Geospatial genetics: Integrating genetics into marine protection and spatial planning

1. The protection of evolutionary processes and maintenance of genetic diversity is necessary for the persistence of biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. The importance of genetic diversity has been reflected in a range of marine policy mechanisms, and the genetic ‘toolbox’ has great potential to support marine protection and marine spatial planning (MSP) at multiple scales. Despite scientific advances in the application of genetics in marine protection and management, systematic integration of genetic information has been generally lacking, primarily due to a knowledge and communication disconnect between geneticists and the marine policy and management community.
2. To meet these outstanding needs, a ‘geospatial genetics’ approach to spatially map species-specific genetic data and associated information in a way that can be readily integrated by practitioners into marine protection and MSP decisions was developed. Techniques to derive geospatial genetic data layers, which can be viewed and mapped alongside other kinds of spatial data commonly used by conservation practitioners, hold promise for increasing the accessibility of genetic data to support policy decisions more fully.
3. While applicable to many mobile and sessile taxa, an initial focus was placed on marine mammals, and the approach was developed and refined through a series of international meetings and published papers, as well as the development of interactive, expert-reviewed case studies hosted on the MSP tool SeaSketch.
4. Outcomes of the work to date are currently serving in the policy arena by informing the identification of Important Marine Mammal Areas, an initiative led by the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force to apply criteria to identify marine mammal habitats across the world's ocean, seas and relevant inland waters through a standardized process.
5. It has become clear that geospatial genetics has great potential to foster increased collaboration among an intersectional community of geneticists, spatial ecologists, and practitioners. This increased opportunity for dialogue and cooperation will help ensure that evolutionary processes are factored into marine protection and MSP processes, and potentially for freshwater and terrestrial systems.

     

The effect of maternal illness on perinatal health

Only healthy animals should be included in a breeding program. The potential effects of maternal illness and therapeutic agents on the fetus or neonate are often ignored until veterinary assistance becomes an absolute necessity. We must be mindful of these effects in order to minimize maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.     

Variations in the immune response to herpesvirus saimiri in squirrel and rhesus monkeys

Humoral and cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to herpesvirus saimiri (HVS), an oncogenic lymphotropic herpesvirus, was studied in squirrel and rhesus monkeys. Natural antibody to HVS was found in five of six squirrel monkeys but there was no evidence of specific CMI directed against HVS. Rhesus monkeys did not show natural antibody or CMI against HVS antigens. Immunization with HVS, however, produced both antibody and specific CMI in the rhesus monkeys, but no CMI developed in the squirrel monkeys. These findings are important in the development of animal models for the treatment of tumors associated with lymphotropic herpesviruses.     

The multiple burdens of zoonotic disease and an ecohealth approach to their assessment

Zoonoses occur at the interface of human and animal disease and partly because their impact and management fall across two sectors they are often neglected. The Global Burden of Disease captures the impact of zoonoses on human health in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Based on this, we estimate that in low income countries, zoonoses and diseases which recently emerged from animals make up 26?% of the DALYs lost to infectious disease and 10?% of the total DALYs lost. In contrast, in high income countries, zoonoses and diseases recently which emerged from animals represent less than 1?% of DALYs lost to infectious disease and only 0.02?% of the total disease burden. We present a framework that captures the costs of zoonoses and emerging disease to human, animal and ecosystem health in terms of cost of treatment, cost of prevention, health burden and intangible and opportunity costs. We also discuss how ecohealth concepts of transdisciplinarity, participation and equity can help in assessing the importance of zoonoses in developing countries and illustrate these with an example of assessing milk-borne disease.     

A preliminary study of copper supplementation in alpacas (Lama pacos)

Supplementing three alpacas with Cu as cupric sulphate (10 mg Cu/kg liveweight) as a single oral dose resulted in no change in the mean plasma Cu concentrations over 30 days while a single oral dose of cupric oxide needles (2.5 g) given to three alpacas caused a small but significant increase in the mean plasma Cu concentrations during days 10-30 following treatment. The mean plasma Cu concentrations of four untreated animals ranged from 4.2 to 5.9 micromol/l over the study. The Cu as cupric sulphate was excreted in the faeces within 5 days while the cupric oxide needles significantly elevated the faecal excretion for over 30 days.     

Carbon dioxide and methane gas permeations in thermally annealed and chemically cross-linked commercial polyimide hollow fiber membrane

Two types of modifications were performed on a commercial polyimide (PI) hollow fiber membrane for carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) gas permeations. Thermal annealing was conducted between 50- and 200 °C while chemical cross-linking was performed using 0.1- to 1.0 wt% of N, (1-Naphthyl) ethylene-diamine dihydrochloride (NED). Membrane characterization revealed densification of the thermally annealed PIs. But formation of macrovoids was observed in PIs annealed near its glass transition temperature (207 °C). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the successful cross-linking of NED with PI. Highest CO₂ permeance was obtained from pristine PI (P/L=225 GPU) but it also had the lowest selectivity (α=72). The performances of thermally annealed (P/L=160–219 GPU, α=76–106), NED crosslinked (P/L=68–139 GPU, α=65–95) and thermally induced NED cross-linked (P/L=51-91 GPU, α=98–138) PIs varied according to modification conditions. Among the modified membranes, highest CO₂ permeance was obtained from thermally annealed PI at 100 °C (P/L=211GPU, α=106) while thermally induced NED cross-linked PI (100 °C, 0.5 wt% NED) exhibited the highest selectivity (P/L=91, α=138). Both modified membranes are the best candidates for CO₂/CH₄ separation.     

Bacteriological quality and safety of ready-to-consume milk and naturally fermented milk in Borana pastoral area,southern Ethiopia

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Milk and milk products play an important role in the diet of pastoralists in Ethiopia. However, only few studies have been conducted on the microbial...     

辽宁省农产品物流园区选址研究

为提升辽宁省农产品物流园区的经济性及环保性,研究该地区农产品物流园区的选址问题.分析该地区农产品物流园区的选址原则及影响因素,选取出社会因素、自然因素及基础设施因素3大主要影响因素作为准则层,并选取9个子因素作为指标层,以辽宁省农产品物流园区选址与各个可选地址分别作为目标层与方案层,运用层次分析法建立包含此4个层级的辽...