Impacts of resource extraction on forest structure and diversity in Bardia National Park,Nepal

Repeated biomass harvesting for human livelihood needs can cause significant changes in forest structure, composition and diversity. Such impacts have often been associated with the distance to villages and their size, but the effects of individual villages in relation to their characteristics have been little studied. Focussing on the issues around communities’ impacts on the forest, this research aimed to understand how resource extraction by two Buffer Zone villages in Nepal's Bardia National Park affects forest structure and diversity. Tree density, basal area, diameter at breast height (DBH), species richness, two diversity indices and disturbance indices were recorded in 108 plots in 12 transects, from March till May 2005, within the park along the village boundaries, where resource extraction occurs, and in the core park area which is isolated from human disturbance. Forest subject to resource extraction had a lower density of trees, smaller DBH and lower species richness and diversity. Forest disturbance declined with distance from the villages but the two villages differed widely in their impact on the forest. Resource use was more intensive in Shivapur village and percentage of trees lopped, average lopping intensity and numbers of dung piles were statistically significant. This was mainly due to the lack of access to Buffer Zone community Forest for Shivapur households. Interviews with villagers suggested that there have been changes in species availability compared to 5 years ago. Households also underestimated the impact of their resource extraction, which may prevent them from changing their behaviour to benefit conservation. It is clear that understanding rural communities’ needs, their framing of resource extraction and utilisation, and dependence on forest resources will be very helpful for long term conservation measures.     

Extrapulmonary granulomatous lesions in canine paragonimiasis

Extrapulmonary granulomatous lesions associated with a naturally acquired Paragonimus kellicotti infection were observed in a dog with severe pulmonary paragonimiasis. Lung lesions were similar to those previously described. Extrapulmonary granulomatous lesions were found in the liver, mediastinal lymph nodes, spermatic cord and the tunica vaginalis. Extravascular deposition of eggs in the spermatic cord and tunica vaginalis caused a perilymphatic granulomatous inflammation and partially occlusive lymphangitis with dilatation of the external lymphatic vessel of the right spermatic cord.     

NOCTURNAL ACTIVITY OF BIRDS ON SHRIMP MARICULTURE PONDS

Birds can reduce production of shrimp in mariculture grow-out ponds through predation and competition for feed. This study involved weekly nocturnal enumeration of bird populations and observation of nocturnal avian habits on a series of 0.1 ha experimental ponds at the Texas A&M University Shrimp Mariculture Facility at Corpus Christi, Texas. Observations were conducted hourly from sunset to sunrise during October through December 1980. The rate of predation was evaluated every three hours by comparing the number of feeding attempts to the number of successful prey captures over a known time period. Gulls (Family Laridae) acted primarily as competitors for feed. Active feeding by gulls was restricted to daylight hours, consequently feed loss decreased when the feed was distributed at or after dusk. Major preadatory birds included herons and egrets (F. Ardeidae), migratory ducks (F. Anatidae), and, to a lesser extent, grebes (F. Podicipedidae) and shorebirds (Order Charadriiformes). Bird predation decreased pond production by 75% in some ponds.     

Haemolytic-uraemic syndrome in a dog

An 11-year-old female German Shepherd dog presented with lethargy and anorexia, which progressed to haemorrhagic vomiting, diarrhoea and seizures. Serum biochemistry and haematology results showed azotaemia and mild thrombocytopaenia. Euthanasia was elected and the dog was submitted for necropsy examination. There were widespread serosal and mucosal petechial and ecchymotic haemorrhages within the abdomen, with ascites and multiple renal infarcts. The renal infarcts were associated with fibrinoid necrosis and thrombosis of inter-lobular arteries and arterioles. These arterial lesions and clinical signs are consistent with haemolytic-uraemic syndrome, which has not previously been reported in dogs in Europe.     

Retrospective study of the relationships between age, inflammation and the isolation of bacteria from the lower respiratory tract of thoroughbred horses

A total of 1235 tracheal aspirates taken from 724 thoroughbreds in race training, aged from two to 10 years, were examined cytologically and bacteriologically. An inflammation scoring system on a scale of 0 to 9 was devised to allow the severity of lower airway disease to be assessed from the cytological results. The inflammation scores were closely related to the isolation of bacteria (P<0.001), and the most common bacterial isolates were Streptococcus zooepidemicus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Pasteurella/Actinobacillus-like species. Lower airway disease was less common in older horses (P = 0.031), and the groups at highest risk were the two- and four-year-olds. Lower airway inflammation was more common in the four-year-olds at National Hunt yards than in the four-year-olds at flat racing yards (P = 0.040, odds ratio = 3.80).     

Cascading effects of introduced Nile perch (Lates niloticus) on the foraging ecology of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Abstract –  Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus L.) is the dominant of the introduced tilapiines in many East African lakes and has flourished in the presence of introduced Nile perch ( Lates niloticus L.). We explored the hypothesis that O. niloticus exhibits increased omnivory in response to a decline in abundance of haplochromine cichlids. First, we quantified variation in habitat use and diet of O. niloticus in Lake Nabugabo, Uganda. Second, we compared the diet of O. niloticus in lakes with (Nabugabo, Victoria) and without (Mburo, Wamala, Nyamusingiri, Kyasanduka) introduced Nile perch. In Lake Nabugabo, a higher level of phytoplanktivory was observed in small juveniles than in larger fish and in wetland ecotone areas where haplochromines were most abundant. An omnivorous diet dominated by detritus and invertebrates was recorded for O. niloticus in lakes Nabugabo and Victoria, while a predominantly herbivorous diet was characteristic of O. niloticus in lakes without Nile perch. Availability of a broad food base in lakes where inshore insectivores have been reduced may explain the increased omnivory recorded in lakes Nabugabo and Victoria.     

Genotype by environment effects and selection for drought tolerance in tropical maize. II. Three-mode pattern analysis

A selection program in three tropical maize populations aimed to improve tolerance of mid-season to late season drought environments while maintaining grain yield (GY) potential. The selection process employed other attributes that included maintaining a constant anthesis date (AD) and, under drought, shortening the anthesis-silking interval (ASI) and increasing ear number per plant (EPP). Three-mode (genotypes × environments × attributes) pattern analysis, which consists of clustering and ordination, should be able to collectively interpret these changes from ten evaluation trials. Mixture maximum likelihood clustering identified four groups that indicated the populations' performance had changed with selection. Groups containing the advanced cycles of selection were higher yielding in most environments and had lower ASI and higher EPP, particularly in drought environments. Check entries with no selection for drought tolerance remained grouped with the initial cycles of selection. A 3 × 2 × 3 (genotypes by environments by attributes) principal component model explained 70% of the variation. For the first environmental component, ASI was shown to be highly negatively correlated with both GY and EPP while anthesis date (AD) was virtually uncorrelated with other traits. The second environmental component (explaining 10% of the variation) contrasted droughted and well-watered environments and showed that EPP and GY were better indicators of this contrast (in terms of changes in population performance) than were AD or ASI. Three-mode analysis demonstrated that improvements with selection occurred in both droughted and well-watered environments and clearly summarised the overall success of the breeding program. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Acid deposition near a sour gas plant in southwestern Alberta

Atmospheric fallout in the vicinity of a sour gas plant in southwestern Alberta was collected on an event basis with bulk precipitation collectors during June, July and August of 1972, 1973 and 1982. Samples were collected at 9 sites within 20 km of the plant. Total atmospheric sulfation measurements defined a higher exposure area located downwind of the plant, but the precipitation measurements did not. Bulk deposition of H⁺ ion in the study area was an average 10.77 mmol H⁺ m^?2 3 mol^?1 in 1972 and 0.014 and 0.049 in 1973 and 1982, respectively. 1972 samples were also significantly more acidic (average pH of 4.3 vs 5.7 in 1973 and 5.3 in 1982). Deposition of SO₄ ⁼ averaged 2.1 kg S ha^?1 3 mol^?1 in 1972 and 0.96 and 0.72 in 1973 and 1982. The higher deposition of both S and H⁺ in 1972 is mainly a result of more precipitation. There was no significant correlation between H⁺ and SO₄ ⁼ species in the samples. There was no significant relationship between plant S emissions and deposition rates, or plant S emissions and average total atmospheric sulfation measurements.