Herd-level risk factors associated with Leptospira Hardjo seroprevalence in Beef/Suckler herds in the Republic of Ireland

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of the present study was to investigate risk factors for herd seropositivity to <it>Leptospira </it>Hardjo in Irish suckler herds. Herds were considered eligible for the study if they were unvaccinated and contained ≥ 9 breeding animals of beef breed which were ≥ 12 months of age. The country was divided into six regions using county boundaries. Herd and individual animal prevalence data were available from the results of a concurrent seroprevalence study. Herds were classified as either "Free from Infection" or "Infected" based on a minimum expected 40% within-herd prevalence.</p> <p>Questionnaires were posted to 320 farmers chosen randomly from 6 regions, encompassing 25 counties, of the Republic of Ireland. The questionnaire was designed to obtain information about vaccination; reproductive disease; breeding herd details; the presence of recognized risk factors from previous studies; and husbandry on each farm. Data collected from 128 eligible herds were subjected to statistical analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Following the use of Pearson's Chi-Square Test, those variables associated with a herd being "infected" with a significance level of P < 0.2 were considered as candidates for multivariable logistic regression modelling. Breeding herd size was found to be a statistically significant risk factor after multivariable logistic regression. The odds of a herd being positive for leptospiral infection were 5.47 times higher (P = 0.032) in herds with 14 to 23 breeding animals compared with herds with ≤ 13 breeding animals, adjusting for Region, and 7.08 times higher (P = 0.033) in herds with 32.6 to 142 breeding animals.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Breeding herd size was identified as a significant risk factor for leptospiral infection in Irish suckler herds, which was similar to findings of previous studies of leptospirosis in dairy herds.</p

Formation and growth of a heronry in a managed wetland in Doñana, southwest Spain

Capsule A newly created wetland has been beneficial for the breeding of five heron species and for the settlement and expansion of Glossy Ibises in the region. Aim To determine whether created wetland would lead to the establishment of a heron and ibis breeding colony, and if so, to determine its effects on the distribution of these species in the wider region. Methods Number of pairs breeding at the new wetland and in the region were estimated annually from 1996 to 2008. We investigated whether the growth of the new colony was explained by redistribution of breeding pairs within the region. Results Purple Herons, Squacco Herons and Glossy Ibises colonised the new wetland in 1996. Black- crowned Night Herons settled in 1998, while Cattle and Little Egrets were the last species to establish in the mixed colony in 2001. The population increase was particularly marked for Glossy Ibises (which had bred in Don˜ana only sporadically through the 20th century). Our findings suggest that simple redistribution of pairs does not explain the formation and growth of the new colony. Since the first year of establishment numbers of Glossy Ibises and Purple Herons have shown a significant growth trend at both the new colony and in Don˜ana. Conclusion The creation and management of a new wetland has been successful for the conservation of heron and egret species and promoted the expansion of the Glossy Ibis population across the western Mediterranean region.Peer reviewe

Aquatic biodiversity and saline lakes: Lake Bogoria National Reserve, Kenya

avian tuberculosis Lake Bogoria, in the Rift Valley of Kenya is an extreme saline lake (conductivity 40–80 mS cm−1, alkalinity 1500 m equ l−1). It is hydrologically more stable than the other, endorheic lakes in Kenya, because it is deep – maximum depth at present just over 10 m in an area of 3000 ha – and so does not have periods when it is dry. It is ecologically simple, with only one species dominating the phytoplankton – the cyanobacterium ‘spirulina’, Arthrospira fusiformis. Its biomass and productivity were very high – biomass between 38 and 365 µg l−1 chlorophyll ‘a ’ and 3.4–21 × 103 coils ml−1 and net production between 0.24 and 1 gm C m3 h, the latter in a narrow zone of less than a metre. There were no macro-zooplankton in the plankton and the only grazer of A