BackgroundWhite-nose syndrome is a disease of hibernating insectivorous bats associated with the fungus Geomyces destructans. It first appeared in North America in 2006, where over a million bats died since then. In Europe, G. destructans was first identified in France in 2009. Its distribution, infection dynamics, and effects on hibernating bats in Europe are largely unknown.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe screened hibernacula in the Czech Republic and Slovakia for the presence of the fungus during the winter seasons of 2008/2009 and 2009/2010. In winter 2009/2010, we found infected bats in 76 out of 98 surveyed sites, in which the majority had been previously negative. A photographic record of over 6000 hibernating bats, taken since 1994, revealed bats with fungal growths since 1995; however, the incidence of such bats increased in Myotis myotis from 2% in 2007 to 14% by 2010. Microscopic, cultivation and molecular genetic evaluations confirmed the identity of the recently sampled fungus as G. destructans, and demonstrated its continuous distribution in the studied area. At the end of the hibernation season we recorded pathologic changes in the skin of the affected bats, from which the fungus was isolated. We registered no mass mortality caused by the fungus, and the recorded population decline in the last two years of the most affected species, M. myotis, is within the population trend prediction interval.Conclusions/Significance G. destructans was found to be widespread in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with an epizootic incidence in bats during the most recent years. Further development of the situation urgently requires a detailed pan-European monitoring scheme.

From 2011 to 2012, the occurrence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon spp. was surveyed at 29 randomly selected localities (both forest areas and enclosures) across four Central European countries: Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and the Slovak Republic. Isolates were genotyped by PCR amplification and characterization of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region using Enterocytozoon and Encephalitozoon-specific protocols. PCR revealed 16 mono-infections of Encephalitozoon cuniculi, 33 mono-infections of Enterocytozoon bieneusi and 5 concurrent infections of both Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Enterocytozoon bieneusi out of 460 faecal samples. Two genotypes (I and II) were revealed by sequence analysis of the ITS region of Encephalitozoon cuniculi. Eleven genotypes, five previously found in other hosts including domestic pigs (D, EbpA, EbpC, G and Henan-I) and six novel (WildBoar1-6), were identified in Enterocytozoon bieneusi. No other microsporidia infection was found in the examined faecal samples. Prevalence of microsporidia at the locality level ranged from 0 to 58.8 %; the prevalence was less than 25 % at more than 86 % of localities. Enterocytozoon bieneusi was detected as a predominant species infecting Eurasian wild boars (Sus scrofa). The present report is the most comprehensive survey of microsporidia infections in wild boars within the Czech Republic and selected Central European countries.

IntroductionSeveral mammalian species spontaneously align their body axis with respect to the Earth’s magnetic field (MF) lines in diverse behavioral contexts. Magnetic alignment is a suitable paradigm to scan for the occurrence of magnetosensitivity across animal taxa with the heuristic potential to contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of magnetoreception and identify further functions of magnetosensation apart from navigation. With this in mind we searched for signs of magnetic alignment in dogs. We measured the direction of the body axis in 70 dogs of 37 breeds during defecation (1,893 observations) and urination (5,582 observations) over a two-year period. After complete sampling, we sorted the data according to the geomagnetic conditions prevailing during the respective sampling periods. Relative declination and intensity changes of the MF during the respective dog walks were calculated from daily magnetograms. Directional preferences of dogs under different MF conditions were analyzed and tested by means of circular statistics.ResultsDogs preferred to excrete with the body being aligned along the North–South axis under calm MF conditions. This directional behavior was abolished under unstable MF. The best predictor of the behavioral switch was the rate of change in declination, i.e., polar orientation of the MF.ConclusionsIt is for the first time that (a) magnetic sensitivity was proved in dogs, (b) a measurable, predictable behavioral reaction upon natural MF fluctuations could be unambiguously proven in a mammal, and (c) high sensitivity to small changes in polarity, rather than in intensity, of MF was identified as biologically meaningful. Our findings open new horizons in magnetoreception research. Since the MF is calm in only about 20% of the daylight period, our findings might provide an explanation why many magnetoreception experiments were hardly replicable and why directional values of records in diverse observations are frequently compromised by scatter.

The aim of this study was to determine the carcass characteristics, meat quality, and fatty acid composition of wild-living mallards. The experimental materials comprised 30 mallards (1:1 sex ratio) harvested during the hunting season in northeastern Poland. The carcasses were transported to the laboratory where they were weighed individually, plucked, dressed, and dissected. The proximate chemical composition and physicochemical properties of meat and the fatty acid profile of breast muscle lipids were determined, and a histological analysis was performed. Body weight (BW) and carcass weight were higher in males than in females (P ≤ 0.05), whereas the percentage share of carcass tissue components was similar in both sexes. Edible components accounted for approximately 60% (♂) to 60.7% (♀) of the total BW of mallards, including lean meat; 40.9% (♂) to 41.5% (♀), skin with subcutaneous fat; 10.7% (♂) to 10.8% (♀), and giblets; 8.3% (♂) to 8.4% (♀). Breast muscles had high protein content (23.51%♀ to 23.6% ♂) and low fat content (0.82% ♂ to 0.84% ♀). In the fatty acid profile of breast muscle lipids, saturated fatty acids (SFA) accounted for 39.1% (♂) to 39.04% (♀), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA)-for 17.31% (♂) to 17.33% (♀) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-for 43.61% (♀) to 43.64% (♂). The diameters of type IIA and type IIB muscle fibers were lower in males than in females (P ≤ 0.05), whereas lipid storage sites in muscles were similar in both sexes. The values of cooking loss (CL), water-holding capacity (WHC), pH24, and color parameters of breast meat were comparable in males and females. The results of this study indicate that wild-living mallards, both males and females, are characterized by high meat quality, and that seasonal mallard harvests can provide meat with desirable eating attributes, attractive to consumers.