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The outbreaks of two strains of rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) (GI.1 and GI.2) in the Iberian Peninsula have caused substantial economic losses in commercial rabbitries and have affected the conservation of rabbit-sensitive predators due to the dramatic decline of their natural populations. However, the assessment of the impact of both RHD strains on wild rabbit populations has been limited to a few small-scale studies. Little is known about the overall impact within its native range. In this study, we described and compared the effects of GI.1 and GI.2 countrywide by using time series of hunting bag data widely available across the country and compared their trend during the first eight years after the first outbreak of GI.1 (i.e., 1998) and GI.2 (i.e., 2011), respectively. We used Gaussian generalised additive models (GAM) with the number of hunted rabbits as the response variable and year as the predictor to evaluate the non-linear temporal dynamics of the population at the national and regional community levels. The first GI.1 caused a population decline of around 53%, affecting most Spanish regional communities where the disease occurred. The positive trend observed after GI.1 in Spain ended with the initial outbreak of GI.2, which did not appear to cause a national population decline. In contrast, we found significant variability in the rabbit population trend among regional communities, where some increased, and others decreased. Such a disparity is unlikely to be explained by a single factor; rather, it appears to result from several factors, such as climatic conditions, host resistance improvement, virulence attenuation, or population density. Our study suggests that a national comprehensive hunting bag series could aid in elucidating the differences in the impact of emerging diseases on a large scale. Future research should focus on national longitudinal serological studies to shed light on the immunological status of rabbit populations in different reg

A comprehensive review of the natural history of the Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus in Spain.

We describe the extremely rapid worldwide spread of the Lagovirus europaeus/GI.2/RHDV2/b (henceforth GI.2), the causative infectious agent of the so-called ‘novel’ rabbit haemorrhagic disease of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). We tracked down all novel confirmed detections of GI.2 between May 2010 and November 2018 by carrying out a two-step in-depth review. We suggest that such spread would not have been possible without anthropogenic involvement. Our results also point out the importance of reviewing and adapting the protocols of virus detection and management in order to control, mitigate and contain properly, not only GI.2, but also new viruses that may emerge in the future.

Understanding the ecological, behavioural and evolutionary response of organisms to changing environments is of primary importance in a human-altered world. It is crucial to elucidate how human activities alter gene flow and what are the consequences for the genetic structure of a species. We studied two lineages of the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) throughout the contact zone between mesic and arid Ecozones in the Middle East to evaluate the species' response to the growing proportion of human-altered habitats in the desert. We integrated population genetics, morphometrics and movement ecology to analyse population structure, morphological variation and habitat use from GPS- or radio-tagged individuals from both desert and Mediterranean areas. We classified the spatial distribution and environmental stratification by describing physical–geographical conditions and land cover. We analysed this information to estimate patch occupancy and used an isolation-by-resistance approach to model gene flow patterns. Our results suggest that lineages from desert and Mediterranean habitats, despite their admixture, are isolated by environment and by adaptation supporting their classification as ecotypes. We found a positive effect of human-altered habitats on patch occupancy and habitat use of fruit bats by increasing the availability of roosting and foraging areas. While this commensalism promotes the distribution of fruit bats throughout the Middle East, gene flow between colonies has not been altered by human activities. This discrepancy between habitat use and gene flow patterns may, therefore, be explained by the breeding system of the species and modifications of natal dispersal patterns.

Climate change affects distribution and persistence of species. However, forecasting species’ responses to these changes requires long-term data series that are often lacking in ecological studies. We used 15 years of small mammal trapping data collected between 1978 and 2015 in 3 areas at Do~nana National Park (southwest Spain) to (i) describe changes in species composition and (ii) test the association between local climate conditions and size of small mammal populations. Overall, 5 species were captured: wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus, algerian mouse Mus spretus, greater whitetoothed shrew Crocidura russula, garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus, and black rat Rattus rattus. The temporal pattern in the proportion of captures of each species suggests that the small mammal diversity declined with time. Although the larger species (e.g., E. quercinus), better adapted to colder climate, have disappeared from our trapping records, M. spretus, a small species inhabiting southwest Europe and the Mediterranean coast of Africa, currently is almost the only trapped species. We used 2- level hierarchical models to separate changes in abundance from changes in probability of capture using records of A. sylvaticus in all 3 areas and of M. spretus in 1. We found that heavy rainfall and low temperatures were positively related to abundance of A. sylvaticus, and that the number of extremely hot days was negatively related to abundance of M. spretus. Despite other mechanisms are likely to be involved, our findings support the importance of climate for the distribution and persistence of these species and raise conservation concerns about potential cascading effects in the Do~nana ecosystem

In this study, we analyze the changes occurred since 1978 in the community of small mammals of Doñana and the relationship with local climatic changes. Capture-mark-recapture methods were carried out for a total of 16 years, distributed over the last four decades. The results clearly reflect a significant loss of diversity and decline of the community of small mammals, with the virtual disappearance of Eliomys quercinus and Rattus rattus, the sharp decline of Apodemus sylvaticus and the progressive domination of Mus spretus, which is a worrying process because the small mammals are, after the rabbit, the most commonly group of prey consumed by carnivores and raptors in Doñana. The detected changes could have a certain causal relationship with the progressive increase in temperature detected during the study period in Doñana, which would be supported by the fact that species in clear regression are those of eurasian origin and northern distribution E. quercinus and R. rattus, while the current dominant species, M. spretus, has a North African origin and a Mediterranean distribution. Another possibility, not exclusive, is that extreme rarefaction of rabbit may have caused changes in interspecific relationships of the community of vertebrates, and that the impact caused by carnivores and raptors could deviate progressively towards smaller species (from rabbits, to rats and dormice) determining a gradual decline in their abundance., En este estudio se presentan los cambios acaecidos a partir de 1978 en la comunidad de micromamíferos de Doñana, y su posible relación con los cambios climáticos locales registrados. Los datos fueron obtenidos mediante técnicas de captura, marcaje y recaptura durante un total de 16 años, distribuidos a lo largo de las últimas cuatro décadas. Los resultados obtenidos reflejan claramente una pérdida importante de diversidad y un empobrecimiento de la comunidad de micromamíferos, con la práctica desaparición de Eliomys quercinus y Rattus rattus, la disminución acentuada de Apodemus sylvaticus y el progresivo dominio de Mus spretus, lo que constituye un proceso preocupante, ya que los micromamíferos constituyen, tras el conejo, el grupo de presas más consumida por carnívoros y rapaces de Doñana. Los cambios detectados podrían tener una cierta relación causal con el progresivo incremento de las temperaturas detectado durante el periodo de estudio en Doñana, lo que vendría avalado por el hecho de que las especies en clara regresión son las de origen euroasiático y distribución más septentrional, E. quercinus y R. rattus, mientras que la especie dominante en la actualidad, M. spretus, tiene un origen norteafricano y una distribución esencialmente mediterránea. Otra posibilidad, no excluyente, es que la extrema rarefacción del conejo puede haber provocado cambios en las relaciones interespecíficas de la comunidad de vertebrados, y que el impacto ejercido por carnívoros y rapaces ha podido desviarse progresivamente hacia las especies de menor tamaño (de conejos, a ratas y lirones) determinando una disminución gradual de su abundancia.