bear conservation and management should take into account potential behavioural alterations related to living in human-modified landscapes. We studied the behaviour of brown bears in the Cantabrian Mountains, NW Spain, where an endangered population thrives in a human-modified landscape. We analysed bear observations video-recorded over a 10-year period to try to identify human and landscape elements that could influence bear behaviour. Neither the occurrence nor the duration of vigilance behaviour in Cantabrian bears seemed to be influenced by the proximity of human infrastructures and activity. Our findings suggest that the general pattern of human avoidance by bears is adapted to the human-modified landscape they inhabit. Bears generally avoid people, but close presence of human infrastructures or activity did not seem to trigger an increased bear behavioural response. Coexistence between large carnivores and humans in human-modified landscapes is possible, even when human encroachment is high, provided that carnivores are not heavily persecuted and direct interactions are avoided. Further research should also document the potential existence of other responses to human presence and activity, e.g., hunting, traffic noise, and measuring stress levels with physiological indicators.This research was financially supported by the IBA (International Association for Bear Research and Management) grant project IBA-RG_16_2016 ‘Brown bear behaviour in human-dominated landscapes: the effect of human density and ecotourism’. During this research, G.B. was financially supported by a collaboration contract with the MUSE – Museo delle Scienze of Trento (Italy), J.M-P. was supported by the ARAID foundation and V.P., A.O. and R.G.G. were also financially supported by the Excellence Project CGL2017-82782-P financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, EU)

Bears in Human-Modified Landscapes: The Case Studies of the Cantabrian, Apennine, and Pindos Mountains

Edited by Vincenzo Penteriani and Mario Melletti.-- Part III - Human–Bear Coexistence.-- This material has been published in "Bears of the World. Ecology, Conservation and Management" by / edited by Vincenzo Penteriani and Mario Melletti / Cambridge University Press. This version is free to view and download for personal use only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works.Brown bears Ursus arctos were historically persecuted and almost eradicated from southern Europe in the twentieth century as a result of hunting and direct persecution. The effects of human-induced mortality were exacerbated by other threats, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, due to the expansion of human populations. As a result, nowadays there are only small fragmented populations of bears in southern Europe. Brown bears in the Cantabrian (north-western Spain), Apennine (central Italy), and Pindos (north-western Greece) mountains represent three examples of small and threatened bear populations in human-modified landscapes. Most of their range is characterized by high human densities, widespread agricultural activities, livestock raising and urban development, connected by dense networks of transport infrastructures. This has resulted in a reduction of continuous habitat suitable for the species. Here, we summarize the past and present histories and fates of these three populations as examples on how the coexistence of bears and people in human-modified landscapes can take different turns depending on human attitudes