Long-term Electrocardiography Recording with Holter Monitoring in 15 Donkeys

The heart rates (HR) and rhythms of 15 healthy donkeys of various ages, both sexes, and various breeds were analyzed throughout 24-hour Holter monitoring. The animals were evaluated at rest in their daily environment without the presence of investigators causing stress, using a three-channel digital Holter recorder. Analysis revealed a maximal HR range from 62.5 to 93.7 beats/min (mean, 72.50 ± 7.51 beats/min), whereas the minimal HR ranged from 29.7 to 42.2 beats/min (mean, 34.90 ± 4.22 beats/min). The daily mean HR was 47.55 ± 3.70 beats/min. The daytime mean HR was 49.39 ± 2.77 beats/min, whereas the night time rate was 46.22 ± 4.38 beats/min. Sinus bradycardia and sinus tachycardia were detected in 7 and 10 of 15 studied donkeys, respectively. Cardiac dysrhythmias due to high vagal tone such as sinoatrial heart block and second-degree atrioventricular heart block were occasionally recorded in 1 and 3 donkeys, respectively. A higher mean HR and fewer cardiac dysrhythmias were observed in donkeys than in horses and ponies at rest. These findings could be justified by differences in the autonomic nervous system tone.     

FOAM, a new simple benthic degradative module for the LAMP3D model: an application to a Mediterranean fish farm

The modelling framework already introduced by Doglioli, Magaldi, Vezzulli and Tucci to predict the potential impact of a marine fish farm is improved following different directions, namely (1) real historic current-metre data are used to force the simulations, (2) settling velocity values specifically targeting Mediterranean fish species are used, and (3) a new benthic degradative module, the Finite Organic Accumulation Module, is added to the modelling framework. The Finite Organic Accumulation Module uses the output of the other functional units of the modelling framework to calculate the organic load on the seabed. The Finite Organic Accumulation Module considers the natural capability of the seafloor in absorbing part of the organic load. Different remineralization rates reflect the sediment stress level according to the work of Findlay and Watling. Organic degradation for both uneaten feed and faeces is evaluated by changing the release modality (continuous and periodical) and by varying the settling velocities. It is found that the maximum impact on the benthic community is observed either for quickly sinking uneaten feed released twice a day, or for less intense near-bottom current conditions. If both the above-mentioned scenarios coexist, a high stress level is established in the sediment. The model also suggests that the use of self-feeders in cages can reduce farm impacts significantly. These results show how the new and more complete modelling framework presented here is able to improve the objectivity in the decision-making processes and how it may be successfully used for planning and monitoring purposes.     

Mortality induced by drifting longline hooks and branchlines in loggerhead sea turtles,estimated through observation in captivity

• 1. Drifting longlines are considered a major threat to endangered sea turtle populations worldwide. However, for a number of reasons, the mortality rate of captured turtles is not known with any certainty.
• 2. Information on 409 loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), collected during the day‐to‐day activities of a turtle rescue centre in Lampedusa island, central Mediterranean, in the period 2001–2005 has been analysed.
• 3. Observations indicate that: (i) drifting longlines are a major cause of mortality for sea turtles in the area; (ii) in addition to the hook, the piece of line attached to it (branchline) can easily cause death if it is long enough and well‐anchored; (iii) hooks and branchlines cause death in the short and long term, respectively; (iv) a turtle with a hook in the lower oesophagus/stomach has a very low chance of surviving the combined effect of hook and branchline; (v) the mortality of turtles with a hook in the mouth or higher oesophagus is probably important, though less than that of turtles with a hook in the lower oesophagus/stomach; (vi) in the study fishery, the average mortality of a turtle caught by a drifting longline is probably much higher than 30%.
• 4. Without specific investigations on the mortality of turtles with hooks in the mouth or higher oeasophagus, which are usually removed, the mortality induced by drifting longlines will remain unknown, preventing a full understanding of the effect on population growth and the real effectiveness of conservation measures such as use of different hooks and fishing depths, and proposals for adequate fishery management measures.
• 5. The number of turtles captured by drifting longlines should be drastically reduced, and because of the above uncertainty and the socio‐economic importance of the fishery sector, an ecosystem‐based management scheme should be promoted that is not limited to addressing only the turtle issue.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of EST- and genomic microsatellite markers for variety discrimination and genetic diversity studies in wheat

It is likely that in the near future sequence information from sequencing programmes and EST libraries will generate an abundance of genic microsatellite markers. This study is focused on the assessment of their likely impact and performance vis-à-vis their genomic counterparts. Microsatellites from two sources were used to assess the genetic diversity in 56 old and new varieties of bread wheat on the UK Recommended List. A set of 12 microsatellite markers generated from genomic libraries and 20 expressed sequence tag (EST)-derived microsatellites were used in the study, and the performance of both marker sets assessed. The EST-derived or genic microsatellites delivered fingerprints of superior quality, amplifying clear products with few stutter bands. Diversity levels as revealed bygenic microsatellites are similar to the few published results. The PIC values for the genic markers were generally lower than those calculated for the genomic microsatellites, though advantages of both marker classes for variety identification applications are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Biodiversity in a germplasm collection of durum wheat

Summary Over 7,600 durum wheat accessions belonging to 22 country gene pools were evaluated in Syria, during the seasons 1985–86 through 1987–88 under semi-arid Mediterranean climatic conditions. Data on seven agronomic traits are presented to assess the distinctiveness and the phenotypic diversity of these pools. Univariate statistical analysis revealed differences among materials of diverse origins for all traits. Mean phenotypic diversity within countries was highest in the germplasm from India, lowest in that from Bulgaria. In a canonical variate analysis, the first three canonical variables explained 77.7% of the total variance. A cluster analysis was performed to supplement the generated information by the canonical analysis. The multivariate analyses evidenced the distinctiveness of the Ethiopian germplasm. The gene pools from Syria and Jordan, closely resembling each other, appeared separate from all others. A certain peculiarity was also shown by the germplasms from Greece, Morocco and France, while the remaining countries clustered into four groups. The results of the present evaluation could provide useful information for breeding activities, germplasm collection, and establishment of core collections. Evidence is presented that environment played a major role in creating the overall variation for the considered traits, although germplasm exchange seemed also an important factor.     

Phenotypic recurrent selection in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) based on performance of S2 progenies

Summary The effect of a recurrent selection procedure for improving seed yield per plant was evaluated in common bean. Progress was registered after three cycles of recurrent selection with S2 progeny evaluation performed on the grain yield/plant. Gain from selection was estimated by field testing 45 random S2 lines from each of the C0, C1 and C2 populations. Response to selection for seed yield/plant was 6 g from C0 to C1 and 4.4 g from C1 to C2. The seed yield improvement was due principally to an increase in pods/plant; little contribution was provided by the 1000-seed weight and seeds/pod traits. Broad-sense heritability and genotypic variance for grain yield remained high in all cycles which suggests further gain from additional selection cycles. Grain yield/plant is significantly correlated to pods/plant and seeds/pod traits in all cycles, indicating that plants with favourable combinations of these traits could be identified. The proposed recurrent selection procedure appears to be effective in improving the population and extracting superior genotypes for varietal development.