Estimating direct genetic and maternal effects affecting rabbit growth and feed efficiency with a factorial design

The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the significance of neonatal environment on feed efficiency. For that purpose, rabbits from a line selected for residual feed intake (RFI) during 10 generations (G10 kits) were cross‐fostered with non‐selected control does (i.e., G0 line), and reciprocally. In parallel, sibs were fostered by mothers from their original line. Nine hundred animals were raised in individual (N = 456) or collective (N = 320) cages. Traits analysed in this study were body weight at 32 days and at 63 days, average daily gain (ADG), feed intake between weaning and 63 days (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and RFI. The maternal environment offered by does from the line selected for RFI deteriorated the FCR of the kits, independently of their line of origin, during fattening (+0.08 ± 0.02) compared to FCR of kits nursed by G0 does. The line, the type of housing and the batch were significant effects for all the measured traits: G10 kits were lighter than their G0 counterparts at 32 days (?82.9 ± 9 g, p < 0.0001) and at 63 days (?161 ± 16 g, p < 0.0001). They also had a lower ADG (?2.36 ± 0.36 g/day, p < 0.0001), RFI (?521 ± 24 g/day, p < 0.0001) and a lower FI (?855 ± 31 g, p < 0.0001), resulting in a more desirable feed efficiency (FCR: ?0.35 ± 0.02). There was no significant difference in the contrast of G10 and G0 performances between collective and individual/digestive cages (p > 0.22): ?2.35 g/day versus 2.94 g/day for ADG, ?0.39 versus ?0.40 for FCR, ?577 g versus ?565 g for RFI and ?879 g versus ?859 g for FI, respectively). Thus, no genotype‐by‐environment (housing) interaction is expected at the commercial level, that is, no re‐ranking of the animals due to collective housing.     

Salt marshes – present functioning and future change

Salt marshes are no longer viewed as intertidal wastelands of little value to anyone. They are now widely recognised as playing a major role in coastal defence, in wildlife conservation on the coast and as a key source of organic material and nutrients vitally important for a wide range of marine communities. This appreciation of the importance of salt marshes has been brought even more sharply into focus because of the threats posed by predicted rise in sea level as a result of global climatic change. Three decades ago the possibilities of exchanges of organic matter between salt marshes and the sea were already being recognised in certain areas but it is only in the past five years or so that this process has been studied in a wide range of different areas. Detailed studies have been made into the way that salt marsh fluxes change with the development of increasingly mature and, therefore, increasingly complex salt marsh communities. As well as being sources and sinks of mineral nutrients and organic matter, salt marshes can also function as a sink for pollutants that would otherwise be damaging to the environment. Salt marshes also act as a sink for sediment within coastal ecosystems. Through their various functions they can be seen to be acting as dynamic living filters for various ecologically important materials. With increasing threats to the survival of salt marshes as a result of man's activities in the coastal zone being augmented by the threats from predicted sea level rise, a new approach to salt marsh conservation has come to the fore and that is the actual creation of new salt marshes. For this process to be fully effective we have to make full use of our increased understanding of salt marsh structure and function. Following a review of the current state of the art in the field of salt marsh research, an assessment is made of specific future research needs. Despite the greatly increased effort which has been directed to salt marsh research over the past few years we still have to recognise that resources are limited and, therefore, critical evaluations of the various options regarding the direction of our future efforts need to be made.     

Evaluation of a compensation scheme to bring about pastoralist tolerance of lions

Lions (Panthera leo) are in decline throughout most of their range due to human persecution, largely provoked by depredation on livestock, and there is debate as to the usefulness of financial instruments to mitigate this conflict. Intending to reduce local lion-killing, the Mbirikani Predator Compensation Fund compensates members of Mbirikani Group Ranch for livestock depredation at a flat rate (close to average market value), after the kill has been verified and with penalties imposed for poor husbandry. Despite penalizing claimants, 55% of claims arose because livestock were lost in the bush. Between 1st April 2003 and 31st December 2006, 754 cattle, 80 donkeys and 1844 sheep/goats were killed (2.31% of the total livestock herd each year). Forty-three percent of kills were ascribed to spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta); leopards (Panthera pardus) and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) were blamed for 37% of cases, lions 7%, jackals (Canis mesomelas) 7% and buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and elephants (Loxodonta africana) together 6%. Significantly more attacks took place during months of lower rainfall but the rate of attacks was not related to the density of livestock on the ranch, or the ratio of wild herbivores to domestic stock. There was no correlation between local market prices and the number of claims per month. Despite compensation, at least one lion per year was killed in 2004, 2005 and 2006. We describe some features of large carnivore depredation in the study area and suggest that regional recovery of the lion population may require compensation on a wider scale.     

Lions and Warriors: Social factors underlying declining African lion populations and the effect of incentive-based management in Kenya

African lion (Panthera leo) populations are in decline throughout most of Africa, but the problem is particularly acute in southern Kenya, where Maasai people are spearing and poisoning lions at a rate that will ensure near term local extinction. Lion killing is shaped by Maasai perception of livestock depredation, socio-economic factors, and the complex relationship between Maasai and conservation. These all affect tolerance for lions and consequently Maasai behavior towards conservation initiatives and carnivores in general. We used an in-depth quantitative questionnaire and participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) to identify the social and ecological predictors of lion killing and to investigate the effect of a compensation scheme on individual tolerance. Individuals who lose a greater proportion of their livestock to predators relative to their overall livestock loss, those affiliated with an evangelical church, and those who mainly sell rather than accumulate livestock all reported a higher propensity to kill carnivores. The future of carnivore conservation in this region depends on a better understanding of the nuances of human–carnivore conflict and a concerted effort to address appropriate cultural and community-level institutions, chiefly by providing economic benefits to local people who engage in positive conservation activities.     

Influence of Freshwater Sediment Characteristics on Persistence of Fecal Indicator Bacteria

Extended persistence of enteric bacteria in coastal sediments and potential remobilization of pathogens during natural turbulence or human activities may induce an increased risk of human infections. In this study, the effect of sediment characteristics such as particle grain size and nutrient and organic matter contents on the survival of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) including total coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus was investigated. The experimentation was carried out for 50 days in microcosms containing lake water and different contaminated freshwater sediments in continuous-flow and batch conditions. Results of this study revealed: (1) extended FIB survival in sediments up to 50 days, (2) higher growth and lower decay rates of FIB in sediments with high levels of organic matter and nutrients and small (mainly silt) grain size, and (3) longer survival of Enterococcus sp. compared to E. coli and total coliforms. FIB survival in sediments and possible resuspension are of considerable significance for the understanding of permanent microbial pollution in water column and therefore human risk during recreational activities.     

Effect of nitrogen fertilization on nitrogen dynamics in oilseed rape using 15N‐labeling field experiment

In order to optimize nitrogen (N) fertilization and to reduce the environmental impact of oilseed rape without decreasing yield, a clearer understanding of N dynamics inside the plant is crucial. The present investigation therefore aimed to study the effects of different N‐application rates on the dynamics of N uptake, partitioning, and remobilization. The experiment was conducted on winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. cv. Capitol) under three levels of N input (0, 100, and 200 kg N ha^–1) from stem elongation to maturity using ¹⁵N‐labeling technique to distinguish between N uptake and N retranslocation in the plant. Nitrogen fertilization affected the time‐course of N uptake and also the allocation of N taken up from flowering to maturity. Most pod N came from N remobilization, and leaves accounted for the largest source of remobilized N regardless the N‐application rate. However, the contribution of leaves to the remobilized N pool increased with the N dose whereas the one of taproot decreased. Stems were the main sink for remobilized N from stem elongation to flowering. Leaves remained longer on N200 than on N0 and N100 plants, and N concentration in fallen leaves increased with the N treatment and in N100 plants along an axial gradient from the basal to the upper leaves. Overall, these results show that the timing of N supply is more crucial than the N amount to attain a high N efficiency.     

Determination of specific gravity of green Pinus taeda samples by near infrared spectroscopy: comparison of pre-processing methods using multivariate figures of merit

Near infrared diffuse reflectance was used for the determination of specific gravity in green Pinus taeda L. wood samples representing simulated increment cores obtained at breast height and merchantable green logs. The effects of using three pre-processing methods (second derivative, multiplicative scatter correction, and orthogonal signal correction) to reduce the scatter observed in the original spectra were evaluated. The effectiveness of each method was assessed in terms of the average predictive ability of the models and in terms of multivariate figures of merit derived from net analyte signal theory. Specific gravity was successfully modeled using green wood samples. No differences in predictive ability among models were found, although more parsimonious regressions were obtained using transformed spectra. The incorporation of figures of merit for the characterization of calibration models proved to be a valuable tool for understanding the effects of the pre-processing alternatives on the final results.     

Specific gravity responses of slash and loblolly pine following mid-rotation fertilization

Wood quality attributes were examined in six stands of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) and loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) in the lower Coastal Plain of Georgia and Florida. Several plots comprised each stand, and each plot was divided so that it received three fertilizer treatments: a control treatment with herbaceous weed control at planting and brush control at mid-rotation only (control); 45 kg ha⁻¹ N + 56 kg ha⁻¹ P + herbaceous weed control at planting and 224 kg ha⁻¹ N + 45 kg ha⁻¹ P + brush control at mid-rotation (fertilizer with N at planting); and 56 kg ha⁻¹ P + herbaceous weed control at planting and 224 kg ha⁻¹ N + 45 kg ha⁻¹ P + brush control at mid-rotation (fertilizer without N at planting). Ring width, ring earlywood specific gravity (SG), ring latewood SG, whole ring SG, and ring percent latewood were measured on each of seven trees. Of these measurements, this study focused mainly on the properties related to SG. Examination of the rings showed that latewood SG was significantly lower in trees treated with fertilizers with and without N at planting in the two to three years following fertilization, but that latewood SG gradually returned to a level similar to the control. Fertilizer without N at planting may also have had a brief negative effect on earlywood SG following mid-rotation fertilization, but it was not as clear or lasting as the effect on latewood SG. Additionally, although slash and loblolly pine appear to differ in the developmental patterns of these SG properties, there were no significant differences in how these patterns interacted with treatment. This study demonstrated that fertilization treatments have similar short-term effects on the SG of slash and loblolly pines, particularly in latewood, but the trees will return to a SG pattern consistent with unfertilized trees within two or three years.     

Sterile insect technique and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Wolbachia</Emphasis> symbiosis as potential tools for the control of the invasive species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila suzukii</Emphasis>

Drosophila suzukii, a vinegar fly originated from Southeast Asia, has recently invaded western countries, and it has been recognized as an important threat of a wide variety of several commercial soft fruits. This review summarizes the current information about the biology and dispersal of D. suzukii and discusses the current status and prospects of control methods for the management of this pest. We highlight current knowledge and ongoing research on innovative environmental-friendly control methods with emphasis on the sterile insect technique (SIT) and the incompatible insect technique (IIT). SIT has been successfully used for the containment, suppression or even eradication of populations of insect pests. IIT has been proposed as a stand-alone tool or in conjunction with SIT for insect pest control. The principles of SIT and IIT are reviewed, and the potential value of each approach in the management of D. suzukii is analyzed. We thoroughly address the challenges of SIT and IIT, and we propose the use of SIT as a component of an area-wide integrated pest management approach to suppress D. suzukii populations. As a contingency plan, we suggest a promising alternative avenue through the combination of these two techniques, SIT/IIT, which has been developed and is currently being tested in open-field trials against Aedes mosquito populations. All the potential limiting factors that may render these methods ineffective, as well as the requirements that need to be fulfilled before their application, are discussed.     

Diviner Lunar Radiometer observations of cold traps in the Moon's south polar region

Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment surface-temperature maps reveal the existence of widespread surface and near-surface cryogenic regions that extend beyond the boundaries of persistent shadow. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) struck one of the coldest of these regions, where subsurface temperatures are estimated to be 38 kelvin. Large areas of the lunar polar regions are currently cold enough to cold-trap water ice as well as a range of both more volatile and less volatile species. The diverse mixture of water and high-volatility compounds detected in the LCROSS ejecta plume is strong evidence for the impact delivery and cold-trapping of volatiles derived from primitive outer solar system bodies.