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SUMMARYPesticides are widely used throughout the world to control agricultural pests. Owing to their well identified side-effects on wildlife, the release of high quantities of pesticides to the environment should always require responsible use of both science-based information and the precautionary principle, however decision making in wildlife management and conservation is not systematically supported by scientific evidence. This is particularly worrying when decision making involves release of toxic substances to the environment, as often occurs in rodent plague control. Poorly-informed management decisions to control a rodent plague can adversely affect wildlife, especially when chemical-based treatments are generically designed and applied on a broad scale, with high economic cost. Evidence-based and environmentally sustainable management should be used to control rodent plagues in Spain.

Context Ecotourism and human recreational activities are increasing and can have a significant impact on fauna. The analysis of faecal glucocorticoid concentrations is a non-invasive method of measuring physiological stress responses of wildlife to various factors (i.e. human disturbances). Aims The aim of the present study was to determine whether increased physiological stress levels in wildcats (Felis silvestris) were a response to the level of tourism allowed within different zones in a natural park and/or a response to the seasonal reproductive state of wildcats. Methods The study was conducted from May 2005 to June 2009 at the Natural Park Montes do Invernadeiro (north-western Spain). The Natural Park is divided into the following three zones according to the level of tourism allowed: restricted public-use, restricted zone and integral reserve. An enzyme immunoassay technique was used to quantify cortisol metabolites and sex hormones from each of 110 fresh wildcat faecal samples collected from walked transects on forest roads within each zone. The number of visitors was recorded as a measure of tourist pressure. Key results The general linear model indicated that park zone and faecal progesterone levels were the factors that explained the variation in the faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels. Cortisol metabolite concentrations were higher in some park zones where tourism intensity was higher (restricted public-use zone). Faecal cortisol metabolite concentrations were more elevated during gestation (spring) and during the young dispersal period (autumn). Key conclusions Therefore, we recommend that some zones of park (integral reserve) continue being maintained free of visitor impact and that visitor numbers be specially controlled during the animals’ sensitive periods (gestation) in the zone of restricted public use and in the restricted zone.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria of critical importance for global health such as extended-spectrum beta-lactamases-producing (ESBL)-Escherichia coli have been detected in livestock, dogs, and wildlife worldwide. However, the dynamics of ESBL-E. coli between these animals remains poorly understood, particularly in small-scale farms of low and middle-income countries where contact between species can be frequent. We compared the prevalence of fecal carriage of ESBL-E. coli among 332 livestock (207 cows, 15 pigs, 60 horses, 40 sheep, 6 goats, 4 chickens), 82 dogs, and wildlife including 131 European rabbits, 30 rodents, and 12 Andean foxes sharing territory in peri-urban localities of central Chile. The prevalence was lower in livestock (3.0%) and wildlife (0.5%) compared to dogs (24%). Among 47 ESBL-E. coli isolates recovered, CTX-M-group 1 was the main ESBL genotype identified, followed by CTX-M-groups 2, 9, 8, and 25. ERIC-PCR showed no cluster of E. coli clones by either host species nor locality. To our knowledge, this is the first report of ESBL-E. coli among sheep, cattle, dogs, and rodents of Chile, confirming their fecal carriage among domestic and wild animals in small-scale farms. The high prevalence of ESBL-E. coli in dogs encourages further investigation on their role as potential reservoirs of this bacteria in agricultural settings.

The European pine marten (Martes martes) and stone marten (Martes foina) are two closely related mustelids that live sympatrically over a large area of Europe. In the northern Iberian Peninsula, the distribution ranges of both species overlap extensively. The objectives of this study were (1) to verify whether, on a small scale, both species also live sympatrically and (2) to compare camera traps and scat DNA as methods for detecting marten species. The study was conducted in a protected area (province of Ourense, north-west Spain), which covers 6700 ha. To test the sympatry hypothesis, 90 fresh faecal samples, identified as faeces of genus Martes on the basis of their morphology, were collected from June 2004 to August 2006. The specific identification of faecal samples was conducted using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) techniques. In addition, 20 camera-traps (916 camera-trap-nights) were in operation during the study period. Of the faecal samples collected, 88.8% were attributed to the European pine marten, while the remaining 11.2% were not amplified by PCR and thus could not be assigned. The European pine marten was identified in 57.9% of the photos of carnivores and the stone marten was not detected in any. The faecal DNA analysis and camera-trap results supported previous conclusions about habitat preferences and the distribution of the two species obtained using other methods. The two non-invasive methods that were used in this study were shown to be reliable techniques that can be employed simultaneously, because each method has advantages and disadvantages that are influenced by the size of the area inventoried, sampling effort, and cost and efficiency of the method. The data gathered using these methods provided important information on the understanding of trophic and competitive interactions between the species.

The chemical signals of solitary and territorial felid species are essential for their intraspecific communication. We studied the selection of plant substrates during the fecal marking behavior of the European wildcat Felis silvestris from September 2008 to June 2009 in a protected area in Northwest Spain. The aim of the study was to examine the selection of plants as signal posts with respect to their physical characteristics. We hypothesized that wildcats deposit their fecal marks on plants with physical characteristics (e.g., size, species, and visual conspicuousness) that enhance the olfactory and visual effectiveness of the signal. Our results indicate that diameter, plant group, visual conspicuousness, and interaction between the diameter and plant group influence the decision of wildcats to deposit their fecal marks on plants. The wildcats chose plants with greater diameters and greater visual conspicuousness as scent-marking posts. Moreover, the wildcats chose woody and herbaceous plants, and certain plant species were marked more frequently than expected at random. Indeed, our results indicate that the fecal marks were not randomly distributed on the plants: the wildcats chose to place their marks on plants with certain physical characteristics that maximized the detectability of the signal by intruders and potential mates, thus facilitating the spatial distribution of the species.

Esta es la versión de autor del artículo publicado en: This is an author produced version of a paper published in: To date, there have been no studies of carnivores that have been specifically designed to examine the function of scent marks in trophic resource defence, although several chemical communication studies have discussed other functions of these marks. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that faecal marks deposited by wildcats (Felis silvestris) serve to defend their primary trophic resource, small mammals. Field data were collected over a 2-year period in a protected area in northwestern Spain. To determine the small mammal abundance in different habitat types, a seasonal live trapping campaign was undertaken in deciduous forests, mature pine forests, and scrublands. In each habitat, we trapped in three widely separated UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) cells. At the same time that the trapping was being performed, transects were conducted on foot along forest roads in each trapping cell and in one adjacent cell to detect fresh wildcat scats that did or did not have a scent-marking function. A scat was considered to have a pressumed marking function when it is located on a conspicuous substrate, above ground level, at a crossroad or in a latrine. The number of faecal marks and the small mammal abundance varied by habitat type but not by seasons. The results of the ANCOVA analysis indicated that small mammal abundance and the habitat type were the factors that explained the largest degrees of variation in the faecal marking index (number of faecal marks in each cell/number of kilometres surveyed in each cell). This result suggests that wildcats defended favourable hunting areas. They mark most often where their main prey lives and so where they spend most time hunting (in areas where their main prey is more abundant). This practice would allow wildcats to protect their main trophic resource and would reduce intraspecific trophic competition.

a b s t r a c tThe aim of this study was to assess the trophic strategy of the wildcat (Felis silvestris) by examining the availability and vulnerability of its main prey. Live traps were used to estimate Apodemus mouse availability. The vulnerability to capture of wildcat main prey -Apodemus mice -was studied by focal sampling of live-trapped individuals; slow escape behaviour and body weight were used as indicators of vulnerability to capture. The seasonal consumption of Apodemus mice did not depend on their availability, although seasonality was the only factor that explained the variation in slow escape behaviour, which was more commonly seen in the autumn when the consumption of these mice was higher. Variation in mouse body weight was related to reproductive condition but not to seasonality. These results indicate that the wildcat is a facultative specialist in the consumption of Apodemus mice, with vulnerability to capture the main factor determining the rate of mouse consumption.