via contact or via common focal points where contamination could occur). The epidemiology of the poxvirus is poorly understood but a recent study ( Bruemmer et al., 2010) indicated direct transmission (i.e. In Italy, squirrel pox virus has not been recorded in either S. In Ireland, some grey squirrels carry squirrel pox virus until recently no infected red squirrels were reported but a few cases have now been reported ( Invasive Species Ireland, 2012 Bertolino, 2008). In England and Wales, many grey squirrels and red squirrels are known to carry the virus, and recently, cases of the virus in both species have occurred in Scotland. This has been postulated as another reason why red squirrels go extinct in the presence of grey squirrels a phenomenon known as pathogen-mediated competition ( Gurnell et al. vulgaris, whereas it is less pathogenic to S. Grey squirrels also act as a reservoir for a poxvirus – the virus can be fatal to S. In overlap areas, the grey squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis) can cause the extinction of the red squirrel (see Sciurus vulgaris in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) through competitive exclusion – the two species have similar diet and activity patterns grey squirrels are known to digest acorns more efficiently ( Bertolino, 2008). Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) (2011)įirst evidence of a breeding population in Nova Scotia reported in 2010 by Huynh et al.
0 kommentar(er)
