Stress steroid levels and the short-term impact of routine dehorning in female southern white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum simum)

Rhinoceros populations in Africa are under severe threat as a result of surging poaching rates and risk-mitigation strategies are continuously adapted in an attempt to ensure the survival of the species. This study compared faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) levels of two age classes of limited free-ranging female white rhinos with fGCM levels of adult free-ranging female white rhinos. Subsequently, fGCM alterations in the limited free-ranging animals were monitored following routine dehorning as a measure of the animals’ short-term physiological stress response. Baseline fGCM levels differed significantly between tested groups, with both free-ranging and limited free-ranging adult animals showing significantly higher fGCM levels compared with limited free-ranging juvenile females. In contrast, baseline fGCM levels did not differ significantly between limited free-ranging and free-ranging adult individuals. Routine dehorning procedures resulted in a short-term stress response expressed by a significant increase in fGCM levels 48 h post-dehorning, with stress steroid levels returning to pre-dehorning concentrations 72 h after the procedure.     

Factors associated with variation in Neospora caninum bulk-milk S/P ratios in initially bulk-milk negative testing Dutch dairy herds

We conducted a study on 81 initially bulk-milk ELISA negative dairy herds taken from a random sample of Dutch dairy herds to evaluate variation in bulk-milk S/P ratios and to study reasons for bulk-milk conversion. These herds were repeatedly (3-month intervals) tested between April 2004 and August 2005 and serostatus of all animals had previously been established as negative (N), low-positive (LP) or high-positive (HP). Of these herds, herd- and test-related factors associated with variation in sample over positive (S/P) ratios were analysed using a multivariable linear-mixed model with ‘herd’ as random effect. In addition, changes of animal serostatus in converting herds were described. S/P ratios were calculated as the optical density of the bulk-milk sample minus the optical density of the negative serum control divided by the difference in optical density between the positive and negative serum control.

Sixteen bulk-milk conversions in 12 dairy herds were seen with few indications of serological conversion in lactating cattle except for one herd in which recrudescence of infection appeared likely in nine cows. The effect of HP serostatus on bulk-milk S/P ratio was 2–3 times stronger compared with LP serostatus. In addition, bulk-milk S/P-ratio increased when the proportion of HP animals between 1 and 60 days in milk increased and decreased when the average milk-production level of the herd increased. Besides these herd-related factors, the use of different ELISA-testkits between test rounds had a significant effect on the S/P-ratio in bulk-milk samples.     

基于"3S"技术的甘肃子午岭自然保护区土地利用变化研究

以甘肃省子午岭自然保护区为研究对象,运用"3S"技术,对研究区的地形图、不同时相的TM遥感影像进行数据预处理,并分类提取了研究区2个时段的土地利用信息.对分类信息进行统计分析后并与实地调查数据进行比较,结果表明,近20年来甘肃子午岭自然保护区的森林覆盖面积在稳步提高,乔木林面积明显增加.为甘肃子午岭自然保护区工程的建设提供了基础信息,为林区植物种群生长及分布调查研究提供了宏观数据,并且输出了研究区不同时相土地利用专题图.     

蒜和葱上二斑叶螨的发生为害及其抗药性监测

二斑叶螨寄主植物范围极广, 但其对百合科蔬菜造成危害的研究报道极少?本研究采集了来自北京海淀百合科蔬菜蒜和葱上的2个二斑叶螨种群, 生物测定结果显示, 2个种群对阿维菌素呈现出极高水平抗性, 对哒螨灵为中等以上抗性(LC50>5 000 mg/L), 对新型药剂联苯肼酯?虫螨腈和腈吡螨酯也表现出中等到高水平抗性?抗性基因突变频率检测发现, 与阿维菌素抗性相关基因G314D和G326E位点以及和哒螨灵抗性相关基因H92R位点的突变频率均高达100%, 为纯合抗性种群?因此, 本研究所测试的2个二斑叶螨种群对阿维菌素和哒螨灵单剂的敏感性极低, 需慎重选用这2种药剂, 而3种新型杀螨剂联苯肼酯?虫螨腈和腈吡螨酯在田间需轮换使用?     

Detection of Ecballium elaterium in hedgerow olive orchards using a low-cost uncrewed aerial vehicle and open-source algorithms

BACKGROUND

Ecballium elaterium (common name: squirting cucumber) is an emerging weed problem in hedgerow or superintensive olive groves under no tillage. It colonizes the inter-row area infesting the natural or sown cover crops, and is considered a hard-to-control weed. Research in other woody crops has shown E. elaterium has a patchy distribution, which makes this weed susceptible to design a site-specific control strategy only addressed to E. elaterium patches. Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop a methodology based on the analysis of imagery acquired with an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) to detect and map E. elaterium infestations in hedgerow olive orchards.

RESULTS

The study was conducted in two superintensive olive orchards, and the images were taken using a UAV equipped with an RGB sensor. Flights were conducted on two dates: in May, when there were various weeds infesting the orchard, and in September, when E. elaterium was the only infesting weed. UAV-orthomosaics in the first scenario were classified using random forest models, and the orthomosaics from September with E. elaterium as the only weed, were analyzed using an unsupervised algorithm. In both cases, the overall accuracies were over 0.85, and the producer's accuracies for E. elaterium ranged between 0.74 and 1.00.

CONCLUSION

These results allow the design of a site-specific and efficient herbicide control protocol which would represent a step forward in sustainable weed management. The development of these algorithms in free and open-source software fosters their application in small and medium farms. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

Association between porpoise presence and fish choruses: implications for feeding strategies and ecosystem-based conservation of the East Asian finless porpoise

The associations between feeding activities and environmental variables inform animal feeding tactics that maximize energetic gains by minimizing energy costs while maximizing feeding success. Relevant studies in aquatic animals, particularly marine mammals, are scarce due to difficulties in the observation of feeding behaviors in aquatic environments. This data scarcity concurrently hinders ecosystem-based fishery management in the context of small toothed-cetacean conservation. In the present study, a passive acoustic monitoring station was deployed in an East Asian finless porpoise habitat in Laizhou Bay to investigate potential relationships between East Asian finless porpoises and their prey. The data revealed that porpoises were acoustically present nearly every day during the survey period. Porpoise detection rates differed between spring and autumn in concert with activities of fish choruses. During spring, fish choruses were present throughout the afternoon, and this was the time when porpoise vocalizations were the most frequently detected. During autumn, when fish choruses were absent, porpoise detection rates decreased, and diurnal patterns were not detected. The close association between fish choruses and finless porpoise activities implies an “eavesdropping” feeding strategy to maximize energetic gains, similar to other toothed cetaceans that are known to engage similar feeding strategies. Underwater noise pollution, particularly those masking fish choruses, could interrupt finless porpoises’ feeding success. Fisheries competing soniferous fishes with finless porpoise could impact finless porpoise viability through ecosystem disruption, in addition to fishing gear entanglement.