Mortality Causes in Free-Ranging Eurasian Brown Bears (Ursus arctos arctos) in Spain 1998–2018

This work summarizes the mortality cases of twenty-five free-ranging Eurasian wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) from the Cantabrian mountain range submitted for necropsy in Asturias and Castilla y León (northwestern Spain) from 1998 to 2018. Mortality cases were classified both caused by (i) “non-human intervention” or “human intervention” causes and based on (ii) “non-infectious” or “infectious” etiology. In four cases (16%) it was not possible to determine the cause of death due to the inadequate preservation of collected specimens or insufficient tissue availability. Based on “non-human intervention” or “human intervention” causes, fourteen of the 21 (66.7%) brown bears died as a consequence of “non-human intervention” due to traumatic lesions (fights, unknown traumas or infanticide), infectious canine hepatitis, neoplasia or mushroom poisoning. In contrast, seven (33.3%) brown bears died by “human intervention” due to illegal hunting (shooting or snare), handling (during transit in an attempt to reintroduce a bear back into the wild) or strychnine poisoning. Based on “non-infectious” or “infectious” etiology, twelve of the 21 (57.1%) brown bears died due to “non-infectious” causes, namely traumatic lesions such as shooting, snare, fighting or infanticide, handling, strychnine poisoning, mushroom poisoning or neoplasia. The remaining nine (42.9%) animals died due to “infectious” diseases which included gangrenous myositis, infectious canine hepatitis or septicemia. In six of those cases traumatic lesions caused by non-human or human activities were complicated with bacterial infection (clostridiosis and septicemia) which finally caused the death of those animals. Additionally, exertional myopathy was observed in the handled animal and in one bear found in a snare. In a free-ranging population of Eurasian brown bear from the Cantabrian mountain range, main causes of death are attributed to non-human related traumatic lesions and infectious diseases (primary developed such as infectious canine hepatitis or secondary developed such as clostridiosis or septicemia) which is in contrast to previously reported data for other bear populations. These data are valuable and may help in the conservation and management of this recovering population.

Mortality in free-ranging Eurasian brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) in Spain '1998-2018'

Background: This work summarizes the mortality cases of twenty-five free-ranging Eurasian wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) from the Cantabrian mountain range submitted for necropsy in Asturias and Castilla y León (northwestern Spain) from ' 1998 to 2018'. Results: Causes of death were classified both caused by (i) "human intervention" or "natural causes" and based on (ii) "infectious" or "non-infectious" etiology. In four cases (16%) it was not possible to determine the cause of death due to the inadequate preservation of collected specimens or insufficient tissue availability. Based on "human intervention" or "natural causes", seven out of the 21 (33.3%) brown bears in which the cause of death could be determined died as a consequence of "human intervention" due to illegal hunting (shooting or snare), handling or strychnine poisoning. In contrast, fourteen (66.7%) brown bears died by "natural causes" due to traumatic lesions (fights, unknown traumas or infanticide), infectious canine hepatitis, neoplasia, or mushroom poisoning. Based on "infectious" or "non-infectious" etiology nine out of the 21 (42.9%) brown bears died due to "infectious diseases", namely gangrenous myositis, infectious canine hepatitis or septicemia. The remaining twelve (57.1%) animals died due to "non-infectious" causes, which included handling, traumatic lesions such as shooting, snare, fighting or infanticide, strychnine poisoning, mushroom poisoning or neoplasia. In six of those cases traumatic lesions caused by human activities or by natural causes were complicated with bacterial infection (clostridiosis and septicemia) which finally caused the death of those animals. Additionally, exertional myopathy was observed in the handled animal and in one bear found in a snare. Conclusions: In a non-hunted population of Eurasian brown bear from the Cantabrian mountain range, main cause of death is attributed to “natural causes” mostly due to traumatic lesions and infectious diseases (primary developed such as infectious canine hepatitis or secondary developed such as clostridiosis or septicemia) which is in contrast to previously reported data for other bear populations.These data are valuable and may help in the conservation and management of this recovering population.

Mortality in free-ranging Eurasian brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) in Spain “1998-2018”

Background: This work summarizes the mortality cases of twenty-five free-ranging Eurasian wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) from the Cantabrian mountain range submitted for necropsy in Asturias and Castilla y León (northwestern Spain) from “1998 to 2018”. Results: Causes of death were classified both based on (i) infectious or non infectious etiology and (ii) caused by “human intervention” or “natural causes”. In four cases (16%) it was not possible to determine the cause of death due to the inadequate preservation of collected specimens or insufficient tissue availability. Some bears died from a combination of human activities or natural trauma and secondary bacterial infection (i.e. clostridiosis). Based on infectious or non infectious etiology nine out of the 21 (42.9%) brown bears in which the cause of death could be determined died due to infectious diseases, namely gangrenous myositis, infectious canine hepatitis or septicemia. The remaining twelve (57.1%) animals died due to non infectious causes, which included handling, traumatic lesions such as shooting, snare, fighting or infanticide, strychnine poisoning, mushroom poisoning or neoplasia. Exertional myopathy was additionally observed in the handled animal and in one bear found in a snare. Mortality data was also stratified by deaths caused by “human intervention” or “natural causes”. Seven out of the 21 (33.3%) brown bears died as a consequence of “human intervention” due to illegal hunting (shooting or snare), handling or strychnine poisoning. In contrast, fourteen (66.7%) brown bears died by “natural causes” due to traumatic lesions (fights, traumas, or infanticide), infectious canine hepatitis, neoplasia or mushroom poisoning. In four cases traumatic lesions were complicated with clostridiosis which finally caused the death of those animals. Two additional bears showed septicemia and gangrenous myositis secondary to fighting. Another two animals developed exertional myopathy.Conclusions: In a non-hunted population of Eurasian brown bear from the Cantabrian mountain range, main cause of death is attributed to “natural causes” mostly due to traumatic lesions and infectious diseases (primary or secondary developed) which is in contrast to previously reported data for other bear populations. These data are valuable and may help in the conservation and management of this recovering population.

New chorological records for the Iberian Bryophyte Flora. IX

A partir del estudio de muestras recolectadas y revisadas principalmente en el marco del Proyecto Flora Briofítica Ibérica (FBI), aportamos un total de 27 novedades corológicas provinciales para España. Se han de destacar los hallazgos de Syntrichia handelii en Granada, una especie catalogada como amenazada en España, Bryum mildeanum, Didymodon sicculus, Neckera besseri y Physcomitrium readeri novedades para Galicia, Cataluña, Andalucía y Extremadura, respectivamente y Bryoerythrophyllum ferruginascens y Schistidium strictum cuya distribución se extiende de los Pirineos a la cordillera Cantábrica. From the study of samples mainly collected and reviewed under the Flora Briofítica Ibérica Project, we provide 27 new provincial records for Spain. Special mention deserves the new Iberian locality in Granada for Syntrichia handelii, an endangered species in Spain, Bryum mildeanum, Didymodon sicculus, Neckera besseri y Physcomitrium readeri new for Galicia, Catalonia, Andalusia and Extremadura, respectively and Bryoerythrophyllum ferruginascens y Schistidium strictum whose distribution range is extended from the Pyrenees to Cantabrian mountain range.