Risk factors for brucellosis seropositivity of goat herds in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California, Mexico

A case-control study was conducted in the Mexicali Valley to identify risk factors for goat-herd seropositivity for Brucella melitensis. Nineteen case herds (≥2 positive results with the 8% rose bengal plate test (RBT)) and 55 control herds (zero positive results in RBT), matched for herdsize and geographic location, were enrolled. Conditional logistic regression was used to construct a multivariable model of the odds of seropositivity using variables assessed in a questionnaire administered to goat ranchers. The final model for herd seropositivity included increased risk from importation of goats from other Mexican states, the presence of La Mancha breed does, and the presence of does born outside the herd. Increasing herdsize was also highly significant (p<0.01). In addition, a significant (p<0.05) positive association was found between the presence of seropositive dogs (as assessed by RBT) and seropositive goats on the same ranch.     

Phenology and pollination of Manilkara zapota in forest and homegardens

Knowledge on reproductive phenology and pollination biology are basic elements that should be considered in the management and exploitation of plant species that offer non-timber products. The tropical tree Manilkara zapota is a species from which non-timber products have been obtained for centuries by Mayan communities in Mexico. Nevertheless, there are no quantitative reports on its reproductive biology and the factors that limit fruit production. The present study describes the reproductive phenology, breeding system and pollination of this species in two contrasting environments: medium-height, subdeciduous forest, and homegardens (“solares”) in a Mayan community in the state of Yucatan. Significant differences were found between environments both in the temporal distribution of flower and mature fruit production, as well as in the proportion of mature fruits. Homegarden trees showed the greatest fruit production, although flower production did not differ between environments. Mature fruits were of better quality (i.e., greater fresh weight) in homegardens. Hand pollination experiments showed that M. zapota is self-compatible, and that there is pollinator limitation for fruit production in trees that grow in homegardens. We propose that water and soil nutrients are the main factors limiting M. zapota fruit production in forests, while in homegardens the main factor appears to be pollinator availability.     

Modeling Landscape‐scale Erosion Potential Related to Vehicle Disturbances Along the USA–Mexico Border

Decades of intensive off‐road vehicle use for border security, immigration, smuggling, recreation, and military training along the USA–Mexico border have prompted concerns about long‐term human impacts on sensitive desert ecosystems. To help managers identify areas susceptible to soil erosion from anthropogenic activities, we developed a series of erosion potential models based on factors from the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). To better express the vulnerability of soils to human disturbances, we refined two factors whose categorical and spatial representations limit the application of the USLE for non‐agricultural landscapes: the C‐factor (vegetation cover) and the P‐factor (support practice/management). A soil compaction index (P‐factor) was calculated as the difference in saturated hydrologic conductivity (K_s) between disturbed and undisturbed soils, which was then scaled up to maps of vehicle disturbances digitized from aerial photography. The C‐factor was improved using a satellite‐based vegetation index, which was better correlated with estimated ground cover (r² = 0·77) than data derived from land cover (r² = 0·06). We identified 9,780 km of unauthorized off‐road tracks in the 2,800‐km² study area. Maps of these disturbances, when integrated with soil compaction data using the USLE, provided landscape‐scale information on areas vulnerable to erosion from both natural processes and human activities and are detailed enough for adaptive management and restoration planning. The models revealed erosion potential hotspots adjacent to the border and within areas managed as critical habitat for the threatened flat‐tailed horned lizard and endangered Sonoran pronghorn. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prevalence and potential risk factors for amitraz resistance in Boophilus microplus ticks in cattle farms in the State of Yucatan, Mexico

Southern cattle tick, Boophilus microplus, control in the Mexican tropics is based on the application by spray, dip or pour-on of acaricides. In Mexico the first report of ticks resistant to amitraz was reported in 2002. Amitraz resistance affecting the cattle industry of Yucatan State, Mexico, has not been investigated. A cross-sectional study was carried out in order to investigate the possible association between management risk factors and the prevalence of B. microplus ticks resistant to amitraz in Yucatan, Mexico. Ninety-eight cattle farms were randomly selected and a sample of 20–30 engorged B. microplus females was collected from at least 10 cattle from each farm. Collected ticks were taken to the laboratory where the larval progeny were obtained. The modified larval immersion test was used to detect ticks resistant to amitraz. A discriminating dose of 0.0002% amitraz was used. A questionnaire was applied on each collaborating farm. For the statistical analysis a 2 × 2 contingency table was used to identify potential risk factors. The prevalence of farms with B. microplus resistant to amitraz was 19.40%. However, even though tick resistance to amitraz is a present problem there was no evidence that it was associated with the risk factors analyzed in this survey.     

The domesticated sunflower in old Mexico?

Although the domesticated sunflower is included in the work of Francisco Hernández on Mexico and has been reported archaeologically from Mexico, there is no evidence that this sunflower was present in Mexico in prehistoric or early historical times. The sunflower probably first reached Europe from what is now the southeastern United States.     

Economic Contribution of Draught Animals to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mazahua</Emphasis> Smallholder <Emphasis Type="Italic">Campesino</Emphasis> Farming Systems in the Highlands of Central Mexico

The economic contribution of draught animals to smallholder Mazahua campesino systems in two mountain villages of San Felipe del Progreso, in the central highlands of Mexico, was assessed. Campesinos rely on draught animals for cultivation tasks, as pack animals, and as transport for agricultural and domestic activities. The villages were San Pablo Tlalchichilpa (SPT) and La Concepción Mayorazgo (LCM). Twelve households that possessed draught animals were monitored from July 1999 to June 2000, nine in SPT and three in LCM, in terms of animal inventories and income from their draught animals, in cash and opportunity values. Equines in SPT have substituted bulls, and are recognized for their multipurpose contribution, while in LCM bulls are still used for ploughing the land. Overall total mean gross income was US$490.78 per farm per year, plus US$56 as opportunity value of the fertilizer value of manure for both villages. Deducting estimated costs, owning draught animals leaves a mean net margin of US$412.50/year in SPT and of US$285.64/year in LCM. There is a significant correlation (p < 0.05) between ownership of draught animals and incomes, with a regression coefficient of US$279.16 per year per draught animal. Besides positive economic returns, having work animals alleviates drudgery for the campesino families.     

Resistance management strategies in malaria vector mosquito control. A large-scale field trial in Southern Mexico

A resistance management programme comparing rotations, mosaics and single use of insecticides for residual house-spraying against the insect vectors of malaria is being carried out in Southern Mexico. The area was chosen because of its prior history of insecticide use, relatively sedentary vector, and physical features of the area which limit inward migration of insects to the study area. A high level of resistance to DDT and low levels of organophosphorus (OP), carbamate and pyrethroid resistance were detected by WHO discriminating-dose assays in field populations of Anopheles albimanus in the pre-spray period in the region where this resistance management project is being undertaken. After the first year of spraying, resistance, as measured by a discriminating-dose assay, was still at a high level for DDT and had risen for all the other insecticides. Biochemical assays showed that DDT resistance was primarily caused by elevated levels of glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity leading to increased rates of metabolism of DDT to DDE. The numbers of individuals with elevated GST and DDT resistance were well correlated, suggesting that this is the only major DDT resistance mechanism in this population. The carbamate resistance in this population was conferred by an altered acetylcholinesterase (AChE) mechanism. The level of resistance in bioassays correlated well with the frequency of individuals homozygous for the altered AChE allele. This suggests that the level of resistance conferred by this mechanism in its heterozygous state is below the level of detection of the bioassay. The low levels of OP and pyrethroid resistance could be conferred by either the elevated esterase or monooxygenase enzymes. The esterases, however, are elevated only with p-nitrophenyl acetate (PNPA), and are unlikely to be causing broad-spectrum OP resistance. The altered AChE mechanism may also be contributing to the OP but not the pyrethroid resistance. There were significant differences in some resistance gene frequencies for insects obtained by different indoor and outdoor trapping methods. To determine whether the different sampling methods were effectively sampling the same interbreeding population, RAPD analysis of insects obtained by different collection methods in different villages was undertaken. There was no observed variability in the RAPD patterns for the different mosquito samples with a number of primers. ©1997 SCI     

Genetic variability of Pseudocercospora fijiensis,the black Sigatoka pathogen of banana (Musa spp.) in Mexico

Pseudocercospora (previously known as Mycosphaerella) fijiensis causes black Sigatoka disease in banana (Musa spp.) and is considered to be the most devastating pathogen of this crop worldwide. To improve knowledge of its evolutionary patterns, this study determined the genetic variability of populations from two regions of Mexico: Central Pacific (Colima and Michoacan) and Southern (Chiapas, Tabasco and Oaxaca), using 10 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci and the MAT-specific PCR assay. Both mating types were present in all regions under study, with frequencies of 63% MAT1-1 and 37% MAT1-2. The SSR markers showed an average of three alleles per locus, resulting in 34 alleles in total. The genetic diversity (H_T) was 0.3308, but at the local level (H_S) ranged from 0.0976 (Colima) to 0.2228 (Oaxaca). However, the genotypic diversity was usually high (H′ > 2.4, S > 0.89). Cluster analysis grouped the isolates into five clusters with high statistical support (au > 80%), suggesting a geographic organization of the genetic variability of P. fijiensis; AMOVA, the minimum spanning tree and the population structure analysis supported this result, and all data indicated that the major genetic differences were between the different populations under analysis. Thus, the high level of genetic variability in P. fijiensis is attributed partly to a high rate of sexual reproduction, and also to a strong evolutionary capacity coupled with isolation due to limited genetic flow between distant populations. Both possibilities could be playing a relevant role in population differentiation of the pathogen.