Conservation management within strongholds in the face of disease‐mediated invasions: red and grey squirrels as a case study

White, Andy; Bell, Sally; Lurz, Peter W. W.; Boots, Mike

doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12274

Cited by 16 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(57 reference statements)

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“…This is consistent with the results obtained through other models. For instance in [52], it was also found that, in the absence of control of the invading species, native populations are driven to extinction and that this occurs both in the absence of disease (through competition only; see also [25,43]) and more rapidly when the disease is included [28]. Table 2.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Again, [51,52] also found that grey squirrel control can protect red populations in strongholds, although in their specific case study, periodic outbreaks of the disease could not be prevented because of occasional recolonization of the stronghold by grey squirrels from neighboring areas. The work in [52] also highlighted that there is a threshold level of control (expressed as the proportion of grey squirrels to be removed), above which the invading population can be prevented from establishing and the native species can be protected. Another study [28] also investigated what level of population control of grey squirrels would be necessary to suppress the disease-induced decline in red squirrels.…”

Section: Equilibriummentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of the Incidence of Poxvirus on the Dynamics between Red and Grey Squirrels

et al. 2018

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A model for the interactions of the invasive grey squirrel species as asymptomatic carriers of the poxvirus with the native red squirrel is presented and analyzed. Equilibria of the dynamical system are assessed, and their sensitivity in terms of the ecosystem parameters is investigated through numerical simulations. The findings are in line with both field and theoretical research. The results indicate that mainly the reproduction rate of the alien population should be drastically reduced to repel the invasion, and to achieve disease eradication, actions must be performed to reduce the intraspecific transmission rate; also, the native species mortality plays a role: if grey squirrels are controlled, increasing it may help in the red squirrel preservation, while the invaders vanish; on the contrary, decreasing it in favorable situations, the coexistence of the two species may occur. Preservation or restoration of the native red squirrel requires removal of the grey squirrels or keeping them at low values. Wildlife managers should exert a constant effort to achieve a harsh reduction of the grey squirrel growth rate and to protect the remnant red squirrel population.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Equilibriummentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the Incidence of Poxvirus on the Dynamics between Red and Grey Squirrels

et al. 2018

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“…see [4,5]). The multiple introductions and subsequent translocations had devastating consequences for local Eurasian red squirrel populations in deciduous and mixed forest landscapes in Great Britain, Ireland and Italy leading to large-scale declines as a result of competition for resources and introduced pathogens [6][7][8]. With regard to pathogens, the replacement of native Eurasian red squirrels by the Eastern grey squirrels in the British Isles is highly accelerated by a squirrelpox virus (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Search for polyoma-, herpes-, and bornaviruses in squirrels of the family Sciuridae

Schulze

Lurz

Ferrari

et al. 2020

Virol J

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Background: Squirrels (family Sciuridae) are globally distributed members of the order Rodentia with wildlife occurrence in indigenous and non-indigenous regions (as invasive species) and frequent presence in zoological gardens and other holdings. Multiple species introductions, strong inter-species competition as well as the recent discovery of a novel zoonotic bornavirus resulted in increased research interest on squirrel pathogens. Therefore we aimed to test a variety of squirrel species for representatives of three virus families. Methods: Several species of the squirrel subfamilies Sciurinae, Callosciurinae and Xerinae were tested for the presence of polyomaviruses (PyVs; family Polyomaviridae) and herpesviruses (HVs; family Herpesviridae), using generic nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specificity for the PyV VP1 gene and the HV DNA polymerase (DPOL) gene, respectively. Selected animals were tested for the presence of bornaviruses (family Bornaviridae), using both a broad-range orthobornavirus-and a variegated squirrel bornavirus 1 (VSBV-1)-specific reverse transcriptionquantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Results: In addition to previously detected bornavirus RNA-positive squirrels no more animals tested positive in this study, but four novel PyVs, four novel betaherpesviruses (BHVs) and six novel gammaherpesviruses (GHVs) were identified. For three PyVs, complete genomes could be amplified with long-distance PCR (LD-PCR). Splice sites of the PyV genomes were predicted in silico for large T antigen, small T antigen, and VP2 coding sequences, and experimentally confirmed in Vero and NIH/3T3 cells. Attempts to extend the HV DPOL sequences in upstream direction resulted in contiguous sequences of around 3.3 kilobase pairs for one BHV and two GHVs. Phylogenetic analysis allocated the novel squirrel PyVs to the genera Alpha-and Betapolyomavirus, the BHVs to the genus Muromegalovirus, and the GHVs to the genera Rhadinovirus and Macavirus.

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“…These studies have synthesized techniques from mathematical epidemiology with metapopulation models (Hess, 1996;McCallum and Dobson, 2002) or developed stochastic simulation models based on underlying epidemiological frameworks that represent the dynamics on an array of patches connected in a simplied manner (Hess, 1996;White et al, 2014). The most similar study to ours used an individual-based, stochastic disease model to represent the dynamics on a two-dimensional lattice of identical patches with nearest neighbour dispersal (Cross et al, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous theoretical studies which have examined infection dynamics have used classical Levins (Levins, 1969) metapopulation approaches (Hess, 1996;McCallum and Dobson, 2002), simulation methods with an idealised spatial set-up, such as patches connected in a linear or looped array (Hess, 1996;White et al, 2014), or a two-dimensional lattice of homogeneous patches (Cross et al, 2005). However, despite the heterogeneity of natural landscapes and habitats, the incorporation of detailed, realistic landscape structure has been less well explored (Ostfeld et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating habitat distribution in wildlife disease models: conservation implications for the threat of squirrelpox on the Isle of Arran

Macpherson

Davidson

Duncan

et al. 2015

Animal Conservation

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Emerging infectious diseases are a substantial threat to native populations. The spread of disease through naive native populations will depend on both demographic and disease parameters, as well as on habitat suitability and connectivity. Using the potential spread of squirrelpox virus (SQPV) on the Isle of Arran as a case study, we develop mathematical models to examine the impact of an emerging disease on a population in a complex landscape of dierent habitat types. Furthermore, by considering a range of disease parameters, we infer more generally how complex landscapes interact with disease characteristics to determine the spread and persistence of disease. Specic ndings indicate that a SQPV outbreak on Arran is likely to be short lived and localised to the point of introduction allowing recovery of red squirrels to pre-infection densities; this has important consequences for the conservation of red squirrels. More generally, we nd the extent of disease spread is dependent on the rare passage of infection through poor quality corridors connecting good quality habitats. Acute, highly transmissible infectious diseases are predicted to spread rapidly causing high mortality. Nonetheless the disease typically fades out following local epidemics and is not supported in the long-term. A chronic infectious disease is predicted to spread more slowly but can remain endemic in the population. This allows the disease to spread more extensively in the long-term as it increases the chance of spread between poorly connected populations. Our results highlight how a detailed understanding of landscape connectivity is crucial when considering conservation strategies to protect native species from disease threats.

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Conservation management within strongholds in the face of disease‐mediated invasions: red and grey squirrels as a case study

Cited by 16 publications

References 40 publications

Analysis of the Incidence of Poxvirus on the Dynamics between Red and Grey Squirrels

Analysis of the Incidence of Poxvirus on the Dynamics between Red and Grey Squirrels

Search for polyoma-, herpes-, and bornaviruses in squirrels of the family Sciuridae

Incorporating habitat distribution in wildlife disease models: conservation implications for the threat of squirrelpox on the Isle of Arran

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