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Introduction
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September 2000 - December 2014
January 1995 - December 1996
January 1987 - December 1990
Publications
Publications (191)
Red Kite record from the Red Book of Spanish Birds.
It presents summary information on this species in the year 2021, including its distribution and habitat, population trend and size, justification of the category of threat in which it is included and criteria used, current threats and conservation actions proposed to favour this species.
Overal...
Bromadiolone is an anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) commonly used as a plant protection product (PPP) against rodent pests in agricultural lands. ARs can be transferred trophically to predators/scavengers when they consume intoxicated live or dead rodents. ARs exposure in weasels Mustela nivalis, small mustelids specialized on rodent predation, is po...
Calls for urgent action to conserve biodiversity under global change are increasing, and conservation of migratory species in this context poses special challenges. In the last two decades the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) has provided a framework for several subsidiary instruments including action plans...
Wildlife management and conservation requires monitoring of species distribution and population indicators, especially when the unbalanced demographic changes of some species can affect the whole ecosystem functioning. The populations of wild boar (Sus scrofa) have, over the past few decades, undergone an expansion around the world, reaching situat...
Biological control of rodents in agricultural areas, increasing avian predator abundance by nest-box provisioning, has been proposed during the last decades in several regions around the world as an alternative to the widespread use of anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) to protect crops. However these experiences have often lacked a “Before-After-Cont...
In simplified agricultural landscapes, some rodent species such as the common vole (Microtus arvalis) can reach high abundances and become agricultural pests. Crop field margins are a key structural element and, therefore, expected to play a key role in vole abundance, even within the demographic cycles that govern vole population dynamics. Here, w...
In the Anthropocene, many species are rapidly shifting their ranges in response to human-driven habitat modifications. Studying patterns and genetic signatures of range shifts helps to understand how species cope with environmental disturbances and predict future shifts in the face of global environmental change. We investigated the genetic signatu...
Monitoring temporal dynamics in genetic diversity is of great importance for conservation, especially for threatened species that are suffering a rapid population decline and increased fragmentation. Here, we investigate temporal variation in genetic diversity, structure, and gene flow in the Dupont’s lark (Chersophilus duponti) across most of its...
The Red-legged Partridge is endemic to the Mediterranean region. It is a resident species from southwestern Europe. Along its range, its abundance is characterized by low abundances in areas with wet climate such as the northern fringe of the Iberian Peninsula and the Atlantic coast of Portugal, France and the UK, and high abundances in areas with...
Illegal wildlife poisoning is a global threat for biodiversity, yet the magnitude of its impact on ecosystems is largely underestimated as most of poisoning episodes remain undetected. Here, we conducted a large-scale field experiment to better understand the real dimension of the illegal wildlife poisoning in terms of composition and number of spe...
Dispersal is a central process in ecology and evolution. It has diverse consequences for demography, gene flow, genetic diversity and structure, and depending on when dispersal occurs, it may also contribute to explain multiannual population cycles. However, much is still unknown about the relationship between these processes and two main models ha...
Micromammals have historically been recognized as highly contentious species in terms of maintenance and transmission of zoonotic pathogens to humans. Limited information is currently available on the epidemiology and potential public health significance of intestinal eukaryotes in wild micromammals. We examined 490 faecal samples, grouped in 155 p...
Stress in birds has been widely studied through the measurement of heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio). In this study we aimed to assess for the first time the potential variation of stress, measured as H/L ratio, associated to geography (between-country variation) and seasonality (between seasons and within the breeding season), as well as...
Anthropogenic activities, such as the translocation or introduction of animals, may cause a parallel movement of exotic parasites harboured by displaced animals. Although introduction and/or relocation of animals for hunting purposes is an increasingly common management technique, the effects of gamebird release as a major vehicle for the introduct...
Parent–offspring conflict theory predicts that offspring seek to prolong the parental care period, while parents strive to shorten it as much as possible. Transition to the crèche phase in penguins involves changes in the dynamic of parental investment in chicks, and thus may be modulated by interests that benefit parent or offspring. We explored p...
Although roads are widely seen as dispersal barriers, their genetic consequences for animals that experience large fluctuations in population density are poorly documented. We developed a spatially paired experimental design to assess the genetic impacts of roads on cyclic voles ( Microtus arvalis ) during a high-density phase in North-Western Spai...
Coxiella burnetii, the causal agent of human Q fever and animal Coxiellosis, is a zoonotic infectious bacterium with a complex ecology that results from its ability to replicate in multiple (in)vertebrate host species. Spain notifies the highest number of Q fever cases to the ECDC annually and wildlife plays a relevant role in C. burnetii ecology i...
Productivity (offspring production) is a key demographic parameter influencing population dynamics, particularly in r-strategy species, and thus critical for implementing well-based management of populations. Accordingly, the study of factors influencing productivity is useful to develop management strategies in species of conservation concern or s...
Understanding spatiotemporal variations of movements and habitat selection by animals living in changing, heterogeneous environments under increasing human pressure is crucial for biodiversity conservation. We report here on shifts in habitat selection and movements during the breeding and non-breeding periods in a vulnerable and specialist bird, t...
Significance
Pesticides and other toxic substances (e.g. lead ammunition, veterinary drugs) have caused the decline of many animal populations, highlighting the serious threat that wildlife poisoning poses for biodiversity conservation. While compelling evidence demonstrates the harmful effects of poisoning on individuals, its impact on populations...
El topillo campesino ha invadido recientemente el valle del Duero, generando explosiones
demográficas cíclicas que causan daños a cultivos y problemas sanitarios, como dispersión
de la tularemia. Los grandes cambios en el paisaje y el modelo de gestión agraria
parecen estar detrás del proceso de invasión y de la generación de plagas de alta densida...
The role of glacial refugia in shaping contemporary species distribution is a long‐standing question in phylogeography and evolutionary ecology. Recent studies are questioning previous paradigms on glacial refugia and postglacial recolonization pathways in Europe, and more flexible phylogeographic scenarios have been proposed. We used the widesprea...
Understanding how species respond to disturbance in human-modified ecosytems is critical for management and conservation of biodiversity in the Anthropocene. In agroecosystems, human disturbances severely modify the habitat of species, particularly for those that live in burrows. The common vole Microtus arvalis (Pallas, 1778) is a semi-fossorial m...
In conservation biology, population monitoring is a critical step, particularly for endangered groups, such as steppe birds in European agrosystems. Long-term population monitoring allows for determination of species population trends and also provides insights into the relative roles that environmental variability and human activities have on prio...
Complex body designs, such as plumage ornaments in birds, can be described by fractal geometry. These complex patterns could have a role as visual signals during courtship and social interactions, but an empirical validation in the wild is currently lacking. Here, we investigated whether the fractal dimension (FD) of a complex plumage pattern displ...
Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park receives chemical pollution from various sources, which together affect the ecology of the wetland and bird community that supports it. In this work, we have studied routes of entrance of contaminants through the rivers and streams that feed Tablas de Daimiel National Park, by runoff from agricultural land surrou...
La expansión y posteriores explosiones demográficas recurrentes del topillo campesino (Microtus arvalis) se han asociado a problemas de carácter socioeconómico y sanitario. El control demográfico mediante medidas encamidas a favorecer la presencia de depredadores generalistas podría tener un efecto positivo sobre el control de patógenos. Este estud...
It is known that the garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus includes meat in its diet, however, it is unclear if scavenging is a widespread behaviour, as it is difficult to observe in the wild. Here, we document scavenging behaviour for the species based on direct evidence. We captured five garden dormice with live traps using dead baits, which were par...
Habitat selection is an inherently scale-sensitive process in which detected selection patterns frequently depend on the scale of analysis employed. We used a multi-scale modelling approach to identify how the distributions of two sympatric birds are shaped by differential selection at the landscape, land use and microhabitat scales and by human in...
The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is the most important gamebird in Spain. Due to population declines in recent decades, management approaches increasingly include the release of farm-reared partridges and the establishment of so-called intensive estates, where hunting is based on put-and-take partridges. The release of farm-reared partridg...
Human recreational activities are becoming increasingly widespread and frequent, a fact that may potentially exacerbate their effects on wildlife. These human-related disturbances on animals may induce behavioural and physiological changes that can ultimately affect their fitness. Here we combine the use of behavioural and physiological approaches...
Background:
Vole outbreaks have been extensively described along with their impacts on humans, particularly in agricultural areas. The use of rodenticides is a common legal practice to minimise crop damage induced by high vole density for biocidal use. However, rodenticides can have negative direct and indirect impacts on non-target species that f...
Evidences of the implication of wildlife in the ecology of Coxiella burnetii - the causal agent of Q fever in ruminants, pets and humans - are increasing. This suggests that wildlife may pose a threat to domestic animal and human health in interaction scenarios. Any potential attempt to link Q fever outbreaks in domestic animals and humans with wil...
Several wild species are potential hosts of Coxiella burnetii, the causal agent of Q fever in humans and other mammals. Yet, those that present wide geographic distribution ranges, are abundant, reach high population densities, are gregarious and live in humanized environments are most prone to be relevant reservoirs. Accordingly, previous studies...
For pest management strategies to effectively prevent crop damage while at the same time causing the least environmental collateral damage, reliable abundance monitoring tools are required. The common vole is a major agricultural pest in Castilla y León (NW Spain). In this study we compared common vole density estimates provided by two indirect ind...
Wild red-legged partridge populations have experienced important declines in recent decades. With an aim to increase or maintain hunting quotas, releases of farm-reared red-legged partridges have concomitantly increased. However , the sustainability of this management practice is increasingly questioned. Farm-reared partridges suffer a high mortali...
Floodplains are the most degraded ecosystems over the world because of drainage, aquifer overexploitation, pollution and invasive species. In Mediterranean floodplains these impacts are higher because of the fluctuating characteristics of Mediterranean climate, as occur in Tablas de Daimiel National Park (TDNP), a representative Mediterranean flood...
Infografía para difundir el trabajo realizado y los principales resultados del artículo "From regional to global patterns in vertebrate scavenger communities subsidized by big game hunting" Diversity and Distributions. DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12330
Media file.
Infographics to disseminate the work and main results of our paper: "From regional to global patterns in vertebrate scavenger communities subsidized by big game hunting" Diversity and Distributions. DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12330
The release of farm-reared animals for shooting causes frequent conflicts between hunters and conservationists, since, while this management practice is economically important in some game areas, it carries several risks for biodiversity conservation (e.g. the introduction of new pathogens or the release of alien species and/or hybrids). However, t...
In Europe, hunting and game management are centuries-old activities that have had profound effects on the landscapes and the biodiversity they support. Game management is a potentially important tool to enhance game populations and may also affect other wildlife. We investigated the relationship between red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa game mana...
Knowledge about how hunting pressure is determined, and the relative efficacy of different mechanisms to regulate harvest, can help to improve the managers’ decision-making process.
We developed a general framework about the decision-making process that regulates red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) hunting pressure in central Spain based on infor...
Survival and the underlying causes of mortality are key demographic parameters for understanding animal population dynamics and identifying conservation needs. Here we use a large data set of tagged wild pin-tailed sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata) to examine the influence of individual traits (age, sex, size, movements and reproduction), and of tempo...
Anthropogenic food subsidies are increasingly present in ecosystems, but their impacts remain poorly understood. Big game hunting is a growing activity that annually subsidizes ecosystems with tonnes of carrion world-wide. By feeding on carrion, scavengers support key ecosystem functions and services, becoming key vectors to transfer the impacts of...
The common vole, considered a rodent pest when overabundant in agricultural areas, was traditionally absent from the agricultural plains of Castilla-y-León, NW Spain. However, it rapidly invaded ca. 50.000 km2 of agricultural land, where regular outbreaks have caused crop damages and conflict with farmers. To better understand the factors that trig...
Capturing and marking free-living birds permits the study of important aspects of their biology but may have undesirable effects. Bird welfare should be a primary concern, so it is necessary to evaluate and minimize any adverse effects of procedures used. We assess short-term effects associated with the capture, handling and tagging with backpack-m...
We evaluated the effect of conspecific abundance and habitat quality of leks on the territorial behaviour of males in an exploded lekking species, the Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax). The hypothesis that males more intensely defend territories with higher conspecific abundance and better habitat quality was evaluated experimentally analysing the ago...
Ascertaining which niche processes allow coexistence between closely related species is of special interest in ecology. We quantified variations in the environmental niches and densities of two congeneric species, the pin-tailed and the black-bellied sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata and Pterocles orientalis) in allopatry and sympatry under similar abi...
To determine the rate of Staphylococcus aureus faecal carriage in 101 wild small mammals in Spain and to characterize the isolates obtained.
Faecal samples were seeded on mannitol salt agar and ORSAB plates. The presence of the resistance genes mecA, mecC and blaZ and the new blaZ allotype associated with staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCC...
Abstract Many animal species show ornaments with yellow-orange-red colors produced by carotenoid pigments. Such traits have evolved as reliable signals of individual quality because of the costs inherent to their production or maintenance. In animal tissues, carotenoids are often found combined with free fatty acids, as carotenoid esters, which may...
La perdiz roja (Alectoris rufa) en España: es-pecie cinegética y amenazada. Ecosistemas 22(2):6-12. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.2013.22-2.02 La perdiz roja (Alectoris rufa) en España: especie cinegética y amenazada. Recopilamos el conocimiento científico actual sobre la ecología y gestión cinegética de la perdiz roja, haciendo hincapié en los hallazgos de l...
La caza, como actividad que se ejerce en el medio natural y por la gestión que la acompaña, puede tener efectos en el medio ambiente. Las herra- mientas de gestión de caza menor más frecuentes incluyen el manejo de hábitat, el aporte de agua o comida, el control de depredadores, o la suelta de animales criados en granja. La información revisada mue...