Search

Monitoring large carnivores requires substantial effort, which is why indirect methodologies such as camera trapping with attractants or baits are commonly employed. The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) is one of the top predators in the Iberian Peninsula, and monitoring its packs is essential to understand its distribution and mitigate conflicts arising from livestock predation. We performed a captivity-based study evaluating the effectiveness of five attractants (beef extract, cadaverine, Fatty Acid Scent (FAS), lynx urine and valerian extract) on wolf detection. To accomplish this objective, Jacobs selectivity index and generalized linear models were employed to assess the attractiveness and induced behaviour of each attractant. Subsequently, the three most effective attractants, combined or not with a bait, were tested in the field and analyzed using generalized linear mixed models. The five attractants tested elicited different behavioural responses in the wolves in captivity, including smelling, rubbing, rolling, marking and licking. Among the captive wolves, cadaverine, FAS and lynx urine emerged as the top three preferred attractants. In the field tests with these three attractants cadaverine remained the most preferred option. The inclusion of bait did not have any significant effect on the wolf’s visitation rates. Our results show that employing species-specific attractants can significantly improve the efficiency of carnivore surveys conducted in the field. Specifically, cadaverine was the most effective attractant for wild Iberian wolves. Consequently, the careful selection of an appropriate attractant becomes crucial to attain the precise objectives of the study, such as camera trapping, bait deployment or DNA sampling.

In the One Health context, Integrated Wildlife Monitoring (IWM) merges wildlife health monitoring (WHM) and host community monitoring to early detect emerging infections, record changes in disease dynamics, and assess the impact of interventions in complex multi-host and multi-pathogen networks. This study reports the deployment and results obtained from a nationwide IWM pilot test in eleven sites representing the habitat diversity of mainland Spain. In each study site, camera-trap networks and sampling of indicator species for antibody and biomarker analysis were used to generate information. The results allowed identifying differences in biodiversity and host community characteristics among the study sites, with a range of 8 to 19 relevant host species per point. The Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) was the most connected and central species of the host communities, becoming a key target indicator species for IWM. A negative relationship between biodiversity and disease risk was detected, with a lower number and prevalence of circulating pathogens in the sites with more species in the community and larger network size. However, this overall trend was modified by specific host-community and environmental factors, such as the relative index of wild boar - red deer interactions or the proximity to urban habitats, suggesting that human-driven imbalances may favour pathogen circulation. The effort of incorporating wildlife population monitoring into the currently applied WHM programs to achieve effective IWM was also evaluated, allowing to identify population monitoring as the most time-consuming component, which should be improved in the future. This first nationwide application of IWM allowed to detect drivers and hotspots for disease transmission risk among wildlife, domestic animals, and humans, as well as identifying key target indicator species for monitoring. Moreover, anthropogenic effects such as artificially high wildlife densities and urbanisation were identi

This study aims to report the implementation of the first nationwide pilot trial of balanced IWM in Europe, using a network of 11 pilot monitoring sites in Spain. The insights obtained in this pilot IWM trial will help to further develop a comprehensive IWM and serve as a reference for implementing IWM systems in other regions. For this purpose, a grid of 20 camera traps (Browning Strike Force HD ProX, Browning Arms Company®, Morgan, Utah, USA) was deployed for two months at each study site (n=11). REM was applied to wild boar (Sus scrofa), red deer (Cervus elaphus), and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) as the most frequently detected species. Relative abundance indexes, namely trapping rate and relative occupancy index, were calculated for the remaining, less frequently detected species.

This study aims to report the implementation of the first nationwide pilot trial of balanced IWM in Europe, using a network of 11 pilot monitoring sites in Spain. The insights obtained in this pilot IWM trial will help to further develop a comprehensive IWM and serve as a reference for implementing IWM systems in other regions. For this purpose, a grid of 20 camera traps (Browning Strike Force HD ProX, Browning Arms Company®, Morgan, Utah, USA) was deployed for two months at each study site (n=11). REM was applied to wild boar (Sus scrofa), red deer (Cervus elaphus), and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) as the most frequently detected species. Relative abundance indexes, namely trapping rate and relative occupancy index, were calculated for the remaining, less frequently detected species. We also constructed static social networks, one for each study site (shown in the video).

This study aims to report the implementation of the first nationwide pilot trial of balanced IWM in Europe, using a network of 11 pilot monitoring sites in Spain. The insights obtained in this pilot IWM trial will help to further develop a comprehensive IWM and serve as a reference for implementing IWM systems in other regions. For this purpose, a grid of 20 camera traps (Browning Strike Force HD ProX, Browning Arms Company®, Morgan, Utah, USA) was deployed for two months at each study site (n=11). REM was applied to wild boar (Sus scrofa), red deer (Cervus elaphus), and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) as the most frequently detected species. Relative abundance indexes, namely trapping rate and relative occupancy index, were calculated for the remaining, less frequently detected species.