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Success of vertebrate translocations is crucial to improve efficacy and efficiency of conservation actions but it is often difficult to assess because negative results (failed translocations) are seldom published. We developed surveys and sent them to heads of conservation services in three major Spanish Mediterranean regions. The purpose of our surveys was to determine which methodological factor, that could easily be implemented in practice, was more influential for translocation success. These factors included the origin of translocated individuals (captive or wild) and translocation effort (propagule size and program duration). After analyzing 83 programs, corresponding to 34 different vertebrate species, by means of generalized linear mixed modelling, we found that ‘origin’ was more relevant for translocation success than ‘effort’, although we could not rule out some role of translocation effort. Variance in success of translocation programs involving individuals from wild sources was smaller and consequently results more predictable. Origin interacted with taxa so that success was higher when using wild birds and especially wild fish and mammals, but not when releasing reptiles. Hence, we suggest that, for any given effort, translocation results will be better for most vertebrate taxa if individuals from wild sources are used. When this is not feasible, managers should release captive–reared individuals for a long number of years rather than a short number of years.

This study describes the autumn-winter diet of three carnivores (Mustela lutreola, Lutra lutra and Genetta genetta) in northern Spain. Diet composition was analysed from 85 European mink, 156 otter and 564 spotted genet fecal samples The European mink diet was based on small mammals (relative frequency of occurrences 38.1%), fish (30.9%) and birds (16.7%). Spotted genet consumed mainly small mammals, birds and fruits, whilst otter predated practically only fish (95%). Using Levins’ index, trophic-niche widths in European mink, small-spotted genet and Eurasian otter were 3.76, 3.77 and 1.10, respectively. The trophic niche overlap by Pianka index for autumn-winter was 0.77 for European mink vs. Small-spotted genet, and 0.60 for European mink vs. otter. The average size of brown trout taken by otter was larger than those consumed by European mink.

An experiment was performed with two subadult otters (Lutra lutra) born in captivity that had never seen or eaten amphibians, in which they were fed a new prey with toxic substances in its skin, the Iberian common toad (Bufo spinosus). It was observed that the otters recognised a poisonous amphibian that they had never come into contact with before as a potential prey in the absence of fish, which had previously been their only diet. As from the first test, and as described for wild otters in the literature, they consumed the toads following a learning process that consisted of ventral slicing and skinning in order to avoid contact with the dermal secretions, especially on the head and back, that toads use as a defensive mechanism. We observed the skill of the otters when handling the prey with regards to both killing them and eating them; the otters also immersed their prey in the water of their pond to remove the toxic substances emanating from the toads’ skins. The amount of remains left after the attack was gradually reduced over a period of 16 test experiments. No differences between the skins rejected in the experimental conditions and those found in nature were detected, the otter mainly eating the back legs and taking special care to reject the head, the back and viscera (especially the ovaries in the case of pregnant females). When they had brown trout together with toads in the same biomass, they neither attacked nor consumed the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2002 the Prestige tanker spilled 59 000 tonnes of oil off Galicia (north-west Spain) and contaminated a vast coastal area extending from northern Portugal to Brittany (France). Two study areas, a coastal lagoon (1 sample point) and a stretch of rocky coast (includes 5 sample points), were selected to examine changes on the diet of otters Lutra lutra L. before and after the oil spill. Diet was assessed from 1103 spraints, 553 collected in 2000, before the spill and 550 in 2003, after the spill. In the coastal lagoon, after spill, spraints contained more shrimp ( Palaemon sp.), more prey of marine origin, and fewer gobies ( Pomatoschistus sp.) and eels Anguilla anguilla. A decline of the eel population in the coastal lagoon may have caused otters to make more frequent visits to the sea. On the rocky coast, spraints contained more blennids in 1 of the 5 sampling points, however, the seasonal patterns of the principal prey species (Blennidae, Gadidae and Labridae) were similar across the 2 years of study. The differences may be attributed to common interannual variations in the diet of marine otters, but the design of this study cannot assess the degree of natural variation in the diet of coastal otters before the oil spill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex chromosomes differ in their inheritance properties from autosomes and hence may encode complementary information about past demographic events. We compiled and analyzed a range-wide resequencing data set of the red deer (Cervus elaphus), one of the few Eurasian herbivores of the Late Pleistocene megafauna still found throughout much of its historic range. Our analyses of 144 whole genomes reveal striking discrepancies between the population clusters suggested by autosomal and X-chromosomal data. We postulate that the genetic legacy of Late Glacial population structure is better captured and preserved by the X chromosome than by autosomes, for two reasons. First, X chromosomes have a lower Ne and hence lose genetic variation faster during isolation in glacial refugia, causing increased population differentiation. Second, following postglacial recolonization and secondary contact, immigrant males pass on their X chromosomes to female offspring only, which effectively halves the migration rate when gene flow is male mediated. Our study illustrates how a comparison between autosomal and sex chromosomal phylogeographic signals unravels past demographic processes that otherwise would remain hidden., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)

Contagious ecthyma is a common, worldwide, and highly transmissible viral zoonotic skin disease caused by the orf virus (ORFV). It mainly affects farmed small ruminants, but it has also been described in a broad range of wild and domestic mammals, with Caprinae species most susceptible. Between November 2019 and January 2020, adults, juveniles, yearlings, and kids from an Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) population established in the Montgrí Massif Natural Park (Catalonia, northeastern Spain) were observed with clinical signs and lesions compatible with ORFV infection. The carcass of an adult male with severe disease enabled sample collection for histopathology and molecular studies, confirming ORFV DNA in the skin lesions. Sequence analyses indicated that the ORFV strain detected had high homology (>98%) with strains previously obtained from other European wild ruminant species. The outbreak peaked in December 2019, with an estimated prevalence of 68.97% (95% confidence interval, 53.35-84.59). From February 2020 forward, no individuals with lesions were observed. The yearly counts for population monitoring corroborated the apparently negligible ORFV impact on the ibex population of the Montgrí Natural Park. There are no previous reports of contagious ecthyma in a free-ranging Iberian ibex population., (© Wildlife Disease Association 2024.)

Genome-wide technologies open up new possibilities to clarify questions on genetic structure and phylogeographic history of taxa previously studied with microsatellite loci and mitochondrial sequences. Here, we used 736 individual red deer (Cervus elaphus) samples genotyped at 35,701 single nucleotide polymorphism loci (SNPs) to assess the population structure of the species throughout Europe. The results identified 28 populations, with higher degrees of genetic distinction in peripheral compared to mainland populations. Iberian red deer show high genetic differentiation, with lineages in Western and Central Iberia maintaining their distinctiveness, which supports separate refugial ranges within Iberia along with little recent connection between Iberian and the remaining Western European populations. The Norwegian population exhibited the lowest variability and the largest allele frequency differences from mainland European populations, compatible with a history of bottlenecks and drift during post-glacial colonization from southern refugia. Scottish populations showed high genetic distance from the mainland but high levels of diversity. Hybrid zones were found between Eastern and Western European lineages in Central Europe as well as in the Pyrenees, where red deer from France are in close contact with Iberian red deer. Anthropogenic restocking has promoted the Pyrenean contact zone, admixture events in populations on the Isle of Rum and in the Netherlands, and at least partly the admixture of the two main lineages in central-eastern Europe. Our analysis enabled detailed resolution of population structure of a large mammal widely distributed throughout Europe and contributes to resolving the evolutionary history, which can also inform conservation and management policies., (© 2024 The Author(s). Molecular Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The Iberian ibex is one of the most singular species of the Iberian Peninsula. Throughout the years, this species suffered several threats which led the population to its decline. Many reintroductions and translocations were made, however, none of those actions took into account the genetic patterns of both reintroduced individuals and the target populations. In this paper, we explored the genetic traits of three populations of Iberian ibex in Catalonia, which experienced blind reintroductions in past years: The populations of Iberian ibex from Els Ports de Tortosa i Beseit National Game Reserve (TBNGR), Montserrat Natural Park (Monserrat) and Montgrí, les Illes Medes i el Baix Ter Natural Park (Montgrí) Based on the genetic patterns of the three populations coupled with the absence of genetic introgression with domestic goats-inferred using mitochondrial and nuclear markers-we propose that these should be regarded as two different management units: TBNGR coupled with Montserrat, and Montgrí. Montserrat population should be targeted as a population model for ecology and evolution studies. Although we did not detect evidences of recent bottleneck events, this population seems to be monomorphic for the mtDNA haplotype. Our results suggest that the blind reintroductions from TBNGR to Montserrat failed on maximizing the genetic diversity of the latter. We enhance the importance of genetic monitoring of both the source population and the selected individuals to be re-introduced. We conclude that the three studied population of Iberian ibex must be monitored to explore which strategy would be advantageous for maintaining the genetic diversity. On the other hand, TBNGR should be monitored to assess the existence of its singular genetic variation, where stochastic events could preserve this lost genetic variation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Viruses that affect lagomorphs have decades of reported history of spillover events. One of these viruses is the causative agent of the so-called rabbit or 'lagomorph' haemorrhagic disease (e.g. Lagovirus europaeus/GI.1 and L. europaeus/GI.2). In particular, L. europaeus/GI.2 has shown a great capacity to recombine with existing lagoviruses. In fact, it has replaced the former GI.1 genotype in the wild, and recently, an increase on spillover events has been detected among several lagomorph species including European and North American species of hares. In this study, we report for the first time the infection of a wild Iberian hare with GI.2 (RHDV2/b), potential shedding and associated histopathological alterations. We identify the recombinant GI.4P-GI.2 as causative of the infection and discuss plausible causes regarding the origin of the spillover event and its potential consequences for the Iberian hare wild populations, which is an endemic species of the Iberian Peninsula as well as an important game and prey species for many predators, including endangered species., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The European mink (Mustela lutreola) has undergone a dramatic decline and is one of the most endangered mammals in the world. The invasive American mink (Neovison vison) is considered the main factor for this decline. However, the American mink's introduction and the subsequent ecological concurrence of the two species cannot solely explain the decline or disappearance of the European mink. Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) is the main health problem in fur farming worldwide, causing varied clinical syndromes that depend on the viral strain and host factors. Infection with AMDV has been speculated to contribute to the decline of the European mink, but a detailed study has not been performed. To assess the potential effects of AMDV infection on the conservation of the European mink, we surveyed AMDV antibody in samples from 492 native European mink and 1,735 feral American mink collected over 16 yr. The antibody prevalence in European mink was 32%. There were no statistically significant differences in antibody prevalence between sexes, among years, or among weight classes. For recaptured European mink, incidence of seroconversion (negative to positive) was 0.46 cases per animal-year at risk. For positive animals, the incidence of conversion from positive to negative was 0.18 cases per animal-year at risk. In 1,735 feral American minks, the overall prevalence was 32.4% and varied among the six wild populations studied. Infection with AMDV appears to be endemic, distributed across the entire ranges of both species, and no effects on the population dynamics of either species were observed.

Serious declines in populations of native European mink (Mustela lutreola) have occurred in Europe. One responsible factor may be infectious diseases introduced by exotic American mink (Mustela vison). In order to investigate a possible role for Aleutian mink disease parvovirus (ADV), we surveyed native riparian carnivores and feral American mink. When serum samples from 12 free-ranging European and 16 feral American mink were tested, antibodies to ADV were detected from three of nine European mink. ADV DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in whole cell DNA from four of seven carcasses; two American mink, one European mink and a Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). Lesions typical of Aleutian disease were present in one of the American mink. A portion of the ADV VP2 capsid gene was sequenced and the results suggested that two sequence types of ADV were circulating in Spain, and that the Spanish ADVs differed from other described isolates from North America and Europe. Future conservation and restoration efforts should include measures to avoid introduction or spread of ADV infection to native animals.