Abstract: Summary Many publications documenting large-scale trends in the distribution of species make use of opportunistic citizen data, that is, observations of species collected without standardized field protocol and without explicit sampling design. It is a challenge to achieve reliable estimates of distribution trends from them, because opportunistic citizen science data may suffer from changes in field efforts over time (observation bias), from incomplete and selective recording by observers (reporting bias) and from geographical bias. These, in addition to detection bias, may lead to spurious trends. We investigated whether occupancy models can correct for the observation, reporting and detection biases in opportunistic data. Occupancy models use detection/nondetection data and yield estimates of the percentage of occupied sites (occupancy) per year. These models take the imperfect detection of species into account. By correcting for detection bias, they may simultaneously correct for observation and reporting bias as well. We compared trends in occupancy (or distribution) of butterfly and dragonfly species derived from opportunistic data with those derived from standardized monitoring data. All data came from the same grid squares and years, in order to avoid any geographical bias in this comparison. Distribution trends in opportunistic and monitoring data were well-matched. Strong trends observed in monitoring data were rarely missed in opportunistic data. Synthesis and applications. Opportunistic data can be used for monitoring purposes if occupancy models are used for analysis. Occupancy models are able to control for the common biases encountered with opportunistic data, enabling species trends to be monitored for species groups and regions where it is not feasible to collect standardized data on a large scale. Opportunistic data may thus become an important source of information to track distribution trends in many groups of species.

Abstract: Monitoring of the wolf Canis lupus is a demanding task as it lives in low densities, utilizes vast home ranges and disperses over large areas. These factors make obtaining accurate data about population parameters over the whole distribution area of the species impossible. Thus detailed local studies on socio-spatial organization are essential to calibrate information obtained over a larger area. We applied GPS/GSM telemetry, non-invasive genetic sampling, year-round tracking, camera trapping and howling stimulations to determine the number of family groups, population density and home-range sizes of wolves in the Drawa Forest (DF, western Poland, 2500 km2), an area recently recolonized by the species. Home ranges of three collared male wolves ranged from 321.8 to 420.6 km2 (MCP 100%) and from 187.5 to 277.5 km2 (Kernel 95%), but core areas had a size of 30.5-84.7 km2 (MCP50%) and 35.0-88.8 km2 (Kernel 50%). Mean near neighbour distance between centres of 6 tracked pack homesites was 15.3 km. The number of wolves in DF increased from 14 individuals in 2013/2014 to 30 in 2016/2017. The annual rate of increase varied from 43% in 2014/2015 to 7% in the final year. Population density for the whole study area was relatively low (1.2 indiv./100 km2 in 2016/2017), but densities within territories of two packs studied with telemetry were 1.9 and 1.5 indiv./100 km2. Mean pack size varied between 3.5 and 5.6 individuals, with the largest pack comprising 8 wolves. Mean number of pups observed in summers (June-August) was 4.5. Differences in home range sizes between wolves in western and eastern Poland indicate that results of regional studies cannot be freely extrapolated despite close genetic relationships. Thus, decisions related to management of wolf habitats should be based on intensive local studies.

Abstract: Welsh pony mares and foals (Equus caballus) were usually found to be within 1 or 5 m of each other during the first week of the foal's life and gradually spent more time at greater distances as the foals became older. There was an overall levelling of the trend during the 9th-15th weeks of life of the foal, followed by a second period of change during weeks 16-24. Through weeks 21-24, mares and foals spent at least half of their time within 5 m of each other. Proximity was primarily due to foal activity except during foal recumbency. During the first 8 weeks of the foal's life, a mare remained close by when it was recumbent, either by grazing in a circle around it or by standing upright beside it. Mares and foals were most likely to be close together when they were resting upright with the other ponies in the herd and most likely to be far apart when the foal was playing. Similarities in patterns of spatial relationship between the foals of a given mare were demonstrated. There was no difference between colts and filies in the development of independence.

Abstract: The effects of hyperflexion on the welfare of dressage horses have been debated. This study aimed to investigate acute stress responses of dressage horses ridden in three different Head-and-Neck-positions (HNPs). Fifteen dressage horses were ridden by their usual rider in a standardised 10-min dressage programme in either the competition frame (CF), hyperflexion (“Low-Deep-and-Round”; LDR) or a looser frame (LF) in a balanced order on three separate test days. Heart rate (HR), heart rate variability parameters (HRV), behaviour and rein tension were recorded during the test. Salivary cortisol concentrations were measured 60min before and 0, 5, 15 and 30min after the test. Rein tension was significantly lower in LF and did not differ between CF and LDR; however approx. 15% of recordings in CF and LDR were above the sensor detection limit of 5kg. The horses had significantly higher cortisol concentrations directly after LDR compared to LF. In addition, the horses showed more distinctive head movements, including head waving, during LDR. There were no significant treatment effects on HR and HRV. In conclusion, the results indicate that LDR may be more stressful to these horses during riding.