Assessing Greater Sage-Grouse Breeding Habitat With Aerial and Ground Imagery

Anthropogenic disturbances, wildfires, and weedy-plant invasions have destroyed and fragmented many sagebrush (Artemisia L. spp.) habitats. Sagebrush-dependent species like greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are vulnerable to these changes, making habitat monitoring essential to effective management. Conventional ground inventory methods are time consuming (expensive) and have lower data collection potentials than remote sensing. Our study evaluated the feasibility of ground (0.3-mm ground surface distance [GSD]) and aerial imagery (primarily, 1-mm GSD) to assess ground cover for big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) and other vegetation functional groups important in sage-grouse breeding habitat (lekking, nesting, and brood rearing). We surveyed ∼ 526 km² of the upper Powder River watershed in Natrona County, Wyoming, USA, a region dominated by Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) communities interspersed with narrow riparian corridors. Our study area was used year-round by sage-grouse and included 16 leks. In June 2010, we acquired aerial images (1-mm resolution) for 3 228 systematic sampling locations; additional images were acquired as rapid-succession bursts where aerial transects crossed riparian areas and for 39 riparian and 39 upland ground locations (0.3-mm resolution) within 3.2-km of leks. We used SamplePoint software to quantify cover for plant taxa and functional groups using all ground images and a systematic sampling of aerial images. Canopy cover of sage-grouse food forbs—as averaged across aerial and ground imagery around all leks—was 1.8% and 7.8% in riparian and 0.5% and 4.0% in upland areas, respectively. Big sagebrush cover was 8.7% from upland aerial images and 9.4% from upland ground images. Aerial and ground imagery provided similar values for bare ground and shrubs in riparian and upland areas, whereas ground imagery provided finer-scale herbaceous-cover data that complemented the aerial imagery. These and other image-derived archival data provide a practical basis for landscape-scale management and are a cost-effective means for monitoring extensive sagebrush habitats.     

Greater Sage-Grouse and Severe Winter Conditions: Identifying Habitat for Conservation

Developing sustainable rangeland management strategies requires solution-driven research that addresses ecological issues within the context of regionally important socioeconomic concerns. A key sustainability issue in many regions of the world is conserving habitat that buffers animal populations from climatic variability, including seasonal deviation from long-term precipitation or temperature averages, and that can establish an ecological bottleneck by which the landscape-level availability of critical resources becomes limited. We integrated methods to collect landscape-level animal occurrence data during severe winter conditions with estimation and validation of a resource selection function, with the larger goal of developing spatially explicit guidance for rangeland habitat conservation. The investigation involved greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) that occupy a landscape that is undergoing human modification for development of energy resources. We refined spatial predictions by exploring how reductions in the availability of sagebrush (as a consequence of increasing snow depth) may affect patterns of predicted occurrence. Occurrence of sage-grouse reflected landscape-level selection for big sagebrush, taller shrubs, and favorable thermal conditions and avoidance of bare ground and anthropogenic features. Refinement of spatial predictions showed that important severe winter habitat was distributed patchily and was constrained in spatial extent (7–18% of the landscape). The mapping tools we developed offer spatially explicit guidance for planning human activity in ways that are compatible with sustaining habitat that functions disproportionately in population persistence relative to its spatial extent or frequency of use. Increasingly, place-based, quantitative investigations that aim to develop solutions to landscape sustainability issues will be needed to keep pace with human-modification of rangeland and uncertainty associated with global climate change and its effects on animal populations.     

Pinyon and Juniper Encroachment into Sagebrush Ecosystems Impacts Distribution and Survival of Greater Sage-Grouse

In sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems, encroachment of pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.; hereafter, “pinyon-juniper”) trees has increased dramatically since European settlement. Understanding the impacts of this encroachment on behavioral decisions, distributions, and population dynamics of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and other sagebrush obligate species could help benefit sagebrush ecosystem management actions. We employed a novel two-stage Bayesian model that linked avoidance across different levels of pinyon-juniper cover to sage-grouse survival. Our analysis relied on extensive telemetry data collected across 6 yr and seven subpopulations within the Bi-State Distinct Population Segment (DPS), on the border of Nevada and California. The first model stage indicated avoidance behavior for all canopy cover classes on average, but individual grouse exhibited a high degree of heterogeneity in avoidance behavior of the lowest cover class (e.g., scattered isolated trees). The second stage modeled survival as a function of estimated avoidance parameters and indicated increased survival rates for individuals that exhibited avoidance of the lowest cover class. A post hoc frailty analysis revealed the greatest increase in hazard (i.e., mortality risk) occurred in areas with scattered isolated trees consisting of relatively high primary plant productivity. Collectively, these results provide clear evidence that local sage-grouse distributions and demographic rates are influenced by pinyon-juniper, especially in habitats with higher primary productivity but relatively low and seemingly benign tree cover. Such areas may function as ecological traps that convey attractive resources but adversely affect population vital rates. To increase sage-grouse survival, our model predictions support reducing actual pinyon-juniper cover as low as 1.5%, which is lower than the published target of 4.0%. These results may represent effects of pinyon-juniper cover in areas with similar ecological conditions to those of the Bi-State DPS, where populations occur at relatively high elevations and pinyon-juniper is abundant and widespread.     

Encounters with Pinyon-Juniper Influence Riskier Movements in Greater Sage-Grouse Across the Great Basin

Fine-scale spatiotemporal studies can better identify relationships between individual survival and habitat fragmentation so that mechanistic interpretations can be made at the population level. Recent advances in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and statistical models capable of deconstructing high-frequency location data have facilitated interpretation of animal movement within a behaviorally mechanistic framework. Habitat fragmentation due to singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla; hereafter pinyon) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma; hereafter juniper) encroachment into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities is a commonly implicated perturbation that can adversely influence greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) demographic rates. Using an extensive GPS data set (233 birds and 282,954 locations) across 12 study sites within the Great Basin, we conducted a behavioral change point analysis and constructed Brownian bridge movement models from each behaviorally homogenous section. We found the probability of encountering pinyon-juniper among adults was two and three times greater than that of yearlings and juveniles, respectively. However, the movement rate in response to the probability of encountering pinyon-juniper trees was 1.5 times greater for juveniles. Parameter estimates indicated a 6.1% increase in the probability of encountering pinyon-juniper coupled with a 6.2 km/hour increase in movement speed resulted in a 56%, 42% and 16% increase in risk of daily mortality, for juveniles, yearlings, and adults, respectively. The effect of pinyon-juniper encounters on survival was dependent on movement rate and differed among age class. Under fast speed movements (i.e., flight), mortality risk increased as encountering pinyon-juniper increased across all age classes. In contrast, slower speeds (i.e., average) yielded similar adverse effects for juveniles and yearlings but not for adults. This analytical framework supports a behavioral mechanism that explains reduced survival related to pinyon-juniper within sagebrush environments, whereby encountering pinyon-juniper stimulates riskier movements that likely increase vulnerability to visually acute predators.     

Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Selection Drives Reproductive Fitness Under a Conifer Removal Strategy

The link between individual variation in resource selection (e.g., functional response) and fitness creates a foundation for understanding wildlife-habitat relationships. Although many anthropogenic activities adversely affect these relationships, it is largely unknown whether projects implemented to benefit wildlife populations actually achieve this outcome. For sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) obligate species such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse), expansion of juniper (Juniperus spp.) and pinyon-pine (Pinus spp.; conifers) woodlands into sagebrush ecosystems has been identified as a conservation threat. This threat is intensified when a sagebrush ecosystem is bounded by naturally unsuitable habitats. As such, federal, state, and private land managers have implemented landscape-level management to remove conifers on thousands of hectares of sagebrush habitat across the western United States. Despite the scale of contemporary conifer treatments, little was previously known whether sage-grouse will occupy these manipulated landscapes and whether occupancy has consequences on fitness components. To address these questions, we monitored nest and brood success rates for 96 radio-marked sage-grouse from 2012-2015 that inhabited conifer-dominated landscapes in the Box Elder Sage-grouse Management Area in Utah where mechanical conifer removal projects were completed. We then linked sage-grouse resource selection to individual nest (n = 95) and brood (n = 56) success by incorporating random-slope Resource Selection Functions as explanatory predictors in a logistic brood success model. Using the novel approach of random slope covariates, we demonstrated that sage-grouse selected for nest and brooding sites closer to conifer removal areas and that the probability of individual nest and brood success declined (β = ? 0.10 and β = ? 0.74, respectively) as sage-grouse females selected sites farther from conifer removal areas. Our research provided the first evidence that mechanical conifer removal treatments can increase suitable available breeding habitats for female sage-grouse and that individuals who occupied these areas experienced enhanced nest and brood success.     

Corticosterone Metabolite Concentrations in Greater Sage-Grouse Are Positively Associated With the Presence of Cattle Grazing

The sagebrush biome in the western United States is home to the imperiled greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and encompasses rangelands used for cattle production. Cattle grazing activities have been implicated in the range-wide decline of the sage-grouse, but no studies have investigated the relationship between the physiological condition of sage-grouse and the presence of grazing cattle. We sampled 329 sage-grouse across four sites (two grazed and two ungrazed) encompassing 13 600 km² during the spring and late summer–early autumn of 2005 to evaluate whether demographic factors, breeding status, plasma protein levels, and residence in a cattle-grazed habitat were associated with the stress hormone corticosterone. Corticosterone was measured in feces as immunoreactive corticosterone metabolites (ICM). Males captured during the lekking season exhibited higher ICM levels than all others. Prenesting female sage-grouse captured in a grazed site had higher ICM levels than those in ungrazed sites and prenesting female plasma protein levels were negatively correlated with ICM concentrations. With the use of a small-scale spatial model, we identified a positive correlation between cattle pat count and sage-grouse ICM levels. Our model indicated that ICM levels increased by 2.60 ng · g^-1 dry feces for every increase in the number of cow pats found in the vicinity. Management practices will benefit from future research regarding the consistency and mechanism(s) responsible for this association and, importantly, how ICM levels and demographic rates are related in this species of conservation concern.     

碘在猪饲粮中的应用

碘是人类发现的第二个必需微量元素。猪体内的碘大部分存在于甲状腺中,碘主要以甲状腺激素的形式发挥其生理作用。甲状腺激素具有细胞氧化、生长和分化、繁殖以及中枢神经系统的活性等方面的生理功能。本文对碘的营养作用、碘的应用和碘的需要量等作一综述。     

日粮营养代谢与基因表达的研究进展

动物日粮营养代谢能够影响基因的表达,研究表明:通过改变日粮的营养水平可以调节动物体内相关基因的表达,从而使动物处于最佳的生长状态.本文就碳水化合物、脂肪和脂肪酸、蛋白质等营养素对基因表达的调控进行了综述.     

日粮营养代谢与基因表达的研究进展

动物日粮营养代谢能够影响基因的表达,研究表明:通过改变日粮的营养水平可以调节动物体内相关基因的表达,从而使动物处于最佳的生长状态。本文就碳水化合物、脂肪和脂肪酸、蛋白质等营养素对基因表达的调控进行了综述。     

氨基酸模式在幼龄畜禽营养与日粮中的应用

氨基酸是动物生长、发育所必需的基础营养物质,氨基酸添加比例和组成在幼龄动物生长阶段起着重要作用。根据动物的营养需要,在日粮中合理的添加动物生长的必需氨基酸,可显著提高动物生长效率、减少废物排泄,同时对改善机体健康状况和保护生态环境具有重要意义。论文围绕仔猪、肉仔鸡、犊牛和羔羊氨基酸营养状况以及前三者的氨基酸模式的建立做了论述,并对犊牛和羔羊氨基酸模式的特点及研究进展进行了讨论,最后阐述了断奶羔羊氨基酸模式的建立及发展趋势。     

不同营养水平日粮对中卫山羊羯羊肥育效果的影响

选择健康良好、出生和断奶时间相近(5月龄)、体重相似的羯羊36只,随机分为4组,分别饲喂4种不同营养水平的日粮.结果表明,经过50 d的舍饲育肥,平均日增重以Ⅱ组最高,分别比Ⅰ组、Ⅲ组和Ⅳ组提高18.67％、18.70％和23.82％ (P＜0.05);料重比以Ⅳ组最低;经济效益以Ⅳ组最高,分别较Ⅰ组、Ⅱ组、Ⅲ组提高0.25倍、0.15倍和1.56倍.     

性别和营养水平对福建河田鸡风味前体物质含量的影响

研究了不同性别和日粮能量、蛋白水平对河田鸡胸肌肉中风味前体化合物含量的影响。结果表明：性别对腹脂率、氨基酸（Asp、Thr、Ser、Pro、Cys除外）以及肌内脂肪（IMF）及其饱和脂肪酸（SFA）、单不饱和脂肪酸（MUFA）、多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）含量有显著影响（P〈0．05），而对肌苷酸（IMP）含量无显著影响（P〉0．05）；公鸡的总氨基酸（TAA）、肌苷酸、肌内脂肪中的SFA、MUFA含量略高于母鸡，母鸡的肌内脂肪及其PUFA含量明显高于公鸡。能量水平对肌苷酸、肌内脂肪及其SFA、MUFA、PUFA以及总氨基酸含量有显著影响（P〈0．05）；当鸡采食高能日粮时，肌内脂肪中的SFA、MUFA含量会显著升高（P〈0．05），而IMP、IMF、PUFA含量会显著下降（P＜0．05），TAA没有显著变化。蛋白水平对肌内脂肪及其MUFA、PUFA含量以及总氨基酸含量有显著影响（P〈0．05）。当采食高蛋白日粮时，肌内脂肪及SFA、MUFA显著降低，而其PUFA会显著增加（P〈0．05）。风味品尝结果表明，公鸡的香味、鲜味都显著高于母鸡，而嫩度低于母鸡；随着能量和蛋白水平的增加，鲜味和嫩度都显著下降（P〈0．05）。从肉品的总可接受性来看，性别对总可接受性没有显著影响（P〉0．05），低营养水平时的总可接受性大于高营养水平（P〈0．05）。     

Spatial and Temporal Variation of Whirling Disease Risk in Montana Spring Creeks and Rivers

Abstract

Spring creeks are important spawning and rearing areas for wild trout, but the stable flows, cool temperatures, and high nutrient levels that characterize these unique habitats may also make them highly susceptible to establishment and proliferation of the whirling disease pathogen Myxobolus cerebralis. We evaluated the spatial and temporal dynamics in whirling disease risk by using sentinel rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss fry in nine different spring creeks and their conjoining rivers or reservoirs in Montana over a 20-month period. Whirling disease risk was high in five of the seven pathogen-positive spring creek study sites; at these sites, prevalence levels exceeded 90% and over 50% of sentinel fry had moderate to high infection severity scores. Spring creeks generally had higher disease prevalence and severity than paired river or reservoir sites. Fine sediment levels varied widely among springs creeks with high and low whirling disease risk, and we found no significant association between fine sediment level and infection severity. The low risk measured for some spring creeks was likely attributable to the pathogen invasion being in its early stages rather than to environmental characteristics limiting the severity of infection. High whirling disease risk occurred over a wide range of temperatures at spring creek sites (4.5–13°C) and river sites (1.7–12.5°C). There was an unusual seasonal cycle of infection in spring creeks, with peak infection levels occurring from late fall to early spring and declining to near zero in late spring to early fall. The low infection risk during spring suggests that spring-spawning trout would be at a low risk of infection, even in spring creeks with otherwise high disease severity. In contrast, fry of fall-spawning trout may be much more susceptible to infection in spring creek environments.

Received November 22, 2011; accepted May 7, 2012     

在低营养水平的肉鸭日粮中添加酶制剂的效果研究

将240只1日龄樱桃谷鸭随枘发成4组，每组60只，15只为1个重复，Ⅰ组为对照组（营养水平100％，不加酶），Ⅱ、Ⅲ和Ⅳ组的营养水平分别为96％、92％和88％，并加0.1%复合酶，试验期28天。结果表明：在0－14日龄为，Ⅰ组14日龄体重、ADG高于其它各组（P＜0.05）。各处理组28日龄体重、ADG和ADFⅠ均没有显著差异（P＞0.05）。结论是降低3－4周肉鸭日粮营养水平12％，使用复合酶制剂不会对肉鸭的生长性能产生显著影响，经济效益明显。     

不同营养水平日粮对母兔繁殖性能的影响

为了提高母兔的繁殖力,进行了改善母兔日粮营养水平的试验.结果表明,提高母兔哺乳期日粮营养水平,可提高母兔的泌乳力和仔兔的断奶个体重及断奶成活率.     

The Sage-Grouse Habitat Mortgage: Effective Conifer Management in Space and Time

Management of conservation-reliant species can be complicated by the need to manage ecosystem processes that operate at extended temporal horizons. One such process is the role of fire in regulating abundance of expanding conifers that disrupt sage-grouse habitat in the northern Great Basin of the United States. Removing conifers by cutting has a beneficial effect on sage-grouse habitat. However, effects may last only a few decades because conifer seedlings are not controlled and the seed bank is fully stocked. Fire treatment may be preferred because conifer control lasts longer than for mechanical treatments. The amount of conservation needed to control conifers at large temporal and spatial scales can be quantified by multiplying land area by the time needed for conifer abundance to progress to critical thresholds (i.e., “conservation volume”). The contribution of different treatments in arresting conifer succession can be calculated by dividing conservation volume by the duration of treatment effect. We estimate that fire has approximately twice the treatment life of cutting at time horizons approaching 100 yr, but, has high up-front conservation costs due to temporary loss of sagebrush. Cutting has less up-front conservation costs because sagebrush is unaffected, but it is more expensive over longer management time horizons because of decreased durability. Managing conifers within sage-grouse habitat is difficult because of the necessity to maintain the majority of the landscape in sagebrush habitat and because the threshold for negative conifer effects occurs fairly early in the successional process. The time needed for recovery of sagebrush creates limits to fire use in managing sage-grouse habitat. Utilizing a combination of fire and cutting treatments is most financially and ecologically sustainable over long time horizons involved in managing conifer-prone sage-grouse habitat.     

不同能量水平日粮对肉仔鸡生长及屠宰性能指标的影响研究

选择3周龄健康、无病、体重无显著差异的肉仔鸡96只,随机分为3组,每组设4 个重复,每个重复8只。分别饲喂蛋白质水平(19．5％)相同而能量水平不同(3．0 Mcal／kg、 3．08 Mcal／kg、3．16Mcal／kg)的3种饲粮。试验结果表明:前两周饲料转化(采食／增重)均以 中能量组(3．08 Mcal／kg)最好,为1．4416±0．1199,但三种不同能量水平对肉仔鸡平均日增 重、平均日耗料、饲料转化率均差异不显著(P>0．05);后两周饲料转化仍以中能量组最好,为 1．6362±0．1346,且显著优于高能量组(P<0．05),而与低能组和中能组之间差异不显著,各 能量处理组蛋白质、粗纤维、钙的代谢率均差异不显著(P>0．05),而磷的代谢率却存在显著 差异(P<0．05),其中,以中等能量组的磷代谢率最高,平均为90．73％;3种能量水平下肉仔鸡 半净膛率、全净膛率均差异不显著(P>0．05),表明能量水平并不影响肉仔鸡屠宰性能。     

不同能量水平日粮对肉仔鸡生长及屠宰性能指标的影响研究

选择3周龄健康、无病、体重无显著差异的肉仔鸡96只,随机分为3组,每组设4个重复,每个重复8只.分别饲喂蛋白质水平(19.5%)相同而能量水平不同(3.0 Mcal/kg、3.08 Mcal/kg、3.16Mcal/kg)的3种饲粮.试验结果表明前两周饲料转化(采食/增重)均以中能量组(3.08 Mcal/kg)最好,为1.4416±0.1199,但三种不同能量水平对肉仔鸡平均日增重、平均日耗料、饲料转化率均差异不显著(P＞0.05);后两周饲料转化仍以中能量组最好,为1.6362±0.1346,且显著优于高能量组(P＜0.05),而与低能组和中能组之间差异不显著,各能量处理组蛋白质、粗纤维、钙的代谢率均差异不显著(P＞0.05),而磷的代谢率却存在显著差异(P＜0.05),其中,以中等能量组的磷代谢率最高,平均为90.73%;3种能量水平下肉仔鸡半净膛率、全净膛率均差异不显著(P＞0.05),表明能量水平并不影响肉仔鸡屠宰性能.