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

Performance of rodent spermatozoa over time is enhanced by increased ATP concentrations: The role of sperm competition

© 2015 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc. Sperm viability, acrosome integrity, motility, and swimming velocity are determinants of male fertility and exhibit an extreme degree of variation among closely related species. Many of these sperm parameters are associated with sperm ATP content, which has led to predictions of trade-offs between ATP content and sperm motility and velocity. Selective pressures imposed by sperm competition have been proposed as evolutionary causes of this pattern of diversity in sperm traits. Here, we examine variation in sperm viability, acrosome integrity, motility, swimming velocity, and ATP content over time, among 18 species of closely related muroid rodents, to address the following questions: (a) Do sperm from closely related species vary in ATP content after a period of incubation? (b) Are these differences in ATP levels related to differences in other sperm traits? (c) Are differences in ATP content and sperm performance over time explained by the levels of sperm competition in these species? Our results revealed a high degree of interspecific variability in changes in sperm ATP content, acrosome integrity, sperm motility and swimming velocity over time. Additionally, species with high sperm competition levels were able to maintain higher levels of sperm motility and faster sperm swimming velocity when they were incubated under conditions that support sperm survival. Furthermore, we show that the maintenance of such levels of sperm performance is correlated with the ability of sperm to sustain high concentrations of intracellular ATP over time. Thus, sperm competition may have an important role maximizing sperm metabolism and performance and, ultimately, the fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa.Peer Reviewe

Zoonotic pathogens in fluctuating common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations : occurrence and dynamics

Supplementary material. The supplementary material for this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182018001543 Acknowledgements. We thank José Luis Guzman for helping with fieldwork and Fabio Flechoso for helping with ectoparasite counts and flea identification. Financial support. R.R.P. was supported by a Ph.D.-studentship from the University of Valladolid (co-funded by Banco Santander, RR 30/04/2014). This work was supported by ECOCYCLES (Partner 5 –EUI2008-03658), ECOVOLE (CGL2012-35348), ECOTULA (CGL2015-66962-C2-1-R) and RESERTULA (CLG2015-66962-C2-2-R) projects funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Government of Spain.Peer reviewedPostprin

Inventario y criterios de gestión de los mamíferos del Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido

2 volúmenes + 1 vol. Anexos + Resumen.-- Informe Final del Convenio de Investigación entre el Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales y el Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (CSIC).Peer reviewe

Sperm Competition, Sperm Numbers and Sperm Quality in Muroid Rodents

Sperm competition favors increases in relative testes mass and production efficiency, and changes in sperm phenotype that result in faster swimming speeds. However, little is known about its effects on traits that contribute to determine the quality of a whole ejaculate (i.e., proportion of motile, viable, morphologically normal and acrosome intact sperm) and that are key determinants of fertilization success. Two competing hypotheses lead to alternative predictions: (a) sperm quantity and quality traits co-evolve under sperm competition because they play complementary roles in determining ejaculate's competitive ability, or (b) energetic constraints force trade-offs between traits depending on their relevance in providing a competitive advantage. We examined relationships between sperm competition levels, sperm quantity, and traits that determine ejaculate quality, in a comparative study of 18 rodent species using phylogenetically controlled analyses. Total sperm numbers were positively correlated to proportions of normal sperm, acrosome integrity and motile sperm; the latter three were also significantly related among themselves, suggesting no trade-offs between traits. In addition, testes mass corrected for body mass (i.e., relative testes mass), showed a strong association with sperm numbers, and positive significant associations with all sperm traits that determine ejaculate quality with the exception of live sperm. An “overall sperm quality” parameter obtained by principal component analysis (which explained 85% of the variance) was more strongly associated with relative testes mass than any individual quality trait. Overall sperm quality was as strongly associated with relative testes mass as sperm numbers. Thus, sperm quality traits improve under sperm competition in an integrated manner suggesting that a combination of all traits is what makes ejaculates more competitive. In evolutionary terms this implies that a complex network of genetic and developmental pathways underlying processes of sperm formation, maturation, transport in the female reproductive tract, and preparation for fertilization must all evolve in concert

Topillo de Cabrera - Microtus cabrerae Thomas, 1906

Mamíferos - Orden Rodentia - Familia Arvicolidae en la Enciclopedia Virtual de Vertebrados Españoles, http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/.A comprehensive review of the natural history of the Cabrera’s vole Microtus cabrerae Thomas, 1906 in Spain.Peer reviewe

Collective detection in escape responses of temporary groups of Iberian green frogs

When confronted with a predator, prey are often in close proximity to conspecifics. This situation has generated several hypotheses regarding antipredator strategies adopted by individuals within groups of gregarious species, such as the "risk dilution," "early detection," or "collective detection" effects. However, whether short-term temporary aggregations of nongregarious animals are also influenced in their escape decisions by nearby conspecifics remains little explored. We simulated predator approaches to green frogs (Rana perezi) in the field while they were foraging at the edge of water, either alone or spatially aggregated in temporary clusters. "Flight initiation distances" of frogs (i.e., the distance between the simulated predator and the frog at the time it jumped) that escaped by jumping into the water were influenced by microhabitat variables (vegetation at the edge and in water and the initial distance of the frog to the closest water edge) and also by the responses of nearby individuals. In clusters, risk dilution did not influence the first individual to respond to the predator simulation or the average response of all frogs in the cluster as the frog's responses were independent of group size. Also, flight initiation distances of individuals that first responded to the predator within clusters did not differ from those of solitary individuals, which is contrary to the predictions of the early detection hypothesis. However, the remaining frogs in the cluster had longer flight initiation distances than expected from the comparison with solitary individuals. We suggest that this pattern originated because the response of the first frog within a cluster triggered the sequential response of the remaining frogs in the cluster, which agrees with the expectations from the collective detection hypothesis. Our findings give insight into an early stage in the evolution of grouping as they suggest that individual frogs may benefit from being part of a cluster, even for short periods of time. Copyright 2006.antipredator behavior; collective detection; escape behavior; frogs; group-size effect