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Algerian and European hedgehogs cohabiting in periurban environments: spatial behaviour and habitat use. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-023-01644-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
AbstractHabitat fragmentation is one of the most important threats to biodiversity in the last decades. Numerous species are forced to adapt to human presence as urbanization keeps increasing. Some studies show the impact of habitat changes in various species; however, there is little knowledge about the effect of habitat disturbance on hedgehogs in the Iberian Peninsula. We radio tracked 31 male hedgehogs: 14 European hedgehogs and 17 Algerian hedgehogs, being 18 individuals indigenous and 13 translocated. We analysed their home ranges, spatial behaviour and habitat use in a suburban area of Valencia City, Spain, where the two species coexist. Our results show that there are phenologic variations of activity levels, which differ between species, being maximum in spring for the European hedgehog and in summer for the Algerian hedgehog. We did not detect a territorial behaviour or interspecific spatial competition. However, we could detect a clear “release effect”, with translocated individuals presenting increased home range sizes and activity levels as they explore the unknown environment. Furthermore, we found that both species showed a clear preference for the pine forest habitat, avoiding all other habitat types, especially those with high human presence. Our results also suggest that the European hedgehog has a more generalist character than the Algerian hedgehog regarding habitat use. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of conserving a connected mosaic of green patches in urbanized environments for the conservation of hedgehog populations.
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Cross SL, Cross AT, Tomlinson S, Clark-Ioannou SM, Nevill PG, Bateman PW. Mitigation and management plans should consider all anthropogenic disturbances to fauna. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
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The Function of A Set-Aside Railway Bridge in Connecting Urban Habitats for Animals: A Case Study. SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su12031194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
As elements of green infrastructure, railway embankments are important corridors in urban environments connecting otherwise isolated habitat fragments. They are interrupted when railways cross major roads. It is not known whether dispersing animals use railway bridges to cross roads. We examined the function of a set-aside iron-steel railway bridge crossing a 12 m wide road with high traffic density in Basel (Switzerland) for dispersing animals. We installed drift fences with traps on a single-track, 32 m long and 6 m wide railway bridge with a simple gravel bed, and collected animals daily for 9 months. We captured more than 1200 animals crossing the bridge: small mammals, reptiles and amphibians as well as numerous invertebrates including snails, woodlice, spiders, harvestmen, millipedes, carabids, rove beetles and ants. For some animals it is likely that the gravel bed, at least temporarily, serves as a habitat. Many animals, however, were apparently dispersing, using the bridge to cross the busy road. We found season- and daytime-dependent differences in the frequency the bridge was used. Our findings indicate an important function of a set-aside railway bridges for connecting urban habitats. As most animal dispersal was recorded during the night, railway bridges with no (or little) traffic during the night may also contribute to animal dispersal. As important elements of green infrastructure, set-aside railway bridges should be considered in future urban planning.
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Battisti C, Fanelli G, Amori G, Luiselli L, Capizzi D. Do disturbance-sensitive and habitat-specialized species have a smaller range size? Evidence for a set of common mammals at regional scale. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2019.1626487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Corrado Battisti
- Protected Area Service, “Torre Flavia” LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) Station, Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Via Tiburtina 691, Rome 00159, Italy
| | - Giuliano Fanelli
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Seconda Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, Rome 00133, Italy
| | - Giovanni Amori
- Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems, CNR, Viale dell’Università 32, Rome 00185, Italy
| | - Luca Luiselli
- Institute for Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, IDECC, Via G. Tomasi di Lampedusa 33, Rome 00144, Italy
| | - Dario Capizzi
- Regione Lazio, Direzione Ambiente e Sistemi Naturali, Via del Pescaccio 96, Rome 00166, Italy
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Collini M, Albonico F, Rosà R, Tagliapietra V, Arnoldi D, Conterno L, Rossi C, Mortarino M, Rizzoli A, Hauffe HC. Identification of Ixodes ricinus blood meals using an automated protocol with high resolution melting analysis (HRMA) reveals the importance of domestic dogs as larval tick hosts in Italian alpine forests. Parasit Vectors 2016; 9:638. [PMID: 27955678 PMCID: PMC5154095 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1901-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Accepted: 11/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Europe, Ixodes ricinus L. is the main vector of a variety of zoonotic pathogens, acquired through blood meals taken once per stage from a vertebrate host. Defining the main tick hosts in a given area is important for planning public health interventions; however, until recently, no robust molecular methods existed for blood meal identification from questing ticks. Here we improved the time- and cost-effectiveness of an HRMA protocol for blood meal analysis and used it to identify blood meal sources of sheep tick larvae from Italian alpine forests. METHODS Nine hundred questing nymphs were collected using blanket-dragging in 18 extensive forests and 12 forest patches close to rural villages in the Province of Trento. Total DNA was either extracted manually, with the QIAamp DNA Investigator kit, or automatically using the KingFisher™ Flex Magnetic Particle Processors (KingFisher Cell and Tissue DNA Kit). Host DNA was amplified with six independent host group real-time PCR reactions and identified by means of HRMA. Statistical analyses were performed in R to assess the variables important for achieving successful identification and to compare host use in the two types of forest. RESULTS Automating DNA extraction improved time- and cost-effectiveness of the HRMA protocol, but identification success fell to 22.4% (KingFisher™) from 55.1% (QIAamp), with larval hosts identified in 215 of 848 questing nymphs; 23 mixed blood meals were noted. However, the list of hosts targeted by our primer sets was extended, improving the potential of the method. Host identification to species or genus level was possible for 137 and 102 blood meals, respectively. The most common hosts were Rodentia (28.9%) and, unexpectedly, Carnivora (28.4%), with domestic dogs accounting for 21.3% of all larval blood meals. Overall, Cetartiodactyla species fed 17.2% of larvae. Passeriformes (14.6%) fed a significantly higher proportion of larvae in forest patches (22.3%) than in extensive forest (9.6%), while Soricomorpha (10.9%) were more important hosts in extensive forest (15.2%) than in forest patches (4.3%). CONCLUSIONS The HRMA protocol for blood meal analysis is a valuable tool in the study of feeding ecology of sheep ticks, especially with the cost- and time- reductions introduced here. To our knowledge, we show for the first time that domestic dogs are important larval hosts in the Alps, which may have possible implications for tick-borne disease cycles in urbanized areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Collini
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Albonico
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Rosà
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Valentina Tagliapietra
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Daniele Arnoldi
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Lorenza Conterno
- Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Chiara Rossi
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Michele Mortarino
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Annapaola Rizzoli
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
| | - Heidi Christine Hauffe
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy
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Wultsch C, Waits LP, Kelly MJ. A Comparative Analysis of Genetic Diversity and Structure in Jaguars (Panthera onca), Pumas (Puma concolor), and Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in Fragmented Landscapes of a Critical Mesoamerican Linkage Zone. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0151043. [PMID: 26974968 PMCID: PMC4790928 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2015] [Accepted: 02/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
With increasing anthropogenic impact and landscape change, terrestrial carnivore populations are becoming more fragmented. Thus, it is crucial to genetically monitor wild carnivores and quantify changes in genetic diversity and gene flow in response to these threats. This study combined the use of scat detector dogs and molecular scatology to conduct the first genetic study on wild populations of multiple Neotropical felids coexisting across a fragmented landscape in Belize, Central America. We analyzed data from 14 polymorphic microsatellite loci in 1053 scat samples collected from wild jaguars (Panthera onca), pumas (Puma concolor), and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis). We assessed levels of genetic diversity, defined potential genetic clusters, and examined gene flow for the three target species on a countrywide scale using a combination of individual- and population-based analyses. Wild felids in Belize showed moderate levels of genetic variation, with jaguars having the lowest diversity estimates (HE = 0.57 ± 0.02; AR = 3.36 ± 0.09), followed by pumas (HE = 0.57 ± 0.08; AR = 4.20 ± 0.16), and ocelots (HE = 0.63 ± 0.03; AR = 4.16 ± 0.08). We observed low to moderate levels of genetic differentiation for all three target species, with jaguars showing the lowest degree of genetic subdivision across the country, followed by ocelots and pumas. Although levels of genetic diversity and gene flow were still fairly high, we detected evidence of fine-scale genetic subdivision, indicating that levels of genetic connectivity for wild felids in Belize are likely to decrease if habitat loss and fragmentation continue at the current rate. Our study demonstrates the value of understanding fine-scale patterns of gene flow in multiple co-occurring felid species of conservation concern, which is vital for wildlife movement corridor planning and prioritizing future conservation and management efforts within human-impacted landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Wultsch
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Lisette P. Waits
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, United States of America
| | - Marcella J. Kelly
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
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