László Patkó

Aquila verreauxii es considerada un depredador altamente especializado que se alimenta principalmente de damanes y ocupa hábitats montañosos escarpados a lo largo de su distribución en África y la Península Arábiga. A pesar de su gran tamaño y de sus similitudes morfológicas con rapaces carroñeras, el consumo de carroña ha sido raramente documentado y no se había registrado previamente en la Península Arábiga. En este estudio reportamos el primer caso confirmado de uso sostenido de carroña por Aquila verreauxii en Arabia Saudita, documentado mediante cámaras activadas por movimiento en una estación de cebo en la Reserva de la Biosfera Harrat Uwayrid, en la región de AlUla, al noroeste de Arabia Saudita. Dos individuos de Aquila verreauxii visitaron un cadáver de cabra en la estación de cebo durante cuatro días consecutivos en diciembre de 2024, con una presencia combinada que superó las 11 horas. Las águilas mostraron alimentación repetida y prolongada, sin aparente reticencia en la explotación de la carroña ni competencia interespecífica. No se registraron buitres ni otras grandes rapaces en el sitio durante el período de cuatro días. Nuestras observaciones sugieren que la carroña puede representar una oportunidad de alimentación de bajo costo para Aquila verreauxii en este entorno árido, donde las presas tradicionales pueden ser menos abundantes. Nuestras observaciones también aportan evidencia adicional de flexibilidad conductual en una rapaz típicamente considerada un depredador obligado. Este estudio resalta el valor del seguimiento sistemático para detectar comportamientos poco frecuentes y mejorar el conocimiento de la ecología trófica de las rapaces en regiones poco estudiadas. [Traducción de Bruno Herlander Martins]

Population estimates are essential for understanding species biology, assessing conservation status, and informing wildlife management. However, robust population data from mixed-use landscapes—particularly in arid regions—remain sparse, especially for medium-sized carnivores that typically occur at low densities. Striped hyenas (Hyaena hyaena), solitary scavenging carnivores classified as Near Threatened, are understudied across their range. We conducted 21 camera trap surveys across 18 sites in western Saudi Arabia, providing the first robust density estimates of striped hyenas for 9 of these areas using maximum-likelihood spatially explicit capture-recapture models. We hypothesized that the presence of livestock and Arabian wolves would influence the detection probability of striped hyenas. Striped hyenas were photographed in 14 areas during surveys that spanned 74,211 trap days and included 997 geographically distinct camera stations. Density estimates ranged from 1.16 ± 0.49 to 13.69 ± 1.91 individuals per 100 km2, with half-relative confidence interval widths below 50% in 6 of 9 surveys, providing baseline density estimates to detect future change. Detection probability was significantly higher at stations where Arabian wolves were frequently captured, while the influence of livestock capture rates varied. Our results reveal notable geographic variation, with higher detection frequencies in the southwest compared to the more arid northwest, suggesting increased vulnerability for northern populations. We hypothesize that livestock may serve as a critical food source for striped hyenas in areas with depleted natural prey. We propose that the observed density variation likely reflects differences in livestock protection measures, livestock management practices, wolf-livestock interactions (e.g., carrion availability), and carcass removal protocols. This study provides the first baseline density estimates for striped hyenas in western Saudi Arabia and offers novel insights into ecological and anthropogenic factors shaping their population dynamics. These findings underscore the importance of considering local ecological and management contexts in conservation planning for this species.

This study presents the first faunistic records of blister beetles (Coleoptera, Meloidae) from north-western Saudi Arabia, specifically Hejaz mountains and north Tihama, expanding the known distribution range of the species within the country. Field surveys were conducted between 2022 and 2024, aiming to cover different seasons. These observations contribute to the knowledge of the diversity of meloid fauna of the country and underscoring the importance of continued faunistic exploration in north-western Saudi Arabia, a region that remains relatively under-surveyed in terms of meloid diversity. Three species ( Hycleus borchmannianus , Hycleus trizonatus , Mylabris filicornis ) and one genus ( Sitaris ) are recorded for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Besides that, this work also provides the first description of the male morphology and genitalia of Mylabris desertica Bologna, 2007.

The link between large- and middle-sized mammals in forest habitat is understudied in Central Europe; meanwhile these animals could have important effects on their habitats. In our study, we analysed camera trapping data obtained from May 2015 to September 2021 on 29 different sites in a temperate forest at the Bükk Mountain, Hungary. We investigated the temporal activity of ungulates (red deer, roe deer, wild boar) and predators (red fox and grey wolf), together with their response to human disturbance. We calculated temporal overlap value (Δ₄) and occurrence dynamics with multi-state modelling (msm). The results suggest that human activity was higher at daytime, while the mammals were more active at night. Multi-state modelling (msm) grouped animals and humans separately. Ungulates chose nighttime, when predators were also active, while they avoided daytime and human disturbance. Grey wolf were mostly co-occurred with its main food source, the red deer. Red fox overlapped the most with roe deer, suggesting that fox prey upon deer fawns. We found that human disturbance has a significant impact on the activity of forest mammals, whereas the expected avoidance of predators by ungulates does not appear to be evident. To better understand the effect of prey–predator behavioural responses in the presence of human disturbance, more field studies are needed in the region.

Discovery rates of new species are uneven across taxonomic groups and regions, with distinctive and widely distributed species being more readily described than species with secretive habits. The genus Rhynchocalamus includes five species of secretive snakes distributed from Egypt eastwards to Iran, including the Arabian Peninsula. A wide biogeographic gap exists within the genus, which separates R. dayanae found in south Israel from R. arabicus, which occurs in the coastal areas of south Yemen and Oman. We describe Rhynchocalamus hejazicus sp. nov., a small, secretive snake, with a distinctive colouration and a melanistic morph. The new species occurs in the northwestern Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and fills a large part of the existing distribution gap of the genus in the Arabian Peninsula. Molecular analyses of mitochondrial (12S, 16S, cytb) and nuclear genes (cmos, MC1R, NT3, RAG1) indicate that R. hejazicus sp. nov. is closely related to R. dayanae and R. arabicus, but uncertainty on the deep relationship within the genus remains. The new species has a large distribution range which potentially includes other regions in Jordan and KSA, and is associated with mountainous areas with cold wet seasons. Furthermore, it inhabits sandy and stony soils with varying vegetation cover and can be found in anthropogenically disturbed habitats, suggesting that the species should not be categorised as threatened according to IUCN criteria. The discovery of such a distinctive species highlights the existing gap in the description of rare and secretive species, and the need to enhance sampling efforts and monitoring strategies to fully capture species diversity in unexplored areas.

Studies of wild boar, Sus scrofa Linnaeus 1758, in urban and suburban areas of Budapest, Hungary, have indicated that these populations do not have continuous contact. Based on the assumption that the city has a discrete population, we hypothesized that the urban wild boar would differ genetically from those in suburban areas. Analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data using the GeneSeek Genomic Profiler (GGP) Porcine 50 K system (Neogen, Scotland, UK) differentiated three populations: Buda (B) from the Western bank of the Danube; Buda Surrounding (BS); and Valkó (V) from the Eastern bank of the Danube. The coefficient of genetic differentiation (F_ST) for the B and BS populations was low. The inbreeding coefficients of the populations BS and V were close to zero, while population B had a high positive value reflecting the influence of founders and the inbreeding of the continuous urban population. The genome regions that were most differentiated between the B and BS populations were analyzed based on the F_ST values of the SNP markers using a mixed linear multi-locus model and BayeScan software. The most differentiated marker, WU_10.2_18_56278226, was found on chromosome 18. The surrounding region contained several candidate genes that could play important roles in adaptations related to human-induced stress. Two of these, encoding the adenylate cyclase 1 (ADCY1) and inhibin beta A chain precursor (INHBA) genes, were sequenced. While IHBA gene did not display variation, the allele distribution of the ADCY1 gene in the B population was significantly different from that of the BS population supporting the parapatric differentiation of wild boar.

The goal of many agri-environment schemes (AES) is to increase biodiversity in agroecosystems. AES effects are often measured on invertebrates and birds; mammals as indicator species are infrequently targets of such researches. Our goal was to evaluate the local-scale effects of the Hungarian Agri-Environmental Measures (AEM) on the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus), which shows decreasing population trends across Europe. We compared hare abundances and their dropping numbers in AEM and control agricultural arable and grassland fields of 17 game management units in two seasons. We also examined the quality of arable fields based on their margin width and vegetation cover. We found that margin quality was higher in AEM than in the control fields. Control grasslands had higher vegetation quality than the AEM grasslands. We found a significant difference in hare counts between AEM and control arable fields in spring but no difference in autumn. The dropping densities did not differ in any season, treatment category or agroecosystem type. We conclude that the AEM program (2009-2014) in Hungary was not effective for the hare, and this might have been caused by the inadequate or weak application of AEM practices. We provide recommendations for future AEM programs to enhance biodiversity.