Supplementary feeding of ungulates, being widely used in game management, may have unwanted conse... more Supplementary feeding of ungulates, being widely used in game management, may have unwanted consequences. Its role in agricultural damage is well-studied, but few studies have considered the potential for the practice to attract ground nest predators. Our goal was to identify the factors influencing ground nest predation in the vicinity of year-round supplementary feeding sites for wild boar and to characterise their spatiotemporal scope. We conducted two separate artificial ground nest experiments in five different hunting districts in south-eastern Estonia. The quantity of food provided and distance of a nest from the feeding site were the most important factors determining predation risk. Larger quantities of food resulted in higher predation risk, while predation risk responded in a non-linear fashion to distance from the feeding site. Although predation risk eventually decreases if supplementary feeding is ceased for at least four years, recently abandoned feeding sites still pose a high predation risk.
Samples were collected and stored at 80°C for 1 week to avoid the risk of infection with any Ec... more Samples were collected and stored at 80°C for 1 week to avoid the risk of infection with any Echinococcus spp. eggs present. Approximately 250 mg was placed into 2-mL tubes, heated at 65°C for 15 min, and stored at 80°C. The heating and cooling procedure helps to break the parasite egg shells, enabling more efficient DNA extraction. DNA was extracted by using the QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany) according to the manufacturer's instructions. were designed to amplify short sequences of mitochondrial DNA. The Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm-specific primer pair (EMfor1 and EMrev1) amplifies tRNA-Ile/Lys, the E. granulosus tapeworm-specific (EGfor1 and EGrev1) and fox-specific (F1 and RVu) primer pairs amplify 12S rRNA, and the dog-specific (Dog1f and HW1r) primer pair amplifies part of the mitochondrial DNA control region. Although the 3 primer pairs were highly specific, the dog primers can potentially amplify gray wolf (Canis lupus) DNA. In other similar studies, only the parasite (1) or the host species
Background: Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis are tapeworm parasites of major medical... more Background: Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis are tapeworm parasites of major medical and veterinary importance, causing cystic and alveolar echinococcosis, respectively. Both diseases are listed among the most severe parasitic diseases in humans, representing 2 of the 17 neglected diseases prioritised by the World Health Organisation. However, little is known about the role of urban animals in transmission of both parasite species.
Supplementary feeding of ungulates, being widely used in game management, may have unwanted conse... more Supplementary feeding of ungulates, being widely used in game management, may have unwanted consequences. Its role in agricultural damage is well-studied, but few studies have considered the potential for the practice to attract ground nest predators. Our goal was to identify the factors influencing ground nest predation in the vicinity of year-round supplementary feeding sites for wild boar and to characterise their spatiotemporal scope. We conducted two separate artificial ground nest experiments in five different hunting districts in south-eastern Estonia. The quantity of food provided and distance of a nest from the feeding site were the most important factors determining predation risk. Larger quantities of food resulted in higher predation risk, while predation risk responded in a non-linear fashion to distance from the feeding site. Although predation risk eventually decreases if supplementary feeding is ceased for at least four years, recently abandoned feeding sites still pose a high predation risk.
Samples were collected and stored at 80°C for 1 week to avoid the risk of infection with any Ec... more Samples were collected and stored at 80°C for 1 week to avoid the risk of infection with any Echinococcus spp. eggs present. Approximately 250 mg was placed into 2-mL tubes, heated at 65°C for 15 min, and stored at 80°C. The heating and cooling procedure helps to break the parasite egg shells, enabling more efficient DNA extraction. DNA was extracted by using the QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany) according to the manufacturer's instructions. were designed to amplify short sequences of mitochondrial DNA. The Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm-specific primer pair (EMfor1 and EMrev1) amplifies tRNA-Ile/Lys, the E. granulosus tapeworm-specific (EGfor1 and EGrev1) and fox-specific (F1 and RVu) primer pairs amplify 12S rRNA, and the dog-specific (Dog1f and HW1r) primer pair amplifies part of the mitochondrial DNA control region. Although the 3 primer pairs were highly specific, the dog primers can potentially amplify gray wolf (Canis lupus) DNA. In other similar studies, only the parasite (1) or the host species
Background: Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis are tapeworm parasites of major medical... more Background: Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis are tapeworm parasites of major medical and veterinary importance, causing cystic and alveolar echinococcosis, respectively. Both diseases are listed among the most severe parasitic diseases in humans, representing 2 of the 17 neglected diseases prioritised by the World Health Organisation. However, little is known about the role of urban animals in transmission of both parasite species.
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