Conversion and recovery of Puerto Rican mangroves: 200 years of change

Human activities have dramatically reduced the world’s area of mangroves just as the ecological services they provide are becoming widely recognized. Improving the conservation tools available to restore lost mangroves would benefit from a better understanding of how human activities influence the conservation of these ecosystems. We took advantage of historical information and long-term landscape analyses to relate land use change with the area of mangroves in Puerto Rico. We found that mangroves experienced dramatic changes over the last 200 years, and four distinct eras of change were visible. During the agricultural era (1800–1940) the area of mangroves declined 45%. As the economy changed to industrial in the late 1940s the area of mangrove increase due to reduced land use pressure on the wetlands. Nevertheless, urban expansion between 1960s and 1970s produced another decline. Public concern for mangrove conservation resulted in the legal protection of all the mangroves in 1972, and since then their area has expanded. We found that past human activity altered the original proportion of mangrove species. The number and size of mangrove-forest fragments was impacted by land use, and urban areas had fewer and smaller fragments than vegetated areas. Uncontrolled expansion of urban areas emerged as a major threat to mangrove conservation. Mangroves are resilient and recover quickly when given an opportunity if the geomorphological and hydrological features of the habitat are not changed by their use. The key to conservation appears to be a combination of the type of human activity in mangrove watersheds combined with strong legal protection. The following steps are recommended: (1) identify the areas that satisfy the ecological requirements of mangrove development; (2) incorporate better zoning regulations to maintain these areas natural and to protect the fluxes of water, nutrients, and organisms in and out of the system; and (3) monitor results.     

Treatment of feline hyperthyroidism using orally administered radioiodine: a study of 40 consecutive cases

SUMMARY Forty cats with hyperthyroidism were treated using 200 to 300 (typically 250) mBq of orally administered ¹³¹I. Thirty-six cases (90%) were successfully treated, as assessed by resolution of clinical signs and reduction In plasma thyroxine concentrations to normal or reduced values after treatment. Although higher doses of ¹³¹I appear to be required when the radioisotope is administered orally rather than Intravenously, a less stressful administration procedure and greater availability of therapy capsules offer useful advantages for treating thyrotoxic cats.     

High sulfide concentrations in rumen fluid associated with nutritionally induced polioencephalomalacia in calves

Nine 115- to 180-kg, hay-adapted, Holstein steers were fed an experimental diet with added sodium sulfate that induces polioencephalomalacia (PEM). Five calves developed the disease. Thiamine concentrations in blood, CSF, brain, and liver were not indicative of thiamine deficiency. The odor of hydrogen sulfide in eructated rumen gas was associated with the onset of PEM. Sulfide concentrations in rumen fluid were measured 1 or 2 times a week by 2 techniques. Sulfide concentrations progressively increased in all 9 calves after the feeding of the PEM-inducing diet commenced. The highest concentrations coincided with the onset of clinical signs of PEM and were significantly higher in the calves that developed PEM than in those that did not. This suggests that PEM can result from sulfide toxicosis following excess production of sulfide in the rumen.