Anthocyanins present in selected tropical fruits: acerola, jambolão, jussara, and guajiru

Many tropical fruits are rich in anthocyanins, though limited information is available about the characterization and quantification of these anthocyanins. The identification and quantification of anthocyanin pigments in four tropical fruits were determined by HPLC-MS/MS. Fruits studied included acerola (Malphigia emarginata), jussara (Euterpe edulis), jambol?o (Syzygium cumini), and guajiru (Chrysobalanus icaco). All four fruits were found to contain anthocyanin pigments. Anthocyanidin backbones included cyanidin, delphinidin, peonidin, pelargonidin, petunidin, and malvidin. Guajiru contained several acylated forms, while acerola, jussara, and jambol?o contained only nonacylated glycosides. These results demonstrate that these tropical fruits are rich in anthocyanins and that the anthocyanins are widely ranging in anthocyanidin backbone, glycosylation, and acylation.     

Changes in soil carbon and nitrogen stocks after conversion of subtropical natural forest to loblolly pine plantations

Pinus plantations have increased in Brazil, and native forest areas have been converted for timber production. The clearing and the long-term loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) land-use effects on soil carbon and nitrogen stocks were evaluated in a natural broadleaved forest and in loblolly pine sites cultivated for 29, 35, 38 and 49 years, as well the soil contribution as ecosystem carbon pool. According to the exponential-decay model fitted to changes in carbon stock, the initial soil carbon stock of 200 Mg ha^?1 to a depth of 100 cm in the natural forest decreased by 36% over 49 years of pine cultivation (around 72.4 Mg ha^?1 of C). Around two-thirds of this decrease occurred in the top 30 cm of the soil and intensively in the first 12 years of cultivation, but slowly faded as carbon stock tended to reach a new steady state after approximately 49 years of cultivation. The soil nitrogen stock in the natural forest was 14.2 Mg ha^?1 to a depth of 100 cm and decreased by 36% over the 49 years. This decrease was linear according to the fitted model, especially in the top 30 cm where nitrogen decline was 83% and was proportionally more intense than the carbon decline. Despite the soil carbon decrease, soil remained the largest carbon reservoir in the ecosystem for the growing rotation time of loblolly pine in this region.

     

Fish feed can show genotoxic damage

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry - The present study was carried out to evaluate the genotoxic potential of nutritional quality of feed, using erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities assay in Nile...     

Using mixed methods to investigate factors influencing reporting of livestock diseases: A case study among smallholders in Bolivia

Livestock disease surveillance is particularly challenging in resource-scarce settings, where disease events are often unreported. Surveillance performance is determined as much by the quantifiable biological attributes of the disease, as it is by motivations and barriers perceived by livestock keepers for disease reporting. Mixed methods designs, which integrate the collection, analysis and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data in a single study, are increasingly used across different disciplines. These designs allow for a deeper exploration of the topic under investigation, than can be achieved by either approach alone.     

Subependymal Reaction Secondary to Choroid Plexus Papilloma in a Horse

Choroid plexus papilloma (CPP) is a rare, benign, intracranial neoplasm. The present report described a choroid plexus papilloma of the fourth ventricle with unusual proliferative reaction of ependymal/subependymal cells in a stallion. A single, soft neoformation, red-gray in color, with an irregular surface, resembling a cauliflower, expanding from the fourth ventricle to the cerebellar peduncles was observed. Microscopically, the neoformation was composed of a single layer of simple cuboidal to columnar epithelium with a well-vascularized papillary-arboriform pattern. Multifocal subependymal aggregates forming rosettes were observed near the mesencephalic aqueduct (MA). Glial-fibrillary-acidic-protein (GFAP) was markedly positive only in the neuropil adjacent to the proliferative areas of the MA. Ependymal/subependymal reactions secondary to CPP have never been described in equine or human neuropathology. The capabilities of ependymal cells to regenerate and eventually proliferate are controversial and unclear and, thus, require additional investigation to understand the adaptive mechanisms of this rare pathogenic condition.     

Tiptoeing between restoration and invasion: seed rain into natural gaps within a highly invaded relic forest in the Azores

The last remains of native laurel forest in the Azores are highly threatened by the spread of invasive plants. Because landslides are very frequent in these islands, conservation of native laurel forest requires knowledge of the patterns of bird-dispersed seed rain into forest gaps. We monitored 78 seed traps over 1 year to investigate (1) the role of perches in attracting avian dispersers into gaps, (2) temporal patterns in the dispersal of exotic and native seeds, (3) how seed rain affects vegetation establishment in gaps at different distances from the native forest and (4) whether the caloric content of fruits could explain the number of seeds dispersed. Perches were highly effective in concentrating avian seed dispersal. While some native fruits are produced all year-round, most exotic plants set fruits during the main peak of the native fruit production (August–November). Most seeds recovered from the traps were native, and native seed rain inside the native forest was higher than in gaps. However, deposition of exotic seeds was not affected by distance from native forest. Seed dispersal frequencies monitored by seed traps and by faecal analysis were correlated with each other, but not with fruit caloric content, suggesting that other factors are more important that the nutritional value in predicting avian fruit choice. Forest restoration activities should take into consideration that seed dispersal decreases sharply beyond 100 m from native forest and the attractive potential of perches to direct natural seed dispersal into forest gaps.     

A modelling approach to infer the effects of wind farms on landscape connectivity for bats

Little is known about the potentially disrupting effects of wind farms on the habitat connectivity of flying vertebrates at the landscape scale. We developed a regional-scale model to assess the wind farm impact on bat migration and commuting routes. The model was implemented for the bat Nyctalus leisleri in a region of central Italy currently undergoing considerable wind farm development. A Species Distribution Model (SDM) for N. leisleri was generated using the MaxEnt algorithm based on 47 presence records (reduced to 19 after the autocorrelation procedure) and 10 environmental variables derived from topographic and land cover maps. We used the SDM to create a map of connectivity using the software UNICOR to identify potential commuting corridors (PCCs). The incidence of each wind farm on bat flight corridors was assessed by overlaying the existing (380) and planned (195) turbine locations onto the PCCs. The SDM was statistically robust (AUC > 0.8). Most of the corridors were concentrated in the western part of the region, which hosts the largest suitable areas for the species; most of the existing (54 %) and planned (72 %) wind farms interfered with important corridors connecting the western and the eastern parts of the region. Our results provide key information on the impact of the wind farm industry on biodiversity on a regional scale. The novel approach adopted, based on SDM and connectivity analysis, could be easily extended to other flying vertebrates and landscapes and constitutes a promising planning tool necessary for harmonizing the development of renewable energy infrastructures with issues of biodiversity conservation.     

Induced spawning of hatchery-raised Brazilian catfish, cachara Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum (Linnaeus, 1766)

In the months of January 2001 and 2002, female cachara Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum were selected during their first and second gonadal maturation (2 years and 7 months old and 3 years and 7 months old, respectively) with an of oocyte diameter of 937.5 μm (82.5% with central nuclei and 17.5% with peripheral nuclei). Nine females in first maturation received two doses of carp pituitary extract (CPE), 0.5 mg/kg and 5.0 mg/kg; seven received two doses of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), 5 and 10 IU/g; five received doses of 0.5 CPE mg/kg and 5 hCG IU/g (CPE+hCG); and four received 0.9% saline (saline). Nine females from CPE and seven from hCG presented oocytes with the same diameter at the moment of oocyte release (100% with germinal vesicle breakdown and fertilization rate of 53.44±18.3 and 54.81±11.8%; larvae number of 165,330±94.1 and 158,570±20.6, respectively). The five females from CPE+hCG did not respond to the hormonal treatment. The four females from the saline group did not ovulate. In January 2002, 6 of 15 selected females that were going through the second reproductive cycle received CPE (five received hCG and four received saline), showing oocyte diameters similar to the ones in the first maturation. At stripping, CPE females had an oocyte diameter of 1062.5 μm (the hCG females had oocyte diameters ranging from 937.5 to 1125.0 μm; fertilization rates of 56.08±30.9 and 81.90±17.3%; 364,547±244 and 633,129±190, larvae, respectively). The fertilization rates and larvae number were higher in the second gonad maturation, both for CPE and hCG.     

Marine research,resources and conservation in the Azores

• 1 A history of marine research on the Azores is outlined. Until two decades ago most oceanic and littoral marine studies had been carried out by foreign scientists. Studies by Azorean scientists started to increase in the early 1980s when the University of the Azores was created.
• 2 Ocean circulation in this part of the Atlantic is described as a background for biogeography and diversity. The picture emerges that Azores is a ?meeting point’? for shallow water marine fauna and flora of different origins.
• 3 The species composition of one of the best studied groups of organisms, the fish, is compared between locations in the northeastern Atlantic. The work on fish is also compared with other well studied groups (algae and hydroids) to highlight the interest of the Azores as a natural biogeographical experiment.
• 4 Studies of marine resources began less than two decades ago. The development of demersal fisheries is described focusing on the switch from small-scale artisanal fishing to more commercial fisheries.
• 5 Conservation of species and legislation in force for molluscs, crustaceans, fishes, marine turtles, seabirds and marine mammals are summarized.
• 6 Protected marine areas already designated are defined, as well as new areas recommended.
• 7 The paper concludes with a discussion of current threats and future management strategies.