Investigating free ranging wild animals: from the water to the sky
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Summer school 2015
Method seminar, 23 June
Investigating free‐ranging wild animals:
from the water to the sky
H. Schmidt‐Posthaus – M.‐P. Ryser‐Degiorgis – F. Origgi – T. Wahli
Centre for Fish and Wildlife Health, Vetsuisse Faculty
University of Bern, Switzerland
Definition of «wildlife» “Wildlife” is often used to refer to free‐ranging wild animals, except fishes and bees! But Can apply to all wild plants and animals! Animal health wild animals “Wild” animals = animals with phenotypes not selected by humans (≠ domes c) Include all taxa! “Free‐ranging” & “feral” animals which do not live under direct human supervision and control (free‐ranging wildlife populations are often managed) “feral” domestic animals that have returned to an untamed state and live free in a wild environment “captive” wildlife zoo animals , farmed game, exotic pets
Diversity of species Wild animals in any animal class Mammals and amphibia: groups with lowest num‐ ber of species among vertebrates Fish: group comprising almost half of all the vertebrate species
Early evolutionary division
Differences in genomic evolution
Early division e.g. genomic duplication in ray
finned fish
Separate
development
Adaptation to
different habitats
(water, land, air)
Differences in
anatomy and
physiology
http://imgarcade.com/1/evolutionary‐timeline/
Diversity of ecology
Habitat water
Freshwater versus sea water, tropical versus
polar, alkaline versus acid water
Habitat land
Different climates
Diversity of life histories
Changing habitat requirements with life stage
e.g. fish e.g. amphibia
http://www.seascapemodeling.org/seascape_projects/2011/07/runni
Water land
ng‐on‐empty‐1.html
Seasonality
Seasonal changes in many wild
mammals, e.g. hibernation
Seasonal changes in birds
e.g. bird migration
Seasonal changes in many
Most vertebrates are poikilotherm body functions, like
Fish, amphibia, reptiles metabolic rate, immune
function etc.
Accessing and sampling free‐ranging animals
Let’s get …
some samples…
Material & data acquisition
Carcasses from the fields
‐ Remote habitats, predation,
scavenging, decay
‐ Detection bias dep. on cause of death
‐ Single case vs. mass mortality
‐ Submission effort / interest Anonym (Internet)
Hunted game
‐Selected (non protected) species only
‐Defined time periods
‐Nonrandom selection
‐Hunter’s compliance
M.‐P. Ryser‐Degiorgis
Material & data acquisition
Fishing:
Netting
‐ Collaboration with professional http://www.mm.directories.be.ch/files/1851/12531.jpeg
fishermen
Angling
‐ Collaboration with fishermen
http://www.mueritz‐ferienhaus.de/
Electrofishing
‐ Collaboration with local
authorities and permit holders
FIWI BernMaterial & data acquisition
Capture‐marking‐recapture
(CMR)
‐ Legal constraints
‐ Clinical data, samples
‐ Capture efforts/success
‐ Collaboration with capture teams http://techpartnerships.noaa.govx
M.‐P. Ryser‐Degiorgis http://www.oregonrfid.com/slideshow/SL11.jpgMaterial & data acquisition
Cases at rehabilitation centres
‐ Clinical data, samples, dead animals
‐ Collaboration with centres, different interests
All pictures: M.‐P. Ryser‐DegiorgisMaterial & data acquisition
Non‐invasive methods:
Collection of faeces, hairs/feathers
Photo‐trapping A. Hofer
Thermal imaging
No samples / diagnosis confirmation!
M. Wyler
http://ecofact.ie/current‐projects/research/fish‐pass‐design/Material & data acquisition
Participatory epidemiology:
• Questionnaire surveys, interviews
• Personal communications :
field work, courses, emails, calls, …
All pictures: FIWI BernMain challenges for sample collection • Dependence of field partners & public (reporting and submission of cases & samples) ‐ Personal interest, education, medias ‐ Contacts with laboratories, distance to laboratory ‐ Personal contacts • Populations of unknown sizes • Convenience (i.e. non‐representative) sampling • Multihost systems ‐ Shared habitats, interspecific contacts shared pathogens
Main challenges for sample collection • Legal aspects (authorization for sampling, experiments, captures ‐ protected species) • Clinical picture & target tissues ≠ domes c animals which sample/kind of data to collect? • Autolysis, contamination not always adequate for pathology & testing • Shipment, storage and transport conditions!
More challenges in the lab!
Laboratory challenges investigating wildlife
• “Upstream“ challenges (not necessarely „wildlife
specific“):
• Quality of samples (affected by environmental factors,
innapropriate handling, LABELING, storage and shipping
procedures)
• Autolysis: Negative impact on nucleic acids and protein‐based tests
(PCRs, NGS, arrays, WB), microbe isolation and diagnostic pathology
• Hemolysis: Inhibitory (and/or toxic) effect on serological tests or on
serum‐derived samples
• Contamination:
• microbe‐based: Hampers microbe isolation and several additional diagnostic
tests
• compound‐based: Inhibitory effect on serological and molecular testsContamination!!!
What not to do!!!
Images: F. OriggiLaboratory challenges investigating wildlife
• „Downstream challenges“ (Wildlife
specific): The large number and
diversity of wild animal species is
often associated with a lack of basic
reagents or knowledge including:
• Specific monoclonal antibodies: Impacts
the development of serological tests and
molecular‐based applications
• Specific nucleotide sequences (host Image: F. Origgi
and/or pathogen): Limits nucleic acids‐
based diagnostic tests development and
functional investigations (i.e.
housekeeping genes, mucosal immunity)Laboratory challenges investigating wildlife
• „Downstream challenges“ (Wildlife specific):
• „Normal“ baseline values: Negative impact of the correct
interpretation of actually altered parameters.
• Specific laboratory settings: They need to be tuned to the
preferred physiological conditions of the investigated species
(temperature, humidity, lighting, diet)
• Validated reagents“: They are critical for a correct
interpretation of the tests results
Image: F. OriggiLaboratory challenges investigating wildlife
• All the factors decribed above are major obstacles but
not impossible to get around to:
• Quality: Providing the best conditions to collect and preserve
samples in the field: Materials (i.e. RNA‐later) and detailed
(but easy to follow) protocols and information
• Monoclonal antibodies can be obtained for virtually any
animal species at a reasonable cost
• Full genomes can be obtained at low fees by NGSLaboratory challenges investigating wildlife
• All the factors decribed above are major obstacles but
not impossible to get around to:
• „Pilot“ baseline values can be obtained from relatively small
data sets and implemented later on
• Specific laboratory settings might be available through
collaborations
• Validation of reagents can be done in house when a „gold
standard“ is available.
Image: F. Origgi Image: Janeway and Travers3rd ed.Conclusions
Shall I forget…
…all what I learned at vet school ?Conclusions
No!
…but you need to adapt
and open your mind!Conclusions 7 needs for health investigations in wild animals 1. Knowledge of the environment and species life history «DISEASE ECOLOGY» 2. Use synergies and triangulation approaches (strategies) 3. Long‐term investments (archives) 4. Systematically collect metadata, search for risk factors 5. Harmonize definitions and methods 6. Communication & collaboration 7. Development of new tools for sampling & analysis
How to face the problems?
Knowledge of the environment and species life history
«DISEASE ECOLOGY»
Vertebrate host susceptible?
Transmission from inverte‐
brate to vertebrate host Transmission from verte‐
possible? brate to invertebrate host
possible?
Environment suitable for all hosts?How to face the problems?
Synergies and triangulation
combining different approaches
Routine Scanning surveillance
diagnostic work dead animals, mass mortality
Result Involving and educating
reliability people (field work, teaching,
interviews)
Research activities
Targeted investigations Others: e.g.
«healthy carriers», Questionnaire surveys
pathogen distribution On disease occurrenceHow to face the problems?
Sample/data archive and baseline data
assessing perturbations over time
• early detection of disease
• understanding the impact of environmental
changes (e.g. climate)
determining whether or not disease
FIWI Bern
emergence is due to (linked to?)
pathogen introduction
increasing sample size
(e.g. protected species)
(Internet)How to face the problems? Risk factor identification Important for prevention, control (=action) Collection of metadata: species, sex, age, location, date Data from different regions and time periods with different patterns of disease occurrence Harmonization: ‐ Definitions (e.g. age classes, lesion) ‐ Methods (e.g. diagnostics, population estimates)
How to face the problems?
Communication & collaboration:
field ‐ lab
public ‐ experts
among health experts
managers/politicians ‐ health experts M.‐P. Ryser‐Degiorgis
international: e.g. ProMed, EWDA googlegroup, OIE quest.,
reference laboratories
• Mutual respect, open minds
• Consideration of cultural differences
• Feedbacks motivation to participate
• Education understanding collaboration
political will for changes M.‐P. Ryser‐DegiorgisHow to face the problems? Development of new tools for sampling and analysis • Development/adaptation of strip tests for serological analysis «in situ» • Collection of blood samples for serological analysis on filter paper • Field biosensor for serological analysis
Conclusions
Challenges Advantages
Very different life histories Many open questions for research,
including differences of genomics, opening new scientific perspectives
anatomy and physiology
Interesting and diversified
Limited knowledge
Often very high practical value of
Poikilothermia in fish, amphibia
research, new tools for the future
and rep les → seasonal changes in
many body functions including Free‐ranging animals as indicators
metabolic rate, immune function for environmental changes
etc.
«Model» for domestic animals and
Seasonal changes in birds and humans
mammals
Contribution to wildlife conservation
Free‐ranging conditions in a wide and human well‐being
range of habitatsConclusions
When working with free‐ranging wild animals:
wildlife/fish‐specific knowledge with an
ecological perspective
is required for all steps:
planning, sampling, analysis,
& data interpretationYou can also read
