Suchergebnisse

The authors would like to thank all the organisations and volunteers who participated in this study, as well as Anja Byg, Kerry Waylen, Michelle Pinard, Norman Dandy and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on earlier versions of this paper. We acknowledge funding by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (NERC-CASE PhD scholarship 12994499) and support by the Rural & Environment Science and Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. ; Peer reviewed ; Postprint

The expansion and intensification of agriculture are driving profound changes in ecosystems worldwide, favoring the (re)emergence of many human infectious diseases. Muroid rodents are a key host group for zoonotic infectious pathogens and frequently invade farming environments, promoting disease transmission and spillover. Understanding the role that fluctuating populations of farm dwelling rodents play in the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases is paramount to improve prevention schemes. Here, we review a decade of research on the colonization of farming environments in NW Spain by common voles (Microtus arvalis) and its public health impacts, specifically periodic tularemia outbreaks in humans. The spread of this colonizing rodent was analogous to an invasion process and was putatively triggered by the transformation and irrigation of agricultural habitats that created a novel terrestrial-aquatic interface. This irruptive rodent host is an effective amplifier for the Francisella tularensis bacterium during population outbreaks, and human tularemia episodes are tightly linked in time and space to periodic (cyclic) variations in vole abundance. Beyond the information accumulated to date, several key knowledge gaps about this pathogen-rodent epidemiological link remain unaddressed, namely (i) did colonizing vole introduce or amplified pre-existing F. tularensis? (ii) which features of the "Francisella—Microtus" relationship are crucial for the epidemiology of tularemia? (iii) how virulent and persistent F. tularensis infection is for voles under natural conditions? and (iv) where does the bacterium persist during inter-epizootics? Future research should focus on more integrated, community-based approaches in order to understand the details and dynamics of disease circulation in ecosystems colonized by highly fluctuating hosts. ; This work contributes to the projects ECOTULA (CGL2015-66962-C2-1-R) and BOOMRAT (PID2019-109327RB-I00) funded by the Government of Spain, and regional project GESINTTOP (co-funded by Instituto Tecnológico Agrario de Castilla y León—Junta de Castilla y León (ITACYL-JCYL), Diputación Provincial de Palencia and Diputación Provincial de Valladolid). SH-C was supported by a Ph.D. studentship from Junta de Castilla-y-León (co-funded by European Social Fund, Orden 10/11/2016). ; Peer reviewed

Successful eradications of harmful invasive species have been mostly confined to islands while control programs in mainland areas remain small, uncoordinated, and vulnerable to recolonisation. To allow the recovery of threatened native species, innovative management strategies are required to remove invasives from large areas. We took an adaptive approach to achieve largescale eradication of invasive American mink in North East Scotland. The project was centered on the Cairngorms National Park (Scotland), with the primary aim of protecting endangered water vole populations. The project was initiated by scientists and supported and implemented through a partnership comprising a government agency, national park authority, and local fisheries boards. Capitalising on the convergent interests of a diverse range of local stakeholders, we created a coordinated coalition of trained volunteers to detect and trap mink. Starting in montane headwaters, we systematically moved down river catchments, deploying mink rafts, an effective detection and trapping platform. Volunteers took increasing responsibility for raft monitoring and mink trapping as the project progressed. Within 3 years, the project removed 376 mink from 10,570 km2 (4,081 mi2) with the involvement of 186 volunteers. Capture rate within sub-catchments increased with greater connectivity to mink in other sub-catchments and with proximity to the coast, where there is more productive habitat. The main factor underpinning the success of this project was functional volunteer participation. The project is a reason for optimism that the tide of invasion can be rolled back on a large scale where the convergent interest of local communities can be harnessed. A successor to this project using the same volunteer-based approach and partnership between conservation practitioners and academic scientists is now expanding to up to 20,000 km2 (7,722 mi2). The research of the expanded project component now focuses on depensatory processes operating in very-low-density populations.

This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under projects NETPERSIST (PTDC/AAG-MAA/3227/2012) and MATEFRAG (PTDC/BIA-BIC/6582/2014). APF was supported by FCT grant SFRH/BD/109242/2015. JP was supported by the project 'Genomics and Evolutionary Biology' co-financed by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme 2007/2013 (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework, through the ERDF and by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under project EnvMetaGen (grant agreement no 668981). HSM was supported by FCT grant SFRH/BD/73765/2010. PB was supported by EDP Biodiversity Chair. FM was supported by IF/01053/2015. RP was supported by FCT grants SFRH/BPD/73478/2010 and SFRH/BPD/109235/2015. ; Peer reviewed ; Postprint

This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under projects NETPERSIST (PTDC/AAG-MAA/3227/2012) and MATEFRAG (PTDC/BIA-BIC/6582/2014). APF was supported by FCT grant SFRH/BD/109242/2015. JP was supported by the project 'Genomics and Evolutionary Biology' co-financed by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme 2007/2013 (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework, through the ERDF and by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under project EnvMetaGen (grant agreement no 668981). HSM was supported by FCT grant SFRH/BD/73765/2010. PB was supported by EDP Biodiversity Chair. FM was supported by IF/01053/2015. RP was supported by FCT grants SFRH/BPD/73478/2010 and SFRH/BPD/109235/2015. ; Peer reviewed ; Postprint