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  1. Article: Disentangling demographic effects of red deer on chamois population dynamics.

    Donini, Valerio / Pedrotti, Luca / Ferretti, Francesco / Corlatti, Luca

    Ecology and evolution

    2021  Volume 11, Issue 12, Page(s) 8264–8280

    Abstract: Investigating the impact of ecological factors on sex- and age-specific vital rates is essential to understand animal population dynamics and detect the potential for interactions between sympatric species. We used block count data and autoregressive ... ...

    Abstract Investigating the impact of ecological factors on sex- and age-specific vital rates is essential to understand animal population dynamics and detect the potential for interactions between sympatric species. We used block count data and autoregressive linear models to investigate variation in birth rate, kid survival, female survival, and male survival in a population of Alpine chamois
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-05-25
    Publishing country England
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 2635675-2
    ISSN 2045-7758
    ISSN 2045-7758
    DOI 10.1002/ece3.7657
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  2. Article: Temporal stability of fecal cortisol metabolites in mountain-dwelling ungulates

    Donini, Valerio / Iacona, Elisa / Pedrotti, Luca / Macho-Maschler, Sabine / Palme, Rupert / Corlatti, Luca

    Naturwissenschaften. 2022 Apr., v. 109, no. 2

    2022  

    Abstract: Fecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) are widely used to track stress responses in wildlife and captive species. Rules of thumb suggest that samples should be collected as soon as possible after defecation, to avoid decay of FCMs. To date, however, only a ... ...

    Abstract Fecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) are widely used to track stress responses in wildlife and captive species. Rules of thumb suggest that samples should be collected as soon as possible after defecation, to avoid decay of FCMs. To date, however, only a few studies investigated the stability of defecated FCMs over time, and most of them were conducted in controlled laboratory conditions. Here, we investigated the stability of FCMs over seven consecutive days, in two mountain-dwelling ungulates, under natural environmental conditions using a semi-experimental approach. Fecal samples from Northern chamois Rupicapra rupicapra (n = 24) and red deer Cervus elaphus (n = 22) were collected in summer of 2020 within the Stelvio National Park, Italy, and placed in an open area above 2000 m a.s.l. For the next 7 days, we collected a portion of each sample, and all sub-samples were analyzed with an 11-oxoetiocholanolone enzyme immunoassay. Exposure, temperature, and precipitation were fitted as covariates in non-linear generalized mixed models to assess FCM variation over time, and competing models were selected using AICc. For chamois, the best model included only time as a predictor, while for red deer, it included time, precipitation, and exposure. For both species, FCM values decreased rapidly from the first days after deposition until the fourth day. For red deer, in northern-exposed samples, FCM values decreased slower than in south-exposed ones; furthermore, FCM values increased with increasing precipitation. Our results offer a solid methodological basis to wildlife researchers and practitioners interested in the investigation of the ecological factors affecting stress variation in wildlife and support the recommendation to collect samples as fresh as possible, to avoid misleading inference. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the stability of FCMs when other enzyme immunoassays are used.
    Keywords Cervus elaphus ; chamois ; cortisol ; defecation ; enzyme immunoassays ; enzymes ; metabolites ; models ; national parks ; summer ; temperature ; wildlife ; Italy
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2022-04
    Size p. 20.
    Publishing place Springer Berlin Heidelberg
    Document type Article
    ZDB-ID 123257-5
    ISSN 1432-1904 ; 0028-1042
    ISSN (online) 1432-1904
    ISSN 0028-1042
    DOI 10.1007/s00114-022-01792-y
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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  3. Article ; Online: Temporal stability of fecal cortisol metabolites in mountain-dwelling ungulates.

    Donini, Valerio / Iacona, Elisa / Pedrotti, Luca / Macho-Maschler, Sabine / Palme, Rupert / Corlatti, Luca

    Die Naturwissenschaften

    2022  Volume 109, Issue 2, Page(s) 20

    Abstract: Fecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) are widely used to track stress responses in wildlife and captive species. Rules of thumb suggest that samples should be collected as soon as possible after defecation, to avoid decay of FCMs. To date, however, only a ... ...

    Abstract Fecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) are widely used to track stress responses in wildlife and captive species. Rules of thumb suggest that samples should be collected as soon as possible after defecation, to avoid decay of FCMs. To date, however, only a few studies investigated the stability of defecated FCMs over time, and most of them were conducted in controlled laboratory conditions. Here, we investigated the stability of FCMs over seven consecutive days, in two mountain-dwelling ungulates, under natural environmental conditions using a semi-experimental approach. Fecal samples from Northern chamois Rupicapra rupicapra (n = 24) and red deer Cervus elaphus (n = 22) were collected in summer of 2020 within the Stelvio National Park, Italy, and placed in an open area above 2000 m a.s.l. For the next 7 days, we collected a portion of each sample, and all sub-samples were analyzed with an 11-oxoetiocholanolone enzyme immunoassay. Exposure, temperature, and precipitation were fitted as covariates in non-linear generalized mixed models to assess FCM variation over time, and competing models were selected using AICc. For chamois, the best model included only time as a predictor, while for red deer, it included time, precipitation, and exposure. For both species, FCM values decreased rapidly from the first days after deposition until the fourth day. For red deer, in northern-exposed samples, FCM values decreased slower than in south-exposed ones; furthermore, FCM values increased with increasing precipitation. Our results offer a solid methodological basis to wildlife researchers and practitioners interested in the investigation of the ecological factors affecting stress variation in wildlife and support the recommendation to collect samples as fresh as possible, to avoid misleading inference. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the stability of FCMs when other enzyme immunoassays are used.
    MeSH term(s) Animals ; Animals, Wild ; Deer ; Feces ; Hydrocortisone/metabolism ; Rupicapra/metabolism
    Chemical Substances Hydrocortisone (WI4X0X7BPJ)
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-03-24
    Publishing country Germany
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 123257-5
    ISSN 1432-1904 ; 0028-1042
    ISSN (online) 1432-1904
    ISSN 0028-1042
    DOI 10.1007/s00114-022-01792-y
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  4. Article ; Online: Analysis of Scat for Gut Microbiome Identification in Wolves from a Mediterranean and an Alpine Area

    Nardi, Francesco / Lazzeri, Lorenzo / Iannotti, Nicola / Donini, Valerio / Cucini, Claudio / Belardi, Irene / Frati, Francesco / Carapelli, Antonio / Ferretti, Francesco

    Diversity. 2022 Dec. 29, v. 15, no. 1

    2022  

    Abstract: The gut microbiome can play a fundamental role in several processes associated with an organism’s ecology, and research on the microbiota of wild animals has flourished in the last decades. Microbiome composition can vary across and within species ... ...

    Abstract The gut microbiome can play a fundamental role in several processes associated with an organism’s ecology, and research on the microbiota of wild animals has flourished in the last decades. Microbiome composition can vary across and within species according to taxonomy and environmental variability, including the availability of food resources. Species with a large distribution may exhibit spatial patterns acting at local/regional scales. We considered one of the most widespread and ecologically important predators in the world, i.e., the grey wolf Canis lupus, for which microbiome data is unduly limited. We studied four packs in different ecological conditions in Italy—two packs from a Mediterranean coastal area and two packs from an Alpine range—using an amplicon sequencing barcoding approach. Overall, our results are consistent with food habits entailing a diet largely based on wild prey and agree with findings obtained on other species of canids. If confirmed through a larger sample, they would support the hypothesis of an influence of the shared evolutionary history across canids on the composition of the gut microbiome. Some emerging differences were observed among packs in terms of species composition (Jaccard) and diversity, providing partial support to recent indications on pack identity as a significant determinant of microbiome composition. These results should be considered preliminary results of gut microbiome composition in our study areas.
    Keywords Canis lupus ; barcoding ; coasts ; diet ; feces ; intestinal microorganisms ; microbiome ; species diversity ; taxonomy ; wolves
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2022-1229
    Publishing place Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
    Document type Article ; Online
    ZDB-ID 2518137-3
    ISSN 1424-2818
    ISSN 1424-2818
    DOI 10.3390/d15010037
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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