A questionnaire survey of land owners, managers and gamekeepers was conducted in order to assess the distribution of mountain hares in Scotland, assess their current management, collate numbers harvested in 2006-07 and estimate distribution change by comparing with similar data collected in 1995-96. The land area covered by returned questionnaires was 71098km 2 (90% of Scotland). Mountain hares were reported as present on 34359km 2 (48%) and absent from 36739km 2 (52%). Mountain hare presence was strongly associated with heather moorland managed for red grouse shooting. Moorland managed for driven grouse shooting had the highest percentage area of mountain hare presence (median 64%) followed by moorland managed for walked-up grouse shooting (median 9%) and moorland with no grouse shooting (median 0%). Approximately 25000 mountain hares were harvested in 2006-07. Based on the estimated UK population in 1995 of 350000 (range Ϯ50%), this represents around 7% of the population (range 5-14%). Reasons given by respondents for harvesting hares were tick control (50%), sport (40%) and forestry or crop protection (10%). Comparison of the estates surveyed in both 2006-07 and 1995-96 (a total area of 20462km 2 ) indicated no net gain or loss in hare distribution. Furthermore, there was no evidence that levels of harvest had reduced the range of mountain hares in this area. It is not possible to comment on any distribution change *Correspondence author. †Present address: Scottish Natural Heritage, Caspian House, Clydebank Business Park, Clydebank, G81 2NR, UK. ‡This work was published after the untimely death of Simon, who spent many happy hours on Scottish moorlands with family and friends. He is missed by all who worked with him and benefitted from his strong and balanced views on upland conservation. outside this area (58737km 2 ). Similarly, as no data were collected on abundance, it is not possible to draw conclusions on changes in density. Regular monitoring of mountain hare distribution within Scotland is required to identify any distribution changes. Measures of abundance throughout the range are necessary to estimate the population size, investigate the relationship between harvest intensity and changes in abundance and further assess the conservation status of this UK Biodiversity Action Plan species.
Knowledge of a carnivore's foraging behaviour is central to understanding its ecology. Scat-content analysis provides a non-invasive way to collect such information but its validity depends on attributing scats to the correct species, which can prove problematic where similarly sized species occur sympatrically. Here we provide the first description of the diet of European pine marten Martes martes in Scotland based on genetically identified scats (n = 2449). Concurrent small mammal live trapping also allowed us to determine preferential selection of small mammal species. We found the marten diet was almost entirely formed by three principal foods: Microtus agrestis (39%), berries (Sorbus aucuparia and Vaccinium myrtillus: 30%) and small birds (24%). The seasonal dominance of these foods in the diet suggested a facultative foraging strategy, with a short period in which the diet was more generalized. A discrepancy in the occurrence of Microtus in the diet (77% of small mammals consumed) and marten home ranges (12% of small mammals trapped) indicated a frequency-independent preference for this prey, one which differentiated British marten from marten in continental Europe. Microtus were the marten's staple prey and taken with relative consistency throughout the year, even at times when rodent populations were at their least abundant. Martens supplemented their diet with small birds and fruits as these foods became abundant in summer. The diet became generalized at this time, reflected by a threefold increase in diet niche breadth. Microtus consumption was significantly reduced in autumn, however, when their populations peak in abundance. The autumn diet was instead dominated by fruit; an abrupt dietary switch suggesting a frequency-dependent preference for fruit irrespective of the abundance of alternative prey
Many high-consequence human and animal pathogens persist in wildlife reservoirs. An understanding of the dynamics of these pathogens in their reservoir hosts is crucial to inform the risk of spill-over events, yet our understanding of these dynamics is frequently insufficient. Viral persistence in a wild bat population was investigated by combining empirical data and in-silico analyses to test hypotheses on mechanisms for viral persistence. A fatal zoonotic virus, European Bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2), in Daubenton's bats (Myotis daubentonii) was used as a model system. A total of 1839 M. daubentonii were sampled for evidence of virus exposure and excretion during a prospective nine year serial cross-sectional survey. Multivariable statistical models demonstrated age-related differences in seroprevalence, with significant variation in seropositivity over time and among roosts. An Approximate Bayesian Computation approach was used to model the infection dynamics incorporating the known host ecology. The results demonstrate that EBLV-2 is endemic in the study population, and suggest that mixing between roosts during seasonal swarming events is necessary to maintain EBLV-2 in the population. These findings contribute to understanding how bat viruses can persist despite low prevalence of infection, and why infection is constrained to certain bat species in multispecies roosts and ecosystems. Bats have been implicated as reservoirs for multiple viral, bacterial and protozoal pathogens of human and animal health importance, including Ebola virus, Bartonella spp., and rabies virus 1,2. Aspects of the ecology and demography of bats such as forming high-density aggregations, and flight permitting long-distance movement, may play a role in this ability to maintain a variety of pathogens 2. Mechanisms of pathogen persistence at the population level are often poorly understood, particularly when infection elicits a long lasting protective immune response 3. Rabies virus is one of a growing number of recognised lyssavirus species that are all capable of causing fatal encephalitis 4. The majority of these lyssaviruses are associated with bats 5. Although the full public and animal
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