Published in Biological Psychiatry the Pitt team found that in a rodent model second-generation deficiencies of omega-3s caused elevated states of anxiety
Performing experiments in rats in Moghaddam's laboratory the research team examined a second generation of omega-3-deficient diets mimicking present-day adolescents.
#Early exposure to insecticides gives amphibians higher tolerance lateramphibians exposed to insecticides early in life--even those not yet hatched--have a higher tolerance to those same insecticides later in life according to a recent University of Pittsburgh study.
Published in Evolutionary Applications the Pitt study found that wood frog populations residing farther from agricultural fields are not very tolerant to a particular type of insecticide
This is the first study to show that tadpole tolerance to insecticides can be influenced by exposure to insecticides extremely early on in life--in this case as early as the embryonic stage said study principal investigator Rick Relyea Pitt professor of biological sciences within the Kenneth P
--which also included Nathan Morehouse Pitt assistant professor of biological sciences--examined three potential factors that might allow larval wood frogs to have a high tolerance to the insecticide:
The researchers conducted experiments with both embryos and hatchlings that were collected as newly laid eggs from four Pennsylvania ponds--two near agricultural fields and two farther away.
Both embryos and hatchlings from all four environs were exposed first to a low nonlethal concentration of the insecticide.
Later they exposed the same individuals to a lethal concentration of the insecticide at the tadpole stage
and measured the tadpoles'mortality rates over the course of several weeks. Next the team wanted to observe
whether insecticide tolerance played a role in the frogs'acetylcholinesterase (ACHE) a key enzyme in the nervous system of animals.
Carbaryl is known to bind itself to this ACHE enzyme in frogs causing their nervous systems to slow.
The Pitt team measured the concentration of total tadpole ACHE in a sample of tadpole bodies finding that low exposure levels of carbaryl stimulated the tadpoles to produce greater amounts of the enzyme--making them more tolerant to the insecticide later in life.
whether exposure to an insecticide early in life can make amphibians more tolerant to other insecticides.
The paper Pesticide Tolerance in Amphibians: Induced Tolerance in Susceptible Populations Constitutive Tolerance in Tolerant Populations first appeared online in Evolutionary Applications.
#Of bears and berries: Return of wolves aids grizzly bears in Yellowstonea new study suggests that the return of wolves to Yellowstone national park is beginning to bring back a key part of the diet of grizzly bears that has been missing for much of the past century--berries that help bears
put on fat before going into hibernation. It's one of the first reports to identify the interactions between these large important predators based on complex ecological processes.
It was published today by scientists from Oregon State university and Washington state University in the Journal of Animal Ecology.
The researchers found that the level of berries consumed by Yellowstone grizzlies is significantly higher
now that shrubs are starting to recover following the re-introduction of wolves which have reduced over-browsing by elk herds.
The berry bushes also produce flowers of value to pollinators like butterflies insects and hummingbirds; food for other small and large mammals;
and special benefits to birds. The report said that berries may be sufficiently important to grizzly bear diet
and health that they could be considered in legal disputes--as is white pine nut availability now--about
whether or not to change the threatened status of grizzly bears under the Endangered Species Act.
Wild fruit is typically an important part of grizzly bear diet especially in late summer when they are trying to gain weight as rapidly as possible before winter hibernation said William Ripple a professor in the OSU Department of Forest Ecosystems
and Society and lead author on the article. Berries are one part of a diverse food source that aids bear survival
and reproduction and at certain times of the year can be more than half their diet in many places in North america.
When wolves were removed from Yellowstone early in the 1900s increased browsing by elk herds caused the demise of young aspen
and willow trees--a favorite food--along with many berry-producing shrubs and tall herbaceous plants. The recovery of those trees and other food sources since the re-introduction of wolves in the 1990s has had a profound impact on the Yellowstone ecosystem researchers say
even though it's still in the very early stages. Studies like this also point to the need for an ecologically effective number of wolves said co-author Robert Beschta an OSU professor emeritus.
As we learn more about the cascading effects they have on ecosystems the issue may be more than having just enough individual wolves
so they can survive as a species. In some situations we may wish to consider the numbers necessary to help control overbrowsing allow tree
As wolves help reduce elk numbers in Yellowstone and allow tree and shrub recovery researchers said this improves the diet and health of grizzly bears.
In turn a healthy grizzly bear population provides a second avenue of control on wild ungulates especially on newborns in the spring time.
Yellowstone has a wide variety of nutritious berries--serviceberry chokecherry buffaloberry twinberry huckleberry and others--that are highly palatable to bears.
These shrubs are eaten also by elk and thus likely declined as elk populations grew over time.
With the return of wolves the new study found the percentage of fruit in grizzly bear scat in recent years almost doubled during August.
Because the abundant elk have been an important food for Yellowstone grizzly bears for the past half-century the increased supply of berries may help offset the reduced availability of elk in the bears'diet in recent years.
More research is needed regarding the effects of wolves on plants and animals consumed by grizzly bears.
There is precedent for high levels of ungulate herbivory causing problems for grizzly bears who are omnivores that eat both plants and animals.
Before going extinct in the American Southwest by the early 1900s grizzly bear diets shifted toward livestock depredation the report noted
because of lack of plant-based food caused by livestock overgrazing. And in the absence of wolves black bears went extinct on Anticosti Island in Canada after over-browsing of berry shrubs by introduced while-tailed deer.
Increases in berry production in Yellowstone may also provide a buffer against other ecosystem shifts the researchers noted--whitebark pine nut production a favored bear food may be facing pressure from climate change.
Grizzly bear survival declined during years of low nut production. Livestock grazing in grizzly bear habitat adjacent to the national park and bison herbivory in the park likely also contribute to high foraging pressure on shrubs
and forbs the report said. In addition to eliminating wolf-livestock conflicts retiring livestock allotments in the grizzly bear recovery zone adjacent to Yellowstone could benefit bears through increases in plant foods.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Oregon State university. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference e
#Head hits can be reduced in youth footballless contact during practice could mean a lot less exposure to head injuries for young football players according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical center and Virginia Tech.
Their study of 50 youth-league players ages 9 to 12--the largest ever conducted to measure the effects of head impacts in youth football--found that contact in practice not games was the most significant variable
when the number and force of head hits incurred over the course of a season were measured.
Coaching style also had a major influence on factors such as the types of drills used in practice
#Borneos orangutans are coming down from the trees; Behavior may show adaptation to habitat changeorangutans might be the king of the swingers
but primatologists in Borneo have found that the great apes spend a surprising amount of time walking on the ground.
The research published in the American Journal of Primatology found that it is common for orangutans to come down from the trees to forage
An expedition led by Brent Loken from Simon Fraser University and Dr. Stephanie Spehar from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh travelled to the East Kalimantan region of Borneo.
The region's Wehea Forest is known a biodiversity hotspot for primates including the Bornean orangutan subspecies Pongo pygmaeus morio the least studied of orangutan subspecies.
Orangutans are elusive and one reason why recorded evidence of orangutans on the ground is so rare is that the presence of observers inhibits this behaviour said Loken.
However with camera traps we are offered a behind the scenes glimpse at orangutan behaviour. The team positioned ground-based cameras across a 38-square-kilometre region of the forest
and succeeded in capturing the first evidence of orangutans regularly coming down from the trees.
The amount of time orangutans spent on the forest floor was found to be comparable to the ground-dwelling pig-tailed macaque Macaca nemestrina
Over 8-months orangutans were photographed 110 times while the macaques were photographed 113 times. The reason orangutans come down from the trees remains a mystery.
However while the absence of large predators may make it safer to walk on the forest floor a more pressing influence is the rapid and unprecedented loss of Borneo's orangutan habitat.
Borneo is a network of timber plantations agroforestry areas and mines with patches of natural forest said Loken.
The transformation of the landscape could be forcing orangutans to change their habitat and their behaviour.
This research helps to reveal how orangutans can adapt to their changing landscape; however this does not suggest they can just walk to new territory
if their habitat is destroyed. The orangutan subspecies P. p. morio may be adapted to life in more resource scarce forests having evolved larger jaws
which allow them to consume more tree bark and less fruit but they are still dependent on natural forests for their long term survival.
While we're learning that orangutans may be more behaviourally flexible than we thought and that some populations may frequently come to the ground to travel they still need forests to survive said Dr. Spehar.
Wehea Forest is one of the only places in Borneo where ten primates species including five species found only in Borneo overlap in their ranges.
However given that 78%of wild orangutans live outside of protected areas it is critical that all of Borneo's remaining forests are protected
but protecting Wehea Forest and Borneo's remaining forests is vital to the long term survival of the orangutans concluded Loken.
#Borneos orangutans are coming down from the trees; Behavior may show adaptation to habitat changeorangutans might be the king of the swingers
but primatologists in Borneo have found that the great apes spend a surprising amount of time walking on the ground.
The research published in the American Journal of Primatology found that it is common for orangutans to come down from the trees to forage
An expedition led by Brent Loken from Simon Fraser University and Dr. Stephanie Spehar from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh travelled to the East Kalimantan region of Borneo.
The region's Wehea Forest is known a biodiversity hotspot for primates including the Bornean orangutan subspecies Pongo pygmaeus morio the least studied of orangutan subspecies.
Orangutans are elusive and one reason why recorded evidence of orangutans on the ground is so rare is that the presence of observers inhibits this behaviour said Loken.
However with camera traps we are offered a behind the scenes glimpse at orangutan behaviour. The team positioned ground-based cameras across a 38-square-kilometre region of the forest
and succeeded in capturing the first evidence of orangutans regularly coming down from the trees.
The amount of time orangutans spent on the forest floor was found to be comparable to the ground-dwelling pig-tailed macaque Macaca nemestrina
Over 8-months orangutans were photographed 110 times while the macaques were photographed 113 times. The reason orangutans come down from the trees remains a mystery.
However while the absence of large predators may make it safer to walk on the forest floor a more pressing influence is the rapid and unprecedented loss of Borneo's orangutan habitat.
Borneo is a network of timber plantations agroforestry areas and mines with patches of natural forest said Loken.
The transformation of the landscape could be forcing orangutans to change their habitat and their behaviour.
This research helps to reveal how orangutans can adapt to their changing landscape; however this does not suggest they can just walk to new territory
if their habitat is destroyed. The orangutan subspecies P. p. morio may be adapted to life in more resource scarce forests having evolved larger jaws
which allow them to consume more tree bark and less fruit but they are still dependent on natural forests for their long term survival.
While we're learning that orangutans may be more behaviourally flexible than we thought and that some populations may frequently come to the ground to travel they still need forests to survive said Dr. Spehar.
Wehea Forest is one of the only places in Borneo where ten primates species including five species found only in Borneo overlap in their ranges.
However given that 78%of wild orangutans live outside of protected areas it is critical that all of Borneo's remaining forests are protected
but protecting Wehea Forest and Borneo's remaining forests is vital to the long term survival of the orangutans concluded Loken.
which make use of so-called entomopathogenic viruses that are harmful to insects in particular the baculovirus.
To identify the virus in this family that will most effectively control the Guatemalan potato moth The french-Ecuadorian research team have analysed the pathogens among moths from all over the world.
The researchers detected it in moths from twelve different countries. Moreover it has the widest activity spectrum:
it also attacks five other tuber pests. The researchers then did a laboratory test of a formula based on this virus. The result was as efficient as chemical products:
it produces a mortality rate among Guatemalan potato moth larvae of more than 98%!%Slow action#Pulverised on the surface of potatoes or the eggs of the invasive species the granulovirus contaminates the larvae through ingestion.
Its use also requires expert knowledge and detailed monitoring of the moth's biological cycle ecology and behaviour
Moreover each viral strain attacks a very limited number of insect species. This host specificity means that the Guatemalan potato moth can be targeted
while preserving the ecosystem in particular useful insects like pollinators. Lastly unlike the molecules in chemical plant-protection products viruses are able to mutate which limits the development of resistance in their host.
Need for an integrated control strategyfor efficient control of the Guatemalan potato moth the use of this viral pesticide must therefore necessarily form part of an integrated control strategy.
molecular analyses to describe the genetic structure of the pests a study of the impact of temperatures on their ecology by means of drones with thermal cameras#The aim is to get a better understanding of the insects'population dynamics
Training remains a key element in efficient crop-pest management. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Institut de Recherche pour le D veloppement (IRD.
#Pesticides contaminate frogs from Californian national parkspesticides commonly used in California's Central Valley one of the world's most productive agricultural regions have been found in remote frog species miles from farmland.
Our results show that current-use pesticides particularly fungicides are accumulating in the bodies of Pacific chorus frogs in the Sierra nevada said Kelly Smalling a research hydrologist from the U s. Geological Survey.
The Pacific chorus frog Pseudacris Regilla can be found in abundance across the state's Sierra nevada mountain range.
As with other amphibians agrochemicals potentially pose a threat to chorus frogs as exposure to pesticides can decrease their immune system thereby increasing the risk of disease.
The team collected frogs as well as water and sediment samples from seven ponds ranging from Lassen volcanic national park at the northern most point of Central Valley to the Giant sequoia National monument in the valley's southern extent.
of which were found in frog tissues from all sites said Smalling. We found that even frogs living in the most remote mountain locations were contaminated by agricultural pesticides transported long distances in dust and by rain.
Two fungicides commonly used in agriculture pyraclostrobin and tebuconazole and one herbicide simazine were the most frequently detected compounds
and this is the first time these compounds have ever been reported in wild frog tissue. Another commonly detected pesticide was DDE (Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) a breakdown product of DDT
A comparison of the frog tissue with water and sediment collected from the same sites shows that the frogs were the more reliable indicator of chemical exposure.
The study is an important step toward treating WNS according to Mylea Bayless Bat Conservation International's director of conservation programs in the U s. and Canada.
A marked decline in bat populations in the eastern United states was documented in a study published last month in PLOS One by Sybill Amelon a research biologist with the Forest Service in Columbus Mo
. and co-authors Thomas Ingersoll and Brent Sewall. The study found cumulative declines in regional relative abundance by 2011 from peak levels were 71 percent for little brown bats 34 percent for tricolored bat 30 percent in the federally-listed
endangered Indiana bat and 31 percent for northern long-eared bats. In 2009 researchers identified the culprit behind WNS as a member of the genus Geomyces resulting in its name Geomyces destructans or G. destructans.
Minnis and Lindner generated DNA sequence data and found evidence supporting a shift in the genus to
Honey bees are much less complex than mammals and humans but we share many major genes said Wang
With any luck the impact will result in more than just high-tech pest control. It could instead provide insight into human insulin pathways potentially giving us an opportunity to learn how to control human dietary behavior.
and appearances resulting in fish in their larval stage that bear little to no resemblance to their adult counterparts.
#Are North Atlantic right whales mating in the Gulf of Maine? Using data obtained during six years of regular aerial surveys
and genetics data collected by a consortium of research groups scientists have strengthened evidence pointing to the central Gulf of Maine as a mating ground for North Atlantic right whales according to a study recently published online in the journal Endangered
The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is one of the most endangered marine mammal species in the world
But until now there was little to indicate where these whales mated a big missing piece in the puzzle of their life history.
which right whales were present in the study area during 2002-2008. Individual animals were identified using a photo identification catalog maintained at the New england Aquarium that includes most of the adults in the population.
Using genetic data gathered in other field work known fathers seen in the surveys were identified as were known mothers who were identified by association with a calf.
The resulting analyses showed that the animals seen included a higher proportion of reproductively successful animals than were present in other areas that these whales used seasonally.
The researchers further assumed a 12-month gestation period for North Atlantic right whales similar to that estimated for the closely-related southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) by the South african whale biologist Dr. Peter Best.
In fact since the study ended fewer right whales have been observed in the area during what would be the mating period.
We are still seeing right whales in the central Gulf of Maine just not in the same numbers.
Most of the North Atlantic right whale population spends the spring and summer on feeding grounds off the northeastern U s. and the Canadian Maritimes.
but current reproductive rates for North Atlantic right whales are much lower than those for the recovering populations of southern right whales.
Determining the right whale's conception period and mating grounds are important steps in learning about the factors that may be impairing reproduction.
Philip Hamilton from the New england Aquarium; Bradley White from Trent University in Ontario Canada; and Tim Frasier from St mary's University in Halifax Nova scotia Canada.
The study published July 24 in the online journal PLOS ONE is the first analysis of real-world conditions encountered by honey bees as their hives pollinate a wide range of crops from apples to watermelons.
The researchers collected pollen from honey bee hives in fields from Delaware to Maine. They analyzed the samples to find out which flowering plants were the bees'main pollen sources and
and other crops and the insecticide fluvalinate used by beekeepers to control Varroa mites common honey bee pests.
The miticides used to control Varroa mites also harmed the bees'ability to withstand parasitic infection.
if mites were left unchecked. But the study's finding that common fungicides can be harmful at real world dosages is new
because they're not designed to kill insects vanengelsdorp said. Federal regulations restrict the use of insecticides
while pollinating insects are said foraging he but there are no such restrictions on fungicides so you'll often see fungicide applications going on
In an unexpected finding most of the crops that the bees were pollinating appeared to provide their hives with little nourishment.
Honey bees gather pollen to take to their hives and feed their young. But when the researchers collected pollen from bees foraging on native North american crops such as blueberries and watermelon they found the pollen came from other flowering plants in the area not from the crops.
Undergoing a novel care plan he became a teaching case for veterinary oncologists at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals paving the way to combat cancer in large animals.
I want to do everything humanly possible for my animals said Goldner. When the 4-year-old had a coughing fit
In the first such procedure ever done to treat a sick pig surgeon Jim Flanders who had performed similar procedures in smaller animals joined large-animal surgeon Susan Fubini to surgically implant a vascular access port.
what we know is effective in dogs cats and humans with lymphoma. Nemo's clinical signs soon resolved
Though little is known about the prognosis for pigs with cancer Nemo has the notable distinction of establishing a precedent giving veterinarians valuable information for helping large animals.
Since arriving in March Nemo has resided at Cornell's hospital for animals. He has a better life there said Goldner.
Cornell Hospital for Animals people play with him and bring him treats and he plays funny tricks like tossing water at the residents.
whose regulation controls oil palm yielda multinational team of scientists has identified a single gene called Shell that regulates yield of the oil palm tree.
The discovery that regulation of the Shell gene will enable breeders to boost palm oil yields by nearly one-third is excellent news for the rainforest
The discovery of Shell indicates a clear path toward more intensive use of already planted lands
Mutations in Shell explain the single most important economic trait of the oil palm: how the thickness of its shell correlates to fruit size
and oil yield explains Dr. Rajinder Singh of the MPOB first author of the Nature paper describing the Shell gene.
The Shell gene is responsible for the oil palm's three known shell forms: dura (thick; pisifera (shell-less;
Tenera palms contain one mutant and one normal version or allele of Shell an optimum combination that results in 30%more oil per land area than dura palms.
and land usethe discovery of the Shell gene and its two naturally occurring mutations highlight new molecular strategies to identify seeds
Seed producers can now use the genetic marker for the Shell gene to distinguish the three fruit forms in the nursery long before they are field-planted.
whether an oil palm plantlet is a high-yielding palm Even with selective breeding 10 to 15 percent of plants are the low-yielding dura form due to uncontrollable wind and insect pollination particularly in plantations
#Dangers to biological diversity from proliferation of global cashmere garment industrya new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Snow leopard Trust reveals a disturbing link between the cashmere trade and the decay
of ecosystems that support some of the planet's most spectacular yet little-known large mammals.
The study finds that as pastoralists expand goat herds to increase profits for the cashmere trade in Western markets wildlife icons from the Tibetan Plateau to Mongolia suffer--including endangered snow leopard wild yak chiru saiga Bactrian camel
Ecological effects of the growth in goat herds include increasing conflicts with pastoralists predation by dogs on wildlife retaliatory killing of snow leopards and displacement of wildlife away from critical food habitats.
Joel Berger of WCS and University of Montana Bayarbaatar Buuveibaatar of WCS Mongolia and Charudutt Mishra of the Snow leopard Trust.
and Mongolia the vast highlands and open spaces that once were populated by wild camel and wild yak Przewalski's horse chiru saiga antelope Tibetan gazelle kiang khulan and snow leopard are increasingly dominated by domestic goats and other livestock.
The study results from fieldwork in India western China and Mongolia and builds upon economic data including herder profits changes in livestock numbers and the relative abundance of wildlife.
This study was supported by the Snow leopard Trust Trust for Mutual understanding National geographic Society Whitley Fund for Nature and The british Broadcasting company Wildlife Fundstory Source:
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