Conifer leader browsing by roe deer in English upland forests: Effects of deer density and understorey vegetation

At moderate to high densities ungulates can impact negatively on forest crops and these may be managed by lethal control. In production forestry an understanding of the relationship between ungulate density, habitat-related factors and the incidence of tree damage may promote more efficient ungulate damage management than by lethal control alone. In plantation forests in the north east of England, the incidence of conifer leader browsing by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) was positively associated with an index of deer density (at the site scale) and planted crop tree density (at the feeding patch scale) and was negatively associated with the relative abundance of palatable understorey vegetation (at the site scale). An interaction between the deer density index and palatable understorey browse abundance was positively associated with leader browsing. Coefficients from the optimal model were used to construct a browse probability surface across a matrix of values of deer dung density and palatable understorey vegetation abundance. This illustrated a very different relationship between dung density and conifer leader browsing probability across the various levels of palatable understorey vegetation abundance. From this we hypothesise that in areas of limited palatable understorey vegetation abundance, higher levels of culling may be required to achieve reductions in the incidence of conifer leader browsing than would be necessary in areas with moderate to high palatable understorey vegetation abundance. Improvements to understorey vegetation in concert with roe deer population control may enhance the efficiency of deer damage management in upland areas with nutrient-poor soils.     

A rapid onset, post-capture muscle necrosis in the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.) from the West coast of Scotland

A post-capture, abdominal muscle necrosis of rapid onset has been identified in Norway lobsters, Nephrops norvegicus (L.), captured off the West coast of Scotland. Economic losses, as a result of the mortality of these animals in transport, were encountered by Scottish wholesalers during the summer and autumn of 1999. Affected animals show a characteristic whitening of individual muscle fibres and fibre bundles of the abdomen within hours of capture, with a progression towards complete opacity of the abdominal musculature within a number of days. The pathology causes a loss of the normal function of the abdomen; thus, preventing the normal 'tail flip' swimming. Electron microscopy failed to reveal any obvious causative agent but showed that affected tissue displayed a progressive disruption of sarcomere organization, loss of Z-line material, condensation of myofibrils and infiltration of necrotic regions by granulocytes. SDS–PAGE of affected muscle tissue showed that there was a great reduction of most of the major contractile proteins. The condition most closely resembles idiopathic or spontaneous muscle necrosis, a pathology previously reported from both wild and cultured crustaceans. Damage to the integument in conjunction with exposure to various stressors during and immediately after capture is the most likely cause of the pathology. The rapid onset of the pathology has implications for the post-capture handling procedure for N. norvegicus and their subsequent vivier transport to market. It may also be partially responsible for the high mortality rate of undersized N. norvegicus returned to the sea after capture and aerial emersion.     

Diviner Lunar Radiometer observations of cold traps in the Moon's south polar region

Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment surface-temperature maps reveal the existence of widespread surface and near-surface cryogenic regions that extend beyond the boundaries of persistent shadow. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) struck one of the coldest of these regions, where subsurface temperatures are estimated to be 38 kelvin. Large areas of the lunar polar regions are currently cold enough to cold-trap water ice as well as a range of both more volatile and less volatile species. The diverse mixture of water and high-volatility compounds detected in the LCROSS ejecta plume is strong evidence for the impact delivery and cold-trapping of volatiles derived from primitive outer solar system bodies.     

Development of a SNLP marker from the Pi-ta blast resistance gene by tri-primer PCR

The Pi-ta gene from indica introgressed into japonica rice has been used to control the blast disease caused by the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe grisea (Herbert) Barr. (anamorph Pyricularia oryzae Cav.) worldwide. A single nucleotide length polymorphism (SNLP) was identified at the intron region of the Pi-ta gene to develop a codominant Pi-ta gene marker suitable for genotyping with an automated machine. The DNA primer specific to the resistant Pi-taallele was labeled with blue dye (FAM, 6-carboxyfluorescein) as a forward primer, the DNA primer specific to the susceptible pi-ta allele was labeled with green dye (HEX, 4,7,2′,4′,5′,7′-hexachloro-6-carboxyfluorescein) as another forward primer and the DNA primer identical to both Pi-ta/pi-ta alleles was unlabeled as the reverse primer for polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Using these three primers, a 181-bp blue peak in homozygous resistant and a green peak of 182–183 bp in homozygous susceptible, and both peaks in heterozygous plants were produced by PCR. The utility of marker was verified using a segregating F₂ population, inbred cultivated lines, dominant markers and pathogenicity testing. A codominant Pi-ta marker was thus developed for effective Pi-ta assisted selection for crop improvement. Using highly homologous competitive primers for allele detection by PCR can benefit the study of genome organization of the complex locus. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Characterization of age- and location-associated variations in the composition of articular cartilage from the equine metacarpophalangeal joint

Objective: To characterize the impact of age, gender, location and individual animal variation on the composition of articular cartilage from the metacarpophalangeal joint of horses. Design: Cartilage specimens were obtained from the metacarpophalangeal joints of 28 male, female and castrated male horses ranging in age from one day to 27 years of age. Cartilage samples from the distal metacarpus, proximal first phalanx and proximal sesamoids were analyzed separately. Chondrocyte number, DNA content, proteoglycan concentration and total collagen content were determined for each animal and joint location. Results: Age and joint location had a significant effect on chondrocyte number and DNA content with higher cell counts and DNA content detected in cartilage from the youngest age groups and in cartilage from the metacarpus and proximal sesamoids. The influence of age on chondrocyte numbers was not significant in horses over two years of age. Both age and joint location also influenced total proteoglycan and collagen content. Lower proteoglycan and collagen concentrations were detected in younger horses, and cartilage from the metacarpus had lower proteoglycan and collagen concentrations than that from other joint locations. Gender did not appear to influence chondrocyte number or matrix content of equine articular cartilage. However, there was significant residual variation in cellularity, proteoglycan levels and collagen content between individual animals that could not be explained by the signalment factors considered in this study. Conclusions: Future studies examining equine articular cartilage should avoid direct morphologic comparisons between animals of different ages, and any comparisons made between individuals should be interpreted cautiously. In addition, in vitro tissue culture models should avoid the use of cartilage pooled from different animals or from different locations within the same joint.     

Collaborative development of the Arrowsmith two node search interface designed for laboratory investigators

Arrowsmith is a unique computer-assisted strategy designed to assist investigators in detecting biologically-relevant connections between two disparate sets of articles in Medline. This paper describes how an inter-institutional consortium of neuroscientists used the UIC Arrowsmith web interface http://arrowsmith.psych.uic.edu in their daily work and guided the development, refinement and expansion of the system into a suite of tools intended for use by the wider scientific community.     

Epitrix flea beetles: new threats to potato production in Europe

Epitrix tuberis and E. cucumeris are major pests of potatoes in North America. E. tuberis causes the most serious damage because the larval feeding can cause superficial serpentine tunnelling on the surface of tubers as well as deeper pits. This damage can make crops unmarketable. By contrast, E. cucumeris mainly damages the foliage, and yield losses can occur when the adults reach high densities. In 2004, potato tuber damage characteristic of E. tuberis was seen in Portugal. In 2008, damage was more widespread and severe. E. cucumeris and a lesser known species, E. similaris, were recorded in affected fields. E. similaris has since been found across Galicia, Spain. E. similaris is thought to be the most likely cause of the tuber damage in Portugal, but it is possible that E. cucumeris or an as yet undetected Epitrix species is causing the damage. In 2010, a pest risk assessment for the Euro‐Mediterranean area identified the movement of adults and pupae with seed or ware potatoes and associated soil as being the highest‐risk pathways for the spread of Epitrix. In 2012, EU emergency measures were agreed to reduce the risk of further introductions and the rate of spread of these pests.     

Ecological consequences of variation in standard metabolism and dominance among salmon parr

Abstract – Standard metabolic rate (SMR, closely related to basal and resting metabolism) varies by up to threefold among juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., of similar size at common temperature. Here, consequences of this variation are predicted by combining empirically derived relationships between SMR, specific dynamic action, energy budgets, water velocity, food level in the environment and food availability to fish. The range of velocities across which growth is predicted to occur is inversely related to a fish’s SMR. Growth is positively related to SMR at high but negatively related to it at low‐food levels. The relationship between food level and the range of velocities over which lower SMR fish can grow but higher SMR fish cannot is asymmetrically bi‐phasic and peaked. It is predicted that maternal manipulation of offspring SMR would generate fitness benefits through bet‐hedging against unpredictability in food level and increases in the overall range of velocities that the family of offspring can occupy and thrive in.     

胚胎移植安格斯犊牛适应性研究

湖北省于 2 0 0 0年 5月和 11月分两批利用胚胎移植技术 (以地方黄牛为受体 )引进了新西兰安格斯肉牛品种。本项目对第 1批胚移所产犊牛在湖北的适应性进行了研究。这批胚移犊牛表现了较好的生长发育与良好的适应性。它们的平均出生重与 3月龄内的日增重分别为 33.7(母 )～ 37.6 (公 )kg和 0 .75 1(公 )～ 0 .75 6 (母 )kg。但也发现了犊牛培育上出现的某些问题 ,如生长速度不很高 ,有一定的发病率 (如腹泻、上呼吸道感染、贫血 )。研究认为 ,出现这些问题的原因主要有 :没有充分满足生长犊牛的营养需要 ,湖北襄阳的生态环境条件与引入地 (新西兰 )的差别 ,饲养方式上从放牧向舍饲的改变 ,兽医缺乏犊牛的临床经验等。建议应用胚胎移植技术引进牛品种和培育胚移犊牛时 ,应注意尽量选择杂交牛与个体较大、尻部 (骨盆腔 )发育好的母牛做受体 ,重视母牛科学饲养 ,喂好犊牛初乳 ,重视犊牛补饲 ,改善环境条件 ,加强卫生防疫与防病治病工作。     

The potential of small ruminant farming as a means of poverty alleviation in rural southern India

Small ruminant production has the potential to address the global challenge of greatly increased food production in impoverished rural areas in a manner that is socioeconomically sustainable and carbon efficient. Twenty-six small ruminant landless farmers in three villages in the Kanchipuram District of the state of Tamil Nadu were surveyed with regard to their sheep farming practice and production indices, with the preliminary aim of evaluating the potential of small ruminant farming in alleviating poverty in parts of rural in southern India. The small ruminant farmers reared mostly indigenous Madras Red sheep as a means of generating primary or supplementary income. Participatory interviews were undertaken to enable the completion of a questionnaire pertaining to sheep production over the four most recent annual production cycles (referred to as instances) at the time of the study. When calculating the annual farm profits without taking into consideration the opportunity cost of labour, 83% of annual sheep production cycles over a 4-year period added to household incomes. Further, 23% of the instances that accounted for the opportunity cost of labour, household income was raised above the Indian Government’s defined poverty line solely through small ruminant farming. Management practices were identified, while participating in landless farmer interviews provided an insight into the husbandry, or lack thereof, which resulted in low lambing percentages and rates of high ewe losses, perinatal lamb mortality and abortion. The study showed both the vulnerability and potential resilience of small ruminant farming to natural disaster, in this case catastrophic flooding in 2015. While small ruminant farming generated income in most instances, the way it is practiced creates opportunities for simple changes in husbandry and management that could make it more efficient in poverty alleviation.