An accurate technique for estimating forage intake of tractable animals

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 1462-1465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine L. Parker ◽  
Michael P. Gillingham ◽  
Thomas A. Hanley
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Reliable Method ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Habitat Patch ◽  
Visual Estimation ◽  
Average Mass ◽  
Small Compound ◽  
Forage Species ◽  
Forage Intake ◽  
Species Specific

We selected an average-sized plant unit for each forage species commonly eaten by black-tailed deer in southeastern Alaska. Those units, which were used to establish species-specific templates, typically represented single or small compound leaves that were usually eaten in one bite. We also determined an average mass for each plant unit. Using visual estimation of plant units in the natural environment, we were able to accurately predict actual plant mass (all r2 ≥ 0.94). The technique is an accurate and reliable method for estimating both bite sizes and cumulative forage intake of tractable animals in forb- and shrub-dominated communities. It provides an estimate of dry or wet matter intake within a foraging period or specific habitat patch, relative to diet selection at the plant species level.

scholarly journals Differentiation Among Rodentibacter Species Based on 16S–23S rRNA Internal Transcribed Spacer Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 487-491
Author(s):  
Laurentiu Benga ◽  
Peter M Benten ◽  
Eva Engelhardt ◽  
Karl Köhrer ◽  
Barbara Hueber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Transcribed Spacer ◽  
Reliable Method ◽  
Species Level ◽  
23S Rrna ◽  
Its Sequence ◽  
Specific Identification ◽  
Laboratory Rodents ◽  
Sequence Variations ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Type Strains

The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of Rodentibacter pneumotropicus, R. heylii, R. rarus, R. ratti, and R. heidelbergensis and of a Rodentibacter- related β-hemolytic Pasteurellaceae taxon isolated from laboratory rodents were studied for their feasibility to discriminate among these species. The 6 species analyzed showed species-specific ITS patterns that were shared by the type strains and clinical isolates and that allowed their identification. Nevertheless, differentiating between the ITS band patterns of R. pneumotropicus and R. ratti is visually challenging. In all species tested, sequence analysis of the ITS fragments revealed a larger ITSile+ala, which contained the genes for tRNAIle(GAU) and tRNA Ala(UGC), and a smaller ITSglu with the tRNAGlu(UUC) gene. The ITS sequences varied among the 6 species evaluated, displaying identity levels ranging from 62% to 86% for ITSile+ala and 68% to 90% for ITSglu. Overall, ITS amplification proved to be a reliable method to differentiate among these important Pasteurellaceae species of laboratory rodents. Moreover, the ITS sequence variations recorded here might facilitate the design of probes for specific identification of these species. The ability to diagnose these organisms to the species level could increase our understanding of their clinical significance.

The systematic collection and characterisation of herbaceous forage species for recharge and discharge environments in southern Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 397 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Hughes ◽  
R. Snowball ◽  
K. F. M. Reed ◽  
B. Cohen ◽  
K. Gajda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Resource ◽  
Dryland Salinity ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Comprehensive Collection ◽  
Forage Species ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
New Germplasm ◽  
Herb Species ◽  
Systematic Collection

Australian temperate pasture Genetic Resource Centres (GRCs) co-ordinated a major program to introduce and screen herbaceous forage species. This program aims to expand the environments where such species could reduce recharge and manage discharge for the control of dryland salinity in southern Australia. The sustainability of agriculture, in Australia especially, depends on continued access to new germplasm to enable plant breeders to continue crop and forage improvement. The GRCs supported the selection and identification of promising new legume, grass and herb species as part of a national pasture evaluation program. In total, 671 species and 21 non-species-specific genera were identified as having potential to increase water use profitability of recharge lands and to improve the productivity of saline lands across a diverse range of agricultural environments in southern Australia. Through a series of activities, 201 of these species, representing legumes, herbs and grasses were identified as promising. These were then disseminated for evaluation in a range of environments across southern Australia. The progress of selected species was monitored and germplasm of the most promising 11 species and three leguminous genera was targeted for intensive acquisition and characterisation as the basis for selection and breeding. In addition to the identification and dissemination of promising species of immediate potential, a comprehensive collection of 544 native and exotic, wild and cultivated pasture species was conserved and is now available to service future plant improvement programs.

scholarly journals The megalopa stage of Portunus spinimanus Latreille, 1819 and Portunus gibbesii (Stimpson, 1859) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae) from the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States

Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1638 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIA LUCIA NEGREIROS-FRANSOZO ◽  
NADIA MEYERS ◽  
VÍVIAN FRANSOZO ◽  
SUSAN THORTON-DE VICTOR
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
The United States ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Crab Larvae ◽  
Juvenile Instar ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Swimming Crabs ◽  
Southeastern Atlantic

The identification of megalopae from plankton samples is difficult, because this larval stage is the least well known among crab larvae, unknown in some species and poorly described in others. Wild megalopa specimens of some swimming crabs (family Portunidae Rafinesque, 1815) were captured alive from neuston samples obtained during summer surveys near the coast of Charleston, South Carolina (U.S.A). For identification purposes, larvae were reared to the 8th juvenile instar. After reaching the 5th juvenile instar, the juvenile crabs exhibited morphological features suitable for identification to the species level. The specimens belonged to two species of Portunidae, Portunus spinimanus Latreille, 1819 and P. gibbesii (Stimpson, 1859). Their megalopae were described in detail and compared to other portunid megalopae known from the southeastern Atlantic coast of the U.S.A. Species-specific characters of portunid megalopae are the number of carpal spines on the chelipeds, the relative size of the sternal spines (7th sternite), the number of antennal flagellum segments, and the setation of mouthparts.

scholarly journals Bifidobacterial Distribution Across Italian Cheeses Produced from Raw Milk

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Milani ◽  
Giulia Alessandri ◽  
Leonardo Mancabelli ◽  
Gabriele Andrea Lugli ◽  
Giulia Longhi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Raw Milk ◽  
Fermented Food ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Microbial Profiling ◽  
Interactive Network ◽  
Microbe Interactions ◽  
Internally Transcribed Spacer ◽  
Species Specific

Cheese microbiota is of high industrial relevance due to its crucial role in defining the organoleptic features of the final product. Nevertheless, the composition of and possible microbe–microbe interactions between these bacterial populations have never been assessed down to the species-level. For this reason, 16S rRNA gene microbial profiling combined with internally transcribed spacer (ITS)-mediated bifidobacterial profiling analyses of various cheeses produced with raw milk were performed in order to achieve an in-depth view of the bifidobacterial populations present in these microbially fermented food matrices. Moreover, statistical elaboration of the data collected in this study revealed the existence of community state types characterized by the dominance of specific microbial genera that appear to shape the overall cheese microbiota through an interactive network responsible for species-specific modulatory effects on the bifidobacterial population.

scholarly journals Aquaponics using a fish farm effluent shifts bacterial communities profile in halophytes rhizosphere and endosphere

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Oliveira ◽  
Patrícia Martins ◽  
Bruna Marques ◽  
Daniel F. R. Cleary ◽  
Ana I. Lillebø ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
Marine Aquaculture ◽  
Aquaculture Effluents ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Salicornia Ramosissima ◽  
Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Species Specific

AbstractThe intensification of marine aquaculture raises multiple sustainability issues, namely the handling of nutrient-rich effluents that can adversely impact ecosystems. As integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) gains momentum, the use of halophyte plants to phytoremediate aquaculture effluents has received growing attention, particularly in aquaponics. It is, therefore, important to obtain a more in-depth knowledge of the microbial communities present in the root systems of these plants, both in their natural environment (sediment) and in aquaponics, in order to understand their nutrient removal potential. The present study used denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and barcoded pyrosequencing to assess the bacterial community present in the endosphere and rhizosphere of three halophyte plants: Halimione portulacoides, Salicornia ramosissima and Sarcocornia perennis. Species-specific effects were recorded in the profile and diversity of the bacterial communities present in halophyte roots, with significant differences also recorded for the same halophyte species grown in contrasting environments (sediment vs. aquaponics). In aquaponics the most abundant groups belonged to the orders Rhodocyclales, Campylobacterales, Rhodobacterales and Desulfobacterales, while in the natural environment (sediment) the most abundant groups belonged to the orders Rhizobiales, Sphingomonadales and Alteromonadales. An overall enrichment in bacterial taxa involved in nutrient cycling was recorded in the roots of halophytes grown in aquaponics (such as Denitromonas, Mesorhizobium, Colwellia, Dokdonella and Arcobacter), thereby highlighting their potential to reduce the nutrient loads from aquaculture effluents.

Morphological and systematic study of the tribe Australiosomatini (Diplopoda:Polydesmida:Paradoxosomatidea:Paradoxosomatidae) and a revision of the genus Australiosoma Brölemann

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissah Rowe ◽  
Petra Sierwald
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Data Matrix ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
Species Specific

The collection of several paradoxosomatid species in the context of ecological studies prompted an investigation into the morphology and species-level characteristics of Australian millipedes in the tribe Australiosomatini Brölemann, 1916 (Polydesmida : Paradoxosomatidae). Three new species are described: Akamptogonus caragoon, sp. nov., Australiosoma fulbrighti, sp. nov. and Australiosoma combei, sp. nov. Notes or re-descriptions are provided for nine additional species belonging to the tribe. Scanning electron microscopy was utilised to examine details of the antennal sensory fields, the fifth sternite lamella and associated pores. The presence of the fifth sternite lamella in adult males is considered a synapomorphy for the family Paradoxosomatidae, whereas the prominent tubercle on the first femur in males (adenostyle) represents a synapomorphy of the subfamily Australiosomatinae. With the description of two new species in the genus Australiosoma Brölemann, 1913 a revision of the genus was undertaken with the purpose of constructing a species-level phylogeny. The most commonly described and utilised species-specific characteristics were scored in a data matrix and analysed using PAUP. The analysis resulted in a single, fully resolved tree of the following structure: Hoplatria clavigera ((A. clavigerum, A. inusitatum) (((A. rainbowi, A. nodulosum) A. michelseni) (A. laminatum (A. combei, A. fulbrighti))).

scholarly journals Intra-Specific Variability in Whorl Growth-Rate among Land Gastropods with Conispirally-Coiled Shells

2021 ◽  
pp. 59-69
Author(s):  
Jean Béguinot
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Shell Shape ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Strong Negative Correlation ◽  
Species Specific

For most conispirally-coiled Gastropods with determinate growth, the geometry of spirally-winding whorls is usually constrained by a strong negative correlation between whorl growth rate and the number of whorls reached at adulthood, as originally reported by the late S.J. Gould. Yet, beyond the tight control of shell-shape at the species level – resulting from this constraint – what about the amplitude of the intra-specific variability of whorl growth-rate, partly contributing to the variability of the overall shell-size at the species level? I address the issue by designing and implementing a new, indirect method for routinely evaluating whorl growth-rate, thereby aiming at considerably saving measurement time, and making it possible to easily achieve repeated measurements across samples large enough to reach statistical significance. This approach was applied to a series of eight common land snail species. The amplitude of intra-specific variability in whorl growth, evaluated this way, proves: (i) being markedly different among the eight investigated species (by a factor that can exceed 2x); (ii) being, yet, high enough, in all cases, to require compensating variations in the adult number of whorls, so as to limit the resulting consequences on the amplitude of the intra-specific variability of adult shell-size. Despite those marked differences in the amplitudes of intra-specific variability of whorl growth-rate among species, no significant relationship was observed between intraspecific variability of whorl growth rate and species-specific shell-shape types (discoidal/globular/elongate) and only weak positive relationship was observed with species-specific typical shell sizes. However, a rather strong positive correlation was found, as expected, between the degree of intra-specific variability of the whorl growth-rate and the degree of intra-specific variability of the number of whorls reached at adulthood (with the yet unexplained exception of one among the eight investigated species).

scholarly journals Immunoglobulin A Antibody Composition Is Sculpted to Bind the Self Gut Microbiome

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Yang ◽  
Alice Chen-Liaw ◽  
Thomas M. Moran ◽  
Andrea Cerutti ◽  
Jeremiah J. Faith
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Immunoglobulin A ◽  
Gut Bacteria ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Commensal Bacteria ◽  
Germ Free ◽  
Serum Iga ◽  
Iga Antibodies ◽  
Gnotobiotic Mice ◽  
Species Specific

ABSTRACTDespite being the most abundantly secreted immunoglobulin isotype, the reactivity of IgA antibodies towards each individual’s own gut commensal bacteria still remains elusive. By colonizing germ-free mice with defined commensal bacteria, we found the binding specificity of bulk fecal and serum IgA towards resident gut bacteria resolves well at the species level and has modest strain level specificity. IgA hybridomas generated from lamina propria B cells of gnotobiotic mice showed that most IgA clones recognized a single bacterial species, while a small portion displayed polyreactivity. Species-specific IgAs had a range of strain specificities. Given the unique bacterial species and strain composition in each individual’s gut, our findings suggest the IgA repertoire is uniquely shaped to bind our self gut bacteria.

scholarly journals Detection and quantification of house mouse Eimeria at the species level – challenges and solutions for the assessment of Coccidia in wildlife

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Víctor Hugo Jarquín-Díaz ◽  
Alice Balard ◽  
Jenny Jost ◽  
Julia Kraft ◽  
Mert Naci Dikmen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
House Mouse ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Additional Indication ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Apicoplast Genome ◽  
Detection And Quantification

AbstractDetection and quantification of coccidia in studies of wildlife can be challenging. Therefore, the prevalence of coccidia is often not assessed at the parasite species level in non-livestock animals. Parasite species-specific prevalences are especially important when studying evolutionary questions in wild populations. We tested whether increased host population density increases the prevalence of individual Eimeria species at the farm level, as predicted by epidemiological theory. We studied free-living commensal populations of the house mouse (Mus musculus) in Germany and established a strategy to detect and quantify Eimeria infections. We show that a novel diagnostic primer targeting the apicoplast genome (Ap5) and coprological assessment after flotation provide complementary detection results increasing sensitivity. Genotyping PCRs confirm detection in a subset of samples and cross-validation of different PCR markers does not indicate a bias towards a particular parasite species in genotyping. We were able to detect double infections and to determine the preferred niche of each parasite species along the distal-proximal axis of the intestine. Parasite genotyping from tissue samples provides an additional indication for the absence of species bias in genotyping amplifications. Three Eimeria species were found infecting house mice at different prevalences: Eimeria ferrisi (16.7%; 95% CI 13.2 – 20.7), E. falciformis (4.2%; 95% CI 2.6 – 6.8) and E. vermiformis (1.9%; 95% CI 0.9 – 3.8). We also find that mice in dense populations are more likely to be infected with E. falciformis and E. ferrisi.We provide methods for the assessment of prevalences of coccidia at the species level in rodent systems. We show and discuss how such data can help to test hypotheses in ecology, evolution and epidemiology on a species level.

scholarly journals Taxonomic significance of palynomorphological characteristics of selected Centranthus (Caprifoliaceae) species

Hacquetia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-256
Author(s):  
Zoya M. Tsymbalyuk ◽  
Daniella Ivanova ◽  
Lyudmila M. Nitsenko
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Morphology ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Taxonomic Significance ◽  
Specific Identification ◽  
Medium Length ◽  
Exine Sculpture ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
First Time

Abstract Pollen morphology of herbarium specimens of four Centranthus species (C. ruber, C. longiflorus, C. kellereri and C. calcitrapae) was studied using LM and SEM. The research aim was to provide data on their pollen characteristics and to evaluate the taxonomic value of these data for species-specific identification. Pollen grains are tricolpate, suboblate to prolate (P/E = 0.81–1.42); medium- or large-sized (P = 49.21–90.44 µm; E = 43.89–93.10 µm). Colpi are long or medium-length, wide at equator, tapered to acute or obtuse ends. Exine sculpture is echinatemicroechinate-nanoechinate; echini (1.00–1.39 µm high) and microechini (0.55–0.98 µm) are conical, with straight or convex sides and acute apices, nanoechini are 0.22–0.46 µm high. Most important characters of taxa diagnostic at species level for the taxonomy are: size of pollen and colpi, exine structure, size of echini and microechini, and pattern of tectum in areas between echini. Pollen grains of C. calcitrapae and C. macrosiphon (sect. Calcitrapa) are generally smaller in size than grains of C. ruber, C. longiflorus and C. kellereri (sect. Centranthus). Pollen of C. kellereri was analysed for the first time in the current study.

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