猪附红细胞体病的诊断和防治

近年我县发生了一种类似猪瘟症状的疾病 ,表现为高热、嗜睡、全身发红等 ,导致猪群 (特别是仔猪 )大批死亡。经采用注射青霉素、链霉素、磺胺类药、退烧解毒药等治疗 ,效果不理想。特别是在使用磺胺类药物后 ,会加重病情。该病在我县呈蔓延趋势 ,给广大养殖户造成了很大的经济损失。后与省畜牧研究所联合研究 ,根据临床症状、病理剖检、实验室检查等 ,确诊为猪附红细胞体病。经对症下药 ,很快控制了该病的流行和蔓延 ,确保养殖业的健康稳定发展。1流行病学特点本病一年四季均可发生 ,但以夏秋多发。蚊等吸血节肢昆虫可传播该病 ,各种年龄、…     

胞质雄性不育性在叶用芥菜上的利用

以从美国威斯康星大学引进的叶用芥菜胞质雄性不育系叶用4-4为母本,以泰国清迈大学选育出的8个优良叶用芥菜品种为转育父本,杂交后连续回交4代(BC4),再将BC4与优良叶用芥菜品种40R2-3-4配制8个杂交组合,其中2个组合(4-4 × 19-H-12)×40R2-3-4和(4-4 × 2R2)×40R2-3-4结球率为100％,产量比商用品种分别高34％和13％,比其亲本分别高25％和5％。     

The re-emergence of indigenous forest in an urban environment, Christchurch, New Zealand

Christchurch, the second largest city in New Zealand is a planned city on a coastal plain on the east coast of the South Island. The birth of the city and the subsequent century of development was characterised by colonial values and tree and garden planting with familiar European species along with those from Australia, North America, and eventually all other continents. The image of an “English garden city” with classical parks of oaks and willow-lined rivers became the accepted norm and the way in which the city has been promoted to potential tourists. Gardening is one of the top two recreational activities and exotic species greatly outnumber native species in the flora and in gardens. This has had serious consequences for the highly fragmented and degraded indigenous vegetation and its co-adapted wildlife. A few hardy indigenous species continued to regenerate through this period, but since the 1970s, there has been a progressive change of attitude and interest in reclaiming the natural heritage of the city, manifest in widespread private and public planting of indigenous species and active habitat restoration. In this article we examine the indigenous and exotic shrub and tree components of the Christchurch flora as planted street trees, in domestic gardens, and in parks. We also present data on shrub and tree regeneration in parks and domestic gardens in the city. Indications are that the more sensitive, less intrusive management of urban environments, combined with the greater density of indigenous seed sources, has allowed regeneration of a wide range of indigenous species across a broad spectrum of habitats – from neglected gardens to pavement cracks to exotic plantations. This is despite the competition from the prodigious seed banks and density of exotic trees, shrubs, and ground covers and albeit minimal impacts of introduced browsing and seed eating mammals. If the present trends continue through appropriate management and facilitation, these tentative signs of native forest regeneration should eventually proliferate into a sustainable mixed origin urban forest that resurrects and preserves the natural character of the region.     

Kaolin treatment to reduce pomegranate sunburn

The aim of this study was to reduce pomegranate losses due to sunburn in south-western Spain. Summer temperatures may rise above 45 °C, resulting in sunburn damage to the fruits, which may inflict losses of up to 40% of the total yield. Data were obtained in two consecutive years. Surround^® WP, a product comprising processed, refined kaolin, was sprayed over the whole canopy and fruits four times at 2–3-week intervals from mid-June to early August, the first application at 5% and the other three at 2.5%. The resulting white coating significantly reduced fruit and leaf surface temperatures relative to the control by averages of 4.9 and 2.5 °C, respectively. Sunburn damage of fruits was reduced from 21.9% in untreated control to 9.4% in the Surround WP-treated fruits.     

Using traffic flow theory to model traffic mortality in mammals

Traffic has a considerable effect on population and community dynamics through the disruption and fragmentation of habitat and traffic mortality. This paper deals with a systematic way to acquire knowledge about the probabilities of successful road crossing by mammals and what characteristics affect this traversability. We derive a model from traffic flow theory to estimate traffic mortality in mammals related to relevant road, traffic and species characteristics. The probability of successful road crossing is determined by the pavement width of the road, traffic volume, traversing speed of the mammals and their body length. We include the traversability model in a simple two-patch population model to explore the effects of these road, traffic and species characteristics on population dynamics. Analysis of the models show that, for our parameter ranges, traffic volume and traversing speed have the largest effect on traffic mortality. The population size is especially negatively affected when roads have to be crossed during the daily movements. These predictions could be useful to determine the expected effectiveness of mitigating measures relative to the current situation. Mitigating measures might alter the road and traffic characteristics. The effects of these changes on traffic mortality and population dynamics could be analysed by calculating the number of traffic victims before and after the mitigating measures. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Ecotonal changes and altered tree spatial patterns in lower mixed-conifer forests, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, U.S.A.

This research analyzes patch development and determines tree spatial patterns along the lower mixed-conifer ecotone on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona (U.S.A.). Patterns of patch development were interpreted from spatial analyses, based on tree age and size, and past records of disturbance and climate. Five plots in the ecotone between mixed conifer forests and monospecific stands of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) were studied for patterns of patch development. The methods used include: (1) size-structure analyses, to compare species patch development; (2) dendrochronological dating of tree establishment; (3) tree ring master chronology, to determine periods of suppressed growth, compared to a Palmer Drought Severity Index; and (4) spatial analyses by species composition, size and age, with univariate and bivariate analyses of spatial association and spatial autocorrelation. We found an increased density of shade-tolerant and fire-intolerant species namely clusters of pole-sized white fir, and fewer large ponderosa pine. This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Karambole (Averrhoa carambola L.)

The carambola (Averrhoa carambola L., family Oxalidaceae) is believed to have originated in Sri Lanka and the Moluccas but it has been cultivated in southeast Asia and Malaysia for many centuries. The evergreen tree is slow-growing, has a rounded crown and reaches 6 to 9 m in height. The 5- to 6-angled fruits (6 to 15 cm long and up to 9 cm wide) have thin, waxy, orange-yellow skin and juicy, yellow flesh. The fruit has a more or less pronounced oxalic acid odor and the flavor ranges from very sour to middle sweetish. The carambola is a tropical and subtropical tree, it can tolerate freezing temperature (?2°C) for short periods and sustain little damage. Trees can be propagated by seed, grafting, budding, and air layering. Tissue culture propagation has met only limited success. Plant spacing varies with growing region and cultural practices. Tree training is practiced intensively in different countries. Harvest timing and postharvest handling are critical to successful marketing of fresh fruit. Carambola is a nonclimateric fruit. Growers carefully harvest fruit by hand at color break — light green fruit with yellow color. The storage conditions should be 5 to 10°C and 85 to 95% relative humidity. Most carambola fruit is eaten fresh, used in salads, desserts, and cooked as star-shaped slices; fruit can also be dried, canned and frozen. The leaves have been eaten as a substitute for sorrel. Commercial production occurs in Taiwan, Malaysia, southern China, the Philippines, Australia, USA (Florida, Hawaii), Brazil, Suriname and Guyana. Production and consumption appears on the rise throughout the world and will most likely increase as selection and breeding for superior tasting cultivars with improved handling characteristics and storage conditions are found.     

Modelling land cover transitions: A solution to the problem of spatial dependence in data

Raster-based spatial land cover transition models (LCTMs) are widely used in landscape ecology. However, many LCTMs do not account for spatial dependence of the input data, which may artificially fragment the output spatial configuration. We demonstrate the consequences of ignoring spatial dependence, thus assigning probabilities randomly in space, using a simple LCTM. We ran the model from four different initial conditions with distinct spatial configurations and results indicated that, after 20 simulation steps, all of them converged towards the spatial configuration of the random data set. From an ecological perspective this is a serious problem because ecological data often exhibit distinct spatial configuration related to ecological processes. As a solution, we propose an approach (region approach) that accounts for spatial dependence of LCTM input data. Underlying spatial dependence was used to apply spatial bias to probability assignment within the model. As a case study we applied a region approach to a Vegetation Transition Model (VTM); a semi-Markovian model that simulates forest succession. The VTM was applied to approximately 500,000 ha of boreal forest in Ontario, at 1 ha pixel resolution. When the stochastic transition algorithms were applied without accounting for spatial dependence, spatial configuration of the output data became progressively more fragmented. When the VTM was applied using the region approach to account for spatial dependence output fragmentation was reduced. Accounting for spatial dependence in transition models will create more reliable output for analyzing spatial patterns and relating those patterns to ecological processes.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.