CHANGES IN TROPHIC WEBS CAUSED BY NEW VARIANT OF EMERGENT VIRUS
In a paper recently published by the prestigious scientific journal Scientific Reports – Nature group, an international team coordinated by CIBIO-InBIO researcher Pedro Monterroso, and integrating CIBIO-InBIO researchers Ana Serronha, Joana Abrantes, Ana Margarida Lopes, Elisa Maio, Maria João Magalhães, Pedro Esteves and Paulo Célio Alves, unveiled that RHDV2 may affect the conservation of the populations of Iberian lynx and Spanish Imperial eagle.
Since the virus is responsible for a drastic decline of natural populations of European rabbit, which is the major prey of the Iberian lynx and the Spanish Imperial eagle, it has also been causing severe damages on these predator populations, including a decrease of its offspring and fecundity indexes. By assessing the impact of RHDV2 on rabbit populations and on these two predator populations using data from two areas of Mediterranean ecosystems of Iberia, the team found a 60–70% decline in the size of rabbit populations, followed by decreases of 65.7% in Iberian lynx and 45.5% in Spanish Imperial eagle fecundity rates.
This study highlights the role of diseases as players in the dynamics of trophic webs, assuming particular relevance when affecting already threatened species like the two predators studied herein. These findings are particularly relevant, since this phenomenon may impinge on effectiveness of conservation programmes, and ultimately reverse the accomplishments attained in this scope.
To know more about this topic, please follow the links below:
"Doença que atinge os coelhos ameaça outras espécies ibéricas" | Notícias UP | November 7, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação do lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | DN | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | SIC Notícias | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Doença hemorrágica viral volta a ameaçar lince-ibérico e águia-imperial” | Público | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince ibérico e águia imperial” | Jornal de Notícias | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | Observador | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | Sapo 24 | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | Açoriano Oriental | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de águia imperial” | Tech ITT | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | Noticias ao Minuto| November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | Ambiente Magazine | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | Jornal do Luxemburgo | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | Redator | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | Impala | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Vírus que ataca coelhos ameaça conservação de lince-ibérico e águia imperial” | Coreio da manhã | November 3, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
“Nova estirpe de virus está a ameaçar coelhos, linces e águias na Península Ibérica” | Wilder | November 2, 2016 (Information available in Portuguese)
To read the national press release for this study, please click here.
To access the original article, please click here.