High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) was performed in 21 isolated animal lungs, from 4 mammalian species (pigs, rabbits, dogs, sheep). Gross and subgross central and peripheral lung morphology was determined by HRCT. Three distinct types of lungs can be identified, principally based on the extent of interlobular septal development; the relationship of major vessels to airways; and the thickness of the visceral pleura. Type-I lung is found in pigs, sheep, and cattle; type-II lung is found in rabbits, dogs, cats, and monkeys; and type-III lung is found in human beings and horses. These mammalian lungs were compared with human lungs. The potential use of HRCT to investigate specific human lung diseases in the aforementioned species also was considered. 相似文献
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common oral epithelial malignancy in dogs. It exhibits locally aggressive biological behaviour with the potential to metastasize, and a reported 1-year survival rate of 0% when left untreated. Expression studies suggest that aberrant MAPK signalling plays a key role in canine OSCC tumorigenesis, which is consistent with BRAF and HRAS MAPK-activating mutations reported in some tumours. Several morphological subtypes of canine OSCC have been described, with papillary, conventional, and basaloid as the most common patterns. We hypothesized that mutational differences may underlie these phenotypic variations. In this study, targeted Sanger sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism assays demonstrate that up to 85.7% of canine papillary OSCC (n = 14) harbour a BRAF p.V595E mutation. Assessment of neoplastic epithelial cell proliferation using Ki67 immunolabelling (n = 10) confirmed a relatively high proliferation activity, consistent with their known aggressive clinical behaviour. These findings underscore a consistent genetic feature of canine papillary OSCC and provide a basis for the development of novel diagnostic and targeted therapeutic approaches that can improve the quality of veterinary care. 相似文献
The assumption that animals released from fishing gears survive has frequently been scrutinized by researchers in recent years. Mortality estimates from these research efforts can be incorporated into management models to ensure the sustainability of fisheries and the conservation of threatened species. Post‐release mortality estimates are typically made by holding the catch in a tank, pen or cage for short‐term monitoring (e.g. 48 h). These estimates may be inaccurate in some cases because they fail to integrate the challenges of the wild environment. Most obvious among these challenges is predator evasion. Stress and injury from a capture experience can temporarily impair physiological capacity and alter behaviour in released animals, a period during which predation risk is likely elevated. In large‐scale commercial fisheries, predators have adapted their behaviour to capitalize on impaired fishes being discarded, while in recreational catch‐and‐release fisheries, exercise and air exposure can similarly impede the capacity for released fish to evade opportunistic predators. Owing to the indirect and often cryptic nature of this source of mortality, very few studies have attempted to document it. A survey of the literature demonstrated that <2% of the papers in the combined realms of bycatch and catch‐and‐release have directly addressed or considered post‐release predation. Future research should combine field telemetry and laboratory studies using both natural and simulated predation encounters and incorporate physiological and behavioural endpoints. Quite simply, predation is an understudied and underappreciated contributor to the mortality of animals released from fishing gears. 相似文献
The robustness of Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), sperm cryopreservation in the context of selective breeding based on family lines was investigated. Irrespective of egg density, high fertilization success was achieved with cryopreserved sperm when sperm:egg ratios of 1000:1 to 10 000:1 were used. Variation among replicate runs on the same oyster batches was minimal, indicating that cryopreservation and larval rearing procedures were repeatable. Twenty independent single male–female crosses were made to assess the utility of cryopreserved sperm in selective breeding. The fertility of unfrozen sperm was generally a poor predictor of cryopreserved sperm fertility. Based on D‐larval yields, 17 of the 20 crosses were likely to yield adequate spat for selective breeding (>105 D‐larvae from 1 million eggs), two were marginal (5 × 104 D‐larvae) and one was inadequate (4 × 103 D‐larvae). An alternative fertilization strategy to improve D‐yield from a given number of sperm was then tested. Fertilizing 10 million eggs at a sperm:egg ratio of 200:1 increased the total D‐yield when compared with fertilizing 1 million eggs at a sperm:egg ratio of 2000:1 for the same male–female pair. We conclude that, despite wide variation in fertility, cryopreserved sperm is useful for family production. 相似文献
Recreational angling has been implicated in population declines of some marine and freshwater fish, but this activity is rarely considered as a threat or even halted when endangered species are targeted. Indeed, in some cases, anglers are drawn to fish for rare or endangered species. Conservation‐oriented behaviours such as catch‐and‐release are often practiced voluntarily due to the ethics of anglers, yet even in these cases, some fishing mortality occurs. Nonetheless, there are many indirect conservation benefits associated with recreational angling. Here, we present a series of case‐studies and consider whether catch‐and‐release angling for endangered fish is a conservation problem or a conservation action. If recreational angling activities contribute to population‐level consequences that are contrary to recovery strategies, then angling for endangered species would seem to be a poor option. However, as revealed by several case‐studies, there is much evidence that anglers are vocal and effective proponents of fish and habitat conservation, and for endangered species, they are often the only voice when other stakeholders are not engaged. Anglers may contribute directly to conservation actions via user fees (e.g. licences), philanthropic donations or by volunteering in research, education and restoration activities. However, it is important to quantify post‐release mortality as well as understand the full suite of factors influencing a given population or species to know the potential risks. A risk assessment approach outlined in the paper may be used by managers to determine when the benefits of angling for endangered species outweigh the risks. 相似文献
Organisations acting to conserve and protect species across large spatial scales prioritise to optimise use of resources. Spatial conservation prioritization tools typically focus on identifying areas containing species groups of interest, with few tools used to identify the best areas for single-species conservation, in particular, to conserve currently widespread but declining species.
Objective
A single-species prioritization framework, based on temporal and spatial patterns of occupancy and abundance, was developed to spatially prioritize conservation action for widespread species by identifying smaller areas to work within to achieve predefined conservation objectives.
Methods
We demonstrate our approach for 29 widespread bird species in the UK, using breeding bird atlas data from two periods to define distribution, relative abundance and change in relative abundance. We selected occupied 10-km squares with abundance trends that matched species conservation objectives relating to maintaining or increasing population size or range, and then identified spatial clusters of squares for each objective using a Getis-Ord-Gi* or near neighbour analysis.
Results
For each species, the framework identified clusters of 20-km squares that enabled us to identify small areas in which species recovery action could be prioritized.
Conclusions
Our approach identified a proportion of species’ ranges to prioritize for species recovery. This approach is a relatively quick process that can be used to inform single-species conservation for any taxa if sufficiently fine-scale occupancy and abundance information is available for two or more time periods. This is a relatively simple first step for planning single-species focussed conservation to help optimise resource use.
Armillaria (honey fungus) is a virulent necrotrophic pathogen that causes Armillaria root disease. Conventional Armillaria inoculation assays use young saplings as hosts and consequently are cumbersome, frequently conducted outdoors, and take many years from establishment to analysis of infection. We have developed and evaluated a faster inoculation assay for Armillaria that uses herbaceous plants as hosts, is carried out in controlled conditions, and reduces experimental durations to 3 months. Plant species of known susceptibility to Armillaria and comparisons between virulent A. mellea and opportunistic A. gallica were used to validate the assay. Mortality and diagnostic symptoms of Armillaria root disease such as epiphytic rhizomorphs and mycelial fans were used to assess levels of infection. We also attempted to reduce assay preparation time by substituting woody inocula with agar inocula, but typical symptoms of Armillaria root disease were only observed on plants infected with woody inocula. Through our assay, we identified five new potential herbaceous hosts of Armillaria: Kniphofia hirsuta, Hordeum vulgare, Lobelia cardinalis, Nicotiana tabacum and Helenium hoopesii – further expanding the extensive list of plants with susceptibility to Armillaria and suggesting infection of herbaceous species may be more widespread than currently acknowledged. 相似文献