Search Results (11)

In June 2025, a two-year-old female brown bear (Ursus arctos) appeared in the streets of Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania. This sparked significant public, institutional, and media responses. This paper analyzes the event through ecological, social, and symbolic lenses to explore how large carnivores are perceived and managed at the wildland–urban interface. Through an examination of media reports, policy responses, and theoretical perspectives from environmental sociology and narrative studies, we explore how the bear’s presence became a public safety concern and a culturally significant symbol. Public discourse revealed tensions between institutional authority and local ethical values, as evidenced by hunters’ refusal to carry out a kill permit. This case also illustrates the growing use of technology, such as drones, in urban wildlife management. The bear’s peaceful departure reinforced the effectiveness of nonlethal conflict resolution. This case underscores the importance of integrating ecological realities with social perceptions, media framing, and symbolic interpretations in large carnivore conservation. It emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary approaches that address the emotional and cultural aspects of human–wildlife interactions in rapidly urbanizing areas. Full article

We examined three decades of changes in the mammal fauna of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the context of climate variability, land use transformation, and anthropogenic pressures. We compiled distributional, abundance, and status data from publications, atlases, official game statistics, and long-term monitoring programs, and we evaluated trends using compound annual growth rates or temporal indices. Our review identified losses such as regional extinctions of garden dormice and European mink, declines in small insectivores (e.g., pond bats and shrews) and herbivores (e.g., Microtus voles), and the contraction of boreal specialists (e.g., Siberian flying squirrels). However, we also identified gains, including increases in ungulate numbers (e.g., roe deer, red deer, fallow deer, moose, and wild boars before African swine fewer outbreak) and the recovery of large carnivores (e.g., wolves and lynxes). Invasions by non-native species (e.g., American mink, raccoon dog, and raccoon) and episodic disturbances, such as African swine fever and the “anthropause” caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, have further reshaped community composition. The drivers encompass climatic warming, post-socialist forest succession, intensified hunting management, and rewilding policies, with dispersal capacity mediating the responses of species. Our results underscore the dual legacy of historical land use and contemporary climate forcing in structuring the fauna dynamics of Baltic mammal communities in the face of declining specialists and invasive taxa. Full article

In zooarchaeological research, animal bone fractures can result from various processes including slaughtering, dismemberment, marrow/grease extraction, craft processing, carnivore gnawing/trampling, sediment compression, bioturbation, and recovery bias. These fractures are further influenced by bone freshness/dryness and environmental temperature. The animal bones analysed in this study, excavated from Han dynasty tombs in the Xinxiang Plain New District, China, represent ritual offerings. These specimens exhibit distinct truncation features—chop surfaces, rough planes, and fracture traces—created by ancient iron tools for culinary purposes such as stewing preparation or consumption facilitation. These characteristics differ significantly, from the V-shaped butchery marks produced by stone/bronze tools and fracture patterns from marrow/grease extraction to post-depositional breakage formed during burial processes. In this study, steel tools were employed in the rocking slicing and rolling slicing of animal bones, complemented by techniques such as breaking to sever bone shafts. Subsequently, the marks on the cross-sections were observed using a stereomicroscope, and the results were compared and analysed with the materials from Han dynasty tombs unearthed at Xinxiang city, Henan Province. From the comparison between experimental observation results and archaeological materials, it is evident that the fine processing of meat-bearing bone materials mainly involved the use of rocking and rolling slicing methods. The cross-sections of the slices revealed shearing surfaces, rough patches, bone splinters, and sliced ends. The shearing surfaces in particular exhibited numerous visible trace characteristics, with the types and quantities of these traces varying with different cutting tools. This study holds significant reference value for exploring cutting tools and techniques in antiquity. Full article

Coexisting with large carnivores in human-dominated European landscapes is a highly relevant and current challenge. Over the last two centuries, the wolf (Canis lupus) population in Europe has experienced a significant decline, primarily due to direct human persecution. However, recent conservation policies, combined with the species’ remarkable ecological flexibility, have enabled a rapid recovery. This process, which now also extends to densely populated areas, is exemplified by the ongoing expansion across the Po Plain, one of Europe’s most heavily human-dominated landscapes. Our study aims to provide the first assessment of habitat suitability for wolf presence in the Po Plain. Using a ten-year dataset of wolf occurrences (2015–2024), we evaluated the influence of several environmental and human-related factors by applying habitat suitability models with the Maximum Entropy algorithm (MaxEnt). The goal was to quantify potentially suitable habitats within the plain and to identify the factors that could either facilitate or constrain wolf presence. The results showed that approximately half of the Po Plain is suitable for wolf presence. Among anthropogenic variables, “urban areas” was the only factor that significantly and negatively affected habitat suitability, while other variables had negligible impacts. This underscores the species’ remarkable ecological and behavioural adaptability. By investigating wolf distribution in one of Europe’s most anthropised regions, this study aims to shed light on the species’ ability to thrive in human-altered landscapes, contributing to ongoing conservation efforts and informing future strategies for coexistence in highly populated lowland ecosystems. Full article

Zoonotic leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum is distributed worldwide and affects humans and domestic and wild mammals. In Europe, specifically in the Mediterranean basin, leishmaniasis is endemic due to the concurrence of the phlebotomine vectors and reservoir mammals, including carnivorous wildlife species and other less studied wild species. In this article, spleen, skin, and eye or oral swabs taken from 134 wild mammals admitted to five wildlife recovery centers in Spain were used. PCR employing fragments of the Repeat region, ITS1, and SSUrRNA were used for detection, and positive samples were processed for sequencing. L. infantum was detected in three out of the nine species analyzed, including European hedgehog, European badger, and red squirrel, with percentages ranging from 11.53 to 35.71%, depending on the species. Most of the species showed higher percentages of positivity in spleen samples than in skin samples. A small number of animals from the remaining six species tested negative, including Algerian hedgehog, stone marten, least weasel, garden dormouse, western polecat, and Egyptian mongoose. Hedgehogs and badgers are good candidates for consideration as epidemiological sentinels and pose a higher risk as potential reservoirs of leishmaniasis based on their percentage of infection and wide distribution. Full article

The studied farms are small family businesses, and so, in more than half of the cases, their continuity is not guaranteed. Livestock management is typical of a mountain system, in which the animals graze throughout the year in cultivated fields, sown meadows, forests near the farms, and mountain pastures during the three summer months. The herds always have the constant surveillance of a shepherd. Farmers consider the current infrastructure present in mountain grasslands insufficient to facilitate the management and care of their herd. Their activity conflicts with various species of wildlife, such as the wild boar, Sus scrofa, roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, or griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, and large carnivores such as the brown bear, Ursus arctos, or the grey wolf Canis lupus, despite all of them taking preventive measures to defend their herds from predators. The most widely used prevention measures are the presence of mastiff dogs, Canis lupus familiaris, next to the herds and the use of electric fencing to lock up livestock at night. Farmers reject the presence of bears and wolves in their area, considering it a real threat to the continuity of their economic activity, which presents a high degree of vulnerability. Full article

Effective trophic assessment of restoration success after the creation of an artificial habitat is essential for ecological management. In this study, to evaluate the ecological trophic function of restored kelp beds of artificial macroalgal reefs (AMRs) attached with the kelp species Eisenia bicyclis, we compared carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of organic matter sources and macrobenthic consumers and isotopic indices of functional feeding groups between artificial and reference (natural bed and barren ground, respectively) habitats. There were no significant differences in isotopic values of consumer feeding groups (except for carnivores) and their potential food sources between the artificial and natural sites, suggesting that resource diversity and resource use by consumers was similar across all sites. The isotopic data also exhibited similar or relatively higher trophic niches of feeding groups at the artificial site compared to those at the natural site, indicating that the artificial kelp bed can play important roles in similar ecological functions and services as a natural counterpart. In addition, the present study revealed that the isotopic ranges and niche indices of feeding groups were significantly wider at the artificial and natural kelp beds compared to those at the barren ground, suggesting the trophic importance of macroalgal-derived organic matter to consumer nutrition in coastal ecosystems. Overall, our results support the conclusion that the creation of an Eisenia bicyclis kelp bed by the AMRs may lead to the restoration success of the macroalgae habitat through the recovery of the ecological function of a natural food web structure. Full article

Dionaea muscipula J. Ellis is a South and North Carolina carnivorous endemic plant with medicinal properties. Its natural habitat is characterized by low availability of nutrients and poor plant cover, resulting in Venus flytrap exposure to various stress factors (especially UV-A radiation). To evaluate the response of Dionaea muscipula photosynthetic apparatus to increased levels of UV-A radiation, plants cultivated in controlled conditions (30–40 % air humidity, temperature 23 ± 1 °C, light intensity 290 μmol m^–2 s^–1, 16 h light/8 h dark) (Control) were treated additionally with 50 μmols m^–2s^–1 UV-A radiation for 24 h (Treated). Measurements of gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic pigment content were conducted immediately after the exposure, both in the Control and Treated plants. Additionally, the same parameters were evaluated in the next 24 hours (Recovery). UV-A treatment (Treated) did not change chlorophyll a + b content and chlorophyll a/b ratio. Furthermore, an increased level of electron carriers (Area, Sm) and increased efficiency of electron transport between Q_A and PSI (ΦR₀, δR₀, ρR₀) was observed. Further, PSI and electron acceptors demonstrated an increased ability to oxidize reduced plastoquinone pool (V_I decrease). As a consequence, the rate of net photosynthesis increased significantly. After 24h from the exposure (Recovery), the chlorophyll a + b content declined but the ratio of chlorophyll a/b did not alter, which indicates a decrease in the size of photosynthetic antennas and the number of active PSII centers. Additionally, inactivation of the reaction centers (F₀ decrease, V_J and V_I increase) and a decrease in the amount of electron carriers, especially PQ poll (Sm), was observed. Moreover, a decrease of electron flux and efficiency of electron transport between Q_A and PSI occurred (decrease of: ΦE₀, ψE₀, ET₀/RC, ET₀/CS₀, ΦR₀, ρR₀). These results may indicate the decrease of PSII photochemical efficiency. Simultaneously, PSI reactions remained unchanged and the rate of net photosynthesis increased significantly. This can be connected with the activation of alternative pathways of electron transport. Activation of these pathways leads to the limitation of NADPH synthesis and an increase in ATP synthesis, what enables the plant’s effective acclimatization to stress conditions. Full article

The effects of human disturbance spread over virtually all ecosystems and ecological communities on Earth. In this review, we focus on the effects of human disturbance on terrestrial apex predators. We summarize their ecological role in nature and how they respond to different sources of human disturbance. Apex predators control their prey and smaller predators numerically and via behavioral changes to avoid predation risk, which in turn can affect lower trophic levels. Crucially, reducing population numbers and triggering behavioral responses are also the effects that human disturbance causes to apex predators, which may in turn influence their ecological role. Some populations continue to be at the brink of extinction, but others are partially recovering former ranges, via natural recolonization and through reintroductions. Carnivore recovery is both good news for conservation and a challenge for management, particularly when recovery occurs in human-dominated landscapes. Therefore, we conclude by discussing several management considerations that, adapted to local contexts, may favor the recovery of apex predator populations and their ecological functions in nature. Full article

Insects are an attractive alternative to fish meal (FM) as a sustainable protein source in aquaculture feed that does not negatively impact the marine ecosystem. Despite housefly (Musca domestica) larvae having adequacy of amino acid profiles, they have sometimes been reported to be inferior to FM, especially for marine carnivorous fish species. Here, we report that the removal of the hydrophobic fractions from housefly larvae enables significant replacement of FM in the diet of the red seabream (Pagrus major). In a feeding trial, housefly (HF) larvae that had the hydrophobic fraction removed as a complete substitution for 70% FM produced satisfactory growth. However, HF larvae that were supplemented with the hydrophobic fraction resulted in significant growth reduction. Growth recovery was incomplete by supplementation of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to undefatted HF larvae, being equivalent to that of fatty acid content with a control diet. Moreover, fish with a dietary intake of catechol identified from the hydrophobic fraction of the HF showed growth reduction and morphological alterations in the intestine. Our findings indicate that the hydrophobic fraction from HF larvae contains a negative factor for fish growth and eliminating the fraction from HF larvae is thought to be an important process for sustainable aquaculture. Full article

Many plants have evolved adaptations in order to survive in low nitrogen environments. One of the best-known adaptations is that of plant symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria; this is the major route by which nitrogen is incorporated into plant biomass. A portion of this plant-associated nitrogen is then lost to insects through herbivory, and insects represent a nitrogen reservoir that is generally overlooked in nitrogen cycles. In this review we show three specialized plant adaptations that allow for the recovery of insect nitrogen; that is, plants gaining nitrogen from insects. First, we show specialized adaptations by carnivorous plants in low nitrogen habitats. Insect carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants and sundews (Nepenthaceae/Sarraceniaceae and Drosera respectively) are able to obtain substantial amounts of nitrogen from the insects that they capture. Secondly, numerous plants form associations with mycorrhizal fungi that can provide soluble nitrogen from the soil, some of which may be insect-derived nitrogen, obtained from decaying insects or insect frass. Finally, a specialized group of endophytic, insect-pathogenic fungi (EIPF) provide host plants with insect-derived nitrogen. These soil-inhabiting fungi form a remarkable symbiosis with certain plant species. They can infect a wide range of insect hosts and also form endophytic associations in which they transfer insect-derived nitrogen to the plant. Root colonizing fungi are found in disparate fungal phylogenetic lineages, indicating possible convergent evolutionary strategies between taxa, evolution potentially driven by access to carbon-containing root exudates. Full article