Mismeasure of secondary sexual traits: An example with horn growth in the Iberian ibex

Monitoring programmes and studies focused on secondary sexual characters (SSCs) depend on the accuracy of measurements. However, methods of measurements of SSC, such as horns of ungulates, vary throughout the literature. Thus, the accuracy of horn growth measurements as proxies of true horn growth and the comparability of results inferred from different horn growth measurements may be questionable. We used the horns of Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica to compare horn growth measurements and to analyse reliability with true horn growth. Our results reveal that measurements used in previous studies differed substantially from true horn growth and volume estimated as a barrel appeared as the best proxy of annular segments of horns in the Iberian ibex. Horn growth measurements are not necessarily mutually comparable, just as classical measurements are not necessarily representative of true horn growth. We discuss the wider implications of these results and suggest that biological processes linked to horns of ungulates should be reappraised using improved and accurate measurements because horn growth pattern is a key factor in sustainable management and conservation plans of ungulate species around the world. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Zoology © 2012 The Zoological Society of London.Peer Reviewe

Differences in fatty acids composition between <i>Plasmodium</i> infected and uninfected house sparrows along an urbanization gradient

Anthropogenic activities such as intensification of agriculture, animal husbandry and expansion of cities can negatively impact wildlife through its influence on the availability of high-quality food resources and pathogen transmission. The house sparrow (Passer domesticus), an urban exploiter, is undergoing a population decline. Nutritional constrains and infectious diseases has been highlighted as potential causes. Fatty acids (FAs) play an important role in modulating certain immune responses needed to combat parasite infections. FAs are highly influenced by dietary availability and have been shown to vary between urban and rural birds. Habitat anthropization also affects avian malaria epidemiology but little attention has been given to the relationship between blood parasite infection, host FAs composition and anthropization. Here, we analysed 165 juvenile birds either infected by Plasmodium or uninfected, captured at 15 localities grouped in triplets containing urban, rural and natural habitats. The total level of FAs was higher in birds from urban than from rural habitats, suggesting a greater availability of fat-rich foods sources. Furthermore, Plasmodium infected birds had higher relative levels of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) but lower of ω-6 PUFAs than uninfected birds. In concordance, the ω-6/ω-3 ratio was also lower in infected than in uninfected birds, but only from natural habitats, likely driven by the slightly higher ω-3 PUFAs in infected birds from natural habitats. Birds from anthropized environments may metabolize the ω-3 PUFAs to promote anti-inflammatory responses against stressors, which would result in lower ω-3 affecting their response against Plasmodium. Alternatively, lower ω-6 PUFAs may influence birds susceptibility to infection due to a weaker pro-inflammatory response. These descriptive results do not allow us to identify the causality of these associations but highlight the need to further investigate the relevance of FAs for birds to fight infectious diseases in habitats with different degree of urbanization.Peer reviewe

Revista de Vertebrados de la Estación Biológica de Doñana

Anfibios fósiles del Pleistoceno de Mallorca.Species densities of Reptiles and Amphibiansfon the Iberian PeninsulaEcología alimenticia del Petirrojo (Erithacus rubecula) durante su invernada en encinares del Sur de EspañaEl papel d. la Perdiz roja (Alectoris rufa) en la dieta de los predadores IbéricosComposición de las Comunidades de Passeriformes en dos biotopos de Sierra Morena Occidental.Sobre las Ginetas de la Isla de Ibiza (Genetta genetta isabelae n. ssp.)Peer reviewe

Negative effect of the arthropod parasite, Sarcoptes scabiei, on testes mass in Iberian ibex, Capra pyrenaica

Testes mass is a key factor in male reproductive success and is potentially exposed to so-called 'parasitic castration'. This is the result of the direct destruction or alteration of reproductive cell lineages (parasitic castration sensu stricto), or the indirect detrimental effects - for example, via body condition - on the ability of progenitors to produce or rear offspring (parasitic castration sensu lato). There are enormous gaps in our knowledge on the effects of parasites on the testes of wild mammals and in an attempt to rectify this dearth of data we examined the relationship between the skin parasite Sarcoptes scabiei and testes mass in Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica. We considered data from 222 males that were culled in the population from the Sierra Nevada in Spain. Our results provide evidence that sarcoptic mange is associated with reduced size-corrected testes mass in Iberian ibex which supports the hypothesis that parasitism is a determining factor in gonad plasticity in male mammals. We discuss several hypothetical causes of this relationship and highlight the need to deepen the sub-lethal effects of pathogens if we are to accurately understand their modulator effects on host population dynamics. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.Peer Reviewe

First reported case of fatal tuberculosis in a wild African elephant with past human-wildlife contact

Tuberculosis is emerging/re-emerging in captive elephant populations, where it causes morbidity and deaths, although no case of TB in wild African elephants has been reported. In this paper we report the first case of fatal TB in an African elephant in the wild. The infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis was confirmed by post-mortem and histological examinations of a female sub-adult elephant aged >12 years that died in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, while under treatment. This case is unique in that during its lifetime the elephant had contact with both humans and wild elephants. The source of the infection was unclear because the elephant could have acquired the infection in the orphanage or in the wild. However, our results show that wild elephants can maintain human TB in the wild and that the infection can be fata

RAPD-PCR molecular analysis of the threatened Cabrera’s vole populations in the Iberian Peninsula

Optimal management and conservation programs of the threatened Cabrera’s vole require investigating potential molecular genetic markers in the genomic background, if the few remaining fragile populations are to be conserved. A collection of 30 Cabrera’s vole representing four populations in Spain and Portugal was characterized by 134 RAPD-PCR markers. Molecular analyses did not detect low level of the genetic diversity or population bottlenecks in all studied populations, in discordance with the expectation of low level of viability of the Cabrera’s vole. The results described Cabrera’s vole populations as a single genetic unit with slightly restricted gene flow. Phylogenetic reconstruction suggested genetic differentiation between Northern and Southern Cabrera’s vole populations, with the basal branches formed by the southern populations, which may be an evidence of the southern origin of Iberian vole ancestral population. To our knowledge, this is the first study on the genetic diversity of Microtus cabrerae, which may have further application for the conservation programs of this threatened species of Iberian vole.Keywords: Microtus cabrerae, RAPD-PCR, Spain, Portugal, gene flow, genetic diversity, bottleneck, conservationAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(26), pp. 4065-407

Spatial patterns of an endemic Mediterranean palm recolonizing old fields

Throughout Europe, increased levels of land abandonment lead to (re)colonization of old lands by forests and shrublands. Very little is known about the spatial pattern of plants recolonizing such old fields. We mapped in two 21–22-ha plots, located in the Doñana National Park (Spain), all adult individuals of the endozoochorous dwarf palm Chamaerops humilis L. and determined their sex and sizes. We used techniques of spatial point pattern analysis (SPPA) to precisely quantify the spatial structure of these C. humilis populations. The objective was to identify potential processes generating the patterns and their likely consequences on palm reproductive success. We used (1) Thomas point process models to describe the clustering of the populations, (2) random labeling to test the sexual spatial segregation, and (3) mark correlation functions to assess spatial structure in plant sizes. Plants in both plots showed two critical scales of clustering, with small clusters of a radius of 2.8–4 m nested within large clusters with 38–44 m radius. Additional to the clustered individuals, 11% and 27% of all C. humilis individuals belonged to a random pattern that was independently superimposed to the clustered pattern. The complex spatial pattern of C. humilis could be explained by the effect of different seed-dispersers and predators’ behavior and their relative abundances. Plant sexes had no spatial segregation. Plant sizes showed a spatial aggregation inside the clusters, with a decreasing correlation with distance. Clustering of C. humilis is strongly reliant on its seed dispersers and stressful environmental conditions. However, it seems that the spatial patterns and dispersal strategies of the dwarf palm make it a successful plant for new habitat colonization. Our results provide new information on the colonization ability of C. humilis and can help to develop management strategies to recover plant populationsPeer reviewe

Hypertension is related to the degradation of dietary frying oils

[Background]: The family kitchen resembles an uncontrolled laboratory experiment, and some discrepancies in the relation between the risk of hypertension and dietary fat may be partly due to the manipulation to which the fats were subjected. [Objective]: We investigated whether deterioration in the quality of the cooking oils in the family household contributes to the risk of high blood pressure. [Design]: The study was cross-sectional. Anthropometric measurements were obtained for 1226 persons aged 18–65 y who were selected randomly from the municipal census of Pizarra, Spain. An oral-glucose-tolerance test was given to 1020 of these persons. Samples of the cooking oil being used were taken from the kitchens of a random subset of 538 persons. The concentrations of polar compounds and polymers were used as markers of the deterioration of the oils. The strength of association between variables was measured by calculating the odds ratio from logistic models. [Results]: Hypertension was strongly associated with obesity and was influenced by sex, diabetes, and age. The presence of excess polar compounds in the cooking oil and the use of sunflower oil were related to the risk of hypertension, whereas the concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids in the serum phospholipids was negatively related to this risk. These associations remained after inclusion in the models of age, sex, obesity, and the presence of carbohydrate metabolism disorder. [Conclusions]: The risk of hypertension is positively and independently associated with the intake of cooking oil polar compounds and inversely related to blood concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids