Temperature and surface-ocean water balance of the mid-holocene tropical western pacific

Skeletal Sr/Ca and 18O/16O ratios in corals from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, indicate that the tropical ocean surface approximately 5350 years ago was 1 degrees C warmer and enriched in 18O by 0.5 per mil relative to modern seawater. The results suggest that the temperature increase enhanced the evaporative enrichment of 18O in seawater. Transport of part of the additional atmospheric water vapor to extratropical latitudes may have sustained the 18O/16O anomaly. The reduced glacial-Holocene shift in seawater 18O/16O ratio produced by the mid-Holocene 18O enrichment may help to reconcile the different temperature histories for the last deglaciation given by coral Sr/Ca thermometry and foraminiferal oxygen-isotope records.     

Polyostotic lymphoma with multiple pathological fractures in a six-month-old cat

A 6-month-old female neutered domestic shorthair cat was examined for pain and swelling of the distal limbs. Swelling and malalignment of both carpi, dorsiflexion of the distal metatarsals and a mild, multicentric lymphadenopathy were detected on examination. Screening blood tests revealed a biclonal gammopathy, hypercalcemia and atypical leukocytes. Survey radiographs revealed lysis and proliferative changes within the physes. Multiple pathological physeal fractures were present, including the distal radii, metacarpal and metatarsal bones. No treatment was attempted and the patient was euthanased. Histopathology revealed infiltration by monomorphic round cells within the liver, spleen, kidney and bone marrow. Immunohistochemistry revealed strong reactivity to CD20. Clonality assays revealed clonal results for the B-cell loci, consistent with B-cell lymphoma. To the authors' knowledge this is the first report of polyostotic lymphoma with multiple pathological fractures in a cat. The predominantly distal distribution of osseous lesions is rarely reported in dogs and humans.     

Unusual ovarian activity in a mare preceding the development of an ovarian granulosa cell tumour

An 8-year-old mare, with a foal at foot, was inseminated on foal heat with frozen semen, with the resultant pregnancy lost between days 34 and 41. The right ovary developed a large anovulatory follicle that was non-responsive to multiple doses of ovulating agents. The follicle eventually appeared to luteinise, although plasma progesterone concentrations did not reflect this. Another follicle developed, responded to GnRH and resulted in a pregnancy from frozen semen that went to term with a healthy foal. When the mare was examined after foaling, the structure on the right ovary appeared to be a granulosa cell tumour; the left ovary was smaller than normal and non-functional. Surgical removal of the right ovary before increasing photoperiod resulted in a return to function of the left ovary and a pregnancy to frozen semen on the second cycle following removal. Figures showing concentrations of inhibin, progesterone, androstenedione, oestradiol and testosterone are presented for this entire period. Unusual ovarian activity in the mare might be a prelude to the development of a granulosa cell tumour.     

Reference ranges for biochemical and haematological values in farmed saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) yearlings

Objective To determine reference ranges for healthy yearling farmed saltwater crocodiles by performing routine biochemical and haematological laboratory tests on blood samples.
Design A clinico-pathological study.
Procedure Blood samples were collected from 120 healthy yearlings from four Northern Territory crocodile farms and body weight and length were measured. All animals had been fasted for 2 days before sample collection. Routine biochemical analytes were determined on 120 samples and haematological values determined on 30 samples (from one farm).
Results Reference ranges for biochemical and haemato-logical values were determined for farmed yearling saltwater crocodiles in the Northern Territory.
Conclusion The results were comparable with published reference ranges for other crocodilian species. Other published results of haematological values from saltwater crocodiles were from very young (6-week-old) hatchlings and older (2- to 4-year-old) crocodiles. Differences in values were presumed to be caused by age-related factors.     

Pleistocene extinction of genyornis newtoni: human impact on australian megafauna

More than 85 percent of Australian terrestrial genera with a body mass exceeding 44 kilograms became extinct in the Late Pleistocene. Although most were marsupials, the list includes the large, flightless mihirung Genyornis newtoni. More than 700 dates onGenyornis eggshells from three different climate regions document the continuous presence of Genyornis from more than 100,000 years ago until their sudden disappearance 50,000 years ago, about the same time that humans arrived in Australia. Simultaneous extinction of Genyornis at all sites during an interval of modest climate change implies that human impact, not climate, was responsible.     

Growth response of young lodgepole pine to thinning and repeated fertilization treatments: 10-year results

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that large-scalepre-commercial thinning (PCT) to various stand densities, atages 12–14 years, combined with repeated fertilization,would, over a 10-year treatment period, enhance productivityof lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifoliaEngelm.) crop trees. Study areas were located near Summerland,Kelowna and Williams Lake in south-central British Columbia,Canada. Each study area had nine treatments: four pairs of standsthinned to densities of 250 (very low), 500 (low), 1000 (medium)and 2000 (high) stems ha^–1, with one stand of each pairfertilized five times at 2-year intervals, and an unthinnedstand. The very low, low- and medium-density stands were alsopruned to a 3-m lift 5 years after thinning. At the tree level,fertilization treatments significantly increased diameter atbreast height (DBH), basal area (BA) and volume growth and heavyPCT significantly increased DBH and BA growth. Pruning may mitigatesome of the negative stem form and wood quality attributes associatedwith fast-growing trees without adversely affecting stem growth.At the stand level, PCT to very low and low densities significantlydecreased the volume growth compared with high-density stands.The potential beneficial impacts that PCT and repeated fertilizationtreatments have for mitigating timber supply shortfalls, aswell as potentially minimizing crop tree losses due to mountainpine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopk.), are also discussed.