Harmonizing methods for wildlife abundance estimation and pathogen detection in Europe-a questionnaire survey on three selected host-pathogen combinations

__Background:__ The need for wildlife health surveillance as part of disease control in wildlife, domestic animals and humans on the global level is widely recognized. However, the objectives, methods and intensity of existing wildlife health surveillance programs vary greatly among European countries, resulting in a patchwork of data that are difficult to merge and compare. This survey aimed at evaluating the need and potential for data harmonization in wildlife health in Europe. The specific objective was to collect information on methods currently used to estimate host abundance and pathogen prevalence. Questionnaires were designed t

Evaluation of the need and potential of harmonizing methods for red fox abundance estimation and the diagnosis of infections with Echinococcus multilocularis - A questionnaire survey

Resumen del póster presentado al APHAEA Consultation Workshop,celebrado en Utrecht el 18 de marzo de 2015.-- et al.[Background]: The APHAEA (harmonized Approaches in monitoring wildlife Population Health, and Ecology and Abundance, www.aphaea.org) project aims to establish a European wildlife disease surveillance network capable of providing reliable estimates on abundance of wildlife species and occurrence and distribution of pathogens in key wildlife species. For this purpose, the host-pathogen combination red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Echinococcus multilocularis (fox tapeworm) was selected. [Results]: We received 22 completed questionnaires from 11 participating European countries. There is substantial heterogeneity concerning the methods used for estimating red fox abundance. Information on population densities is available on a detailed local level and mostly on a yearly basis independent of the method used. [Conclusions]: Although the available data are very heterogeneous, participants clearly demonstrated their intention to harmonize their methods in the future. Crucial information regarding the used methods for abundance estimation compared to the proposed harmonized methods was obtained. With regard to the disease-related questions, harmonization is already established at a high level. Sera or tissue sample were exchanged to promote the harmonization idea.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of the need and potential of harmonizing methods for common vole abundance estimation and the diagnosis of infections with Francisella tularensis - A questionnaire survey

Resumen del póster presentado al APHAEA Consultation Workshop,celebrado en Utrecht el 18 de marzo de 2015.-- et al.[Background]: The APHAEA (harmonized Approaches in monitoring wildlife Population Health, and Ecology and Abundance, www.aphaea.org) project aims to establish a European wildlife disease surveillance network capable of providing reliable estimates on abundance of wildlife species and occurrence and distribution of pathogens in key wildlife species. For this purpose, the host-pathogen combination Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) and Francisella tularensis was selected. [Methods]: A questionnaire was designed to collect information on host abundance and pathogen occurrence from historical records, current studies or data which will be potentially accessible in the future. The questionnaire was circulated among the core project partners and voluntary external partners. [Results]: We received 17 completed questionnaires from 13 participating European countries. There is a substantial heterogeneity concerning the used data sources for estimating common vole abundance. Even if snap trapping was performed as proposed by APHAEA, different snap trapping protocols were used. Furthermore, the questionnaire showed that the population abundance estimation is mostly not accompanied by disease monitoring and surveillance; and that different protocols may be used for both purposes. [Conclusions]: Although heterogeneity could be shown, the intention to harmonize the used methods was clearly demonstrated by the participants. Crucial information regarding the used methods for abundance estimation as compared to the proposed harmonized methods was obtained.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of the need and potential of harmonizing methods for wildboar abundance estimation and the diagnosis of infections with the Aujeszky’s disease virus - A questionnaire survey

Resumen del póster presentado al APHAEA Consultation Workshop,celebrado en Utrecht el 18 de marzo de 2015.-- et al.[Background]: The APHAEA (harmonized Approaches in monitoring wildlife Population Health, and Ecology and Abundance, www.aphaea.org) project aims to establish a European wildlife disease surveillance network capable of providing reliable estimates on abundance of wildlife species and occurrence and distribution of pathogens in key wildlife species. For this purpose the host-pathogen combination wild boar (Sus Scrofa) and Aujeszky’s disease virus was selected. [Methods]: A questionnaire was designed to collect information on host abundance and pathogen occurrence from historical records, current studies or data which will be potentially accessible in the future. The questionnaire was circulated among the core project partners and voluntary external partners. [Results]: We received 31 completed questionnaires from 13 participating European countries. In most cases, data available to estimate wild boar density consisted in hunting bags. The information was available at different regional scales and mainly on an annual basis. The definition of hunting seasons and hunting strategies varied widely. But the questionnaire demonstrated that harmonized protocols already exist for the collection of information for the hunting statistics and investigation protocols (e.g. age classification, gender, type of carcass, date, location, test results). [Conclusions]: Although heterogeneity could be shown, the intention to harmonize methods was clearly demonstrated by the participants. Crucial information regarding the used methods for abundance estimation compared to the proposed harmonized methods was obtained. Given the known limitations of hunting bag data, people were encouraged to also provide data obtained by other methods, such as thermal imaging and distance sampling or camera-trapping at local scale. With regard to the disease-related questions, harmonization is already established at a high level.Peer reviewe

Harmonizing methods for wildlife abundance estimation and pathogen detection in Europe-a questionnaire survey on three selected host-pathogen combinations

APHAEA project partners.[Background]: The need for wildlife health surveillance as part of disease control in wildlife, domestic animals and humans on the global level is widely recognized. However, the objectives, methods and intensity of existing wildlife health surveillance programs vary greatly among European countries, resulting in a patchwork of data that are difficult to merge and compare. This survey aimed at evaluating the need and potential for data harmonization in wildlife health in Europe. The specific objective was to collect information on methods currently used to estimate host abundance and pathogen prevalence. Questionnaires were designed to gather detailed information for three host-pathogen combinations: (1) wild boar and Aujeszky's disease virus, (2) red fox and Echinococcus multilocularis, and (3) common vole and Francisella tularensis. [Results]: We received a total of 70 responses from 19 European countries. Regarding host abundance, hunting bags are currently the most widely accessible data source for widely distributed mid-sized and larger mammals such as red fox and wild boar, but we observed large differences in hunting strategies among countries as well as among different regions within countries. For small rodents, trapping is the method of choice, but practical applications vary among study sites. Laboratory procedures are already largely harmonized but information on the sampled animals is not systematically collected. [Conclusions]: The answers revealed that a large amount of information is available for the selected host-pathogen pairs and that in theory methods are already largely harmonized. However, the comparability of the data remains strongly compromised by local differences in the way, the methods are applied in practice. While these issues may easily be overcome for prevalence estimation, there is an urgent need to develop tools for the routine collection of host abundance data in a harmonized way. Wildlife health experts are encouraged to apply the harmonized APHAEA protocols in epidemiological studies in wildlife and to increase cooperation.Funding was provided by the EMIDA ERA-NET project APHAEA (grant no. 2811ERA117).Peer Reviewe

Nachhaltigkeitsziele und Risiken für siedlungswasserwirtschaftliche Unternehmen : erste Bausteine für ein Nachhaltigkeitscontrolling ; Projektverbund NaCoSi

Als Teil der kommunalen Daseinsvorsorge unterliegt die Siedlungswasserwirtschaft den Ansprüchen, nachhaltig und zukunftsfähig zu sein. Klimawandel, demographische Entwicklungen, veränderte politische Rahmensetzungen und rechtliche Vorgaben stellen die kommunalen Unternehmen der Siedlungswasserwirtschaft vor neue Herausforderungen. Ihre Zukunftsfähigkeit ist daher eng mit der Frage verknüpft, welche Entwicklungen – seien sie extern oder intern verursacht – die eigene Leistungsfähigkeit einschränken und die Nachhaltigkeit gefährden können. Das vorliegende Diskussionspapier skizziert das Zielbündel für eine nachhaltige Wasserversorgung und Abwasserbeseitigung und bildet zugleich den Ausgangspunkt für die Betrachtung von Nachhaltigkeitsrisiken. Es stellt mithin einen aktuellen Arbeitsstand dar, der mit den Praxispartnern aus dem Projektverbund NaCoSi und der Fachöffentlichkeit diskutiert werden soll.As a part of general public provisions, residential water management has to comply with the requirement of being sustainable and viable for the future. Climate change, demographic development, changes in political frameworks and legal provisions constitute new challenges for municipal enterprises dealing with water management. The future viability of companies in the sector of water management is closely linked with the question which developments – either externally or internally caused – could limit their own performance or endanger sustainability. The discussion paper at hand outlines a set of objectives for sustainable water supplyand waste water management and also offers a starting point for the consideration of sustainability risks. Thus, it describes the current state of the art which is to be discussed with the stakeholders from the joint project NaCoSi and the specialist public

Additional file 1: of Harmonizing methods for wildlife abundance estimation and pathogen detection in Europe—a questionnaire survey on three selected host-pathogen combinations

Questionnaire on wild boar and Aujeszky’s disease virus. (PDF 912 kb

Additional file 2: of Harmonizing methods for wildlife abundance estimation and pathogen detection in Europe—a questionnaire survey on three selected host-pathogen combinations

Questionnaire on red fox and Echinococcus multilocularis. (PDF 1009 kb