The study of ecology and horses involves examining the interactions between horses and their environments, including both natural and managed ecosystems. This field explores how horses influence and are influenced by various ecological factors such as vegetation, soil, water sources, and other animal species. Research in this area may address topics such as the grazing behavior of horses, their impact on plant communities, and the role of horses in nutrient cycling within ecosystems. Additionally, studies may investigate the effects of environmental changes and human activities on horse populations and their habitats. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that analyze the ecological roles of horses, their interactions with ecosystems, and the implications for conservation and land management.
Steiner CC, Mitelberg A, Tursi R, Ryder OA.Short divergence times and processes such as incomplete lineage sorting and species hybridization are known to hinder the inference of species-level phylogenies due to the lack of sufficient informative genetic variation or the presence of shared but incongruent polymorphism among taxa. Extant equids (horses, zebras, and asses) are an example of a recently evolved group of mammals with an unresolved phylogeny, despite a large number of molecular studies. Previous surveys have proposed trees with rather poorly supported nodes, and the bias caused by genetic introgression or ancestral polymorphi...
Vaughan JA, Tkach VV, Greiman SE.Digeneans are endoparasitic flatworms with complex life cycles and distinct life stages that parasitize different host species. Some digenean species harbour bacterial endosymbionts known as Neorickettsia (Order Rickettsiales, Family Anaplasmataceae). Neorickettsia occur in all life stages and are maintained by vertical transmission. Far from benign however, Neorickettsia may also be transmitted horizontally by digenean parasites to their vertebrate definitive hosts. Once inside, Neorickettsia can infect macrophages and other cell types. In some vertebrate species (e.g. dogs, horses and humans...
Warmuth V, Manica A, Eriksson A, Barker G, Bower M.Many events in the history of eastern Eurasia, including the process of domestication itself, the initial spread of domestic horses and subsequent movements, are believed to have affected the genetic structure of domestic horse populations in this area. We investigated levels of within- and between-population genetic diversity in 'non-breed horses' (working horses sampled in remote areas) from 17 locations in Asia and parts of Eastern Europe, using 26 autosomal microsatellite loci. Non-breed horses have not been subject to the same intensity of artificial selection and closed breeding as have ...
Warmuth V, Eriksson A, Bower MA, Barker G, Barrett E, Hanks BK, Li S, Lomitashvili D, Ochir-Goryaeva M, Sizonov GV, Soyonov V, Manica A.Despite decades of research across multiple disciplines, the early history of horse domestication remains poorly understood. On the basis of current evidence from archaeology, mitochondrial DNA, and Y-chromosomal sequencing, a number of different domestication scenarios have been proposed, ranging from the spread of domestic horses out of a restricted primary area of domestication to the domestication of numerous distinct wild horse populations. In this paper, we reconstruct both the population genetic structure of the extinct wild progenitor of domestic horses, Equus ferus, and the origin and...
Field H, Crameri G, Kung NY, Wang LF.Hendra virus, a novel and fatally zoonotic member of the family Paramyxoviridae, was first described in Australia in 1994. Periodic spillover from its natural host (fruit bats) results in catastrophic disease in horses and occasionally the subsequent infection of humans. Prior to 2011, 14 equine incidents involving seven human cases (four fatal) were recorded. The year 2011 saw a dramatic departure from the sporadic incidents of the previous 16 years, with a cluster of 18 incidents in a single 3-month period. The fundamental difference in 2011 was the total number of incidents, the geographic ...
Celaya R, Ferreira LM, García U, Rosa García R, Osoro K.As the number of horses is steadily increasing in Cantabrian less-favoured areas, mostly occupied by nutritionally poor heathland communities, the objective of this research was to study and compare diet selection and performance of crossbred horses and beef cattle (Asturiana de los Valles breed) grazing these areas during the summer. A total of 20 cows (seven lactating their calves and thirteen dry) and 20 mares (eight lactating their foals and twelve dry) were managed during 3 years on a heathland area from June to September and October. The proportion of grass (mostly Pseudarrhenatherum lon...
Science (New York, N.Y.)March 1, 2012
Volume 335, Issue 6071 959-962 doi: 10.1126/science.1213859
Secord R, Bloch JI, Chester SG, Boyer DM, Wood AR, Wing SL, Kraus MJ, McInerney FA, Krigbaum J.Body size plays a critical role in mammalian ecology and physiology. Previous research has shown that many mammals became smaller during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), but the timing and magnitude of that change relative to climate change have been unclear. A high-resolution record of continental climate and equid body size change shows a directional size decrease of ~30% over the first ~130,000 years of the PETM, followed by a ~76% increase in the recovery phase of the PETM. These size changes are negatively correlated with temperature inferred from oxygen isotopes in mammal tee...
Takasu M, Hiramatsu N, Tozaki T, Kakoi H, Hasegawa T, Maeda M, Kusuda S, Doi O, Murase T, Mukoyama H.The objective of this study was to clarify the current status of endangered Kiso horse, population statistics and biological traits, in order to take a step for the conservation by scientific approach. We surveyed 125 Kiso horses (86.2% of the whole breed), analyzed the construction of the population, and calculated the coefficient of inbreeding and effective population size. Moreover, we confirmed coat color variations and the traditional traits of the Kiso horse, and measured their height at the withers and chest circumference to clarify their physical characteristics. The population pyramid...
Kaczensky P, Ganbataar O, Altansukh N, Enkhsaikhan N, Stauffer C, Walzer C.Large mammals re-introduced into harsh and unpredictable environments are vulnerable to stochastic effects, particularly in times of global climate change. The Mongolian Gobi is home to several rare large ungulates such as re-introduced Przewalski's horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) and Asiatic wild asses (Equus hemionus), but also to a millennium-old semi-nomadic livestock herding culture.The Gobi is prone to large inter-annual environmental fluctuations, but the winter 2009/2010 was particularly severe. Millions of livestock died and the Przewalski's horse population in the Gobi crashed. We u...
Leary AJ, Kuenzi AJ, Douglass RJ.We examined the effects of grazing on deer mouse () movements into buildings using passive integrated transponder (PIT) technology and small simulated buildings located on 0.6-ha treatment (grazing) and control (no grazing) plots. Twelve experimental 9-day trials were conducted over the course of the study. During these trials, mouse movements into buildings were monitored during three time periods (each 3 days in length). In the treatment plots these time periods corresponded to pre-grazing, grazing, and post grazing by horses. The number of individual deer mice entering buildings over time d...
Ander M, Meiswinkel R, Chirico J.The outbreak of bluetongue (BT) in northern Europe 2006 initiated the monitoring of vectors, biting midges of the genus Culicoides in Sweden. In order to determine the diversity, distribution and seasonal dynamics of Culicoides, weekly collections were made during 2008 and during March-December 2009 using the Ondestepoort Veterinary Institute black light trap. Twenty sampling sites were selected in 12 provinces. In total of 30,704 Culicoides were collected in 2008 and 32,252 in 2009. The most abundant species were the potential vectors of BTV Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus that comprised of ...
Geigl EM, Grange T.The Equidae have a long evolutionary history that has interested palaeontologists for a long time. Their morphology-based taxonomy, however, is a matter of controversy. Since most equid species are now extinct, the phylogenetic tree based on genetic data can be established only imperfectly via deduction of present day genomes and little is known about the past genetic diversity of these species. Recent studies of ancient DNA preserved in fossil bones have led to a simplification of the phylogenetic tree and the classification system. The situation is still particularly unclear for the wild ass...
Seyfarth RM, Cheney DL.Convergent evidence from many species reveals the evolutionary origins of human friendship. In horses, elephants, hyenas, dolphins, monkeys, and chimpanzees, some individuals form friendships that last for years. Bonds occur among females, among males, or between males and females. Genetic relatedness affects friendships. In species where males disperse, friendships are more likely among females. If females disperse, friendships are more likely among males. Not all friendships, however, depend on kinship; many are formed between unrelated individuals. Friendships often involve cooperative inte...
Prado JL, Sánchez B, Alberdi MT.Stable isotope ratios (13C/12C and 18O/16O) in fossil teeth and bone provide key archives for understanding the ecology of extinct horses during the Plio-Pleistocene in South America; however, what happened in areas of sympatry between Equus (Amerhippus) and Hippidion is less understood. Results: Here, we use stable carbon and oxygen isotopes preserved in 67 fossil tooth and bone samples for seven species of horses from 25 different localities to document the magnitude of the dietary shifts of horses and ancient floral change during the Plio-Pleistocene. Dietary reconstructions inferred from s...
Hampson BA, de Laat MA, Mills PC, Pollitt CC.The distance travelled by Australian feral horses in an unrestricted environment has not previously been determined. It is important to investigate horse movement in wilderness environments to establish baseline data against which the movement of domestically managed horses and wild equids can be compared. Objective: To determine the travel dynamics of 2 groups of feral horses in unrestricted but different wilderness environments. Methods: Twelve feral horses living in 2 wilderness environments (2000 vs. 20,000 km(2)) in outback Australia were tracked for 6.5 consecutive days using custom desi...
Plowright RK, Foley P, Field HE, Dobson AP, Foley JE, Eby P, Daszak P.Anthropogenic environmental change is often implicated in the emergence of new zoonoses from wildlife; however, there is little mechanistic understanding of these causal links. Here, we examine the transmission dynamics of an emerging zoonotic paramyxovirus, Hendra virus (HeV), in its endemic host, Australian Pteropus bats (fruit bats or flying foxes). HeV is a biosecurity level 4 (BSL-4) pathogen, with a high case-fatality rate in humans and horses. With models parametrized from field and laboratory data, we explore a set of probable contributory mechanisms that explain the spatial and tempor...
Estep LK, McClure CJ, Burkett-Cadena ND, Hassan HK, Hicks TL, Unnasch TR, Hill GE.Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that cycles in birds but also causes severe disease in humans and horses. We examined patterns of avian host use by vectors of EEEV in Alabama from 2001 to 2009 using blood-meal analysis of field-collected mosquitoes and avian abundance surveys. The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) was the only preferred host (fed on significantly more than expected based on abundance) of Culiseta melanura, the enzootic vector of EEEV. Preferred hosts of Culex erraticus, a putative bridge vector of EEEV, were American robin (Turdus ...
de Villalobos AE, Zalba SM, Peláez DV.We evaluated the mechanisms that determine the increasing abundance of Pinus halepensis in mountain pampean grasslands in Argentina that is associated with the continuous presence of feral horses. We hypothesized that direct and indirect effects of feral horse grazing on grassland may affect the establishment of P. halepensis. We conducted a field experiment to evaluate this hypothesis, studying the response of seedling emergence, survival and growth to herbaceous vegetation defoliation and soil disturbance in sites with contrasting grazing histories. We also evaluated the composition and stru...
Warmuth V, Eriksson A, Bower MA, Cañon J, Cothran G, Distl O, Glowatzki-Mullis ML, Hunt H, Luís C, do Mar Oom M, Yupanqui IT, Ząbek T, Manica A.The role of European wild horses in horse domestication is poorly understood. While the fossil record for wild horses in Europe prior to horse domestication is scarce, there have been suggestions that wild populations from various European regions might have contributed to the gene pool of domestic horses. To distinguish between regions where domestic populations are mainly descended from local wild stock and those where horses were largely imported, we investigated patterns of genetic diversity in 24 European horse breeds typed at 12 microsatellite loci. The distribution of high levels of gen...
Science (New York, N.Y.)March 10, 2011
Volume 331, Issue 6021 1178-1181 doi: 10.1126/science.1196166
Mihlbachler MC, Rivals F, Solounias N, Semprebon GM.The evolution of high-crowned molars among horses (Family Equidae) is thought to be an adaptation for abrasive diets associated with the spread of grasslands. The sharpness and relief of the worn cusp apices of teeth (mesowear) are a measure of dietary abrasion. We collected mesowear data for North American Equidae for the past 55.5 million years to test the association of molar height and dietary abrasion. Mesowear trends in horses are reflective of global cooling and associated vegetation changes. There is a strong correlation between mesowear and crown height in horses; however, most horse ...
Tolesano-Pascoli GV, Torga K, Franchin AG, Ogrzewalska M, Gerardi M, Olegário MM, Labruna MB, Szabó MP, Marçal Júnior O.This is a report of tick species, parasite prevalence and infestation intensity of birds in a forest fragment (18° 56' 57'' S and 48° 12' 14'' W) within the Brazilian cerrado (savanna), in the municipality of Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A total of 162 birds from 26 species were captured. One adult tick, 296 larvae and 67 nymphs were found on passerine birds. Of these, it was identified 31 larvae and 27 nymphs of Amblyomma longirostre, 17 nymphs of A. nodosum, one A. cajennense larvae and one male of Rhipicephalus sanguineus. All other ticks were identified as Amblyomma sp. la...
Bermúdez CS, Zaldívar AY, Spolidorio MG, Moraes-Filho J, Miranda RJ, Caballero CM, Mendoza Y, Labruna MB.The present research evaluated the presence of Rickettsia spp. on ectoparasites of horses and dogs (using PCR techniques), and their sera (using immunofluorescence assay) in El Valle de Antón town in Panama. A total of 20 horses and 20 dogs were sampled, finding four species of ectoparasites on dogs (the ticks Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma oblongoguttatum, and the flea Ctenocephalides felis), and two tick species on horses (Amblyomma cajennense and Dermacentor nitens). DNA of Rickettsia amblyommii was found in pools of A. cajennense, D. nitens, and R. sanguineus, while ...
Arrigo NC, Adams AP, Watts DM, Newman PC, Weaver SC.Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV; family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus) is an arbovirus that causes severe disease in humans in North America and in equids throughout the Americas. The enzootic transmission cycle of EEEV in North America involves passerine birds and the ornithophilic mosquito vector, Culiseta melanura, in freshwater swamp habitats. However, the ecology of EEEV in South America is not well understood. Culex (Melanoconion) spp. mosquitoes are considered the principal vectors in Central and South America; however, a primary vertebrate host for EEEV in South America has not...
Cozzi A, Sighieri C, Gazzano A, Nicol CJ, Baragli P.Gregarious animals living in permanent social groups experience intra-group competition. Conflicts over resources can escalate into costly aggression and, in some conditions, non-dispersive forms of conflict resolution may be favoured. Post-conflict friendly reunions, hence reconciliation, have been described in a variety of species. The aim of this study was to explore, for the first time, the occurrence of reconciliation in a group of domestic horses (Equus caballus) and learn more about strategies used to maintain group cohesion. The behaviour of seven horses living as permanent group in an...
Shingu Y, Kondo S, Hata H.In this study, grazing behavior of mares and cows was compared on woodland pastures, in the context of foraging hierarchy. A horse-group (12 native Hokkaido horses) and a cattle-group (5 Hereford cows) were grazed on the woodland pastures of 13.3 ha and 5.8 ha, respectively. They grazed mainly on Sasa nipponica. Grazing behavior at a feeding station (FS) scale was recorded for three focal animals in each group. Mares took one bite per FS at a high percentage of FSs (24.3%) and cows took one, two and three bites per FS at high percentage (20.3%, 19.2% and 15.4%, respectively). Although feeding ...
Kouam MK, Masuoka PM, Kantzoura V, Theodoropoulos G.Maximum entropy ecological niche modeling and spatial scan statistic were utilized to predict the geographic range and to investigate clusters of infections for equine piroplasms in Greece, using the Maxent and SaTScan programs, respectively. The eastern half of the country represented the culminating area with high probabilities (p>0.75) of presence of equine piroplasms and encompassed most regions with high concentration of equid host populations. The most important environmental factor that contributed to the ecological niche modeling was land cover followed by temperature. Significant c...
Huang H, Zhang K, Shao C, Wang C, Ente M, Wang Z, Zhang D, Li K.The dominant Gasterophilus species in the desert steppe (Xinjiang, China) Gasterophilus pecorum poses a serious threat to the reintroduced Przewalski's horses. We investigated the distribution pattern of G. pecorum eggs in June 2017. Two sampling methods, transect and grid, were used, and the results were analyzed via geostatistics by semivariance. The nest quadrat was used to determine the optimal quadrat size. Eggs were found in 99 quadrats (63.1%) and 187 clusters (1.5%) of Stipa caucasica on the steppe. The mean oviposition count of a cluster was 3.8 ± 1.6. Three-eggs is the mode of w...
da Cruz AB, Hirata S, Dos Santos ME, Mendonça RS.Growing evidence shows a variety of sensorial and motor asymmetries in social and non-social interactions in various species, indicating a lateralized processing of information by the brain. Using digital video cameras on tripods and drones, this study investigated lateralization in frequency and duration of social behavior patterns, in affiliative, agonistic, and resting contexts, in a feral population of horses (Equus ferus caballus) in Northern Portugal, consisting of 37 individuals organized in eight harem groups. Affiliative interactions (including grooming) were more often performed, and...
Zamarchi TBO, Henriques AL, Krolow TK, Krüger RF, Rodrigues GD, Munari A, Pessoa FAC, Camargo ELMA.Tabanidae is one of the most diverse families of hematophagous dipterans. Tabanids, in general, are mechanical vectors of some pathogens. Given the vector importance and the lack of knowledge of the tabanid fauna in horses in Amazon Forest fragments of the state of Rondônia, this work aimed to determine the season that the different species of horse flies prefer to carryout hematophagy on horses and verify whether the horse fly community remains the same throughout the year. The sampling areas for tabanid captures were in the municipality of Monte Negro, Western Amazon, Brazil. Four new occur...
Irby LR, Norland JE, Westfall JA, Sullivan MA.We developed a forage allocation model using a deterministic, linear optimization module in a commercially available spreadsheet package to help resource managers in Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP), North Dakota determine optimum numbers of four ungulate species, bison (Bison bison), elk (Cervus elaphus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and feral horses, in the Park. TRNP staff actively managed bison, elk, and feral horse numbers within bounds suggested by our model from 1983 to 1996. During this period, we measured vegetation at 8 grassland and 12 wooded sites at 1-3 year intervals t...
Muscatello G, Gilkerson JR, Browning GF.The use of selective media to facilitate the isolation of Rhodococcus equi from environmental and clinical samples has aided studies of the ecology of R. equi and the epidemiology of disease caused by R. equi. Here, we compared the efficacy of two selective media (NANAT and modified CAZ-NB) for the recovery of six defined strains of R. equi and for the isolation and enumeration of both avirulent and virulent R. equi from 60 paired soil samples from horse farms using colony blotting and DNA hybridisation. No difference was found between the two media in the recoverability of defined strains of ...
Khalil AM, Murakami N.For the past 12 years, a study was conducted in the Misaki area (southern Kyushu Island, Japan) to investigate young males form new harems, how they acquire the mares and the factors affecting the process of new harem formation. Young males formed new harems between the ages of 3.8 and 7.6 yr, and 93% of these new harem groups were formed at the beginning of the breeding season. The most common way (87%) for young males to form a new harem was by acquiring wandering mares which had separated from their groups, whereas 13% stole unstable mares from established bands. The fact that all young mal...
Celaya R, Ferreira LM, García U, Rosa García R, Osoro K.As the number of horses is steadily increasing in Cantabrian less-favoured areas, mostly occupied by nutritionally poor heathland communities, the objective of this research was to study and compare diet selection and performance of crossbred horses and beef cattle (Asturiana de los Valles breed) grazing these areas during the summer. A total of 20 cows (seven lactating their calves and thirteen dry) and 20 mares (eight lactating their foals and twelve dry) were managed during 3 years on a heathland area from June to September and October. The proportion of grass (mostly Pseudarrhenatherum lon...
Górecka-Bruzda A, Jaworska J, Stanley CR.In captivity, intact male horses, due to their sexual drive, are usually socially isolated from other horses. This lifestyle strongly contrasts with that experienced by horses living in free-roaming, feral, or semi-feral conditions, where adult stallions have several roles in their social group, with successful reproduction being their primary drive. Reproductive skew in wild populations is high; many stallions will fail to reproduce at all, while others achieve high levels of reproductive success, siring a large number of foals. Successful stallions are those with particular characteristics a...
Shingu Y, Kondo S, Hata H.In this study, grazing behavior of mares and cows was compared on woodland pastures, in the context of foraging hierarchy. A horse-group (12 native Hokkaido horses) and a cattle-group (5 Hereford cows) were grazed on the woodland pastures of 13.3 ha and 5.8 ha, respectively. They grazed mainly on Sasa nipponica. Grazing behavior at a feeding station (FS) scale was recorded for three focal animals in each group. Mares took one bite per FS at a high percentage of FSs (24.3%) and cows took one, two and three bites per FS at high percentage (20.3%, 19.2% and 15.4%, respectively). Although feeding ...
Gavriliuc S, Reza S, Jeong C, Getachew F, McLoughlin PD, Poissant J.The development of high-throughput sequencing has prompted a transition in wildlife genetics from using microsatellites toward sets of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). However, genotyping large numbers of targeted SNPs using non-invasive samples remains challenging due to relatively large DNA input requirements. Recently, target enrichment has emerged as a promising approach requiring little template DNA. We assessed the efficacy of Tecan Genomics' Allegro Targeted Genotyping (ATG) for generating genome-wide SNP data in feral horses using DNA isolated from fecal swabs. Total and host-sp...
Brubaker AS, Coss RG.Habituation to humans was an essential component of horse (Equus caballus ferus) domestication, with the nondomestication of zebras (Equus quagga) possibly reflecting an adaptive constraint on habituation. We present the human hunting hypothesis, arguing that ancestral humans hunted African animals, including zebras, long enough to promote a persistent wariness of humans, whereas a briefer period of hunting horses in Central Asia influenced by glacial cycles was unlikely to produce an equally persistent wariness. An alternative habituation to humans hypothesis, prompted by field observations, ...
Pinto P, Hirata S.In some feral horse populations, adult females are either associated with a single male or multiple males (stallions). However, little is known on why such groups with more than one male exist, considering that stallions fight to monopolize females. Body size is often an important determinant of male fighting ability and/or dominance rank and, consequently, reproductive success. Stallions may, therefore, vary in "quality" which could be a differentiating factor between single-stallion and multi-stallion males. We observed feral Garrano horses in Northern Portugal and examined the relationship ...
McDonnell S, Torcivia C.Feral horses, wherever managed, typically require population control involving capture for permanent removal or repeatedly for fertility control treatments. The most common method for capturing feral horses is helicopter chasing into traps. With this fear-based strategy, it is difficult to safely capture entire groups. Recapture becomes increasingly difficult, with greater safety risks for pilots and ground staff. As preliminary proof of the concept of capturing free-roaming horses by leading into enclosures with light aircraft rather than driving with helicopters, a consumer-grade quadcopter ...
Wolter R, Pantel N, Stefanski V, Möstl E, Krueger K.The maintenance and development of conservation areas by grazing of large herbivores, such as Przewalski's horses, is common practice. Several nature conservation areas house male bachelor groups of this species. When males are needed for breeding they are removed from the groups, often without considering group compositions and individual social positions. However, alpha animals are needed for ensuring group stability and decision making in potentially dangerous situations in several species. To investigate the role of the alpha male in a bachelor group, we observed the behaviour of five Prze...
Elsner J, Hofreiter M, Schibler J, Schlumbaum A.On large geographical scales, changes in animal population distribution and abundance are driven by environmental change due to climatic and anthropogenic processes. However, so far, little is known about population dynamics on a regional scale. We have investigated 92 archaeological horse remains from nine sites mainly adjacent to the Swiss Jura Mountains dating from c. 41,000-5,000 years BP. The time frame includes major environmental turning points such as the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), followed by steppe vegetation, afforestation and initial re-opening of the landscape by human agricultur...
Dufour B, Hugot JP, Lepetz S, Le Bailly M.This paper focuses on the horse pinworm, Oxyuris equi, in archaeology during the Holocene period, and presents an overview of past published occurrences, early mentions in texts, and new data from our paleoparasitology research. This original compilation shows that the most ancient record of the horse pinworm dates to ca. 2500 years before present (ybp) in Central Asia and to ca. 2020 ybp in Western Europe. It also shows that the parasite is not detected on the American continent until contemporary periods. The role of European migrations from 1492 (Christopher Columbus) is discussed to explai...
Hu D, Wang C, Ente M, Zhang K, Zhang D, Li X, Li K, Chu H.Intestinal microbiota play an important role in the survival of the host. However, no study to date has elucidated the adjustment of intestinal microbiota of the host during rewilding. Thus, this study aims to describe the intestinal bacterial community of reintroduced Przewalski’s horse (RPH) after being released into their original habitat for approximately 20 years in comparison with that of captive Przewalski’s horse (CPH), sympatric domestic horse (DH) and Mongolian wild ass (MWA) by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. The results showed that the prevalent bacterial communities were differe...
Keiper R, Houpt K.The reproductive rate and foal survival of the free-ranging ponies on Assateague Island National Seashore were studied for 8 years, 1975 to 1982. Most (52%) of the 86 foals were born in May, 13% were born in April, 22.6% in June, 10.4% in July, and less than 1% in August and September. The mean foaling rate was 57.1 +/- 3.9% and the survival rate was 88.3 +/- 3.6%. Forty-eight colts and 55 fillies were born (sex ratio 53% female). Mares less than 3 years old did not foal and the foaling rate of 3-year-old mares was only 23%, that of 4-year-old mares was 46%, that of 5-year-old mares was 53%, a...
Journal of medical entomologyFebruary 21, 2008
Volume 45, Issue 1 115-124 doi: 10.1603/0022-2585(2008)45[115:hdcfah]2.0.co;2
Gerry AC, Nawaey TM, Sanghrajka PB, Wisniewska J, Hullinger P.Hematophagous Diptera landing on a horse were removed by vacuum, and their numbers were related to a paired carbon dioxide-baited suction trap at three locations in southern California where West Nile virus activity was high during the preceding year. Insects collected from the horse included mosquitoes (nine species), biting midges (Culicoides sonorensis Wirth & Jones), and black flies (Simulium bivittatum Malloch). Mosquitoes were predominantly collected from the head, crest, withers, neck, chest, and shoulders of the horse, whereas biting midges and black flies were predominantly collected ...
Traversa D, Otranto D, Iorio R, Giangaspero A.Equine thelaziosis caused by the eyeworm Thelazia lacrymalis is a parasitic disease transmitted by muscid flies. Although equine thelaziosis is known to have worldwide distribution, information on the epidemiology and presence of the intermediate hosts of T. lacrymalis is lacking. In the present work, a PCR-RFLP based assay on the first and/or second internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS2) of ribosomal DNA was developed for the detection of T. lacrymalis DNA in its putative vector(s). The sensitivity of the technique was also assessed. The restriction patterns obtained readily differentiat...
Thompson JA, Brown SE, Riddle WT, Seahorn JC, Cohen ND.To estimate spatial risks associated with mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) during 2001 among horses in a specific study population and partition the herd effects into those attributable to herd location and those that were spatially random and likely attributable to herd management. Animals-Pregnant broodmares from 62 farms in 7 counties in central Kentucky. Methods: Veterinarians provided the 2001 abortion incidence proportions for each farm included in the study. Farms were georeferenced and data were analyzed by use of a fully Bayesian risk-mapping technique. Results: Large farm-to-fa...
Zhou R, Yang J, Zhang K, Qi Y, Ma W, Wang Z, Ente M, Li K.The absolute dominant species that infests wild population of Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii) is Gasterophilus pecorum, and feces of released Przewalski's horse, a habitat odor, plays an important role in mating and ovipositing locations of G. pecorum. To screen out unique volatiles for attracting G. pecorum, volatiles from fresh feces of released horses at stages of pre-oviposition (PREO), oviposition (OVIP), and post-oviposition (POSO) of G. pecorum, and feces with three different freshness states (i.e., Fresh, Semi-fresh, and Dry) at OVIP were collected by dynamic headspace adsorptio...
Krcmar S, Mikuska A, Merdić E.The response of female tabanids to natural attractants was studied in the Monjoros Forest along the Nature Park Kopacki rit in eastern Croatia. Tabanids were caught in canopy traps baited with either aged cow, horse, sheep, or pig urine and also in unbaited traps. Tabanids were collected in a significantly higher numbers in traps baited with natural attractants compared to unbaited traps. The number of females of Tabanus bromius, Tabanus maculicornis, Tabanus tergestinus, and Hybomitra bimaculata collected from canopy traps baited with cow urine and traps baited with other natural attractants ...
Cardo MV, Carbajo AE, Mozzoni C, Kliger M, Vezzani D.Blood feeding patterns of mosquitoes are a key component in the dynamics of arboviral encephalitides transmission. In temperate Argentina, the members of the Culex pipiens complex include Cx. pipiens molestus, Cx. quinquefasciatus and their hybrids. To characterize their blood feeding patterns, adult resting mosquitoes were collected monthly during the warm season in urban and rural equestrian fields. The availability of birds and domestic mammals per site was characterized. The blood source and the complex member were successfully identified for 89 specimens using PCR. Blood of 19 vertebrate ...
Equine infectious anaemia (EIA) is a disease with an almost worldwide distribution, with several outbreaks having been reported recently in European countries. In Italy, two regions, Lazio and Abruzzo, are considered as endemic areas for this disease. In nature, the EIA virus is mechanically transmitted by biting flies such as tabanids (Diptera: Tabanidae), although few studies have investigated the epidemiological implications. In the present study, several sites characterized by different levels of EIA prevalence were sampled. In sites with high tabanid populations, a seasonal succession of ...
Traversa D, Otranto D.Dogs, cats, and horses are popular pets in many countries of the World and they have lived in close proximity with human beings for thousands of years. The effect of pet ownership on human health is well known and there is significant merit in preserving the health and welfare of these animals. Some infections caused by parasitic nematodes and arthropods of dogs, cats, and horses are now spreading in several areas of the world. This is the case of canine spirocercosis, feline aelurostrongylosis, and equine gastro-intestinal and nasal nematode and botfly infections. These diseases affect animal...
Andrieu J, Henry S, Hausberger M, Thierry B.In species that move in cohesive groups, animals generally reach decisions through socially distributed processes, and individual knowledge is expected to influence collective decision making. Pooling of information should not be considered a general rule, however, since conflicts of interest may occur between group members. When resources are limited or highly attractive, higher-ranking individuals can prevent others from accessing food, and subordinates may have an interest in withholding information about its location. We investigated the role individual knowledge may play in recruitment pr...
Krcmar S, Hribar LJ, Kopi M.The attraction of female tabanids to Malaise traps and canopy traps baited with aged horse urine, 1-octen-3-ol, or a combination of aged horse urine and acetone was studied in the Kopacki rit Nature Park in Eastern Croatia. Malaise traps captured very few tabanids relative to canopy traps. The number of females of Tabanus tergestinus and Haematopotapluvialis collected from 1-octen-3-ol baited canopy traps differed significantly from traps baited with aged horse urine. However, the number of females of Tabanus bromius, Atylotus loewianus, and Tabanus maculicornis collected from canopy traps bai...
Vaidyanathan R, Edman JD.To estimate human exposure to potential vectors of eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus, we compared collections of putative EEE virus vectors from human biting collections with collections from CDC, AB (American Biophysics), and New Jersey light traps and resting boxes in enzootic/epidemic foci of EEE virus in southeastern Massachusetts. Human biting collections caught significantly more host-seeking females than resting boxes or unbaited light traps (P < 0.05). Regression analysis of human biting collections to AB traps supplemented with CO2 could predict 60-70% of the actual human b...
