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Summary A wild male mouflon (Ovis musimon) was shot due to the observed weakness. Necropsy revealed consolidated lungs and traces of black pigment and fibrin on the liver. On the cut surface, a juvenile fl uke was found in the lungs, while traces of destroyed fl ukes’ migratory channels were found in the liver. F. magna infection in both, wild and domestic ruminants, causes three types of species-specific host-parasite interactions; definitive, dead-end and aberrant. mouflon are classifi ed as aberrant hosts and here we report unsuccessful migration of a juvenile fl uke that led to a severe pneumonia.

Several individual, environmental and parasitic factors can influence the impacts of parasites on host's fitness and on host's ability to transmit these parasites to new hosts. Identifying these factors and the individuals who play a greater role in parasite transmission is of main concern for the development of parasite control strategies. In the present study, we aimed to describe the diversity of gastrointestinal parasites and to identify the individual factors influencing the faecal spreading of parasites in a free-ranging population of Mediterranean mouflon. From the analysis of 433 faecal samples, we found Eimeria spp. and gastrointestinal strongyles (GIS) were the most common parasites (>94%). The faecal oocyst counts of Eimeria spp. were the highest during the first years of life. It was 1.6 times higher in females than in males and 2.5 times higher in individuals in poor than in good body condition. Similarly, the faecal egg count of GIS was higher in females and decreased with age, but only in males. Finally, reproductive females had GIS faecal egg count values 2.6 times higher than non-reproductive females. Management strategies of parasites should thus primarily focus on reproductive females and young individuals in poor body condition as they represent the main contamination source of the environment.

The Asian native Ashworthius sidemi is now in Europe, and several dozen years after its introduction, it is a widespread parasite of all wild cervids. For bovids, the nematode is a significant threat to the European bison (Bison bonasus) population and has also been found in mouflon (Ovis ariesmusimon). Our study aimed to assess the risk of infection for the endemic subspecies of northern (Alpine) chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) – the Tatra chamois (R. r. tatrica), which has a critically endangered status. We conducted the investigation in the mountainous areas of Slovakia and Poland occupied by Tatra chamois (R. r. tatrica), Alpine chamois (R. r. rupicapra), red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Animals (n = 93) shot during licensed hunting and killed in road accidents (roe deer, red deer), or which had died of natural causes (chamois) were post-mortem examined for the presence of Haemonchinae. The investigation confirmed the expansion of Ashworthius sidemi to high mountain regions via Cervidae. A. sidemi affected all of the examined roe deer and 90.0% of the red deer. As for the chamois, A. sidemi was found in one R. rupicapra originating from the Low Tatras, but not in any pure R. r. tatrica individuals living in the High and Western Tatras. Our work is the first confirmation of northern chamois infection with this alien and highly pathogenic blood-sucking nematode. Due to the important health hazard of A. sidemi infection for the Tatra chamois (R. r. tatrica), appropriate measures should be taken to reduce the possibility of parasite transmission between various cervid species living in the Tatra region, as well as the affected population of chamois and the pure Tatra chamois population inhabiting the higher parts of the mountains, constituting their natural habitat., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • A. sidemi distribution extends with cervid hosts into the high mountains. • A. sidemi infection in northern chamois is confirmed for the first time. • Critically endangered Tatra chamois becomes substantially exposed to A. sidemi.

International audience; Life histories are strongly age dependent, notably linked to the onset of reproductive maturity and subsequent senescence. Consequently, ageing is predicted to impact behaviour, through the expression of either mating tactics in males or neonatal antipredator tactics in females. However, the influence of ageing, and the associated reproductive activity, on spatial behaviour remains poorly investigated. In this regard, we quantified age- and sex-specific intra-annual variation in movement rates and space use of two large herbivores with contrasting life histories: the roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, an asocial species with a territorial male mating strategy and a hider neonatal tactic, and the Mediterranean mouflon, Ovis gmelini musimon × Ovis sp., a gregarious species with a roaming male mating strategy and a follower neonatal tactic. We expected age-related differences to be mostly related to (1) age-specific mating tactics during the rut for males and the presence/absence of offspring for females, and (2) experience and/or locomotory senescence otherwise. During the rutting period, older roe deer males travelled greater daily distances than younger males due to patrolling behaviours for territory defence, whereas older mouflon males travelled less than younger males, which often adopted coursing tactics to mate with females. During the birth period, reproductive females had smaller home ranges than nonreproductive females in roe deer, whereas no marked differences were observed in mouflon females. The most marked age-related variation in space use of mouflon occurred outside the reproductive periods; specifically, the oldest individuals travelled less far and had a smaller home range (females only) than younger individuals. Our findings illustrate how space use tactics vary within and between populations of large herbivores, providing strong evidence that age and reproductive activity are major determinants of their spatial behaviour. © 2020 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour

The presence of Toxoplasma gondii in zoos is cause of alert because many susceptible species kept in captivity die of clinical toxoplasmosis. Moreover, excretion of T. gondii oocysts by infected captive wild felines into the facilities could pose a risk to workers. Herbivores in wild collections can serve as sentinels of local transmission, since they get infected by the consumption of oocysts present in ground or water. Both herbivores and felids may reveal the parasite variants which are circulating in the region. We determined the seroprevalence of T. gondii in European mouflons (n = 55) and wild felines (n = 15) from a private zoological collection located in the Eastern region of México, as well as the incidence in 41 of the mouflons using ELISA. The prevalence of T. gondii in mouflons was 14.5% (n = 55) and 17.1% (n = 41) in 2011 and 19.5% in 2012. The estimated incidence was 9.8%–12.2%. In wild felines the frequency was 80%. Four sero-positive animals (two mouflons and the two oldest African lions) were euthanized. Histopathology, conventional PCR (for B1 and SeqRep529 loci) and molecular characterization were carried out. All euthanized animals were positive to T. gondii by PCR. We identified a triple infection (I + II + III) in the brain of a mouflon. In conclusion, a high infective pressure of T. gondii in the collection was found, supported by changes in its prevalence in European mouflons. A high prevalence of infection in wild felines was determined. At least four genotypes of T. gondii are present in herbivores and carnivores, and one mouflon had a mixed infection., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • High infective pressure of T. gondii in mouflons and wild felines of a private collection in Puebla, Mexico. • Four genotypes of T. gondii are present in herbivores and carnivores. • A triple infection was found in one mouflon. • First prospective cross-sectional study, not using serum banks.

In polygynous ungulates, males invest time and energy to reproductive activities during the rut and this involvement is expected to increase with age due to different mating tactics in young versus adult males. In contrast, mating period is expected to be less costly for females for which late gestation and lactation are the most energetically demanding periods. However, empirical supports of these hypotheses through direct measures of reproductive effort are still limited in ungulate species, particularly in males. In addition, this general pattern may be modified in populations facing selective harvesting on adult males, where young males may experience less competition to mate and invest more energy during the rut. We investigated these hypotheses by studying the age- and sex-specific variations of kidney fat reserves from pre- to post-rut periods in a trophy-hunted population of Mediterranean mouflon (Ovis gmelini musimon × Ovis sp.), a polygynous dimorphic mountain ungulate. Females were found to build up energy from the pre-rut to the post-rut periods, most likely to face with the subsequent costs of gestation/lactation that occur few months later. Conversely, kidney fat mass strongly decreased similarly in both young and mature males, and with the same magnitude, suggesting a strong investment of males of all ages in this population. This might be related to the selective hunting pressure on mature males this population is facing with. This result supports the need for more empirical and comparative studies to better grasp the influence of trophy hunting on reproductive effort in male ungulates.

The heterogeneity of climate and different agro-ecological conditions in Iran have resulted in development of 27 indigenous sheep breeds. Wild Asiatic mouflon (Ovis orientalis) is believed to be the ancestor of Iranian sheep. Evaluation of genetic diversity and population structure within and among domestic breeds has important implications for animal breeding programs and genetic resources management. Based on 50K SNP genotype data, we studied the genetic diversity of five indigenous Iranian sheep breeds: Afshari (n = 37), Moghani (n = 34), Qezel (n = 35), Zel (n = 46) and Lori-Bakhtiari (n = 46), and Asiatic mouflon (n = 8) sampled from Iran. Furthermore, genetic diversity and the breed admixture of Iranian sheep were assessed on a larger geographic scale using a reference panel comprising: three indigenous Afghan breeds - Arabi (n = 15), Balouchi (n = 15) and Gadik (n = 15); three indigenous breeds from Turkey and Cyprus - Cyprus Fat Tail (n = 30), Karakas (n = 18) and Norduz (n = 20); and three commercial European breeds - Suffolk (n = 19), Comisana (n = 24) and Engadine Red Sheep (n = 24). The results revealed that the investigated breeds are divided into five genetically distinct clusters according to their geographic origin. Afshari was closest to the local mouflon population and showed signs of mouflon admixture. Qezel was identified as a hybrid sheep breed. Much evidence supported the Afghan breeds being identical. Inbreeding values, which were estimated based on ROHs, were highest for Suffolk (FROH = 0.0544) and lowest for Balouchi (FROH = 0.0078). In conclusion, analysis of selected breeds from neighboring countries along with Asiatic mouflon gave a deeper insight into the evolutionary history and origin of Iranian sheep with important implications for future breed management.

Este artículo se encuentra disponible en la siguiente URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-helminthology/article/abs/epidemiological-approach-to-nematode-polyparasitism-occurring-in-a-sympatric-wild-ruminant-multihost-scenario/035F88D5357E3E01B384A626D973C597 Este es el pre-print del siguiente artículo: Carrau, T., Martínez-Carrasco, C., Garijo, M. M., Alonso, F., Vizcaíno, L. L., Herrera-Russert, J., Tizzani, P. & Ruiz de Ybáñez, R. (2021). Epidemiological approach to nematode polyparasitism occurring in a sympatric wild ruminant multi-host scenario. Journal of Helminthology, vol. 95, art. e29, que se ha publicado de forma definitiva en https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X21000183. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Carrau, T., Martínez-Carrasco, C., Garijo, M. M., Alonso, F., Vizcaíno, L. L., Herrera-Russert, J., Tizzani, P. & Ruiz de Ybáñez, R. (2021). Epidemiological approach to nematode polyparasitism occurring in a sympatric wild ruminant multi-host scenario. Journal of Helminthology, vol. 95, art. e29, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X21000183. The epidemiology behind multi-host/multi-parasite systems is particularly interesting to investigate for a better understanding of the complex dynamics naturally occurring in wildlife populations. We aimed to approach the naturally occurring polyparasitism of gastrointestinal nematodes in a sympatric wild ruminant scenario present in south-east Spain. To this end, the gastrointestinal tract of 252 wild ruminants of four different species (red deer, Cervus elaphus; mouflon, Ovis aries musimon; Iberian ibex, Capra pyrenaica and fallow deer, Dama dama) were studied in Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park (Andalusia, Spain). Of the analysed animals, 81.52% were positive for parasite infection and a total of 29 nematode species were identified. Out of these, 25 species were detected in at least two host species and 11 parasitized all ruminant species surveyed. The multi-host interaction between these nematodes and the four host species is discussed under the perspective of host family-based differences. Preprint

Despite the widespread coexistence of three guilds of the bovid family — deer [red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)], gazelles [goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) and chinkara (Gazella bennettii)], and goats [bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus), Armenian mouflon (Ovis gmelini) and urial (Ovis vignei)] — in southwestern Asia, detailed information on their habitat selection and niche partitioning is lacking. We used species distribution models (SDMs) based on MaxEnt to assess the suitability of habitats for these species. The results showed that MaxEnt models with the area under the ROC curve (AUC) > 0.85 had a good predictive value. The highest and lowest habitat overlaps were obtained for red deer/roe deer (35.4%) and goitered gazelle/chinkara (3.6%), respectively. Our results provide information on habitat selection and niche partitioning in the studied bovids which can improve their conservation efforts.

The mouflon (Ovis gmelini ophion) is the largest wild terrestrial mammal of Cyprus. Regarded as the local flagship species, its population range is limited to the mountainous Paphos Forest and adjacent areas including part of Troodos National Forest Park (> 700 Km2). This species, protected by both national and international legislation, is classified as Endangered by the IUCN, with livestock intrusion, poaching and habitat loss as the main threatening factors. We determined the spatial genetic structure by investigating sexes separately and shed further light on the Cyprus mouflon placement among Ovis haplogroups (HGs) to enforce its protection within an adaptive conservation framework. We genotyped 108 samples collected across the entire species’ range at both14 loci of the microsatellite DNA and the mitochondrial DNA Control Region (CR). Microsatellite genotyping indicated that the wild population retained low genetic variability, which, however, was not associated with a level of inbreeding raising particular concern (FIS = 0.12). An overall weak spatial genetic structure was disclosed, consistently with the limited extension of the mouflon range, the lack of significant physical barriers to dispersal and the intense gene flow mostly occurring along a northeast-southwest axis across the forest. Nevertheless, evidences of structure were found for females in compliance with their philopatric behaviour. The disclosure of unique features compared to Mediterranean and Near East conspecifics, such as the occurrence of a six-fold 76 bp-long repeated motif in the Cyprus mouflon CR, along with the outcome of a phylogenetic reconstruction (based on a far higher number of Ovis GenBank records and Cyprus haplotypes than in previous studies) inspired the proposal of a new haplogroup (HGC2) which included the Anatolian mouflon (O. g. anatolica, former HGX) as sister taxon. While both high habitat heterogeneity and low human disturbance were the main drivers in determining the overall spatial structure, future conservation efforts to preserve this valuable genetic resource should focus on avoiding possible introgressive hybridisation with co-grazing livestock to the edge of its range.

Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) belong to the genus Lentivirus in the Retroviridae family, which are responsible for the diseases maedi-visna and caprine arthritis-encephalitis in sheep and goats worldwide and are also widespread in Slovenian sheep and goats. SRLVs cause lifelong infections with chronic inflammatory lesions in various organ systems. Cross-species transmission of SRLV strains in sheep and goats is well documented, but there are few data on the ability of these viruses to infect wild ruminants. The objective of this study was to investigate whether SRLVs circulate among wild small ruminants in Slovenia. During the 2017–2018 hunting season, a total of 38 blood samples were collected from free-ranging chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) and European mouflon (Ovis ammon musimon). The serum samples were tested for antibodies against SRLV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The serological tests revealed that of all tested mouflons, 1 animal (11.1%) was seropositive, while all samples from chamois were negative. Based on the results of this study and considering the results of previous studies in which SRLV infections were detected in mouflons with low seroprevalence, it is very likely that the detected seropositive animal was an incidental spillover host for SRLV. Although no seropositive samples were found in chamois, we cannot speculate on whether chamois may not be a host for SRLV infection because of the small sample size and the disadvantages of the ELISA assay used when applied to samples from chamois.

Background In the Neolithic, domestic sheep migrated into Europe and subsequently spread in westerly and northwesterly directions. Reconstruction of these migrations and subsequent genetic events requires a more detailed characterization of the current phylogeographic differentiation. Results We collected 50 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles of Balkan sheep that are currently found near the major Neolithic point of entry into Europe, and combined these data with published genotypes from southwest-Asian, Mediterranean, central-European and north-European sheep and from Asian and European mouflons. We detected clines, ancestral components and admixture by using variants of common analysis tools: geography-informative supervised principal component analysis (PCA), breed-specific admixture analysis, across-breed \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$f_{4}$$\end{document}f4 profiles and phylogenetic analysis of regional pools of breeds. The regional Balkan sheep populations exhibit considerable genetic overlap, but are clearly distinct from the breeds in surrounding regions. The Asian mouflon did not influence the differentiation of the European domestic sheep and is only distantly related to present-day sheep, including those from Iran where the mouflons were sampled. We demonstrate the occurrence, from southeast to northwest Europe, of a continuously increasing ancestral component of up to 20% contributed by the European mouflon, which is assumed to descend from the original Neolithic domesticates. The overall patterns indicate that the Balkan region and Italy served as post-domestication migration hubs, from which wool sheep reached Spain and north Italy with subsequent migrations northwards. The documented dispersal of Tarentine wool sheep during the Roman period may have been part of this process. Our results also reproduce the documented 18th century admixture of Spanish Merino sheep into several central-European breeds. Conclusions Our results contribute to a better understanding of the events that have created the present diversity pattern, which is relevant for the management of the genetic resources represented by the European sheep population.

Simple Summary Once present in the entirety of Europe, mouflon (wild sheep) became extinct due to intense hunting, but remnant populations survived and became feral on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia. Although now protected by regional laws, Sardinian mouflon is threatened by crossbreeding with domestic sheep causing genetic hybridisation. The spread of domestic genes can be detrimental for wild populations as it dilutes the genetic features that characterise them. This work aimed to identify diagnostic tools that could be applied to monitor the level of hybridisation between mouflon and domestic sheep. Tens of thousands of genetic markers known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were screened and we identified the smallest number of SNPs necessary to discriminate between pure mouflon and sheep. We produced four SNP panels of different sizes which were able to assess the hybridisation level of a mouflon and we verified that the SNP panels efficacy is independent of the domestic sheep breed involved in the hybrid. The implementation of these results into actual diagnostic tools will help the conservation of this unique and irreplaceable mouflon population, and the methodology applied can easily be transferred to other case studies of interest. Abstract Hybridisation of wild populations with their domestic counterparts can lead to the loss of wildtype genetic integrity, outbreeding depression, and loss of adaptive features. The Mediterranean island of Sardinia hosts one of the last extant autochthonous European mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) populations. Although conservation policies, including reintroduction plans, have been enforced to preserve Sardinian mouflon, crossbreeding with domestic sheep has been documented. We identified panels of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that could act as ancestry informative markers able to assess admixture in feral x domestic sheep hybrids. The medium-density SNP array genotyping data of Sardinian mouflon and domestic sheep (O. aries aries) showing pure ancestry were used as references. We applied a two-step selection algorithm to this data consisting of preselection via Principal Component Analysis followed by a supervised machine learning classification method based on random forest to develop SNP panels of various sizes. We generated ancestry informative marker (AIM) panels and tested their ability to assess admixture in mouflon x domestic sheep hybrids both in simulated and real populations of known ancestry proportions. All the AIM panels recorded high correlations with the ancestry proportion computed using the full medium-density SNP array. The AIM panels proposed here may be used by conservation practitioners as diagnostic tools to exclude hybrids from reintroduction plans and improve conservation strategies for mouflon populations.

This study examines the effectiveness of two methods for cryopreserving post-mortem epididymal sperm - conventional slow freezing employing a short equilibration time with glycerol, and ultra-rapid freezing - from the wild ruminant species Ovis musimon (mouflon) and Dama dama (fallow deer). A Tris-citric acid-glucose (TCG) + 12% egg yolk-based medium was used for the conventional slow freezing of the fallow deer sperm, whereas a Tes-Tris-glucose (TEST) + 6% egg yolk-based medium was used for the mouflon sperm. Glycerol was added to a final concentration of 5% to both media. The same diluents were used for ultra-rapid freezing but replacing the glycerol with 100 mM of sucrose. Sperm variables (motility, viability, acrosome integrity, membrane integrity, and morphological abnormalities) were analyzed before and after cryopreservation. Although values were generally better after the thawing of the conventionally cryopreserved sperm, total sperm motility (38.40 ± 4.44% in mouflon and 31.25 ± 3.37% in fallow deer) and total live sperm (47.19 ± 5.18% in mouflon and 43.13 ± 2.43% in fallow deer) were acceptable for the ultra-rapidly cooled sperm. Independent of the cryopreservation method, membrane integrity, acrosome integrity and the percentages of dead sperm and sperms with a damaged acrosome were better for the cryopreserved mouflon sperm than the fallow deer sperm (P < 0.05). Despite exerting a more harmful effect on sperm variables than conventional freezing, ultra-rapid freezing may be a useful alternative for the cryopreservation of these species' epididymal sperm in the field, as this simple technique does not require sophisticated equipment and expertise.

International audience; Segregation between the sexes or related to age and/or reproductive status is common in many animal taxa, particularly in dimorphic species. The causes of this segregation remain difficult to disentangle, despite numerous attempts. This is probably due to the difficulty of obtaining sufficient data on animal behaviour (e.g. habitat use, activity budgets) and group composition (age/sex and reproductive status) during the various phases of the species' reproductive cycle. Based on an intensive long-term monitoring of a Mediterranean mouflon, Ovis gmelini musimon x Ovis sp., population, we concurrently assessed five hypotheses for segregation linked to forage selection (FSH), reproductive strategy (RSH), social preference (SPH), activity budget (ABH), and weather sensitivity (WSH). We found marked segregation between most age/sex classes. Age-dependent segregation among males was increasingly marked as their age difference increased and segregation between the sexes also increased as males became older and larger. Over the year, segregation between sex, age and reproductive status classes was lowest during the rut. We also observed the highest synchrony of activity in groups composed of individuals of similar age/sex class or reproductive status. Females occurred closer to both secure and high-quality food habitats, especially during the lambing and rearing periods, whereas males used less secure and lower quality habitats as they aged. Differences in habitat use between age/sex classes provided partial or full support for the RSH and FSH. Large males were preferentially observed at higher altitude than females during hot summer days to buffer against heat stress, in agreement with the WSH. A preference for interacting and grouping with peers that express similar activity patterns (ABH and SPH) appears to be the main driver of segregation in this population. Our study confirms the strong multifactorial nature of segregation in ungulates.

The mouflon’s traditional classification as a grazer has recently been questioned, therefore new insight into the species’ feeding and digestion is needed. The presence and share of different ciliate genera in the rumen may contribute to an understanding of a species’ feeding physiology, therefore we analysed the composition of mouflon rumen ciliates and correlated their density with the percentage of different food types eaten by the animals. We found that the dominant ciliates were Entodinium spp., with a small proportion of Anoplodinium denticulatum, Eudiplodinium maggii, Epidinium ecaudatum caudatum and Dasytricha ruminantium . The main food types taken by the animals were deciduous tree leaves, grass and bramble. The density of ciliates from the Entodinium genus rose with an increase in deciduous leaves in the diet and fell with an increase of graminoids in the diet. The density of ciliates from the Anoplodinium and Eudiplodinium sub-genera increased with a rise in tree shoots and was reduced with a rise of deciduous leaves in the diet. These results confirm that the protozoal fauna vary with current food composition in intermediate feeders.

There are seven main sheep breeds in Algeria, partly investigated by their polymorphism using microsatellite and SNP markers by recent authors. The aim of this work is to determine the phylogenetic origin of the three breeds endemic to this country, e.g. Ouled Djellal, Rembi and Berbere, using the sequences of the whole Control Region of mitochondrial DNA. These three breeds are thin-tailed: Ouled Djellal or Arabic sheep of the steppe is the most important breed in Algeria in term of population size; Rembi or sheep of the Saharan Atlas differs from the previous one by its larger spiral horns reminding the mouflon; Berbere or sheep of the Tell Atlas mountain has a smaller body size than both previous ones and considered as close to the ancestor of the sheep of North Africa. The 23 sequences of these animals were included in a dataset containing 320 sequences of 28 breeds (haplogroups A, B, C, D, and E) to assess their phylogenic position. It appears that 87% of Algerian individuals belong to haplogroup B, the rest to haplogroup C, only recorded among Ouled Djellal breed. Given the scattered position of Algerian individuals within the tree, Minor Allele Frequencies of each breed were calculated to construct a distance tree and a network through Reduced Median method. These data were used to estimate the divergence dates of the endemic Algerian breeds, indicating that they appeared through three independent migration events and not through local differentiations following only one migration event. Ouled Djellal breed would be the latest to come from Middle-East, a fact supported by the significant percentage of C haplotype in our sampling.

In this study, short tandem repeat (STR) genotypes of 466 sheep from eleven domestic breeds located in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America were compared with wild Asian Urial sheep and captive Mouflon type sheep to assess genetic diversity and relationship among them. Analysis of sheep breeds at 19 short tandem repeat (STR) loci revealed higher diversity in wild Punjab Urial sheep and domestic sheep from West Asia followed by Europe and Latin America as compared to South Asia, consistent with the history of sheep domestication. The average inter-individual allele sharing distance within breed was found to be lowest in South Asian sheep as compared to West Asian, European and Latin American sheep populations. The estimated global F ST revealed 15.9% of total variation attributable to between breed differences. Investigation of genetic relationship by phylogeny revealed four distinct clusters; the first cluster formed by four South Asian sheep breeds, the second cluster formed by Iraqi and Bulgarian sheep breeds; the third cluster formed by Iranian, Austrian, Burkina Faso and Peruvian sheep breeds and the fourth cluster formed by Punjab Urial and captive mouflon type sheep. Principal components analysis revealed individuals from Punjab Urial sheep population being distributed close to the cluster of West Asian and East European sheep (Hamdani-Karakachanska-West Palminska) while being distinct from the cluster of four Indian breeds. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) was performed to assess the distribution of STR variation as a function of both breed membership and geographic origin, the results of which revealed the structure based on phylogeny to be evidently stronger than the structure based on geographic origin. Bayesian clustering of individuals without prior population information revealed the most appropriate K with nine genetic clusters. In conclusion, the present study showed the Punjab Urial sheep being genetically closer to West Asian and East European sheep breeds as compared to South Asian sheep breeds. The microsatellite based nuclear DNA variations, thus confirmed the wild Punjab Urial sheep did not share any recent common ancestry with Asian domestic sheep, as reported earlier based on mitochondrial sequence variations.

North Africa has a great diversity of indigenous sheep breeds whose origin is linked to its environmental characteristics and to certain historical events that took place in the region. To date, few genome-wide studies have been conducted to investigate the population structure of North African indigenous sheep. The objective of the present study was to provide a detailed assessment of the genetic structure and admixture patterns of six Maghreb sheep populations using the Illumina 50K Ovine BeadChip and comparisons with 22 global populations of sheep and mouflon. Regardless of the method of analysis used, patterns of multiple hybridization events were observed within all North African populations, leading to a heterogeneous genetic architecture that varies according to the breed. The Barbarine population showed the lowest genetic heterogeneity and major southwest Asian ancestry, providing additional support to the Asian origin of the North African fat-tailed sheep. All other breeds presented substantial Merino introgression ranging from 15% for D'man to 31% for Black Thibar. We highlighted several signals of ancestral introgression between North African and southern European sheep. In addition, we identified two opposite gradients of ancestry, southwest Asian and central European, occurring between North Africa and central Europe. Our results provide further evidence of the weak global population structure of sheep resulting from high levels of gene flow among breeds occurring worldwide. At the regional level, signs of recent admixture among North African populations, resulting in a change of the original genomic architecture of minority breeds, were also detected.

This study makes use of data generated by the NextGen Consortium (https://www.epfl.ch/labs/nextgen/consortium)., We aimed to determine whether casein variants that are currently segregating in ovine populations existed before the domestication of sheep or, to the contrary, if their emergence is much more recent. To this end, we have retrieved whole‐genome sequences from Iranian and domestic sheep from Africa, Europe, South and East Asia and West Asia. Population structure analysis based on 55,352,935 SNPs revealed a clear separation between Iranian mouflons and domestic sheep. Moreover, we also observed a strong genetic differentiation between Iranian mouflons sampled in geographic areas close to Tehran and Tabriz. Based on sequence data, hundreds of SNPs mapping to the casein αS1 (CSN1S1, 248 SNPs), casein αS2 (CSN1S2, 268 SNPs), casein ß (CSN2, 146 SNPs) and casein κ (CSN3, 112 SNPs) genes were identified. Approximately 25–63.02% of the casein variation was shared between Iranian mouflons and domestic sheep, and the four domestic sheep populations also shared 44.2–57.4% of the casein polymorphic sites. These findings suggest that an important fraction of the casein variation present in domestic sheep was already segregating in the mouflon prior to its domestication. Genomic studies performed in horses and dogs are consistent with this view, suggesting that much of the diversity that we currently detect in domestic animals comes from standing variation already segregating in their wild ancestors., The European Union 7th Framework Programme (FP7/2010‐2014) provided funding for the project under grant agreement no 244356‐’NextGen’. We acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity for the Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2016–2019 award (SEV‐2015‐0533). The CERCA Programme of the Generalitat de Catalunya also supported our research. Maria Luigi‐Sierra was funded with a fellowship Formación de Personal Investigador (BES‐C‐2017‐079709) awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity. Emilio Mármol‐Sánchez was funded with a PhD fellowship (FPU15/01733) granted by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture.

The development of horns in Caprinae can be influenced by several variables, including food- limiting factors such as population density and climate, as well as negative evolutionary responses to size-selective harvesting. In this study, we investigated the effects of population density, environmental covariates and trophy hunting on horn development in a population of European mouflon Ovis aries musimon introduced to the Mediterranean region of Croatia in the early 1980s. The study population was subject to commercial trophy hunting on males since the mid- 1980s. This allowed to analyse the temporal trend in early horn growth in 341 rams legally culled. Cohort-based linear model and analysis of deviance (ANODEV) revealed a significant negative trend in early horn growth, with a decline of ca. 10% over only 14 cohorts (1993 – 2007). The increase in population density (by ca. 600%) and summer temperature, selected via LASSO regression, explained about 61% and 13% of the decline in early horn growth, as revealed by the ANODEV R2. Our results suggest a prominent role of food- limiting factors in the decline of weapon size. We also found a negative relationship between age at death and early horn growth in our study population, which suggests the occurrence of hunters’ selectivity towards large horns. The effect of trophy hunting on the decline in horn size, however, is difficult to quantify. Our analysis was largely influenced by the rapid increase of mouflon density after introduction, thereby limiting the possibility to detect potential effects of hunting selection, although the large number of rams shot before 5 years of age may possibly lead to undesirable consequences of trophy hunting on mating success. To clarify the consequences of commercial trophy hunting on the mouflon population, the long-term pattern of horn growth and the age-dependent male siring success should be further investigated.

Gastro-intestinal nematodes, especially Haemonchus contortus, are widespread pathogenic parasites of small ruminants. Studying their spatial genetic structure is as important as studying host genetic structure to fully understand host-parasite interactions and transmission patterns. For parasites having a simple life cycle (e.g., monoxenous parasites), gene flow and spatial genetic structure are expected to strongly rely on the socio-spatial behavior of their hosts. Based on five microsatellite loci, we tested this hypothesis for H. contortus sampled in a wild Mediterranean mouflon population (Ovis gmelini musimon × Ovis sp.) in which species- and environment-related characteristics have been found to generate socio-spatial units. We nevertheless found that their parasites had no spatial genetic structure, suggesting that mouflon behavior was not enough to limit parasite dispersal in this study area and/or that other ecological and biological factors were involved in this process, for example other hosts, the parasite life cycle, or the study area history.Le comportement socio-spatial de l’hôte conduit-il à une structure génétique à fine échelle de ses parasites ?Les nématodes gastro-intestinaux, et plus particulièrement Haemonchus contortus, sont cosmopolites et pathogènes chez les petits ruminants. Étudier leur structure génétique spatiale est aussi important que d’étudier celle des hôtes pour pleinement comprendre les interactions hôtes-parasites et les processus de transmission. Pour les parasites ayant des cycles de vie simples (par exemple, les parasites monoxènes), on s’attend à ce que les flux de gènes et la structure génétique spatiale dépendent fortement du comportement socio-spatial de leurs hôtes. En utilisant cinq loci microsatellites, nous avons testé cette hypothèse pour des H. contortus échantillonnés dans une population sauvage de mouflons méditerranéens (Ovis gmelini musimon × Ovis sp.) dans laquelle les caractéristiques de l’espèce et de l’environnement génèrent des unités socio-spatiales. Nous avons néanmoins mis en évidence que leurs parasites ne présentent pas de structure génétique spatiale, ce qui suggère que le comportement des mouflons ne restreint pas la dispersion des parasites dans cette aire d’étude et/ou que d’autres facteurs biologiques et écologiques tels que d’autres hôtes, le cycle de vie du parasite, ou l’histoire de l’aire d’étude jouent un rôle dans ce processus.

The gullet worms, classical Gongylonema pulchrum and newly differentiated Gongylonema nepalensis, are prevalent in various mammals in Japan and Sardinia, Italy, respectively. The former species is cosmopolitan in distribution, dwelling in the mucosa of the upper digestive tract of a variety of domestic and wild mammals, and also humans. At present, the geographical distribution of G. nepalensis is known in Nepal and Sardinia, with the nematode having been recorded from the oesophagus of water buffaloes (Nepal), cattle, sheep, goats and wild mouflon (Sardinia). To clarify their natural transmission cycles among domestic and wild mammals, the present study analysed the ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1) of worms of various origins: G. pulchrum worms from sika deer, wild boars, Japanese macaques, and feral alien Reeves's muntjacs in Japan, and G. nepalensis worms from a red fox and a wild boar in Sardinia. Although the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rDNA and partial cox1 nucleotide sequences of G. pulchrum from native wild mammals in Japan were distinct from those of the worms in cattle, the worms from feral alien Reeves's muntjacs showed the cattle-type ITS genotype and cox1 cattle-I and II haplotypes. The rDNA and cox1 nucleotide sequences of G. nepalensis from a red fox in Sardinia were almost identical to those of the worms from domestic and wild ruminants on the island. The ecological interaction between domestic and wild mammals and their susceptibility to different Gongylonema spp. must be considered when trying to elucidate this spirurid's transmission dynamics in nature.

Feral domestic dogs are efficient wild ungulate hunters in many parts of the world. This has not been confirmed in Mediterranean ecosystems. However, if feral dogs can predate upon wild Mediterranean ungulates, they can also do so upon livestock. Therefore, to more realistically understand human-wolf conflict in areas where wolves and feral dogs overlap, the possible role of the latter taking domestic prey should be considered. During a 6-month study period, we carried out daily observations of a pack of medium-sized dogs, where they were the only large-bodied carnivore capable of killing ungulates in a fenced estate in southern Spain. The estate contained sizeable populations of red deer, fallow deer and mouflons, but no livestock. We described feral dog predation patterns and depredatory impact. We found that dogs predated upon a total of 57 ungulates; fallow deer (47 %), red deer (37 %), and mouflon (16 %). Red deer adults were the least frequent prey, but dogs killed significantly more females and fawns of red and fallow deer. Mouflons were attacked indistinctly. Our results suggest that dogs in our study exhibited a kill pattern similar to Iberian wolves. Therefore, in areas where wolves and feral dogs coexist, a significant proportion of livestock predation could be falsely attributed to the wild canid. In addition, the presence of feral dogs may be a cause of risk in big game hunting estates.

The Laristan mouflon ( Ovis orientalis laristanica ) is considered as the smallest wild sheep in the world and a vulnerable species. This study analysed the mating behaviour of 30 individuals including nine rams, 13 ewes and eight lambs in captivity in the Chitgar woodland Tehran, Iran. In general, the main behaviours comprised ewe-ram and ram-ram positive and negative interactions, consisting of ram fighting and ewe's stimulation. Moreover, ewe-ewe interaction, ranking and defining the territory was recorded for further researches. The study also focused on weather conditions and its connection to the harshness of the mating behaviour.

A serosurvey was performed to assess exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in zoo animals in Spain and to determine the dynamics of seropositivity in some zoo species over time. Sera from 393 zoo animals belonging to 91 species were collected in eight zoos in Spain between 2007 and 2019. Additionally, 39 of the 393 animals from five of the analyzed zoos were longitudinally sampled during the same study period. Antibodies to T. gondii were detected in 165 (42.0 %; CI95 %: 37.1-46.9) of 393 animals by the modified agglutination test (MAT, cut-off = 25). Antibody titers of 25, 50, 100 and ≥500 were found in 25 (15.2 %), 65 (39.4 %), 26 (15.8 %), and 49 (29.7 %) of the seropositive animals, respectively. Feeding habits (carnivorous species) was a risk factor (OR = 5.6; P < 0.001; CI95 %: 3.8-9.0) potentially associated with T. gondii exposure. Eighteen (46.2 %) of the 39 animals longitudinally sampled were always seropositive and five animals (12.8 %) (two spotted hyaena [Crocuta crocuta], one blesbok [Damaliscus pygargus], one white rhinoceros [Ceratotherium simum] and one mouflon [Ovis aries musimon]) seroconverted during the study period. Our results evince a wide circulation of T. gondii in zoos in Spain, including wild felids. Zoo animals can be useful sentinel species to monitor T. gondii circulation in epidemiological scenarios with a close human-wildlife interface. Control measures should be implemented in zoo parks to minimize the risk of exposure of zoo species to T. gondii.

Context In terms of their nutritional physiology, roe deer have been called ‘concentrate selectors’. This implies that they select proteins in their diet and are not able to digest fibre. It is, thus, suggested that in an agricultural landscape, they are unable to digest the high fibre content of arable crops and, thus, suffer and need to be given supplementary feed. Aims Our aim was to determine the nutrient composition and energy content of the roe deer diet in an agricultural habitat compared with that in a natural forest habitat. Methods Rumen contents of 245 roe deer were collected to represent each month of the year for 3 years, weighed, and analysed by standard methods for nutrient and fibre content. Key results Roe deer in the agricultural habitat had rumen contents with significantly higher metabolisable energy (ME) concentrations, with a median of 6.2 MJ ME/kg DM, than did roe deer in the forest habitat, where the median was 5.4 MJ ME/kg DM. The mass of rumen contents in the forest habitat was, on average, 240 g higher than that in the agricultural habitat. Roe deer in the forest habitat compensate for the lower energy concentration in their natural diet by increasing their food intake. The concentration in the agricultural habitat is a result of the higher proportion of easily digestible carbohydrates in the diet. The concentration of crude protein in the rumen contents did not differ statistically between the two areas. In both habitats, the mean crude fibre concentration varied between 24% DM and 34% DM, and was significantly higher in the forest. The concentration of crude fibre selected by the roe deer is similar to the concentration of crude fibre known to be selected by red deer and fallow deer (intermediate feeders) and mouflon (a grazer) (Hofmann 1989). Conclusions The term ‘concentrate selector’ should be replaced by ‘selector’ to avoid misinterpretations. Energy shortfalls were not observed in either of the populations during the study period. Implications Supplemental feeding was not necessary to maintain the population.

Despite increasing consumption of mouflon (Ovis orientalis musimon) meat in Germany, there is currently no surveillance ofToxoplasma gondiiinfection in populations of these animals and generally little knowledge about the prevalence of this protozoan in German wild ungulates. Between 2011 and 2015, we collected 138 blood samples from a free-living mouflon population in central German and tested sera for the presence ofT. gondiiantibodies using a modified agglutination test (MAT, cut-off 1:20). Antibodies were detected in 31 of the 138 samples (22.46%). There was a significant difference in seroprevalence between the different age classes, with antibodies toT. gondiimore frequent in adults. In contrast, there was no significant difference in seroprevalence depending on sex and year of sample collection. Game meat is frequently consumed as raw or undercooked meat and may therefore represent a potential source of human infection withT. gondii.

International audience; In fulfilling their daily activities, animals must expend the least amount of energy possible while feeding in order to optimise their energy balance. Food is removed by congeners as a result of exploitation competition. When a resource becomes limited, an increase in the probability of interference competition (direct competition for the resource) is triggered. While a high social rank may increase foraging time and resource access, this status also has detrimental facets. To explore the benefits of dominance/aggression in a context where true monopolisation of resources could be advantageous, we tested three hypotheses related to the patchiness of resources, agonistic activity (i.e. dominance and aggression) and individual attributes (i.e. morphology and behaviour) in a group of captive mouflon males (Ovis ammon musimon). Feeding performance was analysed using linear mixed models based on predictors about patchiness of the resource, and behavioural and morphological indices. No clear relationship was found between dominance and feeding performance. However, the general pattern showed (i) a decrease in overall feeding performance with the dispersion of the resource; (ii) that the discrepancy in feeding performance among individuals was maximal when confronted with intermediate conditions; and (iii) that alternative tactics allowed subordinate individuals to achieve a similar feeding performance to dominants. The results of this study suggest that, over and above agonistic behaviour and dominance, the motivation of individuals and its variation over time, though difficult to evaluate, could be key to understanding the coexistence of alternative behavioural tactics.

International audience; In the context of global warming, investigating how animals buffer against the hottest conditions is a crucial issue. We focused on habitat selection in a French Mediterranean mouflon population during 2010-2012 summers. Using locations and temperatures recorded on GPS-collared individuals, we assessed thermal cover provided by different habitats and analyzed sex-and scale-specific habitat selection and its thermal consequences for mouflon. At the home range scale, females (n = 26) avoided unsafe plateaux and selected steep refuges, trading off thermal cover with better conditions for lamb survival. Larger males (n = 18), not constrained by young rearing and expected to respond more strongly than smaller females to hot conditions, rather selected forests on plateaux providing thermal cover. In terms of movements, both sexes selected forests during hottest days. Males also took advantage of food and thermal cover provided by moorlands on plateaux until twilight, whereas females traded off food and thermal cover with refuges. Thermal cover significantly influenced habitat selection when temperature at the closest weather station exceeded 17.1 degrees C (95% confidence interval = 14.9-19.7) in males and 15.5 degrees C (95% confidence interval = 13.9-16.5) in females. Above these thresholds, ambient temperatures experienced by mouflon increased more slowly than temperatures at the weather station (males: 0.77 degrees C [95% confidence interval = 0.74-0.79] per 1 degrees C rise at the weather station, females: 0.75 degrees C [95% confidence interval = 0.73-0.76]) and more slowly than below these thresholds (males: 0.89 degrees C [95% confidence interval = 0.85-0.93], females: 0.94 degrees C [95% confidence interval = 0.89-0.98]). These findings suggested that habitat selection contributes to buffer mouflon against summer conditions but raised questions on energetic and fitness costs in areas where summer temperatures are predicted to increase further.

This study compares the effectiveness of two methods of sperm selection - Capripure® density-gradient centrifugation (DGC) and dextran swim-up (DSU) - in semen samples from Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) and European mouflon (Ovis musimon). During the increasing photoperiod, Capripure® DGC improved the percentage of sperm with progressive motility (P

Interspecific interference among livestock, native and non-native large herbivores is a key management and conservation issue, and little is known about its dynamics and implications. We investigated whether native Alpine chamois (Rupicapra r. rupicapra) modify their spatial distribution when non-native mouflon Ovis orientalis musimon and livestock (domestic sheep Ovis aries, and domestic goats Capra hircus) inhabit the same areas in the Alpine meadows of Italian Eastern Alps. We walked 5 hiking trails (5.0 ± 0.1 km) at dawn, twice a month during summers 2007 and 2008. During these surveys, we located each group of free-ranging ungulates (chamois, mouflon, and livestock). We also estimated the quality of meadows, finding that forage availability increased linearly as the distance from rocks (i.e., chamois refuges) increased. We predicted that the linear distance between chamois groups and rocks would depend on the co-presence of livestock and mouflon groups. Our results showed that chamois were more likely to be observed in areas with low food availability, but safer (i.e., closer to the rocks), whenever the nearest livestock group was larger and closer, especially if the shepherd’s dog was present. Avoidance of the best feeding patches by the wild species is presumably due to spatial interference (e.g. visual and acoustic disturbance) and/or predation risk perception caused by the presence of shepherd’s dogs. Similarly, the larger was the nearest group of mouflon, the closer to rocks was located the chamois group. Interestingly, mouflon group vicinity induced chamois to move closer to rocks only if mouflon rams were within the group. This suggests that physical displacement of the smaller species (i.e. chamois) is likely to occur to avoid direct disturbance of larger mouflon rams. Our study clearly showed how a native herbivorous species adjusts its spatial distribution and decreases the likelihood of using areas with higher food availability when livestock and/or a non-native species co-occur.

We reviewed data on the diets of mouflon (Mediterranean island populations Ovis gmelini musimon and introduced hybridized populations Ovis gmelini musimon × Ovis sp.) from 33 field studies (comprising 51 independent data points suitable for analysis) to detect general patterns in the botanical composition of the diet and identify ecological factors explaining its variation. We expected mouflon, generally classified as grazers, to include botanical entities other than grass in their diet, especially when they are forced to do so by low resource availability, and in certain seasons. Diet composition was investigated based on samples of rumen content and faeces. We combined these data with environmental characteristics at each site using a co-inertia analysis. As expected, grass often constituted the highest proportion in the diet (in 28 of the 51 data points) and represented on average 35% (range = 0–91%) of mouflon diet, confirming the importance of this food for the species. However, referring strictly to commonly used thresholds (>75% or >90%) shows that the classification of mouflon as grazers could be questioned. Indeed, forbs and shrubs constituted 24% (range: 0–93%) and 16% (range: 0–55%) of their diet, respectively, so that mouflon should at least be considered as variable grazers. Forbs represented a high percentage of the overall diet in the Kerguelen Archipelago, southern Indian Ocean (autumn and winter: 73%) and Teide National Park, Canary Islands, Spain (autumn and winter: 83%), whereas shrubs represented a high proportion of the overall diet in Mediterranean areas (19%). Diet composition varied with spatio-temporal variation in forage availability (documented as habitat related or seasonal variation), confirming that mouflon are able to feed on a large variety of plants. Further investigations concerning both digestive morphology and consequences of the inclusion of browse in the diet on population dynamics of mouflon are needed to understand the persistence of this species over a wide range of habitats despite a potential mismatch between its digestive ability and its observed diet.

The present study reports the effect of shortening the prefreezing equilibration time with glycerol on the quality of frozen-thawed ejaculated sperm from four Mediterranean mountain ungulates Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica), Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica), mouflon (Ovis musimon) and aoudad (Ammotragus lervia). Ejaculated sperm from these species were divided into two aliquots. One was diluted with either a Tris-citric acid-glucose based medium (TCG-glycerol; for chamois and ibex sperm) or a Tris-TES-glucose-based medium (TTG-glycerol; for mouflon and aoudad sperm), and maintained at 5 °C for 3 h prior to freezing. The other aliquot was diluted with either TCG (chamois and ibex sperm) or TTG (mouflon and aoudad sperm) and maintained at 5 °C for 1 h before adding glycerol (final concentration 5%). After a 15 min equilibration period in the presence of glycerol, the samples were frozen. For the ibex, there was enhanced (P < 0.05) sperm viability and acrosome integrity after the 3 h as compared with the 15 min equilibration time. For the chamois, subjective sperm motility and cell membrane functional integrity were less (P < 0.05) following 15 min of equilibration. In the mouflon, progressive sperm motility and acrosome integrity was less (P < 0.05) when the equilibration time was reduced to 15 min. For the aoudad, the majority of sperm variables measured were more desirable after the 3 h equilibration time. The freezing-thawing processes reduced the sperm head size in all the species studied; however, the equilibration time further affected the frozen-thawed sperm head variables in a species-dependent fashion. While the equilibration time for chamois sperm might be shortened, this appears not to be the case for all ungulates. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.

Coat colour contributes to physiological adaptation in mammals and mediates response to thermal stress. Twenty-four adult West African Dwarf sheep of both sexes and with different coat colour types were used in this study. We measured rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and pulse rate (PR) before sunrise and sunset during the late dry season (January–March) and early rainy season (April–June) as well as packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, plasma sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+). Animals with black coat colour had the highest (P

Reduction in livestock productivity from internal parasites remains a major problem including the roundworm Haemonchus contortus. Treatment is rather expensive in most resource poor regions of the world, and the use of genetically resistant genotypes have been advocated. Our preliminary study investigated the association of coat colour types and tolerance to H. contortus infection in West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep. Twenty-four WAD sheep (12 males and 12 females) representing five coat colour types were orally dosed with 1000 H. contortus third-stage infective larvae, and data were collected over a 3-week period on initial and post-infection body weight (IBW and PIBW), packed cell volume (PCV), total serum proteins (TSP), albumin (ALB), globulin (GLB) and faecal egg counts (FEC). Coat colour was significantly associated with tolerance to H. contortus infection (p

Investigating the factors shaping the activity of large herbivores is of prime importance because changes in their activity patterns may indicate physiological stress, which can affect reproduction and survival of individuals, and thereby population growth. Although climatic conditions are known to impact the activity patterns of large herbivores, few studies have investigated this relationship at a fine temporal scale. From a continuous monitoring of activity, we assessed the influence of temperature and wind on the summer activity of female mouflon ( Ovis gmelini musimon Pallas, 1811 × Ovis sp.) facing summer droughts. Females showed a marked bimodal activity pattern, with activity peaks occurring after dawn and before dusk. When temperature increased and wind speed decreased, the morning activity peak occurred earlier, while the evening activity peak was delayed. Hence, under stressing climatic conditions, female mouflon decreased their diurnal activity while increasing their nocturnal activity. However, this nocturnal increase did not prevent the activity rate over 24 h to decrease during hot nonwindy days compared with cool windy days. Although the occurrence of wind mitigated the negative influence of heat on the diurnal activity, wind had no effect at the daily scale. These findings emphasize the importance of working at different temporal scales when assessing the activity patterns of free-ranging vertebrates.

Over 200 years after the great Goldau rockslide, mighty rocks still lay strewn where they fell. In 1925, in the rockslide area, Nature and Animal Park Goldau was founded. The compound plays a significant role in showing domestic and European animals. Deer, wolves, bears, lynxes, birds of prey and domesticated animals – approximately 700 animals and 100 animal species – live in a natural habitat of some 34 hectares. Visitors can watch the animals all year round. Rest areas, tours, discovery stations, and – due to the extensive free running zones where people can feed sika deer, mouflon, and other cloven-hoofed animals – beckon people to stay. In 2009, a fascinating enclosure for bears and wolves went operational, and, two years after the opening, has withstood the test of endurance. Only the bears had to be stopped in front of the caves’ trench. Vegetation is very good thanks to the planting having been done long before the opening. Nothing has to be refitted. 700 groups can be accompanied to tour the compound annually).

Haemoglobin (Hb) phenotypes have been studied in 100 wild European mouflons living on the island of Sardinia by means of isoelectric focusing (pH 6.7-7.7 range) of the native tetramers, acid-urea-Triton gel-electrophoresis, and reversed-phase HPLC of globin chains. The result indicates the presence of two beta-globin alleles one of which, corresponding to the beta B, being the most common (f = 0.94). None were carriers of the earlier described Hb A. The new Hb was provisionally named Hb M. Severely anaemic mouflons were able to synthesize Hb C at expense of the Hb B alone, thus suggesting structural and physiological homologies between mouflon beta B and sheep beta A globin genes, and between the newly observed beta M allele and the beta B of the domestic Sardinian sheep.

To assess competition for trophic resources within a guild of ungulates, we studied the food niches of sympatric ungulates in an alpine area of the Italian Western Alps and evaluated the extent of their dietary overlap, especially with regard to the presence of the introduced mouflon Ovis musimon. The roe deer Capreolus capreolus had the most diverse diet including dicotyledons, young sprouts of trees and an unusually high percentage of graminoids. The red deer Cervus elaphus and chamois Rupicapra rupricapra mainly consumed graminoids, supplemented with dicotyledonous herbs and woody plants. The mouflon was a grass feeder, with graminoids representing the majority of items ingested in all seasons. Among the native species, we recorded a high overlap of feeding choices between red deer and chamois, which frequently used the same areas and are both intermediate feeders. The mouflon showed considerable dietary overlap with the chamois and red deer in all seasons, while the similarity with roe deer was low. High food–niche overlap can imply competition but only if resources are limited and the species use the same habitats.

This paper describes the diet of young Lammergeiers Gypaetus barbatus during the nesting period on the island of Corsica. From 1985 to 1990, food items were collected from 10 nests after the young had fledged. These nests were from five territories where the potential food supply was estimated using a range of ‘large mammal’ counts. Feathers, bones and isolated hooves were used to identify prey. For each nest, the minimal number of food portions was quantified, ignoring material that provided no food value. The diet consisted mainly of limb extremities of domestic ungulates (c. 36% by number of portions of sheep and goat; 33% of cattle, mostly calves). Pigs, both wild and domestic, yielded c. 16% of the items. Where present on the territory, mouflon occurred frequently in nests (c. 12% of items). Birds and small mammals were scarce in the diet. For three territories, samples varied less among years than among territories. There was a strong association between the diet of the young and the food available in the territories. We examined the possible links between known 20th century changes in stock rearing activities and the Corsican Lammergeier's diet.

The abundance, density, and habitat use of roe deerCapreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) and mouflonOvis aries Linnaeus, 1758 were studied in a confined Mediterranean area in Greece with a dung survey based on the faecal accumulation rate (FAR) technique. Estimated density was modelled with generalized additive models using altitude, habitat type, and slope as potential covariates. Model selection among the set of candidate models was conducted based on their generalized cross-validation score. Roe deer had an estimated mean density of 13.9 ind./km2 and the best model included slope and habitat type as covariates. The mean density of mouflon in the study area was 22.1 ind./km2 and the best model used altitude and habitat type as covariates. For both species, the highest densities were encountered in abandoned cultivations and glades, followed by conifer forests, while the lowest densities were observed in maquis. However, use of open habitats by mouflon was much greater than it was for roe deer. The strong preference of mouflon (a grazer species) for open habitats that were abundant with grasses probably reflected food availability and contrasted with the more diverse habitat use by roe deer (a selective browser).

An interspecific embryo transfer program was conducted for genetic improvement and increasing the number of offspring from a flock of mouflon sheep in Argentina. The female donor mouflons were divided into three groups, G1 ( n =5), G2 ( n =4) and G3 ( n =5). The total NIH-FSH-P1 dose given to each donor on the superovulatory treatment was 260, 200 and 160mg for G1, G2 and G3, respectively. The mouflons in G3 were maidens, while the others were multiparous. Domestic Corriedale ewes ( n =60) were synchronized and used as recipients. The embryo recovery and transfer was performed by a surgical method. Mouflons ( n =13) responded to the superovulatory treatment with an average of 9.1±2.8 ovulations. A low incidence of early luteal regression was found (1 out of 14 donors). Embryo recovery rates were 60, 31 and 76% in groups G1, G2 and G3, respectively. The percentage of transferable embryos obtained in G1 and in G2 exceeded 80%. None of the embryos obtained from G3 were of transferable quality. In G1, 25 transferable embryos were recovered and transferred to 13 recipients, resulting in a pregnancy rate of 76.9% (10/13). In G2, 10 embryos were transferred to 5 recipients, resulting in a 60% pregnancy rate (3/5). Lambing rate was 60% (15/25) and 30% (3/10) for G1 and G2, respectively. Thirteen lambs were born to the 14 donors following natural service after the embryo recoveries. This study demonstrates that the application of IET technology would have great reproductive impact, especially when the donor mouflon hinds are selected according to age and reproductive history.

Although it is widely accepted that populations vary in space and time, defining the spatial scale of population structure relevant for understanding temporal variation or for management and conservation purposes remains a challenge. We studied jointly temporal patterns of social and spatial structures in an introduced population of mouflon ( Ovis gmelini musimon (Schreber, 1782)) to define the temporal stability of these structures and to uncover the history of the colonization process. We expected social organization to remain stable between years, mouflon to stay sedentary, and colonization to have occurred through a diffusion process. We used yearly censuses performed between 1994 and 2004, and collected information in managers’ archives and newspapers reporting the presence of mouflon in different areas since its introduction in 1954 in the Bauges mountains, France. Mouflons were divided into male and nursery groups, whose number (1.88 ± 0.31 for males and 7.54 ± 0.58 for nurseries) and composition (7.05 ± 1.25 individuals in male groups; 13.6 ± 1.41 females, 8.11 ± 0.72 lambs, and 6.51 ± 0.65 males in the nurseries) remained stable over years. The spatial distribution of nursery groups was clustered in five areas, highly correlated between years (p < 0.001), suggesting that the same groups were observed in given areas every year and confirming the sedentary lifestyle of the species. The presence–absence data of the species since its introduction suggested a colonization by diffusion. We discuss the social and spatial structures of the population and the type of colonization process that could have led to this kind of structure.

International audience; Interactive behaviour and the spatial relationships of mouflon lambs with their mothers and peers were studied in an enclosed population to look for possible early differentiation between the sexes in their social behaviour. The acts received (affiliative, sexual and agonistic behaviours) and emitted (avoidance, locomotion and the behaviours listed above) by lambs and the identity of partners were recorded during the first 15 weeks of age, on 25 mother–young dyads. From a developmental point of view, three stages were found: (1) during the first week of life, the lamb's behaviour was centred on its mother; (2) during weeks 2–6, male and female lambs exhibited high levels of interactive behaviours, with a higher frequency of sexual and strong agonistic behaviours performed by males than by females; (3) interactive activity decreased considerably in both sexes during the second and third months. However, gender differences remained: female lambs often avoided interactions with other lambs and tended to stay close to their respective mothers, while male lambs interacted more with peers and were more often at some distance from their mothers. Both sexes tended to be close to male lambs at these early stages of life due to the strong tendency of males to approach other lambs. These results are consistent with the ‘social affinity hypothesis’ and show that social mechanisms deserve more attention to explain adult behaviour.

Although many mouflon Ovis gmelini musimon populations have been introduced to continental southern and central Europe, little is known about their reproductive output. Based on post-mortem analysis of 344 harvested females, the variation in reproductive performance was investigated in three wild populations: two located in the French Alps and one in the south of France. Examination of tracts indicated a high pregnancy rate (> 80%) for females ${\ge}1.5$ years old. We found that a significant proportion of female lambs were pregnant in the Alps, c . 1 year earlier than generally reported for first reproduction in the mouflon, whereas female lambs did not conceive in the southern France population. Pregnant female lambs and yearling females always bore a single foetus. Among pregnant females ${\ge}1.5$ years old, twinning occurred less often in southern France (2.5%) than in the Alps (10.8% and 20.7%). The data required to relate body mass and reproductive output of ewes at individual level were lacking, but female lamb–ewe body mass ratio was used to test that the population with high reproductive output should have the highest ratio. As expected, the index was higher in the Alps than in southern France, suggesting between-population differences in the quality of the local environment. Differences in growth pattern and birth timing of lambs, or different tactics of maternal care could also have influenced the female lamb–ewe body mass ratio. Crossings between wild and domestic sheep during the recent history of these populations and differences in environmental conditions might have interplayed to shape age at first reproduction and twinning rates.

Five mouflon [average body mass (BM) 33 kg] and two roe deer (average BM 20 kg) with rumen cannulas were kept in large enclosures under semi-natural conditions and were used for seasonal studies on gastrointestinal tract (GIT) indigestible fill and digesta passage kinetics. As the mouflon were not fully mature, both species had similar digesta volumes in the reticulorumen (RR; mouflon 5.5 ± 1.8% of BM; roe deer 5.4 ± 1.5% of BM); however, the mouflon had lower RR liquid flow rates (15.1 ± 4.3 ml h−1 kg−0.75) than the roe deer (19.2 ± 0.2 ml h−1 kg−0.75), and particle retention in the RR accounted for 68 ± 3% of total GIT retention in the mouflon versus 55 ± 6% in the roe deer. Annual average total GIT retention times for liquids and particles were longer in the mouflon (23.4 ± 0.9 h and 37.9 ± 4.0 h) than in the roe deer (18.4 ± 1.7 h and 22.4 ± 1.9 h). Similarly, annual average RR retention times for liquids and particles were longer in the mouflon (11.9 ± 0.9 h and 25.8 ± 3.3 h) than in the roe deer (8.1 ± 1.7 h and 12.5 ± 2.3 h). The factor of selective particle retention in the RR (retention of particles/retention of liquid) was 2.10 ± 0.09 in the mouflon versus 1.54 ± 0.01 in the roe deer. These observations are in accord with differences in digesta passage characteristics postulated between browsing and grazing ruminants. Total GIT indigestible fill was lower in the mouflon than in the roe deer (10.7 ± 2.1 g kg−1 and 13.3 ± 1.0 g kg−1).

The objective of this study was to determine the fatty acid composition of semitendinous muscle and perirenal adipose tissue of Sarda and crossbred Mouflon x Sarda lambs. Lambs were slaughtered at 40 clays of age. Fatty acid composition was similar for S x S and crossbred SxM lambs. n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio was 2.30 in pure lambs and 2.90 in crossbred. In ST muscle of SxS lamb, index of atherogenicity was 0.95 and index of thrombogenicity was 1.01; in crossbred IA was 0.87 and IT was 1.01. Both genotypes were characterized by a FA profile appropriate in relation to their contribution to health.

Contrary to the numerous reports on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in domestic animals, only three articles concerning zoo animals are documented in the literature. A skin infection of an African elephant (Loxodonta africana) calf was most likely acquired from an infected caretaker. Another zoo detected MRSA in the rumen content of a mouflon (Ovis aries), and, in a third facility, it was reported in a fistulous wound at the coronary band of a digit of an Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). In the present study, which lasted 13 months and involved 93 different individual mammals that belonged to 40 species and 19 families housed in the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Belgium, this study reports the absence of MRSA in swabs of nostrils, skins, conjunctiva, vulva, abscess, and arm rests in public spaces. Samples were enriched overnight and inoculated on a selective chromogenic medium.

In order to obtain molecular and biochemical data, which might help to elucidate aspects of evolution of Caprinae globin genes, we characterized the Hb phenotype ofAmmotragus lervia (Barbary sheep) and compared it withO. aries (of the A and B-haplotypes),O. g. musimon (of the B and M-haplotypes),O. g. ophion (Cyprus mouflon), andCapra hircus. DNA sequencing analysis on PCR amplified segments was used to define the adult β-globin gene of Cyprus mouflon and Hb B type sheep. The structure of the adult β-globin gene of Barbary sheep was partially determined for the first time indicating closer relationships with goat than with sheep.