Priority list of endemic diseases for the red meat industries

This report provides a systematic review of the most economically damaging endemic diseases and conditions for the Australian red meat industry (cattle, sheep and goats). A number of diseases for cattle, sheep and goats have been identified and were prioritised according to their prevalence, distribution, risk factors and mitigation. The economic cost of each disease as a result of production losses, preventive costs and treatment costs is estimated at the herd and flock level, then extrapolated to a national basis using herd/flock demographics from the 2010-11 Agricultural Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Information shortfalls and recommendations for further research are also specified. A total of 17 cattle, 23 sheep and nine goat diseases were prioritised based on feedback received from producer, government and industry surveys, followed by discussions between the consultants and MLA. Assumptions of disease distribution, in-herd/flock prevalence, impacts on mortality/production and costs for prevention and treatment were obtained from the literature where available. Where these data were not available, the consultants used their own expertise to estimate the relevant measures for each disease. Levels of confidence in the assumptions for each disease were estimated, and gaps in knowledge identified. The assumptions were analysed using a specialised Excel model that estimated the per animal, herd/flock and national costs of each important disease. The report was peer reviewed and workshopped by the consultants and experts selected by MLA before being finalised. Consequently, this report is an important resource that will guide and prioritise future research, development and extension activities by a variety of stakeholders in the red meat industry. This report completes Phase I and Phase II of an overall four-Phase project initiative by MLA, with identified data gaps in this report potentially being addressed within the later phases. Modelling the economic costs using a consistent approach for each disease ensures that the derived estimates are transparent and can be refined if improved data on prevalence becomes available. This means that the report will be an enduring resource for developing policies and strategies for the management of endemic diseases within the Australian red meat industry.

Lihaluujauhon soveltuvuus sokerijuurikkaan lannoitteeksi

Lihaluujauho muodostaa maatilojen myytävien kasvi- ja eläinperäisten tuotteiden jälkeen tärkeimmän agroekosysteemeistä poispäin suuntautuvan ravinnevirran. Se sisältää runsaasti pääkasvinravinteita typpeä, fosforia ja kalsiumia (N ~8%, P ~5%, Ca yleensä ~10-15% luuaineksen määrästä riippuen), sekä kaliumia n.1% tai alle. Lihaluujauho on todettu tehokkaaksi lannoitteeksi useilla viljelykasveilla ja sen käyttö on sallittu myös luomuviljelyssä EU-alueella. Lihaluujauhoon ja erityisesti sen rehukäyttöön liittyvistä riskeistä merkittävin on TSE-tautien riski (naudan BSE-, lampaiden ja vuohien scrapie-, sekä ihmisen vCJD-taudit). Rehukäyttöä on monissa maissa rajoitettu 1980-luvulla puhjenneen BSE-kriisin myötä. BSE-taudin leviäminen yhdistettiin tilanteeseen, jossa nautaperäistä lihaluujauhoa käytettiin nautaeläinten rehun ainesosana. Myös lihaluujauhon käytössä turkiseläinrehuna saattaa piillä BSE:n tai muun TSE-taudin riski. Oikein käsitellyn lihaluujauhon lannoitekäyttöön ei kuitenkaan näytä tarkastelemieni tutkimusten perusteella sisältyvän huomattavaa TSEriskiä, jos huolehditaan asianmukaisista varotoimista ja menettelyistä sekä tuotteen valmistusprosessissa, että käytettäessä lannoitetta. Lihaluujauhon lannoitekäytön lisääminen edistäisi ruokajärjestelmämme ravinnekierron sulkemista etenkin fosforin osalta. Lihaluujauho on uusiutuva luonnonvara, jonka lannoitekäytöllä voitaisiin korvata huomattava osa lannoiteaineena kulutettavista fosforipitoisista kiviaineista. Sokerijuurikkaan lannoituskokeissa Varsinais-Suomen Kaarinassa vuosina 2008 ja 2009 lihaluujauhokäsittelyt eivät menestyneet aivan yhtä hyvin satotasovertailussa kuin kontrollikäsittelyiden NPK-väkilannoitteet, mutta laatuominaisuuksiltaan (sokeripitoisuus, amino-N, K, ja Na-pitoisuudet) joiltakin osin kontrollikäsittelyjä paremmin. Kokeissa käytetyt lajikkeet olivat ’Jesper’ vuonna 2008 ja ’Lincoln’ vuonna 2009. Käytetty lihaluujauholannoite oli Honkajoki Oy:n Viljo Yleislannoite 8-4-3, joka sisälsi noin 10% kaliumsulfaatin ja kasviperäisten sivutuotteiden seosta. Viljo-lannoitetta käytettiin sekä yksistään, että yhdistettynä 10-25%:iin väkilannoitetta. Vuoden 2009 Viljo-koejäseniin vielä lisättiin kaliumsulfaattilannoitetta (42% K, 18% S), jotta päästiin annetun kaliumin määrässä päästiin lannoitussuosituksen (60 kg K/ha) tasolle. Pelkkä Viljo-lannoite tuotti merkitsevästi alhaisemmat sadot kuin kontrollikäsittelyt molempina vuosina. Kuitenkin kun Viljolannoitteen ohella käytettiin väkilannoitetta (10-25% kasvin typentarpeesta) päästiin varsin lähelle kontrollikäsittelyiden satotasoja. Myös pelkän LLJ-lannoitteen tuottamat satotasot olivat kuitenkin selvästi paremmat kuin Suomen keskimääräiset juurikassadot. Viljo-käsittelyillä oli selvästi positiivinen vaikutus laatutekijöihin amino-N, K ja Na vuonna 2008, mutta vuonna 2009 näiden pitoisuudet jäivät kontrollikäsittelyjen tasolle. Viljo-käsittelyiden sokeripitoisuudet olivat vuonna 2008 kontrollikäsittelyn luokkaa ja Viljo77%+NK1:n osalta kontrollia merkitsevästi paremmat. Vuoden 2009 sokeripitoisuudet olivat kaikilla koejäsenillä erinomaiset, ja käsittelyiden välillä ei ilmennyt merkitseviä eroja. Kokeiden perusteella kaliumsulfaatilla täydennetty lihaluujauho on hyvin toimiva lannoite sokerijuurikkaalla Suomen olosuhteissa, etenkin yhdistettynä väkilannoitteeseen.

Costs and benefits of the presence of leopards to the sport-hunting industry and local communities in Niassa national reserve, mozambique

Sport hunting is often proposed as a tool to support the conservation of large carnivores. However, it is challenging to provide tangible economic benefits from this activity as an incentive for local people to conserve carnivores. We assessed economic gains from sport hunting and poaching of leopards (Panthera pardus), costs of leopard depredation of livestock, and attitudes of people toward leopards in Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique. We sent questionnaires to hunting concessionaires (n = 8) to investigate the economic value of and the relative importance of leopards relative to other key trophy-hunted species. We asked villagers (n = 158) the number of and prices for leopards poached in the reserve and the number of goats depredated by leopard. Leopards were the mainstay of the hunting industry; a single animal was worth approximately U.S.$24,000. Most safari revenues are retained at national and international levels, but poached leopard are illegally traded locally for small amounts ($83). Leopards depredated 11 goats over 2 years in 2 of 4 surveyed villages resulting in losses of $440 to 6 households. People in these households had negative attitudes toward leopards. Although leopard sport hunting generates larger gross revenues than poaching, illegal hunting provides higher economic benefits for households involved in the activity. Sport-hunting revenues did not compensate for the economic losses of livestock at the household level. On the basis of our results, we propose that poaching be reduced by increasing the costs of apprehension and that the economic benefits from leopard sport hunting be used to improve community livelihoods and provide incentives not to poach.

Distribución de "coxiella burnetii" en los rumiantes domésticos y en la fauna silvestre de la Comunidad Atutónoma Vasca. Evaluacióndel efecto del tratamiento antibiótico y de la vacunación en el control de la fiebre Q en rebaños ovinos naturalmente infectados

243 p. : il.

News from Academy Bay

Ecología de los Chivos Ferales (Capra hircus) en el Volcán Alcedo. Ecology of Feral Goats (Capra hircus) on Alcedo Volcano. Pepino War, 1992.

News from Academy Bay

Plant nursery at CDRS. Tortoises from Cerro Paloma, Isabela Threatened. Goats damage Volcán Alcedo, Isabela. Collections at the CDRS Museum. Goats on Pinta again? Is there a Guadalupe River in Galápagos? Eastern kingbird sighting. Words out of the past.

Suelo de ocupación magdaleniense en la cueva de Praile Aitz I (Deba, Gipuzkoa): evidencias de arte mobiliar

[ES] La reciente excavación de la cueva de Praile Aitz I (Deba) ha identificado sucesivas breves ocupaciones del Tardiglaciar. Se estudian los materiales arqueológicos más significativos del Magdaleniense Inferior recuperados sobre un suelo preparado con cantitos de caliza. En él se localizaron, además de restos industriales líticos y faunísticos que no trataremos en esta ocasión, las siguientes evidencias: una azagaya, restos de ocre y un interesante lote de colgantes (cuatro cantos rodados perforados y tres incisivos de cabra con doble perforación).

Phenotypic variation in Calandrinia galapagosa (Portulacaceae)

Calandrinia galapagosa St. John is found only on San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos archipelago, where it is severely threatened by feral goats. A population at Cerro Colorado is protected by an exclosure constructed for this purpose in 1993. Individuals of this population have white or pinkish white flowers with a green stem, whereas the population at La Galapaguera, has pinkish white flowers with a purple stem.

Estudo das características fenotípicas e genotípicas de amostras de Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis

Uma vez que C. pseudotuberculosis é o agente etiológico de processos infecciosos em animais caprinos e ovinos e que também pode ser isolado de processos infecciosos em seres humanos as investigações direcionadas para a espécie em questão são necessárias, visto que a escassez de dados epidemiológicos e de conhecimento relativo ao comportamento do microrganismo em hospedeiros animais e humanos em nosso país dificulta o diagnóstico laboratorial da espécie, à semelhança do observado com outra espécie de transmissão zoonótica, o C. ulcerans. Uma preocupação adicional é o fato da espécie em questão também ser capaz de albergar bacteriófagos codificadores da toxina diftérica, representando uma ameaça à circulação dos bacteriófagos. Assim, o presente estudo tem como objetivo geral analisar as características fenotípicas e genotípicas de amostras de C. pseudotuberculosis. Neste sentido, foram propostos os seguintes objetivos: Avaliar as características bioquímicas das amostras através de testes bioquímicos convencionais; avaliar as características bioquímicas das amostras utilizando o sistema semi-automatizado API Coryne; diferenciar amostras de C. pseudotuberculosis de C. ulcerans utilizando a técnica de PCR multiplex; pesquisar a presença de gene tox. Os resultados demonstraram que amostras de C. diphtheriae, C. ulcerans e C. pseudotuberculosis podem ser caracterizadas por métodos bioquímicos convencionais e por taxonomia numérica (API Coryne System). C. ulcerans e C. pseudotuberculosis, com potencial de circulação zoonótica, da mesma forma que C. diphtheriae são capazes de albergar o gene da toxina diftérica. A reação m-PCR foi capaz de discernir as amostras de C. diphtheriae, C. ulcerans e C. pseudotuberculosis e ainda definir o potencial das amostras em produzir a toxina diftérica. Os dados enfatizam a necessidade da técnica multiplex PCR para o diagnostico e para o controle de espécies associadas a quadros de difteria em populações humana.

云南保种山羊血液同工酶遗传多样性研究

采用水平式淀粉胶电泳技术 ,对云南龙陵黄山羊、宁蒗黑头山羊、马关无角山羊和路南圭山羊等 4个保种山羊的 1 2 0个个体共 3 9个基因座位的基因多态性进行了研究。结果显示 ,云南 4个保种山羊品种在AKP、CES - 1、ESD、GOI、LAP、MDH、ME和NP基因座位出现多态。多态座位基因在不同保种山羊中分布不同。多态基因座位百分比 (P)在 4个保种山羊中分别为 0 .2 0 51 ,0 .1 53 8,0 .1 2 82和 0 .1 53 8。平均杂合度 (H)分别为 0 .0 95,0 .0 61 4 ,0 .0 4 67和 0 .0 662。用UPGMA法对由基因频率计算得到的Nei氏标准遗传距离进行聚类分析 ,结果表明云南保种山羊具地理分布及品种特点 ,龙陵黄山羊和其它 3个品种的遗传距离最远。

Effects of black Bengal goat manure on growth and production of Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) starin [sic], Oreochromis niloticus

In a goat-tilapia integrated farming system, the effect of Black Bengal goat manure on the growth and production of Oreochromis niloticus was studied at the Freshwater Substation, Shantahar, Bogra for 4.5 months. The stocking density used in three treatments were, 200 goats and 15,000 GIFT strain/ha (T1); 300 goats and 15,000 GIFT strain/ha (T2); and only 15,000 GIFT strain/ha (T3). The initial individual total length and weight of stocked tilapia were 7.6 cm and 11.34 g, respectively. Twelve ponds each having an area of 40 square meters were used for this trail [sic]. On one side of each pond goat shed was constructed and the space allocated for each goat was 0.75 m x 1.5 m. Newly weaned black Bengal goats of average weight 8.45 kg was used in the trial. Every morning the goats manure was swiped out in ponds through the fixed opening of bamboo made floor of goat shed. Water depth of the ponds was maintained at 0.75 m. The highest fish production was in treatment 1 (1,750 kg/ha) followed by treatment 2 (1,455 kg/ha) and treatment 3 (621 kg/ha). The difference in individual goat weight was not significant (P>0.05) among treatments 1 and 2.

Effect of box stowage on quality fish

Quality of boxed cod and haddock was compared with that of penned fish in terms of organoleptic grading, trimethylamine values, Intelectron Fish Tester readings and fish and fillet yield. Boxed fish showed a higher percentage of grade one fish than penned fish. TMA values, however, did not differ greatly. There was less physical damage due to squeezing with boxed fish and consequently a greater yield of landed round fish and fillets.

Genetic diversity of Chinese native pigs inferred from protein electrophoresis

We examined protein polymorphism of 20 native pig breeds in China and 3 introduced pig breeds. Thirty loci have been investigated, among which six loci were found to be polymorphic. Especially, the polymorphism of malate dehydrogenase (MDH), adenylate kinase (AK), and two new alleles of adenosine deaminase (ADA) had not been reported in domestic pigs and wild pigs. The percentage of polymorphic loci (P), the mean heterozygosity (H), and the mean number of alleles (A) are 0.200, 0.065, and 1.300, respectively. The degree of genetic variability of Chinese pigs as a whole was higher than that of goats, lower than that of cattle and horses, and similar to that of sheep. Using the gene frequencies of the 30 loci, Nei's genetic distance among the 20 native breeds in China and 3 introduced pig breeds was calculated by the formula of Nei. The program NEIGHBOR in PHYLIP 3.5c was chosen to construct an UPGMA tree and a NJ tree. Our results show that, of the total genetic variation found in the native pig breeds in China, 31% (0.31) is ascribable to genetic differences among breeds. About 69% of the total genetic variation is found within breeds. Most breeds are in linkage disequilibrium. The patterns of genetic similarities between the Chinese native pig breeds were not in agreement with the proposed pig type classification.

Altitudinal Ranging of Black-Crested Gibbons at Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan: Effects of Food Distribution, Temperature and Human Disturbance

We studied the altitudinal ranging of one habituated group of black-crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) at Dazhaizi, Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan, China, between March 2005 and April 2006. The group ranged from 1,900 to 2,680 m above sea level. Food distribution was the driving force behind the altitudinal ranging patterns of the study group. They spent 83.2% of their time ranging between 2,100 and 2,400 m, where 75.8% of important food patches occurred. They avoided using the area above 2,500 m despite a lack of human disturbance there, apparently because there were few food resources. Temperature had a limited effect on seasonal altitudinal ranging but probably explained the diel altitudinal ranging of the group, which tended to use the lower zone in the cold morning and the higher zone in the warm afternoon. Grazing goats, the main disturbance, were limited to below 2,100 m, which was defined as the high-disturbance area (HDA). Gibbons spent less time in the HDA and, when ranging there, spent more time feeding and travelling and less time resting and singing. Human activities directly influenced gibbon behaviour, might cause forest degradation and create dispersal barriers between populations. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel

Genetic diversity of Chinese domestic goat based on the mitochondrial DNA sequence variation

The aim of this study was to characterize the genetic diversity of domestic goat in China. For this purpose, we determined the sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region in 72 individuals of the Yangtze River delta white goat, and reanalysed