Efficiency modeling, an important factor in the development of sheep and goat production in a semiarid region / Modelagem da eficiência, fator importante para o desenvolvimento da ovinocaprinocultura, dos produtores do Semiáridoc

The paper aims to use the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate the performance of sheep and goat production systems in the semi-arid region in Brazil. By applying a questionnaire with 127 variables, we obtained information from 254 producers in the municipality of Tauá - CE, with the input variables number of sheep and number of cattle, and the output variable of revenues from animal production. The DEA model with constant returns to scale (RCE) and variable returns to scale (RVE) and were used. The average technical efficiency measures of RCE and RVE models were 9.72% and 23.65% for all farmers. Only two and eight producers obtained efficiency equal to one (maximum) in RCE and RVE, respectively. Most producers operate in terms of increasing returns, and are inefficient. That is, the vast majority of producers are working below the optimum scale, which leads to the exclusion of producers

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

Typology and modeling of diversified systems with sheep production in the Caatinga Biome

A maioria dos sistemas de produção de pequenos ruminantes no semiárido brasileiro são sistemas mistos associados com outras atividades pecuárias e agrícolas, conduzidos por agricultores familiares. Apesar das características gerais comuns entre os sistemas de produção, existem diferentes tipos de propriedades que produzem ovinos e caprinos no semiárido. A avaliação dos sistemas agropecuários constitui-se em um importante instrumento para o desenvolvimento sustentável desses sistemas. A base da alimentação dos rebanhos no semiárido é a vegetação da Caatinga, que apresenta característica de elevada estacionalidade quanto a produção de biomassa de forragem e de concentração de nutrientes disponíveis para os animais. A utilização da modelagem pode ser uma metodologia eficiente para auxiliar no planejamento e adequação alimentar dos animais ao longo do ano, o que seria aplicável a esse caso. Os objetivos desse estudo foram identificar e caracterizar os tipos de sistemas de produção de ovinos do bioma Caatinga, usando como modelo o município de Tauá-CE, além de avaliar o balanço alimentar dos rebanhos das propriedades modais através da modelagem e propor estratégias de melhoria da utilização dos recursos alimentares. Para a identificação dos tipos de sistemas de produção, foram utilizados os métodos de Componentes Principais e análise de Clusters de um banco de dados de questionários aplicados com produtores de ovinos do município de Tauá. Em seguida, para caracterizar a propriedade modal de cada grupamento, foi aplicada a metodologia de Painel de Especialistas. O balanço alimentar dos rebanhos nas propriedades foi calculado utilizando um modelo elaborado com base nos conceitos e premissas de Webby & Bywater (2017) e ajustado para as condições pastoris da Caatinga de acordo Cavalcante (2015). A produção de ovinos e caprinos nos dois tipos identificadas ocorrem em sistemas mistos de produção com baixa adoção de tecnologias, sendo semelhantes quanto as práticas de manejo e integração com outras atividades agropecuárias. Os tipos se diferenciam por características de renda agropecuária e efetivo dos rebanhos. Em ambos os tipos de sistemas de produção, a bovinocultura de leite é a principal fonte de renda, seguida pelos pequenos ruminantes. Para modelagem, utilizou-se duas propriedades típicas da região: TP1 e TP2. A quantidade de matéria seca (MS) de forragem da TP1 é de 1.244 kg de MS/ha/ano em 85 ha, e na TP2 é de 1.189 kg de MS/ha/ano em 170 ha. Nessas duas propriedades, o rebanho bovino apresenta as maiores proporções das demandas de MS, Energia Metabolizável (EM) e Proteína Metabolizável (PM). O balanço nutricional apresenta saldo negativo de MS, EM e PM nas estações seca e transição seca-chuva nos dois sistemas de produção. O estudo de tipologia forneceu informações úteis para melhor compreender e apoiar formulações de ações de intervenção apropriadas a cada tipo de sistema de produção identificado. A modelagem permitiu verificar que as propriedades modais são bastante semelhantes em relação ao balanço de nutrientes. Para equilibrar o balanço alimentar dos rebanhos é necessário aumentar a quantidade de forragem conservada e ajustar o ciclo anual de demanda de nutrientes dos rebanhos. O modelo desenvolvido poderá auxiliar o produtor do Bioma Caatinga na tomada de decisão tanto em relação ao manejo dos animais, como na definição do melhor período de acasalamento e da quantidade de forragem conservada necessária para períodos de seca.Most small ruminant production systems in the semi-arid are mixed systems associated with other livestock and agricultural activities, conducted by family farmers. Despite the general characteristics common among the production systems, there are different types of properties that produce sheep and goats in the semi-arid region. The evaluation of agricultural systems is an important instrument for the sustainable development of these systems. The basis of the herds’ feeding in the semi-arid is the vegetation of the Caatinga Biome, which presents a characteristic of high seasonality regarding the production of forage biomass and nutrient composition available to the animals. The use of modelling is an efficient methodology to assist in the planning and feeding adequacy of animals throughout the year. The objectives of this study were to identify and characterize the types of sheep production systems in Caatinga Biome, taking as a model the municipality of Tauá-CE, and evaluate, for the first time, the feed balance of the herds of different types of production systems. The feed balance was calculated using a model elaborated based on the concepts and premises of Webby & Bywater (2017) and adjusted to the pastoral conditions of the Caatinga according to Cavalcante (2015). For the identification of the types of sheep production systems were used the Principal Components and Cluster Analysis methods of a database of questionnaires applied to sheep producers in the municipality of Tauá. Then, in order to characterize the modal property of each type was applied the Expert Panel methodology. The production of sheep and goats in the two types identified occurs in mixed production systems with low adoption of technologies, being similar in terms of management practices and integration with other agricultural activities. The types differ by agricultural income and size of herds. In both types, dairy cattle is the main source of income, followed by small ruminants. In the modeling, the two typical properties of the region were contrasted. The forage mass of TP1 is 1,244 kg dry matter (DM) / ha / year in 85 ha, and in TP2 it is 1,189 kg DM / ha / year in 170 ha. In both modal properties, the bovine herd has the highest proportions of the demands of DM, EM and PM. The nutritional balance shows a negative balance of DM, EM and PM in the dry seasons and dry-rain transition in both types. The evaluation of the typologies provided useful information to better understand and support formulations of intervention actions appropriate to each type of production system identified. The simulation modeling allowed to verify that the modal properties are quite similar in relation to the nutrient balance. In order to adjust the animals’ feed balance, it is necessary to increase the amount of forage conserved and adjust the annual cycle of nutrient demand in the flocks and herds. The model developed can assist the Brazilian semi-arid producer in making decisions both in relation to the management of animals, as well as in the definition of the best mating period and the amount of conserved forage needed for drought periods

Efeito do flushing e de cruzamentos sobre a produção de cordeiros e desempenho de ovelhas Santa Inês

Submitted by Anna Dias ([email protected]) on 2020-01-10T17:09:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 fernando Henrique.pdf: 307962 bytes, checksum: a242081c6d4076538f4680d786c3a4e8 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Camila Silva ([email protected]) on 2020-01-15T21:12:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 fernando Henrique.pdf: 307962 bytes, checksum: a242081c6d4076538f4680d786c3a4e8 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2020-01-16T11:55:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 fernando Henrique.pdf: 307962 bytes, checksum: a242081c6d4076538f4680d786c3a4e8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoForam avaliados os efeitos do flushing em três grupos de ovelhas da raça Santa Inês submetidos a diferentes períodos de suplementação, sendo cada grupo composto por 60 matrizes. O grupo F0sem foi o tratamento controle, sem suplementação de flushing, o grupo F3sem com suplementação de flushing durante três semanas antes da estação de monta e o grupo F6sem com suplementação de flushing durante três semanas antes e nas três primeiras semanas da estação de monta. Além do flushing, foram avaliados o desempenho de cordeiros de três cruzamentos, Santa Inês x Santa Inês, Dorper x Santa Inês e Pitangui x Santa Inês. Cada lote de cruzamento composto por 60 ovelhas, tinha 20 animais de cada um dos três grupos de flushing. Os índices avaliados foram fertilidade, prolificidade, peso total de cordeiro nascido por ovelha parida, peso total de cordeiro aos 35 e aos 70 dias por ovelha, peso total de cordeiro aos 35 e aos 70 dias por peso de ovelha, peso dos cordeiros ao nascimento, aos 35 e aos 70 dias, além da sobrevivência dos cordeiros do nascimento aos 35 e aos 70 dias de idade. A suplementação de flushing não influenciou nos índices avaliados, apenas as matrizes do grupo F6sem apresentaram menor produção de peso de cordeiro ao nascimento (p<0,05). A prolificidade influenciou a condição corporal das ovelhas ao parto, a qual refletiu sobre o peso ao nascer, a sobrevivência e o desenvolvimento dos cordeiros até a desmama. Com relação aos cruzamentos as ovelhas acasaladas com o reprodutor do tipo Pitangui apresentaram menores produtividades de peso de cordeiro. Os cordeiros mestiços de Pitangui apresentaram menor peso aos 70 dias do que os outros dois genótipos avaliados. As crias Santa Inês puras apresentaram menor sobrevivência (p<0,05).The effects of flushing over Santa Inês ewes submitted to different periods of supplementation were evaluated in the present study. Hundred eighty adult ewes were divided into three groups of 60 dams each. Each group was given the flushing for a different period: Group F0sem- no supplementation; Group F3sem- supplementation during the three weeks before the breeding season; Group F6sem- supplementation during the three weeks before and during the first three weeks of the breeding season. Beyond flushing, the effect of crossbreeding over Santa Inês productivity were evaluated: Santa Inês x Santa Inês, Dorper x Santa Inês, and Pitangui x Santa Inês. Three breeding season groups were formed with 60 ewes each, being 20 ewes by each flushing group previously established. The parameters evaluated were fertility, litter size, total lamb weight per ewe, total lamb weight per ewe on 35 and 70 days of age, total lamb weight per ewe weight on 35 and 70 days of age, lamb weight at birth, at 35, and at 70 days of age, and lamb survival from birth until 70 days of age. The flushing management did not affect the parameters evaluated, only the dams from F6sem group showed lowest productivity (lamb weight at birth) (P<0,05). The litter size influenced ewes body condition at lambing, what reflected on the lambs weight at birth, their survival, and performance until weaning. Considering the three ram genotypes, the ewes bred with the Pitangui ram showed lowest lamb weight production. The Pitangui crossbred lambs were lighter than the other genotypes evaluated at 70 days of age. The pure Santa Inês lambs showed lowest survival (p<0,05)

In vivo evaluation of antiseptics and disinfectants on control of Caseous Lymphadenitis: clinical, haematological, serological and microbiological monitoring

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the efficacy of iodine tincture at 10% and sodium hypochlorite at 2.5% applied into the abscess of animals affected by Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL). Eighteen ewes were used, assorted into three groups: one treated with iodine tincture at 10% (IT), another one with sodium hypochlorite at 2.5% (SH) and the last group underwent the conventional treatment (CT). Conventional treatment was based on surgical drainage and chemical cauterization of the lesion with iodine tincture at 10%. Natural rupture of six abscesses from IT group was observed and in five of them the viability of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis was confirmed on the lesion place, after rupture of lymph node. As for the SH group, spontaneous rupture was observed in five out of six abscesses treated, and the microorganism was identified on the lesion of five animals, after rupture. In the sixth animal of this group, abscess involution was noticed. A severe swelling was identified in the region of lymph node treated, resulting in wide lesion in animals from groups IT and SH. No difference (p > 0,05) was found in blood parameters due to treatments. As for the serological monitoring of animals, comparative analysis between months within each group showed that months 1, 2, 3 and 4 were different (p 0,05) between months 1 to 5 and 0. Then, the application of iodine tincture at 10% or sodium hypochlorite at 2.5% into the abscess of animals affected by CL, at stage in which lesions are detected through inspection, is not effective for its control

Predição do peso vivo a partir de medidas corporais em animais mestiços Holandês/Gir Prediction of live weight based on body measurements in crossbred animals Holstein/Gir

O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar as relações entre o peso corporal e as medidas corporais altura de garupa (ag), comprimento de garupa (cg), comprimento corporal (cc) e perímetro torácico (pt), em bovinos oriundos principalmente do cruzamento das raças Holandês e Gir. Foram utilizados dados de 483 vacas, 469 novilhas e 62 machos, de três rebanhos distintos, analisados separadamente para cada categoria a fim de estabelecer equações polinomiais dos pesos em relação às medidas corporais. As correlações simples do peso corporal com pt, cc, cg e ag foram respectivamente 0,807; 0,440; 0,187 e 0,504 para vacas; 0,928; 0,735; 0,819 e 0,880 machos, e 0,942; 0,748; 0,902 e 0,573 para novilhas. Embora as regressões de peso corporal em relação ao cc e cg tenham sido significativas (P<0,05), o aumento da porcentagem de explicação das variações do peso corporal obtido com a inclusão destas medidas, em adição ao pt, não parece justificar o custo das medições. As equações de predição do peso corporal em função do pt foram as seguintes: para vacas, peso = 12.174 - 187,410 pt + 0,97196960 pt&sup2; - 0,00162382 pt&sup3;, para novilhas, peso= 1.717-35,167 pt + 0,238978 pt&sup2; - 0,00046260 pt&sup3; e, para machos, peso = -3.862+76,014 pt-0,488837 pt&sup2;+ 0,00109755 pt&sup3;.<br>The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between hip height (ag), rump length (cg), body length (cc) and heart girth (pt) with live body weight of crossbred animals, mainly from the cross between Holstein and Gir breeds. Data on 483 cows, 469 heifers and 62 males in three herds were analyzed for each category using polynomial regression equations of body weight on measurements. The correlations between body weight and pt, cc, cg and ag were, respectively 0.807, 0.440, 0.187 and 0.504 for cows, 0.928, 0.735, 0.819 and 0.880 for males and 0.942, 0.748, 0.902 and 0.573 for heifers. Although the regressions of body weights on cc and cg were significant (P<0.05), the additional goodness of fit of a model that includes these two traits in addition to heart girth does not justify the extra cost for recording these traits. The prediction equations were: for cows, body weight = 12174-187.410 pt+0.97196960 pt&sup2;-0.00162382 pt&sup3;, for heifers, body weight = 1717-35.167pt+0.238978pt&sup2;-0.00046260pt&sup3; and for males, body weight = -3862+76.014pt-0.488837pt&sup2;+0.00109755pt&sup3;