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October 1983 - September 2009
Publications
Publications (220)
The relative effect of demographic history and selection on the number and length of runs of homozygosity (ROH) has been poorly studied in wild populations. A recent study that combined evolutionary simulations with empirical data for red deer (Cervus elaphus) found that population history has a stronger effect than selection on the distribution of...
Mate competition encourages individuals to modulate characters involved in mating success. Adult Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) males show a dark ventral patch (DVP) that plays a central role in mating rivalry, whose size and chemical compounds varied according to the level of male-male competition within the population. In the pigmen...
Sex chromosomes differ in their inheritance properties from autosomes, and hence may encode complementary information about past demographic events. We compiled and analysed a range-wide resequencing dataset of the red deer (Cervus elaphus), one of the few Eurasian herbivores of the Late Pleistocene megafauna still found throughout much of its hist...
Sexual signals in animals encompass a variety of forms including visual, acoustic, and chemical signals that are fundamental for intra- and interspecific communication, including sexual selection processes. Among these, odor signals play a critical role. Chemical compounds involved in sexual signaling vary in nature, with lipids and proteins being...
1. The Iberian Peninsula is witnessing ever-faster environmental changes, and new challenges for wild ungulates are continuously emerging as they become more abundant and widespread. 2. We conducted a systematic review to analyse the knowledge on wild ungulates inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula. We used Web of Science and Scopus search engines, comp...
Los índices de calidad de la dieta son herramientas útiles para investigar la ecología, el comportamiento y la gestión de la fauna salvaje. Concretamente en ungulados en ecosistemas mediterráneos es esperable que la calidad de la dieta varíe a lo largo del año debido a la alta estacionalidad. El nitrógeno fecal (NF) ha sido ampliamente utilizado co...
La caza recreativa de trofeos constituye un uso significativo de las poblaciones de ungulados en España, con implicaciones directas tanto en la ecología de las especies cinegéticas como en la conservación de sus hábitats. La gestión orientada hacia la obtención de trofeos afecta diversos aspectos ecológicos de las poblaciones y de los ecosistemas e...
Most European rewilding initiatives are based on the recovery of large herbivores, particularly European bison Bison bonasus, aiming at restoring ecosystem processes and increase trophic complexity. The growing support for the release of bison as a wild species, and change its legal status, in Spain, as an ecological analogue of the extinct steppe...
Most European rewilding initiatives are based on the recovery of large herbivores, particularly European bison Bison bonasus, aiming at restoring ecosystem processes and increase trophic complexity. The growing support for the release of bison as a wild species, and change its legal status, in Spain, as an ecological analogue of the extinct steppe...
Recreational hunting, especially big game trophy hunting, has a significant impact on large areas and requires specific wildlife management strategies. However, because the pursuit of maximum hunter satisfaction can jeopardize species conservation, it is crucial to identify the factors that determine recreational trophy hunter satisfaction. We inve...
In the pursuit of sustainable coexistence between people and wildlife, the integration of sustainable game management practices into land use policies is paramount. Our proposal is to implement a third-party certification scheme to assess the sustainability of game management systems using the Principles, Criteria, and Indicators approach (PCI sche...
La caza recreativa es una actividad popular que disfrutan millones de personas en el mundo y desempeña un papel importante en algunas sociedades. Sin embargo, en el sur de Europa, se ha observado una notable disminución en el número de cazadores, atribuida a la reducción de la caza menor, al éxodo rural y al sentimiento anti-caza en las zonas urban...
Genome‐wide technologies open up new possibilities to clarify questions on genetic structure and phylogeographic history of taxa previously studied with microsatellite loci and mitochondrial sequences. Here, we used 736 individual red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) samples genotyped at 35,701 single nucleotide polymorphism loci (SNPs) to assess the popula...
Sustainability of land use is a guiding paradigm for natural resource policy in the 21st century and should also be pursued in wildlife management. We have bridged the theoretical sustainability framework with practical policy implementation by defining a certification scheme whereby landowners implement game management systems that are aligned wit...
Mates competition encourages individuals to modulate characters involved in mating success. Adult Iberian red deer ( Cervus elaphus hispanicus ) males show a dark ventral patch (DVP) that plays a central role in mating rivalry, whose size and chemical compounds varied according to the level of male-male competition within the population. In the pig...
Mate competition encourages individuals to modulate characters involved in mating success. Adult Iberian red deer ( Cervus elaphus hispanicus ) males show a dark ventral patch (DVP) that plays a central role in mating rivalry, whose size and chemical compounds varied according to the level of male-male competition within the population. In the pigm...
Investigating factors related to reproductive phenology is of particular interest in mammals with long gestation times, as the optimal adjustment of the timing of births depends on factors that occur much earlier. In Mediterranean environments, delays in conception timing in red deer populations, mainly due to climatic and demographic factors, lead...
Sexual signals play a fundamental role in sexual selection and are especially relevant in mate competition in polygynous species. Through these characteristics, individuals show their fighting ability to maximise their reproductive success. During the rutting season, male red deer display a conspicuous dark patch on the ventral area. The main objec...
The Iberian Peninsula is witnessing ever-faster environmental changes, and new challenges upon wild ungulates are continuously emerging as they become more abundant and widespread. We conducted a systematic review to i) sum-up the available scientific knowledge on Iberian wild ungulates, and ii) highlight a set of open questions regarding different...
Simple Summary
Population genetic structure and individual multilocus heterozygosity are vital for wildlife management. Traditionally, microsatellite markers have been used to estimate population genetic parameters, but single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have gained popularity due to their greater measurement precision. This study compared gene...
La variación en la fenología reproductiva de numerosas especies animales se debe
principalmente a componentes demográficos, características individuales y cambios climáticos. Investigar los factores relacionados con la fenología reproductiva es especialmente interesante en mamíferos con tiempos de gestación largos, ya que el ajuste óptimo de la fec...
Simple Summary
Stable isotope analysis is a technique increasingly used for studying many aspects of wildlife behaviour, such as diet, migrations, and trophic relationships. However, scarce information is available on how isotopes are assimilated into the body under conditions such as nutritional stress situations or intrasexual competition for mat...
We surveyed wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations using 16S rRNA gene analysis of the gut microbiota in fresh faeces taken from 88 animals hunted in 16 hunting estates. The wild boar is a very convenient model system to explore how environmental factors including game management, food availability, disease prevalence, and behaviour may affect differen...
Natural events over time, and human interventions, influence the genetic structure of species. The red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) is widely distributed in Europe, with a large‐scale genetic structure largely determined by Pleistocene climatic oscillations. The Iberian Peninsula acted as one of the main glacial refuges for many species; a particular re...
Genetic diversity provides the long-term capacity of species, communities, and the biosphere to persist under change [...]
Body condition for reproduction in capital breeders such as the red deer (Cervus elaphus) is mostly determined by their stored energy reserves. Thus, environmental conditions and resource availability may affect reproductive performance and breeding success. In warm Mediterranean regions, current climate change is driving to a hotter and drier scen...
Sexual selection favors male traits that increase their ability to monopolize the breeding access to several females. Deer antlers are cranial appendages that regenerate annually in males. Throughout life, the phenology of antler growth advances and antler mass increases until the stag reaches, between 8 and 10 years old, maximum body mass and high...
Stable isotopes have been widely used to obtain information on the ecology and
nutritional quality of wildlife. The isotope relationships of stable carbon and
nitrogen isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) present in different tissues are directly related
to the diet of the animal and, to some extent, to the environment where the
individual has developed. This...
The microbial community present in the intestine is usually related to the type of diet and to the physiological and immunological status of the host. Most studies on the genomes of these communities (the microbiomes) have used domestic animals as models, while there is a scarcity of studies on wild animals and particularly on game species, despite...
Sexual signals play a key role during sexual selection processes, in particular during mate competition for mates in polygynous species. Through these traits, individuals communicate their ability to overcome successfully agonistic interactions by revealing relevant attributes to maximise their reproductive success. During the rutting season, male...
Sexual selection favors male traits that increase their ability to monopolize the breeding access to several females. Deer antlers are cranial appendages that regenerate annually in males. Throughout life, the phenology of antler growth advances and antler mass increases until the buck reaches, between 8 and 10 years old, maximum body mass and high...
Hunting with lead ammunition represents a source of heavy metal pollution to the environment that can be potentially high at the local scale. Intensive hunting of small game species can concentrate high levels of ammunition discharging in small areas. This type of hunting is a relevant economic resource for private landowners in some regions of Spa...
The analysis of stable isotopes in different tissues has been widely used to obtain information on the ecology and nutritional patterns of wildlife. The isotope ratios of the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) analysed in different tissues are directly related to the animal's diet and, to some extent, to the environment where th...
En mamíferos poligínicos, la señalización juega un papel decisivo en la inversión en el comportamiento sexual, mediando la intensidad de las peleas entre machos y clave durante la elección de pareja por parte de las hembras. Durante la época de celo, los machos de ciervo muestran un parche oscuro visible en el pelaje de la zona ventral. Recientemen...
El análisis de isótopos estables ha sido ampliamente utilizado para la obtención de información sobre la ecología y calidad nutricional de la fauna silvestre. Las relaciones isotópicas de los isótopos estables de carbono y nitrógeno (d13C y d15N) presentes en diferentes tejidos están directamente relacionadas con la dieta del animal y, en cierto mo...
GECISO Manual proposes a conceptual framework to develop: The Technical Standard (TE) GECISO®.
GECISO® is a technical standard for the territorially-based certification of game management by companies accredited by ENAC, the Spanish national entity for accreditation. GECISO provides detailed regulatory specifications for the certification of susta...
GECISO® is a technical standard for the territorially-based certification of game management by companies accredited by ENAC, the Spanish national entity for accreditation. GECISO provides detailed regulatory specifications for the certification of sustainable management, and it is beginning to be translated into practice on hunting grounds in Spai...
Simple Summary
Genetic diversity in wildlife is a matter of growing concern in contexts related to disease transmission and human health. Tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease with relevant consequences and can present high prevalence in wild boar and red deer populations. Here, we review studies on the genetic diversity of ungulates, wild boar, and r...
Background
In polygynous mammals, signalling may play a decisive role in mating behavior, mediating the intensity of male fights and female mate choice. During the rutting season, male red deer may show a visible dark patch in their ventral fur. Recently, this patch has been suggested to act as a flexible sexual signal, due to its relationships wit...
The relationship between reproductive and physiological stress hormones in vertebrates is poorly understood. In many species of mammals and especially in humans, the most widespread idea is that there is a negative relationship between them, i.e. higher stress levels are associated with lower testosterone levels. Likewise, the subordination stress...
In the last decades, climate change has caused an increase in mean temperatures and a reduction in average rainfall in southern Europe, which is expected to reduce resource availability for herbivores. Resource availability can influence animals' physical condition and population growth. However, much less is known on its effects on reproductive pe...
Simple Summary
The Iberian Peninsula is considered a reservoir of genetic diversity and the source for the recolonization of continental Europe by several mammal species, after the last glaciation period. Here, we intended to characterize the genetic patterns and origins of one of those species, the roe deer, through the analysis of different genet...
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...
The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is one of the most emblematic game species in Southern Europe. For the conservation of its natural populations against hybridization with chukar partridges (Alectoris chukar) a public and agreed control system able to detect genetic introgression between the two species should be established. As the already...
Sexual signals play a central role in male-male competition in polygynous species. In red deer (Cervus elaphus), male’s ventral area become dark during the rutting season due to urine spraying behaviour and retains many chemical compounds potentially revealing individual features. Here we investigate the variation in size of this trait, exploring i...
Chemical signals play a decisive role in communication in many mammal species. In red deer (Cervus elaphus), the dark ventral patch has recently been described as a male chemical signal involved in intrasexual competition. Morphological specializations of the hair of this area might contribute to retaining the volatile compounds found here. In this...
The Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon L.) is a medium-size carnivore widely distributed in Africa and in a small part of southern Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, where mongoose populations have recently expanded. The mongoose is relatively easily detectable because of its diurnal habits and because it is the only species of Herpestidae occurrin...
Velocidad de ultrasonidos en las cuernas del ciervo ibérico: una medición no invasiva de la densidad y un posible índice de la calidad relativa
Las cuernas de ciervo pueden usarse como un índice de calidad individual, tanto en contextos ecológicos como productivos. Por lo general, la calidad de las cuernas se mide solo por sus características biomé...
Theory predicts that the plastic expression of sex-traits should be modulated not only by their production costs but also by the benefits derived from the presence of rivals and mates, yet there is a paucity of evidence for an adaptive response of sex-trait expression to social environment. We studied antler size, a costly and plastic sex trait, an...
The expression of male sexual traits, which is stimulated by testosterone, entails significant costs for individuals. Consequently, natural selection is expected to favour the modulation of sexual trait development according to the balance between its costs and benefits. The proportion of rivals in a population may affect this balance by increasing...
Both male-male competition and female choice are important forces in sexual selection that may act in concert. In red deer (Cervus elaphus), rutting activities related to male-male competition are highly conspicuous and have received most research attention. However, there is increasing evidence that females can gain by selecting mates. Due to the...
Testosterone secretion may regulate the reproductive effort and the development of sexual traits, but it may also involve costs at the immunological and metabolic levels. However, the evidence for this trade‐off in wild populations is scarce. Similarly, cortisol also plays an important role in mediating the reproductive and immune functions. In thi...
La testosterona promueve la expresión de caracteres sexuales secundarios en machos en muchas especies. Sin embargo, los rasgos sexuales conllevan costes y se espera que la selección favorezca la modulación de su desarrollo de acuerdo a un balance entre costes y beneficios. La proporción de machos rivales en una población puede afectar a este equili...
Sexual signals are decisive during intrasexual competition and can contribute to determinate the male access to mates among the species. In Iberian male red deer, sexual traits are probably important in many contexts, as dominance is such a critical aspect of social behaviour. Steroid hormones are also related to these sexual characters. Social cos...
During the mating season, Iberian red deer males (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) present a large visible dark ventral area in their abdomen. This characteristic dark-haired area is formed by the impregnation of the hair with sprayed urine and gland secretions and contains volatile compounds that can be used in intraspecific communication. Here, we used...
After the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), populations of animal and plant species began to recolonise northern available habitats departing from Pleistocene refuges. Red deer (Cervus elaphus), the most widespread species of wild ungulate in the Palearctic, has been used as a model to address questions related to cryptic refuges in Europe, population st...
This work shows the key elements determining the satisfaction of large game species
hunters during hunting chases. No similar studies have been conducted so far in the
Iberian Peninsula. The study will contribute to evaluate whether current game
management models try to ensure hunters’ satisfaction as final customers and whether
the necessities of...
During the last decades of 20th century, several political, socio‐economic and ecological
changes affected the hunting sector, motivating the replacement of traditional game
management models by new, intensive models focused on the commercial exploitation
of game resources. Many studies have demonstrated how this intensification of game
management...
GECISO Manual proposes a conceptual framework to develop: The Technical Standard (TE) GECISO®.
GECISO® is a technical standard for the territorially-based certification of game management by companies accredited by ENAC, the Spanish national entity for accreditation. GECISO provides detailed regulatory specifications for the certification of susta...
Hormones have not been found in concentrations of orders of magnitude higher than nanograms per milliliter. Here we report urine concentrations of a catecholamine (norepinephrine) ranging from 0.05 to 0.5 g/l, and concentrations of its metabolite DL-3,4-dihydroxyphenyl glycol (DOPEG) ranging from 1.0 to 44.5 g/l, in wild male red deer Cervus elaphu...
Abstract
National accounting either ignores or fails to give due values to the ecosystem services, products, incomes and environmental assets of a country. To overcome these shortcomings, we apply spatially-explicit extended accounts that incorporate a novel environmental income indicator, which we test in the forests of Andalusia (Spain). Extende...
La relación entre hormonas sexuales y estrés en vertebrados está sujeta a debate. En humanos la idea más extendida es que existe relación negativa, es decir estrés asociado a menor testosterona. En el mismo sentido, el paradigma del estrés de los subordinados sostiene que éstos sufren mayor estrés en una situación de competencia, a la vez que los d...
La relación entre hormonas sexuales y estrés en vertebrados está sujeta a debate. En
humanos la idea más extendida es que existe relación negativa, es decir estrés asociado a menor testosterona. En el mismo sentido, el paradigma del estrés de los subordinados
sostiene que éstos sufren mayor estrés en una situación de competencia, a la vez que los
d...
Red brocket deer Mazama americana includes at least two lineages that differ at the level of karyotypes and phylogenetic relationships based on mtDNA. Also, hybrids between them have been proved to be nonviable or infertile. Since successful breeding is hampered, we expect selection to have produced a precopulatory barrier between these lineages ba...
National accounting either ignores or fails to give due values to a country ́s ecosystem services, products, total income and environmental asset variations. To overcome these shortcomings, wedevelop a spatially-explicit extended ecosystem accounting framework, which we test intheMediterranean forests of Andalusia (Spain). This framework goes beyon...
Horse reproduction tends to be seasonal. The main adjusting factor in their original temperate ranges is photoperiod variation, although it is absent in equatorial areas where horses were introduced by European colonizers. Hence, dates of reproduction in these areas may be influenced by factors affecting mares’ conditions and the success of foaling...
Este libro está basado en estudios científicos realizados por investigadores de distintos países sobre biología y gestión cinegética del ciervo y otros ungulados de caza mayor que dan respuesta a multitud de preguntas; unas relacionadas con la gestión cinegética como: ¿tiene consecuencias la caza de trofeos?; ¿Es aconsejable mantener poblaciones co...
Brocket deer Mazama nemorivaga and M. gouazoubira occur at the Amazon basin and southern areas, respectively, in parapatric distribution ranges. Both species can interbreed in captivity, although hybrids have serious fertility problems. Therefore, we expect natural selection to favour behavioural barriers against interspecific mating. We carried ou...
La lactancia es una de las tareas que más energía demanda durante el cuidado maternal, la cual representa un 75% de toda la energía gastada por las hembras de ungulados en la reproducción. La cría cooperativa o “allonursing” se define como el cuidado de hijos no propios, sino del grupo al que se pertenece. El amamantamiento cooperativo o “allosuckl...
Reproductive phenology is an important trait subjected to natural selection. Current horses in America belong to the Palearctic original populations after being introduced by European colonizers. Photoperiod variation is the main environmental factor for the adjustment of reproductive timing in horses, but is absent in equatorial areas. Here we hyp...
In sexually reproducing organisms, the specific combinations of parental alleles can have important consequences on offspring viability and fitness. Accordingly, genetic relationship between mates can be used as a criterion for mate choice. Here, we used microsatellite genetic markers to estimate the genetic relationship between mating pairs in the...
La época en la que tiene lugar la reproducción afecta enormemente al éxito de la cría así como a los costes para los progenitores. En ungulados la disponibilidad de hierba puede ser variable a lo largo del año y el ajuste de la reproducción a esa disponibilidad es fuertemente favorecido por la selección. Un elemento principal para el ajuste fenológ...
Durante la época de celo, los machos de ciervo ibérico (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) presentan una zona de coloración oscura en la mayor parte de su vientre. El color negruzco característico se debe a la impregnación de algunas sustancias en el pelo. Se trata de compuestos volátiles, que probablemente procedan de secreciones químicas de glándulas esp...
For cooperatively breeding birds, it has been proposed that breeders should reduce their investment in eggs when they count on helpers, because this can be compensated for by helpers provisioning of nestlings. Data from some species have supported this prediction, but this is not the case in others. It has also been proposed that mothers should not...
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145111.].
Red deer populations in the Iberian glacial refugium were the main source for postglacial recolonization and subspecific radiation in north-western Europe. However, the phylogenetic history of Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and its relationships with northern European populations remain uncertain. Here, we study DNA sequences at the m...
Deer species included in the genus Mazama descend from two different clades that experienced a strong evolutionary convergence in morphology and behaviour when they adapted to Neotropical forests. We would expect that circadian activity rhythms also converged according to habitat features or responded to temporal niche segregation in sympatric spec...
Este libro presenta una revisión de la Etología, con el foco principal en el modo en que el comportamiento ha sido producido por la selección natural.
El comportamiento es el modo en que los seres vivos resuelven los problemas a los que se enfrentan, y por tanto la manera en que responden a presiones selectivas. Comprender cómo el comportamiento es...
Captive breeding of endangered species often aims at preserving genetic diversity and to avoid the harmful effects of inbreeding. However, deleterious alleles causing inbreeding depression can be purged when inbreeding persists over several generations. Despite its great importance both for evolutionary biology and for captive breeding programmes,...
Research has addressed the valuation of hunting and game species according to their extractive value, using both market and non-market methodologies. This study provides a new perspective to estimate environmental prices of game animals based on game hunting leases, population dynamics, the assumption of a steady state, and the use of the residual...
Teeth in Cervidae are permanent structures that are not replaceable or repairable; consequently their rate of wear, due to the grinding effect of food and dental attrition, affects their duration and can determine an animal's lifespan. Tooth wear is also a useful indicator of accumulative life energy investment in intake and mastication and their i...
While sex can be advantageous for a lineage in the long term, we still lack an explanation for its maintenance with the twofold cost per generation. Here we model an infinite diploid population where two autosomal loci determine, respectively, the reproductive mode, sexual versus asexual and the mating system, polygynous (costly sex) versus monogam...
