Seasonal variation in the selection and use of habitats by large herbivores at Mole National Park, Ghana

There is scanty information on herbivore habitat ecology at Mole National Park (MNP) despite the fact that understanding habitat interactions, such as habitat selection and use, by large herbivores is fundamental for its management. Our aim was to determine the effects of seasonal variation on habitat selection and use by large herbivores at MNP, Ghana. Eight large herbivores were counted within transects, located in six habitat types, over one year and Jacobs’ selectivity index was used to calculate their selectivity of the habitat types. Six of the eight herbivores maintained their preferred habitats throughout all seasons or showed unpredictable seasonal pattern of habitat selectivity, but a seasonal change was clear for elephant (Loxodonta africana) and buffalo (Syncerus caffer). Elephant shifted from riverine forest to swamp habitats in the dry season but preferred both riverine and swamp in other seasons. Buffalo selected and used Anogeissus in all seasons but used swamp in the rainy season and riverine forest in the fire season. Kob (Kobus kob), warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) and bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) appeared to minimise predation risk by avoiding the open savanna, waterbuck (Kobus defassa) preferred swamp in all seasons, whereas roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) and hartebeest (Alcelaphus bucelaphus) avoided swamp. All eight herbivores were less selective in the rainy season and more selective in the fire season. Shrinkage of habitat resources by fire increased selectivity, while post-fire regrowth in the rainy season increased forage resources and reduced selectivity. Of the factors that influenced the seasonal patterns of herbivore selectivity, only fire can be addressed by National Park management policies, particularly to determine which habitat types should be the focus of fire control operations

Fertility control as a means of controlling bovine tuberculosis in badger (Meles meles) populations in south-west England: predictions from a spatial stochastic simulation model

A spatial stochastic simulation model was used to assess the potential of fertility control, based on a yet-to-be-developed oral bait-delivered contraceptive directed at females, for the control of bovine tuberculosis in badger populations in south-west England. The contraceptive had a lifelong effect so that females rendered sterile in any particular year remained so for the rest of their lives. The efficacy of fertility control alone repeated annually for varying periods of time was compared with a single culling operation and integrated control involving an initial single cull followed by annually repeated fertility control. With fertility control alone, in no instance was the disease eradicated completely while a viable badger population (mean group size of at least one individual) was still maintained. Near eradication of the disease (less than 1% prevalence) combined with the survival of a minimum viable badger population was only achieved under a very limited set of conditions, either with high efficiency of control (95%) over a short time period (1-3 years) or a low efficiency of control (20%) over an intermediate time period (10-20 years). Under these conditions, it took more than 20 years for the disease to decline to such low levels. A single cull of 80% efficiency succeeded in near eradication of the disease (below 1% prevalence) after a period of 6-8 years, while still maintaining a viable badger population. Integrated strategies reduced disease prevalence more rapidly and to lower levels than culling alone, although the mean badger group size following the onset of control was smaller. Under certain integrated strategies, principally where a high initial cull (80%) was followed by fertility control over a short (1-3 year) time period, the disease could be completely eradicated while a viable badger population was maintained. However, even under the most favourable conditions of integrated control, it took on average more than 12 years following the onset of control for the disease to disappear completely from the badger population. These results show that whilst fertility control would not be a successful strategy for the control of bovine tuberculosis in badgers if used alone, it could be effective if used with culling as part of an integrated strategy. This type of integrated strategy is likely to be more effective in terms of disease eradication than a strategy employing culling alone. However, the high cost of developing a suitable fertility control agent, combined with the welfare and conservation implications, are significant factors which should be taken into account when considering its possible use as a means of controlling bovine tuberculosis in badger populations in the UK

Overview of the Kentucky Geological Survey No. 1 Hanson Aggregates Well, Carter County, Kentucky

The Kentucky Geological Survey drilled the No. 1 Hanson Aggregates well in northern Carter County, Ky., to assess the carbon dioxide storage capacity and confining intervals in the Middle Cambrian–Upper Ordovician section in the southern Appalachian Basin, north of the Rome Trough. The well was drilled to a total depth of 4,835 ft, penetrating the Mississippian–Middle Cambrian Paleozoic section and 120 ft of Neoproterozoic Grenville granite gneiss. Steel casing was cemented to the surface at 350 ft and 2,944 ft to isolate the deep wellbore from the near-surface aquifer and provide anchors for pressure-control equipment. Eight cores totaling 453 ft and 30 rotary sidewall cores were cut, and an extensive suite of geophysical logs, including imaging logs, was run in the borehole. Core plugs were analyzed in the laboratory to determine porosity and permeability, triaxial rock mechanical strength, and capillary entry pressures for shale core plugs; thin sections were taken of sandstone and carbonate reservoir rocks. From these data, three intervals were selected for formation-water sampling, step-rate pressure testing to determine in-situ rock strength, and determining reservoir porosity and permeability parameters: the Maryville sand–Basal sand section, middle Copper Ridge Dolomite, and Rose Run Sandstone. Although CO2 injection testing was cost-prohibitive, the project has otherwise successfully delivered the high-quality data required to assess CO2 storage capacity and subsurface confinement in the southern Appalachian Basin of northeastern Kentucky

Чверть століття на ниві освіти

Наталія Купріянівна Місяць – відомий український вчений-мовознавець, викладач та організатор освіти на Житомирщині. Чверть століття, починаючи вже з далекого 1975 року, життя та діяльність Наталії Куприянівні тісно пов’язані з філологічним факультетом Житомирського едуніверситету імені Івана Франка

Effects of fungicide application timing and cultivar resistance on Fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol in winter wheat

Fusarium graminearum causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat. FHB reduces yield and quality and contaminates grain with the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). Effective management strategies are needed. The objectives of this research were to 1) Determine the effect of fungicide application timing at anthesis (the standard timing) and 6 and 12 days later on FHB and DON in the winter wheat cultivars Overley (susceptible) and Overland (moderately resistant) and 2) Compare the effects of a triazole and a strobilurin fungicide on FHB and DON in Overley and Overland. In 2015 two field trials (irrigated and rain-fed) were conducted in Nebraska, USA. The triazole Prosaro (prothioconazole + tebuconazole) and the strobilurin Headline (pyraclostrobin) were applied with a CO2-powered backpack sprayer at anthesis and 6 and 12 days later. A split plot design in randomized complete blocks with 4 replications was used. Main plots were cultivars and subplots were fungicide treatments. FHB index and DON were significantly (P \u3c 0.05) lower in Overland than in Overley. The window of fungicide application to control FHB and DON was widened from anthesis to 6 days later without loss of efficacy. Headline was less effective than Prosaro in controlling FHB and DON. Moderate resistance combined with a triazole fungicide most effectively reduced FHB and DON. The results indicate a wider fungicide application window and the effectiveness of combining resistance with a triazole fungicide

Collaboration between Science and Religious Education teachers in Scottish Secondary schools

The article reports on quantitative research that examines: (1) the current practice in collaboration; and (2) potential for collaboration between Science and Religious Education teachers in a large sample of Scottish secondary schools. The authors adopt and adapt three models (conflict; concordat and consonance) to interrogate the relationship between science and religion (and the perceived relation between these two subjects in schools) (Astley and Francis 2010). The findings indicate that there is evidence of limited collaboration and, in a few cases, a dismissive attitude towards collaboration (conflict and concordat and very weak consonance). There is, however, evidence of a genuine aspiration for greater collaboration among many teachers (moving towards a more robust consonance model). The article concludes by discussing a number of key factors that must be realised for this greater collaboration to be enacted