Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Deborah M. Leigh, Heidi E. L. Lischer, Frederic Guillaume, Christine Grossen, Torsten Gunther
Summary: Identifying local adaptation in bottlenecked species is crucial, and methods for detecting selection play an important role in species management and response to climate change. However, distinguishing selection signals from genetic drift in bottlenecked populations is challenging. This study used simulations to evaluate the accuracy of selection detection methods in Alpine ibex populations, finding high false positive rates but improved accuracy when combining multiple methods.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Alice Brambilla, Achaz von Hardenberg, Claudia Canedoli, Francesca Brivio, Cedric Sueur, Christina R. Stanley
Summary: Despite the seasonal changes in social structure, the male Alpine ibex population remained highly cohesive with preferential associations maintained across seasons and years. Age was found to be the most important factor driving preferential associations, while other characteristics such as social status played a lesser role. Centrality measures were influenced by age and correlated with individual physical condition. The study highlights the role of both ecological constraints and life-history linked physiological and social needs in shaping sociality and preferential associations in a gregarious species.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Marjan Kastelic, Gordana Greguric Gracner, Iztok Tomazic, Pavel Kvapil, Mojca Harej, Alenka Dovc
Summary: Zoos play an important role in rescuing, rehabilitating, and caring for wildlife. At least 17 zoos in Europe keep Alpine ibexes in captivity to ensure their successful reintroduction into the Alps. Understanding the specific requirements of the animals, implementing appropriate animal welfare strategies, and using non-invasive sampling methods are crucial for their success. This article compares cortisol concentration in different matrices of Alpine ibexes at the zoo and discusses the differences based on sex, age, and sampling season.
Article
Fisheries
Yong Chi, Qi Li, Chengxun Xu
Summary: By analyzing the growth, survival, and yield of selected, inbreeding, and wild populations of Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas in northern China for 440 days, it was found that the selected line exhibited superior survival rate and shell height during the larval stage. Additionally, the selected line had significantly higher shell height, individual weight, survival rate, and yield compared to the wild population throughout the grow-out stage. Inbreeding resulted in significant depression on larvae survival, growth traits, and yield.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
David S. L. Ramsey, Freyja Watters, David M. Forsyth, Matthew Wood, Charles R. Todd, Robyn Molsher, Phillip Cassey
Summary: The study evaluated the effectiveness of two long-term fertility control programs on overabundant koala populations and their impacts on food trees. The results showed that fertility control can significantly reduce koala population density and mitigate their impacts on food trees.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Noelia Perez-Pereira, Jinliang Wang, Humberto Quesada, Armando Caballero
Summary: This article investigates the influence of purging on the establishment of a minimum viable population (MVP) for long-term survival. Computer simulations were used to study extinction times and loss of genetic diversity for different effective population sizes. The results indicate that purging can reduce the MVP needed for a population to persist in the long term, especially for species with higher reproductive rates.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hankyu Kim, Brenda C. McComb, Sarah J. K. Frey, David M. Bell, Matthew G. Betts
Summary: Complex forest structure and vegetation diversity in old-growth forests can provide microclimatic advantages to some animal populations, helping to mitigate the negative effects of climate warming. Conservation of old-growth forests or their characteristics in managed forests is important for the protection of breeding bird populations.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Luca Freddi, Acacia Ferreira Vicente, Elodie Petit, Maeline Ribeiro, Yvette Game, Yann Locatelli, Isabelle Jacques, Mickael Riou, Maryne Jay, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Sophie Rossi, Vitomir Djokic, Claire Ponsart
Summary: A bovine outbreak of brucellosis in the French Alpine Bargy massif, caused by spillover from wild Alpine ibex, has been successfully diagnosed using a portable testing device with high accuracy.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pengcheng Wang, John T. Burley, Yang Liu, Jiang Chang, De Chen, Qi Lu, Shou-Hsien Li, Xuming Zhou, Scott Edwards, Zhengwang Zhang
Summary: This study analyzed genomic data of three isolated populations of Brown eared pheasant in China, showing low genome-wide diversity and declining effective population size. The comparison with a closely related species revealed detrimental genetic consequences in the Brown eared pheasant genomes, indicating a potential risk of deleterious mutations in wild populations undergoing long-term decline. This comprehensive conservation genomic analysis could help improve conservation planning for threatened species and promote population recovery.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Sebastien Lambert, Anne Thebault, Sophie Rossi, Pascal Marchand, Elodie Petit, Carole Toigo, Emmanuelle Gilot-Fromont
Summary: Management of infectious diseases in wildlife populations can be challenging, but targeted strategies focusing on specific classes of individuals or areas can be more effective in controlling disease spread. In a study of Alpine ibex populations, it was found that targeting females and core areas was more effective in reducing disease transmission, with lower costs and increased health benefits compared to untargeted strategies. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for disease management, targeted approaches offer promising refinements to traditional control measures.
VETERINARY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Yun L. He, Jin S. Wang, Da S. Tian, Quan Quan, Lin Jiang, Fang F. Ma, Lu Yang, Fang Y. Zhang, Qing P. Zhou, Shu L. Niu
Summary: The responses of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in an alpine meadow to an extreme flooding event were investigated. The study found that drought treatments decreased the temporal stability of community productivity but increased resilience to flooding. The change in species asynchrony was identified as the dominant impact pathway determining the responses of resilience and temporal stability to flooding.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Stefania Zanet, Ezio Ferroglio, Filippo Orlandini, Bruno Bassano, Elena Battisti, Alice Brambilla
Summary: Pneumonia is the leading cause of death for Alpine ibex in Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy. The etiology of this pneumonia remains unknown, making it difficult to identify the primary infective agent. Monitoring Protostrongylid larvae in individual mountain goats revealed varying infection rates and intensity levels, with Muellerius and Protostrongylus being the dominant genera. Aggregated larval intensity patterns may reflect individual differences in immune response, hormonal states, or genetic fitness.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ana Carolina dos Santos Gauy, Marcela Cesar Bolognesi, Eliane Goncalves-de-Freitas
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of long-term body tactile stimulation (TS) on a group of Nile tilapia fish. The results showed that long-term TS can reduce fights, improve growth rate and feed efficiency, but does not reduce cortisol or androgen levels. This suggests that long-term TS can improve the welfare and productive performance of territorial fish.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Langqing Liu, Mirte Bosse, Hendrik-Jan Megens, Manon de Visser, Martien A. M. Groenen, Ole Madsen
Summary: Human disturbance and climate change have a negative impact on habitat integrity and size, leading to population decline and habitat fragmentation for wild fauna and flora. Analysis of the genomic data of the pygmy hog reveals a very small historical population size with no recent inbreeding, but evidence of harmful mutation accumulation exceeding purifying selection. Care must be taken in conservation efforts to prevent further inbreeding depression and mitigate potential environmental changes.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mathieu Robin, Giada Ferrari, Gulfirde Akgul, Xenia Munger, Johanna von Seth, Verena J. Schuenemann, Love Dalen, Christine Grossen
Summary: Population bottlenecks have significant effects on the health and long-term survival of a species. Integrating genomic data of ancient, historic, and extant populations can reveal the evolution of genetic diversity through population fluctuations.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Christine Grossen, Iris Biebach, Samer Angelone-Alasaad, Lukas F. Keller, Daniel Croll
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2018)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Anouk N'Guyen, Philipp E. Hirsch, Claudio Bozzuto, Irene Adrian-Kalchhauser, Kristina Horkova, Patricia Burkhardt-Holm
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Stefano Canessa, Claudio Bozzuto, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Sam S. Cruickshank, Matthew C. Fisher, Jacob C. Koella, Stefan Loetters, An Martel, Frank Pasmans, Ben C. Scheele, Annemarieke Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Sebastian Steinfartz, Benedikt R. Schmidt
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Pirmin Nietlisbach, Stefanie Muff, Jane M. Reid, Michael C. Whitlock, Lukas F. Keller
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2019)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Stefano Canessa, Claudio Bozzuto, Frank Pasmans, An Martel
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Claudio Bozzuto, Stefano Canessa
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christine Grossen, Frederic Guillaume, Lukas F. Keller, Daniel Croll
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Biology
Claudio Bozzuto, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Stefano Canessa
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2020)
Article
Biology
Anthony R. Ives, Claudio Bozzuto
Summary: The basic reproduction number, R-0, is crucial for planning public health interventions, and factors such as outbreak timing, population size, density, and spatial location play a significant role in determining the spread rate of COVID-19 in the USA. Population density and spatial location are important predictors for future spread, with SARS-CoV-2 strains impacting transmission rates.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Claudio Bozzuto, Stefano Canessa, Jacob C. Koella
Summary: The study suggests that setting up disease fences can reduce the risk of disease transmission but may come with ecological costs. To support decision-making, the research presents a series of models quantifying the trade-offs of fragmentation and exploring its effects on non-target species diversity.
THEORETICAL POPULATION BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Claudio Bozzuto, Anthony R. Ives
Summary: This study analyzes COVID-19 data from the USA to explain the variation in disease spread predictability among different regions. The results suggest that for half of the counties and states, the spread rate of COVID-19 could only be predicted up to 9 weeks and 8 weeks in advance, respectively. High predictability is associated with high cyclicity of the spread rate and negatively associated with the initial R0 values. This indicates that severe initial outbreaks and strong protective measures unintentionally decrease the predictability of disease spread.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Stefanie Muff, Alina K. Niskanen, Dilan Saatoglu, Lukas F. Keller, Henrik Jensen
GENETICS SELECTION EVOLUTION
(2019)