Remote sensing of tidal networks and their relation to vegetation

The study of the morphology of tidal networks and their relation to salt marsh vegetation is currently an active area of research, and a number of theories have been developed which require validation using extensive observations. Conventional methods of measuring networks and associated vegetation can be cumbersome and subjective. Recent advances in remote sensing techniques mean that these can now often reduce measurement effort whilst at the same time increasing measurement scale. The status of remote sensing of tidal networks and their relation to vegetation is reviewed. The measurement of network planforms and their associated variables is possible to sufficient resolution using digital aerial photography and airborne scanning laser altimetry (LiDAR), with LiDAR also being able to measure channel depths. A multi-level knowledge-based technique is described to extract networks from LiDAR in a semi-automated fashion. This allows objective and detailed geomorphological information on networks to be obtained over large areas of the inter-tidal zone. It is illustrated using LIDAR data of the River Ems, Germany, the Venice lagoon, and Carnforth Marsh, Morecambe Bay, UK. Examples of geomorphological variables of networks extracted from LiDAR data are given. Associated marsh vegetation can be classified into its component species using airborne hyperspectral and satellite multispectral data. Other potential applications of remote sensing for network studies include determining spatial relationships between networks and vegetation, measuring marsh platform vegetation roughness, in-channel velocities and sediment processes, studying salt pans, and for marsh restoration schemes.

The role of animal nutrition in improving the nutritive value of animal-derived foods in relation to chronic disease

Foods derived from animals are an important source of nutrients in the diet; for example, milk and meat together provide about 60 and 55% of the dietary intake of Ca and protein respectively in the UK. However, certain aspects of some animal-derived foods, particularly their fat and saturated fatty acid (SFA) contents, have led to concerns that these foods substantially contribute to the risk of CVD, the metabolic syndrome and other chronic diseases. In most parts of Europe dairy products are the greatest single dietary source of SFA. The fatty acid composition of various animal-derived foods is, however, not constant and can, in many cases, be enhanced by animal nutrition. In particular, milk fat with reduced concentrations of the C12-16 SFA and an increased concentration of 18:1 MUFA is achievable, although enrichment with very-long-chain n-3 PUFA is much less efficient. However, there is now evidence that some animal-derived foods (notably milk products) contain compounds that may actively promote long-term health, and research is urgently required to fully characterise the benefits associated with the consumption of these compounds and to understand how the levels in natural foods can be enhanced. It is also vital that the beneficial effects are not inadvertently destroyed in the process of reducing the concentrations of SFA. In the future the role of animal nutrition in creating foods closer to the optimum composition for long-term human health is likely to become increasingly important, but production of such foods on a scale that will substantially affect national diets will require political and financial incentives and great changes in the animal production industry.

Results of a mechanistic model estimating methane in relation to methane emissions measured in dairy cows

This investigation determines the accuracy of estimation of methanogenesis by a dynamic mechanistic model with real data determined in a respiration trial, where cows were fed a wide range of different carbohydrates included in the concentrates. The model was able to predict ECM (Energy corrected milk) very well, while the NDF digestibility of fibrous feed was less well predicted. Methane emissions were predicted quite well, with the exception of one diet containing wheat. The mechanistic model is therefore a helpful tool to estimate methanogenesis based on chemical analysis and dry matter intake, but the prediction can still be improved.

The changing structure of diets in the European Union in relation to healthy eating guidelines

Objective: Our objective in this paper is to assess diets in the European Union (EU) in relation to the recommendations of the recent World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization expert consultation and to show how diets have changed between 1961 and 2001. Data and methods: Computations make use of FAOSTAT data on food availability at country level linked to a food composition database to convert foods to nutrients. We further explore the growing similarity of diets in the EU by making use of a consumption similarity index. The index provides a single number measure of dietary overlap between countries. Results: The data confirm the excessive consumption by almost all countries of saturated fats, cholesterol and sugars, and the convergence of nutrient intakes across the EU. Whereas in 1961 diets in several European countries were more similar to US diets than to those of other European countries, this is no longer the case; moreover, while EU diets have become more homogeneous, the EU as a whole and the USA have become less similar over time. Conclusions: Although the dominant cause of greater similarity in EU diets over the period studied is increased intakes in Mediterranean countries of saturated fats, cholesterol and sugar, also important are reductions in saturated fat and sugar in some Northern European countries. This suggests that healthy eating messages are finally having an impact on diets; a distinctly European diet may also be emerging.

First lactation ovarian function in dairy heifers in relation to prepubertal metabolic profiles

The aim of this study was to determine whether any differences in the GH-IGF-I axis in juvenile calves were predictive of fertility problems as adult cows. Endogenous metabolic hormone profiles before and after feeding and the response to a GH-releasing factor (GRF) challenge were measured in prepubertal (6 month) dairy calves. These metabolic parameters were subsequently related to physical characteristics at puberty and to ovarian function during the first lactation. Milk progesterone analysis was used to categorize the animals into those with normal progesterone profiles following calving (n = 17) and those that developed delayed ovulation (DOV1, n = 9) or persistent corpus luteum (PCL1, n = 6) profiles. There were associations between prepubertal GH parameters, glucose and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations and the body condition score at which the animals attained puberty. The calves which subsequently developed DOV1 profiles as cows tended to have a higher GH pulse amplitude during fasting than normal profile animals, they did not show the anticipated decrease in circulating glucose concentrations following a post-prandial rise in insulin and they also had the lowest IGF-I concentrations. The calves that later developed PCL1 had a significantly larger GH pulse amplitude and pulse area than normal profile animals in the fed period and had the highest IGF-I concentrations. There were no differences in prepubertal insulin or NEFA concentrations or in the GH response to a GRF challenge between the different progesterone profile categories. Plasma IGF-I concentrations in prepubertal animals were positively correlated with their post-calving concentrations, whereas glucose concentrations had a negative correlation between these time-periods. These results suggested that the different juvenile endocrine profiles of the DOV1 cows may predispose them to a higher rate of tissue mobilization during lactation and a consequent reduction in fertility, while altered GH and IGF-I levels in PCL1 cows may later contribute to the maintenance of the persistent corpus luteum. Therefore metabolic differences in prepubertal calves were later reflected by altered reproductive function during the first lactation.