Lack of SARS-CoV-2 RNA evidence in the lungs from wild European polecats () from Spain.

Data on SARS-CoV-2 infection in wildlife species is limited. The high prevalences found in mustelid species such as free-ranging American minks () and domestic ferrets () justify the study of this virus in the closely related autochthonous free-ranging European polecat (). We analysed lung samples from 48 roadkilled polecats collected when the human infection reached its highest levels in Spain (2020-2021).

Top-down and bottom-up effects modulate species co-existence in a context of top predator restoration.

Mesopredators abundance is often limited by top-order predators and also by key food resources. However, the contribution of these bidirectional forces to structure carnivore community is still unclear. Here, we studied how the presence and absence of an apex predator which is currently recovering its former distribution range, the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), determined the absolute abundance and fine-scale spatiotemporal avoidance mechanisms of two sympatric mesocarnivores (stone marten Martes foina and common genet Genetta genetta) with different dietary plasticity.

Predation risk can modify the foraging behaviour of frugivorous carnivores: Implications of rewilding apex predators for plant-animal mutualisms.

Apex predators play key roles in food webs and their recovery can trigger trophic cascades in some ecosystems. Intra-guild competition can reduce the abundances of smaller predators and perceived predation risk can alter their foraging behaviour thereby limiting seed dispersal by frugivorous carnivores. However, little is known about how plant-frugivore mutualisms could be disturbed in the presence of larger predators.