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Morelle K, Barasona JA, Bosch J, Heine G, Daim A, Arnold J, Bauch T, Kosowska A, Cadenas-Fernández E, Aviles MM, Zuñiga D, Wikelski M, Vizcaino-Sanchez JM, Safi K. Accelerometer-based detection of African swine fever infection in wild boar. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231396. [PMID: 37644835 PMCID: PMC10465979 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Infectious wildlife diseases that circulate at the interface with domestic animals pose significant threats worldwide and require early detection and warning. Although animal tracking technologies are used to discern behavioural changes, they are rarely used to monitor wildlife diseases. Common disease-induced behavioural changes include reduced activity and lethargy ('sickness behaviour'). Here, we investigated whether accelerometer sensors could detect the onset of African swine fever (ASF), a viral infection that induces high mortality in suids for which no vaccine is currently available. Taking advantage of an experiment designed to test an oral ASF vaccine, we equipped 12 wild boars with an accelerometer tag and quantified how ASF affects their activity pattern and behavioural fingerprint, using overall dynamic body acceleration. Wild boars showed a daily reduction in activity of 10-20% from the healthy to the viremia phase. Using change point statistics and comparing healthy individuals living in semi-free and free-ranging conditions, we show how the onset of disease-induced sickness can be detected and how such early detection could work in natural settings. Timely detection of infection in animals is crucial for disease surveillance and control, and accelerometer technology on sentinel animals provides a viable complementary tool to existing disease management approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Morelle
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Czech University of Life Science, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jose Angel Barasona
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Jaime Bosch
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Georg Heine
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Andreas Daim
- Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
| | - Janosch Arnold
- Agricultural Centre Baden-Württemberg, Wildlife Research Unit, Aulendorf, Germany
| | - Toralf Bauch
- Agricultural Centre Baden-Württemberg, Wildlife Research Unit, Aulendorf, Germany
| | - Aleksandra Kosowska
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Estefanía Cadenas-Fernández
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Daniel Zuñiga
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Jose Manuel Vizcaino-Sanchez
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Center, Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Kamran Safi
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell, Germany
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Chan BKK, Wong YH, Robinson NJ, Lin JC, Yu SP, Dreyer N, Cheng IJ, Høeg JT, Zardus JD. Five hundred million years to mobility: directed locomotion and its ecological function in a turtle barnacle. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211620. [PMID: 34610769 PMCID: PMC8493200 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Movement is a fundamental characteristic of life, yet some invertebrate taxa, such as barnacles, permanently affix to a substratum as adults. Adult barnacles became 'sessile' over 500 Ma; however, we confirm that the epizoic sea turtle barnacle, Chelonibia testudinaria, has evolved the capacity for self-directed locomotion as adults. We also assess how these movements are affected by water currents and the distance between conspecifics. Finally, we microscopically examine the barnacle cement. Chelonibia testudinaria moved distances up to 78.6 mm yr-1 on loggerhead and green sea turtle hosts. Movements on live hosts and on acrylic panels occasionally involved abrupt course alterations of up to 90°. Our findings showed that barnacles tended to move directly against water flow and independent of nearby conspecifics. This suggests that these movements are not passively driven by external forces and instead are behaviourally directed. In addition, it indicates that these movements function primarily to facilitate feeding, not reproduction. While the mechanism enabling movement remained elusive, we observed that trails of cement bore signs of multi-layered, episodic secretion. We speculate that proximal causes of movement involve one or a combination of rapid shell growth, cement secretion coordinated with basal membrane lifting, and directed contraction of basal perimeter muscles.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yue Him Wong
- Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | | | - Jr-Chi Lin
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Sing-Pei Yu
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Niklas Dreyer
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Taiwan International Graduate Program, TIGP, Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Life Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - I-Jiung Cheng
- Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
| | - Jens T. Høeg
- Marine Biology Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Gunner RM, Wilson RP, Holton MD, Scott R, Arkwright A, Fahlman A, Ulrich M, Hopkins P, Duarte C, Eizaguirre C. Activity of loggerhead turtles during the U-shaped dive: insights using angular velocity metrics. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the behavioural ecology of endangered taxa can inform conservation strategies. The activity budgets of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta are still poorly understood because many tracking methods show only horizontal displacement and ignore dives and associated behaviours. However, time-depth recorders have enabled researchers to identify flat, U-shaped dives (or type 1a dives) and these are conventionally labelled as resting dives on the seabed because they involve no vertical displacement of the animal. Video- and acceleration-based studies have demonstrated this is not always true. Focusing on sea turtles nesting on the Cabo Verde archipelago, we describe a new metric derived from magnetometer data, absolute angular velocity, that integrates indices of angular rotation in the horizontal plane to infer activity. Using this metric, we evaluated the variation in putative resting behaviours during the bottom phase of type 1a dives for 5 individuals over 13 to 17 d at sea during a single inter-nesting interval (over 75 turtle d in total). We defined absolute resting within the bottom phase of type 1a dives as periods with no discernible acceleration or angular movement. Whilst absolute resting constituted a significant proportion of each turtle’s time budget for this 1a dive type, turtles allocated 16-38% of their bottom time to activity, with many dives being episodic, comprised of intermittent bouts of rest and rotational activity. This implies that previously considered resting behaviours are complex and need to be accounted for in energy budgets, particularly since energy budgets may impact conservation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- RM Gunner
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - RP Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - MD Holton
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - R Scott
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
- Natural Environmental Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1FL, UK
| | - A Arkwright
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- L’Oceanogràfic, Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències, Carrer d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1B, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - A Fahlman
- L’Oceanogràfic, Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències, Carrer d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1B, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - M Ulrich
- Institutionen för fysik kemi och biologi (IFM), Linköping Universitet, Olaus Magnus väg, 583 30 Linköping, Sweden
| | - P Hopkins
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - C Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - C Eizaguirre
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E35SA, UK
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