The effect of enclosure type on the behavior and heart rate of captive coyotes

The potential for captivity to elicit changes in animal behavior and physiology is well known. Recent research on captive populations has examined the effect of feeding protocols, enclosure types, and enrichment programs on indices of stress and displays of species-typical behaviors. We investigated the impact of enclosure type upon captive coyotes (Canis latrans) by examining differences in coyote behavior and heart rate, among 3.3m2 kennels (K), 65.5m2 small pens (S), and 1000m2 large pens (L). Time budgets and repertoire of species-specific behaviors were compared among each enclosure type and to a sample of wild (W) coyotes. Baseline heart rates and heart rate (HR) responses to food delivery and fecal collection (measured as mean heart rate and latency of heart rate to return to baseline) were also compared among treatments. We found that behavioral budgeting, but not repertoire, differed significantly among enclosure types. Relative to small and large pen enclosures, coyotes maintained in kennels exhibited the greatest amount of stereotypic behavior (P \u3c 0.0001). Coyotes kept in large pens were most similar to wild coyotes in the percentage of time they spent performing exploratory (K: 2.7%; S: 4.9%; L: 8.5%; W: 12.0%) and stand and scan (K: 8.0%; S: 16.4%; L: 22.0%; W: 22.3%) behaviors. Heart rate analysis showed that baseline heart rates and heart rate responses to food delivery did not differ significantly among enclosure types. Mean heart rate responses to fecal collection were significantly higher for kennel coyotes than for those maintained in large pens (P = 0.04). Similarly, latency to return to baseline was significantly higher in kennels than in small and large pens (P = 0.001). These results suggest that enclosure type does influence coyote behavior and heart rate responses to some human activities

Improving tree establishment with forage crops

Weed competition and economics are two common barriers to Iowa farmers\u27 investing in tree plantings. This project examined seven weed control strategies and investigated productivity of small grain/forage combinations raised with trees in an effort to suggest management options that would encourage tree planting in the state

Quantifying sea surface temperature ranges of the Arabian Sea for the past 20 000 years

The oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera tests is one of the widest used geochemical tools to reconstruct past changes of physical parameters of the upper ocean. It is common practice to analyze multiple individuals from a mono-specific population and assume that the outcome reflects a mean value of the environmental conditions during calcification of the analyzed individuals. Here we present the oxygen isotope composition of individual specimens of the surface-dwelling species Globigerinoides ruber and Globigerina bulloides from sediment cores in the Western Arabian Sea off Somalia, inferred as indicators of past seasonal ranges in temperature. Combining the d18O measurements of individual specimens to obtain temperature ranges with Mg/Ca based mean calcification temperatures allows us to reconstruct temperature extrema. Our results indicate that over the past 20 kyr the seasonal temperature range has fluctuated from its present value of 16 °C to mean values of 13 °C and 11 °C for the Holocene and LGM, respectively. The data for the LGM suggest that the maximum temperature was lower, whilst minimum temperature remained approximately constant. The rather minor variability in lowest summer temperatures during the LGM suggests roughly constant summer monsoon intensity, while upwelling-induced productivity was lowered

Breather decay into a vortex/anti-vortex pair in a Josephson Ladder

We present experimental evidence for a new behavior which involves discrete breathers and vortices in a Josephson Ladder. Breathers can be visualized as the creation and subsequent annihilation of vortex/anti-vortex pairs. An externally applied magnetic field breaks the vortex/anti-vortex symmetry and causes the breather to split apart. The motion of the vortex or anti-vortex creates multi-site breathers, which are always to one side or the other of the original breather depending on the sign of the applied field. This asymmetry in applied field is experimentally observed.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping of Winter Hardiness Metabolites in Autotetraploid Alfalfa (M. sativa)

In winter hardy alfalfa cultivars, cold acclimation occurs prior to the onset of freezing temperatures and normally is accompanied with a series of metabolic and morphological adjustments. We are studying the accumulation pattern of metabolites throughout the autumn previous to freezing and relating them to winter survival in an Fl segregating population between the cross of M. sativa subsp. sativa and subsp. falcata. Morphological components and soluble carbohydrates, protein, amino-N groups, and free fatty acids were measured in 2001 and 2002 in the field. Broad sense heritability was intermediate for shoot and root mass and height, and for metabolites, ranged from low (TNC=0.04) to high (starch=0.80). The genetic correlation between winter injury was not significant for most of the metabolites, except for soluble protein and amino-N group concentrations. The presence of allele al of MSAIC B, a cold-related gene, was positively associated with autumn plant height but negatively associated with root mass in the WISFAL-6 parent. Numerous QTL were detected for concentrations of metabolites. Our results suggest that winter injury and autumn biomass are controlled by different loci in this population

Riparian Shrub Metal Concentrations and Growth in Amended Fluvial Mine Tailings

Fluvial mine tailing deposition has caused extensive riparian damage throughout the western United States. Willows are often used for fluvial mine tailing revegetation, but some species accumulate excessive metal concentrations which could be detrimental to browsers. In a greenhouse experiment, growth and metal accumulation of Geyer willow, Drummond’s willow, diamondleaf willow, Bebb willow, thinleaf alder, water birch, red-osier dogwood, and shrubby cinquefoil were evaluated for potential revegetation use. Bare-root shrubs were grown in tailings collected from three acidic, metal-contaminated (i.e. cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc) fluvial deposits near Leadville, Colorado, USA. Tailings were amended with only lime to raise the soil pH to 7, or with lime and composted biosolids (100 tons/acre). All shrubs survived in the amended tailings; composted biosolids had little effect on plant biomass. Aboveground and belowground biomass increased during the 2 month greenhouse study by 3 – 9 and 1.5 – 5 times initial values, respectively. Most shrubs accumulated lead and copper in roots, and belowground lead concentrations in all shrubs were significantly reduced by the addition of composted biosolids. Compared to other species, alder and cinquefoil accumulated lead in aboveground growth and concentrations exceeded animal toxicity thresholds. Dogwood, alder, and cinquefoil contained low cadmium concentrations in aboveground new growth, whereas Bebb and Geyer willow contained zootoxic concentrations. Dogwood, alder, and cinquefoil are three good candidates for mine tailing revegetation, especially in fluvial deposits with elevated cadmium concentrations

Stress urinary incontinence after hysterectomy : a 10-year national follow-up study

Purpose Hysterectomy has been associated with increased risk for developing stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and having a SUI operation. We examined the long-term rate of SUI operations after hysterectomy and associated risk factors. Methods We followed up 5000 women without prior urinary incontinence (UI) who had a hysterectomy in a prospective FINHYST 2006 cohort study until the end of 2016 through a national health register. The main outcome was SUI operations, and secondary outcomes were outpatient visits for UI, and their association of preoperative patient and operation factors. Results During the median follow-up time of 10.6 years (IQR 10.3-10.8), 111 (2.2%) women had a SUI operation and 241 (4.8%) had an outpatient visit for UI. The SUI operation rate was higher after vaginal hysterectomy and laparoscopic hysterectomy (n = 71 and 28, 3.3% and 1.8%, respectively) compared to abdominal hysterectomy (n = 11, 0.8%). In a multivariate risk analysis by Cox regression, the association with vaginal hysterectomy and SUI operation remained significant when adjusted for vaginal deliveries, preceding pelvic organ prolapse (POP), uterus size, age and BMI (HR 2.4, 95% CI 1.1-5.3). Preceding POP, three or more deliveries and laparoscopic hysterectomy were significantly associated with UI visits but not with SUI operations. Conclusion After hysterectomy, 2.2% of women underwent operative treatment for SUI. The number of SUI operations was more than double after vaginal hysterectomy compared to abdominal hysterectomy, but preceding POP explained this added risk partially. Preceding POP and three or more vaginal deliveries were independently associated with UI visits after hysterectomy.Peer reviewe

The usefulness of CA15.3, mucin-like carcinoma-associated antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen in determining the clinical course in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Levels of mucin-like carcinoma-associated antigen (MCA), CA15.3 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were measured in consecutive serum samples of 40 women with metastatic breast cancer. A change in antigen level of more than 25%, either an increase or a decrease, was considered to predict progressive or responsive disease respectively. A change of less than 25% was considered to predict stable disease. MCA, CA15.3 and CEA were elevated in the serum of 68%, 76% and 48% of the patients respectively (P<0.05). The overall prediction of clinical course was similar for all three markers. A more than 25% increase of MCA, CA15.3, and CEA was observed in 61%, 54% and 36% respectively. The predictive value of a more than 25% increase was high for all three markers: 94%, 94%, 83%. Changes in marker levels were correlated with each other. Logistic regression analysis showed that combining MCA and CA15.3 did not improve the prediction further. In conclusion, these tumour markers may help in evaluating the disease course and there is no advantage in combining MCA and CA15.3