Effects of dietary yeast inclusion and acute stress on post-prandial whole blood profiles of dorsal aorta-cannulated rainbow trout

Yeast is a potential alternative to fish meal in diets for farmed fish, yet replacing more than 50 % of fish meal results in reduced fish growth. In a 4-week experiment, 15 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were cannulated and fed three diets each week: 30 % fish meal as a control (FM); 60 % replacement of fish meal protein, on a digestible basis, with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC); and 60 % replacement with Wickerhamomyces anomalus and S. cerevisiae mix (WA). Blood was collected at 0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h after feeding. In the final week, fish were exposed to a 1-min netting stressor to evaluate possible diet–stress interactions. Significant increases in pH, TCO₂, HCO₃ and base excess were found after fish were fed the SC and WA diets compared with FM, which elevated blood alkaline tides. Yeast ingredients had lower buffering capacity and ash content than fish meal, which explained the increase in alkaline tides. In addition, fish fed the WA diet had significantly reduced erythrocyte area and fish fed SC and WA diets had increased mean corpuscular haemoglobin levels, indicating haemolytic anaemia. Higher levels of nucleic acid in yeast-based diets and potentially higher production of reactive oxygen species were suspected of damaging haemoglobin, which require replacement by smaller immature erythrocytes. Acute stress caused the expected rise in cortisol and glucose levels, but no interaction with diet was found. These results show that replacing 60 % of fish meal protein with yeasts can induce haemolytic anaemia in rainbow trout, which may limit yeast inclusion in diets for farmed fish.     

Some serum parameters of first lactation cows in relation to their supply of macro and trace elements as well as of vitamins

At the Institute of Animal Nutrition of the Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) in Braunschweig a feeding trial with 30 first lactating cows (German Holstein) was realised in 2004 for a complete lactation. All animals received a diet based on maize- and grass-silage ad libitum at the rate of 60:40 (DM-base) and concentrate depending on their milk yield.The animals were fed with energy and protein as recommended (GfE 2001) and were kept in loose housing. After calving they were split randomly into two feeding groups with 15 animals each. Group 1 was fed a concentrate according to the recommendations of the GfE (2001), whereas group 2 was offered the same concentrate with roughly the double amount of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, beta-carotene and vitamins A and E. To study the influence of the different concentrates on the serum concentrations of minerals and vitamins, blood, feed and milk samples were regularly taken and analysed in the course of lactation. Significantly higher blood concentrations were detected for phosphorus, zinc and vitamin E in group 2, but therefore a direct influence of the feeding on the blood concentrations was detected only for zinc and vitamin E. Over the whole lactation the average milk yield of group 1 was 2.6 kg/day higher and the average milk fat content was reduced about 0.6 percent points compared to group 2.     

Estimates of beef growth trait variances and heritabilities determined from field records

Variance components were estimated from field-collected performance records for use in national beef sire evaluation mixed-model programs. Estimates of residual error variances (sigma 2e), sire effect variances (sigma 2s) and dam effect variances (sigma 2d) were obtained for the American Hereford and the American Angus breeds for each of three growth traits: birth weight, weaning weight and postweaning gain. Estimates obtained for birth weight were sigma 2e, 8.43 and 9.26 kg2; sigma 2s, 1.34 and .66 kg2; and sigma 2d, 3.24 and 3.70 kg2 for the Hereford and Angus breeds, respectively. Estimates obtained for weaning weight were sigma 2e, 438.09 and 267.38 kg2; sigma 2s, 20.37 and 17.13 kg2; and sigma 2d, 162.25 and 157.28 kg2 for the Hereford and Angus breeds, respectively. Estimates obtained for postweaning gain were sigma 2e, 425.75 and 374.33 kg2; sigma 2s, 20.08 and 16.49 kg2; and sigma 2d, 41.74 and 48.61 kg2 for the Hereford and Angus breeds, respectively.     

Carbon isotope constraints on the deglacial CO₂ rise from ice cores

The stable carbon isotope ratio of atmospheric CO(2) (δ(13)C(atm)) is a key parameter in deciphering past carbon cycle changes. Here we present δ(13)C(atm) data for the past 24,000 years derived from three independent records from two Antarctic ice cores. We conclude that a pronounced 0.3 per mil decrease in δ(13)C(atm) during the early deglaciation can be best explained by upwelling of old, carbon-enriched waters in the Southern Ocean. Later in the deglaciation, regrowth of the terrestrial biosphere, changes in sea surface temperature, and ocean circulation governed the δ(13)C(atm) evolution. During the Last Glacial Maximum, δ(13)C(atm) and atmospheric CO(2) concentration were essentially constant, which suggests that the carbon cycle was in dynamic equilibrium and that the net transfer of carbon to the deep ocean had occurred before then.     

Selecting the hologenome to breed for an improved feed efficiency in pigs—A novel selection index

Most traits in animal breeding, including feed efficiency traits in pigs, are affected by many genes with small effect and have a moderately high heritability between 0.1 and 0.5, which enables efficient selection. Since the microbiota composition in the gastrointestinal tract is also partly heritable and was shown to have a substantial effect on feed efficiency, the host genes affect the phenotype not only directly by altering metabolic pathways, but also indirectly by changing the microbiota composition. The effect of the microbiota composition on the breeding value of an animal is the conditional expectation of its breeding value, given the vector with microbiota frequencies, that is The breeding value of an animal can therefore be decomposed into a heritable contribution that arises from an altered microbiota composition and a heritable contribution that arises from altered metabolic pathways within the animal, so Instead of selecting for breeding value , an index comprising the two components and with appropriate weights, that is , can be used. The present study shows how this breeding strategy can be applied in pig genomic selection breeding scheme for two feed efficiency traits and daily gain.     

Zu Prekler’s „rationellem Baldwirth“

Ohne Zusammenfassung f. f?chf. Dberforftmeifter. f. bahr. Regierungs- und Forftrath von Mürzburg. f. preuk. Dberforftmeifter aus Breslau. f. f?chf. Dberforftmeifter. f. bahr. Regierungs- und Forftrath von Augsburg. f. bahr. Regierungs- und Forftrath aus Regensburg. Dberj?germeifter von Braunfchweig. f. bahr. Regierungs- und Forftrath aus München. f. f?chf. Dberf?rfter. f. f?chf. Dberforftmeifter. f. f?chf. Dberforftrath. herz. braunfchweig. Forftmeifter von Blanfenburg. Direftor der fürftlich Cfterhazh’fchen Herrfchaft Spoly Parsto. fürftl. fondershauf. Dberfortmeifter. f. bahr. Redierf?rfter don Schmarzenbach. f. preuk. Dberf?rfter. f. f. Forftrath aus Brekburg. f. preuk. Dberf?rfter von Altruppin. f. hann?v. Forftmeifter von Rienburg. Forftmeifter in preuk. Schleften. f. preuk. Dberforftmeifter von Berlin. herz. aftenburg. Dberfortmeifter. f. preuk. Dberf?rfter. f. f?chf. Dberf?rfter. f. ruff. Forftfomiff?r aus Marfchau. f. preuk. Forftinfpeftor. f. f?chf. Forftinfpeftor. grokh. meimar. Forftinfpeftor von Martfuhl. f. mürttb. Dberf?rfter und Brofeffor aus Hohenheim. f. hannov. Forftmeifter aus Hammeln. Dberforftmeifter aus Sotha. herz. altenburg. Dberf?rfter aus Hummelshain. herz. altenburg. Revierf?rfter aus Milchwig. herz. altenburg. geheimer Finanzrath und Dberforftmeifter. herz. altenb. Dberforftmeifter aus Hummelshain. grokh. f?chf. geheimer Dberforftrath aus Qifenach. herz. naffau. Dberforftrath aus Miesbaden. grokh. heff. Dberforftfefret?r aus Darmftadt. f. f?chf. Dberforftmeifter.     

Evaluation of the efficacy of maduramacin ammonium in combination with roxarsone and avoparcin in caged broiler chickens

1. The anticoccidial activity of maduramicin ammonium (5 mg/kg food) administered alone or with roxarsone (50 mg/kg food) and/or avoparcin (10 mg/kg food) was evaluated in battery-reared broilers artificially challenged with recent field culture mixtures containing Eimeria acervulina, E. maxima and E. tenella or E. mivati, E. necatrix and E. brunetti. 2. Maduramicin ammonium exhibited a high degree of anticoccidial activity and the addition of roxarsone and/or avoparcin in food at recommended concentrations did not adversely affect the activity.     

Herb-layer diversity in deciduous forests: Raised by tree richness or beaten by beech?

Where natural production capacity permits, modern silvicultural management in Central Europe frequently aims at the development of mixed broadleaved stands, instead of pure European beech (Fagus sylvatica) stands. It is crucial to study the effects of these tree-layer diversity variations on herb-layer vegetation, since herb-layer vegetation contributes significantly to ecosystem functioning in forests. In Hainich National Park (Thuringia, Germany), we conducted observational research in deciduous stands to investigate whether herb-layer diversity was related to canopy-layer diversity, and to ascertain possible causal mechanisms. We found that herb-layer vegetation of deciduous forest stands rich in canopy species appeared to be more diverse than herb-layer vegetation of beech-dominated stands. We surmise that herbaceous understorey diversity was indirectly influenced by canopy tree species through the medium of the altered environmental factors soil pH and litter layer thickness. Apparently, lower beech proportion had a more profound effect than the number of secondary tree species. There were no correlations between herb-layer diversity and light transmissibility of the canopy layer, indicating that the light factor was not crucial for herb-layer diversity. At least for the Hainich research sites, our results indicated that small-scale light and soil heterogeneity is insignificant for herb-layer diversity. We found several herb-layer species whose occurrence was particularly correlated with tree-layer diversity and environmental factors. Remarkably, all species positively correlated with soil pH were important for the phytosociological classification of the research sites. Beech-dominated research sites showed high tree-layer volumes, whereas research sites with high tree-layer diversity tended to feature lower tree-layer volumes. These findings could be the result of differing former silvicultural systems and varying soil clay contents affecting tree species composition. In contrast, herb-layer biomass was positively correlated with tree-layer diversity. Herb-layer productivity might be promoted in more diverse research sites by increased nutrient supply and base saturation. It is also possible that greater beech proportion interfered with herb-layer productivity. However, herb-layer biomass was also positively correlated with herb-layer diversity. Hence, our study hints that positive diversity-functioning relationships might occur in the herb-layer of the deciduous forest under investigation.     

Propagating the errors of initial forest variables through stand- and tree-level growth simulators

Developments in the field of remote sensing have led to various cost-efficient forest inventory methods at different levels of detail. Remote-sensing techniques such as airborne laser scanning (ALS) and digital photogrammetry are becoming feasible alternatives for providing data for forest planning. Forest-planning systems are used to determine the future harvests and silvicultural operations. Input data errors affect the forest growth projections and these effects are dependent on the magnitude of the error. Our objective in this study was to determine how the errors typical to different inventory methods affect forest growth projections at individual stand level during a planning period of 30 years. Another objective was to examine how the errors in input data behave when different types of growth simulators are used. The inventory methods we compared in this study were stand-wise field inventory and single-tree ALS. To study the differences between growth models, we compared two forest simulators consisting of either distance-independent tree-level models or stand-level models. The data in this study covered a 2,000-ha forest area in southern Finland, including 240 sample plots with individually measured trees. The analysis was conducted with Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that the tree-level simulator is less sensitive to errors in the input data and that by using single-tree ALS data, more precise growth projections can be obtained than using stand-wise field inventory data.