Did the South american hoatzins originate in Europe? The oldest fossil discoveries from France show that hoatzins once existed in Europe.
Where did hoatzins come from? These unusual birds only one species of which exists in South america today originated in the Old world.
Studies of the oldest known fossils of Hoatzin ancestors have shown now that these birds existed around 34 million years ago in Europe.
Paleornithologists at the Senckenberg Gesellschaft fã r Naturforschung and Flinders University in Adelaide published their findings this week in the specialist journal Naturwissenschaften.
The Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) is also known as the Stinkbird or Canje Pheasant and today exists only in parts of South america.
and new discoveries from Africa and Europe now prove conclusively that hoatzins reached South america from the Old world.
A study published in January 2014 in the ornithological journal The Auk provided the very first evidence of largely modern Hoatzins from the Miocene (15 million years ago) in Africa.
The oldest fossils attributed to hoatzins were found more than 100 years ago near Paris . But only now have paleornithologists been able to show that these remains belong to ancestors of the modern Hoatzin.
The fossils belong to a newly described species Protoazin parisiensis (proto-Hoatzin from Paris). The re-interpretation of these bones indicates that hoatzins lived in Europe as early as the late Eocene i e. around 34 million years ago.
This supports the theory that hoatzins originated in the Old world says Dr Gerald Mayr of the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt.
In the opinion of Dr Vanesa De Pietri of Flinders University in Australia it is a further impressive example that the South american avian fauna contains numerous relicts that were once much more widespread.
Most notably Hoatzins appear to have become extinct in Europe much earlier than in Africa where the latest fossils were dated as of Miocene age (15 million years ago)
These included tree-dwelling carnivorous mammals who may have posed a threat to hoatzin nestlings which are raised in open nests.
Because hoatzins can fly short distances only the adult birds are also easy prey. In Africa by contrast similar tree-dwelling carnivorous mammals are shown to have existed much later.
Digestion specialist and climbing artistthe present-day Hoatzin exhibits a special mode of digestion. These herbivores predigest their food in this crop before further processing in the stomach and intestines.
Similar to the rumen of a cow--a digestive knack that has not been mastered by any other bird.
Skeletal features show that Old world hoatzins already had a large crop. Another special feature of the Hoatzin are the claws on the wings of the chicks
which enable the hatchlings to climb trees. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural history Museum.
Beta-agonists, the environment and cattle feed intakegrowing cattle that are more efficient in converting feed to muscle is a main goal in the beef industry.
Many cattle producers feedlot operators and researchers strive to use genetics and modern feedlot technologies to continuously improve that efficiency.
Chris Reinhardt feedlot specialist for Kansas State university is one of those researchers seeking to find solutions to improve efficiency in cattle production.
Reinhardt has looked specifically at how beta-agonists a cattle feed supplement approved by the U s. Food
and Drug Administration and considered safe from a food safety perspective improve the cattle's natural ability to convert feed into more lean muscle.
They make cattle more efficient at converting grain to muscle. They also improve the efficiency of converting an animal carcass into sellable meat.
Zilmax formally known as zilpaterol hydrochloride is one of only two beta-agonists approved for cattle feeding on the market.
However Merck Animal health manufacturer of Zilmax voluntarily suspended sales of the product last September when major U s. meat packer Tyson announced it would stop buying cattle fed Zilmax due to an animal welfare concern
which questioned if the product affected the ambulatory ability or movement of cattle. There has been no direct link established between the use Zilmax
and impaired cattle mobility Reinhardt said. Cattle fatigue syndrome may be caused by many factors such as summer heat and exertion prior to harvest.
But studying the reasons behind stiff-muscled and tired cattle and if beta-agonists play a role isn't the only angle of research being examined.
Reinhardt has been looking more closely to see if beta-agonists particularly Zilmax affect cattle feed intake.
Over the past few years on certain occasions feedlots have seen where Zilmax was started in the feed
and cattle would fall off on intake Reinhardt said. Sometimes the intake would come back to normal
and studied some of the differences in feed intake in 1100 pens of cattle. He looked at the dry matter intake prior to and through the end of the cattle-feeding period.
He compared this to the time when Zilmax was brought into the feed rations the sex
and weight of the cattle and the location of the feedlot to try to filter out any common factors
when the cattle did did or not lose feed intake. The data analysis uncovered two main findings.
Second cattle that were consuming more feed prior to the initiation of Zilmax had a much higher likelihood of losing intake
and season particularly heat plays a factor in cattle's response to beta-agonists. Surprisingly the winter months showed more of a drop-off on intake overall compared to spring
On the issue surrounding big-eating cattle falling off more on intake once Zilmax was initiated Reinhardt said it could be
because the cattle that are feed eating more are also eating more of the drug. Really we don't know the economic impact from these intake losses Reinhardt said.
We do know that some pens of cattle were more subject to loss of intake than other groups.
Advice for feedlot operatorsreinhardt said it will take more research to make specific recommendations on using beta-agonists to cattle feeders
but this initial research is one step closer to understanding how environmental factors combined with the use of beta-agonists might affect cattle feeding.
More research needs to be done to further understand how all beta-agonists on the market work in cattle feeding Knowledge is power and
Beta-agonists, the environment and cattle fatiguein agricultural production maintaining a level of excellence that includes environmental sustainability animal welfare
and rightfully so might hold beef to an even higher standard of excellence said Dan Thomson Kansas State university veterinarian professor and director of the Beef cattle Institute.
The use of beta-agonists in cattle feeding is among the modern feedlot technologies making waves in the beef industry.
K-State researchers including Thomson are among the many researchers who are examining how beta-agonists affect cattle performance
and how the feed supplement might cause cattle particularly in the summer months to be slow-moving and stiff-muscled once they arrive at packing facilities.
Are we using low-stress cattle handling techniques? How far away from the load out facility are the fat cattle being moved?
Are we shipping them during the afternoon in the heat of the day or are we shipping them at 2 a m.?
History of beta-agonist usefeedlots have used beta-agonists a cattle feed supplement approved by the U s. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) and considered safe from a food safety perspective to improve the cattle's natural ability to convert feed into more lean muscle.
Zilmax formally known as zilpaterol hydrocholoride is one of only two beta-agonists approved for cattle feeding on the market.
However Merck Animal health manufacturer of Zilmax voluntarily suspended sales of the product last September when major U s. meat packer Tyson announced it would stop buying cattle fed Zilmax due to an animal welfare concern
which questioned if the product affected the ambulatory ability or movement of cattle. Thomson said that
because the slow-moving cattle reports were more consistent during the summer months he has questioned how heat stress
what he calls cattle fatigue syndrome. This isn't a new phenomenon Thomson said. We've seen this in other species. The swine industry 15 to 20 years ago discovered pig fatigue syndrome.
It occurred about the time they started feeding beta-agonists at a very high level to pigs.
Market hogs would arrive at the plant and they were stiff open-mouth breathing had blotchy skin muscle tremors
and were going through stress. Thomson said many in the swine industry started calling these pigs NANI pigs meaning non-ambulatory non-injured.
So these pigs show up (at the packing facility) and they don't have any clinical signs of injury besides that they don't move Thomson said.
Researchers) did diagnostic tests to look at the difference between non-ambulatory pigs and pigs within the same truckload that were able to move.
They found elevated serum lactate and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels which are both indicative of depletion of muscle glucose
or muscle damage in these big heavily muscled animals. Regardless of beta-agonist use in feeding pigs Thomson said the swine industry went from having about a 250-lb. average out weight to a 300-lb. average out weight on market hogs.
So the hogs had more weight to carry around at the packing facility. To see if beta-agonists played a role in the movement concerns researchers did a series of tests on market hogs that were fed not beta-agonists They put some through a stressful situation prior to shipping them to slaughter
while the others did not experience any stress. They were able to recreate the same syndrome that we're now seeing in some cattle Thomson said.
Generally physical stress whether they were on a beta-agonist or not showed clinical signs of fatigue in these market hogs.
Still the swine industry has since cut the dose of beta-agonists in feeding by about 75 percent Thomson said.
A closer look at cattle fatigue syndromethe beef industry has a really good start on understanding
what cattle fatigue syndrome is said Thomson but the reason more research must be done is that like the NANI pigs the syndrome has shown up in cattle that were fed a beta-agonist
and cattle that were fed not a beta-agonist. In our research when we've looked at cattle that are stressed not
and they're on one of the beta-agonists on the market we've not seen anything
but an increase in heart rate by about 10 beats per minute and no difference in lactate or CPK levels Thomson said.
However we have to understand that when we have seen the issues with this fatigue cattle syndrome at packing facilities it's during the summer months
when we have heat stress. Moving forward Thomson said the industry needs to better-understand the clinical and physiological responses of beta-agonists in cattle
if dosages in cattle feeding rations might need to be altered and if there is a potential genetic component to it as well.
Advice for feedlot operatorsthomson said that he is very pro-technology. While Merck recently announced that it is too early to determine
#The case for low methane-emitting cattlea new research project looks into the possibilities of adapting every aspect of cattle husbandry
The emission of methane from cattle is a surprisingly important factor. Methane from cows--a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide--makes up 20%of greenhouse emissions from agriculture or about 1%of all anthropogenic greenhouse gases.
That's according to Phil Garnsworthy professor of dairy science at the University of Nottingham in the UK.
He is also one of the project scientists of an EU-funded research project called Ruminomics which is using cutting-edge science to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cattle.
The key to the project Garnsworthy says is that cattle vary by a factor of two or three in the amount of methane their stomachs produce.
In addition different diets mean that cows can produce the same amount of milk with lower emissions.
It is possible to imagine cutting emissions from cattle by a fifth using a combination approach in which you would breed from lower-emitting cattle as well as changing their diets Garnsworthy said.
Different genetic strains of cow emit different amounts of methane. There are three issues: diet genetics and the microbiology of the cow's rumen.
We think that animal genetics may well influence their gut microbiology. However this link has not been proved
Until now the European cattle industry was interested mainly in improving aspects of livestock such as their fertility and their overall shape.
But Morelli thinks that the market will soon add lower methane production to the list of desired cattle characteristics.
So if we can find the right genetic mix we can find cattle that are less polluting more productive
Cows have a rumen as well a stomach he adds. As a result their digestive system is far more complex and hard to understand than ours he notes.
Over time it could improve practice with beef as well as milk herds and with other ruminants such as sheep deer and goats.
and Antiochus III the Great the King of the Seleucid kingdom that reached from modern-day Turkey to Pakistan.
#Genetic testing to produce more offspringthe Fleckvieh is breed a of cattle that originated in the Alpine region.
In Germany there are approximately 1 million Fleckvieh dairy cows: Their genomes can be traced back to a small number of key ancestors explains Prof.
TUM researchers have discovered now that a mutation in the TMEM95 gene on cattle chromosome 19 makes bulls effectively infertile with a success rate for insemination of less than 2 percent.
if bulls inherit the mutation from both the male and female side i e. they are homozygous for the defective gene.
Routine genetic testing for all breeding bulls has been underway since August 2012. Findings of interest for human medicineas part of their study the researchers compared the genome of 40 subfertile animals with 8000 breeding bulls with normal fertility levels.
They discovered that the genetic defect can be traced back to one Fleckvieh animal born in 1966.
During their investigation of the sperm of infertile breeding bulls the TUM scientists collaborated with Prof.
Genetic analysis for healthier animalsscientists have been systematically studying the cattle genome since 2009. Unlike in humans a small number of loci explain a large proportion of characteristics.
This allows the genetic profile of breeding bulls to be mapped in detail --and individual weaknesses can be taken into account for breeding says Pausch.
Co-authors of the PLOS ONE research included Annette Angus and Christina Agapakis UCLA postdoctoral scholars in Hirsch's laboratory;
In the case of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem this would be the migratory wildebeest herds
The data revealed that vultures focused on the immense wildebeest herds only during the dry season
when hundreds of wildebeest die each day from starvation or drowning during their dangerous river crossings.
when ranchers put pesticides on the carcasses of cows and other animals killed by lions or hyenas.
and seeds lean meats and poultry low-fat dairy products vegetables fruits whole grains and legumes.
They theorize the pasture ecosystems rely on the diazotrophs more for nitrogen because of the continuous grazing from cattle requiring constant regrowth of grasses.
#Might more ravens--aided by humans--mean nevermore for sage-grouse? A new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society Idaho State university and the U s. Geological Survey suggests that habitat fragmentation
and the addition of makeshift perches such as transmission polls in sagebrush ecosystems are creating preferred habitat for common ravens that threaten sensitive native bird species including greater sage grouse.
Along with the eggs and nestlings of greater sage grouse ravens also prey on the federally endangered Desert tortoise the endangered San Clemente Loggerhead shrike and the California Least Tern.
The authors state Such an increase likely poses an increased threat to sagebrush steppe species subject to raven depredation including sage-grouse for
and food resources for a wealth of species including sage-grouse pronghorn and mule deer. Poor livestock grazing management invasive species such as cheatgrass transmission lines energy development and subdivisions are all contributing to the loss of this vital resource.
This research provides essential information we need to reverse these trends. The authors believe their findings can be used by land managers to predict likely outcomes related to forthcoming disturbances occurring
In China WCS focuses on mobilizing citizens from awareness to action on the poaching crisis. Our approach is to drive content primarily through social media that steers public conversation
#Important mutation discovered in dairy cattlescientists have found a genomic deletion that affects fertility and milk yield in dairy cattle at the same time.
The discovery can help explain a dilemma in dairy cattle breeding: the negative correlation between fertility and milk production.
For the past many years milk yield in Scandinavian dairy cattle has gone in one clear direction:
The presence and effects of this mutation have recently been discovered by scientists from Aarhus University University of Liã ge MTT Agrifood Research Finland in collaboration with the Danish Agricultural Advisory Service and the Nordic Cattle Genetic Evaluation.
Scientists farmers and advisors have assumed generally that the reduction in fertility is primarily due to the negative energy balance of high-producing cows at the peak of their lactation
This means that the calves die while they are still embryos and are aborted or reported as insemination failure.
and pass the genes on to their calf for the calf to be affected. The bulls carrying the deletion can be identified routinely in on-going genomic selection program
and by avoiding carrier-by-carrier matings a quantum jump in fertility could be achieved in Nordic red breeds adds Goutam Sahana.
and eat it tooto make matters worse this particular mutation has become rather common in Nordic Red cattle
Based on the frequency of the mutation in the population it is estimated that 2. 89 1. 32 and 0. 42%of embryos are dying in Finnish Ayshire Swedish Red and Danish Red cattle respectively due to this mutation.
Our study demonstrates that embryonic lethal mutations account for a non-negligible fraction of the decline in fertility of domestic cattle
This is at least the seventh example in livestock of an allele that is deleterious in the homozygous state being maintained at high frequency in the populations because of the selective advantage it confers to heterozygotes.
The products are designed specially for people with allergies to cow's milk lactose or gluten intolerance as well as children and pregnant women.
The caseins of cow's milk as well as being on the list of allergens components hinder the absorption of iron.
They also have components of great nutritional value that can provide numerous health benefits for both consumer groups with specific problems (lactose intolerance allergic to cow's milk vegetarian...
what make these drinks good substitutes for cow's milk concludes Chelo Gonzã¡lez. Story Source:
Don't expect a decrease in turkey waste at future Thanksgivings. It would take a major cultural shift for Americans to change their holiday eating habits,
Plus, there's hardly an incentive for the turkey industry to produce smaller turkeys. Quite the opposite.
It's much more efficient to produce fewer, larger turkeys. And that's exactly what the industry is doing.
Last year, 45 million fewer turkeys were produced than in 1995. But in the past decade the size of the turkey is getting bigger
meaning larger turkeys at meals and more opportunity for waste. But food waste isn't just a problem at Thanksgiving.
In fact, the U s. has a $165 billion food waste problem. This Thanksgiving, Be More Grateful than Wasteful NRDC Switchboard Photo:
Even if you don't intend to build a log cabin or butcher a hog, they offer fun casual reading,
and many have taken on the challenge of retrofitting energy hogs--to save money, to make cities more efficient,
and you may soon be able to lull yourself into a slumber by counting sheep.
After just two days of testing the sheep â¢s weed-whacking abilities in a test acre lot near Atlanta's airport,
the sheep could prove extremely useful in making sure vegetation doesn â¢t grow into habitats for birds
and officials at Chicago O â¢Hare are currently contemplating the use of goats to cut down on weeds.
The Chicago Department of Aviation recently put out a bid calling for someone to supply goats to eat up some weeds surrounding O â¢Hare
if the sheep can keep the land tidy more efficiently and at a cheaper cost than a human landscaping crew. via Jaunted Image:
high voltage underground transmission cable across the Antelope Valley from Edwards AFB to a nearby transmission line.
and other energy hogs used in commercial buildings with more efficient versions. Replace residential appliances such as refrigerators, washers,
which is grown locally, to the island's cattle. But they threw their pot ale (the leftover swill of dead yeast and water) into the ocean.
Farmers use similar digesters to produce electricity from cow manure. Back to the Scotch. Bruichladdich makes around 46,000 cases of single malt whisky annually.
deer and â on overseas U s. military bases â animals including goats and pigs. Strikes also happen at all altitudes;
IZIT Leather, a new breed of premium leather alternative, is an evolutionary step beyond calf skin that offers a lightweight product that is both economical and durable,
The Portland-based company now sells all over the world, from Thailand to Turkey, to Egypt to Estonia.
and pesticides that grow our food (and feed for livestock) as well as the plastic packaging in
%)Meat, poultry, fish (16%)Dry beans, peas, lentils (16%)Tree nuts and peanuts (16%)Related on Smartplanet:
Super bug bacteria in meat and poultry, study saysif you grab chicken or some other meat from the grocery store,
Scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN) looked at nearly 140 samples taken from 80 brands of beef, chicken, pork and turkey.
The meat and poultry came from 26 stores from the following cities: Los angeles, Chicago, Fort lauderdale, Flagstaff and Washington, D c. Meat and poultry inspectors usually look for many types of multi-drug-resistant bacteria,
but staph is overlooked often times. The bacteria can cause skin infections and can lead to more serious illnesses such as pneumonia and sepsis.
Poste offers Poste Roasts in the summer, during which outdoor rotisseries cook pigs, goats and lambs.
I ve been surprised that people really want to try things like pig cheeks liver, kidneys. They re digging it.
summer for picnicking on Sheep Meadow and concerts on the Great Lawn. 2. Barcelona, Spain Parc GÃ Â ell is a visually stunning combination of park and innovative architectural and sculptural forms,
The milk-producing power of LED lightingconventional wisdom tells us that happy cows make more milk.
But what about cows housed in farms equipped with LED bulbs? One recent study overseen by Oklahoma State university suggests LED bulbs--championed for producing more light
while using less energy--cause cows to make more milk. The Oklahoma State study aimed to evaluate the energy savings of LEDS
The study found that cows living in areas of the barn outfitted with LED bulbs produced 6 percent more milk than those housed in spots using fluorescent lighting.
The average LED-lit cow delivered an extra half gallon of milk per day. The Oklahoma dairy farm owner who participated in the research wants to remain anonymous,
Less intense light directed on loafing areas could help cows relax. To be clear, this was limited a very study.
and cows in the months to come. The University of Missouri wants to start a study later this year
We've cut the cost of LED streetlights in half LEDS turn towering sow's ear into silk purse in Paris
--if any can. 4.)Poultry inspections become scrapped under new regulations. Under a proposal to be revealed today,
U s. Secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack indicted the new regulations may prevent thousands of foodborne illnesses a year--by modernizing the poultry industry and increasing efficiency.
FDA tackles antibiotics in livestock Agriculture's future power struggle: Land grabbing, resource control and competition Bioengineering e coli to turn seaweed into fuel Fatty foods cause brain scarring, study shows
and over half the hogs from just four states to a new topography of distributed, diversified food production, we have to start supporting local food now.
The sheep that texted wolfsheepdogs have warned always herders of wolf attacks. But now the alert system just got a technological boost.
Scientists in Switzerland have created a collar for sheep that detects when their heart rates spike and sends a text message to their shepherd.
Jean-Marc Landry and colleagues from the research group Kora developed the system as a way to better control the increasing number of wolf attacks on sheep in Switzerland and France.
A prototype of the collar was tested on twelve sheep that were placed in an enclosure with two muzzled wolf dogs.
the sheep s heart rate shot from a resting 60 to 80 beats per minute to 225, indicating levels at
These goats produce human breast milkthis Spring brought news of goats engineered to lactate the building blocks of a malaria vaccine.
Now Co. Exist reports on transgenic goats that produce milk with breast milk enzymes and proteins.
milking goats for drugs, or milking goats for human milk? And which work-around has a better chance of widespread adoption?
UC Davis scientists created the transgenic goats by transferring human genes for breast milk enzymes and proteins into goat embryos.
Co. Exist's Peter Smith reports: The transgenic dairy goats can make milk with up to about 60%of the lysozyme
and lactoferrin found in mother's milk, which means a longer shelf life (these chemicals kill pathogenic bacteria)
milk from these transgenic goats could provide the next-best alternative. The UC Davis team has been studying the engineered goats'milk for a number of years now to perfect the formula (no pun intended.
So far they've only tested it on the toddler equivalent in pigs, who've shown increased resistance to illness after drinking the milk.
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