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The idea of socioecosystems answers the growing need to understand, in the context of the Anthropocene, how adaptive processes interact, and how that interplay results in the coevolution of living beings. Studying socioecosystems means taking into account the diversity of temporal and physical scales in order to grasp how ecological, social and economic forces are interwoven. Based on these drivers, the complex dynamics that determine the habitability of the Earth emerge. This book analyzes, through concrete cases from regional socioecosystems on several continents, how research action has provided answers to problems related to agriculture, health and the conservation of biodiversity. It demonstrates that these undertakings could not have succeeded without the combined efforts of the communities of living beings and objects, the community of knowledge and the communities of action. These examples are accompanied by a reflection on the conditions that make it possible to bring this research to completion.

The emergence of pandemics with dramatic consequences for human health has obscured endemic diseases that continue to pose a problem for human and animal health in several regions of the world. Among these diseases, cystic echinococcosis, a zoonotic parasitic infection caused by a group of cestodes, Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato , remains a real human and animal health problem in several regions of the world, including the Mediterranean Basin. Despite the implementation of a number of governmental control programmes using several tools (dog treatment, meat inspection, etc.), this infection is still highly prevalent in North Africa. Here we present a review of the epidemiology of cystic echinococcosis in Tunisia, an analysis of the constraints limiting the effectiveness of the control programmes implemented, and finally argue for the use of the One Health framework to improve the effectiveness of future programmes. L’émergence de pandémies affectant de manière très importante la santé humaine a occulté les maladies endémiques qui continuent de représenter un problème de santé animale et humaine dans plusieurs régions du monde. Parmi ces maladies, l’échinococcose kystique, une parasitose zoonotique provoquée par un groupe de cestodes, Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato, reste un réel problème de santé humaine et animale dans plusieurs régions du monde, incluant le Bassin méditerranéen. Malgré la mise en place de nombreux programmes de lutte utilisant plusieurs outils (traitement des chiens, inspection des viandes, etc.), cette infection est encore hautement prévalente en Afrique du Nord. Nous présentons ici une revue de l’épidémiologie de l’échinococcose kystique en Tunisie, une analyse des contraintes limitant l’efficacité des programmes de lutte mis en place, et finalement nous argumentons l’utilisation du concept « Une seule santé » pour améliorer l’efficacité des programmes futurs. أدى ظهور الأوبئة التي تؤثر بشكل كبير على صحة الإنسان إلى حجب الأمراض المستوطنة التي لا تزال تمثل مشكلة لصحة الحيوان والإنسان في العديد من مناطق العالم. ومن بين هذه الأمراض، لا يزال مرض الكيس المائي، مرض طفيلي مشترك المتسبب فيه مجموعة من الديدان الشريطية، المشوكة الحبيبية بالمعنى الواسع Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato ، يمثل مشكلة حقيقية لصحة الانسان و الحيوان في العديد من مناطق العالم، بما في ذلك حوض البحر الأبيض المتوسط. وعلى الرغم من تنفيذ عدد من برامج المكافحة باستخدام عدة أدوات (علاج الكلاب، فحص اللحوم، وغيرها)، إلا أن هذه العدوى لا تزال منتشرة بشكل كبير في شمال أفريقيا. نقدم هنا استعراضا لوبائيات مرض الكيس المائي في تونس، وتحليلا للقيود التي تحد من فعالية برامج المكافحة المطبقة، وأخيرا نناقش استخدام مفهوم الصحة الواحدة لتحسين فعالية البرامج المستقبلية.

The red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) is one of the most common generalist mesopredators. Its legal status is often at the centre of controversy between those who wish to protect it and those who wish to control its numbers. In France, foxes are legally hunted and can also be classified as a \"species likely to cause damage\" (ESOD), the latter status allowing them to be shot and trapped throughout the year. There are a number of legal reasons for this, including damage to poultry. Here, we report the results of a 3.8-year experiment comparing two areas where the fox is protected with areas where it is classified as ESOD. Fox populations were monitored for 4 years before and during the experiment and 231 henhouses were surveyed. 1105 birds were predated in 109 of the 231 henhouses, with an average permanent poultry population of 10,883. 48.3% of damage could be attributed to the category ‘fox’ or ‘likely fox’. Our results show that ESOD status, in the local context, did not lead to a significant reduction in fox numbers or differences in damage rates between areas. However, top and bottom fence protection of outdoor runs significantly reduced fox predation. Better protection for poultry should come from increased security of sheds and outdoor runs, rather than from management of the fox population. The role of dedicated multi-stakeholder working groups for such an evidence-based management at local level is also discussed.

Small mammal species play an important role influencing vegetation primary productivity and plant species composition, seed dispersal, soil structure, and as predator and/or prey species. Species which experience population dynamics cycles can, at high population phases, heavily impact agricultural sectors and promote rodent-borne disease transmission. To better understand the drivers behind small mammal distributions and abundances, and how these differ for individual species, it is necessary to characterise landscape variables important for the life cycles of the species in question. In this study, a suite of Earth observation derived metrics quantifying landscape characteristics and dynamics, and in-situ small mammal trapline and transect survey data, are used to generate random forest species distribution models for nine small mammal species for study sites in Narati, China and Sary Mogul, Kyrgyzstan. These species distribution models identify the important landscape proxy variables driving species abundance and distributions, in turn identifying the optimal conditions for each species. The observed relationships differed between species, with the number of landscape proxy variables identified as important for each species ranging from 3 for Microtus gregalis at Sary Mogul, to 26 for Ellobius tancrei at Narati. Results indicate that grasslands were predicted to hold higher abundances of Microtus obscurus , E . tancrei and Marmota baibacina , forest areas hold higher abundances of Myodes centralis and Sorex asper , with mixed forest—grassland boundary areas and areas close to watercourses predicted to hold higher abundances of Apodemus uralensis and Sicista tianshanica . Localised variability in vegetation and wetness conditions, as well as presence of certain habitat types, are also shown to influence these small mammal species abundances. Predictive application of the Random Forest (RF) models identified spatial hot-spots of high abundance, with model validation producing R 2 values between 0.670 for M . gregalis transect data at Sary Mogul to 0.939 for E . tancrei transect data at Narati. This enhances previous work whereby optimal habitat was defined simply as presence of a given land cover type, and instead defines optimal habitat via a combination of important landscape dynamic variables, moving from a human-defined to species-defined perspective of optimal habitat. The species distribution models demonstrate differing distributions and abundances of host species across the study areas, utilising the strengths of Earth observation data to improve our understanding of landscape and ecological linkages to small mammal distributions and abundances.

An increasing number of studies have found that the implementation of feeding sites for wildlife-related tourism can affect animal health, behaviour and reproduction. Feeding sites can favour high densities, home range overlap, greater sedentary behaviour and increased interspecific contacts, all of which might promote parasite transmission. In the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey ( Rhinopithecus bieti ), human interventions via provisioning monkeys at specific feeding sites have led to the sub-structuring of a group into genetically differentiated sub-groups. The fed subgroup is located near human hamlets and interacts with domesticated animals. Using high-throughput sequencing, we investigated Entamoeba species diversity in a local host assemblage strongly influenced by provisioning for wildlife-related tourism. We identified 13 Entamoeba species or lineages in faeces of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, humans and domesticated animals (including pigs, cattle, and domestic chicken). In Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, Entamoeba prevalence and OTU richness were higher in the fed than in the wild subgroup. Entamoeba polecki was found in monkeys, pigs and humans, suggesting that this parasite might circulates between the wild and domestic components of this local social–ecological system. The highest proportion of faeces positive for Entamoeba in monkeys geographically coincided with the presence of livestock and humans. These elements suggest that feeding sites might indirectly play a role on parasite transmission in the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey. The implementation of such sites should carefully consider the risk of creating hotspots of disease transmission, which should be prevented by maintaining a buffer zone between monkeys and livestock/humans. Regular screenings for pathogens in fed subgroup are necessary to monitor transmission risk in order to balance the economic development of human communities dependent on wildlife-related tourism, and the conservation of the endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkey.

We analyze the influence of population movement on susceptibility to death and resilience during two epidemics occurring in Dijon soon after the Black Death. Using a specific program designed to propose links between entries in annual tax registers, we define tentative heads of household, the elapsed time since their first registration and their ties with other persons within the city. During the 1400 epidemic heads of household who were registered for 1-3 years die in large numbers, whereas during years without epidemics, their death rate is lower than that of heads of household who were registered longer. Recent registration is an epidemic vulnerability factor only in association with a low taxation status, which, when isolated, does not influence mortality. A lack of familial ties within Dijon is another vulnerability factor among the recently registered. This suggests that poor, recent emigrants are more affected by epidemic mortality. In contrast, the mortality of recently registered heads of household is indistinct during a later epidemic occurring after several years of major famine that may have selected the more resistant emigrants and/or excluded the more miserable of them from our analysis. In contrast to the first one, this second epidemic is followed by rapid demographic recovery. This latter recovery is fully explained by the contribution of poor, newly registered heads of household without ties in Dijon. Our results outline the interaction between population movement and low socioeconomic status on death susceptibility in historical plagues and show that poor recent emigrants may also be key players in the resilience of the population after an epidemic.

(1) Background: Echinococcus multilocularis (Em), a highly pathogenic parasitic tapeworm, is responsible for a significant burden of human disease. In this study, optical and time-series Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data is used synergistically to model key land cover characteristics driving the spatial distributions of two small mammal intermediate host species, Ellobius tancrei and Microtus gregalis, which facilitate Em transmission in a highly endemic area of Kyrgyzstan. (2) Methods: A series of land cover maps are derived from (a) single-date Landsat Operational Land Imager (OLI) imagery, (b) time-series Sentinel-1 SAR data, and (c) Landsat OLI and time-series Sentinel-1 SAR data in combination. Small mammal distributions are analyzed in relation to the surrounding land cover class coverage using random forests, before being applied predictively over broader areas. A comparison of models derived from the three land cover maps are made, assessing their potential for use in cloud-prone areas. (3) Results: Classification accuracies demonstrated the combined OLI-SAR classification to be of highest accuracy, with the single-date OLI and time-series SAR derived classifications of equivalent quality. Random forest analysis identified statistically significant positive relationships between E. tancrei density and agricultural land, and between M. gregalis density and water and bushes. Predictive application of random forest models identified hotspots of high relative density of E. tancrei and M. gregalis across the broader study area. (4) Conclusions: This offers valuable information to improve the targeting of limited-resource disease control activities to disrupt disease transmission in this area. Time-series SAR derived land cover maps are shown to be of equivalent quality to those generated from single-date optical imagery, which enables application of these methods in cloud-affected areas where, previously, this was not possible due to the sparsity of cloud-free optical imagery.

Background. An increased incidence of alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in patients with immunosuppression (IS) has been observed; our aim was to study this association and its characteristics. Methods. Fifty AE cases with IS-associated conditions (ISCs) before or at AE diagnosis were collected from the French AE registry (1982–2012, 509 cases). There were 30 cancers, 9 malignant hematological disorders, 14 chronic inflammatory diseases, 5 transplants, and 1 case of AIDS; 9 patients had ≥2 ISCs. Characteristics of the 42 IS/AE cases and the 187 non-IS/AE cases diagnosed during the period 2002–2012 were statistically compared. Results. There was a significant increase in IS/AE cases over time. Risk factors did not differ between IS/AE and non-IS/AE patients. However, AE was more frequently an incidental finding (78% vs 42%) and was diagnosed at earlier stages (41% vs 23%) in IS/AE than in non-IS/AE patients. Serology was more often negative (14% vs 1%) and treatment efficacy was better (51% regression after 1-year treatment vs 27%) in IS/AE patients. All IS/AE patients but 7 took IS drugs; 7 received biotherapeutic agents. When not concomitant, AE occurred in IS patients within a 48-month median time period. Atypical presentation and abscess-, hemangioma-, and metastasis-like images delayed AE diagnosis in 50% of IS/AE patients, resulting in inappropriate treatment. Liver images obtained for 15 patients 1–5 years before diagnosis showed no AE lesions. Albendazole efficacy was good, but 19 of 48 treated patients experienced side effects. Conclusions. Patients with immunosuppression are at increased risk for occurrence, delayed diagnosis, and progression of AE.

Common voles ( Microtus arvalis ) are widespread in the European agricultural landscape from central Spain to central Russia. During population outbreaks, significant damage to a variety of crops is caused and the risk of pathogen transmission from voles to people increases. In 2019, increasing or unusually high common vole densities have been reported from several European countries. This is highly important in terms of food production and public health. Therefore, authorities, extension services and farmers need to be aware of the rapid and widespread increase in common voles and take appropriate measures as soon as possible. Management options include chemical and non-chemical methods. However, the latter are suitable only for small and valuable crops and it is recommended to increase efforts to predict common voles outbreaks and to develop and field test new and optimized management tools.

Because they can form seasonal mixed-species groups during mating and maternal care, bats are exciting models for studying interspecific hybridization. Myotis myotis and M. blythii are genetically close and morphologically almost identical, but they differ in some aspects of their ecology and life-history traits. When they occur in sympatry, they often form large mixed maternity colonies, in which their relative abundance can vary across time due to a shift in the timing of parturition. For the first time, we used non-invasive genetic methods to assess the hybridization rate and colony composition in a maternity colony of M. myotis and M. blythii located in the French Alps. Bat guano was collected on five sampling dates spread across the roost occupancy period and was analysed for individual genotype. We investigated whether the presence of hybrids followed the pattern of one of the parental species or if it was intermediate. We identified 140 M. myotis, 12 M. blythii and 13 hybrids among 250 samples. Parental species appeared as genetically well-differentiated clusters, with an asymmetrical introgression towards M. blythii. By studying colony parameters (effective size, sex ratio and proportion of the three bat types) across the sampling dates, we found that the abundances of hybrid and M. blythii individuals were positively correlated. Our study provides a promising non-invasive method to study hybridization in bats and raises questions about the taxonomic status of the two Myotis species. We discuss the contribution of this study to the knowledge of hybrid ecology, and we make recommendations for possible future research to better understand the ecology and behaviour of hybrid individuals.