Biodiversity Inventories and Conservation of the Marine Fishes of Bootless Bay, Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The effective management and conservation of biodiversity is predicated on clearly defined conservation targets. Species number is frequently used as a metric for conservation prioritization and monitoring changes in ecosystem health. We conducted a series of synoptic surveys focusing on the fishes of the Bootless Bay region of Papua New Guinea to generate a checklist of fishes of the region. Bootless Bay lies directly south of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, and experiences the highest human population density of any marine area in the country. Our checklist will set a baseline against which future environmental changes can be tracked RESULTS: We generated a checklist of 488 fish species in 72 families found in Bootless Bay during a two-week sampling effort. Using incident-based methods of species estimation, we extrapolate there to be approximately 940 fish species in Bootless Bay, one of the lowest reported numbers in Papua New Guinea. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the Bootless Bay ecosystem of Papua New Guinea, while diverse in absolute terms, has lower fish biodiversity compared to other shallow marine areas within the country. These differences in faunal diversity are most likely a combination of unequal sampling effort as well as biophysical factors within Bootless Bay compounded by historical and/or contemporary anthropogenic disturbances.     

Grazing Intensity and Spatial Heterogeneity in Bare Soil in a Grazing-Resistant Grassland

We used very large scale aerial (VLSA) photography to quantify spatial patterns in bare soil in the northeastern Colorado shortgrass steppe. Using three pairs of pastures stocked at moderate (0.6 animal unit months [AUM] · ha^-1) versus very heavy (1.2 AUM · ha^-1) rates, we detected greater bare soil under very heavy (mean = 22.5%) versus moderate stocking (mean = 13.5%; P = 0.053) and a lower coefficient of variation across pastures under very heavy (0.48) versus moderate stocking (0.75; P = 0.032). Bare soil exhibited significant positive spatial autocorrelation across distances of 60–120 m under moderate stocking (Moran's I = 0.14), while patchiness at this scale was eliminated under very heavy grazing (I = -0.05). Across distances of 120–480 m, we observed no spatial autocorrelation with either stocking rate. Spatial autocorrelation was greatest at a separation distance of 2 m (I = 0.48–0.58) but was unaffected by stocking rate at this scale. Thus, very heavy grazing did not increase spatial autocorrelation in bare soil across scales of 2–480 m. Means and variability in the distribution of bare soil were not influenced by ecological site. Bare soil increased primarily at the scale of individual plant clusters through both increases in the density of small (2–20 cm) bare patch intercepts and increases in the frequency of bare patch intercepts of 20–60 cm (rather than &spilt; 20 cm). Our approach demonstrates the utility of VLSA for analyzing interactions between grazing and other landscape features and highlights the importance of spatially explicit sampling across broad scales (pastures) while testing for potential shifts in patchiness of bare soil at the scale of plant interspaces.     

普通克里格法在土壤有机碳制图中的应用

The quantification of the pattern and spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) is fundamental to understand many ecosystem processes.This study aimed to apply ordinary kriging (OK) to model the spatial distribution of SOC in a selected part of Zambia.A total of 100 soil samples were collected from the study area and analyzed for SOC by determining soil oxidizable carbon using the Walkley-Black method.An automated fitting procedure was followed when modeling the spatial structure of the SOC data with the exponential semivariogram.The results indicated that the short range spatial dependence of SOC was strong with a nugget close to zero.The spatial autocorrelation was high to medium with a nugget to sill ratio of 0.25.The root mean square error of the predictions was 0.64,which represented 58.18％ of the mean observed data for SOC.It can be concluded that the generated map could serve as a proxy for SOC in the region where evidence of spatial structure and quantitative estimates of uncertainty are reported.Therefore,the maps produced can be used as guides for various uses including optimization of soil sampling.     

Avian eimeria: invasion in foreign host birds and generation of partial immunity against coccidiosis

Four species of avian Eimeria invaded the intestine of foreign host birds in the same areas in which they invaded the natural host. Repeated inoculation (immunization) of chickens with the turkey coccidian, Eimeria adenoeides, partially protected the chickens against a subsequent challenge with 5.8 x 10(4) E. tenella oocysts. At 6 days post-challenge, the weight gain and feed conversion efficiency of the immunized chickens was significantly better than those of the chickens that were not immunized with E. adenoeides. Lesion scores and cellular invasion by the sporozoites were significantly lower in the immunized birds than in the unimmunized group. Electrophoresis and Western blot analysis identified changes in the serum antibody profiles of the chickens that appeared to be associated with the immunization and challenge programs. An antibody or antibodies recognizing a 60,000-molecular-weight antigen of E. tenella sporozoites disappeared when chickens immunized with E. adenoeides were challenged with E. tenella; an antibody or antibodies recognizing a 23,000-molecular-weight sporozoite antigen appeared within 6 days of challenge. Reciprocal studies, in which turkeys were immunized with E. tenella and challenged with E. adenoeides, showed little evidence of protection.     

Influence of betaine and salinomycin on intestinal absorption of methionine and glucose and on the ultrastructure of intestinal cells and parasite developmental stages in chicks infected with Eimeria acervulina

The effect of betaine and salinomycin on absorption of methionine and glucose in tissue from the duodenal loops of Eimeria acervulina-infected chicks was determined. Differences in the ultrastructure of the intestinal cells and parasite developmental stages were also examined. With a drug-resistant isolate of E. acervulina, methionine absorption was significantly higher in chicks fed a basal diet supplemented with 0.15% betaine as compared with absorption in chicks fed the unsupplemented basal diet. Addition of 66 ppm salinomycin to the diet containing betaine did not further enhance absorption. Conversely, with a drug-sensitive isolate, methionine absorption was significantly higher in chicks fed a diet supplemented with both betaine and salinomycin than in chicks fed the unsupplemented basal diet. Tissue from chicks fed any of the supplemented diets was usually significantly heavier than that from chicks fed the unsupplemented diet, even when weight gains of the birds were similar. Glucose absorption was similar in all diet groups. Epithelial cells in coccidia-infected and uninfected chicks fed diets supplemented with betaine or betaine plus salinomycin were less electron dense than cells from chicks fed diets that were not supplemented with betaine. Merozoites of E. acervulina in chicks fed diets supplemented with salinomycin had extensive membrane disruption and vacuolization, but the damage was prevented when betaine was added to the diet. Numerous merozoites and intact schizonts were seen in the intestinal lumen of chicks fed the diet containing betaine plus salinomycin.     

Red swamp crayfish,Procambarus clarkii,found in South Africa 22 years after attempted eradication

1. No freshwater crayfish are indigenous to continental Africa, but four species have been introduced to the continent. One of these is the North American red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii, which has been introduced into several African countries, mainly for aquaculture, and has had demonstrable impacts where it has escaped captivity. In South Africa, the documentation of this species in farm dams near Dullstroom and the adjacent Crocodile River in 1988 resulted in an eradication attempt in 1994, with unknown results. 2. In order to evaluate the status of P. clarkii in South Africa, dams on the previously invaded farm and the Crocodile River were sampled four times between December 2015 and June 2016 using visual surveys, trapping, dipnetting and electrofishing. This yielded a single reproductively active male P. clarkii from one of the farm ponds, while many other native aquatic species were found in high numbers. 3. It is clear from this study that P. clarkii was not eradicated in South Africa and that individuals have been surviving in the wild (i.e. outside captivity or cultivation) for at least 28 years in the location where it was introduced. Containment and eradication of the species are proposed as management actions, which have major importance in preventing undesirable further spread or translocation of this species into new aquatic environments in South Africa.     

Opportunities for Increasing Utility of Models for Rangeland Management

A large number of empirical and mechanistic simulation models and decision support tools have been produced for rangelands. Collectively, these models have considerably increased our fundamental knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of ecosystem functions, processes, and structure. We explore three areas where models for rangeland management are often challenging for land managers and enterprise-level decision making: 1) coping with spatiotemporal and climatic variability in implementing scenario forecasting, risk assessments, and adaptive management; 2) addressing outputs of multiple ecosystem goods and services and determining whether they are synergistic or competitive; and 3) integrating experimental and experiential knowledge and observations into decision making. Increasing the utility of models for rangeland management remains a key frontier and a major research need for the modeling community and will be achieved less by further technical advances and model complexity and more by the use of existing topoedaphic databases, the capacity to readily incorporate new experimental and experiential knowledge, and the use of frameworks that facilitate outcome-based, adaptive decision making at the enterprise level with associated economic considerations. Opportunities exist for increasing the utility of models for decision making and adaptive rangeland management through better matching of model complexity with enterprise-level, decision-making goals. This could be accomplished by incorporating a fundamental understanding of herbivory, fire, and spatiotemporal interactions with weather patterns that affect multiple ecosystem functions. Most important, effective models would allow land managers in a changing and variable climate to 1) evaluate trade offs in producing multiple goods and services, 2) optimize the application of conservation practices spatially (comparing costs and benefits accrued across different timescales), and 3) incorporate manager capacity, including experience, skills, and labor input.     

Preliminary Study in Immature Canine Oocytes Stained with Brilliant Cresyl Blue and Obtained From Bitches with Low and High Progesterone Serum Profiles

This study was conducted: (i) to observe the features and levels of blue colour impregnation in morphologically selected immature canine cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) stained with the brilliant cresyl blue (BCB) dye, as indicators of quality, and integrity of nuclear oocyte chromatin configuration before in vitro maturation (IVM); (ii) to observe the relationship between the influence of serum progesterone (SP) concentrations from ovary donors and BCB staining of immature dog oocytes. The results showed that out of 138 canine COCs, germinal vesicle (GV) stage prevailed in BCB+ oocytes at percentages of 67.4% (60/89), which were statistically higher than those observed in BCB+/− (52.2%; 23/44) and BCB− (20%; 1/5) oocytes (p = 0.023). Oocytes BCB+ were interpreted as those having completed their growth and therefore possessing the capacity to mature and develop in vitro . Ooplasm and cumulus cells (CCs) of canine oocytes were BCB staining independent. Ooplasm blue colour staining reaction varied between grown oocytes, revealing different levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity among and within oocytes. Additionally, SP profile of ovary donors was not a relevant indicator for selection of oocytes screened with the BCB stain. Similar numbers of high quality oocytes were observed to be BCB+, BCB+/− and BCB− between groups of females with SP varying from 0 to 2.5 ng/ml (n = 5), and those with SP varying from 2.6 to 16.7 ng/ml (n = 4) (p = 0.680). It may be inferred that bitches with low and high SP profiles have grown oocytes in their ovaries, as determined by the BCB absorbance in their ooplasms.