Browsing by Subject "Vulpes vulpes"

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Echinococcus multilocularis and other zoonotic helminths in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from a southern German hotspot for human alveolar echinococcosis
(2023) Schneider, Carina; Kratzer, Wolfgang; Binzberger, Andreas; Schlingeloff, Patrycja; Baumann, Sven; Romig, Thomas; Schmidberger, Julian
Background: We describe the spatial distribution of Echinococcus multilocularis in its main definitive host, the red fox, and the distribution of human cases of alveolar echinococcosis (AE) within a highly endemic focus in southern Germany (13.7–19.9/100,000 in 1992–2018). Human cases were unequally distributed within the endemicity focus. The purpose of the study was to test whether this is reflected in the small-scale distribution of E. multilocularis in foxes. Methods: Three areas with contrasting numbers of human cases were selected within the counties of Ravensburg and Alb-Donau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. From 2018 to 2020, a total of 240 fox carcasses were obtained from traditional hunters in these areas. Carcasses were necropsied and examined for the presence of intestinal helminths. The statistical analysis was performed with SAS version 9.4, and the geo-mapping with QGIS version 3.16.0 Hannover. Results: The prevalence of E. multilocularis in foxes was 44/106 (41.5%) in area I (commune Leutkirch and environs), 30/59 (50.8%) in area II (commune Isny and environs), and 31/75 (41.3%) in area III (commune Ehingen and environs). From 1992 to 2018, a total of nine human cases of alveolar echinococcosis were recorded in area I, five cases were recorded in study area III, and no cases were recorded in area II. No statistically significant differences between the areas were observed ( P > 0.05) for intestinal infections with E. multilocularis , and no apparent spatial correlation with the small-scale distribution of human cases was found. Concerning other zoonotic helminths, Toxocara spp. were equally common, with prevalence of 38.7%, 47.4% and 48.0%, respectively, while the frequency of Alaria alata varied among the study areas (0.0–9.4%), probably reflecting the specific habitat requirements for the establishment of its complex life cycle. Conclusions: Echinococcus multilocularis is highly prevalent in foxes in all the studied areas. The varying number of human AE cases within these areas should therefore be caused by factors other than the intensity of parasite transmission in foxes.
Seasonal variation in the activity pattern of red squirrels and their mammalian predators
(2024) Kalb, Nadine; Schlindwein, Xenia; Gottschalk, Thomas K.; Dvorak, Jan; Randler, Christoph; Kalb, Nadine; Department of Biology, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 24, D-72076, Tübingen, Germany; Schlindwein, Xenia; Department of Biology, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 24, D-72076, Tübingen, Germany; Gottschalk, Thomas K.; Department of Regional Management, University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg, Schadenweilerhof, D-72108, Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany; Dvorak, Jan; Department of Food Informatics / Computational Science Hub (CSH), University of Hohenheim, D-70599, Stuttgart, Germany; Randler, Christoph; Department of Biology, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 24, D-72076, Tübingen, Germany
Camera traps are a powerful tool to monitor the activity pattern of species over long time periods. Camera data can be used to analyze activity patterns of or temporal niche partitioning among species. Temporal niche partitioning plays an important role for species coexistence and is under constant evolutionary pressure from predator-prey relationships. Our study aimed to investigate temporal shifts in activity patterns of red squirrels and two mammalian predators, red fox and marten ( Martes spec .). Previous studies yielded different activity patterns for these species depending on location, season, predator-prey interactions, and food- availability. We used camera traps to monitor the activity of squirrels, red fox and martens throughout a whole year in a mountainous forest in southwestern Germany. We also investigated a possible difference in activity among different color morphs as coloration in mammals is often associated with concealment, for squirrels, however, such an effect could not be demonstrated so far. We found a diurnal activity for squirrels in all seasons with a bimodal activity pattern during spring, trimodal in summer and unimodal in fall and winter. Activity patterns did not differ between black and red color morphs. The activity of the squirrels showed only low to moderate overlaps with fox and marten, but there was still slight variation among seasons. Activity overlaps were higher in spring and summer, which coincides with breeding season. Our results suggest that predators might adjust their activity during squirrel breeding season to increase the chance of preying on their offspring. Squirrels in turn could benefit by minimizing the activity overlap during wintertime when they are highly visible to predators as trees are leaf-free or even snow might enhance the contrast between them and their background. Lastly, our results indicate that temporal niche portioning among red squirrel, red fox and martens might be rather fine scaled.