The duration of lot-feeding of sheep before sea transport

Adult wethers (n = 750) were lot-fed for 13 days, 8 days or 3 days before a simulated voyage lasting 18 days to examine whether the period of lot-feeding affected the proportion of sheep that ate pelleted feed and their body weight change during simulated shipping. There was no significant difference in the proportion of non-feeders between treatment groups on days 7 and 14 of the voyage. Body weights were not significantly different between the treatment groups on days 14 and 18 of the voyage. Overall body weight loss, from the farm to the end of simulated shipping, was 4.08 kg (+/- 0.28, s.e.m.), 4.58 kg (+/- 0.28) and 4.51 kg (+/- 0.28) in sheep lot-fed for 13 days, 8 days and 3 days, respectively, and was not significantly different between treatments. It was concluded that lot-feeding for 13 days conferred no advantage in body weight or numbers of non-feeders compared with shorter periods in this study.     

Effects of Confluent, Roscovitine Treatment and Serum Starvation on the Cell-cycle Synchronization of Bovine Foetal Fibroblasts

The present study was designed to examine the effects of cell-cycle synchronization protocols, such as confluent, roscovitine treatment and serum starvation, in bovine foetal fibroblasts on synchronization accuracy at G0/G1, viability, apoptosis, necrosis and ploidy for use as a nuclei donor. The cells in 5-10 passages were randomly allocated into three treated groups. Cells were cultured either in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) + 10% foetal bovine serum (FBS) until 90% confluent (group 1, confluent), in DMEM + 10% FBS + 30 microM roscovitine for 12 h (group 2, roscovitine), or in DMEM + 0.5% FBS for 5 days (group 3, serum starvation). Most of the cells (>80%) in all groups were arrested at the G0/G1 stage. Although the rates did not differ, cells in group 1 showed an increased cell population arrested at the G0/G1 phase. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher rates of apoptosis occurred in group 3 than in group 1 and 2 (10% vs 6% and 6%, respectively). No differences in chromosomal abnormality were observed among groups. However, by increasing the number of cell culture passages up to 15, significantly (p < 0.05) higher chromosomal abnormality was observed than in 5 and 10 passages (39% vs 28% and 23%, respectively) in group 1. The results clearly indicated that bovine foetal fibroblasts could be effectively synchronized at G0/G1 stages by all the three different treatments, confluent, roscovitine and serum starvation. However, cells in confluent showed reduced apoptosis and necrosis when they underwent 5-10 passages, exhibiting increased percentage of cells with stable chromosome diversity. Hence, cells in confluent merit further studies before they could be used as nuclear donors.     

Management of inappetant sheep during export by sea

In the first of 2 experiments, a simulated voyage was conducted to examine the effects of various treatments on bodyweight change and feeding frequency of inappetant sheep at the end of lot-feeding (non-feeders). The treatments, applied during simulated shipping, were: normal quantities of feed and length of troughs; extra trough length; extra feed. Adult Merino wethers (n = 108) were used in each treatment. A voyage to the Middle East was then conducted to establish whether shipboard mortality could be reduced by separating non-feeders (n = 305) from feeders (n = 5,620) late in the feedlot hase and housing the groups separately aboard ship. A control group of non-feeders (n = 215) mixed with feeders (n = 5,732) was used for comparison. Bars (marker bars), containing a coloured dye, were attached to feed troughs to mark sheep that fed. Most non-feeders (82%) began eating when placed in shipping pens in both studies. However, there was no significant difference in percentage of sheep that fed between non-feeders given extra trough length or extra feed compared with non-feeders given standard management at any stage of simulated shipping. There was no significant difference in mean bodyweights between treatment groups on days 1, 8 and 15 of simulated shipping. Differences in bodyweight on d 22 were probably associated with different levels of gut fill. Death rates were not significantly different in separated and control groups (1.1%, 0.9%, P = 0.6) in the voyage of 14 d to the Middle East.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Nutrient and heavy metals in decaying harvest residue needles on drained blanket peat forests

Harvest residue decomposition can significantly contribute to nutrient and heavy metal exports to receiving water courses. This study monitors the nutrient and heavy metal dynamics in decaying Sitka spruce and lodgepole pine harvest residue needles on Atlantic blanket peat forests in the west of Ireland. Using the litterbag method, harvest residue was placed both within and between furrows in two uncut forest and two clear-cut sites. On the clear-cut sites, the litterbags were positioned outside the harvest residue piles (i.e. brash windrows). Over the 2-year monitoring period, the needles decomposed slower at the clear-cut sites than the uncut forest sites, with mass losses of 46–55 and 58–77 %, respectively. Approximately 20 % less phosphorous (P) was released from the decaying needles at the clear-cut sites, while nitrogen (N) was released only at the uncut sites. Tree species was a significant factor contributing to nutrient and heavy metal release and accumulation patterns, with higher concentrations of aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) in the decaying spruce needles than in pine. Conversely, the spruce needles showed accelerated depletion of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) relative to the pine. The harvest residue needle positioning (inside furrow/between furrows) and the site soil characteristics contributed significantly to Al transformations in spruce needles and iron (Fe) in both spruce and pine needles, with more accumulation occurring inside the furrows where Al and Fe contents of the peat were high. Manganese (Mn) was released from the needles in three of the four sites with a total release of over 90 % within 2 years. In the remaining site, where the Mn content of the peat was high, an accumulation of Mn in the needles was observed. The decomposition of needles on blanket peat catchments may be a significant source of P to receiving water courses, owing to their fast release of P, but not a likely source for N export.     

Monensin controlled-release intraruminal capsule for control of bloat in pastured dairy cows

Monensin, a polyether ionophore antibiotic, is potentially an important agent for bloat relief in dairy cows grazing temperate legume-based pasture. A series of studies was undertaken to determine the effect of monensin, when delivered continuously in the rumen of lactating dairy cows by means of controlled-release capsules (monensin CRC). Such devices release approximately 300 mg/head/day for 100 d. A short-term pilot study made at Ruakura, New Zealand, tested monensin CRC in cows selected for high susceptibility to bloat and grazing lucerne (Medicago sativa) or red clover (Trifolium pratense). Treatment significantly reduced the incidence of bloat, while milk yield and protein yield were increased. There was no effect on fat yield. Following the pilot study, 6 large-scale field experiments involving a total of 368 lactating dairy cows, were made in Australia and New Zealand to confirm the effectiveness of monensin CRC for bloat control and to measure the effect of such treatment on milk production and composition. A severe bloat problem occurred in 2 experiments, mild bloat occurred in 2 others, while no visual signs of bloat were observed in the remaining 2 experiments. Bloat was significantly (P less than 0.05) reduced by monensin CRC treatment when data was pooled over the 4 experiments in which bloat occurred. Daily milk yield was increased in all experiments from a mean of 17.7 in untreated groups to 18.8 kg/head/day (P less than 0.05) in monensin CRC-treated cows. Protein percentage was not affected by treatment, while there was a decrease from 4.29 to 4.10% fat, although total fat yield was not affected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Sampling saproxylic beetles: lessons from a 10-year monitoring study

We sampled saproxylic beetles using trunk window traps in two birch-dominated forests in Finland during 1990-1999. The sampling scheme, 10 traps attached to living fruiting bodies of Fomes fomentarius growing on dead birches, remained unchanged in both forests throughout the study period. Beetles belonging to 32 selected families were identified every year, whereas all species were identified during the last 4 years. Total number of identified individuals was 40,294 and number of species 583, of which 258 were saproxylic (dependent on dead wood). Species richness of rare and threatened saproxylic beetles in the samples varied a lot between the years and did not fluctuate synchronously between the forests. Variation between years was smaller when all saproxylic species were pooled together and some abundant species fluctuated synchronously in the two forests. Similarity indices and DCA-ordination did not generally suggest decreasing similarity between samples with increasing temporal isolation. Incidence-based similarities of common saproxylic species within and between forests and years were high (means 0.7-0.8), whereas those of rare saproxylics were roughly 50% smaller and much more variable. More than 75% of the common saproxylic species found during the entire 10-year period were detected already after 3 years of sampling but accumulation of rare and threatened species was much slower. Our results suggest that: (1) occurrence of rare and threatened species in samples is much less predictable than that of common species and, e.g. reserve selection based on rarities should be made cautiously; (2) estimation of total number of threatened species in a forest is very difficult, because such species accumulate slowly in the samples; (3) samples from different years can be comparable in certain cases.