Habitat Sampling and Habitat Selection by Female Wild Turkeys: Ecological Correlates and Reproductive Consequences

Habitat sampling can allow much more effective habitat selection for longterm activities such as nesting and may be directly linked to fitness. We studied the process of habitat sampling and selection in female Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Arkansas Ozarks. In particular, we tested the prediction that movements prior to selecting nesting habitat correlate with the quality of selected habitat. Our results supported the prediction that greater habitat sampling (as reflected by greater area covered prior to nesting) allows acquisition of better nesting habitat; greater movements were correlated with choice of better nesting sites with more cover that allow higher nest survival. Attributes of individual birds and habitat dispersion influenced movement patterns and access to quality habitats. In addition, extent of habitat sampling early in the season correlated with reproductive performance by affecting renesting. Distance between subsequent nest locations was inversely related to the movements early in the season and also depended upon length of incubation before nest predation. Females that sampled larger areas after depredation of their first nest and did so outside of their prenesting range were more successful than other females

Male-Specific Transfer and Fine Scale Spatial Differences of Newly Identified Cuticular Hydrocarbons and Triacylglycerides in a Drosophila Species Pair

We analyzed epicuticular hydrocarbon variation in geographically isolated populations of D. mojavensis cultured on different rearing substrates and a sibling species, D. arizonae, with ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (UV-LDI MS). Different body parts, i.e. legs, proboscis, and abdomens, of both species showed qualitatively similar hydrocarbon profiles consisting mainly of long-chain monoenes, dienes, trienes, and tetraenes. However, D. arizonae had higher amounts of most hydrocarbons than D. mojavensis and females of both species exhibited greater hydrocarbon amounts than males. Hydrocarbon profiles of D. mojavensis populations were significantly influenced by sex and rearing substrates, and differed between body parts. Lab food–reared flies had lower amounts of most hydrocarbons than flies reared on fermenting cactus substrates. We discovered 48 male- and species-specific hydrocarbons ranging in size from C22 to C50 in the male anogenital region of both species, most not described before. These included several oxygen-containing hydrocarbons in addition to high intensity signals corresponding to putative triacylglycerides, amounts of which were influenced by larval rearing substrates. Some of these compounds were transferred to female cuticles in high amounts during copulation. This is the first study showing that triacylglycerides may be a separate class of courtship-related signaling molecules in drosophilids. This study also extends the kind and number of epicuticular hydrocarbons in these species and emphasizes the role of larval ecology in influencing amounts of these compounds, many of which mediate courtship success within and between species

Investigation of the spread bovine tuberculosis in Southern Brazil by Whole-genome sequencing.

Mycobacterium bovis is the causal agent of bovine tuberculosis, one of the most important diseases currently facing the cattle industry worldwide. Tracing the source of M. bovis infections that result from movement of livestock is an important tool to understand the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and defining control/eradication strategies. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) provides a higher resolution than other established typing methods and greatly improves the definition of the regional localization of M. bovis types. Cultures of M. bovis were isolated from 58 bovine granulomatous tissue using conventional methods (Stonebrink medium) from eight dairy farms of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil. The isolates were sequenced using both llumina technologies NextSeq 500 System and HiSeqX System

Variation in the Male Pheromones and Mating Success of Wild Caught Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster males express two primary cuticular hydrocarbons (male-predominant hydrocarbons). These act as sex pheromones by influencing female receptivity to mating. The relative quantities of these hydrocarbons vary widely among natural populations and can contribute to variation in mating success. We tested four isofemale lines collected from a wild population to assess the effect of intrapopulation variation in male-predominant hydrocarbons on mating success. The receptivity of laboratory females to males of the four wild-caught lines varied significantly, but not consistently in the direction predicted by variation in male-predominant hydrocarbons. Receptivity of the wild-caught females to laboratory males also varied significantly, but females from lines with male-predominant hydrocarbon profiles closer to a more cosmopolitan one did not show a correspondingly strong mating bias toward a cosmopolitan male. Among wild-caught lines, the male-specific ejaculatory bulb lipid, cis-vaccenyl acetate, varied more than two-fold, but was not associated with variation in male mating success. We observed a strong inverse relationship between the receptivity of wild-caught females and the mating success of males from their own lines, when tested with laboratory flies of the opposite sex

Tuberculose bovina em cervídeos.

A tuberculose bovina (bTB) é uma enfermidade infectocontagiosa, causada por Mycobacterium bovis, que acomete animais domésticos, silvestres e o homem. Em animais silvestres mantidos em cativeiro, a bTB representa risco aos tratadores de animais e aos visitantes de zoológicos, e há também a possibilidade de disseminação da infecção para animais domésticos e pela venda de animais silvestres infectados. Cervídeos das espécies sambar (Cervus unicolor), nobre (Cervus elaphus) e dama (Dama dama) de um parque safári, do Rio Grande do Sul, apresentaram quadro clínico de bTB (dispneia e perda de peso). Alguns animais foram a óbito, sendo detectadas lesões sugestivas de tuberculose (LST), confirmadas por histopatológica. Com o impedimento de comercialização de animais, realizou-se eutanásia de 281 cervídeos com autorização do IBAMA. Foram coletados linfonodos retrofaríngeos, submandibulares e vísceras de 21 animais, que foram cultivados em meio Stonebrink por até 90 dias. Após extração de DNA das colônias, realizou-se PCR para alvos flanqueando a região de diferenciação 4 (RD4). Das 21 amostras, 14 (61,9%) apresentaram LST, com aspecto granulomatoso, coloração esbranquiçada, e consistência caseosa ou calcificada e sete (38,1%), não apresentaram lesões. No cultivo das 14 amostras com LST, 13 (92,8%) apresentaram crescimento bacteriano compatível com M. bovis. No cultivo das sete amostras sem LST, seis (92,8%) apresentaram colônias compatíveis com M. bovis. A PCR convencional detectou como positivos 19 cultivos bacteriológicos sugestivos de M. bovis, confirmando o surto de bTB nos cervídeos. Lesões também foram detectadas em seis lhamas, um camelo, uma anta e um antílope, as quais foram confirmadas por histopatologia. Este fato sugere que houve transmissão entre espécies, muito embora não tenha sido possível realizar isolamento nestes casos. Estudos de genotipagem por sequenciamento genômico total estão sendo realizados com os isolados de M. bovis dos cervídeos, o que permitirá comparações filogenéticas com outros isolados já sequenciados no estado.bitstream/item/213635/1/Tuberculose-bovina-em-cervideos.pd

False-negative reactions to the comparative intradermal tuberculin test for bovine tuberculosis.

According to the Brazilian National Program for the Control and Eradication of Animal Brucellosis and Tuberculosis (PNCEBT), the routine tests for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis in the country are the simple intradermal tuberculin test (SITT) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA), the caudal fold test and the comparative intradermal tuberculin test (CITT). The latter is also used as a confirmatory test. A group of 53 animals from three dairy herds in a focal area for bovine tuberculosis, that were submitted to depopulation in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, were submitted to the CITT. Tissues were cultured and the resulting colonies were confirmed by PCR and DNA sequencing. Among the 53 animals analyzed using the CITT, 32 (60.4%) were negative, 14 (26.4%) were positive and seven (13.2%) results were inconclusive. The CITT detected 11 of the 39 animals with culture-confirmed M. bovis infection as positive. Among the total of 14 uninfected animals based on cultures, the CBT detected eight as negative. Thus, the CITT demonstrated sensitivity of 28.2% and specificity of 57.1% for the population sampled. A total of 24/32 (75.0%) of the animals with negative CITT results were culture positive (confirmed by PCR) and were considered false negatives based on the CITT. The maintenance of these false-negative animals in herds has serious implications for the control of the disease, since they can be a source of infection. The addition of complementary tests could help identify such animals and increase the odds of diagnostic success.Título em português: Reações falso-negativas ao teste cervical comparativo para tuberculose bovina