Consequences of repeated sarcoptic mange outbreaks in an endangered mammal population

Diseases and parasites are important drivers of population dynamics in wild mammal populations. Small and endangered populations that overlap with larger, reservoir populations are particularly vulnerable to diseases and parasites, especially in ecosystems highly influenced by climate change. Sarcoptic mange, caused by a parasitic mite (Sarcoptes scabiei), constitutes a severe threat to many wildlife populations and is today considered a panzootic. The Scandinavian arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is endangered with a fragmented distribution and is threatened by e.g., red fox (Vulpes vulpes) expansion, prey scarcity and inbreeding depression. Moreover, one of the subpopulations in Scandinavia has suffered from repeated outbreaks of sarcoptic mange during the past decade, most likely spread by red foxes. This was first documented in 2013 and then again 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. We used field inventories and wildlife cameras to follow the development of sarcoptic mange outbreaks in this..., Study population The sarcoptic mange epizootic occurred in the Swedish subpopulation Borgafjäll (65.05N 14.33 E) located at the border between Jämtland and Västerbotten counties in Sweden (Fig. 1a). The area consists of 1676 km2 sub-Arctic tundra and is surrounded by valleys with boreal forest. The arctic fox population in Borgafjäll has been under conservation actions since 2001, including supplementary feeding and red fox culling (Angerbjörn et al. 2013). Feeding stations containing commercial dog pellets are placed in close connection to active den sites. Since the conservation actions started, the number of litters has increased two-fold from early in the century until today (Wallén et al. 2021). Disease appearance and monitoring  The first suspected case of sarcoptic mange was observed the 14th of April 2013. This individual was utilised and sent to the Swedish Veterinary Institute (SVA) for autopsy which confirmed the diagnosis of sarcoptic mange (U130513-0007). After the discover..., , # Data from: Consequences of repeated sarcoptic mange outbreaks in an endangered mammal population --- ### Description of the Data and file structure: Sheet 2004-2021 Column A: Borgafjäll area = den site Column B: 2004 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data) Column C: 2005 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data) Column D: 2006 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data) Column E: 2007 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data) Column F: 2008= number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data) Column G: 2009 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data) Column H: 2010 = number of cubs recorded at each den site (1 or higher = litter, 0 = no litter, - = no data) Column I: 2011 = number o...疾病与寄生虫是调控野生哺乳动物种群动态的核心驱动因素。与大型储存宿主种群存在分布重叠的小型濒危种群，尤其易受疾病与寄生虫侵袭，在受气候变化深度影响的生态系统中这一风险更为突出。疥螨病（Sarcoptic mange）由疥螨（Sarcoptes scabiei）引发，对众多野生动物种群构成严重威胁，现已被认定为动物泛流行性疫病。 斯堪的纳维亚北极狐（Vulpes lagopus）种群濒临灭绝，分布呈现碎片化特征，同时面临赤狐（Vulpes vulpes）扩张、猎物匮乏以及近交衰退的多重威胁。此外，斯堪的纳维亚的其中一个亚种群在过去十年间反复暴发疥螨病疫情，传播路径大概率由赤狐介导，首次记录于2013年，后续分别在2014、2017、2019、2020及2021年再次出现疫情。我们采用野外普查与野生动物相机监测手段，追踪该种群疥螨病疫情的演变过程。——研究种群 此次疥螨病动物流行病暴发于瑞典博尔法耶尔（Borgafjäll）北极狐亚种群，该区域位于瑞典耶姆特兰（Jämtland）与西博滕（Västerbotten）两县交界地带，坐标为65.05°N，14.33°E（图1a）。该区域总面积1676平方千米，属于亚北极苔原，周边环绕着寒温带针叶林山谷。自2001年起，博尔法耶尔的北极狐种群已被纳入系统性保护行动，包括人工补饲与赤狐灭杀（Angerbjörn et al. 2013）。补给站设置在活跃狐穴附近，站内放置商用犬粮颗粒。自保护行动启动以来，该种群的窝穴数量自本世纪初至今已增长一倍（Wallén et al. 2021）。 ### 疫情出现与监测 首例疑似疥螨病病例发现于2013年4月14日，该个体被送检至瑞典兽医研究所（Swedish Veterinary Institute, SVA）进行解剖，最终确诊为疥螨病（档案编号U130513-0007）。疫情发现后…… --- ### 数据与文件结构说明：2004-2021年工作表 A列：博尔法耶尔区域 = 狐穴位点 B列：2004年：各狐穴位点记录的幼崽数量（1及以上代表存在窝穴，0代表无窝穴，"-"代表无数据） C列：2005年：各狐穴位点记录的幼崽数量（1及以上代表存在窝穴，0代表无窝穴，"-"代表无数据） D列：2006年：各狐穴位点记录的幼崽数量（1及以上代表存在窝穴，0代表无窝穴，"-"代表无数据） E列：2007年：各狐穴位点记录的幼崽数量（1及以上代表存在窝穴，0代表无窝穴，"-"代表无数据） F列：2008年：各狐穴位点记录的幼崽数量（1及以上代表存在窝穴，0代表无窝穴，"-"代表无数据） G列：2009年：各狐穴位点记录的幼崽数量（1及以上代表存在窝穴，0代表无窝穴，"-"代表无数据） H列：2010年：各狐穴位点记录的幼崽数量（1及以上代表存在窝穴，0代表无窝穴，"-"代表无数据） I列：2011年：各狐穴位点记录的幼崽数量（1及以上代表存在窝穴，0代表无窝穴，"-"代表无数据）…… # 数据来源：《濒危哺乳动物种群中反复暴发疥螨病的后果》