More than 20 years ago, hantaviral antigens were reported in tissues of the Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus), Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens) and common mole (Talpa europea), suggesting that insectivores, or soricomorphs, might serve as reservoirs of unique hantaviruses. Using RT-PCR, sequences of a genetically distinct hantavirus, designated Seewis virus (SWSV), were amplified from lung tissue of a Eurasian common shrew, captured in October 2006 in Graubünden, Switzerland. Pair-wise analysis of the full-length S and partial M and L segments of SWSV indicated approximately 55%-72% similarity with hantaviruses harbored by Murinae, Arvicolinae, Neotominae and Sigmodontinae rodents. Phylogenetically, SWSV grouped with other recently identified shrew-borne hantaviruses. Intensified efforts are underway to clarify the genetic diversity of SWSV throughout the geographic range of the Eurasian common shrew, as well as to determine its relevance to human health.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1743-422X-4-114 | DOI Listing |
Nature
January 2025
School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, China.
Extreme droughts generally decrease productivity in grassland ecosystems with negative consequences for nature's contribution to people. The extent to which this negative effect varies among grassland types and over time in response to multi-year extreme drought remains unclear. Here, using a coordinated distributed experiment that simulated four years of growing-season drought (around 66% rainfall reduction), we compared drought sensitivity within and among six representative grasslands spanning broad precipitation gradients in each of Eurasia and North America-two of the Northern Hemisphere's largest grass-dominated regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParasitology
January 2025
Joseph Banks Laboratories, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
Coinfection of a host by more than 1 parasite is more common than single infection in wild environments and can have differing impacts, although coinfections have relatively rarely been quantified. Host immune responses to coinfection can contribute to infection costs but are often harder to predict than those associated with single infection, due to the influence of within-host parasite–parasite interactions on infection virulence. To first quantify coinfection in a common bird species, and then to test for immune-related impacts of coinfection, we investigated the prevalence and immune response to avian haemosporidian (genera: , and ) coinfection in wild blackbirds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Toxicol Chem
January 2025
Biology Department, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Merkez, Rize, Türkiye.
Plastic pollution constitutes one of the major environmental problems of our time, and in recent years, it has emerged as a significant threat to the environment and to various organisms, including bird species. In this context, this study, which provides the first data in Türkiye, aimed to determine the level of microplastic (MP) pollution in 12 bird species (Eurasian buzzard; short-toed snake-eagle; white stork; northern long-eared owl; common barn-owl; ruddy shelduck; Eurasian eagle-owl; scarlet macaw; common pheasant; Indian peafowl; common kestrel; and gray parrot). The results indicate that MPs were detected in 50% of the specimens (n = 20), with an average of one MP/item per individual.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Ecol
January 2025
Institute of Freshwater Research, Department of Aquatic Resources (SLU Aqua), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Drottningholm, Sweden.
How genetic variation contributes to adaptation at different environments is a central focus in evolutionary biology. However, most free-living species still lack a comprehensive understanding of the primary molecular mechanisms of adaptation. Here, we characterised the targets of selection associated with drastically different aquatic environments-humic and clear water-in the common freshwater fish, Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Vet Sci
January 2025
Laboratory of Wildlife Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jeonbuk National University, Iksan, Republic of Korea.
Objective: Reference intervals for hematologic and clinical chemistry values are useful when diagnosing a pathologic condition in animals. This study establishes relevant reference intervals for six species of wild birds that are frequently rescued at wildlife rescue centers in the Republic of Korea.
Methods: Forty-two Eurasian eagle owls (), 34 Oriental turtle doves (), 73 domestic pigeons (), 27 brown hawk-owls (), 76 common kestrels (), and 25 Eurasian magpies () were included in this study.
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