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Beltran, J. F. 1987. |
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Bibliography of Iberian lynx literature, especially from the 1970s. |
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Beltran, J. F. 1990. |
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The Cat Group met in Rome in 1989 in conjunction with the International Theriological Congress. Those present spoke about the cats (status, threats, conservation, research) with which they are involved. |
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Beltran, J. F. and Delibes, M. 1991.
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We report on Iberian lynx food habits form February 1983 to September 1984, as determined by analysis of 209 scats collected thoughout Doñana Biological Reserve. Overall, food habits were similar to those reported by Delibes (1980), confirming the key role of rabbits in the lynx diet (1983-84: 70.1%, and 73.5% ten years before, both expressed as frequency of occurrence computed from the total of species found in faeces). Nevertheless, we also note an increase in the occurrence of alternative prey such as small mammals and wildfowl, mainly greylag geese (28 occurrences in 1983-84, none in 1973-1976). We explain these food habits shifts as responses to changes in prey availability caused by a) the severe drought of winter 1982-83, and b) changes in traditional patterns of land use. The implications of this trophic plasticity in both the Iberian lynx ecology and conservation policies are discussed. |
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Beltran_&_Delibes_1991_Ecologia_trofica_del_lince_Iberico_en_Donana_durante_un_periodo_seco.pdf |
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Beltran, J. F. and Delibes, M. 1993.
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External and cranial measurements were determined for live-trapped Iberian lynxes and lynx skulls from Doñana National Park, Spain, and its surroundings. Skins of Iberian lynxes from the same population collected between 1895 and 1986 were examined to determine pelage-pattern characteristics. Adult (more than 2 years old) males were larger and heavier (27.3%) than females. Age-classes were statistically different for most skull measurements. Considerable variation was found between juveniles (0.5-1 year old) and subadults (1-2 years old). In 10 of 19 skull measurements, adult males were significantly larger than adult females, including length of m1, mandibular fossa - length of P4, height of mandible, length of skull, and condylobasal length. Iberian lynxes were similar in size to the Nearctic bobcat (L. rufus ) and the Canadian lynx (L. canadensis). Three main pelage patterns were present in the Doñana population until 1960. Genetic variation of this population may have decreased during the past 3 decades as exemplified by the loss of the two rarest pelage patterns. |
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Beltran_&_Delibes_1993_Characteristics_of_Iberian_lynxes.pdf |
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Beltran, J. F. and Delibes, M. 1994. |
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From February 1983 to May 1985, 12 Iberian lynxes (Lynx pardinus) (six adults and six juveniles) were radiotracked at hourly intervals for 114 24-h periods at Doñana National Park, southwestern Spain. Nine environmental factors were related, by season and age class, to 12 indices of daily activity of lynxes derived from movement rates and pulses of the motion sensor in the transmitters. Coefficients of determination were higher in winter and summer than in spring. Juvenile lynxes appeared more sensitive to environmental factors than adults. Photoperiod had a major influence (Rsquare = 29%) on circadian activity pattern throughout the year. Environmental factors significantly related to activity of lynxes during winter were maximum temperature, pressure changes, evaporation, and moonphase. In summer, important variables were maximum temperature, moonphase, hours with moonlight, and high pressures. In spring, only rainfall and temperature (minimum and maximum) showed a slight but significant influence on activity of lynxes. Although some climatological factors may have a direct effect on the circadian activity of Iberian lynx, others (e.g., moonlight) may act indirectly by influencing the activity of the Mediterranean rabbit, the lynx's main prey. |
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Beltran, J. F., Sanjose, C., Delibes,
M., and Braza, F. 1985. |
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Analysed are 1537 scats of lynxes and 24 carcasses of deer killed by lynxes from 1973 to 1984 at the Doñana Biological Reserve. Lynx predation upon deer is low (0-8% of the prey) and concentrates in Autumn-Winter, when rabbit supply and doe-fawn relationships decrease. Fallow deer are statistically chosen as prey more often than red deer, and fawns more often than adults. Individuals in good and bad physical condition are evenly captured. Lynxes kill deer by biting their throats. They will usually eat the muscular tissue of the shoulders and thighs. One individual lynx can eat from the same carcasse three of four times in two days. Lynx predation seems to account at least for 50% fawn mortality of fallow deer in Doñana. Anyhow, fallow deer have strong habitat restrictions in the area and predation could be a type of starvation related mortality. (with Spanish and French summary) |
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Beltran_et_al_1985_Iberian_lynx_predation_upon_fallow_deer.pdf |
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Beltran, J. F., Delibes, M., Recio, F.,
and Aza, C. 1991. |
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Hematological and serum chemical values were determined for 16 wild Iberian lynxes, Lynx pardina (5 adult males, 4 adult females, 4 juvenile males, and 3 juvenile females) captured with box-traps and coil-spring traps. The results include reference values, analysis of sex and age differences, and data on the influence of capture method on blood values. Males had higher blood cell counts (p=0.03) and packed cell volumes (p=0.06) than females, which presented higher mean corpuscular hemoglobin levels (p=0.08) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations (p=0.07) than males. Juveniles had higher serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (p=0.01), urea (P=0.02), and cholesterol (p=0.02) and lower levels of creatinine (p=0.07) than adults. Four hematological variables (mean platelet volume, platelet size distribution, white blood cell count, and mean corpuscular volume) and two serum variables (concentrations of amylase and calcium) were influenced by capture method. The use of standard procedures to assess base-line blood values in wild carnivores is encouraged. |
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Beltran, J. F., Aldama, J. J., and
Delibes, M. 1992. |
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Studied are physical characteristics, food habits, space and time use, energetics and mortality patterns of lynxes inhabiting the Donana National Park, at the right bank of the mouth of the River Guadalquivir, in southern Spain. Iberian lynxes weigh about one half of what European lynxes do, males being on average 35% heavier than females. Mediterranean scrubland is the main habitat of the species. Monthly home range sizes average 10 square km for an adult male and 8 square km for a female. Home ranges trend to be intrasexually exclusive, with complete intersexual overlap. Daily distances travelled average 7.6 km for an adult male and 5 km for adult females. Most of the displacements occur during the night and twilights. Lynxes mainly eat rabbits, with trophic diversity increasing in autumn-winter when deer and ducks are included in the diet. Adult and young mortality seems to be very high and mainly due to human-related causes. |
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Beltran_et_al_1992_Ecology_of_the_Iberian_lynx_in_Donana.pdf |
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Beltran, J. F., Rice, J. E., and
Honeycutt, R. L. 1996. |
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Given that the Iberian lynx is listed as endangered and its populations are highly fragmented, an understanding of its relationship to other taxa of Lynx is important for the development of an effective conservation plan. Here we report the first detailed molecular phylogenetic assessment of Lynx relationships. Our data suggest that the Iberian lynx is a distinct species relative to its European and North American counterparts. |
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Beltran, J. F., Rice, J. E.,
and Honeycutt, R. L. 1996. |
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We report the first detailled molecular phylogenetic assessment of Lynx relationships. These data provide support for the Iberian lynx being a distinct species relative to its European and North American counterparts. (Reproduced from Nature Vol. 379). |
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Beltran_et_al_1996_Taxonomic_Status_of_the_Iberian_Lynx_-_Cat_News_No24.pdf |
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Bennett, M., and Gaskell, R. M. |
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Brief introduction to viruses which may infect cats: Respiratory viruses (Feline herpesvirus type I and feline calicivirus, Feline reovirus), Enteric viruses (Feline panleukopenia virus, Feline coronavirus infection, Feline rotavirus and astrovirus, Feline torovirus), Retrovirus infections (Feline immunodeficiency virus, Feline leukaemia virus, Feline syncytium-forming virus), Rodent viruses (Feline cowpox, Hantavirus), some other feline virus infections, Feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE). |
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Bergman, C. 1998. |
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© A. Sabater / C. Bergman |
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Bessa-Gomes, C., Fernandes, M., Abreu,
P., Castro, L. P., Ceia, H., Pinto, B., and Pires, A. E. 2002. |
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The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is an endemic species within the Iberian peninsula distinct from the other lynxes. It is considered as the world most threatened cat species of the world. In Portugal, a research program in the Algarve area, based on scats analyses and camera trapping found no evidence of presence of resident lynxes. This population was supposed to be largest of the five populations of lynx identified in Portugal. A model of viability analysis showed that the lynx future in Portugal is dark, only the increase of habitat carrying capacity, together with a reinforcement of the population could significantly decrease its probability of extinction. Urgent actions are needed to ensure the survival of the Iberian lynx. |
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Biju-Duval, C., Ennafaa, H.,
Dennebouy, N., Monnerot, M., Mignotte, F., Soriguer, R. C., El Gaaied, A., El
Hili, A., and Mounolou, J. C. 1991. |
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A characterization was conducted on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) molecules extracted separately from 107 European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) both wild and domestic, 13 European hares (Lepus capensis), and 1 eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus). Experimentally this study took into account restriction site polymorphism, overall length variation of the noncoding region, and numbers of repeated sequences. Nucleotide divergences indicate that the mtDNAs from the three species derived from a common ancestor some 6-8 million years (Myr) ago. Every animal appeared heteroplasmic for a set of molecules with various lenghts of the noncoding region and variable numbers of repeated sequences that contribute to them. This systematic heteroplasmy, most probably generated by a rate of localized mtDNA rearrangements high enough to counterbalance the cellular segregation of rearranged molecules, is a shared derived character of leporids. The geographic distribution of mtDNA polymorphism among wild rabbit populations over the western European basin shows that two molecular lineages are represented, one in southern Spain, the second over northern Spain, France, and Tunisia. These two lineages derived from a common ancestor some 2 Myr ago. Their present geographical distribution may be correlated to the separation of rabbits into two stocks at the time of Mindel glaciation. Finally the distribution of mtDNA diversity exhibits a mosaic pattern both at inter- and intrapopulation levels. |
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Biju-Duval_et_al_1991_Mitochondrial_DNA-Evolution_in_Lagomorphs.pdf |
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Branco, M. and Ferrand, N.
2002. |
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Genetic polymorphism of European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) plasma proteins antithrombin III, haptoglobin, and haemopexin was investigated by means of isoelectric focusing in free and immobilized pH gradients followed by immunoblotting. The study of two wild and one domestic populations led to the recognition of six alleles of antithrombin III and haptoglobin, and five alleles of haemopexin. |
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Branco_&_Ferrand_2002_Genetic_polymorphism_in_European_rabbits.pdf |
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Branco, M. and Ferrand, N.
2003. |
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Available studies on the biochemical and electrophoretic characterization of European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) carbonic anhydrases I and II (CAI, CAII) show contradictory results about their relative electrophoretic mobility and substrate specificity. After positive identification of carbonic anhydrase activity byCO2 hydration, the differential esterase activity of CAI and CAII toward β -napththyI acetate and flourescein diacetate, respectively, were used to identify the banding patterns corresponding to each locus. Electrophoretic and hybrid isoelectric focusing analyses of the CAI and CAII loci in 1 domestic and 19 wild rabbit populations led to the recognition of genetic polymorphism at the CAI locus and of extensive variability at the CAII locus. Four and nine alleles at the CAI and CAII loci, respectively, are described. The geographic distribution of genetic variability is consistent with the existence of two evolutionary groups within O. cuniculus. |
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Branco_&_Ferrand_2003_Biochemical_and_population_genetics_of_the_rabbit.pdf |
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Branco, M., Ferrand, N., and
Monnerot, M. 2000. |
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We studied mitochondrial DNA variation in the European rabbit through the examination of restriction fragment length polymorphism in 526 individuals from 20 locations spread across the Iberian Peninsula. Digestion with eight enzymes of a 1120-bp fragment comprising most of the cytochrome b gene resolved 38 different haplotypes. These haplotypes were distributed in two highly divergent clades, with different but overlapping geographical distributions, and with comparable levels of within-clade variation. The overall phylogeographical pattern suggests a history of long-term regional isolation of two groups of rabbit populations, compatible with the recognition of two subspecies within the Iberian Peninsula, followed by recent contact and admixture. The underlying cause is sought in the alternation of glacial and interglacial periods in the late Pleistocene. |
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Branco_et_al_2000_Phylogeography_of_the_European_rabbit_in_the_Iberian_Peninsula.pdf |
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Branco, M., Monnerot, M.,
Ferrand, N., and Templeton, A. R. 2002. |
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Nested clade analysis was applied to cytochrome b restriction site data previously obtained on 20 natural populations of the European rabbit across the Iberian Peninsula to test the hypothesis of postglacial dispersal from two main refugia, one in the northeast and the other in the southwest. Apart from historical fragmentation that resulted in geographic discontinuity of two distinct mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) clades A and B, patterns of haplotype genetic variability have been shaped mostly by restricted gene flow via isolation by distance. The distribution of tip versus interior haplotypes suggests that dispersal occurred from both the southwestern and northeastern groups. Dispersal from the southwest had a north and northwest direction, whereas from the northeast it had mostly a western and southern orientation, with subsequent overlap in a southeastern-northwestern axis across the Iberian Peninsula. The analysis of the pairwise mismatch distribution of a 179-181-bp fragment of the mtDNA control region, for seven of those populations, further supports the idea that major patterns of dispersal were in the direction of central Iberia. Additionally, rabbit populations do not show signs of any significant loss of genetic diversity in the recent past, implying that they maintained large population sizes and structure throughout the ice ages. This is congruent with the fact that the Iberian Peninsula was itself a glacial refugium during Quaternary ice ages. Nonetheless, climatic oscillations of this period, although certainly milder than in northern Europe, were sufficient to affect the range distributions of Iberian organisms. |
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Branco_et_al_2002_Postglacial_dispersal_of_European_rabbit_on_the_Iberian_Peninsula.pdf |
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Braza, F. 2002. |
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Basic information on the Fallow deer in Spain: Taxonomy, description, distribution, habitat, reproduction, feeding habits, abundance, social organization & behaviour, depredation, economic interests & relation to humans. |
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Briones, V., de Juan, L., Sanchez, C.,
Vela, A.-I., Galka, M., Montero, N., Goyache, J., Aranaz, A., Mateos, A., and
Honeycutt, R. L. 2000. |
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We report the first case of bovine tuberculosis in a free-living Iberian lynx (Lynx pardina), an extremely endangered feline, from Doñana National Park in Spain. The isolate (Mycobacterium bovis) correlates by molecular characterization with other isolates from wild ungulates in the park, strongly suggesting an epidemiologic link. |