Cases of Pseudorabies in Free-Living Red Foxes (Vulpes Vulpes) and in Captive Blue Foxes (Alopex Lagopus) in Denmark

In the period December 1967 through April 1969 eight spontaneous cases of pseudorabies in Danish red foxes were demonstrated by virus isolation. One fox had been kept in captivity, the remaining seven were free-living. Five of the foxes were found dead, while three, presenting abnormal behaviour when encountered, had been killed.     

Repeat patient testing shows promise as a quality control method for veterinary hematology testing

Background

Repeat patient testing‐based quality control (RPT‐QC) is a potential method for veterinary laboratories (eg, that have a limited budget for quality commercial control material [QCM] or that wish to use material with a species‐specific matrix).

Objectives

To determine whether total error (TE_a), probability of error detection (Ped), and probability of false rejection (Pfr) similar to that achievable with QC materials can be controlled using RPT‐QC

Methods

Control limits (WBC, RBC, HGB, HCT, MCV, and PLT) for the Advia 120 (n = 23) and scil Vet ABC (n = 22) were calculated using data from normal canine specimens from a routine caseload. Specimens were measured at accession and again after 24 hours. Control limits were validated using 23 additional canine specimens tested similarly. Achievable TEa, Ped, and Pfr were investigated using the Westgard EZRules3 and compared to those achievable with commercial QCM.

Results

Theoretical performance of RPT‐QC and commercial QCM‐QC are similar for 1‐3s with both n = 1 and 1‐3s with n = 2 for all measurands and both instruments. Achievable TE_a values for RPT‐QC were close to ASVCP recommendations for most measurands; exceptions were PLT (both instruments) and WBC (scil Vet ABC).

Conclusions

Repeat patient testing‐based quality control advantages include a species‐specific matrix, low‐cost, and absence of QC material deterioration over time (since a fresh specimen is used each day). A potential disadvantage is daily access to normal canine specimens. A challenge is determining control limits, which has a subjective element. Further study is needed to confirm actual RPT‐QC performance and to determine if RPT‐QC with abnormal patient specimens is feasible.     

Colour Flow Mapping examination: An useful screening test for the early diagnosis of ductus venosus patency in canine newborns

Ductus venosus (DV) closure plays a key role in hepatic circulation adaptation to postnatal metabolic function, and DV patency might develop a congenital portosystemic shunt (CPSS). The noninvasive Color Flow Mapping (CFM) examination, a validated method to diagnose CPSS in adult dogs, is routinely performed to assess DV closure after birth in humans. This study aimed to describe the feasibility of the ultrasonographic evaluation of the DV after birth and to determine its closure time in healthy Great Dane neonates. Patency of DV in serial Color Flow Mapping (CFM) examinations and bodyweight (BW) were recorded on Days 0‐3‐6‐9 in 24 neonates that were classified as having patent (PDV) or closed ductusvenosus (CDV) basing on CFM signal presence/absence. Since the 3rd day, DV diameter was recorded. Data were analysed by ANOVA (p < 0.05). All dogs resulted healthy 1 year later. The number of PDV and CDV puppies at birth was not different on Day 3 (24 and 0 vs. 22 and 2, PDV and CDV, respectively), whereas it resulted different on Days 6 (24 and 0 vs. 14 and 10) and 9 (24 and 0 vs. 0 and 24); on Day 3, it was different compared to Days 6 and 9; on Day 6, it was different from Day 9. Reduction of DV diameter resulted positively related to neonatal BW growth. The CFM evaluation of DV closure after birth in Great Dane puppies represents a feasible technique. Present results suggest the time of functional closure in normal neonates within 9 days after birth. Thus, CFM examination, as an early screening test for DV patency evaluation, performed 10 days after birth, may identify suspicious dogs at risk that would require further investigations. Further studies are needed to deepen the role of a delayed closure in low bodyweight and preterm puppies.     

Landscape dynamics of floral resources affect the supply of a biodiversity-dependent cultural ecosystem service

Context

Cultural ecosystem services, many of which depend on biodiversity, are recognized as important but seldom quantified biophysically across landscapes. Furthermore, many ecosystem service models are static, and the supply of cultural ecosystem services may be misrepresented if seasonal shifts in biotic communities are ignored.

Objectives

We modeled landscape dynamics of wildflower blooms in a temperate montane landscape to determine (1) how floral resources (wildflower species richness, abundance, timing, and presence of charismatic species) changed over the growing season, (2) how projected wildflower viewing hotspots varied over space and time, and (3) how spatial shifts in floral resources affected potential public access to wildflower viewing.

Methods

Data were collected at 63 sites across a rural-to-urban gradient in the Southern Appalachian Mountains (USA). Generalized linear models were used to identify factors affecting floral resources at two temporal scales. Floral resources were projected across the landscape and hotspots of wildflower viewing were quantified using overlay analysis.

Results

Floral resources were affected by topoedaphic conditions, climate, and surrounding building density and changed seasonally. Seasonal models revealed locational shifts in ecosystem service hotspots, which changed the proportion of hotspots accessible to the public and identified wildflower-viewing opportunities unnoticed by static models.

Conclusion

Relationships between landscape gradients, biodiversity, and ecosystem service supply varied seasonally, and our models identified cultural ecosystem service hotspots otherwise obscured by simple proxies. Landscape models of biodiversity-based cultural ecosystem services should include seasonal dynamics of biotic communities to avoid under- or over-emphasizing the importance of particular locations in ecosystem service assessments.

     

A multi-method approach to delineate and validate migratory corridors

Context

Managers are faced with numerous methods for delineating wildlife movement corridors, and often must make decisions with limited data. Delineated corridors should be robust to different data and models.

Objectives

We present a multi-method approach for delineating and validating wildlife corridors using multiple data sources, which can be used conserve landscape connectivity. We used this approach to delineate and validate migration corridors for wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) in the Tarangire Ecosystem of northern Tanzania.

Methods

We used two types of locational data (distance sampling detections and GPS collar locations), and three modeling methods (negative binomial regression, logistic regression, and Maxent), to generate resource selection functions (RSFs) and define resistance surfaces. We compared two corridor detection algorithms (cost-distance and circuit theory), to delineate corridors. We validated corridors by comparing random and wildebeest locations that fell within corridors, and cross-validated by data type.

Results

Both data types produced similar RSFs. Wildebeest consistently selected migration habitat in flatter terrain farther from human settlements. Validation indicated three of the combinations of data type, modeling, and corridor detection algorithms (detection data with Maxent modeling, GPS collar data with logistic regression modeling, and GPS collar data with Maxent modeling, all using cost-distance) far outperformed the other seven. We merged the predictive corridors from these three data-method combinations to reveal habitat with highest probability of use.

Conclusions

The use of multiple methods ensures that planning is able to prioritize conservation of migration corridors based on all available information.

     

Effect of Caffeine Added to the Activating Solution on Sperm Motility of Fresh and Thawed Semen of Pacu,Piaractus mesopotamicus,and Curimba,Prochilodus lineatus

The aim was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of caffeine added in activating solution over sperm motility in fresh and thawed semen of pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus, and curimba, Prochilodus lineatus. The activating solutions were prepared with sodium bicarbonate solution of 0.76% (NaHCO₃) and caffeine was added at concentrations of 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, and 20.0 mM. As control, a solution of NaHCO₃ 0.76 without caffeine was used. Eight males of pacu and 20 males of curimba were used. Aliquots of 200 μL of semen were diluted in 800 μL extender solution (DMSO 10% and BTS 5%), placed in 0.5 mL straws and cryopreserved for 7 d in a liquid nitrogen tank. There was a linear increase in sperm motility for fresh semen of pacu, and for curimba fresh and thawed semen (P < 0.05), due to the increase in the concentration of caffeine. There was a quadratic response for duration of motility for thawed semen of pacu and for fresh semen of curimba (P < 0.05), respectively. These results indicate that addition of caffeine in the activator solution can improve sperm motility parameters, however, is dependent on the species and concentration used.     

Chemical and nutritional characteristics of Cannabis sativa L. co-products

Cannabis sativa L. is an annual herbaceous plant. It was used for centuries to obtain different products. In the last century, hemp cultivation was forbidden due to the psychoactive effects of tetrahydrocannabinol acid (THCA). In the last years, new strains, characterized by high cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) and low THCA level, were developed renewing the interest in hemp cultivation to obtain food or to extract essential oils from flowers. All these processes produce many residues with different chemical–physical characteristics. In order to evaluate their potential use also in animal nutrition, some hemp co-products were evaluated. Two different co-products of seed processes (flour and oil) and two co-products obtained trimming the flowers, differing in granulometry were used. The samples were analysed for chemical composition and evaluated in vitro using the gas production technique with buffaloes' ruminal inoculum. All hemp co-products showed interesting nutritional characteristics, such as crude protein content always higher than 20% on a dry matter basis, and high neutral detergent fibre concentration partially lignified. The in vitro gas production parameters at 120 h of incubation showed quite low fermentability testified by the low organic matter degradability and cumulative gas volume (OMD from 28.09 to 45.64% and OMCV from 110 to 164 ml/g, respectively). Also, the methane produced after 24 h of incubation was particularly low (from 1.78 to 11.73 ml/g dOM). These results could be due to the high lipid and ash amounts or to the CBDA content that probably affected the CH₄ formation processes. According to preliminary results obtained by this study, it is possible to hypothesize that these co-products could be useful to mitigate the methane production into the rumen. Further studies are necessary in order to evaluate the correct inclusion into the diet for ruminants.     

Predicting Acceptability of Jaguars and Pumas in the Atlantic Forest,Brazil

Jaguars and pumas are threatened species in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, especially at the borders of protected areas. This article assessed the influence of emotions, attitudes, existence value, and agency credibility on acceptability of big cats among rural residents living adjacent to two protected areas in this forest. Data from self-administrated questionnaires (n = 326) indicated those with positive attitudes toward big cats (β = .28, p < .001), those who valued the existence of big cats (β = .14, p < .05), those who would feel sorrow if big cats disappeared (β = .21, p < .001), and those who considered the managing agency as credible (β = .16, p = .002) were more accepting of big cats. The model provided theoretical and practical insights into large carnivore conservation. For example, given the significance of agency credibility, a positive relationship between park authorities and residents is crucial for big cat conservation.