The coldwater marine aquarium at the British Antarctic Survey

A low-temperature marineaquarium has been maintained at the British Antarctic Survey(BAS) headquarters in Cambridge for over 15 years. In 1988 acompletely new aquarium system was designed and construct ed toprovide a cold-water environment for holding a variety ofAntarctic fishes and invertebrates. The philosophy behind the newAntarctic aquarium is to provide a controlled environment in asystem that is simple to maintain. One of the most importantenvironmental conditions is the provision of a continuous low airtemperature and controlled sea water temperature, to facilitatethe transfer of specimens between holding and research facilitieswithout there being a significant difference between air andwater temperatures. In this way specimens are freed from thedangers of temperature stress. This paper describes how theseconditions have been established. It outlines the design,construction and operation of the BAS Marine Aquarium, one of theUK's most unusual marine researchfacilities.     

Soil organic C in the tallgrass prairie-derived region of the corn belt: effects of long-term crop management

Concerns with rising atmospheric levels of CO₂ have stimulated interest in C flow in terrestrial ecosystems and the potential for increased soil C sequestration. Our objectives were to assess land management effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and SOC sequestration for long-term studies in the tallgrass prairie region of the US. Major losses of SOC following conversion of native prairie to arable agriculture at Sanborn Field and the Morrow Plots were rapid (20 to 40 yr), occurred in response to greatly reduced C inputs and accelerated C decay rates, and had largely abated by the mid-1900s. Losses of SOC occurred mainly in easily decomposable, labile C fractions. At Sanborn Field, modeled labile SOC was reduced to 4% of native prairie levels for treatments with low C inputs. A large capacity for soil C sequestration likely exists in the tallgrass prairie region, if labile C pools can be replenished. This agroecosystem has a strong C decomposition regime and increased sequestration of labile C will rely on management practices that increase C inputs (i.e., fertilization, returning crop residues) and stabilize labile C (i.e., perennial cropping, reduced tillage). The capacity for soil C sequestration, however, will vary considerably among sites and be dependent on initial levels of labile SOC and the ability of management practices to stabilize greater inputs of labile C.     

Pike: A full season scab and golden nematode resistant chipstock variety

Pike is a chipstock variety released jointly by the Cornell and Pennsylvania Experiment Stations in March 1996. Pike has a specific gravity comparable to Atlantic and the ability to produce light-colored chips after 7 C storage. Most of the chip color data were taken in December, January, and February. It has scab resistance comparable to that of Superior and is golden nematode resistant. It is a full season variety, somewhat earlier than Snowden. In 23 trials in New York, internal necrosis and hollow heart of Pike was 5% compared to 18% for Atlantic. When grown at high temperatures, Pike is susceptible to a unique expression o f heat necrosis that is net-like in appearance which is different from the internal brown spot of Atlantic. The yield has been about 95% of the yield of Atlantic.     

Salmonella in captive and wild Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) in Tasmania

Translocation of Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a common strategy for recovery of the species as carried out by the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program. Dasyurids including the endangered Tasmanian devil are well known to asymptomatically harbour the zoonotic bacteria Salmonella enterica in their intestinal tracts. Testing for Salmonella is a routine component of pretranslocation health testing, so a statewide microbiological survey of captive and wild devils was implemented in order to understand prevalence and common Salmonella serotypes, and inform decision-making when positive cultures are identified. This preliminary study identified a significantly higher proportion of Salmonella isolations in wild compared with captive devils. Mississippi and Typhimurium were the most common serotypes, followed by Lexington, Bovismorbificans, Kottbus and Amsterdam. Given the common finding of Salmonella in wild devils and the range of serotypes involved, in addition to numerous isolations in domestic species and humans, it is unlikely that the release of small numbers of captive devils to the wild in Tasmania poses a significant risk to the destination ecosystem. Ongoing monitoring of devils is required as the stress of acclimatisation could predispose devils to clinical disease. Appropriate personal protective attire is pertinent to protect personnel handling animals from this zoonotic infection.     

Imidacloprid as a contact arrestant for larvae of the European chafer,Amphimallon majale

BACKGROUND: Manipulative studies of the behavioral response of soil‐dwelling insects to insecticides and other antagonists are stymied by the difficulties of observing and interpreting interactions played out below ground. Six experiments were carried out using X‐ray radiography to quantify the movement of the European chafer, Amphimallon majale (Razoumowsky), larvae in response to imidacloprid and how this was affected by host plant cues and cold temperature. RESULTS: The movement of third instars was arrested in imidacloprid‐treated soil at ≥ 0.6 ppm concentration. At ≥ 0.8 ppm, the arrestant effect of imidacloprid was stronger than the attraction cue posed by germinating grass seed. There was a less disruptive effect on dispersal distance in vertical versus lateral panels. In vertical panels, there was a less disruptive effect on downward movement under a cold temperature treatment that simulated overwintering conditions. CONCLUSION: Larvae of A. majale do not remotely detect imidacloprid in the soil; they neither evade contact, nor are repelled after contact. Imidacloprid thereby acts as a contact arrestant to disrupt grub movement. This finding might help to explain the synergistic effect of imidacloprid in combination with other biological agents for white grub control, and its effects on grub overwintering behavior. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

International trends impacting antimicrobial stewardship in animal health

The Tripartite collaboration (World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, and the World Organisation for Animal Health) produced two documents for consultation with Member Countries in 2017 ‐ Monitoring and Evaluation of the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance: Proposed approach and the Global Framework for Development & Stewardship to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance: Draft Roadmap. These documents intend to support a strategic whole‐of‐system approach towards the World Health Organization's Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. This paper outlines the recent thinking in antimicrobial stewardship being developed by the major international organisations involved with mitigating global antimicrobial resistance. The directions being set in key frameworks will need to be considered by Australian stakeholders as their own antimicrobial stewardship approaches and activities are formulated.     

The distribution of important sero-complexes of flaviviruses in Malaysia

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Flaviviruses (FVs) are arthropod-borne viruses of medical and veterinary importance. Numerous species of FVs have been isolated from various host; mainly...     

Recovery of forest structure and composition to harvesting in different strata of mixed even-aged central Appalachian hardwoods

Context

Implementing nature-based silviculture requires understanding the structural and compositional changes that occur in forested stands under known disturbance types and intensities.

Aims

The objectives were to assess the (a) resistance of hardwood forests to change, (b) their trajectory of recovery following disturbance, and (c) how closely resulting forests resemble original forests.

Methods

We characterized tree structure and composition at three points in time (pre-disturbance, 1-year post-disturbance, and ～15 years following disturbance) along a harvesting disturbance gradient created by removing trees in different forest canopy strata.

Results

Significant differences to pre-disturbance conditions were noted immediately post-harvest for tree basal area, density, species richness, and tree species composition; treatment differences were observed for all parameters except diversity. Plots exposed to the least extreme harvesting disturbances (cutting small and intermediate trees) had returned to pre-disturbance conditions for most parameters after 15 years, while the most extreme harvesting disturbance (cutting large trees) had not yet recovered.

Conclusions

Although not initially resistant, Central Appalachian eastern hardwoods are fairly resilient to the removal of trees in the subcanopy or a mixture of the subcanopy and canopy; only the removal of solely canopy trees (i.e., high grading) and complete removal (i.e., clearcutting) appear to impose harvesting disturbances to which these forests may not be resilient.