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The proliferation of forest edges and invasive predators have been identified as two primary threats to carnivore populations globally. These threats often occur in unison, facilitated by anthropogenic activities (e.g., fragmentation), and together may pose a greater influence than when they occur separately. Targeted conservation actions for forest carnivores, including Madagascar carnivores, have been hindered by a failure to understand the relative contributions of these factors in driving species declines. To fill this gap, we conducted an extensive camera survey along the edge of intact, continuous protected rainforests in eastern Madagascar to evaluate the extent invasive predators and forest edge separately and in combination affect native carnivore space use. We hypothesized that structural vegetation changes at the forest edge interact with invasive predator trap success and occurrence to reduce native carnivore space use near the forest edge and separately have less influence than when combined. In contrast to findings in fragmented and degraded forests of Madagascar, we found hard forest edge and invasive predators alone do not indiscriminately reduce native carnivore space use in continuous intact forest. Instead, we found free‐roaming dogs and cats interact with their surrounding environment (i.e., forest edge) in unique ways that shape species response differently than within interior forest. At the forest edge, vegetational changes of increasing shrub cover and the occurrence of dogs reduce space use of three of four native carnivores. However, we found greater effects of proximity to villages, especially with high invasive predator activity (free‐roaming cats). Ultimately, native carnivores showed variable sensitivities to pressures we examined, providing support for species‐specific management actions to maximize conservation outcomes. We encourage future studies to consider evaluating the magnitude of separate and combined threats to carnivores. In doing so, conservationists can better identify when threats can be managed in isolation and when they require simultaneous mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of exotic predators in ecosystems across the world is a leading driver of native species' declines. Exotic predators largely influence native species through predation and harassment, which may cause native species to avoid them spatially. We used a camera trap dataset from seven sites in Madagascar's largest protected area complex to investigate spatial co‐occurrence patterns between three exotic predators (free‐ranging domestic dogs Canis familiaris and cats Felis silvestris, and small Indian civet Viverricula indica) and native ground‐dwelling forest birds (n = 5) and small mammals (n = 4). We created 216 two‐species occupancy models for 27 exotic predator‐native species pairings to examine how habitat, exotic predator presence or both, influenced each native species' occupancy and/or detection. We found that native bird and small mammal occupancy and/or detection were strongly related to an exotic predator's presence 52% of the time (i.e. 14 of 27 exotic predator‐native species pairings). Six of the 14 species pairings (i.e. 43%) had non‐independent co‐occurrence patterns, four of which were habitat‐mediated. The effect of exotic predator presence on native species' detection was largely negative, depressing native species' detection in seven out of 12 instances (i.e. 58% of the time). The small Indian civet and free‐ranging cats each strongly influenced the occupancy and/or detection of six species for a combined impact on seven native species, while domestic dogs strongly influenced two species. By including habitat covariates in two‐species occupancy models, we gained deeper insight into the effect exotic predator presence has on native species' distribution. We also note that the strong effect of exotic predator presence on our ability to detect native species can hinder the ability of researchers to provide accurate parameter estimates. We recommend future research into the synergistic effects that habitat degradation and exotic species presence has on native species. The presence of exotic predators is one of the leading causes for declines in native biodiversity across the world. In northeastern Madagascar, we found that three exotic predators (free‐ranging dogs and cats, and small Indian civets) and habitat degradation are causing declines in native small mammal and bird occupancy and detection. In particular, free‐ranging cats and small Indian civets each strongly influenced six species. We recommend that further research on the influence of exotic predators on native populations take into account other possible influences (such as habitat degradation) to pinpoint any possible synergistic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human populations continue to increase and encroach on remaining natural habitats worldwide, resulting in greater numbers and larger ranges of commensal exotic carnivores such as cats and dogs. This results in increased interactions with native wildlife. In Madagascar, we know relatively little about the effects of domestic and/or feral dogs and cats on native carnivore populations. We investigated spatial interactions by combining photographic sampling across seven sites with two-species co-occurrence modeling to provide the first assessment of the spatial co-occurrence of native and exotic carnivores in Madagascar, including an examination of habitat characteristics that explain these relationships. Our surveys from 2008 to 2013 accumulated 2991 photo-captures of native and exotic carnivores in 8854 trap nights. We found that native and exotic carnivores in rainforest habitat occur together less often than expected and that exotic carnivores may be replacing native carnivores, particularly in forest areas nearest villages. Six of the native carnivores in this study had higher site use in the absence of exotic carnivores and their species interaction factors ( SIF) revealed a lack of co-occurrence (e.g. SIF < 1.0). We found that nocturnal and/or crepuscular native carnivores were less likely to co-occur with exotic carnivores. We demonstrate the effectiveness of combining photographic sampling with co-occurrence modeling to investigate the effects of exotic carnivores on an entire community of native carnivores. Our study exposes the strong negative influence of exotic carnivores, ranging from exclusion to complete replacement of native carnivores, and we urgently recommend a combination of targeted educational programs and removal programs to combat the influx of exotic carnivores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Madagascar's Eupleridae carnivores are perhaps the least studied and most threatened family of Carnivora. Investigating potential direct and indirect competition among these native species and sympatric exotic carnivores is necessary to better direct conservation actions. From 2008 to 2013, we photographically surveyed a diverse rainforest landscape, comparing six native and three exotic carnivores' activity patterns throughout the diel cycle. We used hierarchical Bayesian Poisson analysis to describe the activity patterns of Madagascar's carnivore community, assessed effects of season and site on temporal activity patterns, and estimated coefficients of overlap between carnivore pairings to assess effects of body size and ecological niche on temporal overlap among native and exotic carnivores. We observed changes in temporal activity patterns across seasons particularly during the austral summer (hot-dry season) for four native and two exotic carnivores, including evidence of fossa Cryptoprocta ferox altering their temporal activity during their mating season (hot-dry season). We found evidence of high overlap between natives and exotics indicating the potential for increased interactions and competition. The greatest overlap in temporal activity occurred between both ring-tail Galidia elegans and brown-tail vontsira Salanoia concolor and exotic dogs Canis familiaris. Cr. ferox, falanouc Eupleres goudotii and spotted fanaloka Fossa fossana also overlapped in activity with the nocturnal, exotic Indian civet Viverricula indica. Cr. ferox avoided humans and Ca. familiaris across all seasons. Unexpectedly, carnivore body size and ecological niche were not important predictors of temporal overlap. Previous research has shown these native and exotic carnivores overlap spatially and these new findings of temporal overlap among native and exotic carnivores add urgency to the need to manage exotic carnivores across Madagascar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canine rabies causes an estimated 60,000 human deaths per year, but these deaths are preventable through post-exposure prophylaxis of people and vaccination of domestic dogs. Dog vaccination campaigns targeting 70% of the population are effective at interrupting transmission. Here, we report on lessons learned during pilot dog vaccination campaigns in the Moramanga District of Madagascar. We compare two different vaccination strategies: a volunteer-driven effort to vaccinate dogs in two communes using static point vaccination and continuous vaccination as part of routine veterinary services. We used dog age data from the campaigns to estimate key demographic parameters and to simulate different vaccination strategies. Overall, we found that dog vaccination was feasible and that most dogs were accessible to vaccination. The static-point campaign achieved higher coverage but required more resources and had a limited geographic scope compared to the continuous delivery campaign. Our modeling results suggest that targeting puppies through community-based vaccination efforts could improve coverage. We found that mass dog vaccination is feasible and can achieve high coverage in Madagascar; however, context-specific strategies and an investment in dog vaccination as a public good will be required to move the country towards elimination.

Background: Determining surgical risk in cirrhotic patients is difficult and multiple scoring systems have sought to quantify this risk. The purpose of our study was to assess the impact of Childs-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP), Model of End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), and MELD-Sodium (MELD-Na) scores on postoperative morbidity and mortality for cirrhotic patients undergoing nontransplant surgery., Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective review of all cirrhotic patients who underwent nontransplant surgery under general anesthesia over a 6-year period of time to analyze outcomes using the 3 scoring systems., Results: Sixty-four cirrhotic patients (mean age, 57 y; 62 men) underwent nontransplant surgery under general anesthesia. A CTP score of ≥ 7.5 was associated with an 8.3-fold increased risk of 30-day morbidity, a MELD score of ≥ 14.5 was associated with a 5.4-fold increased risk of 3-month mortality, and a MELD-Na score ≥ 14.5 was associated with a 4.5-fold increased risk of 1-year mortality. Emergent surgery, the presence of ascites, and low serum sodium level were associated significantly with morbidity and 1-year mortality., Conclusions: The major strengths of the 3 scoring systems are for CTP in estimating 30-day morbidity, MELD for estimating 3-month mortality, and MELD-Na for estimating 1-year mortality., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)