<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-Cloprostenol enhances estrus synchronization in tropical hair sheep

To compare the effects of PGF2α (dinoprost tromethamine) and d-cloprostenol in a two-dose protocol for estrus synchronization in hair sheep during breeding season in Yucatán, México, two experiments were conducted. In experiment 1, 61 cyclic hair sheep were divided into two groups: G1 (control n?=?30), two doses of 50 μg of dinoprost tromethamine IM with 12 days between applications, and G2 (n?=?31), two doses of 50 μg of d-cloprostenol IM at the same time interval. For determination of progesterone levels, 16 ewes from each group were randomly selected. In experiment 2, 70 cyclic hair sheep were assigned at the same treatments (G1 and G2, n?=?35) and 48 h after the second application, the ewes in estrus were detected by two vasectomized rams. Sheep with detected estrus were inseminated, and 45 days after, pregnant animals were identified by ultrasonography. An exact Fisher’s test was performed for the analysis of ewes in estrus (experiments 1 and 2) and number of pregnant ewes (experiment 2); for the comparison of time between end of treatment-estrus presentation, a survival analysis was used. Duration of estrus in hours was analyzed using a generalized mixed model (GLM) ANOVA whereas plasma progesterone concentrations were analyzed by non-linear regression. There were significant differences (P?<?0.05) in the proportion of ewes in estrus upon treatments (G1, 57% vs G2, 87% and G1, 37.1% vs G2, 65.7% in experiments 1 and 2, respectively), and between the end of treatment-onset estrus interval (P?<?0.01), survival curves showed the highest number of sheep in estrus between 40 and 48 h (G1, 43.7?+?8.05 h vs G2, 42.9?+?6.7 h, experiment 1). There were no significant differences (P?>?0.05) in duration of estrus (G1, 42?+?6.1 h, vs G2, 41.1?+?11.2 h, experiment 1) and pregnancy in the ewes that presented estrus, and were inseminated (G1, 38.4% vs 52.1%, experiment 2). With regard to concentrations of progesterone, significant differences (P?<?0.01) were found between treatments, and progesterone levels before the second application of d-cloprostenol were higher. In consideration of the results, it can be concluded that in a two-dose protocol of a luteolytic agent, more ewes presented estrus in response to d-cloprostenol compared to dinoprost tromethamine with similar pregnancy rates.     

Validating the effectiveness of alternative euthanasia techniques using penetrating captive bolt guns in mature swine (Sus scrofa domesticus)

Euthanasia of mature swine is challenging. Temporal and behind-the-ear locations are two sites that have been identified as alternatives to the more commonly used frontal placement. In stage one, the effectiveness of two penetrating captive bolt gun styles (cylinder or pistol) was evaluated using frontal, temporal, and behind-the-ear placement in anesthetized mature swine (n = 36; weight: 267 ± 41 kg). For stage one, when evaluating treatment efficacy by sex, the cylinder-style equipment was 100% effective in achieving death when applied to all cranial locations (frontal, temporal, and behind-the-ear) for sows; however, the pistol-style equipment was only 100% effective when applied at the behind-the-ear location for sows. For boars, the cylinder-style equipment was 100% effective when applied to the frontal and behind-the-ear location, but the pistol-style equipment was not effective for any cranial location in boars. Therefore, the pistol–frontal, pistol–temporal, pistol–behind-the-ear, and cylinder–temporal were not included for boars, and pistol–frontal and pistol–temporal were not included for sows in stage two. In stage two, commercial, mixed-breed, mature swine (n = 42; weight: 292 +/− 56 kg) were randomly assigned to one of four treatments based on the inclusion criteria described in stage one. A three-point traumatic brain injury (TBI) score (0 = normal; 1 = some abnormalities; 2 = grossly abnormal, unrecognizable) was used to evaluate six neuroanatomical structures (cerebral cortex, cerebellum, hypothalamus, thalamus, pons, and brain stem), and the presence of hemorrhage was also noted. All treatments were 100% effective in stage two. A significant interaction between gun style and placement was determined on predicting total TBI as the cylinder style produced a higher total TBI score compared with the pistol type of the magnitude of +2.8 (P < 0.01). The cylinder style tended to produce a greater TBI score than the pistol in the temporal location (+1.2; P = 0.08). No difference was noted for TBI score behind-the-ear between the cylinder- and pistol-style gun (P > 0.05). TBI tended to be less in boars compared with sows (−0.6; P = 0.08). Hemorrhage was observed in frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes. This study demonstrated that the cylinder-style captive bolt gun more effectively resulted in brain trauma and death compared with a pistol-style gun and the behind-the-ear and temporal placement showed promise as an alternative placement site for euthanizing mature pigs on-farm.     

Unraveling the morphological patterns of a subantarctic eelpout: a geometric morphometric approach

Phenotypic variation in organisms depends on the genotype and the environmental constraints of the habitat that they exploit. Therefore, for marine species inhabiting contrasting aquatic conditions, it is expected to find covariation between the shape and its spatial distribution. We studied the morphology of the head and cephalic sensory canals of the eelpout Austrolycus depressiceps (4.5–22.5 cm TL) across its latitudinal distribution in South Pacific (45°S–55°S). Geometric morphometric analyses show that the shape varied from individuals with larger snout and an extended suborbital canal to individuals with shorter snouts and frontally compressed suborbital canal. There was size variation across the sampled populations, but that size does not have a clear latitudinal gradient. Only 8% of the shape variation relates to this size variation (allometry), represented by a decrease in the relative size of the eye, and a depression of the posterior margin of the head. There were spatial differences in the shape of the head, but these differences were probably caused by allometric effects. Additionally, 2 of the canals of the cephalic lateralis pores and the head shape showed modularity in its development. This study shows that the morphology of marine fish with a shallow distribution varies across distances of hundreds of kilometers (i.e., phenotypic modulation).     

Jackknife method for estimating the variance of the age composition using two-phase sampling with an application to commercial catches of swordfish (Xiphias gladius)

An estimate of the age composition of a commercial swordfish catch and its variance was obtained using the replicate full jackknife estimator for two-phase sampling where the sampling units in the first phase are clusters (vessel-trips) and the units of the second phase are individual fishes. The jackknife variance estimator was compared with an analytical estimator of variance commonly used in fisheries studies which ignores the clustering, and assumes simple random sampling of individual fish. The application of these naïve estimators to the Chilean South Pacific swordfish fishery results in an underestimation of the variance. This is a consequence of using an inappropriate primary sampling unit of analysis in the first-phase sample where the vessel-trip unit is replaced by an individual fish unit, thus ignoring the intra-cluster correlation in age samples. The jackknife estimator of variance is an alternative useful for complex two-phase sampling designs.     

Soil fertility properties on Agave angustifolia Haw. plantations

This study examined the variations in soil physical, chemical and biological properties from Agave angustifolia fields in three sites with different topographic conditions (valley, hill and mountain), in Oaxaca, Mexico, associated with the tillage systems, disk ploughing (DP), animal drawn ploughing (ADP) and minimum tillage (MT), respectively. Plant ages were 1.5–3.5 years (class 1), 3.6–5.5 years (class 2) and 5.6–7.5 years (class 3). Soil samples were taken at two soil depths (0–20 and 21–40 cm) from plots of 4000 m² within each site and plant age classes, during the spring of 2005. The main changes in soil properties were found in the mountain site. Soil bulk density (2.0 g cm⁻³), cone penetration resistance (CPR) (3.96 MPa), 0.7 and 1.0 mm water stable aggregates (WSA) (28.3 g kg⁻¹ and 102.2 g kg⁻¹, respectively) were higher in the mountain site than in the hill and valley fields. This result is consistent with the rocky substrate beneath the shallow soil. Soil organic carbon (SOC) (23.9 g kg⁻¹), available N (23.1 mg kg⁻¹) and soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) (969.6 μg g⁻¹) at the mountain site showed the highest values, suggesting that MT practiced in this topographic condition favours the organic matter accumulation and biological activity. Soil microbial biomass carbon and SOC seem to be the soil properties that were mainly affected by the sites and soil management associated with them. For the three sites, SOC, P_Olsen, available N, exchangeable Na⁺ and SMBC were higher at 0–20 cm depth than at 21–40 cm depth within each site. Exchangeable Ca²⁺ and K⁺, P_Olsen and CPR increased with plant age. In contrast, available N decreased. Soil chemical properties were more affected by the age of the plant than physical and biological properties. Results reported here represent a reference of the fertility properties of soils cultivated with A. angustifolia, which could be used in further studies focused on management and tillage systems.     

Richard Lang

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Richard Lang

     

Cryopreservation effects on the sperm quality of cachama blanca Piaractus brachypomus (Cuvier 1818)

The effects of straws volume, cryoprotectants and thawing temperatures were evaluated on the sperm quality of cachama blanca Piaractus brachypomus (Cuvier), an important Colombian fish species. Sexually mature fish were induced to ovulation or spermiation with a carp pituitary extract. A pool of suitable sperm samples was diluted in glucose, egg yolk, dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO‐10%), methanol (MET‐10%) or ethylene glycol (ETG‐5%) and packed in 0.5, 2.5 or 5.0 mL straws and frozen in nitrogen vapour. The thawing process was performed in a 35 or an 80 °C water bath. The fertility was evaluated after 6 h post fertilization. The highest motility percentage (33 ± 3%) was observed with sperm cryopreserved with DMSO, packed in 5 mL straws and thawed at 35 °C. The treatments with DMSO and MET packed in 0.5 and 5.0 mL straws and thawed at 35 °C showed the highest fertility (higher than 71%) and the lowest fertility was obtained with MET‐2.5 mL (9 ± 5%). In all the treatments, a significant decrease in the sperm quality was observed at 80 °C. Sperm cryopreserved with DMSO‐10% or MET‐10%, packed in 2.5 or 5.0 mL straws are suitable to achieve acceptable fertilization and to fertilize high amounts of eggs.