Life Sciences Commons^™

Hsus Exposes Livestock Transportation Cruelty

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

The Hsus Condemns Psychological Experimentation On Animals

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Distribution Of The Shoshone Scuplin (Cottus Greenei: Cottidae) In The Hagerman Valley Of South Central Idaho, Richard L. Wallace, J. S. Griffith Jr., D. M. Daley, Patrick J. Connolly, G. B. Beckham

Great Basin Naturalist

Cottus greenei, a potentially threatened species endemic to Idaho, was collected from 49 localities in 25 springs/streams in south central Idaho. Most localities were along the north bank of the Snake River in waters of the Thousand Springs formation, Gooding County. One population was found in a spring in the main Snake River. Another sculpin, Cottus bairdi, was collected with C. greenei at 23 locations in 16 springs/streams. Confusion concerning the type locality of Cottus greenei is discussed.>

New Jersey Outlaws Steel-Jaw, Leghold Trap!

Close Up Reports

New Jersey's wildlife will soon roam the woods free from the threat of steel-jaw, leghold traps.

The Hsus Petitions U.S. Government To Protect Fur Seals

Close Up Reports

Our battle to end U.S. seal clubbing continues

Warm Water Aquaculture Using Waste Heat And Water From Zero Discharge Power Plants In The Great Basin, Richard A. Heckmann, Robert N. Winget, Rex C. Infanger, Roger W. Mickelsen, John M. Hendersen

Great Basin Naturalist

Two series of experiments were completed to determine (a) toxicity of waste water from power plants on warm water fish and (b) multiple use of waste heat and water for aquatic animal and plant production. All three types of waste water from a typical coal-fired power plant are acceptable for growing catfish and tilapia following aeration. This growth was compared with fish raised in spring water. Closed, recirculating polyculture systems using evaporation pond water operated efficiently for plant (duckweed) and animal (fish and freshwater prawns) production. Duckweed is an excellent supplement for fish feed. Tilapia and freshwater prawns grew rapidly …

Microgeographic Variation In The Mexican Vole, Microtus Mexicanus, Meredith J. Hamilton, Gary A. Heidt

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Altitudinal variation was assessed in 115 (62 male; 53 female) Mexican voles (Microtus mexicanus) from six localities in Jalisco, Mexico. Univariate and multivariate statistical techniques were employed in the data analyses. A total of 49 skeletal measurements were investigated, and of these, 17 showed significant interlocality variation. Rostral breadth, depth of braincase, rostral height, width of third molar and nasal length were found to be the most variable characters. Component I (a size factor) accounted for 36% of the total phenetic variation; components II and III accounted for 30% and 19%, respectively. Larger individuals were found to occur at lower …

A Closer Look At Parrots As Pests, John L. Long

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Small parrots have been attacking fruit and grain crops in the south of Western Australia at least since agriculture expanded into their native habitats in the early 1900s. The parrots are capable of quickly adapting to new situations so it is not surprising that they have eaten crops.

It is not known whether parrot numbers have increased since European settlement began, but this appears likely. The present landscape of islands of uncleared country interspersed with areas of agriculture appears to favour the survival of the red-capped parrot, western rosella and the Port Lincoln parrot. These species were investigated during a …

The Secretive Silvereyes, I J. Rooke

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Durinf the past five years the agricultural Protection Board, in co-operation with scientists from CSIRO's Division of Wildlife Research and the University of Western Australia, had studied the biology and control of the silvereye in the South-West of Western Asustralia. The project was partially funded by a voluntary levy on vignerons in the Margaret River and Mt Barker areas.

The first part of the study investigated the bird's bioloogy - its food requirements, reproductive rate, how it interacted with other birds and its seasonal movements, It was hoped that this knowledge would help develop effective techniques for either controlling the …

The Use Of Buffer Zones In Dingo Control, P C. Thomson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The aim of dingo control is to protect livestock, not to eliminate dingos from Australia's vast ininhabited areas. However, with labour costs rising, dingo control must become more cost effective.

In this article, P.C. Thomson discusses the "buffer zone" control strategy which involves removing dingos from a strip of country adjacent to stocked land.

Although variations of this strategy have existed for some time, detailed knowledge of dingo behaviour and movement patterns was required to ensure that the concept was soundly based. Much of this information came from a long-term study of dingos carried out in unstocked country and adjacent …

Dingoes And Sheep In Pastoral Areas, P C. Thomson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Since 1975, a long-term study of dingoes in the Fortescue River area of northern Western Australia has sought to provide the detailed information necessary to devise efficient dingo management strategies.

Dingoes have been fitted with radio-transmitter collars, then tracked and observed from a specially equipped aircraft. Their movements, breeding, hunting and social behaviour have been monitered in the rugged, spinifex-covered ironstone terrain which represents typicaldingo refuge country, and in neighbouring sheep country.

Although the pastoral and agricultural industry have long recognised the need to control dingoes to protect livestock, particularily sheep, there is little published evidence about the type of …

Dispelling Some Myths About 'Dermo', J R. Edwards

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

There are a lot of misconceptions and myths about dermatophilosis, a disease which can kill young lambs, affect wool quality, make shearing difficult and make sheep susceptible to fly strike.

One misconception is perpetuated by the incorrect use of the name mycotic dermatitis, which implies that a fungus causes the disease. This is not so.

The disease is caused by the bacteria Dermatophilus congolensis, which attacks the sheep's skin and eventually forms a lesion or scab in the wool, and so is better called dermatophilosis, 'dermo' or 'lumpy wool'.

Veterinary Epidemiologist at the Albany Regional Office, J.R. Edwards, discusses …

Nest Predators And Breeding Birds: Do Initial Vocalizations Correlate With Predator Type And Future Defense Strategy?, Bradley M. Gottfried, Michaela Haug, Kathryn Andrews

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The initial vocalizations of breeding catbirds in response to predator models positioned at their nests were analyzed to determine if they were correlated with the type of later defense employed (attack model vs. no attack), intensity of defense, and type of predator model (snake vs. blue jay). Statistical differences were found in the types and numbers of vocalizations used in relation to type of nest predator and form of future defense. The data suggest that the initial catbird vocalizations may indeed encode a variety of information.

Recoveries Of Great Horned Owls Banded In Central Minnesota, Robert T. Bohm

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Although great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) are often considered permanent residents, data from band returns have shown that movements by this species do occur. In banding activities conducted in central Minnesota from 1967 through 1983, 329 great horned owls were banded and 24 (7.3 percent) recoveries were reported. Twelve of the 24 recoveries (50.0 percent) were made 15 kilometers or more from where the individuals were banded. Five of these recoveries ( 41.7 percent) were to the southeast. Of 23 owls recovered dead, eight (34 .8 percent) were reported only as "found dead," seven (30.4 percent) were found near highways …

Survival Strategies Of Invertebrates In Disturbed Aquatic Habitats, Rosemary J. Mackay

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Disturbance in aquatic habitats may be caused by drought, flood , changes in temperature, and unusual or unnatural introductions of particulate or dissolved substances from the surrounding land. Aquatic invertebrates survive disturbance by moving to a refuge or alternative habitat or by having resistant or specially protected stages in the life cycle. Some invertebrates are able to exploit the richer and more available food materials that may result from the disturbance. Most species in disturbed aquatic habitats are efficient colonizers; they combine one or more survival strategies with high powers of dispersal, rapid growth rates, and characteristics of ecological generalists.

Invertebrates Consumed By Dabbling Ducks (Anatinae) On The Breeding Grounds, George A. Swanson

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Foods consumed by dabbling ducks on the breeding grounds of south-central North Dakota were investigated during the spring and summer of 1967-80. Invertebrates dominated the diet of laying females. Animal foods comprised 99%, 72%, and 77% of the diet of laying blue-winged teal and northern shovelers, gadwalls, and mallards, and northern pintails, respectively. Factors that influence food selection include morphological adaptations for feeding, current physiological demands, the nutritional value of food items, and food availability. Preservation of waterfowl production habitat requires that the value of the wetland complex be recognized. Temporary, seasonal, and semi permanent wetlands provide abundant and highly …

Potential Effects Of Insecticides On The Survival Of Dabbling Duck Broods, Patrick W. Brown, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The effect of insecticides on the survival of dabbling duck broods was investigated by reviewing studies of natural brood survival and depression of growth rates for ducklings raised on wetlands treated with insecticides. Ducklings raised on an insecticide-treated wetland took 5 days longer to reach the normal 14-day body weight. Normal brood mortality for three species of dabbling ducks was highest in the first two weeks of life and ranged from 25% to 51%. High mortality of young ducklings is probably related to their small size. Thus, mortality rates could be in creased to 35% to 70% because of the …

Mosquito Control And Minnesota Amphibians, Tom R. Johnson

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Minnesota has 19 species of amphibians. Most of these animals have habitat requirements that include natural marshes, woodland ponds, and temporary pools. Amphibians need a stable and unpolluted environment. Changes in the pH of marshes or other aquatic habitats can be detrimental to Minnesota's amphibians. Habitat loss through the draining of marshes will be especially damaging. Several questions concerning mosquito control and its effects on amphibians need to be addressed.

The Response Of Invertebrates In Temporary Vernal Wetlands To Altosid Sr-10 As Used In Mosquito Abatement Programs, Ronald W. Lawrenz

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Three temporary vernal wetlands on the Bayport Wildlife Management Area in eastern Washington County, Minnesota, were divided by sandbag barrier into treatment and control areas. Designated areas were treated with Altosid® SR-10 briquets at standard mosquito control rates. Invertebrate populations were monitored weekly using net sweeps, column samples, and ocular estimates.

The development of Eubranchtpus bundyi, Lyncerus sp, and Daphnia sp., the three major components of the invertebrate fauna, was delayed by as much as one week in site 47. Similar developmental lags were noted for E. bundyi populations in the treated portions of sites 6 and 32. Delay of …

Rabbits North Of Carnarvon, D R. King

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In Westeern Australia rabbits are mainly a pest along the south-western coastal parts of the State, but there are populations north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Rabbits after crossing the Nullarbour plain from South Australia and colonising the South-West of the State, were reported to have reached the west coast near Geraldton by 1912 and then spread northwards.

There is little information on the biologhy of rabbits in the northan parts of their range, but pastoralists in some areas are concerned about erosion and damage to vegetation on their stations when rabbits reach high numbers.

The Agricultural Protection Board undertook …

Myxomatosis In Western Australia, D R. King, S. H. Wheeler

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Since myxomatosis was introduced to Western Australia in the early 1950s rabbit plagues have ceased. However, myxomatosis has not proven to be the whole answer to the rabit problem.

Rabits continue to damage crops and pastures in many areas and resurgences of rabbit populations are reported from time to time.

Drs D.R. King and S. H. Wheeler of the Agricultural Protection Board's research section have been studying the way myxomatosis epidemics occur and spread in rabbit populations in a range of Western Australian environments. This research will provide data for planning effective control strategies intergrating the various control options available …

The Bush Tick, R B. Besier

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A newly discovered livestock parasite has focused attention on farms in the Walpole district in the south-west of Western Australia. Ticks submitted to the Department of Agriculture in December 983 were identified as the bush tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis. An intensive campaign to locate areas of infestation and to limit spread was started in January 1984.

The bush tick is a pest of livestock in some areas of New South Wales and Queensland. It is important in a narrow coastal strip from Sydney to Brisbane where total summer rainfall can exceed 1000 mm. In this area heavy tick infestation causes …

New Developments In Footrot Control, R B. Richards, L. J. Depiazzi, R. V. R. Gwynn

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The eradication policy for footrot in sheep adopted by the Western Australian Department of Agriculture has produced an overall decline in the number of properties with the disease.

Our knowledge of the disease has improved substantially as a result of the research conducted at the Slabany Regional Veterinary Laboratory in recent years. Laboratory tests now sssist stock inspectors and veterinary officers to distinguish between different forms of footrot and to quarantine and eradicate accordingly.

The recent discovery of more effective foot-bathing solutions by officers of the Victorian Department of Agriculture will greatly assist further eradication procedures.

Western Australia's sheep industry …

Postnatal Osteology Of The Northern Grasshopper Mouse, Onychomys Leucogaster, Joe W. Bailey, Gary A. Heidt

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Two hundred forty-two specimens of Onychomys leucogaster, ranging in age from day of birth to the twenty-eighth day were cleared and stained using both Alizarin KOH and Alcian Blue/Alizarin-Trypsin staining methods. Thirty centers of ossification were studied. The data demonstrate the following: 1) skeletal centers of the appendicular skeleton ossify and mature earliest; 2) a new sesamoid bone lateral to the distal condyles of the femur was discovered; 3) the skeletal ossification of the baculum is present at one day of age; 4) a high degree of individual variation precludes aging of this species by skeletal maturation.

Temperature Preference And Tolerance Of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon Idella), Marvin L. Galloway, Raj V. Kilambi

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Grass carp, acclimated at 24 °C, were tested for temperature preference in a laboratory, horizontal gradient tank. After a 6-day period of exploration the grass carp gravitated to a final thermal preferendum of 35 °C. In the temperature tolerance test the ultimate upper incipient lethal temperature (TL50), was estimated as 41.5°C. The results are compared to those of a similar study with hybrid carp (female grass carp x male bighead carp).

Effect Of Edwardsiella Ictaluri Infection On Plasma Corticosterone Levels In Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus), Janice L. Cooper, Stanley N. David, John K. Beadles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were innoculated with a new host specific bacterium, Edwardsiella ictaluri, to observe the influence of bacterial infection on plasma corticosterone levels at various temperatures. The fish were innoculated intraperitoneally. The infected fish were separated from the controls. Plasma corticosterone concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. The plasma corticosterone concentrations in non-innoculated catfish were about 6.15 ng/ml and nearly 5.63 ng/ml in the infected fish. The lower level of the hormone in the infected catfish was not significantly different from the control level. High temperature was a stress factor which increased plasma corticosterone levels whereas E. ictaluri retarded …

Summary Account Of The Carolina Parakeet In Arkansas, Daniel Mckinley, Douglas A. James

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The extinct Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) once was part of the Arkansas avifauna. The first two reports of the species in what is now Arkansas were made in 1673 and 1718 by early French explorers. The remaining records are from the 1800s when parakeets were found in nearly all parts of the state, often in abundance. The last literature reference for the species still definitely occurring in Arkansas pertains to birds present in the summer of 1885 along the White River at Newport

Water Quality In The Gillham Lake-Cossatot River System During Dry And Wet Periods, Stephen B. Smith, Thomas E. Moen

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Water samples were collected in the Cossatot River-Gillham Lake system during an extended dry period and after heavy rains to determine the spatial variations in certain water quality characteristics. Of particular interest was the influence of the reservoir discharge on the water quality of the tailwater compared with the effects of four tributaries entering the tailwater below the reservoir. The water quality of the Cossatot River below Gillham Lake at low-flow (dry periods) and during the first 3 days after heavy rainfall (wet period) was influenced more by the tributaries entering the tailwater than by the reservoir water release. We …

Helminths Of Common Grackles (Quiscalus Quiscula-Versicolor, Viellot) In Central Arkansas, Arthur A. Johnson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Protecting Off-Shears Sheep In Adverse Weather, T M. Ellis

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In January 2982 in the Narrogin-Darkan area of Western Australia, about 14,500 sheep up to 40 days off-shears died after a 48-hour period of heavy soaking rain that followed a thunderstorm three days previously. An estimated 100,000 sheep died throughout the South-West at the time.

P. G. Buckman - at the time Department of Agriculture District Veterinary Officer, Narrogin - surveyed 17 properties in the area. He found that losses in unshedded sheep 0 to 40 days off-shears ranged from 0 to 84 per cent of sheep on the property with an overall average of 27.9 per cent. Rainfall in …