Suchergebnisse

This issue comprises 8 papers by P. C. Thomson (some in collaboration with K. Rose and N. E. Kok) on the dingo in North Western Australia. They cover the behavioural ecology including activity patterns, diet, hunting behaviour, social organization, population dynamics, dispersal, age determination and immobilization using darts fired from an aircraft.

Between 1975 and 1984, 105 radio-collared dingoes, Canis familiaris dingo, were tracked and observed
from aircraft on the Fortescue River in Western Australia. The majority of dingoes were members
of 18 territorial packs, including four pairs. Five packs were monitored for more than three years.
Most bitches became pregnant, including those 9-10 months old, although not all litters were raised.
Packs raised an average of 1.1 litters per year. Instances of packs raising the litters of two bitches in
a year were recorded. The area (up to 400km*2) was covered initially (1975-78) by a mosaic of stable
pack territories. Little emigration occurred and population density rose to a peak of 22.2 dingoes per
100km*2 in 1978 due to an increase in pack size. Perturbations to the social system, including disintegration
of some packs, an increase in emigration, shifts of pack territories and contraction of
territories into the most favoured areas, coincided with high population density and a reduced food
supply. After aerial baiting in 1980 killed all the dingoes from the study site, immigrants from
surrounding areas established a new population. The increase in density was moderated by the formation
of new pairs or packs that occupied surrounding vacant areas. The dispersal strategy of pack members
was a major factor affecting the population density of dingoes in the study area.

The effectiveness of a baiting campaign against red foxes
(Vulpes vulpes) was investigated in a rangeland area
near Carnarvon, Western Australia. An area of 3180 km2
was aerially baited with dried meat baits containing 3 mg 1080 poison (5 baits
km–2) in August 1995. All 45 radio-collared foxes
monitored in the area were killed by baits. More than half the radio-collared
foxes died within 3 days of baits being laid; the last surviving
radio-collared fox died 44 days after baits were laid. The overall population
reduction was estimated to be >95%. Further implications of this
high level of bait uptake are discussed in relation to immunocontraceptive
control of foxes, as well as for population reduction or vaccination of foxes
to control rabies.
Reinvasion of the baited area occurred mainly in autumn, when juvenile foxes
were dispersing. The relevance of this result is discussed in relation to
developing more effective baiting strategies. As part of another experiment,
outer sections of the baited area were periodically re-baited as a buffer zone
to reduce immigration by foxes into the central baited area; the buffer
baiting proved to be very effective in preventing recolonisation of the entire
baited area.

Intensive destructive sampling of a population of red foxes
(Vulpes vulpes) was undertaken over an area of 200
km2. A total of 204 foxes, estimated to be 94% of
the total population on the site, was collected. Population density was
0.46–0.52 adult foxes km–2. Sampling was
carried out in December, when young of the year were present and when data on
female productivity could be obtained from counts of placental scars.
Life-table analysis for vixens revealed that mortality was greatest for those
aged 0–16 months and those older than 3 years. Average mortality of
adult vixens was 39%. Adult vixens (n =
47) had an average (s.e.) of 3.7 0.3 placental scars; 8.5% of vixens
failed to breed. The number of placental scars did not vary significantly with
age. Various hypothetical scenarios were used to identify which social
system(s) may have been operating in the area. Predictions of vixen
productivity and cub mortality were compared with observed reproductive data
and the actual number of cubs collected. The scenario that best matched the
observations was a simple mated pair system. Pure dominance hierarchies were
unlikely to have occurred. The implications of the findings are discussed in
relation to the ability of foxes to overcome natural or artificially-imposed
population reduction. It was estimated that under a fertility control regime,
>45% of vixens would need to be sterilised before the fox population
would begin to decline.

AbstractIntroductionDespite widespread success in reducing vertical HIV transmission, most antenatal care (ANC) programmes in eastern and southern Africa have not emphasized primary prevention of maternal HIV acquisition during pregnancy and lactation/breastfeeding. We hypothesized that combination HIV prevention interventions initiated alongside ANC could substantially reduce maternal HIV incidence.MethodsWe constructed a multi‐state model describing male‐to‐female HIV transmission in steady heterosexual partnerships during pregnancy and lactation/breastfeeding, with initial conditions based on population distribution estimates for Malawi and Zambia in 2020. We modelled individual and joint increases in three HIV prevention strategies at or soon after ANC initiation: (1) HIV testing of male partners, resulting in HIV diagnosis and less condomless sex among those with previously undiagnosed HIV; (2) initiation (or re‐initiation) of suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) for male partners with diagnosed but unsuppressed HIV; and (3) adherent pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV‐negative female ANC patients with HIV‐diagnosed or unknown‐status male partners. We estimated the percentage of within‐couple, male‐to‐female HIV transmissions that could be averted during pregnancy and lactation/breastfeeding with these strategies, relative to base‐case conditions in which 45% of undiagnosed male partners become newly HIV diagnosed via testing, 75% of male partners with diagnosed but unsuppressed HIV initiate/re‐initiate ART and 0% of female ANC patients start PrEP.ResultsIncreasing uptake of any single strategy by 20 percentage points above base‐case levels averted 10%−11% of maternal HIV acquisitions during pregnancy and lactation/breastfeeding in the model. Joint uptake increases of 20 percentage points in two interventions averted an estimated 19%−23% of transmissions, and with a 20‐percentage‐point increase in uptake of all three interventions, 29% were averted. Strategies achieving 95% male testing, 90% male ART initiation/re‐initiation and 40% female PrEP use reduced incident infections by 45%.ConclusionsCombination HIV prevention strategies provided alongside ANC and sustained through the post‐partum period could substantially reduce maternal HIV incidence during pregnancy and lactation/breastfeeding in eastern and southern Africa.

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