The impact of several environmental factors on density of woodcocks (Scolopax rusticola) wintering in a southern European region

Abstract Knowledge of spatio-temporal animal distribution patterns is one of the main chapters of wildlife research, not only due to its biological and ecological importance but also its usefulness in the conservation and management of animal populations. Iberia is a target wintering region for the Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola). The aim of the present work is to determine which factors shape woodcock distribution patterns during the winter period. To ascertain this, we used data collected over three consecutive years (winter of 2010/2011-2012/2013) in a region from northern Iberia (Gipuzkoa). Woodcock numbers (W) were modeled using generalized linear mixed models. The models that best fitted our data included a significant effect of latitude, land uses, sampling year, and type of meadow on W (once weighted for the number of visits and the area of each meadow). Overall, W tended to be lower in sites from southern Gipuzkoa, in those areas where there was a higher proportion of tree plantations, in grazed mountain pastures, and during the winters of 2011 and 2012 in relation to 2010 (mean±SD values in 2010, 0.4±0.5 woodcocks/ha; 2011, 0.2±0.3 woodcocks/ha; 2012, 0.2±0.4 woodcocks/ha). Part of the observed variance was due to the Byear^effect, which could include several potential explanatory variables. Future research should try to add variables such as year-associated meteorological conditions, at both breeding and non-breeding quarters. Locally, a mosaic of some forest/woodland with abundant meadows would allow numbers of woodcocks to reach an optimum within the region. Moreover, the species was more abundant in the north; hence, the zones close to the coast had more importance from a conservation standpoint

Challenges in confirming eradication success of invasive red-eared sliders

12 páginas, 4 figuras, 3 tablasConfirming eradication success can be notoriously difficult and costly, especially when the species is still present but remains undetected, due to very low population densities and imperfect detection methods. There has been a lack of research on appropriate guidelines and estimation procedures for declaring eradication success for programs aimed at eradicating alien reptiles. Here we develop quantitative rules for confirmation monitoring in eradication campaigns of the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans). We used a database of slider trapping data from control and eradication campaigns conducted in localities across the Iberian Peninsula and southern France to construct models for inferring appropriate trapping efforts for confirming slider turtle eradication. Basking traps were slightly more efficient than net traps in capturing sliders, although trapping was an inefficient monitoring method given the low capture probabilities estimated. The results of our spatially-explicit eradication scenarios revealed the importance of habitat configuration in declaring eradication success. Declaration of eradication success is contingent on the thresholds set to minimise false positives (i.e., falsely declaring eradication successful), but in any scenario large trapping efforts were required to confirm eradication. Given the low estimated capture probabilities, alternative methods such as eDNA and visual surveys should be considered for monitoring sliders. We suggest that if the costs associated with the impact of alien sliders can be adequately estimated, then eradication can be confirmed by rules minimising both false positive and negative error rates. Otherwise., rules minimising false positive errors would be more appropriate.This research was conducted thanks to the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources Invasive Plants and Animals Research Project When to stop: Defining rules for surveillance of red-eared slider turtles (Victoria State Government, Australia).Peer reviewe

Primera cita en el interior de España de gaviota patiamarilla Larus michahellis Naumann, 1840 nacida en el Cantábrico

Se constata por primera vez el movimiento de un ejemplar de gaviota patiamarilla Larus michahellis Naumann, 1840 nacido en el Cantábrico hacia el interior peninsular. En concreto, el 31.08.2011 un ejemplar anillado el 01.07.2011 en Ulia (Donostia-S. Sebastián) se avistó en un vertedero del municipio de Colmenar Viejo (Madrid)

Reproducción de Tarentola mauritanica (L., 1758) en la costa vasca

Tarentola mauritanica (L., 1758) se distribuye en los extremos oriental y occidental de la costa de la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca, en Irún-Hondarribia- San Sebastián y Getxo-Bilbao-Santurtzi. Se registra por vez primera la reproducción en el núcleo occidental, comprobándose la progresión de poblaciones hacia la costa desde el valle del Ebro

Prevalence of ‘Candidatus Rickettsia vini’ in Ixodes arboricola ticks in the North of Spain, 2011–2013

Abstract Background The prevalence of Rickettsia spp. in Ixodes arboricola ticks collected from birds in two locations in the North of Spain from 2011 to 2013 was studied. Findings The detection of the bacteria in 54 DNA extracts of I. arboricola was performed by PCR targeting an ompA fragment gene. The 94.4% of the samples yielded positive results and the nucleotide sequences were homologous (100% identity) to ‘Candidatus Rickettsia vini’. Conclusion The high rate of infection suggests that ‘Ca. R. vini’ is a common endosymbiont of I. arboricola

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Ticks from Migratory Birds, Morocco

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus was detected in ticks removed from migratory birds in Morocco. This finding demonstrates the circulation of this virus in northwestern Africa and supports the hypothesis that the virus can be introduced into Europe by infected ticks transported from Africa by migratory birds

Models ranked in relation to their small-sample size Akaike values (AICc) used to test for the effect of soil covers (assessed with PCs 1 to 5) on the differentiation of stopover localities from randomly selected points.

<p>Models ranked in relation to their small-sample size Akaike values (AICc) used to test for the effect of soil covers (assessed with PCs 1 to 5) on the differentiation of stopover localities from randomly selected points.</p

scorus_paper06-Data.doc

DATASET: Corine Land Covers within a radius of 0.2º around the median position of each individual woodcock at each stopover site

Habitats identified in the spring stopover localities (and random points) of woodcocks migrating to their breeding sites in Russia and correlation coefficients with the most important components (PC) from a PCA on the whole habitat types.

<p>Values in bold indicate a significant weight of that variable (habitat) on the PC. This PCA was carried out considering the four replicates.</p