Linking nest histories,remotely sensed land use data and wildlife crime records to explore the impact of grouse moor management on peregrine falcon populations

Wildlife crime can be difficult to quantify, and its true impact on populations can be underestimated if rates are under-recorded. The illegal killing of birds of prey is an important form of wildlife crime, which in the UK, is often associated with land managed for the recreational shooting of red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus. In the UK, increases in peregrine falcons Falco peregrinus following recovery from organo-chlorine pesticides have not been uniform, with slow growth and localised declines in some areas, including those managed for red grouse shooting. In this study, we combined 1081 peregrine nest histories across northern England between 1980 and 2006 with a remotely sensed map of grouse moor management, to test whether breeding performance was lower in areas with active management for grouse shooting. Productivity of pairs on grouse moors was 50% lower than pairs breeding on non-grouse moor habitat. However, clutch size and brood size of successful nests did not differ between habitat types, suggesting that food constraints were unlikely to explain this difference. Population models suggested source-sink dynamics, with populations on grouse moors unable to sustain themselves without immigration. Population data confirmed that growth rates were indeed lower on grouse moors than on non-grouse moor sites. Analysis of wildlife crime data confirmed that persecution of the species was more frequent on grouse moors than in other habitat types. This population will be more secure, and better able to function as a barometer of environmental health and climate change, if illegal persecution of the species ceases on areas of land managed for grouse shooting.     

玉树地区农机安全监督管理刍议

文章重点介绍了农机安全生产管理过程中存在的问题,并提出了安全生产管理的对策,为玉树州的农机的安全生产提供技术指导.     

Effect of amount and timing of subsurface drip irrigation on corn yield

A field study was conducted at North Platte, Nebraska in 2007–2009, imposing eight irrigation treatments, ranging from dryland to fully irrigated. Four of the eight treatments allowed for various degrees of water stress only after tasseling and silking. In 2007, corn yield ranged from 8.9 Mg ha^?1 with a season total of 41 mm of irrigation water to 11.5 Mg ha^?1 for the fully irrigated treatment (264 mm of irrigation water). The treatment with the greatest reduction in irrigation water after tasseling and silking (158 mm) had a mean yield of 10.9 Mg ha^?1, only 0.6 Mg ha^?1 less than the fully irrigated treatment. In 2009, yields ranged from 12.6 to 13.5 Mg ha^?1. There were no significant yield differences between the irrigation treatments for several possible reasons: more in-season precipitation and cooler weather required less irrigation water; much of the irrigation water was applied after the most water-stress sensitive stages of tasseling and silking; and lower atmospheric demand allowed for soil water contents well below 50 % management allowed depletion (MAD) not to cause any yield losses.     

Infection with Brucella ceti and high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) stranded in south-west England

Eight bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that stranded in Cornwall, south-west England, between June 2004 and December 2007 were examined using standardised postmortem examination and bacteriological methods. Evidence of Brucella species infection was found in four of these dolphins on culture. In addition, of the eight dolphins, four were positive and two were weakly positive for antibodies to Brucella species on serological analyses of pericardial and other fluids using a competitive ELISA and two indirect ELISAs. High or very high levels of the sum of 25 individual chlorobiphenyl congeners (∑25CBs) were also determined in blubber samples from two of the dolphins (45.5 and 446.6 mg/kg lipid weight).     

Resting metabolic rates increase with elevation in a mountain‐dwelling lizard

Individuals that inhabit broad elevational ranges may experience unique environmental challenges. Because temperature decreases with increased elevation, the ectotherms living at high elevations have to manage limited activity time and high thermoregulatory effort. The resting metabolic rate (RMR) of a postabsorptive animal is related to its total energy requirements as well as many other fitness traits. Mesquite lizards (Sceloporus grammicus) living on La Malinche Volcano, Mexico, inhabit a wide elevational range with some populations apparently thriving above the tree line. We measured the RMR of lizards from different elevations (i.e., 2,600, 3,200, and 4,100 m) at four ecologically relevant temperatures (i.e., 15, 25, 30, and 35 °C) and found that RMR of mesquite lizards increased with temperature and body mass. More importantly, lizards from the high‐elevation population had mass specific RMR that was higher at all temperatures. While the higher RMRs of high‐elevation populations imply higher metabolic costs at a given temperature these lizards were also smaller. Both of these traits may allow these high elevation populations to thrive in the face of the thermal challenges imposed by their environment.     

Idiopathic sterile pyogranuloma in three domestic cats

Pyogranulomatous inflammation has been extensively described in cats, in particular in cases of feline infectious peritonitis and also associated with Mycobacteria, Actinomyces, Nocardia, Rhodococcus and fungal infections. Idiopathic sterile pyogranulomatous dermatitis has also been described. In this case series we describe the clinical presentation, histopathology and outcome of three cases of feline idiopathic sterile steroid-responsive pyogranuloma with different presentation and different locations of the lesion, but with the common feature of having a mass with no superficial skin involvement.     

Effect of irrigation amounts applied with subsurface drip irrigation on corn evapotranspiration, yield, water use efficiency, and dry matter production in a semiarid climate

Quantifying the local crop response to irrigation is important for establishing adequate irrigation management strategies. This study evaluated the effect of irrigation applied with subsurface drip irrigation on field corn (Zea mays L.) evapotranspiration (ETc), yield, water use efficiencies (WUE = yield/ETc, and IWUE = yield/irrigation), and dry matter production in the semiarid climate of west central Nebraska. Eight treatments were imposed with irrigation amounts ranging from 53 to 356 mm in 2005 and from 22 to 226 mm in 2006. A soil water balance approach (based on FAO-56) was used to estimate daily soil water and ETc. Treatments resulted in seasonal ETc of 580–663 mm and 466–656 mm in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Yields among treatments differed by as much as 22% in 2005 and 52% in 2006. In both seasons, irrigation significantly affected yields, which increased with irrigation up to a point where irrigation became excessive. Distinct relationships were obtained each season. Yields increased linearly with seasonal ETc (R² = 0.89) and ETc/ETp (R² = 0.87) (ETp = ETc with no water stress). The yield response factor (ky), which indicates the relative reduction in yield to relative reduction in ETc, averaged 1.58 over the two seasons. WUE increased non-linearly with seasonal ETc and with yield. WUE was more sensitive to irrigation during the drier 2006 season, compared with 2005. Both seasons, IWUE decreased sharply with irrigation. Irrigation significantly affected dry matter production and partitioning into the different plant components (grain, cob, and stover). On average, the grain accounted for the majority of the above-ground plant dry mass (≈59%), followed by the stover (≈33%) and the cob (≈8%). The dry mass of the plant and that of each plant component tended to increase with seasonal ETc. The good relationships obtained in the study between crop performance indicators and seasonal ETc demonstrate that accurate estimates of ETc on a daily and seasonal basis can be valuable for making tactical in-season irrigation management decisions and for strategic irrigation planning and management.     

华南乡土树种在松杉林下生长及林下植物多样性研究

研究了11种华南乡土阔叶树种幼树在广东增城市林科所松杉人工林林下的生长表现,结果表明:4种壳斗科植物黎蒴、米锥、甜锥和槟榔青冈在移植后5 a均具有较高的树高和冠幅生长量,可作为人工林改造优良树种;香椿在前期生长表现良好,而移植后45 a生长速度有所下降,反映该树种随着年龄增长,其需光性加强,该树种仅适用于低密度人工林的改造;石笔木生长虽然稍慢,但其耐荫性较强,在林下生长良好,可作为次生林改造树种;樟树、枫香和火力楠等树种在林下生长不良.样方调查结果表明:松杉林下植物以耐荫性和鸟播植物为主.     

中国美利奴羊育种信息管理系统开发

以提高育种资料管理和利用效率为目的,提出基于Visual FoxPro6.0软件开发中国美利奴羊育种信息管理系统的设计思路,阐述了系统的结构和所具备的基本功能.     

青海不同产区大黄的X-射线衍射图谱研究（摘要）

[目的]为区分不同产地大黄药材的质量及鉴别提供依据。[方法]将供试材料青海玉树掌叶大黄（样品1）、青海海南唐古特大黄（样品2）与青海果洛唐古特大黄（样品3）分别粉碎成粉末,过100目筛,即可供X射线衍射试验用。设定管压30 kV,管流20 mA,2θ扫描范围3°～90°,扫描速度0.06°/s,每种样时间0.5 s,获得3种不同产区大黄的X-射线衍射图谱。试验数据以晶面间距d与特征峰相对强度L/Io表示,记为d/（I/Io）。将试验数据导入中药指纹图谱相似度计算软件,经选峰,设定匹配模板,将谱峰自动匹配,然后设定标准模板,进行谱峰差异性评价和整体相似性评价。[结果]样品1中所含的化学成分与样品2相同,但峰的强度（I/Io）不同,表明相同成分在两种样品中的含量不相等。同样把样品3的图谱与其他两个样品进行比较,也会得到相同的衍射峰值。表明不同产区的大黄中各化学成分的含量有差异,但其衍射图谱及衍射峰值具有一定的指纹特征。[结论]X-射线衍射法是鉴别不同产区的大黄及其他中药材的一种快捷有效的方法。