Juan Herrero

Dynamics of an infectious keratoconjunctivitis outbreak by Mycoplasma conjunctivae on Pyrenean Chamois Rupicapra p. pyrenaica.

Between 2006 and 2008, an outbreak of Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) affected Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra p. pyrenaica, an endemic subspecies of mountain ungulate that lives in the Pyrenees. The study focused on 14 mountain massifs (180,000 ha) where the species’ population is stable. Cases of IKC were detected in ten of the massifs and, in five of them, mortality was substantial. The outbreak spread quickly from the first location detected, with two peaks in mortality that affected one (2007) and three (2008) massifs. In the latter, the peak was seasonal (spring to autumn) and, in the former, the outbreak persisted through winter. To identify the outbreak’s aetiology, we examined 105 Pyrenean chamois clinically affected with IKC. TaqMan rt-PCR identified Mycoplasma conjunctivae in 93 (88.5%) of the chamois. Another rt-PCR detected Chlamydophila spp. in 14 of chamois, and 12 of those had mixed infections with mycoplasmas. In the period 2000–2007, the chamois population increased slightly (λ 1.026) but decreased significantly during the IKC outbreak (λ 0.8, 2007–2008; λ 0.85, 2008–2009) before increasing significantly after the outbreak (λ 1.1, 2009–2010). Sex-biased mortality shifted the adult sex ratio toward males (from 0.6 to 0.7 males per female) and reduced productivity slightly. Hunting was practically banned in the massifs where chamois experienced significant mortality and allowed again after the outbreak ended. Long-term monitoring of wild populations provides a basis for understanding the impacts of disease outbreaks and improves management decisions, particularly when species are subject to extractive exploitation.

An escaped herd of Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica, Schinz 1838, Bovidae) begins the re-colonization of the Pyrenees

Abstract In January 2000, the last Pyrenean wild goat, Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica, died in Ordesa National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees. Since that time, there has been an intense debate over the possibility of using individuals from other extant subspecies to restore the Iberian wild goat C. pyrenaica in the Pyrenees. In the late 1990s, some Iberian wild goats of the hispanica subspecies escaped from an enclosure in Guara Nature Park, also in the Spanish Pyrenees. Between 2006 and 2012, four annual counts were conducted to quantify the demographics of the population. This expanding but isolated population numbered at least 86 free-living Iberian wild goats in 2012, reproducing in the wild with a positive increasing trend (λ=1.067). Given the small number of original animals that escaped, new releases are necessary to insure the genetic variability of the small population, but only if a clear decision on its conservation is finally made. In addition, the population is sympatric with a population of several hundred feral goats, C. hircus, which should be monitored closely, in order to detect any problems with competence or hybridization, although the latter has not been demonstrated in the wild.

Analysis and Mapping of the Spectral Characteristics of Fractional Green Cover in Saline Wetlands (NE Spain) Using Field and Remote Sensing Data

Inland saline wetlands are complex systems undergoing continuous changes in moisture and salinity and are especially vulnerable to human pressures. Remote sensing is helpful to identify vegetation change in semi-arid wetlands and to assess wetland degradation. Remote sensing-based monitoring requires identification of the spectral characteristics of soils and vegetation and their correspondence with the vegetation cover and soil conditions. We studied the spectral characteristics of soils and vegetation of saline wetlands in Monegros, NE Spain, through field and satellite images. Radiometric and complementary field measurements in two field surveys in 2007 and 2008 were collected in selected sites deemed as representative of different soil moisture, soil color, type of vegetation, and density. Despite the high local variability, we identified good relationships between field spectral data and Quickbird images. A methodology was established for mapping the fraction of vegetation cover in Monegros and other semi-arid areas. Estimating vegetation cover in arid wetlands is conditioned by the soil background and by the occurrence of dry and senescent vegetation accompanying the green component of perennial salt-tolerant plants. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was appropriate to map the distribution of the vegetation cover if the green and yellow-green parts of the plants are considered.

Changes in wild ungulate populations in Aragon, Spain between 2001 and 2010

To update the information on the distributions of wild ungulates in Aragon, Spain, populations were surveyed based on questionnaires sent to rangers of the Government of Aragon. The data were analyzed in two five-year periods: 2001-2005 and 2006-2010. Our analysis was based on the 242 and 278 questionnaires, corresponding approximately with 80-90% answers that were analyzed in 2006 and 2011, respectively. The survey documented the presence/absence of up to eight wild ungulate species within a UTM 10x10 km grid on maps that were specific to the counties in which the rangers worked. In 2006-2010, wild boar Sus scrofa was the most widely distributed species as it occurred in all of the grid blocks. Roe deer Capreolus capreolus were documented in 89% of the grid blocks, Iberian wild goat Capra pyrenaica in 37%, red deer Cervus elaphus in 31%, Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra p. pyrenaica in 10%, feral goat Capra hircus in 8%, fallow deer Dama dama in 3%, and mouflon Ovis aries in 0.3%. The Pyrenees had the highest and the Middle Ebro Valley had the lowest diversity of ungulates. In the Iberian System, diversity was intermediate. Overall, the distribution of ungulates increased 21% between the two periods. Feral goat populations expanded the most (111%), although Iberian wild goat (61%), roe deer (50%), and red deer (4%) also expanded. The range of wild boar populations remained stable, but the ranges of chamois and fallow deer populations were reduced 6%. By 2010, typically, in most block grids three or more species of wild ungulates coexist. We recommend that ungulate populations in Aragon be surveyed at least every five years.

Comments regarding Marco et al., 2015, 'The two sides of border disease in Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica): silent persistence and population collapse'.

Dear Editor The recent paper of Marco et al. (2015) requires clarification regarding the origin of the Aragon data. Secondarily, but no less important to us, rectification is needed regarding certain aspects of the Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica subspecies, its management and its distribution. Pestivirus, Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica and Aragon. Pestivirus has affected Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra p. pyrenaica in the eastern Pyrenees (Principality of Andorra, Ariège and Catalonia regions) since 2001–2002 (Alzieu et al., 2004; Arnal et al., 2004; Hurtado et al., 2004; Frölich et al., 2005). The disease agent is spreading to the western Pyrenees and was detected in Aragon in 2011, producing high mortalities (Arnal et al., 2013b). Chamois pestivirus in Aragon. We detected border disease in Benasque Game Reserve (Arnal et al., 2013b), in the frame of a long term monitoring of the Pyrenean chamois in the Aragon region (Arnal et al., 2013a). Although Marco et al., mentioned these unpublished data, they did not cite the source of information from the Spanish region of Aragon, Game Reserves 8 and 9, Benasque and Los Circos (Fig. 1 of Marco et al., 2015), which was from our abstract in the II International Rupicapra Symposium (Arnal et al., 2013b). Additional information about the Pyrenean chamois, R. p. pyrenaica. The subspecies affected is Pyrenean chamois R. p. pyrenaica, which is a commonly used name in English following the Caprinae Action Plan (Shackleton 1997). Following the same Action Plan, R. pyrenaica is considered the Southern chamois, with three subspecies: Pyrenean chamois R. p. pyrenaica, Cantabrian chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica parva and Apennine chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata. Pyrenean chamois are not only found along the border between France and Spain. They also occupy areas far away from the border, including isolated massifs (Herrero et al., 2013). When considering the entire mountain range, Pyrenean chamois subspecies are managed mostly by local hunters, especially on the French side of the mountain chain, rather than mostly in game reserves and national parks. Such game reserves belong exclusively to Spain and Andorra (Pita et al., 2012; Solà and Riba, 2013). There are no game reserves as such in France, where most chamois populations are hunted and the majority of them are managed by local hunter societies. In Herrero et al. (2013), there is an update of the numbers and distribution of the subspecies in the whole Pyrenees. There are important ecological barriers along the Pyrenees, and some massifs are not connected with the main mountain chain, which limits animal dispersal rather than annual seasonal migrations. Figure 1 of Marco et al. (2015) showed only two Protected Areas: (1) Orlu Wildlife Reserve and (2) Aigües Tortes and Lake of Sant Maurici National Park. The former has the number 7, which was a mistake. The rest of the areas are game reserves, not protected areas. We hope these clarifications will help the readers to better understand authorship and certain aspects of Pyrenean chamois biology and management. Sincerely M. C. Arnal et al.