Behavioural thermoregulation in cold-water freshwater fish: Innate resilience to climate warming?

Behavioural thermoregulation enables ectotherms to access habitats providing conditions within their temperature optima, especially in periods of extreme thermal conditions, through adjustments to their behaviours that provide a “whole-body” response to temperature changes. Although freshwater fish have been detected as moving in response to temperature changes to access habitats that provide their thermal optima, there is a lack of integrative studies synthesising the extent to which this is driven by behaviour across different species and spatial scales. A quantitative global synthesis of behavioural thermoregulation in freshwater fish revealed that across 77 studies, behavioural thermoregulatory movements by fish were detected both vertically and horizontally, and from warm to cool waters and, occasionally, the converse. When fish moved from warm to cooler habitats, the extent of the temperature difference between these habitats decreased with increasing latitude, with juvenile and non-migratory fishes tolerating greater temperature differences than adult and anadromous individuals. With most studies focused on assessing movements of cold-water salmonids during summer periods, there remains an outstanding need for work on climatically vulnerable, non-salmonid fishes to understand how these innate thermoregulatory behaviours could facilitate population persistence in warming conditions.     

Treatment of leiomyosarcoma in a tiger (Panthera tigris) with stereotactic radiotherapy

A 10‐year‐old male captive tiger (Panthera tigris) developed right‐sided facial asymmetry and enlargement. Computed tomography revealed a destructive mass of the right maxillary bone with right nasal cavity involvement. Histopathology indicated a spindle cell sarcoma. A single fraction of 22 Gy using stereotactic radiotherapy was prescribed. After treatment, the facial conformation returned to normal and the tiger resumed normal behavior. Diagnostics 4 months later indicated severe metastatic disease. Humane euthanasia and necropsy were performed. This is the first case utilizing stereotactic radiotherapy for the treatment of cancer in a tiger.     

Effect of sodium hydroxide treatment on rate of passage and rate of ruminal fiber digestion

Ruminally fistulated lambs were used to measure the effect of sodium hydroxide treatment on rate of passage and rate of ruminal fiber digestion. Corncobs were raised to 60% moisture and treated to a final concentration of 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0% NaOH on a dry matter basis. The diets fed contained 80% cobs and 20% supplement, giving a complete mixed diet containing 0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0 and 8.0% NaOH (dry basis). Chromic oxide was used as an external marker, and rumen samples were collected at 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 96 hr post-dosing. As level of NaOH treatment increased, rate of passage increased linearly (P less than .05). Mean ruminal retention time decreased from 32.4 hr for the control diet to 20.7 hr for the 8% NaOH diet. When rate of passage was regressed against NaOH level, the slope of the line was .142%/hr per unit NaOH, with r2 = .733. In another trial, sodium concentrations equal to the 4% NaOH diet were obtained by the addition of 7.3% NaCl to the basal diet. Rates of passage for lambs fed the diet containing NaCl were faster (P less than .05) than for lambs fed the control diet but slower (P less than .05) than for lambs on the 4% NaOH diet. These data suggest that both sodium intake and NaOH treatment affect rate of passage and are additive. Nylon bags containing .15 g cotton were used to measure the rate of ruminal fiber digestion in lambs fed the five NaOH-treated diets. Bags were removed from the rumen after 12, 24, 36 and 48 hr, and the loss in weight were used to estimate ruminal digestion. As level of NaOH increased, the rate of ruminal cotton digestion decreased linearly (P less than .05). When rate of cotton digestion was regressed against NaOH level, the slope of the line was -.488%/hr per unit NaOH, with r2 = .934.     

Compensatory growth following metabolizable protein or energy restrictions in beef steers

One hundred sixty crossbred steers were used to compare the effects of metabolizable protein and energy restrictions on subsequent compensatory growth. Diets were formulated to impose severe or mild growth restrictions for periods of 77 to 154 d. Steers were realimented on a high-concentrate diet and fed to achieve approximately 1 cm s.c. fat thickness. Finishing performance and carcass characteristics were evaluated relative to unrestricted control animals. All restricted animals, with the exception of those on the mild, brief energy restriction, exhibited compensatory growth relative to controls. A single direct comparison of energy and protein restriction treatments indicated that finishing performance during realimentation was similar for these two groups. Evaluation of the relative effects of protein and energy restriction by multiple linear regression indicated that compensatory growth was influenced by differences in duration or severity of nutrient deprivation to a greater extent for energy-restricted than for protein-restricted steers. Linear contrasts and regression estimates indicated that compensatory growth was influenced more by differences in severity of restriction than by duration of the restriction period.     

Induced non-enzymatic browning of soybean meal. I. Effects of factors controlling non-enzymatic browning on in vitro ammonia release

Non-enzymatic browning was tested as a means of suppressing degradation of soybean meal (SBM) by ruminal microbes in five trials with in vitro ammonia release as the response criterion. Treatments imposed on SBM included reducing sugar source (xylose, glucose, fructose and lactose), reducing sugar level (1, 3 and 5 mol/mol SBM-lysine), pH (6.5, 8.5 and 10.0), dry matter (DM) content (65, 70, 75, 80, 85 and 90%) and varying lengths of heating time (0 to 90 min) at 150 C. Samples heated under conditions that promoted non-enzymatic browning gave greater (P less than .01) ammonia release suppression that when SBM was heated without these treatments. Xylose was the most reactive sugar, but extended heating of SBM containing glucose, fructose or lactose resulted in ammonia release similar to xylose. Increasing sugar level from 1 to 5 mol/mol SBM-lysine caused linear decreases (P less than .01) in ammonia release for xylose, glucose and fructose, but not lactose. Ammonia release was higher (P less than .01) at pH 6.5 than pH 8.5 and 10.0, and higher (P less than .01) at pH 9.5 than pH 10.0. Rate of non-enzymatic browning decreased when samples containing greater than 80% DM were heated. These results are interpreted to show that controlled non-enzymatic browning may be effective for reducing ruminal degradation of SBM.     

Suppression of behavioural and physiological oestrus in the mare by vaccination against GnRH

OBJECTIVE: To examine the immunogenicity of an equine immunocontraceptive vaccine and its efficacy in controlling hormone-related behaviour. DESIGN: A total of 24 mares at two sites in Australia were vaccinated with an immunocontraceptive vaccine comprising gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) conjugated to a carrier protein in immunostimulating complex as an adjuvant. Twelve animals at each site received a placebo of adjuvant alone and served as controls for seasonal oestrus, hormonal and behaviour patterns. Animals were observed for injection site reactions, ovarian and follicular activity, and serum levels of antibody, 17beta-oestradiol and progesterone in the weeks following vaccination. Mares were also examined for oestrous behaviour by teasing with a stallion. RESULTS: All mares responded to vaccination. Two weeks following the second vaccination there was a peak in antibody response to GnRH that declined gradually over the following weeks. Commensurate with the elevated anti-GnRH antibody there was a marked effect on ovarian activity with a reduction in 17beta-oestradiol and progesterone levels in the 24 vaccinated mares. There was also a reduction of oestrus-related behaviour as determined by a teaser stallion. This effect lasted a minimum of 3 months and correlated with the initial level of antibody response. CONCLUSION: Following a conventional two-dose immunisation regime this commercially available equine immunocontraceptive vaccine was effective at inhibiting oestrous behaviour for at least 3 months. This vaccine has a high level of safety since there were no significant local reactions nor were there any adverse systemic responses to vaccination.     

中国葛藤叶蝉名录及新种、新记录描述（同翅目：叶蝉科）

本文系统报道我国葛藤上的叶蝉种类，共有11亚科40属50种，其中含3新种、1中国新记录属、5中国新记录种，建立1新组合种，并对折板叶蝉属Paradaevicephalus Ishilhara的属征进行了厘订。新种模式标本保存在安徽农业大学昆虫标本室。     

Escape protein for beef cows: III. Performance of lactating beef cows grazing smooth brome or big bluestem.

Grazing trials were conducted utilizing individually supplemented lactating beef cows in a 2-yr study to determine the effect of supplemental escape protein (EP) on cow/calf performance during the active growth periods of smooth brome and big bluestem. Graded levels (0, .11, .23, and .34 kg of EP/animal from an equal-protein-basis mixture of blood meal and corn gluten meal were offered daily, replacing corn starch and molasses, which was used as the energy control. All cows received 582 g of supplemental DM/d. Analyses for the smooth brome study indicated a cubic response (P less than .05) to milk production and calf daily gain. No response to EP supplementation (P greater than .10) was observed for the big bluestem study. Analysis of esophageal extrusa samples collected throughout the grazing seasons for both years demonstrated that quality of forage selected by the animal decreased as the trial progressed. Using a 16-h modified dacron bag technique that did not adjust for microbial attachment, protein escaping degradation for smooth brome and big bluestem was estimated to range from 7.0 to 14.5% and 22.2 to 30.3%, respectively. There was limited response to a moderate level of EP supplementation of lactating cows grazing smooth brome, but calf gains were depressed by both the low and the high levels of EP. Lactating cows grazing big bluestem did not respond to EP supplementation, but added energy supplement depressed calf gains.     

Level of nutrition and visceral organ protein synthetic capacity and nucleic acid content in sheep.

Thirty-two crossbred wether lambs were assigned to a feed intake level of either ad libitum (ADLIB) for maximum rate of growth or restricted to maintain body weight (MAINT) throughout a 21-d period. At 7-d intervals (d 0.7, 14, and 21), four lambs per treatment were slaughtered to obtain measurements of visceral organ protein synthetic capacity and tissue composition. Protein synthetic capacity was assessed by in vitro [14C]valine incorporation and tissue RNA, DNA, and protein contents. Concentrations of protein and RNA were not significantly affected in most tissues measured. However, for liver, duodenal, and jejunal tissue, DNA concentrations in ADLIB lambs were lower (P less than .05) than in MAINT lambs. Ratios of protein:DNA in most organs were higher (P less than .05) in ADLIB than in MAINT lambs. During the 21-d period, liver and small intestinal protein and RNA mass were higher (P less than .10) in ADLIB than in MAINT lambs, and DNA mass was unaffected. Also during the 21-d period, the average total mass of ruminal protein, RNA, and DNA in ADLIB lambs was higher (P less than .05) than in MAINT lambs. Estimates of valine incorporation and ratios of RNA:protein seemed to reflect protein synthetic capacity of the visceral tissues measured; however, the effect of level of feed intake on these measurements was equivocal. These data suggest that the level of feed intake affected visceral organ mass through changes in cellular hypertrophy.