Strategy As An Art and A Science

I have tried to persuade you that strategy is not a simple study; that it is an extremely important one; and that there are no easy answers

Strategy As An Art and A Science

I have tried to persuade you that strategy is not a simple study; that it is an extremely important one; and that there are no easy answers

The role of the gut microbiome in sustainable teleost aquaculture

As the most diverse vertebrate group and a major component of a growing global aquaculture industry, teleosts continue to attract significant scientific attention. The growth in global aquaculture, driven by declines in wild stocks, has provided additional empirical demand, and thus opportunities, to explore teleost diversity. Among key developments is the recent growth in microbiome exploration, facilitated by advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies. Here, we consider studies on teleost gut microbiomes in the context of sustainable aquaculture, which we have discussed in four themes: diet, immunity, artificial selection and closed-loop systems. We demonstrate the influence aquaculture has had on gut microbiome research, while also providing a road map for the main deterministic forces that influence the gut microbiome, with topical applications to aquaculture. Functional significance is considered within an aquaculture context with reference to impacts on nutrition and immunity. Finally, we identify key knowledge gaps, both methodological and conceptual, and propose promising applications of gut microbiome manipulation to aquaculture, and future priorities in microbiome research. These include insect-based feeds, vaccination, mechanism of pro- and prebiotics, artificial selection on the hologenome, in-water bacteriophages in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), physiochemical properties of water and dysbiosis as a biomarker

Limited influence of experimentally induced predation risk on granivory in a tropical forest

Seed predation by rodents can strongly influence plant recruitment and establishment. The extent to which predation risk indirectly alters plant survival in tropical forests via impacts on granivory is unclear, making it difficult to assess the cascading impacts of widespread predator loss on tree recruitment and species composition. Experimental field studies that manipulate predation risk can help address these knowledge gaps and reveal whether antipredator responses among small mammals influence plant survival. We used camera traps and seed predation experiments to test the effects of perceived predation risk (via predator urine gel) on foraging behaviour of and seed removal by murid rodents in an unlogged and unhunched rainforest in Malaysian Borneo. We also explored the influence of seed traits (e.g., seed size) on removal by granivores and assessed whether granivore preferences for particular species were affected by predator urine. Murid visits to seed plots were positively related to overall seed removal but were not affected by predator scent. Granivory was the lowest for the largest seeded (>6 g) plant in our study but was not influenced by predation risk. Predator urine significantly affected removal of one seed taxon (Dimoocarpus, ∼0.8 g), suggesting that removal by granivores may be affected by predation risk for some seed species but not others. This could have implications for plant species composition but may not affect the overall level of granivory

Discussions and Reviews : Arms control and beyond : a review

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68088/2/10.1177_002200276100500308.pd

Scholarship and security policy: a review of recent literature

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68058/2/10.1177_002200275900300408.pd

Bornean felids in and around the Imbak Canyon conservation area, Sabah, Malaysia

We photo-captured three of the five species of Bornean felids in and around the Imbak Canyon Conservation Area in central Sabah, Malaysian Borneo - the Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi, marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata and leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis. The Sunda clouded leopard was the most frequently photographed felid (11 photos), followed by marbled cat and leopard cat (2 photos each). The Sunda clouded leopard and marbled cat are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN/SSC Red List of Threatened Species, whereas the leopard cat is a species of Least Concern (IUCN 2012). All three species were detected within primary and logged forest habitats. These findings may indicate that, in addition to primary forests, regenerating secondary forests are important to felids conservation

Coming down from the trees: is terrestrial activity in Bornean orangutans natural or disturbance driven?

The orangutan is the world's largest arboreal mammal, and images of the red ape moving through the tropical forest canopy symbolise its typical arboreal behaviour. Records of terrestrial behaviour are scarce and often associated with habitat disturbance. We conducted a large-scale species-level analysis of ground-based camera-trapping data to evaluate the extent to which Bornean orangutans Pongo pygmaeus come down from the trees to travel terrestrially, and whether they are indeed forced to the ground primarily by anthropogenic forest disturbances. Although the degree of forest disturbance and canopy gap size influenced terrestriality, orangutans were recorded on the ground as frequently in heavily degraded habitats as in primary forests. Furthermore, all age-sex classes were recorded on the ground (flanged males more often). This suggests that terrestrial locomotion is part of the Bornean orangutan's natural behavioural repertoire to a much greater extent than previously thought, and is only modified by habitat disturbance. The capacity of orangutans to come down from the trees may increase their ability to cope with at least smaller-scale forest fragmentation, and to cross moderately open spaces in mosaic landscapes, although the extent of this versatility remains to be investigated

The physiological disposition and metabolic fate of cortisone in

In an earlier paper we described studies on the physiological disposition and metabolic fate of hydrocortisone in man (1). This paper describes similar studies on cortisone. Although contributing very little to the body pool of adrenal cortical steroids, cortisone has been used extensively as a therapeutic agent, and it was therefore of interest to compare its metabolism with that of hydrocortisone. Large doses of cortisone and hydrocortisone were administered intravenously and rates of disappearance from the plasma determined in normal subjects and in patients with liver disease, myxedema, thyrotoxicosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Trace quantities of cortisone-4-C" and hydrocortisone-4-C" were employed in certain studies. From these studies, information was obtained regarding rate of metabolic transformation, rate of absorption, rates and routes of excretion of cortisone and its metabolites, and, to some extent, the identity and amount of these metabolites. Information was also obtained on the in vivo conversion of cortisone to hydrocortisone. MATERIALS AND METHODS Administration of steroid. The steroids were dissolved in 25 ml. ethanol and added to 500 ml. of sterile five per cent dextrose in water. This solution was administered intravenously over a period of 10 to 20 minutes. For oral or intramuscular administration the steroids were suspended in saline. Cortisone-4-C" was administered intravenously in trace quantities in a small volume of five per cent ethanol in water over a period of 3 to 5 minutes, or mixed with carrier cortisone and given in 500 ml. of three per cent ethanol in five per cent dextrose in sterile distilled water. Following the administration of the steroids, blood samples were drawn in heparinized syringes every 20 or 30 minutes for 2 hours-or more. Urine samples were collected and preserved by freezing. Methods of assay. The extraction procedures for the steroids in plasma and urine were the same as those de