Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ciudad Real, Spain.
VISAVET Centre, Animal Health Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
PLoS One. 2019 Jan 25;14(1):e0211216. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211216. eCollection 2019.
Controlling infections shared by wildlife and livestock requires the understanding and quantification of interspecific interactions between the species involved. This is particularly important in extensive multi-host systems, in which controlled domestic animals interact with uncontrolled, abundant and expanding wild species, such as wild ungulates. We have, therefore, quantified the interspecific interactions between wild boar (Sus scrofa) and free-ranging cattle in Mediterranean Spain, along with their spatio-temporal variability. GPS-GSM-collars were used to monitor 12 cows and 14 wild boar in the Doñana National Park between 2011 and 2013. Interactions were defined as encounters between cattle and wild boar within a spatio-temporal window of 52 m and 1 hour. On average, each wild boar interacted with one cow 1.5 ± (SE) 0.5 times per day, while each cow interacted with one wild boar 1.3 ± 0.4 times per day. The frequency of interaction was significantly higher during crepuscular hours owing to the overlap of both species' activity, and also during spring and autumn, probably owing to a higher individual aggregation around shared resources. Finally, the frequency of interaction was higher near the most significant shared resources (e.g. water points) but was lower in areas with dense vegetation. The results presented here show the usefulness of GPS monitoring as regards quantifying interactions and helping to clarify the process of pathogen transmission at the wildlife-livestock interface in Mediterranean Spain, along with the main spatio-temporal risk factors. In a changing scenario in which European populations of wild ungulates are increasing, more efficient measures with which to control interactions are required to meet the demands of farmers and managers. Our results, therefore, provide directional hypotheses that could be used to design disease control programmes.
控制野生动物和家畜共患的感染需要理解和量化涉及物种之间的种间相互作用。这在广泛的多宿主系统中尤为重要，在这些系统中，受控制的家畜与不受控制的、丰富的和不断扩张的野生动物（如野生有蹄类动物）相互作用。因此，我们量化了西班牙地中海地区野猪（Sus scrofa）和自由放养的牛之间的种间相互作用及其时空变异性。在 2011 年至 2013 年期间，使用 GPS-GSM 项圈监测了多纳纳国家公园的 12 头奶牛和 14 头野猪。相互作用被定义为在 52 米和 1 小时的时空窗口内牛和野猪之间的相遇。平均而言，每头野猪每天与一头牛相互作用 1.5 ± 0.5 次，而每头牛每天与一头野猪相互作用 1.3 ± 0.4 次。由于两种物种活动的重叠，黄昏时分相互作用的频率显著更高，而且在春季和秋季也更高，可能是由于共享资源周围个体聚集度更高。最后，在最显著的共享资源（如水点）附近的相互作用频率更高，但在植被茂密的地区则更低。这里呈现的结果表明，GPS 监测在量化相互作用方面很有用，有助于澄清西班牙地中海地区野生动物-家畜界面的病原体传播过程以及主要的时空风险因素。在欧洲野生有蹄类动物数量不断增加的变化情景下，需要更有效的措施来控制相互作用，以满足农民和管理者的需求。因此，我们的结果提供了可以用来设计疾病控制计划的方向性假设。
