Dataset Information

Long-term monitoring of the Iberian ibex population in the Sierra Nevada of the southeast Iberian Peninsula.

ABSTRACT: This dataset provides long-term information on the presence of the Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica Schimper, 1848) in Sierra Nevada (SE Iberian Peninsula). Data on the abundance and demographic structure of the Iberian ibex population were compiled over the last three decades. Transects were laid out to record different variables such as the number of individuals sighted, the perpendicular distance of each group of Iberian ibex to the transect line and sex as well as age of individuals in the case of males. These data enabled the calculation of population parameters such as density, sex ratio, birth rate, and age structure. These parameters are key for Iberian ibex conservation and management, given that Sierra Nevada harbours the largest population of this species in the Iberian Peninsula. The data set we present is structured using the Darwin Core biological standard, which contains 3,091 events (582 transect walk events and 2,509 group sighting events), 5,396 occurrences, and 2,502 measurements. The occurrences include the sightings of 11,436 individuals (grouped by sex and age) from 1993 to 2018 in a total of 88 transects distributed along Sierra Nevada, of which 33 have been continuously sampled since 2008.

SUBMITTER: Granados JE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7316791 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Long-term monitoring of the Iberian ibex population in the Sierra Nevada of the southeast Iberian Peninsula.

Granados José Enrique JE Ros-Candeira Andrea A Pérez-Luque Antonio Jesús AJ Moreno-Llorca Ricardo R Cano-Manuel Francisco Javier FJ Fandos Paulino P Soriguer Ramón C RC Cerrato José Espinosa JE Jiménez Jesús María Pérez JMP Ramos Blanca B Zamora Regino R

Scientific data 20200625 1

This dataset provides long-term information on the presence of the Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica Schimper, 1848) in Sierra Nevada (SE Iberian Peninsula). Data on the abundance and demographic structure of the Iberian ibex population were compiled over the last three decades. Transects were laid out to record different variables such as the number of individuals sighted, the perpendicular distance of each group of Iberian ibex to the transect line and sex as well as age of individuals i ...[more]

PMID: 32587252

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Defining hidden genetic diversity within species is of great significance when attempting to maintain the evolutionary potential of natural populations and conduct appropriate management. Our hypothesis is that isolated (and eventually small) wild animal populations hide unexpected genetic diversity due to their maintenance of ancient polymorphisms or introgressions. RESULTS:We tested this hypothesis using the Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) as an example. Previous studies based on large sample sizes taken from its principal populations have revealed that the Iberian ibex has a remarkably small MHC DRB1 diversity (only six remnant alleles) as a result of recent population bottlenecks and a marked demographic decline that has led to the extinction of two recognized subspecies. Extending on the geographic range to include non-studied isolated Iberian ibex populations, we sequenced a new MHC DRB1 in what seemed three small isolated populations in Southern Spain (n?=?132). The findings indicate a higher genetic diversity than previously reported in this important gene. The newly discovered allele, MHC DRB1*7, is identical to one reported in the domestic goat C. aegagrus hircus. Whether or not this is the result of ancient polymorphisms maintained by balancing selection or, alternatively, introgressions from domestic goats through hybridization needs to be clarified in future studies. However, hybridization between Iberian ibex and domestic goats has been reported in Spain and the fact that the newly discovered allele is only present in one of the small isolated populations and not in the others suggests introgression. The new discovered allele is not expected to increase fitness in C. pyrenaica since it generates the same protein as the existing MHC DRB1*6. Analysis of a microsatellite locus (OLADRB1) near the new MHC DRB1*7 gene reveals a linkage disequilibrium between these two loci. The allele OLADRB1, 187 bp in length, was unambiguously linked to the MHC DRB1*7 allele. This enabled us to perform a DRB-STR matching method for the recently discovered MHC allele. CONCLUSIONS:This finding is critical for the conservation of the Iberian ibex since it directly affects the identification of the units of this species that should be managed and conserved separately (Evolutionarily Significant Units).

Project description:The susceptibility of the Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) to Mycoplasma conjunctivae ocular infection and the changes in their interaction over time were studied in terms of clinical outcome, molecular detection, and IgG immune response in a captive population that underwent a severe infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) outbreak. Mycoplasma conjunctivae was detected in the Iberian ibex, coinciding with the IKC outbreak. Its prevalence had a decreasing trend in 2013 that was consistent with the clinical resolution (August, 35.4%; September, 8.7%; November, 4.3%). Infections without clinical outcome were, however, still detected in the last handling in November. Sequencing and cluster analyses of the M. conjunctivae strains found 1 year later in the ibex population confirmed the persistence of the same strain lineage that caused the IKC outbreak but with a high prevalence (75.3%) of mostly asymptomatic infections and with lower DNA load of M. conjunctivae in the eyes (mean quantitative PCR [qPCR] cycle threshold [CT ], 36.1 versus 20.3 in severe IKC). Significant age-related differences of M. conjunctivae prevalence were observed only under IKC epizootic conditions. No substantial effect of systemic IgG on M. conjunctivae DNA in the eye was evidenced with a linear mixed-models selection, which indicated that systemic IgG does not necessarily drive the resolution of M. conjunctivae infection and does not explain the epidemiological changes observed. The results show how both epidemiological scenarios, i.e., severe IKC outbreak and mostly asymptomatic infections, can consecutively occur by entailing mycoplasma persistence.IMPORTANCEMycoplasma infections are reported in a wide range of epidemiological scenarios that involve severe disease to asymptomatic infections. This study allows a better understanding of the transition between two different Mycoplasma conjunctivae epidemiological scenarios described in wild host populations and highlights the ability of M. conjunctivae to adapt, persist, and establish diverse interactions with its hosts. The proportion of asymptomatic and clinical M. conjunctivae infections in a host population may not be regarded only in response to intrinsic host species traits (i.e., susceptibility) but also to a specific host-pathogen interaction, which in turn influences the infection dynamics. Both epidemic infectious keratoconjunctivitis and a high prevalence of asymptomatic M. conjunctivae infections may occur in the same host population, depending on the circulation of M. conjunctivae, its maintenance, and the progression of the host-pathogen interactions.

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Dataset Information

Long-term monitoring of the Iberian ibex population in the Sierra Nevada of the southeast Iberian Peninsula.

Publications

Long-term monitoring of the Iberian ibex population in the Sierra Nevada of the southeast Iberian Peninsula.

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