Article
Environmental Sciences
Zuzana Kompisova Ballova, Marian Janiga, Marek Holub, Gabriela Chovancova
Summary: The main aim of the study was to determine the concentration of total mercury (T-Hg) in different tissues, hair, and faeces of Tatra chamois in the Tatra Mountains. The study found differences in mercury levels between age and sex groups, with kidneys showing the highest concentrations. Mercury levels in the hair of Tatra chamois have increased significantly since the 1990s, with a decline observed since 2010.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Kresimir Kavcic, Tena Radocaj, Luca Corlatti, Toni Safner, Ana Gracanin, Katarina M. Mikac, Nikica Sprem
Summary: This study investigated the spatio-temporal interactions between alpine chamois and red deer in mountain forests of northern Croatia using camera traps. Results showed that chamois were more active during the day in the absence of red deer, and there was moderate temporal overlap between the two species.
Article
Microbiology
Sarah-Alica Dahl, Jana Seifert, Amelia Camarinha-Silva, Angelica Hernandez-Arriaga, Wilhelm Windisch, Andreas Koenig
Summary: This study investigated the impact of seasonal changes on the ingested food plants, rumen contents, rumen bacterial microbiota, and their fermentation products in chamois. The results revealed a close relationship between the chamois' microbial community and the changes in its diet and crude nutrients, and identified potential functional relationships.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Roberta Chirichella, Philip A. Stephens, Tom H. E. Mason, Marco Apollonio
Summary: The study shows that while the initial recruitment of Alpine chamois is relatively resistant to the effects of climate change, the net recruitment has significantly declined over the study period. This decline is attributed to the negative effects of increasing summer temperatures on the survival of young chamois.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Wiebke Derz, Melanie Pavlovic, Ingrid Huber, Barbara Schalch, Lars Gerdes
Summary: A duplex qPCR method was developed to specifically detect chamois in processed meat products, serving as an inhibition control and providing a rough estimation of chamois content in the samples. The study revealed a considerable proportion of products lacking declared chamois meat, indicating the need for further controls in this non-standard food segment.
Article
Ecology
Luca Corlatti, Rupert Palme, Teresa G. Valencak, Kimberlina Marie Gomez
Summary: Chronic stress in wildlife can have negative effects on individual fitness, including increased likelihood of disease and parasitic infections. This study investigated the relationship between forage quality and stress levels in Alpine chamois, using fecal cortisol metabolites as indicators of stress. The results suggest that higher quality forage is associated with decreased stress hormones during the summer months.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrea Rezic, Laura Iacolina, Elena Buzan, Toni Safner, Ferdinand Bego, Dragan Gacic, Vladimir Maletic, Georgi Markov, Dragana Milosevic, Haritakis Papaioannou, Nikica Sprem
Summary: This study investigated the genetic structure of the Balkan chamois subspecies using nuclear and mitochondrial markers and found three genetic clusters. Individuals from Serbia and Bulgaria belonged to separate clusters, while individuals from other countries belonged to the same cluster. Partial mitochondrial DNA sequences revealed the presence of 30 new haplotypes, with only two haplotypes shared among populations.
CONSERVATION GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Physiology
Monika Slupecka-Ziemilska, Paulina Grzesiak, Pawel Kowalczyk, Piotr Wychowanski, Jaroslaw Wolinski
Summary: Maternal exposure to a high fat diet during gestation and lactation influences small intestinal growth and maturation in rat pups at 21 days old, leading to changes in body weight, BMI, adiposity, histomorphometry, brush border enzyme activity, and intestinal contractility. Offspring from the maternal HFD group showed upregulated mRNA expression of cyclooxygenase-2, suggesting a programming towards obesity. These results emphasize the significant role of maternal diet preferences in the developmental programming of metabolic diseases.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Svetlana Milosevic-Zlatanovic, Tanja Vukov, Gabriela Chovancova, Pia Anderwald, Luca Corlatti, Natasa Tomasevic Kolarov
Summary: This paper characterizes the sex-specific phenotypic structure of cranial morphology in four subspecies of chamois. The results show that tatrica exhibited highly integrated cranium, while carpatica and balcanica evolved in a more modular fashion with distinct nasal and oral modules. Females showed stronger correlations among cranial traits than males, indicating higher potential for adaptation to new environmental conditions. The level of overall integration and modularity varied between subspecies, with sexual differences only observed in rupicapra.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Simone Angelucci, Antonio Antonucci, Fabrizia Di Tana, Marco Innocenti, Giovanna Di Domenico, Luca Madonna, Camilla Smoglica, Cristina Esmeralda Di Francesco, Jorge Ramon Lopez-Olvera
Summary: This study successfully translocated and conserved 21 vulnerable Apennine chamois through collective capture and anesthesia. Despite risks, 19 chamois adapted and founded new colonies, monitored through GPS radiocollars.
Article
Forestry
Juan Herrero, Alicia Garcia-Serrano, Carlos Felez, Fernando Herrero, Alberto Machuca, Bosco Ponz, Santiago Sancho
Summary: The study demonstrates that the Pyrenean chamois can live at low altitudes throughout the year and reproduce. This finding is important for expanding the potential habitat of this subspecies.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Irene Torres-Blas, Xavier Fernandez Aguilar, Oscar Cabezon, Virginia Aragon, Lourdes Migura-Garcia
Summary: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health issue stemming from inappropriate use of antimicrobial drugs in human and veterinary medicine. Little is known about the presence and impact of AMR in wildlife, particularly in ecosystems with low human pressure. Our study found evidence of AMR in Pyrenean chamois and domestic sheep, with some isolates showing resistance to critical antibiotics for human health. Further research is needed to understand how AMR genes spread in natural environments and their persistence in wildlife to develop risk mitigation strategies.
Article
Ecology
Pia Anderwald, Seraina Campell Andri, Rupert Palme
Summary: Based on fecal samples from 742 chamois and 1557 red deer collected over four years in the Swiss Alps, the study found that both species showed a stress response to drought conditions in summer, and an increase in stress response with snow height in winter. However, red deer's response to snow height was modulated by temperature, while chamois showed a stronger stress response in November and December compared to January and March.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Cristina Garrido-Amaro, Anna Jolles, Roser Velarde, Jorge Ramon Lopez-Olvera, Emmanuel Serrano
Summary: The study investigated the potential impact of concomitant epidemics and the synzootic potential on southern chamois populations. Using a population viability analysis, the researchers found that multiple disease outbreaks, even caused by low virulent pathogens, increased the risk of extinction for the host population. The study also highlighted the extra risk of multiple outbreaks on the viability of affected populations.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Pierre P. A. Dupont, Richard Bischof, Cyril Milleret, Wibke Peters, Hendrik Edelhoff, Cornelia Ebert, Alisa Klamm, Ulf Hohmann
Summary: Non-invasive genetic sampling (NGS) methods, combined with spatial capture-recapture (SCR) methods, can accurately estimate population density for wildlife monitoring. However, SCR based on NGS is underused for ungulate population monitoring, likely due to violations of SCR model assumptions caused by the biological characteristics of ungulates and data collection methods. This simulation study found that SCR estimates were robust to grouping and adaptive sampling, but abundance estimates were negatively biased in the presence of unaccounted individual heterogeneity in space use. The degree of underestimation depended on the amount of variation in space use and detectability among age classes.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Francesco Ferretti, Niccolo Fattorini
Summary: The study found that in a Mediterranean protected area, the density of roe deer is mainly influenced by interspecific competition, with negative effects from fallow deer in poorer habitats.
INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Mariana Rossa, Sandro Lovari, Francesco Ferretti
Summary: The study found that wolves had the greatest temporal overlap with wild boar and the least with roe deer; fallow deer showed more daytime activity in sites with high wolf activity, with lower temporal overlap; red fox had extensive temporal overlap with wolves, especially in sites intensively used by the apex predator.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Claudio Cucini, Antonio Carapelli, Claudia Brunetti, Rafael Molero-Baltanas, Miquel Gaju-Ricart, Francesco Nardi
Summary: This study describes the mitochondrial genome of the silverfish Neoasterolepisma foreli, revealing its basal position within the family Lepismatidae, which contradicts previous understanding of the group.
MITOCHONDRIAL DNA PART B-RESOURCES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emiliano Mori, Claudia Brunetti, Antonio Carapelli, Lucia Burrini, Niccolo Fattorini, Francesco Ferretti, Silvia Olmastroni
Summary: This study assessed the population genetic structure of Adelie penguins from three adjacent colonies, revealing significant genetic heterogeneity among colonies. The results indicate meta-population dynamics and suggest relationships with habitat quality.
Article
Ecology
Luca Corlatti, Antonella Cotza, Luca Nelli
Summary: This study investigated the seasonal habitat selection of territorial and nonterritorial Northern chamois males, finding significant differences in their habitat preferences throughout the year, particularly in the summer and autumn. Territorial males tended to occupy warmer, lower-elevation habitats with lower food quality during late spring and summer, while nonterritorial males were more flexible in following vegetation phenology and preferred temperatures.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Claudio Cucini, Chiara Leo, Nicola Iannotti, Sara Boschi, Claudia Brunetti, Joan Pons, Pietro Paolo Fanciulli, Francesco Frati, Antonio Carapelli, Francesco Nardi
Summary: The use of complete mitochondrial genome data to address phylogenetic/phylogeographic issues in ecology and evolution is common, but data preparation and visualization remains a manually intensive step. EZmito is introduced as a tool aimed at automating some of these tasks, providing output in tabular format and publication-quality graphics for easy analysis.
MITOCHONDRIAL DNA PART B-RESOURCES
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Silvia Olmastroni, Francesco Ferretti, Lucia Burrini, Nicoletta Ademollo, Niccolo Fattorini
Summary: Based on the study on Adelie penguins in the Mid Victoria Land, Ross Sea, it was found that breeding performance did not differ between study colonies and other penguin colonies in Antarctica. Higher breeding success was observed in central nests and decreased with an increasing number of neighboring nesting skuas.
Article
Zoology
Lorenzo Lazzeri, Paola Fazzi, Marco Lucchesi, Emiliano Mori, Edoardo Velli, Nadia Cappai, Francesca Ciuti, Francesco Ferretti, Federica Fonda, Chiara Paniccia, Marco Pavanello, Stefano Pecorella, Alberto Sangiuliano, Andrea Sforzi, Antonino Siclari, Arianna Spada
Summary: The European wildcat, a threatened carnivore, has been poorly studied in Mediterranean areas. This study used camera-trapping to investigate the activity rhythm patterns of wildcats in Italy. The results showed that wildcats are predominantly nocturnal, with peaks in activity at 10.00 p.m. and 04.00 a.m. They exhibit limited plasticity in activity rhythm patterns and are more active during the warm months. Bright moonlight nights reduce their activity, while the distance from shrubs and woodlands affects their diurnal activity.
Article
Zoology
Francesca Cozzi, Elisa Iacona, Francesco Ferretti, Luca Corlatti
Summary: Using attractants, such as lure, can increase the detection probability and visit duration of red fox in camera trap studies. However, the use of a commercial strawberry scented lure may not be justified due to its cost, and cheaper alternatives may be preferable.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
A. Cotza, L. Corlatti, F. Ferretti, O. Tomassini, J. Santoro, B. Bassano, S. Lovari
Summary: Based on the data collected on mating behavior and spatial behavior of 31 male Alpine chamois individuals during five rutting seasons, this study found that these individuals did not change their mating tactics during the study period, and there were different spatial behavior patterns among territorial males. Territorial males had more mating opportunities than nonterritorial ones, while there were no differences in age, body mass, and frequency of intrasexual aggressive interactions between males adopting different mating tactics.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Niccolo Fattorini, Sandro Lovari, Sara Franceschi, Gianpasquale Chiatante, Claudia Brunetti, Carolina Baruzzi, Francesco Ferretti
Summary: The study investigates the impact of climate change on animal aggression, particularly on the aggressiveness caused by resource competition. By examining a group-living mammal, the Apennine chamois, the study found that increased temperatures and decreased rainfall led to an increase in aggression rates. These effects were related to previous weather conditions and vegetation productivity. The findings suggest that anticipated climate change scenarios may trigger bottom-up consequences on intraspecific animal conflicts.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Luca Corlatti, Antonella Cotza
Summary: This study investigates the maintenance of alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) in wildlife populations, using the Northern chamois as a case study. The results show that territorial males do not have lower survival rates than non-territorial males, contradicting the expectation that dominance implies survival costs. Instead, territorial males appear to enjoy reproductive success at lower survival costs. The study suggests that factors such as environmental stochasticity may play a role in the coexistence of different reproductive behaviours in chamois populations.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
L. Corlatti, L. Iacolina, T. Safner, M. Apollonio, E. Buzan, F. Ferretti, S. E. Hammer, J. Herrero, L. Rossi, E. Serrano, M. C. Arnal, F. Brivio, R. Chirichella, A. Cotza, B. Crestanello, J. Espunyes, D. Fernandez de Luco, S. Friedrich, D. Gacic, L. Grassi, S. Grignolio, H. C. Hauffe, K. Kavcic, A. Kinser, F. Lioce, A. Malagnino, C. Miller, W. Peters, B. Pokorny, R. Reiner, A. Rezic, S. Stipoljev, T. Tesija, Y. Yankov, T. Zwijacz-Kozica, N. Sprem
Summary: This article provides a comprehensive overview of the research and conservation of chamois, focusing on various aspects such as taxonomy, genetics, ecology, behavior, physiology, and disease. Although there has been progress in the study of this species, there are still significant differences in knowledge regarding different species and subspecies. Additionally, the lack of research on populations of different subspecies and geographic areas limits the advancement in chamois science. Understanding the impact of environmental heterogeneity on chamois traits is crucial from both an evolutionary and conservation standpoint. Resolving taxonomic disputes, identifying subspecies hybridization, assessing the impact of hunting, and developing reliable abundance estimation methods are also important for conservation efforts. Further field work and data collection on different populations and subspecies are needed to ensure a successful future for chamois research and conservation.
Article
Zoology
Francesca Brivio, Cristiano Bertolucci, Andrea Marcon, Antonella Cotza, Marco Apollonio, Stefano Grignolio
Summary: The use of accelerometers integrated in GPS collars for remote monitoring animal behavior has increased significantly in recent years. However, comparisons of accelerometer data among different individuals may yield misleading results due to individual factors and environmental effects. A method that takes into consideration individual variations is necessary for accurate behavioral data analysis.
HYSTRIX-ITALIAN JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2021)
