It is assumed that predators mainly prey on substandard individuals, but even though some studies partially support this idea, evidence with large sample sizes, exhaustive analysis of prey and robust analysis is lacking. We gathered data from a culling program of yellow-legged gulls killed by two methods: by the use of raptors or by shooting at random. We compared both data sets to assess whether birds of prey killed randomly or by relying on specific individual features of the prey. We carried out a meticulous post-mortem examination of individuals, and analysing multiple prey characteristics simultaneously we show that raptors did not hunt randomly, but rather preferentially predate on juveniles, sick gulls, and individuals with poor muscle condition. Strikingly, gulls with an unusually good muscle condition were also predated more than expected, supporting the mass-dependent predation risk theory. This article provides a reliable example of how natural selection may operate in the wild and proves that predators mainly prey on substandard individuals.

The role of wild and free-roaming domestic carnivores as a reservoir of Leishmania infantum was investigated on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain), an endemic area for this disease. Serum, blood and/or spleen samples from 169 animals [48 dogs from a kennel, 86 wild-caught feral cats, 23 pine martens (Martes martes), 10 common genets (Genetta genetta) and two weasels (Mustela nivalis)] were analysed. Seroprevalence determined by Western blotting was 38% in dogs and 16% in feral cats, while the prevalence of infection determined by PCR was 44% in dogs, 26% in cats, 39% in pine martens and 10% in genets. This is the first report of infection by L. infantum in the pine marten or any other member of the Mustelidae family. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis found 33 different patterns in 23 dogs, 14 cats and three martens. Two patterns were shared by dogs and cats, two by different cats, and one by different dogs. Patterns were different to those previously reported in carnivores from peninsular Spain. No external lesions compatible with leishmaniasis were observed in any species other than the dogs. Although the dog is probably the primary reservoir of leishmaniasis in endemic areas, the prevalence and the absence of apparent signs of this disease within the island's abundant feral cat and pine marten populations could make these species potential primary or secondary hosts of L. infantum in Mallorca.

In October 2018, two Atelerix algirus hedgehogs were admitted to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) with signs of acute neurological disease. Necropsy detected immature, fully developed nematodes in the subarachnoid space of both hedgehogs, including a gravid female worm. DNA-based molecular tools confirmed the nematode as Angiostrongylus cantonensis , an important aetiological agent of eosinophilic meningitis in humans. So far this zoonotic parasite in has not been reported in western European wildlife.

The impact of carnivore parvovirus infection on wild populations is not yet understood; disease signs are mainly developed in pups and assessing the health of litters in wild carnivores has big limitations. This study aims to shed light on the virus dynamics among wild carnivores thanks to the analysis of 213 samples collected between 1994 and 2013 in wild ecosystems from Spain. We determined the presence of carnivore parvovirus DNA by real‐time PCR and sequenced the vp2 gen from 22 positive samples to characterize the strains and to perform phylogenetic analysis. The presence of carnivore parvovirus DNA was confirmed in 18% of the samples, with a higher prevalence detected in wolves (Canis lupus signatus, 70%). Fourteen sequences belonging to nine wolves, three Eurasian badgers (Meles meles), a common genet (Genetta genetta) and a European wildcat (Felis silvestris) were classified as canine parvovirus 2c (CPV‐2c); five sequences from three wolves, a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and a stone marten (Martes foina) as CPV‐2b; and three sequences from a badger, a genet and a stone marten as feline parvovirus (FPV). This was the first report of a wildcat infected with a canine strain. Sequences described in this study were identical or very close related to others previously found in domestic carnivores from distant countries, suggesting that cross‐species transmission takes place and that the parvovirus epidemiology in Spain, as elsewhere, could be influenced by global factors.

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T he rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, infects animals and humans. Although this nematode species is recognized as the main etiologic agent of eosinophilic meningitis (1), infection might result in other central nervous system disorders (2). Clinical manifestations are aggravated by movement and subsequent death of the worms in the central nervous system, causing physical lesions and inflammation in accidental hosts (3). In humans, severe headache, neck stiffness, paresthesia, convulsions, urinary failure, visual impairment, and other symptoms, occasionally leading to coma and death, have been reported (1,4).The life cycle of A. cantonensis worms includes rats as definitive and gastropods as intermediate hosts; crustaceans, planarians, amphibians, reptiles, and fish might act as paratenic hosts (2). More than 20 vertebrate species, including humans, have been reported as A. cantonensis lungworm accidental hosts (5). This long list of vertebrate hosts includes nonhuman primates (6), marsupials (7), bats (8), horses (9), dogs (10), birds (11), and more recently, hedgehogs (12). The role of hedgehogs in the transmission of this parasite remains to be clarified.A. cantonensis worms were detected in Canton, China, infecting the lungs of rats ( 13) and a decade later, in the cerebrospinal fluid of a person from Taiwan (14). For decades, disease-endemic areas were limited to the Pacific basin and Southeast Asia, but this parasite has spread to new territories at an alarming rate (1). The invasion of A. cantonensis lungworms has been associated with unintended importation of infected rats and gastropods on ships (2,15). Almost 3,000 cases of human neuroangiostrongyliasis have been reported (16) from 30 territories (3), although the prevalence might be higher (17).Europe was considered to be nonendemic for A. cantonensis worms until 2018 when the parasite was reported infecting the brains of 2 hedgehogs on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca (12). Although the rat lungworm had been previously reported on Tenerife, a subtropical, non-European overseas oceanic island (18), its detection in Mallorca is an indisputable indication of its presence in Europe (5). Mallorca is a major Mediterranean tourism hotspot, highly interconnected with continental Europe. After the detection, the question remained whether A. cantonensis nematodes could survive the temperate winters of Europe. The purpose of this study was to use sentinel surveillance for symptomatic fauna to confirm whether the rat lungworm has been successfully established on Mallorca.

Avian mycobacteriosis is a chronic, infectious disease caused by different species of mycobacteria, usually belonging to the Mycobacterium avium complex. From 2004 to 2007, 589 raptors brought dead or sick to a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Majorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) were necropsied. The birds belonged to 12 different species, chiefly common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) (n0297), scops owl (Otus scops) (n 0109), barn owl (Tyto alba) (n 075), long-eared owl (Asio otus) (n 058), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) (n 027), and booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) (n013). Gross lesions compatible with mycobacteriosis were observed in 14 birds (2.4%) found in several locations in Majorca. They were 12 kestrels (prevalence in this species, 4.0%), one long-eared owl (1.7%) and one scops owl (0.9%), all the birds presenting whiteÁyellowish nodules from pinpoint size to 1 cm in diameter in diverse organs, mainly in the liver, spleen and intestine. Affected organs were subjected to bacteriology and molecular identification by polymerase chain reaction and, in all cases, infection with M. avium subspecies avium was confirmed. The observed prevalences are similar to those previously observed in Holland, although the actual prevalence detected in this study is likely to be higher than reported because only birds with gross lesions were subjected to culture. Further molecular characterization with a set of six mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unitÁvariable number tandem repeat loci was used to sub-type the isolates in order to show the existence of possible epidemiological links. Six different genotypes were found, which points to infection from multiple foci. No temporal or geographical aggregation of the cases was observed to be associated with the presence of positive birds or with the different variable number tandem repeat allelic profiles. The most feasible origin might be water or food sources, although the reservoir of mycobacteria remains unknown.

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