Maintaining the Flow: Maintenance Service Provision in the Alto Río Lerma Irrigation District, Mexico

Through irrigation management transfer inMexico poorly functioning governancemechanisms for maintenance were replaced.New actors, new roles, and newresponsibilities in the maintenance ofMexican irrigation systems wereestablished. This article analyzes themaintenance service delivery mechanisms inthe Alto Río Lerma Irrigation District(ARLID), to evaluate if and how theinstitutional arrangements establishedthrough management transfer ensure adequateservice provision. After presenting themain actors currently involved inirrigation maintenance, the rules andregulations underlying the servicerelationships between the actors involvedin maintenance in ARLID are analyzed. Thisis done by detailing how theserelationships are formally organized, howthey work in practice, and which incentivesexist for the service providers to providean efficient service and for the servicerecipient to pro-actively participate inservice provision. We conclude that the newinstitutional framework for maintenanceservice provision is quite coherent andthat the governance mechanisms that havebeen established work well, especiallythose between the farmers and theirorganizations. This has led to improvedmaintenance services.     

Classification of cassava into ‘bitter’ and ‘cool’ in Malawi: From farmers' perception to characterisation by molecular markers

Cassava roots, a major food in Africa, contain cyanogenic glucosides that may cause toxic effects. Malawian women farmers considered fields of seemingly similar cassava plants to be mixes of both ‘cool’ and ‘bitter’ cultivars. They regard roots from ‘cool’ cultivars as non-toxic. Roots of ‘bitter’ were considered to require extensive traditional processing done by women to be safe for consumption. But curiously, these women farmers preferred ‘bitter’ cultivars since toxicity confers protection against theft, which was a serious threat to the food security of their families. We studied how well these farmers comprehend the effects of genetic variations in cassava when dealing with cyanogenesis in this complex system. Using molecular markers we show that most plants farmers identified as belonging to a particular named cultivar had a genotype typical of that cultivar. Farmers' ethno-classification into ‘cool’ and ‘bitter’ cultivars corresponded to a genetic sub-division of the typical genotypes of the most common cultivars, with four-fold higher cyanogenic glucoside levels in the bitter cultivars. Examining morphology, farmers distinguished genotypes better than did the investigators when using a standard botanical key. Undoubtedly, these women farmers grasp sufficiently the genetic diversity of cassava with regard to cyanogenesis to simultaneously benefit from it and avoid its dangers. Consequently, acyanogenic cassava – the breeding of which is an announced good of some cassava genetic improvement programmes – is not a priority to these farmers. Advances in molecular genetics can help improve food supply in Africa by rapid micropropagation, marker assisted breeding and introduction of transgenic varieties, but can also help to elucidate tropical small-scale farmers' needs and skills. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

基于RS和GIS对龙凤湿地自然保护区景观格局变化特征定量分析

在RS和GIS技术支持下,选取了1979、1989、2001、2008年4个不同时期的遥感影像作为基本信息源,选取斑块数量(Np)、斑块总面积(CA)、斑块面积比(PL.A.N.D)、斑块密度(PD)、边界密度(ED)、最大斑块指数(LP.I)、景观形状指数(LS.I)、多样性指数(SH.D.I)、优势度(DI)、面积...     

In this issue – June 2011

Computer model predictions and field observations of anthelmintic resistance in sheep · Dangers of off‐label use of barium selenate · Elbow luxation in dogs and cats · Prognosis of joint infections in adult horses · Omentalisation for mediastinal abscess in a dog · Adenoviruses in lizards     

Influence of helminth parasite exposure and strategic application of anthelmintics on the development of immunity and growth of swine

Infection of pigs with the intestinal roundworm parasite Ascaris suum and strategic application of anthelmintic drugs during the growing phase of development were observed for specific effects on 1) development of immunity in feeder pigs and 2) growth rate during the finishing phase. Management treatments included maintenance in a parasite-free concrete environment, maintenance in a concrete environment and inoculation with 1,000 infective A. suum eggs every other day over a 52-d period, and maintenance on a dirtlot contaminated with A. suum and Trichuris suis eggs. Within each management environment, pigs were either untreated, treated with ivermectin or treated with fenbenzadole at strategic times during parasite exposure. Protective immunity, assessed by a challenge inoculation with A. suum eggs following management treatments, was not affected by ivermectin or fenbenzadole treatment during exposure, but adult worm burdens were reduced and the pattern of A. suum larval antigen serum antibody responses were different from those in control pigs not treated with drugs. Exposure to A. suum and treatment with anthelmintics during the growing phase reduced adult worm burdens following the finishing phase of growth. Rate, but not efficiency, of gain was significantly improved by anthelmintic treatment following natural exposure to parasites. Strategic treatment of pigs with anthelmintics following inoculation with A. suum eggs in a concrete management environment had no effect on rate of gain. Results suggest that natural exposure to parasites during the growing phase without therapeutic treatment causes permanent damage to growth potential.     

Neutral models for testing landscape hypotheses

Neutral landscape models were originally developed to test the hypothesis that human-induced fragmentation produces patterns distinctly different from those associated with random processes. Other uses for neutral models have become apparent, including the development and testing of landscape metrics to characterize landscape pattern. Although metric development proved to be significant, the focus on metrics obscured the need for iterative hypothesis testing fundamental to the advancement of the discipline. We present here an example of an alternative neutral model and hypothesis designed to relate the process of landscape change to observed landscape patterns. The methods and program, QRULE, are described and options for statistical testing outlined. The results show that human fragmentation of landscapes results in a non-random association of land-cover types that can be describe by simple statistical methods. Options for additional landscape studies are discussed and access to QRULE described in the hope that these methods will be employed to advance our understanding of the processes that affect the structure and function in human dominated landscapes.     

Diagnosis of transplacentally induced toxoplasmosis in pigs

Seventeen sows were fed 1,000 Toxoplasma gondii oocysts of isolates GT-1 or PT-1 at 32 to 92 days of gestation, and the products of conception were examined for T gondii antibodies and parasites. Twelve of these sows were euthanatized near term between 21 and 62 days after being fed T gondii; fetal body fluids or fetal sera were examined for agglutinating T gondii antibodies, and tissues were bioassayed in mice for T gondii parasites. Six sows produced pigs that had been transplacentally infected with T gondii; one of them aborted a T gondii-infected fetus 17 days after ingesting oocytes. Agglutinating antibodies were detected in fetuses infected in utero, but transplacental transfer of T gondii antibodies was not observed in noninfected fetuses. Transcolostrally acquired T gondii antibodies disappeared by 3 months of age. Diagnosis of transplacental toxoplasmosis was confirmed on the basis of detection of T gondii organisms in fetal tissues by use of histologic examination and bioassay in mice. In conclusion, finding of T gondii antibodies in body fluids could serve as a rapid screening test for transplacental T gondii infection in pigs.