Determinants of the current and future distribution of the West Nile virus mosquito vector Culex pipiens in Spain

Changes in environmental conditions, whether related or not to human activities, are continuously modifying the geographic distribution of vectors, which in turn affects the dynamics and distribution of vector-borne infectious diseases. Determining the main ecological drivers of vector distribution and how predicted changes in these drivers may alter their future distributions is therefore of major importance. However, the drivers of vector populations are largely specific to each vector species and region. Here, we identify the most important human-activity-related and bioclimatic predictors affecting the current distribution and habitat suitability of the mosquito Culex pipiens and potential future changes in its distribution in Spain. We determined the niche of occurrence (NOO) of the species, which considers only those areas lying within the range of suitable environmental conditions using presence data. Although almost ubiquitous, the distribution of Cx. pipiens is mostly explained by elevation and the degree of urbanization but also, to a lesser extent, by mean temperatures during the wettest season and temperature seasonality. The combination of these predictors highlights the existence of a heterogeneous pattern of habitat suitability, with most suitable areas located in the southern and northeastern coastal areas of Spain, and unsuitable areas located at higher altitude and in colder regions. Future climatic predictions indicate a net decrease in distribution of up to 29.55%, probably due to warming and greater temperature oscillations. Despite these predicted changes in vector distribution, their effects on the incidence of infectious diseases are, however, difficult to forecast since different processes such as local adaptation to temperature, vector-pathogen interactions, and human-derived changes in landscape may play important roles in shaping the future dynamics of pathogen transmission.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Database of spatial distribution of non indigenous species in Spanish marine waters

Research in marine Spanish waters are focused on several actions to achieve an effectively management on protected areas, with the active participation of the stakeholders and research as basic tools for decision-making. Among these actions, there is one about the knowledge and control on NIS. One of its objectives is the creation of NIS factsheets, which are going to be added to the National Marine Biodiversity Geographical System (GIS) providing complementary information about taxonomic classification, common names, taxonomic synonyms, species illustrations, identification morphological characters, habitat in the native and introduced regions, biological and ecological traits, GenBank DNA sequences, world distribution, first record and evolution in the introduced areas, likely pathways of introduction, effects in the habitats and interaction with native species, and potential management measures to apply. The database will also provide data for (1) the European online platforms, (2) the environmental assessment for the Descriptor 2 (D2-NIS) of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), as well as (3) supporting decisions made by stakeholders. It is the result of extensive collaboration among scientist, manager’s and citizen science in the Spanish North-Atlantic, South-Atlantic, Gibraltar Strait-Alboran, Levantine-Balearic and Canary Islands marine divisions, providing an updated overview of the spatial distribution of relevant extended and invasive NIS of recent and established NIS introduced by maritime transport and aquaculture pathways, as well as on cryptogenic or native species in expansion due to the climatic water warming trend

Endoparásitos de caballos en cría libre de Doñana con especial relevancia de la población de Las Retuertas

1 página.-- Trabajo presentado al XVIII Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Parasitología. Encuentro Internacional de Parasitología de España, Francia, Italia y Portugal (Gran Canaria, 17-20 septiembre, 2013).Los Caballos de las Retuertas son una raza en estado semi-salvaje que viven aislados en la Reserva Biológica de Doñana, un área cercada dentro del Parque Nacional de Doñana, con zonas situadas en las marismas. Al comienzo del verano del año 2012, se recogieron muestras de un número representativo de ejemplares de la raza Caballo de las Retuertas y de caballos del Parque Nacional de Doñana, principalmente de la Raza Marismeño. El número total de muestras de heces fue de 48 (28 de Retuertas y 20 de Marismeño). Los parásitos más prevalentes fueron estróngilos (100% en ambos casos) con un elevado número de huevos por gramo: en los Caballos de las Retuertas todos los animales excretaban > 200 hgh y un 73% de ellos > 1000 alcanzando un valor máximo de 7410 hpg. En el otro grupo, la excreción fue inferior aunque también eliminaban todos > 200 hpg pero sólo el 40% más de 1000, siendo el máximo de 4800. Se detectaron muy pocos animales parasitados (1 ó 2 por grupo) por otras especies por la presencia de huevos en las heces como Fasciola, Oxyuris, o Anoplocephala spp. Mediante ELISA se determinó el riesgo de infección por especies de moscas productoras de miasis obteniéndose valores muy elevados de IgG a Gasterophilus en ambas poblaciones (93% Retuertas; 100% Doñana), aunque los valores de IgGa fueron algo menores (43% vs 79%). El contacto con rumiantes silvestres puede explicar los elevados índices detectados de IgG frente a Rhinoestrus (Retuertas 100%; Marismeño 95%). Lo más llamativo del estudio fue, sin duda, la detección sólo en Caballos de las Retuertas de un animal que excretaba huevos de Fasciola hepatica y de un 28,6% de ellos en los que detectó la presencia de ADN parasitario por la Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa en heces.Peer Reviewe

Determinants of the current and future distribution of the West Nile virus mosquito vector Culex pipiens in Spain

Changes in environmental conditions, whether related or not to human activities, are continuously modifying the geographic distribution of vectors, which in turn affects the dynamics and distribution of vector-borne infectious diseases. Determining the main ecological drivers of vector distribution and how predicted changes in these drivers may alter their future distributions is therefore of major importance. However, the drivers of vector populations are largely specific to each vector species and region. Here, we identify the most important human-activity-related and bioclimatic predictors affecting the current distribution and habitat suitability of the mosquito Culex pipiens and potential future changes in its distribution in Spain. We determined the niche of occurrence (NOO) of the species, which considers only those areas lying within the range of suitable environmental conditions using presence data. Although almost ubiquitous, the distribution of Cx. pipiens is mostly explained by elevation and the degree of urbanization but also, to a lesser extent, by mean temperatures during the wettest season and temperature seasonality. The combination of these predictors highlights the existence of a heterogeneous pattern of habitat suitability, with most suitable areas located in the southern and northeastern coastal areas of Spain, and unsuitable areas located at higher altitude and in colder regions. Future climatic predictions indicate a net decrease in distribution of up to 29.55%, probably due to warming and greater temperature oscillations. Despite these predicted changes in vector distribution, their effects on the incidence of infectious diseases are, however, difficult to forecast since different processes such as local adaptation to temperature, vector-pathogen interactions, and human-derived changes in landscape may play important roles in shaping the future dynamics of pathogen transmission.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Current threats faced by Neotropical parrot populations

Berkunsky I, Quillfeldt P, Brightsmith DJ, et al. Current threats faced by Neotropical parrot populations. Biological Conservation. 2017;214:278-287.Psittaciformes (parrots, cockatoos) are among the most endangered birds, with 31% of Neotropical species under threat. The drivers of this situation appear to be manifold and mainly of anthropogenic origin. However, this assessment is based on the last extensive consultation about the conservation situation of parrots carried out in the 1990s. Given the rapid development of anthropogenic threats, updated data are needed to strategize conservation actions. Using a population approach, we addressed this need through a wide-ranging consultation involving biologists, wildlife managers, government agencies and non-governmental conservation organizations. We gathered up-to-date information on threats affecting 192 populations of 96 Neotropical parrot species across 21 countries. Moreover, we investigated associations among current threats and population trends. Many populations were affected by multiple threats. Agriculture, Capture for the Pet Trade, Logging, each of them affected > 55% of the populations, suggesting a higher degree of risk than previously thought. In contrast to previous studies at the species level, our study showed that the threat most closely associated with decreasing population trends is now Capture for the local Pet Trade. Other threats associated with decreasing populations include Small-holder Farming, Rural Population Pressure, Nest Destruction by Poachers, Agro-industry Grazing, Small-holder Grazing, and Capture for the international Pet Trade. Conservation actions have been implemented on < 20% of populations. Our results highlight the importance of a population-level approach in revealing the extent of threats to wild populations. It is critical to increase the scope of conservation actions to reduce the capture of wild parrots for pets