A guide for ecologists: Detecting the role of disease in faunal declines and managing population recovery

Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, especially among vertebrates. Disease is commonly ignored or dismissed in investigations of wildlife declines, partly because there is often little or no obvious clinical evidence of illness. We argue that disease has the potential to cause many species declines and extinctions and that there is mounting evidence that this is a more important cause of declines than has been appreciated. We summarise case studies of diseases that have affected wildlife to the point of extinction and bring together the experiences of wildlife managers, veterinarians, epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists, zoologists and ecologists to provide an investigation framework to help ecologists and wildlife managers address disease as a factor in wildlife declines. Catastrophic declines of wildlife may be the result of single or multiple synergistic causes, and disease should always be one factor under consideration, unless proven otherwise. In a rapidly changing world where emerging infectious diseases have become increasingly common, the need to consider diseases has never been more important

Consumo e digestibilidade de feno de baixa qualidade suplementado com nitrogênio não protéico em bovinos Intake and digestibility of low-quality hay with nonprotein nitrogen supplementation in cattle

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de níveis de inclusão de nitrogênio não protéico, em suplementos fornecidos a tourinhos Hereford, com 17 meses e peso médio de 220 kg, alimentados com feno de tifton (Cynodon dactylon) ad libitum. Os tratamentos avaliados foram: feno + suplemento sem uréia; feno + suplemento com 0,28 g de uréia kg-1 PV0,75; feno + suplemento com 0,55 g de uréia kg-1 PV0,75; feno + suplemento com 0,83 g de uréia kg-1 PV0,75 e feno + suplemento com 1,11 g de uréia kg-1 PV0,75. O feno apresentou, na média, 3,86% de proteína bruta e 84,66% de fibra em detergente neutro. Não se constatou efeito da suplementação sobre a digestibilidade da matéria orgânica, matéria orgânica do feno, fibra em detergente neutro, celulose e hemicelulose; o consumo total desses itens respondeu quadraticamente à suplementação com níveis crescentes de nitrogênio não protéico. A suplementação não afetou a excreção fecal metabólica de matéria orgânica, o que sugere aumento na taxa de passagem (variação no consumo) e na taxa de digestão (digestibilidade constante). O consumo de matéria orgânica digestível apresentou comportamento quadrático com aumento dos níveis de uréia na dieta. Quando o nível de proteína degradável no rúmen foi equivalente a 8,1% da matéria orgânica digestível, a relação de consumo entre esses componentes foi otimizada.<br>The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of nonprotein nitrogen supplementation levels on the digestibility of low-quality hay (Cynodon dactylon), which was offered ad libitum to Hereford bulls aging 17 months and weighing 220 kg. The evaluated treatments were: hay + no urea supplement; hay + supplement with 0.28 g urea kg- 1 BW0.75; hay + supplement with 0.55 g urea kg-1 BW0.75; hay + supplement with 0.83 g urea kg- 1 BW0.75 and hay + supplement with 1.11 g urea kg- 1 BW0.75. Hay composition presented 3.86% of crude protein and 84.66% of neutral detergent fiber. Digestibility of organic matter, organic matter of forage, neutral detergent fiber, cellulose and hemicellulose were not affected by nonprotein nitrogen level; total intake of these components showed a quadratic response to nonprotein nitrogen supplementation. Organic matter metabolic fecal excretion was not affected by supplementation, suggesting a simultaneous increase in both passage (intake increase) and digestion rates (stable digestibility). The digestible organic matter intake showed a quadratic response with the increase of urea supplementation levels. The relationship between rumen degradable protein intake and digestible organic matter intake showed a maximization point, when rumen degradable protein intake was equivalent to 8.1% of digestible organic matter intake