Benefits for Dominant Red Deer Hinds under a Competitive Feeding System: Food Access Behavior, Diet and Nutrient Selection

Social dominance is widely known to facilitate access to food resources in many animal species such as deer. However, research has paid little attention to dominance in ad libitum access to food because it was thought not to result in any benefit for dominant individuals. In this study we assessed if, even under ad libitum conditions, social rank may allow dominant hinds to consume the preferred components of food. Forty-four red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus) were allowed to consume ad libitum meal consisting of pellets of sunflower, lucerne and orange, and seeds of cereals, corn, cotton, and carob tree. The meal was placed only in one feeder, which reduced accessibility to a few individuals simultaneously. During seven days, feeding behavior (order of access, time to first feeding bout, total time spent feeding, and time per feeding bout) were assessed during the first hour. The relative abundance of each meal component was assessed at times 0, 1 and 5 h, as well as its nutritional composition. Social rank was positively related to the amount of time spent feeding during the 1st h (P = 0.048). Selection indices were positively correlated with energy (P = 0.018 during the 1st h and P = 0.047 from 1st to 5th) and fat (only during the 1st h; P = 0.036), but also negatively with certain minerals. Thus, dominant hinds could select high energy meal components for longer time under an ad libitum but restricted food access setting. Selection indices showed a higher selectivity when food availability was higher (1st hour respect to 1st to 5th). Finally, high and low ranking hinds had longer time per feeding bout than mid ones (P = 0.011), suggesting complex behavioral feeding tactics of low ranking social ungulates

Grasping risk mapping

How can nature be protected and biodiversity be preserved while the threats of zoonotic diseases are minimized? Expanding nature areas and creating ecological networks across Europe is not only beneficial for wildlife, but also for the pathogens they carry. A prominent case is Lyme borreliosis, which has risen from relative obscurity to become a major public health problem in Europe. The Dutch research program 'Shooting the messenger' took a 'One Health' approach aiming at the development of sustainable measures for the prevention of Lyme borreliosis. An interdisciplinary network of researchers, public health experts, and nature managers gained and shared knowledge in the ecological processes of ticks, Lyme spirochaetes and their vertebrate hosts as well as in the human epidemiology of tick bites and Lyme borreliosis. These new insights, together with new intervention methods and strategies, are described in this book

Conservation and Management of the Habitats of Two Relict Butterflies in the Belgian Ardenne: Proclossiana eunomia and Lycaena helle

Habitat preservation and restoration are crucial for species conservation and to tackle its main challenges. In many cases, this implies management actions, especially for seminatural ecosystems. We address here the question of management actions suitable for maintaining viable populations of two relict butterfly species inhabiting wet meadows and peat bogs in the Belgian Ardenne: the bog fritillary Proclossiana eunomia and the violet copper Lycaena helle. Habitat loss due to natural vegetation succession towards forest can be prevented either by mowing (traditional way of management) or by extensive grazing (with cattle or horses). Results from field studies and experiments conducted on several sites in the Belgian Ardenne led to two conclusions. Mowing can strongly affect the populations of both species, the impact being particularly pronounced on larval stages due to the removal of grass tussocks and the export of hay containing host plant on which caterpillars feed. Grazing also has a negative effect on both species, with adult density being lower on grazed biotopes compared to abandoned ones. However, the negative impact is more limited for grazing than for mowing. As both management methods have more or less pronounced negative impacts on populations of these two butterfly species, they should be applied with caution. We suggest that mowing should be applied in long-term rotation, with the preservation of sufficient refuge areas every year, and that grazing should be applied in late summer, every other year, with a low stocking rate (< 0.2 LU/ha/year). More particularly, to ensure their effectiveness in maintaining a favorable state, both the biotope and the associated populations using it as their habitat, managementactions must be designed according to the species habitat requirements, and adapted to carefully monitor their implementatio