gdri-ehede

Tibetan macaque

Patrick Giraudoux — 2024-03-25T09:18:57Z

The Tibetan macaque, Macaca thibetana, also known as the Chinese stump-tailed macaque or Milne-Edwards' macaque has been described in 1870 by Alphonse Milne-Edwards of the National Natural History Museum (Paris). It is the largest macaque species, with males weighing up to almost 20 kg.

The species is listed near-threatened by IUCN but some populations thrive in areas such as Mount Emei, Sichuan, where groups of the western subspecies M. thibetana thibetana are common and fed by tourists and Buddhist clerics around temples.


Tibetan macaques waiting for food at XiXiangChi temple (2040 m asl)

This situation of relatively close contact between humans and wild primates raises a number of questions about its implications for human and animal health and population management.


Looking for food, including in plastic bags at XiXiangChi temple

November 2023: first recognition at Mount Emei, China terrestrial ecosystem research station and tourist area

Pr Li Li (李丽)，Tim Slate, Eve Afonso and Patrick Giraudoux had a first assessment of the monkey feeding area near the China Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Station at WuXiangGang (五显岗) close to LongMenCun，龙门村 (103.33E 29.52N) on November 8. In addition to the natural food they find in the forest, the monkeys are fed with peanuts wrapped in plastic bags and fruits thrown away by tourists.

March 2024: recognition treck from the heights of HeiShuiCun（黑水村）to Linjue temple (灵谷寺)

A two-day trek (March 13-14) started from the heights of HeiShuiCun 黑水村 (1100 m asl), from temple to temple and rest stations up to LinJueSi (灵谷寺) (2390 m asl). The night was spent at XiXiangChi temple, 洗象池寺 (2040 m asl) where the first group of monkeys was observed. Throughout the trek, there are many signs warning trekkers about how to behave with monkeys, which can steal bags for food or be aggressive in order to get bags from them.


Main points visited along the trek

Then we made a quick visit by cable car to the Golden Summit（金顶） at 3079 m asl, which is visited by up to 50,000 tourists and believers every day. Signs also warn tourists about feeding monkeys and their behaviour.

This illustrates a contrasting and contradictory situation where the presence of familiar monkeys attracts tourists to the area, creating a wildlife tourism economy, and the risks that familiarity could bring in terms of contact between tourists and monkeys (bites, exchange of pathogens, etc.) and the impact of feeding on the monkey population (overweight, density, etc.).

This visit provided us an invaluable opportunity to assess the situation on the ground, to evaluate the accessibility of monkey home range (steep slopes prevent full accessibility), to clarify the research questions that can be addressed on this basis and to detail the corresponding roadmap.

Participants (alphabetic order): 巴教授 (Patrick Giraudoux), 郭剑英(Guo JianYing)，郭玉红 (Guo YuHong), 李丽 (Li Li), 李前进 (Li QiangJing), 刘洪江(Liu HongJiang)，孙永兴 (Sun YongXing), 王璐 (Wang Lu)，guided by 张可俊 (Zhang KeJun) and 梁东 (Liang Dong).

A conference was finally organized by the French Consulate in Chengdu

November 2024: second field recognition at Mount Emei and distinguished professorship awards

From November 4 to 15, 2024, Drs. Eve Afonso, Frédéric Gimbert and Pr. Patrick Giraudoux embarked to China with Pr Li Li to conduct fieldwork on the ecology of Mt Emei Tibetan monkeys.

Fieldwork in Mount Emei: bridging conservation and tourism

Over two days, they explored the unique gradient of habituation among macaques, ranging from relatively wild groups to those highly dependent on tourist feeding. These observations were crucial in understanding how human activities, such as tourism and agriculture, shape macaque behavior and their ecosystems. They also noted significant environmental challenges, such as plastic pollution stemming from tourist litter. Macaques were regularly observed eating food directly from plastic packaging, raising concerns about potential health risks.

Collaborations with park rangers like Liang Dong and reserve managers such as Zhang KeJun were instrumental in this fieldwork. They provided invaluable insights into local ecosystems and logistical support for planned sampling phases. These efforts will help better understand pollution's impact on wildlife and guide conservation strategies for the region.

Recognition as Distinguished Professors at Leshan Normal University

Dr Eve Afonso and Prof Patrick Giraudoux have received the title of Distinguished Professors from Leshan Normal University. This honor reflects the growing collaboration between LNU and University of Franche-Comté.

This recognition strengthens the foundation for the Sino-French laboratory, "Wildlife Management and Ecosystem Health", now settled in LNU and positions it as a pivotal center for research in Sichuan Province. Plans are underway to expand its impact through new partnerships, funding, and recruitment.

Sharing our vision at the French consulate in Chengdu

The Consulate General of France in Chengdu, Guillaume Delvallée, and the Scientific and academic attaché Samuel Liégeois, provided a platform to share our work with a broader audience in the context of the Franco-Chinese Environment Month. Dr. Eve Afonso delivered a conference presentation, “Human-Wildlife Interactions and the Socioeconomic Impacts of Ecological Changes,” outlining our team's research efforts and future objectives. Dr Liu Peng 刘鹏 of the Haïnan Normal University, presented conservations issues of wild Asian Elephants in Yunnan and Haïnan primates

The event underscored the mutual benefits of cross-cultural academic partnerships and set the stage for a potential "One Health" symposium in 2025.

March 2025: Field (Mt Emei) and lab (Shanghai) visits

The aim of this mission (from March 22 to April 6) was to expand our knowledge of the Mt Emei field and evaluate laboratories in Shanghai for DNA and plastic analysis. Dr Eve Afonso and Dr Frédéric Gimbert, as well as Prs. Patrick Giraudoux and Li Li formed the core of the team, which was joined by Prof. Zhang Li for the fieldwork.

A team from Sichuan Radio and Television accompanied the researcher group during its stay in Leshan.

From March 30 to April 1, a number of top-notch Shanghai-based research facilities were visited, with the idea being to see what kind of analysis capacities might exist.

In Chengdu, on April 2, we also met the director of the Science and Technology department of the Sichuan Province joined by Samuel Liégeois, Conseiller Scientifique et Culturel of the French Consulate, and on April 4, Zou Xiao Gong (邹小工)'s team, who is in charge of publishing a book entitled All in the Same Boat on Patrick Giraudoux's 30 years of research in China.

A conference was finally given on April 3 at the French consulate in Chengdu.

October 2025: WiMEH conference, mission to Mt Emei, Mu Chuan, Wawu shan and Chengdu

Multi-targets mission :

Sino-French Conference One Health and Conservation, meeting the challenge 12-15 October, Leshan Normal University
Field visits to :
- Mt Emei
- Mu Chuan
- Wawu Shan
Conference organized by the French Consulate, Chengdu
Launching of the book "all in the same boat" at the 25 Tianfu book festival in Chengdu

A CGTN team accompanied us throughout the entire mission.

Mt Emei, 8-10 October
Third visit to Mt Emei. Participants : Eve Afonso, Simon Calla, Frédéric Gimbert, Patrick Giraudoux, Guo Yuhong, Kang HaoRan (康浩然), Li Li, Liang Dong. The aim was to complete the precedent surveys in areas not visited yet.

October 8: farmland undergoing some monkey raids were visited in Emei Nan Shan (1880 m alt.)
October 9-10: the trek stretched from Wu Xiang Gang (620 m alt.) to Lei Dong Ping (2380 m alt.), with an overnight stop at Yu Xiang Shi (1678 m alt.).

Mu Chuan, 11 October
Participants : Eve Afonso, Simon Calla, Frédéric Gimbert, Patrick Giraudoux, Kang HaoRan, Li Li.

We met later, on the 15th evening in Leshan, Chen ShenZhi (陈申芝) first secretary of Xinqiao village to discuss issues posed by monkey raids.

Wawu shan, 12 October

Participants : Eve Afonso, Simon Calla, Frédéric Gimbert, Patrick Giraudoux, Li Li, Ma ChaoHong (马朝洪).

Welcome at the Sichuan Publishing House, Chengdu, October 16
Participants : Eve Afonso, Frédéric Gimbert, Patrick Giraudoux, Li Li, Long YongChen, Hugo Sentenac, Zhang LiYuan and her team

Conference organized by the French Consulate, Chengdu, October 16

Participants : Eve Afonso, Frédéric Gimbert, Patrick Giraudoux, Li DiQiang, Li Li, Samuel Liégeois, Long YongChen, Hugo Sentenac, etc.
Welcome by Zhang LiYuan and her team

Launching of the book "all in the same boat" at the 25 Tianfu book festival in Chengdu; October 17

Participants: Eve Afonso, Chen XingWang, Frédéric Gimbert, Patrick Giraudoux, Li DiQiang, Li Li, Li TiaoYing, Samuel Liégeois, Long YongChen, Hugo Sentenac, Qi XinWei, Wen Hao, Xue Kang, Zhang LiYuan and her team, Zou XiaoGong (邹小工).


All in the same boat trailer

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Launching ceremony

Prey - predators and oil palm, Indonesia

Patrick Giraudoux — 2017-12-22T08:09:19Z

Outbreaks of rodent populations in oil palm plantations can result in significant reductions in yield (eg. population densities of Rattus tiomanicus of between 200-600/ha can result in approx 5% loss of production). There are currently two common methods employed for rodent pest control :

Rodenticides : these are expensive and may harm species of mammal predators and birds of prey which help to prevent pest outbreaks by preying on rodents.
Integrated Pest Management by the introduction of Barn Owls (Tyto alba) : the efficacy of Barn Owls in controlling rodent populations varies between different oil palm landscapes.

This research aims to better understand how predation by small mammals (eg. civets, wild cats, mongooses) complements predation by barn owls in order to provide more effective natural pest control in oil palm plantations. This research will assess variation in the diet of both small mammals and barn owls within and between several oil palm concessions. It will also gather information about where these small mammals are found within the oil palm concession, which will provide an insight into how populations of small mammals that help to control oil palm pests can be maintained and enhanced within the oil palm landscape.

This research is carried out on several PT SMART oil palm plantations in Sumatra and Bangka, Indonesia, in the framework of a research program leaded by CIRAD (France), SMARTRI (PT SMART research institute) with the support of the Chrono-environment department of the University of Franche-Comté/CNRS (France), in collaboration with LIPI (Indonesia) and CBGP (France).

Read more...

Contact: Aude Verwilghen
Performance des systèmes de culture des plantes pérennes
CIRAD, France

China

Patrick Giraudoux — 2016-01-17T12:05:56Z

The department of parasitology of the Asahikawa medical college (Pr Ito and colleagues) and the Primate Research Institute of the Kyoto University (Dr Okamoto) have carried out a research programme (2009-2012) aiming at improving detection tools and understanding the eco-epidemiology of teniases and cysticercosis in western Sichuan, in collaboration with the Sichuan Center for Disease Control (Dr. Li Tiao Ying and colleagues). This programme is supported by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science...

Invited by their Japanese colleagues, Patrick Giraudoux and Francis Raoul have joined the consortium. They are in charge of coordinating the eco-epidemiology study.

The Japanese research departments focus on the development of immunological and molecular genetic tools for parasite detection.
The Sichuan CDC is in charge of organising the screening of populations and patients follow up.
The French partners set up a spatial database permitting the analyses of parasite distribution in relationship with the ecological and social context.
Pr. Phil Craig (parasite immunology), from Salford University, UK, is also a partner of this programme.

However about other parasites, in its spirit, the present programme is in continuity with a collaboration that was supported, from 2001 to 2008, by the Fogarty International Center of the US National Institutes of Health on Echinococcus multilocularis transmission.

A pilot study has been achieved from the 14th to the 22nd of November 2009, in the county of Yajiang, located on the border of the Tibetan plateau (approximately 150 km west of Kangding), between 2500 and 3500 m of altitude. It has permitted to gather the first elements for the sampling design of further studies and to evaluate logistics.

The field survey carried out from the 23th of October to the 4th of November 2010 has increased the number of villages screened and permitted the georeferencing of households and owner names individually. Indexes based on field notebooks (Oral tibetan > written mandarine > English) establish unequivocal links between people screened for parasites in village screening centres and the household they belong to and data have been stored in a GIS.

A third field survey has been carried out in 2011, from October 22th to November 1st. Domestic pigs (the intermediate host of Taenia solium) who live in and around villages have been caught, tagged (color paints) and monitored by sigh. Blood was taken from pigs when caught in order to assess infection status. Presence maps were drawn to get a first estimate of the area frequented by each individual.

Pilot Survey from the 14th to the 22nd of November 2009

Field survey from the 23th of October to the 4th of November 2010

Field survey from the 22th of October to the 1th of November 2011

Francis Raoul's visit in Asahikawa, February 2012

On Pr. Akira Ito's invitation, Francis Raoul gave a conference at the department of Parasitology of the Asahikawa Medical University, Japan, on the importance of spatial approach and eco-epidemiology for the understanding of cestod zoonoses transmission processes and control. The audience was researchers coming from Thailand, Indonesia, China, Mongolia and Ethiopia, in charge of control and research programmes on cestod zoonoses in their countries.

Long term monitoring in south Gansu, China

Patrick Giraudoux — 2014-05-29T07:10:05Z

Twenty years after: pilot study in south Gansu, China, to monitor the transmission ecology of alveolar echinococcosis.

29th May 2014

Echinococcus multilocularis is a parasite that circulates between hosts that harbor the adult form, like fox and dog, and hosts who host the larval form, such as rodents and some species of lagomorphs. Absorption of parasite eggs, voided into the environment through fox and dog faeces leads to a severe disease, alveolar echinococcosis, which has been extensively studied in Franche-Comté. In the cantons of high endemicity, it can reach a prevalence of 1 ‰ in the human population.

In the late 80s, a focus of higher endemicity was discovered by Phil Craig (University of Salford , UK) and Liu Deshan ( Lanzhou Medical College) in Zhang and Min counties, south Gansu , western China. Multidisciplinary studies were carried out there from 1994 to 1997 as part of a European program initiated by Phil Craig (UK) and Dominique Vuitton (F), with Patrick Giraudoux (F) in charge of ecology studies. A 4.1% prevalence of alveolar echinococcosis was found in the human population, with peaks near 15% in some villages. It was also established that populations of foxes and dogs, abundant in the late 80s, had collapsed (only 1-2 dogs had been observed throughout the study). It was therefore likely that the human cases detected were infected before that time. It was also shown that the areas where the extension of shrub and grassland areas was larger, showed nearly 3 times higher prevalence than areas where ploughs dominated. From those observations, a transmission model was deducted which proved very general thereafter since applicable in Europe as well as in most parts of China and Central Asia.

Patrick Giraudoux, Phil Craig, Li Wenke and Nabil Pervaiz, with the support of the Lanzhou University (Prof. Jing Tao), went at their former study sites from May 20 to 24. Difficult to access, this altitude area (2200-2600 m) was the epicenter of an earthquake of magnitude 5.9-6.6, on the 22nd July 2013. The aim of the visit was to assess the feasibility of monitoring the situation 26 years after the discovery of the focus of alveolar echinococcosis and 20 years after the first multidisciplinary study was carried out there. A significant increase in the dog population was recorded (several hundred in every village), but the fox population, from local judgment, did not seem to have restored. A screening of the human population conducted in 2005-2006 by Prof. Shi Dazhong and Dr. Zhao Yumin (Lanzhou University) shows that at least one person could have become infected in the period that followed the extinction of dog populations. Subsequently, the situation is at high risk of re- intensifying the transmission of alveolar echinococcosis in the region. Subject to mobilize the necessary funds, a new expedition will be organized in 2015, with the following priorities:

to assess the intensity of infection and model its spatial distribution in dog populations (an important issue critical to prevent human infection)
to evaluate dog diet and re-assess the distribution of small mammal populations
to follow up human cases who were detected during screenings from 1994 - 1997 and 2005-2006 and whose almost half are still alive.

Such monitoring will uniquely contribute to the understanding of how Echinococcus multilocularis transmission varies on the long term (over almost 30 years) and the environmental and anthropogenic key factors driving these variations. Eventually, it will help to guide public health awareness, prevention and control.


Location of the study area

2015: Dog survey in Zhang and Min counties

23rd May 2015

A team including Patrick Giraudoux, Eve Afonso, Dominique Rieffel (University of Franche-Comté – CNRS, France), Jia WanZhong, Yan HongBin, Li ShuangNan, Zhang HaiLong (Lanzhou Veterinary Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China) joined forces in Zhang and Min counties, from May 13 to 20, on the study site monitored since the late 80s. The aim was to assess the intensity of dog infection, if any, and model its spatial distribution. It was also to evaluate the route for dog infection by analyzing dog diet.

257 dog faeces have been collected in 26 villages between 2300 and 2700 m of altitude. They will be further processed using complementary methods (ELISA, PCR, qPCR, etc.) at the Chrono-environment department of the University of Franche-Comté and CNRS, at the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute and at the University of Salford (UK).

Furthermore, the natural coniferous vegetation of those mountains could be observed around the GuiQin shan (贵清山) temple. This forest area where leopard is believed to be still present makes a striking contrast with the agricultural landscape of field terraces and shrubland patches which cover the entire region at this altitude.

On May 22, a meeting in Lanzhou gathered people having participated to the field work, with Jing ZhiZhong (Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute), Jing Tao (Lanzhou Medical College) , Yang Yurong and Xu YangYang (Ningxia Medical University), who travelled from Yinchuan especially for the meeting, and other colleagues from the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute and the Lanzhou Medical College. This strengthened the bases for further cooperation.

2019: Overarching article in PLoS

30th August of 2019

Published in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, a multi-disciplinary follow-up of more than 25 years, was conducted by researchers from the laboratory Chrono-environment, CHRU Jean-Minjoz (Besançon, France), Universities of Salford (UK) and Lanzhou, and the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute (China). It identifies the different stages an tipping points of the socio-ecological elimination of one of the most pathogenic parasitic zoonoses in the world: alveolar echinococcosis.

The main results and their context have been posted in the CNRS news (in French): "Élimination socio-écologique d'un parasite létal, l'échinocoque alvéolaire, dans le Gansu, Chine"

Contacts:
Patrick Giraudoux
Chrono-environment, University of Franche-Comté, France
Philip S. Craig
Cestode zoonoses group, Salford University, UK

Human - wild elephant conflicts, China

Patrick Giraudoux — 2014-05-10T05:42:14Z

Populations of wild Asian elephants, once common from the Iranian coast to the Yang-Tse-Kiang, have been considerably reduced over the millennia, with acceleration in the last 100 years that saw their numbers halved. Extinct in most of their former range, the species is still present only in limited and discontinuous areas. In China, the population is limited to 250-300 animals in Yunnan province, mostly in Xishuangbanna prefecture.

The protective measures adopted have helped stabilize the population that is now growing, and begins to colonize neighbouring prefectures, including Puer (famous for its tea). The Asian elephant is usually a forest animal, but in the mosaic landscapes of southern Yunnan, densely populated, forests are embedded in agricultural areas where farmers grow banana, sugarcane, rice, maize, etc. Elephants use this rich and easy accessible food at the end of the day and during the night, some even occasionally visiting the courtyards in villages to find salt or vegetable stored. In addition to the considerable agricultural damage reported (estimated at $ 3,000,000 in 2002 in the prefecture of Xishuangbanna), death of people seeking to oppose Elephant "visit", or the destruction of houses is regularly reported.

The "Wildlife management and ecosystem health " department of the Yunnan University of Finance and Economics has been requested by the Forest Service of Puer Prefecture, to help find ways to minimize human elephant conflicts, knowing that, like other highly endangered emblematic species such as the tiger, the "taking " of individuals to reduce the population or solve a specific problem of damage is an option already excluded.

2014: Pilote visit

From the 10th to 24th March 2014, Patrick Giraudoux (Chrono- Environment), accompanied by Céline Clauzel (ThéMA) responsible for working on the application of graph theory to the conservation of the snub-nosed monkey, joined Dr. Li Li and his Chinese partners in Yunnan, with the support of the Institut Universitaire de France.

The aim was to get the measure of the problem posed by elephants and agriculture on the spot, and to lay the foundations of a network of research-development on the evolution and the monitoring of the impact of Asian elephant populations in the region. Except the biological model and the types of damage, the problem is not fundamentally different from that encountered in wildlife – agriculture conflicts whose the Chrono-environment lab has made a speciality, for example about the systems approach and multidisciplinary research on vole – agriculture conflicts, with multiple stakeholders involved, and seemingly conflicting interests.

That the methods developed in the LTER Jura Arc can serve as a working model in the approach to a problem of conservation biology in China, should finally not surprise those who know that the same type of methodology transfer has already been made about a health issue, namely the transmission ecology of the lethal cestode zoonosis, Alveolar Echinococcosis in Western China…

2015: Field visit of representatives of the “Zones ateliers” Hwange and Arc Jurassien

A mission has been organized by Dr Li Li, in Xishuangbanna and Pu'Er prefecture, from April 1 to April 8, with Dr. Hervé Fritz and Pr Patrick Giraudoux, respectively directors of the LTER areas of Hwange (Zimbawe) and Jurassian Arc (France). In Hwange, researchers study the ecology of large mammals (including 45,000 African elephants) and their impact on human activities. In the Jurassian Arc, they focus on small mammal population outbreaks and their consequences on agriculture, health and conservation. In both cases systems approach are privileged and the concept of socio-ecosystems at stake.

The aim was to compare how conflicts between human and wildlife are managed in the three study areas, and to outline research perspectives for the department of wildlife management and ecosystem health of the Yunnan University of Finance and Economics (YUFE).

Researchers met the crew of the Xishuangbanna nature reserve in charge of elephant management, Pr Cao Ming and his team, from the Xishuangbanna tropical botanical garden, village leaders, representative and rangers of the forestry bureau of Meng Kuang and Jiangcheng districts (where 46 elephants can be observed at more than 30 km from the reserve for the latter), and Pr Chen MingYong, from the Yunnan University.

A conceptual framework for studying the ecology of elephant populations has been agreed and will serve as a basis for further research. Priority has been given to mapping elephant habitats and the corridors that may link protected to newly colonized areas, and to establish a consistent space-time database on elephant observations and indices. This research will be led by the YUFE dept of Wildlife Management and Ecosystem Health and will involve other research laboratories of the GDRI EHEDE such as Chrono-environment and ThéMA, and also the “Zones ateliers” Hwange and Arc jurassien.

Special thanks to our friends and colleagues Zhang Ying Chun, Ma Cong, Li Jun and Xiang Fei Dan Zhou who kindly committed themselves personnally to facilitate and support every aspects of the field work. Financial support was provided by Pr Zhang Hong, head of the School of Urban and Environment of the YUFE. Long Yong Chen, of the Nature Conservancy, China, and Zhou Hongxia, from the Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, also participated to the mission.

2015: Meeting with Pr. Zhang Li in Kunming

The Shi San Wu (thirteen five year plan of the Chinese government) put the protection of Asian elephants among the top five priorities for species conservation in China. Zhang Li is professor of zoology at Beijing Normal University (BNU) and a prominent member of the World Conservation Union's Asian elephant specialist group. On Monday 9, November 2015, Prs Li Li, Zhang Hong, Zhou Yue, Patrick Giraudoux, and Dr Céline Clauzel met him in Kunming at the Laboratory of Wildlife Management and Ecosystem Health of the Yunnan University of Finance and Economics.

The aims of this meeting were:

To draw plan for further collaborations between Pr Zhang Li's group and the Yunnan University of Finance and Economics (YUFE).

To discuss possibilities for multilateral collaborations playing on the complementarities between YUFE, BNU and the French labs (Chrono-environment, THéMA, LADYSS, etc.)

To assess master students work (supervised by Dr Li Li and the GDRI) about the delineation of Elephant - Human conflicts "at risk" areas. Such maps would be of interest to prioritize areas where preventive measures should be taken and to modulate insurance premiums.

A consortium including the Pr Zhang Li and Pr Li Li's groups will write down a proposal in the framework of Chinese call for offers, with the support of the oversea experts of the GDRI. Moreover common meetings between Beijing and Kunming master students working on elephant ecology will be encouraged.

2017 : field control and risk analysis of elephant damage in Mengyang and Mengla natural reserves, Xishuangbanna prefecture

April 6-10. Taibao insurance company has declared more than 13500 reimbursements of elephant damage in Xishuangbanna from 2011 to 2015. Most are located in natural reserves and nearby and some villages seemed to escape the scourge. Prs Li Li, Patrick Giraudoux, Emmanuel Garnier, Zhang Hong, Dr Eve Afonso visited Mengyang and Mengla area to meet and interview people in selected villages and try to understand the reasons why. They were kindly helped by Li Jun and Ma Cong (YUFE) and Zhao JianWei (scientific research department of Xishuangbanna Nature Reserves).

Based on farmers' sayings it appeared that most of the village incomes are from rubber, tea and coffee trees, and that elephant preferentially raid self-subsistence crops such as maize, banana, etc. in village isolated in forest and nearby (sometimes every month). Moreover, based on farmers' sayings again, industrial crops (e.g. banana) would be less likely visited and damaged, due to more intensive use of pesticides (believed by farmers to be repulsive to elephants). This was corroborated by the observation that lending self-subsistence fields to agro-business companies has stopped elephant visit in the two cases mentioned.

Technically, it also appeared that, to be fully usable for risk prediction, insurance files kindly available for research must be cleaned up and villages where damage are declared more precisely georeferenced.

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Elephant visit in a village (copyright XiShuangBanna Natural Reserve)

With Pr. Zhang Li, the YUFE-UBFC/CNRS group also met:

Zhong MingChuan, head of the conservation services of forest department of the Yunnan province in Kunming and discussed the possibility of creating a research plateform in Xishuangbanna.

Li NianSheng, vice-president of the CHAC insurance company and his collaborators to share information about environmental risk insurance systems in France and in China.

The plan for the next future is:

to complete village georeferencing in order to model damage risk from landscape and environmental data

to design a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectorial plateform for research on elephant ecology in order to make systems approach to elephant issues possible

to evaluate the feasibility of increased genetic studies of elephant populations based on non-invasive methods (individuals, populations, pathogens, etc.).


Location of the study area

Contact : Li Li
Yunnan University of Finance and Economics

See also:

Doctorates/PhD and Masters

Patrick Giraudoux — 2013-11-24T13:24:28Z

GDRI EHEDE Doctorates/PhD

Name	University	Title	Supervisor(s) (co-supervisors)
Alexander Mastin Viva on 15th June, 2015	University of Salford	Canine echinococcosis in Kyrgyzstan; perceptions, diagnosis and epidemiology	Phil S. Craig
Freya van Kesteren Viva on 13th February, 2015	University of Salford	Canine echinococcosis in the Alay Valley, Southern Kyrgyzstan	Phil S. Craig
Angela María Cadavid Restrepo	The Australian National University	A spatiotemporal epidemiological investigation of the impact of environmental change on the transmission dynamics of Echinococcus spp. in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China	Archie Clements (Donald P. McManus, Ricardo J. Soares Magalhães, Yu Rong Yang, Darren James Gray)

Masters and other diplomas

Name	University	Title	Supervisor(s) (assistant-supervisors)
Justine Mariotte Defence on 23th June 2016	University of Franche-Comté	Ecologie trophique, et transmission d'Echinococcus multilocularis chez le renard roux et le chien domestique en Asie centrale (Kyrgyzstan, Gansu)	Francis Raoul (Eve Afonso, Jenny Knapp, Benoit Valot, Patrick Giraudoux)
Li WenWen - 李雯雯	Yunnan University of Finance and Economics	Improving connectivity for the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey by the reforestation of cropland, based on graph theory	Li Li (Céline Clauzel, Patrick Giraudoux)
Amael Dupaix Defence on June 2017	University of Franche-Comté & Yunnan University of Finance and Economics	Can population parameters and parasite exposure be evidenced using non-invasive methods in upper Mekong Rhinopithecus bieti populations? Master report	Eve Afonso, (Patrick Giraudoux, Li Li)
FU Rong - 符镕 Defence on August 2017	University of Franche-Comté & Yunnan University of Finance and Economics	Spatial distribution of Rhinopitecus bieti presence indices (Tacheng, group #9: Gehuaqing\Xiangguqing) (in French) Fu Rong's internship report (in French)	Patrick Giraudoux, Li Li, (Eve Afonso)
Anne-Lyse Moreau Defence on June 2019	University of Franche-Comté	Using genetics to study Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) populations in Southeast Asia Anne-Lyse Moreau's internship report (in French)	Eve Afonso

See also:

Laboratory of Wildlife Management and Ecosystem Health Doctorates and masters...

Other Doctorates/PhD supervised by GDRI members on related issues

Name	University	Title	Supervisor(s) (assistant-supervisors)
Virgile Baudrot Defence on 29th September, 2016	University of Franche-Comté	Methods and mathematical modelling for the study of contaminant transfer in food webs. Application to Echinococcus multilocularis and inorganic pollutants	Francis Raoul (Antoine Perasso, Clémentine Fritsch)
Guillaume Halliez Defence on 5th November, 2015	University of Franche-Comté	Landscape, farming practices, predators, vole outbreaks and biodiversity	Patrick Giraudoux (François Renault)
Zeinaba Said-Ali Abandoned in 2013	University of Franche-Comté	Eco-epidemiology of alveolar echinococcosis: registers, scales, models and dynamics	Patrick Giraudoux (Frédéric Grenouillet, Jenny Knapp)
Aude Verwilghen Defence on 6th October, 2015	University of Franche-Comté & CIRAD	Prey - predator systems in oil palm plantation of Indonesia MS Thesis	Patrick Giraudoux Francis Raoul
Petra Villette Defence on 28th June, 2018	University of Franche-Comté & CBGP	Determinants of the population decline phase of the cyclic vole Arvicola terrestris	Patrick Giraudoux Jean-François Cosson (Eve Afonso)

Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, China

2013-11-19T11:47:18Z

The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, 滇金丝猴， was first scientifically described in 1897 by Alphonse Milnes-Edwards and dedicated to Mgr Félix Biet, a French missionary and vicar apostolic of "Thibet", based in Kangding, Sichuan. Hence, the Latin name Rhinopithecus bieti. According to Milne-Edwards (1897) 7 specimens had been sent to the Natural History Museum, Paris by Jean-André Soulié, a French missionary at “Tsekou” （茨古） [1]. Specimens whose location are recorded were caught at a 'one day journey distance from "Atentsé" (currently DeQin, 德欽, 98.91°E, 28.49°N)' and 'not far from Tsekou (98.9°E, 28.0°N)'. The locations Kiapé and Djra-Gniéra where also written manually on the base of specimens and mentioned in the Rode's catalog. None of those names match current names in China (but see below research results).

Since then, the species was almost completely unknown until the 1990s.

The black and white snub-nosed monkey lives in one of the most extreme environments of any non human primate. It is found in 15 discrete populations totalling less than 3000 animals, in northwestern Yunnan and southeastern Tibet, between the Jinsha (Yangtze) and the Lancang (Mekong) rivers. This species is found in high-altitude evergreen forests, between 3,000 m and 4,700 m above sea level. Although the locations of remaining populations are well known, there are very likely to be as yet unsurveyed populations.


Location of the study areas

2013: Field expedition in the uppers of the Lancang (Mekong)

The departments of Chrono-environment and THéMA (UFC/CNRS) and the department of Wildlife Management and Ecosystem Health (Yunnan University of Finance and Economics), with the support of the Institut Universitaire de France have organised a field expedition to assess the habitats of the Black and White Snub Nosed Monkey in its distribution range and the feasibility of using graph theory to define landscape corridors between monkey populations. From July 8 to 18, 2013, Dr Celine Clauzel, Manon Jacquot and Pr Patrick Giraudoux joined Dr Li Li, Long YongCheng (a prominent specialist of primates in China) and students and colleagues for practical training on the software Graphab, and for taking ground control points (and jiajia mian) in monkey areas from the Tibet border at the north of the Meili xue shan to the southmost monkey group of the Yunlong Tianchi Nature Reserve.

2015: Field expedition to group #11, in the Laojun Shan

The Laojun Shan is a mountain chain in Yunnan, included in the Three Parallel Rivers area, with elevations ranging from 2,100 to 4,513 metres. The western part of the region adjoins the Lancang (upper Mekong) while the eastern part is contiguous with the Jinsha river (upper Yangtse). It is a biodiversity hotspot, and it hosts two populations of Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkey, defined as Groups #11 (Jinsichang) and #12 (Dapinzi) in Li et al. (2014).

A field expedition has been carried out there November 11-15 to assess the habitats of the group #11 population, collect field material and meet with guardians in charge of the monkey population monitoring and protection. There Prs Li Li and Zhang Hong from YUFE and Pr Patrick Giraudoux and Dr Céline Clauzel, from the Chrono-environement and LADYSS labs, respectively, met M. Zhang ZhiMing, guardian in the village of Li Zui . They where assisted by Zhang Ying Chun, Ma Cong, Li Jun for logistics.

A three day foot treck between 3200 m and 3700 m of altitude was carried out to get contact with the monkey group, from the field station of Guan Ce Zhang. After crossing kilometres of primary mountain forest on stiff slopes with patches of thick undergrowth of bamboos, the group has been able to get ear and visual contact and to collect a number of monkey faeces. Those faeces will be used by the Chrono-environment lab to evaluate the feasibility of developing non invasive methods to investigate monkey population health (genetics, microbes, diet, etc.). The good news was that, according to Zhang ZhiMing's observations, the group has increased from appx 150 to 300 since the guardian system has been created.

Dr Celine Clauzel gave a lecture on November 10, at the Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, on circuit theory and its implementation in the softwares Graphab and Circuitscape.

Further collaboration plans between YUFE, Chrono-environment and LADYSS were also discussed.

2016: Field expedition to Cizhong (Tsékou), where the holotypes were disclosed to science in the 19th Century

After the workshop Methods and research in ecohealth and conservation, a field expedition has been organized (November 8-14) to reach the area where the first specimens known-to-science of Rhinopithecus bieti were captured and sent by Jean-André Soulié. The idea was to drive and treck along the Baima xue shan where a large number of monkey groups are still living, in order to get a first assessment of the feasibility of research based on archives, local testimonies and more recent satellite imagery, to document habitat changes since that time.

The first step was a stop over in the Tacheng National Reserve (Group #9) to prepare Amael Dupaix and Fu Rong 2017 internship at the wildlife management and ecosystem health lab of the YUFE.

Prs Li Li, Zhang Hong, Patrick Giraudoux, Drs Emmanuel Garnier and Eve Afonso participated to this field session, with the help and support of Zhang Ying Chun, Ma Cong and Li Jun. Additional support was provided by Shi FangQing, from LiJiang, whose father and uncle lived in the areas where the catholic community having hosted Jean-André Soulié was settled.

Disappointingly and by contrast with the heartly welcome of other people of Cizhong village, the priest in charge of the catholic community denied to meet us and to give any information about local archives, if any, and the past and present of his community. We have been however more lucky with landscape assessment and, unexpectedly, disclosing in our own group other sources of informations not analysed yet.

Now, the plan is to explore the archives possibly deposited at the Missions étrangères de Paris in combination with the analysis of Shi FangQing's father personal archives and geographical information systems that might be specifically designed on this purpose.

2017: Second field expedition to Cizhong (Tsékou)

A second field expedition has been organized (April 13-18) to Tacheng then Cizhong in order:

to follow up Fu Rong's internship at the QiangGuQing field station
to locate Tsekou precisely, the place “not far from Cizhong” where Jean-André Soulié resided and from where some of the monkey specimens were shipped to the French Natural History Museum
to gather information (oral testimonies, documents, etc.) that may help to evaluate environmental changes in the area since that time

Participants were Li Li, Patrick Giraudoux, Emmanuel Garnier, Shi FangQing, Fu Rong, Ma Cong and Li Jun

Results:

a large photography collection issued from the Missions étrangères de Paris was examined at the Xiao Weixi church. Incidentally, several missionary tombs of the missionary times (e.g. Jean-Baptiste Goutelle 1821-1895, Henri Nanchen 1911-1941, etc.), still maintained and flowered, could be located nearby (99.06°E, 27.43°N) in a cemetery at some kilometres;
the exact location of Tsekou (98.9°E, 28.0°N) could be found and confirmed from local testimonies (including the finding of a religious item kept in a farm) and former photography comparisons. The church was built in 1867 on the site of a lamasery, and has been totally destroyed during the 1905 lama revolt. Jean-André Soulié lived there from 1894 to 1896, during which he provided the French Natural History Museum with Rhinopithecus bieti specimens among many others species. Thus, toponyms and field reports can be more precisely located from this key-place now precisely georeferenced.
we tried to georeference some landscape photographs issued from the Xiao Weixi church collection, however unsuccessfully (e.g. a church and the landscape behind with a label wrongly attributed to Ba Dong village，巴东村).
We met again the priest of the Cizhong church. This time he kindly accepted to open the photography collection of the church, issued from the Missions étrangères de Paris. He also kindly took us along with him to Xiao JieYi （肖杰一）a retired churchman of more than 90 year old, speaking French and able to sing latin religious songs by heart. He has been the companion of the French priests who lived in Cizhong. Anecdotally, we discovered he knew father Georges André 1891-1965, originating from Champagney, Haute-Saône, who spent most of his life in the remote place of Bahang (1920-1952), nearby, and run the Cizhong community from 1937 to 1940 !

Perspectives:

Virtually all photos found on the spot being issued from the Missions étrangères de Paris, it appeared clearly that the most comprehensive documentation will be found there including photographs and missionary reports.
Specimens stored at the French Natural History Museum and the collection of current monkey faeces that may be gathered through various collaborations may lead to interesting spatial and temporal comparisons based on genetic studies (contacts: Eve Afonso, Li Li)
Research carried out on this species (ecology, landscape history) has the potential to increase collaborations between the GDRI (Wildlife Management and Ecosystem Health lab, YUFE, and Chrono-environment lab UBFC) and the French Natural History Museum about e.g. the ecology of the snub nosed monkey and the scientific legacy of the missionaries who worked in this area. (Contacts: Patrick Giraudoux, Li Li)

2018: Third field expedition in BaiMa XueShan

May 18-24, 2018

Participants: Eve Afonso (CE), Cécile Callou (MNHN), Li Li (LWMEH), Patrick Giraudoux (CE & LWMEH), Li Jun (YUFE), Ma Cong (YUFE), Jean-Philippe Macchioni, Shi FangQing, Petra Villlette (CE),

Objectives:

To collect pig, chicken, cattle and human faeces in XiangGuQing villages (Tacheng) in order to study parasites possibly transmitted from/to Yunnan Snub-nosed monkey populations;
To locate precisely some of the places where specimens of the French Natural History Museum were collected in the 19th century;
To assess the feasibility of a documentary on the Yunnan Snub-Nosed monkey.

Results:
42 faeces were collected and will be processed at the Chrono-environment department.

The geographical locations of Atentse (now DeQin and NOT Yunling as wrongly believed in the 2016 expedition, see above), Djra-Gniéra (now Jia Kong) and Kiapé (now Jia Bi) were confirmed based on interviews in villages and descriptions of the Rode's catalog. Combined with locations obtained in previous expeditions, a comprehensive map locating (when available) the origin of every holotype, allotype and paratype of the Natural History Museum can be drawn and help further studies in paleogenetics.

A number of local ecosystems were additionally visited such as the hardly accessible NanJieLuo （南姐洛）altitude forests and grasslands, at 4000 m above see level, between LanCang Jiang (澜沧江, upper Mekong) and Nu Jiang (怒江，upper Salween), and those around the QuZongGong (曲宗贡） field station at 3900 m of altitude, between monkey group 5 and 6 on the left side of the LanCang Jiang.

2019: Fourth field expedition in BaiMa XueShan, Yunnan; first expedition in the southern Min Shan, Sichuan

March 19-25, 2019

Participants: Eve Afonso (CE), Cécile Callou (MNHN), Patrick Giraudoux (CE & LWMEH), Ma Cong (YUFE), Xia WanCai (Western China Normal University).

Objectives:

To assist Li WeiWei, director of the Kunming Zoological Museum, in sampling bones of Rhinopithecus bieti specimens prior to further analysis of ancient DNA.
To interview Yu JianHua (余建华), the senior guard of the Tacheng ranger team about the history of the fed group;
To meet Li DaYong's group (Western China Normal University, NanChong, Sichuan) in the field and evaluate the needs for collaborations about Golden Monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) ecology

Results:

6 specimens of Rhinopithecus bieti were carefully sampled for bone fragments. However essential for comparisons with other specimens already analysed, new regulations in China make export and analysis in France currently illegal for species CITES 1. Special authorisations are currently applied to the Forest and Pasture office by the Kunming Zoological Museum in the framework of a collaboration with the French National Natural History Museum.
Lao Yu was interviewed about the Tacheng populations of Rhinopithecus bieti. In short, it appears that the “fed” group was fixed at XiangGuQing in 2008, and the process took 7-8 months. Initially about 80 animals were attracted from the "wild group" by the food given, then 40 were flushed away in two times to make the density compatible with local natural resources. The “fed” group now reaches about 50-60 individuals. Those important information are critical to interpret the genetic structure and parasite circulation observed using faeces samples of “fed” and wild groups.
Introduced by Prof. Li DaYong on arrival in Chengdu, we met Xia WanCai (PhD student) and Sun Ling (Bachelor student) in the field at the field station of CaoYuan Chuan （草原川）( 30 km north of ShuiJing (水晶), Pingwu (平武)), in the southern Min Shan (岷山) and visited the Xiao Gou (小沟) group of 22 fed Golden Monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) recently fixed (1.5 years). Possibilities for comparing Tacheng and Xiao Gou ecology of fed groups were discussed.

Read more:

[1] Actually Jean-André Soulié's first mission was in "Bathang" (Batang County), then at Cha-pa (102.22°E, 29.90°N). Then he was sent to Tse-kou where he arrived in 1894, December 8. He left the place to "Yaregong" (YariGong Xiang, 99.364E, 29.434N), Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, in 1896, July 20. During the 1905 tibetan revolt, he was arrested by lamas, tortured and shot, in the Ngarongchy valley, not far from Yaregong.

Bali, Indonesia

2013-11-19T11:46:39Z

Spatial distribution of Taenia solium and Cysticercosis in Bali. 27 february 2013

This programme is led and supported by the Asahikawa Medical University and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. It includes Japanese (Pr. Akira Ito, Pr. Munehiro Okamoto, Dr. Yasuhito Sako, Dr Tetsuya Yanagida, etc.), Indonesian (Dr Kadek Svastika, Dr Nyoman Sadra Dharmawan, Dr Tony Wandra, etc.) and French (Pr. Patrick Giraudoux) colleagues. The objective is to provide research based evidence towards cysticercosis control, based on joining molecular, immunological and spatial ecology methods. The areas studied in east Bali are in Gianyar and in Karangasem, for the latter at the foot of Mount Agung, an active strato-volcano whose last devastating eruption was in 1963-64. There, houses are scattered in discrete agriculture villages active mostly during the rainy season. During the dry season, workers emigrate to touristic areas of Bali to find jobs.

A field survey has been carried out in 2013, January 20-26, during the rainy season, in order to screen and localise Taenia solium/cysticercosis human carriers and cysticercosis pigs and to harmonize multi-disciplinary data collection and inter-operability in a context spatially explicit. This study will be pursued in early September.


Study area location

Contact: Akira Ito
Department of Parasitology
Asahikawa Medical University, Japan

Kyrgyzstan

2013-11-19T11:45:09Z

Large foci of transmission have been discovered in Western China since the 80's and in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, etc.) more recently. Human echinococcosis is increasing in Kyrgyzstan, with many new cases in the country's South. Little is known on the ecology of hosts and parasites in those areas. This programme is supported by the Wellcome Trust.


Location of the study area

2012, May 7-23 : first field work in the Alay valley, Pamir, Kyrgyzstan, and follow up

A multidisciplinary team travelled to the Alay valley including, Mike Rogan, Mark Danson, Alex Mastin, Freya van Kesteren (Salford University, UK), Iskender Ziadinov, Bermet Mytynova (Veterinary Institute, Bishkek, Kirghizstan), Paul Torgerson (University of Zurich, CH), Eve Afonso, Nicolas Tete and Patrick Giraudoux (Chrono-environment, University of Franche-Comté, F).

The Chrono-environment department's group investigated the interactions between landscape and small mammal intermediate host communities. Small mammal communities and land cover were sampled around Sary Moghol (3000 m alt), Alay valley, at the bottom of the Lenine Peak (7134m). The aim was to provide a first assessment of basic components of the transmission system in order to analyse possible landscape effects on population dynamics and transmission (see Giraudoux et al. 2013).

Based on previous reports of human echinococcosis in the Alay valley, four communities were selected by the University of Salford team for further investigation: Sary-Mogul, Taldu-Suu, Kara-Kabak and Kashka'Suu. Within these communities, approximately 700 households were visited and around 400 dogs were registered in May 2012. Faecal samples were collected from the majority of these dogs, in order to test for the presence of Echinococcus parasites. The World Bank has subsequently began a praziquantel dosing campaign in the area, and Freya van Kesteren and Alex Mastin have revisited a selection of households within the study villages at regular intervals (October 2012, April and September 2013, and April and September 2014) in order to sample dogs and monitor their infection status.

Freya has described the baseline prevalence of canine infection in these villages, and has also described the demographics, husbandry and roaming behaviour of these dogs. She has also assessed the levels of environmental contamination with dog faeces, which are a potential risk to humans, and conducted infection surveys in a number of nearby villages. Alex has developed novel methods of diagnostic test interpretation in order to estimate the burden of canine infection before and during the control scheme, has identified risk factors for canine infection, and has investigated people's attitudes towards dogs and zoonotic diseases. It is hoped that this data will be used to develop a mathematical model of Echinococcus spp. transmission in the Alay Valley, in order to better understand the epidemiology of this parasite in these communities and optimise ongoing surveillance and control efforts.

2014, August 19-31: complementary study on the wildlife compartment: small mammal survey and fox faeces collection

Patrick Giraudoux, Dominique Rieffel (Chrono-environnement), Iskender Ziadinov (Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich) and Carole Bodin (CERFE) settled for 13 days in Sary Moghul and undertake a small mammal survey based on standard trapping and line transects on grid. 48 standard traplines (3600 trap.nights) were set up and 51 animals captured. 87 faeces, most of them attributed to fox, have been collected. Furthermore, the team drove to the bottom of Lenine Peak through the autumn/spring pastures to reach and visit the summer pastures and assess habitats and small mammal distribution there.

2014, November 25-26: Research Workshop: Echinococcosis in Kyrgyzstan and the Region, Bishkek

Read More...

Journal of Helminthology special issue

Contacts:
Phil S. Craig
Cestod Zoonoses Research group
University of Salford, UK
Patrick Giraudoux
Chrono-environnement, University of Franche-Comté, France

Ningxia

2013-11-19T11:44:40Z

Does environmental change drive the spatiotemporal transmission dynamics of Echinococcus spp. in Ningxia, China?

A large focus of human alveolar echinoccocosis has been discovered in the 90s in Xiji county and close surroundings, in the south of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China (NHAR). Our researches carried out in the early 2000 pieced together indications that this hotspot of more than 3300 km2 was the consequence of a landscape change in the 80s (see eg Pleydell et al. 2008). Massive deforestation may have created large habitats favourable to small mammal communities prone to reach large population densities, subsequently sustaining intensive transmission of Echinococcus multilocularis, the causative parasite agent of human alveolar echinococcosis.


Location of the study area

In the early 2000s, the absence of dog in the villages visited (indirectly poisoned by rodenticides during small mammal control), the virtual extinction of fox populations and the fact that landscape was now only shaped by field terraces and overgrazed pastures on hill tops, suggested that the parasite cycle could no longer maintain in Xiji. It was however predicted that the intermediate stages of the ecological successions caused by current intensive reforestation programmes may create favourable conditions for a re-emergence of the parasite and the disease.

A preliminary survey carried out by the Ningxia Medical University in the mid-2000s among the teen-ager populations showed that, concomitant with the increase of forest and grass cover, the sero-prevalence of the genus Echinococcus was currently increasing in the area. This may be due to an increase of E. granulosus circulation due to the disorganization/privatization of the former governmental abattoir system and/or to the re-emergence of E. multilocularis due to small mammal habitat changes.

The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and the Ningxia Medical University, in collaboration with the University of Queensland, have launched a programme to monitor and understand what is currently happening there. In this framework, the Chrono-environnement department coordinates researches on the interactions between landscape and small mammal communities.

2012, July 2 to July 22: field work in Xiji and Guyuan counties

The main objectives were:

to evaluate the feasibility of simplified standard estimation of small mammal population relative densities (trapping success and index transects) on a larger extend (16500 km2) than earlier studies
to compare trapping and transects results (differences in population densities, etc.) obtained in 2012 to those of an earlier study achieved in Xiji and Guyuan in September 2003
to evaluate the feasibility of studying the evolution of small mammal habitats and landscape based on georeferenced photographs taken in September 2003 and July 2012.

First results indicate an important decrease of the populations of Spermophilus alashanicus between 2003 and 2012 and a probable increase of Eospalax (Myospalax) populations in the reforestation plots. They also show the numerical importance of Cricetulus longicaudatus in the small mammal community for the two periods considered. They corroborate the virtual absence of Arvicolid species in Xiji area (Arvicolids generally playing a key role in transmission elsewhere in Eurasia). This may have consequences on E. multilocularis transmission patterns. Options have been proposed to partners for further researches and surveillance.


Field work July 2012 report

2014, Angela Maria Cadavid Restrepo starts a PhD

July 4, 2015

Angela's PhD project has the following specific objectives:

To assess the seasonal and trend patterns in climate and land cover change in NHAR between 1980 and 2013.
To analyse associations between the spatiotemporal variation in human echinococcosis risk and the local patterns of climate change and landscape transformation at the township level in NHAR.
To examine the role of climate change and landscape transformation in the spatiotemporal variation in human echinococcosis risk across the villages in Xiji County.
To examine the role of climate change and landscape transformation in the spatiotemporal variation in human echinococcosis risk across the villages from selected Counties in South NHAR.

Contact:

Yang YuRong
Pathogen and Immunology Deparment
Ningxia Medical University, China