SURVIS: a fully-automated aerial baiting system for the distribution of vaccine baits for wildlife

Large-scale oral vaccination of wildlife against rabies using aerial bait distribution has been successfully used to control terrestrial wildlife rabies in Europe and North America. A technical milestone to large-scale oral rabies vaccination campaigns in Europe was the development of fully-automated, computer-supported and cost-efficient technology for aerial distribution of baits like the SURVIS -system. Each bait released is recorded by the control unit through a sensor, with the exact location, time and date of release and subsequently the collected data can be evaluated, e.g. in GIS programmes. Thus, bait delivery systems like SURVIS are an important management tool for flight services and the responsible authorities for the optimization and evaluation of oral vaccination campaigns of wildlife against rabies or the control of other relevant wildlife diseases targeted by oral baits.     

An agent-based approach to modeling impacts of agricultural policy on land use, biodiversity and ecosystem services

We present extensions to the agent-based agricultural policy simulator (AgriPoliS) model that make it possible to simulate the consequences of agricultural policy reform on farmers?? land use decisions and concomitant impacts on landscape mosaic, biodiversity and ecosystem services in a real agricultural region. An observed population of farms is modelled as a multi-agent system where individual farm-agent behaviour and their interactions??principally competition for land??are defined through an optimization framework with land use and landscape impacts resulting as emergent properties of the system. The model is calibrated to real data on the farms and the landscape to be studied. We illustrate the utility of the model by evaluating the potential impacts of three alternative frameworks for the European Union Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on landscape values in two marginal agricultural regions. Mosaic value was found to be sensitive to the choice of policy scheme in one of the landscapes, whereas significant trade-offs were shown to occur in terms of species richness by habitat and species composition at the landscape scale in both regions. The relationship between food production and other ecosystem services was found to be multifaceted. Thus illustrating the difficulty of achieving landscape goals in a particular region with simple or general land management rules (such as the current rules attached to CAPs direct payments). Given the scarcity of funding for conservation, the level and conditions for allocating direct payments are, potentially, of great importance for preserving landscape values in marginal agricultural regions (subject to levels of other support).     

Uterine biology in pigs and sheep

There is a dialogue between the developing conceptus (embryo-fetus and associated placental membranes) and maternal uterus which must be established during the peri-implantation period for pregnancy recognition signaling, implantation, regulation of gene expression by uterine epithelial and stromal cells, placentation and exchange of nutrients and gases. The uterus provide a microenvironment in which molecules secreted by uterine epithelia or transported into the uterine lumen represent histotroph required for growth and development of the conceptus and receptivity of the uterus to implantation. Pregnancy recognition signaling mechanisms sustain the functional lifespan of the corpora lutea (CL) which produce progesterone, the hormone of pregnancy essential for uterine functions that support implantation and placentation required for a successful outcome of pregnancy. It is within the peri-implantation period that most embryonic deaths occur due to deficiencies attributed to uterine functions or failure of the conceptus to develop appropriately, signal pregnancy recognition and/or undergo implantation and placentation. With proper placentation, the fetal fluids and fetal membranes each have unique functions to ensure hematotrophic and histotrophic nutrition in support of growth and development of the fetus. The endocrine status of the pregnant female and her nutritional status are critical for successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. This review addresses the complexity of key mechanisms that are characteristic of successful reproduction in sheep and pigs and gaps in knowledge that must be the subject of research in order to enhance fertility and reproductive health of livestock species.     

Impacts of salvage-logging on the status of deadwood after windthrow in Swiss forests

Downed and standing deadwood (DW) is a key resource for maintaining forest biodiversity. Although extreme events such as windthrow and fires produce large quantities of DW, this substrate is often drastically reduced by logging activities. To elucidate the respecting consequences of salvage-logging, we assessed both quantity and quality of storm-derived DW (storms Vivian 1990 and Lothar 1999) in Swiss forests using a sample of 90 windthrow sites with ≥3 ha complete windthrow and at elevations ranging from 350 to 1,800 m a.s.l. The majority had been salvage-logged (SL) a few years after the windthrow. On each site, we recorded DW amount and quality on six circular sample plots 20 or 50 m² in size. DW volume on SL sites was surprisingly high, with 76.4 m³ ha^?1 on average 20 years after Vivian and 73.8 m³ ha^?1 10 years after Lothar. In comparison, DW volumes on unsalvaged sites, that is, with no post-windthrow intervention (NI), amounted to 270 m³ ha^?1. A wide variety of wood decay stages and diameter classes (10 to ≥70 cm) was found on both NI and SL sites, suggesting considerable habitat diversity for DW-associated species irrespective of the treatment. The considerable amounts of DW left after salvage-logging distinctly exceed the minimum DW volumes in forest stands proposed by Müller and Bütler (Eur J For Res 129: 981–992, 2010) in a conservation context, which demonstrates the importance of wind disturbance for biodiversity. Further studies should quantify DW of individual tree species, since habitat requirements are species-specific.     

Diagnostic procedures and surgical treatment of craniodorsal coxofemoral luxation in calves

OBJECTIVE: To report use of ultrasonographic examination of the coxofemoral joint, a surgical technique for repair of craniodorsal coxofemoral dislocation, and outcome. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical case reports. ANIMALS: Calves (n=4) with coxofemoral luxation. METHODS: Craniodorsal coxofemoral luxation was diagnosed by physical examination, radiographic, and ultrasonographic findings. Open surgical reduction of the femoral head was performed using a modified caudal approach. RESULTS: Craniodorsal luxation of the femoral head and the presence of an intact femoral neck were confirmed by ultrasonography. All luxations were successfully reduced and reluxation did not occur. At follow-up, 1 heifer had calved and 1 was 5 months pregnant. One calf died of bronchopneumonia 6 days after surgery. One calf had severe coxofemoral degenerative joint disease diagnosed (ultrasonography, radiography, and arthrocentesis) 3 months after surgery and confirmed by necropsy. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography proved to be a simple and effective non-invasive technique for diagnosis of coxofemoral luxation. Immediate surgical intervention in hip dislocation in calves is necessary to avoid unnecessary trauma to subchondral structures. In calves, open instead of closed surgical reduction appears preferable because it allows access to the acetabular cavity for removal of debris. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Ultrasonography should be considered a supplementary but not an alternative to radiographic examination for diagnosis of coxofemoral luxation and for follow-up examinations after reduction.     

Predicting cover crop biomass by lightweight UAS-based RGB and NIR photography: an applied photogrammetric approach

Easy-to-capture and robust plant status indicators are important factors when implementing precision agriculture techniques on fields. In this study, aerial red, green and blue color space (RGB) photography and near-infrared (NIR) photography was performed on an experimental field site with nine different cover crops. A lightweight unmanned aerial system (UAS) served as platform, consumer cameras as sensors. Photos were photogrammetrically processed to orthophotos and digital surface models (DSMs). In a first validation step, the spatial precision of RGB orthophotos (x and y, ± 0.1 m) and DSMs (z, ± 0.1 m) was determined. Then, canopy cover (CC), plant height (PH), normalized differenced vegetation index (NDVI), red edge inflection point (REIP), and green red vegetation index (GRVI) were extracted. In a second validation step, the PHs derived from the DSMs were compared with ground truth ruler measurements. A strong linear relationship was observed (R ² = 0.80?0.84). Finally, destructive biomass samples were taken and compared with the remotely-sensed characteristics. Biomass correlated best with plant height (PH), and good approximations with linear regressions were found (R ² = 0.74 for four selected species, R ² = 0.58 for all nine species). CC and the vegetation indices (VIs) showed less significant and less strong overall correlations, but performed well for certain species. It is therefore evident that the use of DSM-based PHs provides a feasible approach to a species-independent non-destructive biomass determination, where the performance of VIs is more species-dependent.     

Efficacy of copper alternatives applied as stop-sprays against Plasmopara viticola in grapevine

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The six products, Armicarb, Vitisan, lime sulphur, Caso, Calce Fiocco and Ulmasud, were tested for their ability to control downy mildew (Plasmopara...     

Slit-shaped gaps are a successful silvicultural technique to promote Picea abies regeneration in mountain forests of the Swiss Alps

Many mountain forests in the Swiss Alps are dense and overmature. The resulting lack of tree regeneration threatens their future ability to provide products and services for humans, e.g., protecting settlements and infrastructure against avalanches. To promote natural regeneration, slit-shaped gaps have been cut since the 1980s in many of Switzerland's Alpine forests dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies). However, little is known about the success of this silvicultural technique. We sampled 38 gaps in 2001 and 2006 and analysed the density and vitality of P. abies seedlings in these gaps, and monitored the growth and survival of selected seedlings between the two inventories. The gaps analysed were located in upper montane and subalpine P. abies dominated forests in the Vorderrhein valley in the Grisons. The density and vitality of large (10–129 cm tall) and small (<10 cm tall) P. abies seedlings were assessed in three parallel transects running perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of each gap. The mean density of large seedlings increased significantly between 2001 and 2006 from 0.1 to 0.3 seedlings/m², whereas that of small seedlings stayed constant at 0.7 seedlings/m², even though it shifted locally between inventories. Significantly higher regeneration densities were found for gaps with NE–SW orientation (afternoon sun) and for those located at lower altitudes. While in gaps on North-facing slopes large P. abies seedlings were more frequent on the middle transect, in gaps on South-facing slopes they were denser near the lower gap edge which is usually less exposed to direct radiation. As expected regeneration density was significantly higher within the gaps than just outside underneath the adjacent stands for all P. abies seedlings. Damage caused by browsing did not turn out to be problematic in this study site. From the selected 280 small seedlings monitored in 2001, 53% died until 2006, 33% became large seedlings and 14% remained small (<10 cm). Our results suggest that creating slit-shaped gaps is a successful procedure to promote P. abies regeneration in the upper montane and subalpine belt of the northern intermediate Alps and helps to preserve protection forests and their goods and services for the coming generations.