Long-Term Activity Recording in small Aquatic Animals

Figure 1 of the paper " Long-term activity in small aquatic animals" by A. A. Heusner and J. T. Enright (28 Oct. 1966, p. 532) is ambiguous to the extent that the two negative terminals might be interpreted as a common point in the circuit. In fact, these two points must be kept separate for the proper operation of the instrument.     

Cardiac disease in the geriatric horse.

Almost all equine cardiac diseases may affect the geriatric horse. This article focuses on those cardiac diseases that are most common in the older horse, including degenerative valve disease, aortocardiac fistula, and congestive heart failure. Other cardiac diseases, such as bacterial endocarditis, pericarditis, and arrhythmias, are seen in all age groups of horses and are beyond the scope of this article.     

The flora and structure of farmland hedges and hedgebanks near to pheasant release pens compared with other hedges

On farms where shooting takes place, hedgerows leading from woodlands with release pens are often used by pheasants as corridors for accessing game crops. We compared shrub and ground flora structure and species composition in hedges near to and away from release sites with a wide range of release sizes, at 109 game estates in four regions in England in 2002 and 2003. There was more bare ground, fewer stable perennial plant species, more weeds and fewer tree and shrub seedlings in hedges near to release sites compared to our controls, sometimes only when the nearby release exceeded a certain threshold. Alongside hedges there were more weeds on hedgebanks near to release sites, and depending on hedge size, fewer stable perennial species or fewer tree and shrub seedling species. While the woody structure of the hedge itself was not substantially different, shrub leafiness within hedges at 10-20 cm off the ground was reduced in all except very short hedges near to releases. We argue that the differences we observed were due to the presence of pheasants in those hedges during the late summer and autumn following release and not to pen siting or game management factors. We hypothesize that where larger accumulations of pheasants occur in hedges, the changes to ground flora species composition we observed were due to increased soil fertility and soil disturbance. The effects on mature shrub leafiness and woody seedlings were probably caused by direct pecking. Our study involved many sites and some of the effects identified were subtle. Our data on release size enables us to suggest how to minimise these effects where this is considered important, for example where hedgerows are recognized as particularly valuable or vulnerable.     

The distribution of Phratora vulgatissima (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on cultivated willows in Britain and Ireland

Insect samples were collected from the canopy of 24 willow short rotation coppice (SRC) sites on farmland in Britain and Ireland in 1995. The blue willow beetle Phratora (= Phyllodecta) vulgatissima (L.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), previously identified as the main defoliating pest of this crop, was recorded from 13 of these at varying levels of abundance. Data describing aspects of the environment at each site were also collected. These data were used to create potential explanatory variables for a regression analysis of beetle abundance. This analysis indicated that P. vulgatissima were most likely to occur and were more abundant at older willow sites on clay soils and at sites that bad certain free-living willow species growing nearby. Within sites, most willow clones sampled contained P. vulgatissima, although two, Salix burjatica‘Germany’ (‘Aquatica Gigantea’) and Salix mollissima‘Q83’ (Salix triandra × Salix viminalis), were avoided. Chrysomelid pest avoidance and clonal resistance could form part of an integrated pest management strategy for SRC crops.     

Cardiopulmonary effects and recovery characteristics of horses anesthetized with xylazine–ketamine with midazolam or propofol

Objective

To evaluate cardiopulmonary and recovery characteristics of horses administered total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with xylazine and ketamine combined with midazolam or propofol.