Delineation of Gambel\u27s Quail Habitat in the Trans-Pecos, Texas

Gambel’s quail (Callipepla gambelii) are a common quail species in southwestern states of the United States and the northwestern states of Mexico. In Texas this species occurs in the Trans-Pecos region, are underutilized, and could become an important game bird and source of income for ranchers in the Chihuahuan Desert region of Texas. Salt cedar (Tamarisk spp.), introduced from Asia for ornamental and erosion purposes, is invasive in the western part of the Rio Grande corridor that generally creates monocultures that choke out the native vegetation of the region. Knowing this, the objectives of this study were to: (1) delineate salt cedar and native riparian habitats along the Rio Grande corridor in the Trans-Pecos; (2) evaluate those habitats based on the known distribution of Gambel’s quail in the Trans-Pecos; and (3) estimate the amount of suitable habitat for Gambel’s quail in Trans-Pecos, Texas. Although dominant along the Rio Grande, native riparian vegetation was more prevalent than salt cedar communities when combining primary creeks in all counties. Brewster County was the area with a higher percentage of salt cedar occurrence (21.2%) vs. native riparian vegetation (78.8%). The largest extension of salt cedar occurred in Presidio County with an extension of 6,656.3 ha but this only represented 12.7% of our analyzed area. Hudspeth County had an occurrence of salt cedar of 2,905.2 ha representing 6.8% of the estimated riparian area of the Rio Grande corridor in this county. El Paso County’s total urban area-agricultural fields area is a total of 90,682.9184 ha

Tenoscopia em cavalos com tenossinovite digital séptica ou não séptica: relato de 33 casos (1997-2001)

O artigo não apresenta resumo

Researching Market and Supply-Chain Opportunities for Local Foods Systems: Setting Priorities and Identifying Linkages

There is an increasing array of land-grant, nonprofit, and other academic programs intended to support the development of food system enterprises and programs. However, research to track consumers\u27 evolving preferences and behaviors within these systems and to measure the intended policy outcomes of any public investments in these systems is lagging. This research commentary represents a compilation of opinions and insights from those who are interested in exploring research priorities for economic, marketing, and supply-chain aspects of local food systems. The priorities that emerge are framed in the following way: (1) opportunities for increased and more targeted research to help identify gaps in the literature; (2) areas where current localized research projects could be leveraged and scaled up to the national level; and (3) innovative projects and partnerships that are evolving to bridge both knowledge and systems gaps

Lesser prairie-chicken fence collision risk across its northern distribution

Livestock fences have been hypothesized to significantly contribute to mortality of lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus); however, quantification of mortality due to fence collisions is lacking across their current distribution. Variation in fence density, landscape composition and configuration, and land use could influence collision risk of lesser prairie-chickens. We monitored fences within 3 km of known leks during spring and fall and surveyed for signs of collision occurrence within 20 m of fences in 6 study sites in Kansas and Colorado, USA during 2013 and 2014. We assessed mortality locations of radio-tagged birds (n = 286) for evidence of fence collisions and compared distance to fence relative to random points. Additionally, we quantified locations, propensity, and frequency of fences crossed by lesser prairie-chickens. We tested for landscape and vegetative characteristics that influenced fence-cross propensity and frequency of global positioning system (GPS)-marked birds. A minimum of 12,706 fence crossings occurred by GPS-marked lesser prairie-chickens. We found 3 carcasses and 12 additional possible instances of evidence of collision during >2,800 km of surveyed fences. We found evidence for a single suspected collision based on carcass evidence for 148 mortalities of transmittered birds. Mortality locations of transmittered birds were located at distances from fences 15% farther than expected at random. Our data suggested minimal biological significance and indicated that propensity and frequency of fence crossings were random processes. Lesser prairie-chickens do not appear to be experiencing significant mortality risk due to fence collisions in Kansas and Colorado. Focusing resources on other limiting factors (i.e., habitat quality) has greater potential for impact on population demography than fence marking and removal.Keywords: Colorado, lesser prairie-chicken, management, Kansas, fences, mortality, Tympanuchus pallidicinctusKeywords: Colorado, lesser prairie-chicken, management, Kansas, fences, mortality, Tympanuchus pallidicinctu

A Highly Contiguous and Annotated Genome Assembly of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus)

Article asserts that the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus; LEPC) is an iconic North American prairie grouse, renowned for ornate and spectacular breeding season displays, a species that has been declining in population across much of its historical range, with corresponding precipitous declines in contemporary population abundance, largely due to climatic and anthropogenic factors. The authors describe an annotated reference genome that was generated from a LEPC sample collected from the southern DPS

Long term in-vivo studies of a photo-oxidized bovine osteochondral transplant in sheep

BACKGROUND: Articular cartilage has limited capacity to repair. Defects greater than 3 mm heal with formation of inferior fibrous cartilage. Therefore, many attempts have been made to find the ideal graft for larger cartilage lesions. Different grafts, such as untreated or cryopreserved osteochondral transplants, have been used with variable success. METHODS: Photo-oxidized osteochondral grafts were implanted in both femoral condyles of one ovine knee. Untreated xenogeneic and autogeneic grafts served as controls. Three groups of 8 sheep each were formed and they were sacrificed 6, 12 or 18 months after surgery. RESULTS: The macroscopic evaluation of the condyle and graft showed a well-maintained cartilage surface in most grafts at all time points. However, the host cartilage matrix deteriorated considerably in all xenogeneic, most autogeneic and fewer of the photo-oxidized grafts at 12 and 18 months, respectively. The blue colour of the photo-oxidized grafts resulting from the process of photo-oxidation was visible in all grafts at 6 months, had diminished at 12 months and had completely disappeared at 18 months after surgery. Histologically a loss of matrix staining was almost never noticed in untreated xenografts, transiently at 6 months in photo-oxidized grafts and increased at 12 and 18 months. Fusion between graft and host cartilage could be seen in photo-oxidized grafts at 12 and 18 months, but was never seen in autografts and xenografts. CONCLUSIONS: The photo-oxidation of osteochondral grafts and its use as transplant appears to have a beneficial effect on cartilage and bone remodelling. Osteochondral grafts pre-treated with photo-oxidation may be considered for articular cartilage replacement and therefore may delay artificial joint replacements in human patients