Online reflective diaries - using technology to strengthen the learning experience

Internet based technologies have benefits for students and staff in terms of time and information sharing. Students at the University of Glasgow were required to engage in reflective writing, with tutor support, as part of their course assessment. We examine the benefits of this approach in fostering a deep, holistic approach to learning, student contribution to course development through this reflection, and the issues in support of these activities

Association between Plasma Antibody Response and Protection in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Immersion Vaccinated against Yersinia ruckeri

A key hallmark of the vertebrate adaptive immune system is the generation of antigen-specific antibodies from B cells. Fish are the most primitive gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) possessing an adaptive immune system. Vaccination of rainbow trout against enteric redmouth disease (ERM) by immersion in Yersinia ruckeri bacterin confers a high degree of protection to the fish. The immune mechanisms responsible for protection may comprise both cellular and humoral elements but the role of specific immunoglobulins in this system has been questioned and not previously described. The present study demonstrates significant increase in plasma antibody titers following immersion vaccination and significantly reduced mortality during Y. ruckeri challenge

The Geography of Fear: A Latitudinal Gradient in Anti-Predator Escape Distances of Birds across Europe

All animals flee from potential predators, and the distance at which this happens is optimized so the benefits from staying are balanced against the costs of flight. Because predator diversity and abundance decreases with increasing latitude, and differs between rural and urban areas, we should expect escape distance when a predator approached the individual to decrease with latitude and depend on urbanization. We measured the distance at which individual birds fled (flight initiation distance, FID, which represents a reliable and previously validated surrogate measure of response to predation risk) following a standardized protocol in nine pairs of rural and urban sites along a ca. 3000 km gradient from Southern Spain to Northern Finland during the breeding seasons 2009–2010. Raptor abundance was estimated by means of standard point counts at the same sites where FID information was recorded. Data on body mass and phylogenetic relationships among bird species sampled were extracted from the literature. An analysis of 12,495 flight distances of 714 populations of 159 species showed that mean FID decreased with increasing latitude after accounting for body size and phylogenetic effects. This decrease was paralleled by a similar cline in an index of the abundance of raptors. Urban populations had consistently shorter FIDs, supporting previous findings. The difference between rural and urban habitats decreased with increasing latitude, also paralleling raptor abundance trends. Overall, the latitudinal gradient in bird fear was explained by raptor abundance gradients, with additional small effects of latitude and intermediate effects of habitat. This study provides the first empirical documentation of a latitudinal trend in anti-predator behavior, which correlated positively with a similar trend in the abundance of predators.TG was supported by the Human Frontier Science Program (RGY69/07) and MSM6198959212. JJ was supported by the EU Regional Development Foundation for the project (A31026). MD was funded by the project RISKDISP (CGL2009-08430) of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. GM was supported by TÁMOP-4.2.1./B-09/1-KMR-2010-0005 and TÁMOP-4.2.2./B-10/1-2010-0023 grants

Tracking Cats: Problems with Placing Feline Carnivores on δ18O, δD Isoscapes

Several felids are endangered and threatened by the illegal wildlife trade. Establishing geographic origin of tissues of endangered species is thus crucial for wildlife crime investigations and effective conservation strategies. As shown in other species, stable isotope analysis of hydrogen and oxygen in hair (δD(h), δ(18)O(h)) can be used as a tool for provenance determination. However, reliably predicting the spatial distribution of δD(h) and δ(18)O(h) requires confirmation from animal tissues of known origin and a detailed understanding of the isotopic routing of dietary nutrients into felid hair.We used coupled δD(h) and δ(18)O(h) measurements from the North American bobcat (Lynx rufus) and puma (Puma concolor) with precipitation-based assignment isoscapes to test the feasibility of isotopic geo-location of felidae. Hairs of felid and rabbit museum specimens from 75 sites across the United States and Canada were analyzed. Bobcat and puma lacked a significant correlation between H/O isotopes in hair and local waters, and also exhibited an isotopic decoupling of δ(18)O(h) and δD(h). Conversely, strong δD and δ(18)O coupling was found for key prey, eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus; hair) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; collagen, bone phosphate).Puma and bobcat hairs do not adhere to expected pattern of H and O isotopic variation predicted by precipitation isoscapes for North America. Thus, using bulk hair, felids cannot be placed on δ(18)O and δD isoscapes for use in forensic investigations. The effective application of isotopes to trace the provenance of feline carnivores is likely compromised by major controls of their diet, physiology and metabolism on hair δ(18)O and δD related to body water budgets. Controlled feeding experiments, combined with single amino acid isotope analysis of diets and hair, are needed to reveal mechanisms and physiological traits explaining why felid hair does not follow isotopic patterns demonstrated in many other taxa

Anisakis simplex infection in mackerel: a reliable laboratory exercise to demonstrate important principles in parasitology to undergraduates

Practical laboratory work in parasitology can be very limited, due to the difficulty in maintaining multi-host parasite life cycles, especially for a large, once-yearly undergraduate laboratory class for life science students. The use of mackerel, Scomber scombrus, bought from a local fishmonger, is an ideal model to investigate important parameters of infection with the nematode worm, Anisakis simplex. This simple experiment, involving nothing more than measurements, dissection and observation, yields reliable data to demonstrate the principles of the intensity, prevalence and overdispersion of infection, and allows statistical analysis of any variation in these parameters in relation to the weight and sex of the fish host

Uptake of <i>Vibrio anguillarum</i> vaccine by <i>Artemia salina</i> as a potential oral delivery system to fish fry

An ELISA to detect Vibrio anguillarum antigen in Artemia salina was developed. This assay was then used to determine the time course of antigen uptake by Artemia during incubations with Vibrio vaccine with a view to using Artemia as a vaccine carrier for oral vaccination of fish fry. The rate of uptake of vaccine by Artemia was shown to be concentration dependent. At a dose of 1.5x107 cfu ml-1, 1 mg wet weight of Artemia took up 1x105 cfu within 30min and reached maximum of 6x106 cfu after 60min. Thus each Artemia appears to have taken up approximately 1.2x105 cfu. Comparison of vaccine formulations indicated that uptake was consistently higher with formalised than with heat-treated vaccine