Assessment of population structure in Hungarian otter populations

Retrospective Detection and Complete Genomic Sequencing of Canine morbillivirus in Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) Using Nanopore Technology

“…The first infected animal was a young (4–5 months old) male in poor body condition (K = 0.80; for condition index or K) [ 2 ] and was found to be deceased due to natural infection, on the edge of a marshland (Kis-Balaton). The second was an adult male in good body condition (K = 1.19), found as road-kill near a river (Rába) [ 6 ]. Consequently, only 2 of the 339 samples were found to be CDV-positive, although this does not exclude the possibility of the presence of CDV in the other samples, since we had no data on the viral RNA degradation in these samples.…”

“…These animals were primarily (90%) road-killed individuals, whilst the remaining animals were found dead at their natural habitats. Animal collection localities cover two habitat types (stagnant waters or watercourses) and highlight the distribution of these animals within the country [ 6 ]. The animal carcasses were collected by the staff of the ten National Park Directorates and stored at −20 °C until processing.…”

“…Recent decades have seen an increase in otter populations in some areas of Europe [ 4 , 5 ], which implies that otters are more likely to encounter humans, domestic dogs, and other carnivores. In Hungary, the otter is a widespread, strictly protected species with stable, interconnected populations [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Applying molecular genetic data at different scales to support conservation assessment of European Habitats Directive listed species: A case study of Eurasian otter in Austria

“…Overall, described error rates (ADO, FA) and genotyping success rates fall within the range of previous studies (see Supporting Information 5 for further discussion). Hungary (H O = 0.67, H E = 0.71, N Aavg = 7.25; Lehoczky et al, 2015), lower than those of most of the identified genetic groups in Fennoscandia (Honnen et al, 2011), comparable to the genetic diversity of a population from North-East Spain (Ferrando et al, 2008) or Germany (Lampa et al, 2015) Sex ratio (ratio of identified female individuals to male individuals) in our dataset was relatively even overall, however we found a female-biased sex ratio in the two most recent studies, namely in Salzburg (m:f ratio 1.55; N = 51) and Upper Austria (m:f ratio 1.67; N = 88). Whether this represents a temporal trend between 2017 and 2021 or is rather a spatial pattern, needs to be evaluated.…”

“…Austria's geographic location encompasses the eastern end of the Alps and thus may contain potential otter habitat on both the northern and the southern side of this large mountain range. Additionally, Austria represents the western border of historically more stable otter populations from Eastern Europe, such as in neighboring Hungary (Lehoczky et al, 2015), or the Slovak and Czech Republics (Hajkova et al, 2011). Thus far, no extensive genetic data has been available from Austrian otter populations that would allow the evaluation of population structure and genetic variability on a larger scale.…”