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Large-scale genetic census of an elusive carnivore, the European wildcat (Felis s. silvestris)
(2016)
The European wildcat, Felis silvestris silvestris, serves as a prominent target species for the reconnection of central European forest habitats. Monitoring of this species, however, appears difficult due to its elusive behaviour and the ease of confusion with domestic cats. Recently, evidence for multiple wildcat occurrences outside its known distribution has accumulated in several areas across Central Europe, questioning the validity of available distribution data for this species. Our aim was to assess the fine-scale distribution and genetic status of the wildcat in its central European distribution range. We compiled and analysed genetic samples from roadkills and hundreds of recent hair-trapping surveys and applied phylogenetic and genetic clustering methods to discriminate wild and domestic cats and identify population subdivision. 2220 individuals were confirmed as either wildcat (n = 1792) or domestic cat (n = 342), and the remaining 86 (3.9 %) were identified as hybrids between the two. Remarkably, genetic distinction of domestic cats, wildcats and their hybrids was only possible when taking into account the presence of two highly distinct genetic lineages of wildcats, with a suture zone in central Germany. 44 % of the individual wildcats where sampled outside the previously published distribution. Our analyses confirm a relatively continuous spatial presence of wildcats across large parts of the study area in contrast to previous analyses indicating a highly fragmented distribution. Our results suggest that wildcat conservation and management should take advantage of the higher than previously assumed dispersal potential of wildcats, which may use wildlife corridors very efficiently.
The scope of this thesis is to elaborate on the use cases of the EEG in pain research. It has been submitted as a cumulative dissertation, meaning that the main part of this thesis has been previously published in international peer-reviewed journals. The first part of this thesis begins with an introduction which describes the general methodoligcal considerations and theoretical background information that is needed to perform pain research using the EEG. Then, I will give a summary of the results of all three studies and the subsequently published manuscripts. The discussion will give an outlook on two ongoing projects and elaborate how the methodology that has been compiled throughout my time as a PhD student can be further applied to scientific problems in pain research. I will conclude with the possibilities and the limitations of the EEG in pain research. The second part of this thesis consists of three publications that cover three individual studies, of which I am the lead/first author. These publications describe different use cases for the EEG in pain research. The first publication lays out the methodological backbone of this thesis, analyzing the exact EEG parameters that are needed to achieve the results in the following projects. Then, I present two additional studies. The first study describes the usefulness of pain-related evoked signatures after standardized noxious stimulation in the EEG in patients undergoing general anesthesia. The second study outlines differences in the pain processing of elite endurance athletes versus a normally active control group. Furthermore, it outlines how the function of the endogenous pain modulatory system can be measured in the EEG using CPM. All studys are discussed individually as per the journal guidelines.