Services Evolution of Two Groundwater Dependent Wetland Ecosystems in the “Mancha Húmeda” Biosphere Reserve (Spain)

A wetland that does not comply with the ecological standards of EU Directive 2000/60/EC cannot properly provide its services. This paper presents a review of the criteria for wetland assessment based on the Spanish experience in two specific Ramsar areas: the Tablas de Daimiel and the Ruidera Lakes. The aim of this article is to consider and promote a holistic awareness of the hydrological cycle and of the wetland area ecosystems within it. The methodology developed under the umbrella of the UNESCO project IGCP 604 is applied to describe the groundwater-wetland-human interrelationship. This methodology was chosen for two reasons: (a) it is designed to assess the services the wetlands provide; (b) it focuses on groundwater dependent wetlands such as the two cases presented here. In each case, although to a different extent, agricultural activities and water management have led to important changes in the services provided by the two ecosystems.

Crisis and Welfare Society in Spain

Some arguments are briefly presented about the negative consequences of the deep global economic and financial crisis of 2008 on the economic activity and the social situation in Spain. Reformulation, sustainability and financial viability of social welfare in Spain require a new management through resource efficiency, increasing market presence and initiative of stakeholders as a whole. In this sense, the main credible argument of the welfare social in Spain depends on a new perspective on socialization and generosity of social protection system. Specifically, the solution to the crisis must come through economic growth, increased productivity, employment and competitiveness and not by the way of increasing levels of social protection.

Dynamics and diversity of Escherichia coli in animals and system management of the manure on a commercial farrow-to-finish pig farm

The objective of this study was to determine the dynamics and diversity of Escherichia coli populations in animal and environmental lines of a commercial farrow-to-finish pig farm in Spain along a full production cycle (July 2008 to July 2009), with special attention to antimicrobial resistance and the presence of integrons. In the animal line, a total of 256 isolates were collected from pregnant sows (10 samples and 20 isolates), 1-week-old piglets (20 samples and 40 isolates), unweaned piglets (20 samples and 38 isolates), growers (20 samples and 40 isolates), and the finishers' floor pen (6 samples and 118 isolates); from the underfloor pits and farm slurry tank environmental lines, 100 and 119 isolates, respectively, were collected. Our results showed that E. coli populations in the pig fecal microbiota and in the farm environment are highly dynamic and show high levels of diversity. These issues have been proven through DNA-based typing data (repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR [REP-PCR]) and phenotypic typing data (antimicrobial resistance profile comprising 19 antimicrobials). Clustering of the sampling groups based on their REP-PCR typing results showed that the spatial features (the line) had a stronger weight than the temporal features (sampling week) for the clustering of E. coli populations; this weight was less significant when clustering was performed based on resistotypes. Among animals, finishers harbored an E. coli population different from those of the remaining animal populations studied, considering REP-PCR fingerprints and resistotypes. This population, the most important from a public health perspective, demonstrated the lowest levels of antimicrobial resistance and integron presence.

A Bayesian approach to study the risk variables for tuberculosis occurrence in domestic and wild ungulates in South Central Spain

BACKGROUND Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic infectious disease mainly caused by Mycobacterium bovis. Although eradication is a priority for the European authorities, bTB remains active or even increasing in many countries, causing significant economic losses. The integral consideration of epidemiological factors is crucial to more cost-effectively allocate control measures. The aim of this study was to identify the nature and extent of the association between TB distribution and a list of potential risk factors regarding cattle, wild ungulates and environmental aspects in Ciudad Real, a Spanish province with one of the highest TB herd prevalences. RESULTS We used a Bayesian mixed effects multivariable logistic regression model to predict TB occurrence in either domestic or wild mammals per municipality in 2007 by using information from the previous year. The municipal TB distribution and endemicity was clustered in the western part of the region and clearly overlapped with the explanatory variables identified in the final model: (1) incident cattle farms, (2) number of years of veterinary inspection of big game hunting events, (3) prevalence in wild boar, (4) number of sampled cattle, (5) persistent bTB-infected cattle farms, (6) prevalence in red deer, (7) proportion of beef farms, and (8) farms devoted to bullfighting cattle. CONCLUSIONS The combination of these eight variables in the final model highlights the importance of the persistence of the infection in the hosts, surveillance efforts and some cattle management choices in the circulation of M. bovis in the region. The spatial distribution of these variables, together with particular Mediterranean features that favour the wildlife-livestock interface may explain the M. bovis persistence in this region. Sanitary authorities should allocate efforts towards specific areas and epidemiological situations where the wildlife-livestock interface seems to critically hamper the definitive bTB eradication success.

Eradication of bovine tuberculosis at a herd-level in Madrid, Spain: study of within-herd transmission dynamics over a 12 year period

BACKGROUND Eradication of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) through the application of test-and-cull programs is a declared goal of developed countries in which the disease is still endemic. Here, longitudinal data from more than 1,700 cattle herds tested during a 12 year-period in the eradication program in the region of Madrid, Spain, were analyzed to quantify the within-herd transmission coefficient (β) depending on the herd-type (beef/dairy/bullfighting). In addition, the probability to recover the officially bTB free (OTF) status in infected herds depending on the type of herd and the diagnostic strategy implemented was assessed using Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS Overall, dairy herds showed higher β (median 4.7) than beef or bullfighting herds (2.3 and 2.2 respectively). Introduction of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) as an ancillary test produced an apparent increase in the β coefficient regardless of production type, likely due to an increase in diagnostic sensitivity. Time to recover OTF status was also significantly lower in dairy herds, and length of bTB episodes was significantly reduced when the IFN-γ was implemented to manage the outbreak. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that bTB spreads more rapidly in dairy herds compared to other herd types, a likely cause being management and demographic-related factors. However, outbreaks in dairy herds can be controlled more rapidly than in typically extensive herd types. Finally, IFN-γ proved its usefulness to rapidly eradicate bTB at a herd-level.