"Got rats?" Global environmental costs of thirst for milk include acute biodiversity impacts linked to dairy feed production

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper contributes to the project ECOVOLE (CGL2012-35348).Non peer reviewedPostprin

“Living on the edge” : the role of field margins for common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations in recently colonised Mediterranean farmland

Acknowledgments RRP was supported by a PhD-studentship from the University of Valladolid (co-funded by Banco Santander, RR 30/04/2014). Financial support was provided by ECOCYCLES (BIODIVERSA 2008, Era-net European project, EUI2008-03658 and NERC NE/G002045/1 to XL) and ECOVOLE projects (CGL2012-35348; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain). The article also contributes to project ECOTULA (CGL2015-66962-C2-1-R). We held all the necessary licenses and permits for conducting this work (JJLL, FM and RRP held animal experimentation permits of level B for Spain, and a capture permit was provided by the Consejería de Fomento y Medio Ambiente, Junta de Castilla y León (Expte: EP/CYL/665/2014)). We thank two anonymous reviewers for providing and constructive comments to improve the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Linking Zoonosis Emergence to Farmland Invasion by Fluctuating Herbivores : Common Vole Populations and Tularemia Outbreaks in NW Spain

FUNDING This work contributes to the projects ECOTULA (CGL2015- 66962-C2-1-R) and BOOMRAT (PID2019-109327RB-I00) funded by the Government of Spain, and regional project GESINTTOP (co-funded by Instituto Tecnológico Agrario de Castilla y León—Junta de Castilla y León (ITACYL-JCYL), Diputación Provincial de Palencia and Diputación Provincial de Valladolid). SH-C was supported by a Ph.D. studentship from Junta de Castilla-y-León (co-funded by European Social Fund, Orden 10/11/2016). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are grateful to all the people that contributed to the long- term vole monitoring over the last 10 years (Leticia Arroyo, Daniel Jareño, Jose-Luis Guzmán, Ruth Rodríguez-Pastor, Juan Romairone, Deon Roos, and Cristina Marín) or contributed to the study of the Francisella—Microtus interactions (Dolors Vidal, Raquel Escudero, Pedro Anda, and Beatriz Arroyo).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Sperm competition in fluctuating populations of common voles in southern Europe: reversed relationship between relative testes size and density

Resumen de la comunicación presentada en: 7th European Congress of Mammalogy - Stockholm (Sweden), August 17–21 2015Investment in sperm numbers is a key predictor of success in sperm competition and there is usually a positive relationship between sperm competition level and male reproductive effort on ejaculates, which is often measured using relative testes size (RTS). Demographic processes can drasti- cally alter levels of sperm competition and we should expect males to respond to increasing competition risk (RTS increase with density). Here we investigate whether RTS of common voles respond to fluctuations in population density. We evaluated variation of RTS depending on current and recent densities of con- specifics, also taking into account the condition of individual males (fat levels and parasite loads). Contrary to our prediction and in line with recent findings reporting ambiguous results among other vole species, we found a reversed relationship between RTS and density. Our data show that demographic factors can strongly affect RTS and we discuss possible mechanisms to explain these findings.Peer reviewe

Factors associated with the colonization of agricultural areas by common voles Microtus arvalis in NW Spain

The common vole, considered a rodent pest when overabundant in agricultural areas, was traditionally absent from the agricultural plains of Castilla-y-León, NW Spain. However, it rapidly invaded ca. 50.000 km2 of agricultural land, where regular outbreaks have caused crop damages and conflict with farmers. To better understand the factors that triggered this massive invasion of previously unoccupied habitats, we studied the associations between the common vole range expansion and changes in climate and land uses in the region since the 1970s. We found long-term trends in climate, with some changes that could have helped the range expansion (increased fall precipitation and winter temperature) and other changes that may have impaired it (reduced summer precipitation and increased summer temperatures). Dramatic changes in land use also took place prior to and during the invasion period (marked increases in irrigated and green herbaceous crops such as alfalfa, which are preferred habitats for voles). We found strong associations between changes in vole distribution and the extent of green crops (irrigated crops and alfalfa) at regional level. The colonization probability of a given agrarian county increased with the extent of green crops, particularly so when vole presence in neighbouring counties was lower, and tended to decrease with increasing livestock abundance. Land use changes, especially increases in irrigated crops and alfalfa, appear to be amongst the main drivers behind the vole range expansion. We discuss these findings in relation to the social conflicts and management challenges that arose from the recent invasion of agricultural areas by crop-damaging common voles.Funding was from the ECOCYCLES project (BIODIVERSA. ERA-net project, European Union´s 6th Framework Programme for Research); PhD grant JAE-Predoc, from the CSIC, jointly funded by the European Social Fund to DJ. This study also contributes to projects ECOVOLE (CGL2012-35348) and TOPILLAZO (CGL2011-30274/BOS) funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain.Peer Reviewe

A comparison of methods for estimating common vole (Microtus arvalis) abundance in agricultural habitats

Rodent outbreaks cause significant crop damages in agricultural areas worldwide, but routinely monitoring large areas at low cost remains a challenge. The common vole Microtus arvalis has recently colonized the agricultural plains of the northern Iberian Plateau, an area where it has started to produce population outbreaks with important impacts in agriculture, the environment and human health. Vole monitoring has become of prime importance to implement preventive management measures to control populations. In order to find a simple and reliable vole monitoring method to be applied in large areas, we compared abundance estimates derived from three methods: capture-mark-recapture (CMR), single capture events (SCE) and presence/absence of vole activity signs (VAS) during three seasons and on the main agricultural habitats in the study area. We show that an activity index based on the presence of fresh droppings and/or clippings had a similar performance to SCE in a large sample of plots (n = 222) across habitats and seasons. Data obtained with both methods (SCE, VAS) were also well correlated with those obtained with CMR, despite a limited sample size (n = 23 CMR plots). We suggest that the VAS method, which is a cheaper and easier alternative to trapping methods, provides a promising tool for scientists and managers to implement large scale monitoring of common vole in agricultural areas.Funding was from the ECOCYCLES project (BIODIVERSA. ERA-net project, European Union's 6th Framework Programme for Research); PhD grant JAE-Predoc, from the CSIC, jointly funded by the European Social Fund to D.J. This study also contributes to the projects ECOVOLE (CGL2012-35348) and TOPILLAZO (CGL2011-30274/BOS) funded by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain.Peer Reviewe

Patterns of flea infestation in rodents and insectivores from intensified agro-ecosystems, Northwest Spain.

Background: Fleas frequently infest small mammals and play important vectoring roles in the epidemiology of (re)emerging zoonotic disease. Rodent outbreaks in intensified agro-ecosystems of North-West Spain have been recently linked to periodic zoonotic diseases spillover to local human populations. Obtaining qualitative and quantitative information about the composition and structure of the whole flea and small mammal host coexisting communities is paramount to understand disease transmission cycles and to elucidate the disease-vectoring role of flea species. The aims of this research were to: (i) characterise and quantify the flea community parasiting a small mammal guild in intensive farmlands in North-West Spain; (ii) determine and evaluate patterns of co-infection and the variables that may influence parasitological parameters. Methods: We conducted a large-scale survey stratified by season and habitat of fleas parasitizing the small mammal host guild. We report on the prevalence, mean intensity, and mean abundance of flea species parasitizing Microtus arvalis, Apodemus sylvaticus, Mus spretus and Crocidura russula. We also report on aggregation patterns (variance-to-mean ratio and discrepancy index) and co-infection of hosts by different flea species (Fager index) and used generalized linear mixed models to study flea parameter variation according to season, habitat and host sex. Results: Three flea species dominated the system: Ctenophthalmus apertus gilcolladoi, Leptopsylla taschenbergi and Nosopsyllus fasciatus. Results showed a high aggregation pattern of fleas in all hosts. All host species in the guild shared C. a. gilcolladoi and N. fasciatus, but L. taschenbergi mainly parasitized mice (M. spretus and A. sylvaticus). We found significant male-biased infestation patterns in mice, seasonal variations in flea abundances for all rodent hosts (M. arvalis, M. spretus and A. sylvaticus), and relatively lower infestation values for voles inhabiting alfalfas. Simultaneous co-infections occurred in a third of all hosts, and N. fasciatus was the most common flea co-infecting small mammal hosts. Conclusions: The generalist N. fasciatus and C. a. gilcolladoi dominated the flea community, and a high percentage of co-infections with both species occurred within the small mammal guild. Nosopsyllus fasciatus may show higher competence of inter-specific transmission, and future research should unravel its role in the circulation of rodent-borne zoonoses

Unintentional effects of environmentally-friendly farming practices : arising conflicts between zero-tillage and a crop pest, the common vole (Microtus arvalis)

We are grateful to Dra. Aurora Sombrero Sacristán (ITACyL) and her staff for allowing this experiment to take place parallel to their own and for providing information on the experimental field for this research. We would also like to thank Dr Alex Douglas for his help with the statistical analysis, and K. Barré and an anonymous reviewer for help comments on the MS. This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) [grant number BB/M010996/1], through Eastbio DTP. The surveys were carried out under ITACYL project 2007/2155. Sir Maitland Mackie Scholarship provided additional funding to the lead author, D. Roos, for which he is grateful. The authors report no conflict of interests.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Viral Zoonoses in Small Wild Mammals and Detection of Hantavirus, Spain

We screened 526 wild small mammals for zoonotic viruses in northwest Spain and found hantavirus in common voles (Microtus arvalis) (1.5%) and high prevalence (48%) of orthopoxvirus among western Mediterranean mice (Mus spretus). We also detected arenavirus among small mammals. These findings suggest novel risks for viral transmission in the region.Non peer reviewe

Density-Dependent Prevalence of Francisella tularensis in Fluctuating Vole Populations, Northwestern Spain

Self Archiving; https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/page/copyright-and-disclaimers J.J.L.L., F.M., and R.R.P. held official licenses for trapping wildlife in Spain. Capture permits were provided by the Dirección General del Medio Natural, Junta de Castilla y León. This study was supported by projects ECOVOLE (grant CGL2012-35348), ECOTULA (grant CGL2015-66962-C2-1-R), and RESERTULA (grant CLG2015-66962-C2-2-R), which were funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MINECO/FEDER, Spain. R.R.P. was supported by a PhD studentship from the University of Valladolid (co-funded by Banco Santander).Peer reviewedPublisher PD