Chamois Research Articles

Economic Valuation of Balkan Chamois Conservation

The Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) is a caprine of the rocky mountain slopes, threatened in Greece by illegal hunting and population isolation. We used a contingent valuation method to assess the willingness to pay (WTP) for chamois conservation of 500 residents of the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Most of the participants (61.6%) were WTP a mean of EUR 41.6 for chamois conservation, totaling EUR 6.03 million for the target population. Attitudes toward and knowledge about chamois, moralistic worldviews (spiritual reverence and ethical concern for nature and wildlife), participation in wildlife-related consumptive outdoor activities (i.e., hunting and fishing), intention to participate in conservation actions for the species, and encounters with the species in the wild were positively associated with WTP for its conservation. Dominionistic worldviews (humans have mastery, physical control, and dominance of wildlife) were negatively associated with WTP, while highly educated females with high income were more WTP for implementing relevant conservation actions. Factors involving previous knowledge of the chamois positively influenced the WTP, thus, confirming the construct's bias toward charismatic species. The findings show that Greek residents highly value the chamois and its conservation and would be useful for advising this process and achieving its conservation management.

Traces of past reintroduction in genetic diversity: The case of the Balkan chamois (Mammalia, Artiodactyla).

The translocation of wild animal species became a common practice worldwide to re-establish local populations threatened with extinction. Archaeological data confirm that chamois once lived in the Biokovo Mountain but, prior to their reintroduction in the 1960s, there was no written evidence of their recent existence in the area. The population was reintroduced in the period 1964-1969, when 48 individuals of Balkan chamois from the neighbouring mountains in Bosnia and Herzegovina were released. The main objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of the existing historical data on the origin of the Balkan chamois population from the Biokovo Mountain and to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of the source and translocated populations 56 years after reintroduction. Sixteen microsatellite loci were used to analyse the genetic structure of three source chamois populations from Prenj, Čvrsnica and Čabulja Mountains and from Biokovo Mountain. Both STRUCTURE and GENELAND analyses showed a clear separation of the reintroduced population on Biokovo from Prenj's chamois and considerable genetic similarity between the Biokovo population and the Čvrsnica-Čabulja population. This suggests that the current genetic composition of the Biokovo population does not derive exclusively from Prenj, as suggested by the available literature and personal interviews, but also from Čvrsnica and Čabulja. GENELAND analysis recognised the Balkan chamois from Prenj as a separate cluster, distinct from the populations of Čvrsnica and Čabulja. Our results thus highlight the need to implement genetic monitoring of both reintroduced and source populations of endangered Balkan chamois to inform sustainable management and conservation strategies in order to maximise the chances of population persistence.

The presence of deer ked (Lipoptena cervi, Linnaeus, 1758) in Balkan chamois from the National Park Sutjeska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This case study describes the presence of a deer ked (Lipoptena cervi, Linnaeus, 1758) in the Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) from the area of the National Park „Sutjeska“, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). This is the first finding of this ectoparasite in this animal species in B&H, which indicates that deer ked has significant adaptive abilities to different animal hosts.

Rutting behavior of male Balkan chamois

Rutting behavior of male Balkan chamois

Balkan Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) Avoids Roads, Settlements, and Hunting Grounds: An Ecological Overview from Timfi Mountain, Greece

Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) is a protected species with an Inadequate-Bad (U2) conservation status in Greece. Our study explores its seasonal range use pattern, demography and habitat selection in a site of the Natura 2000 network, Timfi Mountain. To this aim, we examined 1168 observations obtained from six seasonal surveys (2002: four seasons, 2014 and 2017: autumn) and performed an ecological-niche factor analysis (ENFA), using 16 environmental and human-disturbance variables. The species had an annual range of 6491 ha (25% of the study area), followed the typical range-use pattern, and presented the minimum core area during the rutting season (autumn). Timfi Mt hosted 469 individuals in 2017 (the largest population in Greece), increasing by 3.55 times since 2002. The species selected higher altitudes during summer and autumn, pinewoods over broad-leaved woods as winter grounds, and it avoided south-facing slopes. Our results supported the anthropogenic risk avoidance hypothesis; the species always selected remote areas away from roads, human settlements, and hunting grounds. In Greece, 40% of its distribution area falls within hunting ban areas (16.5% of the country). A national conservation policy is needed towards maintaining and increasing roadless areas and hunting-ban areas within Balkan chamois range nationwide.

Microsatellite based assignment reveals history of extirpated mountain ungulate

During the early 1900s, Northern chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) populations in the northern Dinaric Mountains were extirpated. During the 1960s and 1970s there were several reintroductions of individuals from two Northern chamois subspecies (Alpine chamois, R. r. rupicapra and Balkan chamois, R. r. balcanica) from neighbouring areas in the attempt to re-establish the population. Accurate taxonomic classification, at subspecies level, of the autochthonous extirpated population was not known. To clarify which subspecies was present before reintroduction, we genotyped four male chamois skulls originating from Velebit Mountain, collected around 25 years before the population local extinction. DNA was successfully extracted from middle layer and outer sheath of horns. Assignment based on microsatellite loci, using both Bayesian clustering in STRUCTURE (with q values between 0.55 and 0.73) and DAPC (with individual membership probabilities of 0.99 and 1.00) indicated higher assessed likelihood for the Alpine subspecies.

Genetic variability and population structure of chamois in Greece (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica)

Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) is the southernmost subspecies within the distribution of the genus in Europe. In Greece, which is its marginal area of distribution, the population presents a fragmented pattern. This is the first study that investigates genetic variability and structure of Greek chamois. We collected samples from the wider Pindus mountain range, Mount Olympus, the Rhodope mountains and from the North-Northwestern mountains. Individuals were screened for mitochondrial (mt) sequences, cytochrome b (cytb) and control region (CR), and 18 microsatellite loci. Only one haplotype of cytb was observed. Sequences of the CR showed extensive variability grouping into three differentiated clades, one of them including specimens of the subspecies asiatica and caucasica. The GenBank haplotypes of balcanica from the Dinarides form a different clade. There is differentiation among geographical areas both for the CR as well as for microsatellites. In particular, the Olympus population is clearly distinct from the rest and shows low diversity. This differentiation can be related to recent isolation and small population size more than to a singular long evolutionary history, given that the haplotypes present there are shared by the Pindus populations. The chamois in Greece harbor an outstanding amount of variability within the species R. rupicapra and hence merit the implementation of special conservation measures. We propose actions to prevent further fragmentation in the wider area of Pindus and the North-Northwestern mountains. For the isolated populations of Olympus and the Rhodopes, conservation must focus on actions to maintain a viable population size.

Is chamois hybridization in the northern Dinaric Mountains an important factor for horn development?

The Dinaric region is the natural habitat of the Alpine chamois Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra and Balkan chamois Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica. Recently confirmed, these two subspecies hybridize in the contact zone on Mts Velebit, coastal Croatia. Patterns of horn development in chamois can differ within populations and subspecies, and are mostly influenced by genetic structure, sex and resource availability. These factors control the direct ability of energy allocation to secondary sexual traits with diverse outcomes. This is the first study to investigate the horn growth patterns of Alpine and Balkan chamois populations and their admixed progeny. We explored the differences in horn growth and compensatory patterns among populations as a function of genetic background, separately for females and males. A significantly different pattern of horn development was detected in the hybrid population showing higher rates of initial horn growth – until 2.5 years, and much lower compensation rates in the first 4.5 years of life in both sexes in comparison to other chamois populations. Interestingly, differences in growth patterns were more expressed among males. Higher initial horn growth and low compensation rates in the hybrid population can be explained by both non‐genetic and genetic factors, but may suggest an effect of heterosis, i.e. the occurrence of hybrid vigour. Therefore, this situation could reveal the extent to which life history patterns and evolutionary consequences can shape important traits of population outlook/vigour, such as horn size, in different chamois populations.

The genetic impact of chamois management in the dinarides

The Dinaric Mountains in Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina provide a unique system to address the effects of past hunting on the genetic structure of northern chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) and possible hybridization in the contact zone in the Velebit Mountains. The northern Dinaric Mountains should be occupied by alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra), whereas the central and southern areas are inhabited by the Balkan chamois (R. rupicapra balcanica). This is the first study to characterize the genetic variation in chamois populations in the area. We used microsatellite and mitochondrial markers to analyze the genetic variation and structure of chamois populations from different geographical areas with different histories. Specifically, we explored the influence of recent human translocations and geographical isolation on the genetic architecture of chamois populations in the assumed contact zone. We successfully genotyped 74 individual samples and the number of alleles/locus ranged from 6 to 20 with a mean of 9.20. Allelic richness across populations ranged from 2.94 in the Prenj Mountains, Bosnia and Herzegovina to 3.56 in the Biokovo Mountains, Croatia. A similar pattern was also observed for heterozygosity, ranging between 0.729 and 0.572, and expected heterozygosity, ranging between 0.762 and 0.644 in the Prenj and Biokovo mountains, respectively. The global genetic distance (FST) for 7 population samples was 0.103 ± 0.047 (range = 0.0156–0.185). The STRUCTURE tree clusters separated samples from the northern Dinaric Mountains from those of the southern Dinaric Mountains into 2 clusters according to geographic location. The results obtained using a Bayesian clustering methodology was similar. By using mtDNA variation in chamois from Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the existence of alpine chamois haplotypes in northern areas and Balkan chamois haplotypes in southern areas was confirmed. These results confirm the impact of recent human management (i.e., translocation) into the Velebit Mountains, which established a new contact (hybridization) zone between the subspecies. Therefore, future translocations must be planned carefully to avoid compromising genetic integrity and posing a serious risk to native species, as in this case. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.

THE LATE PLEISTOCENE APENNINE CHAMOIS FROM GROTTA MORA CAVORSO (SIMBRUINI MOUNTAINS, CENTRAL ITALY)

This paperdescribes a sub-entire, partially articulated skeleton of chamois found togetherwith other vertebrate remainsina silty lens withlimestone clastsbetween the 104 and 105 SSUU of Grotta Mora Cavorso(Latium, Italy). Thissilty lensis chronologically correlatable to a temperate oscillation of MIS 3.The skull and post-cranial remains from Grotta Mora Cavorso were compared with the fossil remains of chamois from numerous Late Pleistocene and older Holocene sites of Italy and of Pyrenees and Iberian Peninsula. Additional comparisons were made with large samples of extant chamois, Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata , R. pyrenaica pyrenaica and R. rupicapra rupicapra .Morphological and morphometric features of the skull and the horn-core, as well as other characters of the metacarpus suggest to refer the fossil remainsfrom Grotta Mora Cavorsoto Apennine chamois, R. pyrenaica ornata . This is the earliest ascertained recordin Central-Southern Italyofthe ornata -like chamois, a subspeciesso far knownwith certaintyonly in the Holocene, orpossibly in the Lateglacial.

Demographic characteristics, seasonal range and habitat topography of Balkan chamois population in its southernmost limit of its distribution (Giona mountain, Greece)

The annual range of Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) in Giona mountain was found to be 5502 ha, with a low population density (2 individuals/100 ha). Seasonal range patterns varied significantly, with a minimum extent in summer and a maximum in winter (30% and 79% of the annual range, respectively). Summer stress and the rutting period might be associated with the observed aggregated distributions during the summer and autumn (core areas of 28% and 22% of seasonal ranges, respectively, defined after the Fixed Kernel Density Estimator). Chamois were found to use significantly lower altitude habitats in winter (1212 m) than in summer (2223 m), and significantly steeper slopes in winter (35°); aspect was not found to have a significant effect on habitat use. Population structure consisted of kids (21%), yearlings (8%), females (35%) and males (36%). Conservation management for the species should consider poaching, livestock competition and global warming.

Serological evidence for Parapoxvirus infection in chamois from the Tyrol regions of Austria and Italy.

Orf-virus (ORFV) is a parapoxvirus that infects small ruminants worldwide causing sporadic zoonotic infections, mainly transmitted by direct contact with sheep and goats. Following an ORFV case in a hunter of Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), who did not report previous contact to domestic animals, a serological survey in Western Austria was conducted to assess the seroprevalence of ORFV in this species. In addition, this study also tested blood/tissue samples of chamois from different areas of the adjacent province of Bolzano/Northern Italy for antibodies against ORFV using immunofluorescence and ELISA. The observed seropositivity rates in the chamois tested on the Austrian and Italian side of the Alps were 23.5% and 9.5%, respectively, with a combined 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.0678 to 0.238. Although the prevalence was significantly lower than the one observed in Austrian sheep flocks, this study provided the first evidence that parapoxviruses have spilled over into chamois populations to a significant degree in the Tyrol regions of Austria and Italy.

Contrasting pattern of Eimeria spp. oocyst emission in chamois (Rupicaprar.rupicapra) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) from Italian Alps

Contrasting pattern of Eimeria spp. oocyst emission in chamois (Rupicaprar.rupicapra) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) from Italian Alps

Distinctive features of Ovis aries and Capra hircus petrosal parts of temporal bone: Applications of the features to the distinction of some other Caprinae (Capra ibex, Rupicapra rupicapra)

Dans cet article, les auteurs mettent en evidence les caracteres morphometriques permettant de distinguer les portions petreuses de temporal de differents Caprinae, en insistant sur le Mouton (Ovis aries) et la Chevre (Capra hircus), et en completant avec quelques caracteres propres au Bouquetin (Capra ibex) et au Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra). Sont abordees egalement les implications de l’etude des portions petreuses de ces taxons dans les analyses archeozoologiques et paleontologiques des ensembles fauniques post-pleistocenes : problemes lies aux formes domestiquees et reconnaissance des races domestiques, bassins de domestication, chronologie de l’expansion de ce processus ; estimation de l’âge au deces pour la constitution des courbes de mortalite…

Craniological variation of the Balkan chamois,Rupicapra rupicapra balcanicafrom Bulgaria

The craniometrical analysis of population diversity of the Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) from Bulgaria was carried out using 14 skull parameters and 65 adult individuals, originating from the main occurrence areas in the country — Stara Planina, Rhodope, Rila and Pirin Mountains. The data showed a high degree of sexual dimorphism of the skull. The univariate and multivariate statistical assessment of the skull features of Bulgarian chamois, performed separately by gender, demonstrated a high degree of phenotypic craniological similarity between the specimens of the same gender from the four main populations in Bulgaria; it also supported the hypothesis that the present segregation of Bulgarian chamois into the four main mountains characterized by distinctive orographic features did not give rise to measurable levels of their craniometric differentiation.

Advances in New Zealand mammalogy 1990–2000: Chamois

Advances in New Zealand mammalogy 1990–2000: Chamois

Sheep? Chamois? Falcon?

Sheep? Chamois? Falcon?

Condition in Chamois Populations under Different Harvest Levels in Bavaria

Etude des differences de condition physique,de production et de chasse dans deux populations voisines de chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) des Alpes Bavaroises entre 1975 et 1985 afin de demontrer qu'il peut exister des differences importantes dans la dynamique des sous populations au cours du temps et de discuter les possiblites d'attribuer ces differences a une reponse compensatoire a differents niveaux de chasse

4. On a new Antelope and on the Spanish Chamois.

4. On a new Antelope and on the Spanish Chamois.