The dhole Cuon alpinus is a large canid that is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and at risk of global extinction. Information on the spatial distribution of suitable habitat is important for conservation planning but is largely unavailable. We quantified the spatial distribution of potential range as well as the relative probability of dhole occurrence across large parts of the species’ global range. We used the MaxEnt algorithm to produce a multi-scale environmental niche model based on 24 environmental variables and dhole occurrence data from 12 countries. We identified three regions where dhole conservation should be focused: western India, central India, and across the Himalayan foothills through Southeast Asia. Connectivity between suitable areas was poor, so coordinated action among these regions should be a priority. For instance, transboundary dhole conservation initiatives across the Himalayas from southern China, Myanmar, north-east India, Nepal and Bhutan need to be initiated. We also highlight the value of improving dhole population viability on unprotected land and increasing monitoring in the northern parts of its historic distribution, in particular in areas within mainland China.

Three types of fertility control, surgical sterilization, hormonal chemosterilization, and immunosterilization, are reviewed with regard to their potential for controlling problematic populations of carnivores. The fertility control agent and delivery protocol of choice may vary considerably according to: (i) the reason for control; (ii) the degree, urgency and duration of population reduction required; (iii) concerns about ethics and public opinion; and (iv) the status, population dynamics, social structure, mating system, size, behaviour and reproductive endocrinology of the target animals. Although they are often perceived and advocated as more preferable methods of population control than lethal approaches, it is important that wildlife managers as well as members of the public realize that the ethical acceptability of the various fertility control techniques may differ considerably - and that numerous questions regarding their effectiveness, humaneness and ecological safety remain unanswered.

In order to test the hypothesis that social parameters within carnivore societies are correlated with health status, a profile is presented of the general health, haematology and blood biochemistry of a colony of free-living feral farm cats (Felis silvestris catus). Samples and biochemical data were collected between late November and early December 1989. A higher proportion of adult males than females was found to be clinically abnormal. Social status (Central or Peripheral) had a significant effect on female mouth condition, but not on male mouth condition. Eosinophilia (34.6% of individuals), high fibrinogen levels (19.2%) and low haemoglobin levels (28.8%) were significantly more likely to occur in clinically abnormal than in clinically normal cats. Blood biochemistry varied with age and, among adults only, varied between the sexes. Haematological measurements varied significantly with age and sex. There were no haematological effects of social status in males, but in females social status affected reticulocyte, neutrophil, eosinophil and white blood cell (WBC) counts. We interpret variation in health and haematology in terms of the differences in social status and reproductive tactics.

The vicuna is mainly used in two ways: wild captured, shorn and returned to the wild; or wild captured and maintained in captivity as part of a programme of sustainable use in the Andes of South America. Farming of wild vicunas has hitherto involved no assessment of their welfare. In this study we measured a set of basic blood parameters in order to characterise baseline values in captivity, and we then characterised adrenal cortical responsiveness using an ACTH challenge. The ACTH challenge is widely used for assessing neuroendocrine responses to stress and is now increasingly being applied to studies of wild animals’ welfare. Five male vicunas were injected with exogenous ACTH and their responses compared with those of a control group injected with placebo. Behavioural and haematological changes were monitored. Injection of ACTH produced a 4.5-fold increase in cortisol concentration within 1 h. Total white blood cell count almost doubled in less than 5 h. The neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio also changed, with a decrease in lymphocytes and an increase in neutrophils, suggesting that the neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio was affected by the ACTH challenge. Packed cell volume increased from 40% to 44%. Observations of individual vicunas during sampling revealed no discernible behavioural differences between treated and control animals; however, animals that had higher initial baseline cortisol concentration made more attempts to escape, and vocalised more during handling, regardless of whether they were treated with ACTH or placebo. The results reveal the different blood parameter levels associated with stress in different species and highlight the hazard of interpreting stress levels in one species on the basis of measures calibrated in another. We provide calibrated reference values for future studies of stress in vicunas.

A current programme of wildlife utilisation in the Andean region involves the capture of wild vicunas, their shearing, transport and, in some cases, captive farming. The effects of these interventions on the physiology, and thus welfare, of wild vicunas are unknown. As a first step to quantifying and thus mitigating any adverse welfare consequences of this harvest, we measured the immediate and longer-term physical and physiological effects of capture, shearing and transport. A sample of juvenile male vicunas was captured. Six were shorn at the capture site, six after two weeks in captivity, and the remaining seven animals were kept as controls for 39 days. In general, vicunas showed changes in blood glucose, packed cell volume, cortisol, and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratios within 4-6 h following capture. Creatine kinase was also affected by capture and transport, showing a peak plasma level 24 h after capture, which was followed by a peak plasma level of aspartate aminotransferase four days after capture and transport. After 12 days in captivity, all of the vicunas showed physiological parameters close to expected baseline values for the species. We could detect no differences in physiological parameters between animals that were captured, sheared and transported and those that were only captured and transported. Similarly, we could detect no differences in most responses of vicunas between those sheared after 12 days in captivity and a control group held under similar conditions but from which blood was sampled without shearing. A further comparison between animals sheared immediately after capture and animals sheared after 12 days in captivity revealed that creatine kinase levels were higher in the former group. During transport prior to release back into the wild, only minor injuries (lip bleeding and limb contusions) and a significant increase in rectal temperature were observed. Our results provide a basis for recommendations to improve the welfare of vicunas during the wool harvest, and provide baseline and stress-response data to serve as reference points for further studies of vicuna welfare.

Freshwater habitats in China are potentially suitable for invasive alien turtle species and, consequently, raising turtles in aquaculture facilities and the trade in turtles this supplies pose risks to habitats and native wetland communities when exotic turtles escape or are released deliberately. Online trade (e-commerce) is making an increasing contribution to turtle sales in China, seemingly driving demand and thus potentially exacerbating the risk of release. We document the scale and spatial pattern of online sales of non-native turtles over 90 days on China's Taobao.com e-commerce site. The majority of sales were in the ecologically sensitive middle and lower Yangtze river basin (82.35% of > 840,000 slider turtles Trachemys scripta elegans, and 68.26% of > 100,000 snapping turtles, Chelydridae spp.). These species are native to the Americas. Concurrently, over 2008–2018, we found 104 mentions of feral turtle issues listed on Baidu News where, among the 53 prefectures mentioned, issues with invasive turtle populations also focused predominantly in the middle and lower Yangtze river basin. Although circumstantial, this association suggests that the substantial online sale of alien turtles could be having detrimental effects in China's Yangtze river basin. It is important to safeguard these wetland habitats, which are of global importance, by improving policies for detecting and regulating invasive alien turtle issues and by warning consumers about the ecological hazard of their purchases.

Anthropogenic habitat alteration and invasive species are threatening carnivores globally. Understanding the impact of these factors is critical for creating localized, effective conservation programmes. Madagascar's Eupleridae have been described as the least studied and most threatened group of carnivores. We investigated the effects of habitat degradation and the presence of people and exotic species on the modelled occupancy of the endemic fosa Cryptoprocta ferox, conducting camera-trap surveys in two western deciduous forests, Ankarafantsika National Park and Andranomena Special Reserve. Our results indicated no clear patterns between habitat degradation and fosa occupancy but a strong negative association between cats Felis sp. and fosas. Cat occupancy was negatively associated with birds and positively associated with contiguous forest and narrow trails. In contrast, dog Canis lupus familiaris occupancy was best predicted by wide trails, degraded forest and exotic civets. Our results suggest fosas are capable of traversing degraded landscapes and, in the short term, are resilient to contiguous forest disturbance. However, high occupancy of cats and dogs in the landscape leads to resource competition through prey exploitation and interference, increasing the risk of transmission of potentially fatal diseases. Management strategies for exotic carnivores should be considered, to reduce the widespread predation of endemic species and the transmission of disease.

Major and trace element and Sr, Nd and O isotopic data are presented for ferrobasalts, icelandites, rhyolites, mixed pumices and silicic xenoliths of the 1875 eruption of Askja. Trace element modelling and Sr and Nd data largely confirm previous major element calculations that fractional crystallization was dominant in the generation of the basalt-ferrobasalt-icelandite-rhyolite suite. Relative enrichment in Rb (and Th and U?), depletion in Cs, and low values of δ18O/16O, in the rhyolites are not explained by this mechanism alone. The silicic magmas were selectively contaminated by diffusion from partially molten granitic wall rocks, now found as xenoliths in the eruptive products, the process being particularly marked by lower δ18O and Cs/Rb ratios in the rhyolites than in the associated basalts. This is the first record of a combined fractional crystallization-selective contamination process in an Icelandic silicic complex.

Lake-water oxygen-isotope histories for three lakes in northern Russia, derived from the cellulose oxygen-isotope stratigraphies of sediment cores, provide the basis for preliminary reconstruction of Holocene paleohydrology in two regions along the boreal treeline. Deconvolution of shifting precipitation δ18O from secondary evaporative isotopic enrichment is aided by knowledge of the distribution of isotopes in modern precipitation, the isotopic composition of paleo-waters preserved in frozen peat deposits, as well as other supporting paleoclimatic information. These data indicate that during the early Holocene, when the boreal treeline advanced to the current arctic coastline, conditions in the lower Yenisey River region were moist compared to the present, whereas greater aridity prevailed to the east near the lower Lena River. This longitudinal moisture gradient is consistent with the suggestion that oceanic forcing (increased sea-surface temperatures in the Nordic Seas and reduced sea-ice cover) was a major contributor to the development of a more maritime climate in western Eurasia, in addition to increased summer insolation. East of the Taimyr Peninsula, large tracts of the continental shelf exposed by glacial sea-level drawdown may have suppressed maritime climatic influence in what are now coastal areas. In contrast, during the late Holocene the two regions have apparently experienced coherent shifts in effective moisture. The similarity of the records may primarily reflect reduced North Atlantic influence in the Nordic Seas and southward retreat of coastline in eastern Siberia, coupled with declining summer insolation.

Virkisjökull is a rapidly retreating outlet glacier draining the western flanks of Öræfajökull in SE Iceland. Since 2011 there have been continuous measurements of flow in the proglacial meltwater channel and regular campaigns to sample stable isotopes δ2H and δ18O from the river, ice, moraine springs and groundwater. The stable isotopes provide reliable end members for glacial ice and shallow groundwater. Analysis of data from 2011 to 2014 indicates that although ice and snowmelt dominate summer riverflow (mean 5.3–7.9 m3 s−1), significant flow is also observed in winter (mean 1.6–2.4 m3 s−1) due primarily to ongoing glacier icemelt. The stable isotope data demonstrate that the influence of groundwater discharge from moraines and the sandur aquifer increases during winter and forms a small (15–20%) consistent source of baseflow to the river. The similarity of hydrological response across seasons reflects a highly efficient glacial drainage system, which makes use of a series of permanent englacial channels within active and buried ice throughout the year. The study has shown that the development of an efficient year round drainage network within the lower part of the glacier has been coincident with the stagnation and subsequent rapid retreat of the glacier.

Introduction: Pharyngitis is a common presenting complaint at the emergency department (ED). Historically, acute pharyngitis has been overdiagnosed as the result of a bacterial etiology, leading to over-prescription of antibiotics, and overuse of throat culturing. This study attempts to quantify the current management of acute pharyngitis in the ED, and compare to the theoretical management using a modified Centor score. Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of 1640 patients who presented to four EDs in the central zone of the Nova Scotia Health Authority that received a diagnosis of pharyngitis, bacterial pharyngitis or tonsillitis. The primary outcome was the observed rate of each diagnosis in the study population, the rate of antibiotic prescription, and the rate of throat swab cultures performed. The secondary outcomes were the rate of antibiotics and throat swabs ordered using a modified Centor score. Antibiotics as first-line treatment were indicated if the Centor score was three or greater, and throat cultures were indicated if the Centor score was two or greater. Results: A total of 1596 patients were included in the analysis. Antibiotics were given in 893 patients (0.559; 95% CI: {0.535, 0.584}). Cultures were sent on 863 patients (0.541 CI: {0.516, 0.565}). Using the modified Centor thresholds, we would have prescribed antibiotics as the first-line treatment in 77 cases (0.048 CI: {0.038, 0.060}), potentially saving 786 prescriptions, and ordered throat swabs on 502 patients (0.315, CI: {0.292, 0.338}), saving 361 cultures. The most commonly prescribed antibiotic was penicillin, and the least prescribed was metronidazole. Conclusion: Over half of patients that present with acute pharyngitis receive an antibiotic, and over half have a throat swab culture performed. Utilizing a modified Centor score would result in decreased antibiotic prescription rate, and a diminished rate of throat cultures. Incorporation of these Centor criteria could result in diminished antibiotic prescription rates for acute pharyngitis in the ED.

Millions of people throughout the tropics consume wild meat. Overhunting reduces food security for people and large predators, yet little is known of the impact of hunting in systems where people and predators target the same prey species. We collate published data on predator diet in Belize with interview data about the consumption of wild and domestic meat by Belizeans, to compare the wild-meat diets of humans, jaguars Panthera onca and pumas Puma concolor and assess the sustainability of the combined offtake by humans and jaguars. Six wild mammal species (nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus, paca Cuniculus paca, collared peccary Pecari tajacu, white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari, red brocket deer Mazama americana and white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus) comprised 7% of the animal-protein meals eaten by Belizeans. Overall, 80% of these meals were eaten by 20% of interviewees, suggesting a necessary role of wild meat for the minority. The same species were found in 69 and 86% of jaguar and puma scats, respectively. We estimate a national annual harvest of c. 4,000 tonnes of these six wild mammals by humans and jaguars, of which 78% is hunted by people. Sustainability is difficult to evaluate because prey population data are lacking in Belize. However, simple models suggest that a sustainable harvest at this rate would require higher prey population densities than averages recorded in hunted Neotropical forests. We emphasize the need for robust regional estimates of game species densities, to improve assessments of sustainability and inform hunting regulations. We recommend that the requirements of predators as well as those of people be considered when assessing wild meat harvests.

Livestock depredation has implications for conservation and agronomy; it can be costly for farmers and can prompt retaliatory killing of carnivores. Lethal control measures are readily available and are reportedly perceived to be cheaper, more practical and more effective than non-lethal methods. However, the costs and efficacy of lethal vs non-lethal approaches have rarely been compared formally. We conducted a 3-year study on 11 South African livestock farms, examining costs and benefits of lethal and non-lethal conflict mitigation methods. Farmers used existing lethal control in the first year and switched to guardian animals (dogs Canis familiaris and alpacas Lama pacos) or livestock protection collars for the following 2 years. During the first year the mean cost of livestock protection was USD 3.30 per head of stock and the mean cost of depredation was USD 20.11 per head of stock. In the first year of non-lethal control the combined implementation and running costs were similar to those of lethal control (USD 3.08 per head). However, the mean cost of depredation decreased by 69.3%, to USD 6.52 per head. In the second year of non-lethal control the running costs (USD 0.43 per head) were significantly lower than in previous years and depredation costs decreased further, to USD 5.49 per head. Our results suggest that non-lethal methods of human–wildlife conflict mitigation can reduce depredation and can be economically advantageous compared to lethal methods of predator control.

Deer populations are increasing throughout the northern hemisphere, and unregulated numbers can jeopardize biodiversity and the economy. These populations are difficult to monitor using visual counts. Estimating densities from surveys of faecal pellets is reliable but time-consuming and thus, if carried out by professionals, expensive. Utilizing volunteers has clear advantages. Based on research from the UK (6 years) and Nova Scotia, Canada (4 years), we investigated the methodological refinements and training required to achieve reliable data when using volunteers. For safety reasons volunteers worked in teams of 5–10 (n = 611) under supervision of scientists. We compared faecal accumulation rate and faecal standing crop surveys using 10 × 10 m quadrats. Both methods produced similar estimates of density, but because of significant time savings and greater volunteer enjoyment we favour faecal standing crop over faecal accumulation rate surveys. Volunteer teams surveyed quadrats significantly faster than a single professional but needed significantly longer to reach and stake out new quadrats. On average, teams found 68% of all droppings. Performance of individuals was affected by training, gender, and willingness and aptitude to survey. After five quadrats men scored significantly higher than women but this difference was reduced after 20 quadrats. Age did not affect performance but willingness and aptitude correlated with ability to find and identify droppings. We conclude that volunteers can monitor deer effectively but that techniques should be modified. The provision of context, training, supervision and verification by a professional are essential. Because of the drain on scientists’ time, cost-effective volunteer deployment is a question of scale.