Relationship between ticks and zebu cattle in southern Uganda

Summary Tick populations were observed on zebu(Bos indicus) cattle over a period of 2 years at Entebbe, Uganda where the climate was thought to be highly favourable for the free-living stages of ticks. Collections of all instars of ticks were made from the body surfaces of the cattle at intervals of between 1 and 5 weeks. The species recorded in order of decreasing abundance wereRhipicephalus appendiculatus, Amblyomma variegatum, Boophilus decoloratus, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus simus, Rhipicephalus compositus andHyalomma marginatum rufipes. The rankings of the cattle based on burdens of any particular species of tick were always correlated with their rankings for other species; animals that carried more adult stages of a species also carried more of its immature stages. There were more adult males than females ofR. appendiculatus, A. variegatum andR. e. evertsi even when the cattle had had all ticks removed 1 week previously; several possible mechanisms are suggested to explain the biased sex ratio. It is concluded that there is promise for improvement in control of 3-host ticks by increasing the resistance of herds of zebu cattle by culling or selective breeding.

---

Relacion Entre Garrapatas Y Ganado Cebu En El Sur De Uganda

Resumen Se observaron las poblaciones de garrapatas en ganado cebú (Bos indicus) en Entebe, Uganda, donde el clima parecía favorecer a los estados libres de las garrapatas. Las observaciones duraron dos años. Las colecciones de los estadios larvales se realizaron con intervalos de 1 a 5 semanas. Las especies identificadas en orden numérico decreciente fueronRhipicephalus appendiculatus, Amblyommavariegatum, Boophilus decoloratus, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus simus, Rhipicephalus compositu andHyalomma marginatum rufipes. Los rangos del ganado basados en la carga de garrapatas de una especie en particular, tuvieron correlación en rangos para otras especies en los animales que tuvieron una carga mayor de etapas maduras de una especie se observaron tambie más ejemplos de las etapas no maduras. Hubo más machos adultos que (hembras deR. appendiculatus, A. variegatum yR. e. evertsi aun cuando todas las garrapatas del ganado habían sido removidas 1 semana previamente; se sugieren varios mecanismos para explicar este fenómeno. Se concluye que existe una posibilidad para controlar garrapatas de 3 huéspedes, incrementando la resistencia de ganado cebú mediante selección y cruzamiento de animales resistentes.

---

Relation Entre Les Tiques Et Les Zebus Dans Le Sud-Est De L'Ouganda

Résumé Des populations de tiques ont été observées sur des zébus (Bos indicus) pendant 2 ans à Entebbe, en Ouganda où le climat est connu pour être très favorable aux stades libres des tiques. Des collections de tous les stades de tiques présentes sur le corps des animaux ont été faites à des intervalles allant de 1 à 5 semaines. Les espèces suivantes ont été recueillies dans l'ordre d'abondance décroissante:Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Amblyomma variegatum, Boophilus decoloratus, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus simus, Rhipicephalus compositus etHyalomma marginatum rufipes. Le classement du bétail basé sur la charge en une espèce de tique a toujours été en corrélation avec la charge dans les autres espèces de tiques. Les animaux porteurs du plus grand nombre d'adultes d'une espèce étaient également porteurs du plus grand nombre de stades préimaginaux. Il y avait beaucoup plus de mâles que de femelles deR. appendiculatus, A. variegatum etR. e. evertsi même lorsqu'on avait prélevé toutes les tiques sur le bétail une semaine auparavant. Plusieurs mécanismes possibles sont suggérés pour expliquer le déséquilibre dans le pourcentage des sexes. La conclusion porte sur les promesses d'amélioration de la lutte contre les tiques trixènes par l'accroissement de la résistance des troupeaux de zébus par élevage sélectif.

     

Radiographic changes in the lungs of horses with exercise-induced epistaxis

This paper describes the distinctive radiographic changes detected in the dorso-caudal lungfields of four racing thoroughbreds recently affected by exercise-induced epistaxis. A diffuse but localized increase in density was seen in all four cases, which demonstrated a variation from a predominantly alveolar density to an interstitial pattern and finally to increased bronchial markings. Evolution of the radiographic pattern of the pulmonary densities appeared to be related to the time that had elapsed since the bleeding incident. The implications of the changing pattern and site of the densities are discussed.     

Contribution to the taxonomy and pathogenicity of fungicolous Verticillium species. II. Pathogenicity

In recent years in the Netherlands a second mushroom species,Agaricus bitorquis, which prefers higher temperatures thanA. bisporus and is less susceptible to certain diseases, is often commercially grown.Verticillium fungicola var.fungicola, the causal agent of dry bubble, is responsible for considerable damage in crops ofA. bisporus. InA. bitorquis, however, dry bubble has hardly been noticed, but brown spots due toV. fungicola var.aleophilum resulted in inferior mushroom quality. The latter variety also caused brown spots ina. bisporus, but to a minor degree. In variety Les Miz 60 ofA. bisporus, however, it also induced fruit-body deformation in a way different from dry bubble. Verticillium psalliotae, isolated fromA. bitorquis in England, induced more confluent brown spots inA. bitorquis. In the netherlands, where moreA. bitorquis is grown than in other countries,V. psalliotae has not yet been encountered in crops ofA. bitorquis. V. psalliotae, which has a high temperature optimum for mycelial growth, likeV. fungicola var.aleophilum andA. bitorquis, did not infectA. bisporus in our trials.Artificial infection ofA. bisporus orA. bitorquis could not be accomplished with the following related and/or fungicolous fungi:Verticillium lamellicola, V. fungicola var.flavidum, V. biguttatum, Nectriopsis tubariicola, Acremonium crotocinigenum andAphanocladium album.Samenvatting Vooral in Nederland wordt sinds een aantal jaren naastAgaricus bisporus ook de warmteminnende champignonsoortAgaricus bitorquis geteeld, die minder vatbaar is voor bepaalde ziekten. TerwijlVerticillium fungicola varfungicola in de teelt vanA. bisporus droge mollen en daardoor veel schade veroorzaakt, komen in de teelt vanA. bitorquis geen droge mollen voor maar wel bruine vlekken, die tot kwaliteitsverlies en dus schade leiden. De vlekken bleken veroorzaakt te worden doorV. fungicola var.aleophilum. Deze schimmel veroorzaakte ook inA. bisporus bruine vlekken, hoewel in minder ernstige mate, maar in het ras Les Miz 60 vanA. bisporus bovendien misvormde champignons, die wel op droge mollen leken, maar daaraan niet gelijk waren.OokV. psalliotae, in Engeland geïsoleerd vanA. bitorquis met vlekken, veroorzaakte wat meer samenvloeiende, bruine vlekken inA. bitorquis. In Nederland, waar meerA. bitorquis geteeld wordt dan in andere landen, isV. psalliotae nog niet aangetroffen in teelten vanA. bitorquis. InA. bisporus kon geen kunstmatige infectie worden verkregen metV. psalliotae, die net alsV. fungicola var.aleophilum enA. bitorquis warmteminnend genoemd zou kunnen worden.Met de volgendeVerticillium-achtige of van paddestoelen geïsoleerde schimmels kon evenmin op kunstmatige wijze een infectie worden opgeroepen inA. bisporus ofA. bitorquis: Verticillium lamellicola, V. fungicola var.flavidum, V. biguttatum, Nectriopsis tubariicola, Acremonium crotocinigenum enAphanocladium album.     

Changing role of public and private sectors in agricultural research

The considerations involved in defining appropriate roles for the public and private sectors in agricultural research are examined with respect to mechanization, plant variety, and insecticide research and development. It is concluded that the public sector should continue to give mechanization a low priority. Varietal improvement should remain a relatively high priority until the effects of plant variety protection legislation become more apparent. Simultaneous achievement of safety, environmental, and productivity objectives in insect pest control will require that the public sector play a larger role in research and development.     

Fossil land mammal from antarctica

A fossil land mammal, apparently the first found in Antarctica, belongs to the extinct marsupial family Polydolopidae. The fossils were recovered from rocks about 40 million years old on Seymour Island, in the northern Antarctic Peninsula. The newly discovered marsupials support theories that predicted their former presence in Antarctica and strengthen proposals that Australian marsupials perhaps originated from South American species that dispersed across Antarctica when Australia still was attached to it, prior to 56 million years ago.