The use of radio-collars for monitoring wildlife diseases: a case study from Iberian ibex affected by Sarcoptes scabiei in Sierra Nevada, Spain

Abstract

BackgroundWildlife radio tracking has gained popularity during the recent past. Ecologists and conservationists use radio-collars for different purposes: animal movement monitoring, home range, productivity, population estimation, behaviour, habitat use, survival, and predator-prey interaction, among others. The aim of our present study is to highlight the application of radio-collars for wildlife diseases monitoring. The spread of wildlife diseases and the efficacy of management actions for controlling them propose serious challenges for ecologists and conservationists, since it is difficult to re-capture (or simply observe) the same animal in pre-determined temporal interval, but such difficulty is overcome by the use of gps-gsm radio collars.MethodsIn the present study we report, for the first time to our knowledge, the use of radio-collars in the monitoring of Iberian ibex affected by Sarcoptes scabiei in Sierra Nevada mountain range, Spain. Twenty-five moderate or slightly mangy animals were radio-collared between 2006 and 2013.ResultsThe radio-collars allowed us to confirm the presence of resistance to S. scabiei within Iberian ibex population. Twenty (80%) of the collared animals recovered totally from mange, while the disease progressed in the other five Iberian ibex (20% of the collared animals) and the animals died. The average estimated recovery time of the resistant animals was 245 ± 277 days, and the estimated average survival time of the non-resistant Iberian ibex was 121 ± 71 days. Non-resistant animals survived at least 100 days, while all of them died with less than 200 days. Sixty per cent of the resistant animals were recovered with less than 200 days.ConclusionsWe report, for the first time, the successful use of radio collars for wildlife diseases monitoring using Iberian ibex/S. scabiei as a model. By using radio collars we documented that most of the Sarcoptes-infected Iberian ibex are resistant to this disease, and we estimated the average time for Iberian ibex recovering from mange infection and the average survival time of the non-resistant ones. We expect wider use of radio-collars for wild animals diseases monitoring, affected/not-affected animals interaction, and treatment efficacy, among others.

Weak negative associations between avian influenza virus infection and movement behaviour in a key host species, the mallard Anas platyrhynchos

“…displacement; van Gils et al ), and a follow‐up study could not replicate these findings (Hoye ). Similar negative effects of pathogen infection on host movement using GPS loggers were found in other host–pathogen systems, such as Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica affected by Sarcoptes scabiei (Alasaad et al ) and bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis infected with keratoconjunctivitis (Jansen et al ). Despite this, many studies make inferences about the consequences of animal movements for disease transmission without knowing whether pathogen infection affects those movements (Wyckoff et al , Woodroffe and Donnelly ).…”

First detection of sarcoptic mange in free-ranging wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Switzerland

“…Transmission mainly occurs directly (by prolonged skin-to-skin contact) but also indirectly, since mites may survive for several weeks in humid and cold environments (Bornstein et al, 2001). Clinical signs vary according to species, age, immunocompetence, other physiological functions of the host and the infective dose (Bornstein et al, 2001;Pence and Ueckermann, 2002;Alasaad et al, 2013;Nimmervoll et al, 2013).…”

Recommendations for the management of sarcoptic mange in free–ranging Iberian ibex populations

“…2). Furthermore, scientific evidence show that a considerable proportion of mangy ibex recover naturally (Alasaad et al, 2013). Similar results were obtained in experimentally infested Northern chamois (R. rupicapra) in the Alps (Menzano et al, 2002) As well, the loss of genetic diversity from the population through the removal of resistant ibex or those in a recovery stage can have long-term negative consequences and even give rise to future, more severe epidemics due to a loss of herd immunity (Ebinger et al, 2011).The culling of diseased animals can even select for increased virulence as it means that there will be a greater number of relatively more susceptible hosts available for pathogens; this, in turn, stimulates pathogens to transmit more quickly to susceptible hosts to avoid being culled along with their hosts (Choo et Fig.…”