IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Palomares, F.; L¢pez-Bao, J.V.; Rodriguez, A. | |
| Feline leukaemia virus outbreak in the endangered Iberian lynx and the role of feeding stations: a cautionary tale | |
| 2011 Animal Conservation (14): 242-245 | |
Lopez et al. (2009) reported a feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) outbreak in the Iberian lynx _Lynx pardinus_, and speculated on the potential negative role of feeding stations (FS) installed for the supplementary feeding of the Don~ ana lynx population with domestic rabbits. Supplementary feeding has proven to be useful in retaining Iberian lynx in areas with extreme food scarcity where otherwise they would be absent (Lopez-Bao, Rodriguez & Palomares, 2008, 2009; Lopez-Bao et al., 2010). Therefore, misunderstanding the role of FS in the transmission of the FeLV might lead to management recommendations regarding the use of FS, with important conservation repercussions. Lopez et al. (2009) assumed that all infected lynx belonged to the same lynx subpopulation [Coto del Rey (CR)] within the Donana metapopulation. This assumption was incorrect and led to faulty inferences about the role of FS in FeLV transmission. Here, we discuss the supposed pro-active role of FS in the propagation of the FeLV outbreak, and the rationality of the measures adopted to control the disease, we call attention to the lynx subpopulations that were involved, and how their identification challenges inferences about the spread of FeLV and we propose a plausible ecological scenario for understanding the outbreak. |
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