Experimental studies on cold survival of enchytraeid cocoons

The effect of different culture methods, cold acclimation and desiccation on the supercooling point (SCP), the melting point (MP) of fluids and the quantity of water freezing (osmotically active water) was investigated in individual cocoons of Enchytraeus crypticus and an undescribed Enchytraeus species using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. Both species can be easily cultured in the laboratory in agar where the development and hatching of the worms can be observed. Culture methods (agar with nettle leaves or oats as food and wet filter paper without food supply) had a significant effect on fresh weight and SCP of E. crypticus cocoons. The water content (as a proportion of fresh weight) was slightly lower in the cocoons from the wet filter paper cultures. Acclimation at —3 °C did not affect the supercooling ability of E. crypticus cocoons, whereas the SCP of E. sp.1 cocoons was lowered from a mean of —8.7 to —12.4 °C. The supercooling ability of cocoons of E. crypticus was only slightly increased by desiccation and cold acclimation, but the quantity of frozen water was significantly reduced with acclimation and desiccation (2 and 3 min) at room temperature. The MP values of the cocoon fluids reflected these changes in both species. No cocoons of E. crypticus and E. sp.1 survived desiccation and freezing in our experiments and no worms of Enchytraeus albidus, E. crypticus and Henlea perpusilla survived freezing to —10 or —20 °C.     

Brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus) density distribution in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: an approach using boosted regression trees

The estuarine‐dependent brown shrimp, Farfantepenaeus aztecus, is a significant commercial fishery and important species in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) ecosystem as well as being a key component in energy transfer between benthic and pelagic food web systems. Because of the economical and ecological importance of brown shrimp, we developed a spatial population model to identify places of high shrimp density under a set of spatial, environmental and temporal variables in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM). We used fisheries‐independent data collected by the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) from 1992 to 2007 (summer and fall seasons). The relationship between the predictor variables and shrimp density was modeled using Boosted Regression Trees (BRT). Within the environmental variables included in the model, bottom type and depth of the water column were the most important predictors of shrimp density in the NGOM. Spatial predictions performed using the trained BRT model for summer and fall seasons showed a spatial segregation of shrimp density. During the summer, higher densities were predicted near the Texas and Louisiana coast and during the fall, higher densities were predicted further offshore. The model performed well and allowed successful prediction of brown shrimp hot spots in the NGOM. Model results allow fisheries managers to evaluate the potential impact from fisheries on the resource and to develop future fisheries management strategies, understand the biology of brown shrimp as well as assess the potential impacts of oil spills or climate change.     

Naturally occurring eastern equine encephalitis in a Hampshire wether.

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) was diagnosed (postmortem) in a sheep with clinical signs attributable to a central nervous system disease. The sheep was febrile and initially had front limb incoordination, which progressed to paralysis of both front and hind limbs during a course of 2 days. The sheep maintained an alert attitude with the ability to eat up to the time of euthanasia. The only clinical pathologic abnormalities were neutrophilia and lymphopenia without appreciable leukocytosis, a moderate hyperglycemia, and an elevated creatine kinase. Treatment included hydrotherapy for lowering body temperature, intravenous fluids, thiamine hydrochloride, tetanus antitoxin, antibiotics, and corticosteroids. The only gross lesion at the time of necropsy was a wet glistening surface of the brain (leptomeninges). Microscopically, there was severe nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis, poliomyelitis, and polyradiculoneuritis with mild multifocal neutrophilic infiltration. The EEE virus was isolated from the brain, and subsequent fluorescent antibody testing for EEE was positive on cell culture.     

Effects of the fenbendazole SR bolus on Trichostrongylus infections in young calves during two consecutive grazing periods

A two-year study was conducted in northern Germany to investigate the effects of the fenbendazole slow release (SR) bolus on trichostrongyle infections in cattle. Two groups of dairy replacement calves were either given a bolus at their first turncut on pasture or treated with fenbendazole suspension twice in mid-summer and at housing. Bolus-treated and control animals were set stocked on separate pastures during their first grazing season (26 weeks) and grazed together during the second year (24 weeks). During the first season the bolus prevented substantially the output of strongyle eggs for more than four months resulting in a lower infection risk in late summer and autumn as compared to the control group. The plasma pepsinogen concentrations remained low in the bolus-treated cattle during their first grazing period but rose in the controls soon after turnout which indicated increasing trichostrongyle-caused damages of the abomasal mucosa. During the following housing period and the second grazing season the bolus-treated animals showed higher egg counts than the controls. No clinical sign of parasitic gastroenteritis and no patent lungworm infections were observed during the study. The bolus-treated cattle performed better than the control animals during both grazing seasons although the control group had compensated temporarily the group difference in weight gains during the housing period. In conclusion, the use of the fenbendazole SR bolus may impair the development of immunity to trichostrongyle infections to some extent but, under the present conditions, this does not seem of clinical or economic importance.