Performing the field necropsy examination.

This article is designed to aid the practitioner by maximizing the effectiveness of field postmortem diagnostic investigations. Contents include an outline of the procedure for field necropsy of ruminants, recommended tools and supplies, and guidelines for sample collection and submission.     

The type of activated carbon determines how much dissolved organic carbon is removed from artificial seawater

Four granular activated carbons (GACs) made of different materials were tested for removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from artificial seawater of a recirculated aquarium. After 70 days in a continuous flow experiment, comparative removal data (grams of GAC required to remove 1 g of DOC) were coconut shell (491), hardwood (84·4), anthracite (837) and bone char (383), indicating the superior performance of hardwood. Scanning electron microscopy showed that microbial colonization of a sample material (hardwood) was slight and occurred exclusively at the surface. Biological enhancement of GAC was considered to be unimportant as a mechanism for DOC removal.     

PROBIT analysis predicts hatching rates of brine shrimp Artemia sp. cysts

Thirty replicates of San Francisco Bay brine shrimp Artemia sp. cysts from one lot were weighed to 0·01 mg. The mean mass of a single cyst was 2·597 μg (±0·040 μg, 95% confidence level). Batches of 1 g from the same lot were hatched in the laboratory, and fraction hatched versus time data were fitted to a nonlinear curve using PROBIT analysis. Median time of hatch was 24·8 h with a standard error of ±3·92 h. Cysts and nauplii in 1-ml aliquots were pipetted at regular intervals and counted under a dissecting microscope. The number of cysts pipetted at the beginning of the experiment was 19% less than estimates based on the known number per volume of hatching medium, indicating that hatching data derived from pipetting procedures may contain large sampling errors. PROBIT analysis allows fraction hatched to be predicted when a particular lot of cysts is hatched under controlled conditions.     

A leakiness index for assessing landscape function using remote sensing

The cover, number, size, shape, spatial arrangement and orientation of vegetation patches are attributes that have been used to indicate how well landscapes function to retain, not ‘leak’, vital system resources such as rainwater and soil. We derived and tested a directional leakiness index (DLI) for this resource retention function. We used simulated landscape maps where resource flows over map surfaces were directional and where landscape patch attributes were known. Although DLI was most strongly related to patch cover, it also logically related to patch number, size, shape, arrangement and orientation. If the direction of resource flow is multi-directional, a variant of DLI, the multi-directional leakiness index (MDLI) can be used. The utility of DLI and MDLI was demonstrated by applying these indices to three Australian savanna landscapes differing in their remotely sensed vegetation patch attributes. These leakiness indices clearly positioned these three landscapes along a function-dysfunction continuum, where dysfunctional landscapes are leaky (poorly retain resources). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Multivariate analysis of invasive plant species distributions in southern US forests

Landscape Ecology - Invasive plants cause significant impacts in forested areas throughout the world. However, little is known about the relative importance of environmental drivers on the...     

Chaos theory and assessment of forest stakeholder attitudes towards Australian forest policy

The Regional Forest Agreement process has dominated Australian forest policy for the past decade. The RFA process set in place a mechanism by which benchmark conservation values were established for forest ecosystems, whilst addressing the needs of the timber industry. The outcomes of a number of RFA's have been fraught with controversy. Key stakeholder groups have shown disagreement with processes and outcomes of methods employed by government both in establishing conservation reserves and areas allocated to timber harvesting. This research uses non-linear techniques to examine the dynamical behavior in stakeholder responses and to identify patterns of behavior that may lead to prediction of stakeholder responses. The method developed in this research provides a bridge between social sciences and Chaos theory.¹     

Aquaculture pond temperature modeling

The prediction of aquaculture pond temperatures throughout the year is essential to the design and evaluation of potential aquaculture sites. A site may obtain the necessary heat inputs from the sun, geothermal wells or industrial and power plant waste heat. The amount of heat addition necessary is dependent upon climatic and environmental factors at the site.The MAPT (Maintenance of Aquaculture Pond Temperatures) model was developed to determine the potential for warm water aquaculture at any site in the world. Hot water sources and solar radiation provided the heat inputs to the model while the heats of evaporation, convection and radiation were responsible for the heat losses.The model was used to consider a variety of heat loss reduction methods, heat transfer methods and projected the pond temperatures and animal production rates. It has been applied to several sites around the world and provides an inexpensive means for evaluation of production potential without extensive site data collection.     

Formulation of practical diets for rainbow trout based on desired performance and body composition

Rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) with an initial average weight of 1.8 g were fed eight experimental diets with 26 and 35% protein and varying amounts of lipid for 112 days. All experimental diets contained 10% fish meal (the only source of animal protein), as compared to a control diet with 35% fish meal. The energy content of the diet was the most important factor in determining growth rate. The percentage of dietary lipid was the dominant factor in determining the body composition of rainbow trout. Increased amounts of dietary lipid resulted in fish with increased amounts of whole-body fat and reduced amounts of whole-body protein and moisture. Body composition was more closely a function of nutritional history than of fish size. Protein retention and energy retention were negatively associated with the percentage of digestible protein in the diet. Mortality rates did not differ significantly among the groups tested; the general health of all fish examined was good.