Response of bat species to sylvo-pastoral abandonment

We assessed the effect of abandonment of sylvo-pastoral practices in chestnut orchards (Castanea sativa) on bats in southern Switzerland to determine practical recommendations for bat conservation. We compared bat species richness and foraging activities between traditionally managed and unmanaged chestnut orchards, testing the hypothesis that managed orchards provide better foraging opportunities and harbour more bat species. Echolocation calls of foraging bats were sampled simultaneously at paired sites of managed and unmanaged orchards using custom made recorders. Vegetation structure and aerial insect availability were sampled at the recording sites and used as explanatory variables in the model. In a paired sampling design, we found twice the number of bat species (12) and five times higher total foraging activity in the managed chestnut orchards compared to the unmanaged ones. Bat species with low flight manoeuvrability were 14 times more common in managed orchards, whereas bats with medium to high manoeuvrability were only 5 times more common than in abandoned orchards. The vegetation structure was less dense in managed orchards. However, management did not affect relative insect abundance. Bats primarily visited the most open orchards, free of undergrowth. As a result of restricted access into the overgrown forests, the abandonment of chestnut orchards leads to a decline in bat species richness and foraging activities. Continued management of chestnut orchards to maintain an open structure is important for the conservation of endangered bat species in the southern Swiss Alps.     

Mortality,hematology, and histopathology of common snook Centropomus undecimalis (Perciformes: Centropomidae) exposed to acute toxicity of ammonia

This study aimed to evaluate the tolerance of common snook Centropomus undecimalis larvae and juveniles exposed to acute concentrations of un-ionized ammonia for 96 h at 35g L^?1 salinity, after 24 h starvation. For that, 10 larvae (20.85 ± 1.46 mm) of 47 days post hatch (DPH) per experimental unit (1.5 L) were exposed to 0.00 ± 0.00, 0.65 ± 0.04, 1.29 ± 0.09, 2.59 ± 0.18, 3.88 ± 0.27, 5.17 ± 0.34, and 6.47 ± 0.43 mg L^?1 NH₃, in triplicates, at 26.72 ± 0.08°C, dissolved oxygen at 5.72 ± 0.10 mg L^?1 and pH 8.45 ± 0.06. During this period, no mortalities were observed. Another trial was performed with five juveniles (20.35 ± 6.10 g, 13.90 ± 1.75 cm) per experimental unit (60 L) exposed to 0.00 ± 0.00, 2.26 ± 0.07, 2.68 ± 0.11, 3.20 ± 0.13, 3.68 ± 0.17, and 4.27 ± 0.16 mg L^?1 NH₃, in triplicates, at 21.90 ± 0.76°C, dissolved oxygen at 6.27 ± 0.21 mg L^?1 and pH at 8.38 ± 0.04. Fish mortality increased as ammonia concentrations increased at each day, and LC₅₀ 96 h was 3.52 mg L^?1 NH₃. Larvae were less sensitive than juveniles, demonstrating that the environmental toxicity of ammonia to common snook is influenced by age. Sublethal exposition to ammonia caused histological damages in gills of common snook juveniles and variation on glucose levels, hematocrit, and red blood cells number, showing negative effects on fish homeostasis. Moreover, compared to other species, the common snook has great resistance to ammonia.     

Comparison of the impact of dextran and reuteran on the quality of wheat sourdough bread

This study investigates the influence of in situ exopolysaccharides (EPS) and organic acids on dough rheology and wheat bread quality. Dextran forming Weissella cibaria MG1 was compared to reuteran forming Lactobacillus reuteri VIP. For in situ production of EPS, sourdoughs were supplemented with 15% sucrose. Control sourdoughs were prepared with the same strain but without sucrose. W. cibaria MG1 and L. reuteri VIP formed 5.1 and 5.8 g kg⁻¹ dextran and reuteran, respectively. Formation of EPS from sucrose led to production of high amounts of acetate by L. reuteri VIP, but only small amounts were detected in W. cibaria MG1 sourdough. EPS containing sourdough or control sourdough was incorporated at 10% and 20% in wheat dough. EPS significantly influenced the rheological properties of the dough, with dextran exhibiting the strongest impact. The addition of dextran enriched W. cibaria MG1 sourdough significantly increased CO₂ production, whereas increased acidity in reuteran containing dough reduced gas production. The quality of wheat bread was enhanced when 10% of L. reuteri-sucrose sourdough was added. The positive effect of reuteran was masked by increased acidification after 20% sourdough addition. Incorporation of dextran enriched sourdough (10% and 20%) provided mildly acidic wheat bread with improved bread quality.     

An extensible model library for generating wind speed data

Wind is a library providing a collection of stochastic approaches to generate wind speed data on daily and hourly time steps. Daily generation refers to as mean, maximum and minimum daily wind speed. The library is made available as software component, inclusive of hypertext help file, allowing the development of language-independent clients under Windows operating systems. The component includes advanced features for re-use in custom developed applications, and it allows independent extensions by third parties without requiring its re-compilation. Illustrative examples on how to extend and re-use the library are provided as C# code projects.     

Authentication of farmed and wild turbot (Psetta maxima) by fatty acid and isotopic analyses combined with chemometrics

Fatty acid composition and stable isotope ratios of carbon (delta(13)C) and nitrogen (delta(15)N) were determined in muscle tissue of turbot (Psetta maxima). The multivariate analysis of the data was performed to evaluate their utility in discriminating wild and farmed fish. Wild (n=30) and farmed (n=30) turbot of different geographical origins (Denmark, The Netherlands, and Spain) were sampled from March 2006 to February 2007. The application of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) to analytical data demonstrated the combination of fatty acids and isotopic measurements to be a promising method to discriminate between wild and farmed fish and between wild fish of different geographical origin. In particular, IRMS (Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry) alone did not permit us to separate completely farmed from wild samples, resulting in some overlaps between Danish wild and Spanish farmed turbot. On the other hand, fatty acids alone differentiated between farmed and wild samples by 18:2n-6 but were not able to distinguish between the two groups of wild turbot. When applying LDA isotope ratios, 18:2n-6, 18:3n-3, and 20:4n-6 fatty acids were decisive to distinguish farmed from wild turbot of different geographical origin, while delta(15)N, 18:2n-6, and 20:1n-11 were chosen to classify wild samples from different fishing zones. In both cases, 18:2n-6 and delta(15)N were determinant for classification purposes. We would like to emphasize that IRMS produces rapid results and could be the most promising technique to distinguish wild fish of different origin. Similarly, fatty acid composition could be used to easily distinguish farmed from wild samples.     

Pedostratigraphy of Terra Rossa and Quaternary geological evolution of a lacustrine limestone plateau in central Italy

Pedostratigraphic levels (PLs) are typical assemblages of soil‐genetic horizons, formed by materials having the same degree of weathering. The pedostratigraphic approach can be very useful to comprehend the formation of the Quaternary soil cover, the environmental evolution of a territory, and to estimate the age of paleosols. A pedostratigraphic study of a Terra Rossa was carried out to understand the soil–parent material origin and to estimate the time of the beginning of pedogenesis. Besides soil and geomorphological survey, the Terra Rossa was analyzed for Fe forms, geochemistry, clay mineralogy, micromorphology, and with scanning electron microscope. Optical dating was applied to obtain age estimates for the deposition of the parent material of soil formation. The insoluble residue of limestone was obtained and analyzed for geochemistry and clay mineralogy. The bedrock is constituted by Quaternary lacustrine limestone, showing pronounced karst landforms. The soil profile is situated in a little dissolution doline and was divided into three PLs: PL1 (0–110 cm) is constituted by cambic and ochric horizons, formed during Holocene in a mixture of colluvial soil sediments and fresh limestone, with aeolian components; PL2 (110–290 cm) includes two argic horizons, which began to form during Late‐Middle Pleistocene in colluvial soil sediments, with few aeolian additions; PL3 (290–330 cm) is constituted by a red argic horizon, with nitic properties, which developed from the insoluble residue of the limestone. The age of PL3 was calculated through a mass balance and an estimation of the limestone‐dissolution rate during the Quaternary, which led to an approximate age of Middle Pleistocene, between 250 and 500 ky BP. The time of the beginning of pedogenesis on limestone can be used as a reference for the tectonic uplifting of the area and emersion of the plateau.     

Just grazing the surface: A tribute to Professor John Hodgson 1937–2018

John Hodgson (1937–2018) is renowned worldwide as a passionate and principled researcher, dedicated to the study of interactions between grazing livestock and pasture sward, and to whole‐system management of grassland. He published over 250 scientific outputs during his 50‐year career, and inspired generations of grazing ecologists. Following his upbringing on a mixed‐livestock farm in the Yorkshire Dales, John received BSc, PhD and DSc from the University of Leeds, UK. He worked in research institutes in Hurley, England and Penicuik, Scotland, before taking a Chair in Agronomy at Massey University, New Zealand in 1986. There, he progressed to become Head of School for the Environment. John retired from university life in 2002, but never left academia. John's global research legacy is reflected in the international authorship of this memorial review. His international impact is demonstrated by the supervision of over 50 PhD students from all over the world, and by his knowledge‐sharing travels to South America and China. His peers will remember him as a thoughtful and collaborative scholar. His students will remember him as an inspiring and caring mentor. He helped to revolutionize the way that grasslands are managed, in the face of global environmental change and increasing demand on grazed systems. John lost a long battle with Parkinson's disease in October 2018 and is survived by his wife, Ruth, and five children. His own research was often dedicated to his father, Dick Hodgson, and the first author of this tribute wishes to do the same.     

RESEARCH PAPER: Incidence of elevation of cardiac troponin I prior to and following routine general anaesthesia in dogs

ObjectiveTo estimate the incidence of raised cTnI after general anaesthesia in dogs and to explore major risk factors influencing this.Study designProspective clinical study.AnimalsA total of 107 (ASA physical status 1?2) dogs, 63% male and 37% female, median age 5 years (range 0.3–13.4), median weight 24.4 kg (range 4.2–66.5 kg) undergoing anaesthesia for clinical purposes.MethodsVenous blood samples were taken within 24 hours prior to induction and 24 hours after the termination of anaesthesia. Serum concentrations of cardiac troponin I were measured using a chemiluminescent enzyme immunometric assay with a lower level of detection of 0.20 ng mL^?1 (below this level <0.20 ng mL^?1). Continuous data were assessed graphically for normality and paired and unpaired data compared with the Wilcoxon signed ranks and Mann–Whitney U‐tests respectively. Categorical data were compared with the Chi squared or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate (p < 0.05).ResultsOf the 107 dogs recruited, 100 had pre‐ and post‐anaesthetic cTnI measured. The median pre‐anaesthesia cTnI was ‘<0.20’ ng mL^?1 (range ‘<0.20’–0.43 ng mL^?1) and the median increase from pre‐anaesthesia level was 0.00 ng mL^?1 (range ?0.12 to 0.61 ng mL^?1). Fourteen dogs had increased cTnI after anaesthesia relative to pre‐anaesthesia (14%, 95% CI 7.2–20.8%, range of increase 0.03–0.61 ng mL^?1). Six animals had cTnI levels that decreased (range 0.02–0.12 ng mL^?1). Older dogs were more likely to have increased cTnI prior to anaesthesia (OR = 5.32, 95% CI 1.35–21.0, p = 0.007) and dogs 8 years and over were 3.6 times as likely to have an increased cTnI after anaesthesia (95% CI 1.1–12.4, p = 0.028).Conclusion and clinical relevanceIncreased cTnI after anaesthesia relative to pre‐anaesthesia levels was observed in a number of apparently healthy dogs undergoing routine anaesthesia.